"You're trying what?" questioned Ron.
"Hiking Ron hiking." said Hermione for the third time. "It's not even really a muggle thing. I mean come on."
"I know, but you don't typically do that kind of thing."
"Well it's always nice to try something new."
"If you like that sort of thing I guess." He shrugged and went back to standing awkwardly next to her desk. He had come in so they could go to dinner with Harry and Ginny. Yet she insisted on him waiting for 10 more minutes while she finished a few last things.
"Come on Hermione! How much longer?" Ron pleaded.
Hermione rolled her eyes, and got up. She started packing up and gave him a hard stare.
"I was just going to about to be done. Don't be such a child Ron."
XXXXX
The second they had landed on in the fireplace via floo from the ministry, they were greeted by two strong arms encircling them both.
"What took you so long? We've been waiting for ages!" Ginny's excited voice was ringing in their ears.
"Ages? 15 minutes more like it," Harry's voice said cheerily in front of them.
"Well Hermione just couldn't stop whining about me to hurry up and go. I mean blimey can't a guy just do his work." said Ron, once out of Ginny's hug.
Harry and Ginny burst out into laughter, while Hermine gaped at Ron and slapped his right arm.
"You know fully well that I wasn't the one whining." She said while a smile played on her lips.
"Ouch. Well it sounded like it." Ron said, while they all continued to chuckle and proceeded to the dining room. XXXXX
They had just finished dinner and we're finishing up their dessert. Harry's favorite, Treacle Tart. The recipe from Molly Wealey of course.
"Another slice Hermione?"
"Oh no I'm full, but thank you," Hermione replied.
"Of course and you Ron?" Ginny asked.
"Cheers Ginny. Right after mum, you make the best treacle tart!"
"Aww thanks Ron." She answered with a slightly surprised expression and served him another slice. "And obviously Harry wants another." She served him a second slice without even hesitating.
"You know me too well Gin." He gladly accepted the slice and immediately started scooping it up.
It hadn't even been two minutes when both men requested yet another slice. Hermione and Ginny discreetly rolled their eyes together.
"So have you heard Hermione's joined some hiking group?" Ron said.
"Really?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised.
"Like I told Ron, it's not just for muggles, wizards and witches can do it too."
"Well I couldn't even imagine the Dursleys attempting that, so I guess you're right." Harry said. They all roared with laughter at his remark before Hermione.
"But I'm actually really excited! We're supposed to be hiking Leith Hill this Sunday and it's supposed to have really amazing trails. I hope we'll also see the Leith Hill Tower. I read that it was made in 1765 by RIchard Hull and he said himself it was 'a place for people to enjoy the glory of the English countryside'. It sounds beautiful and I can't-
"Classic Hermione. Reciting stuff word for word out of a book again." Ron interrupted.
Hermione turned red in her seat, but gave a guilty smile. Harry and Ginny laughed remembering all those times.
"Well it sounds great to me! Do you know anyone else in the group?" Ginny said.
"Actually that's what I wanted to ask. I really don't know anyone else there, and I asked Charlie to come with me but he said he has to look over the shop that day and he really can't afford to take days off on Weekends just yet."
About two months ago, her boyfriend, Charlie Wilson, had become the new store owner of Flourish and Blotts. He had been working ever since to keep business smooth and never disappointed. The shop was one of the reasons why she loved her relationship with Charlie. If she was ever early or he needed a few minutes before heading out, she would just curl up with one of the newly written books and be easily satisfied.
"So I was hoping maybe one of you would fancy coming with me?" She looked around nervously at their faces and added quickly, "Really it won't even be that bad I swear! I mean sure it'll be a couple of miles of walking and it'll probably be a bit hot but-"
Ginny stepped in. "Oh Hermione it's not that I don't want to come, it's just that I actually have a game against the Cannons this Sunday so…" Hermione's face fell. Ginny played for the Holyhead Harpies and constantly had games on the weekends, which is why they usually hung out in the weekdays.
She sighed and said,"That's ok Ginny it's fine." She turned around to Harry, "How about you?"
Harry scratched the back of his head anxiously and replied, "Sorry Hermione, I was supposed to take care of Teddy on Sunday. I mean I would make him come, but I kind of promised we could go watch Ginny's game together. I'm really sorry," He finished apologetically. Hermione nodded understandingly, her face drooping even more.
"Ron?" she said with a dash of hope, looking up at him.
Ron looked uncomfortable, being put in this position. On one hand, he didn't want to say no and possibly get on the other end of her wand (been there loads of time he reminded himself). Yet on the other, he really didn't want to walk for miles just to go see some old tower built over two centuries ago.
"Er well I uh actually have something with Camelia later that day so I might not be able to-"
"Oh no it's in the morning from seven til ten. You'll still be able to be with Camelia after that! Does that mean you can make it?" Hermione answered excitedly.
If Ron looked uncomfortable before, it was nothing compared to how he was now. Why didn't he just say he was busy the whole day or something. He had been hoping Camellia, his girlfriend for 3 months now, would've been enough to let him escape this horrifying activity. Especially one that requires you to wake up at seven in the morning. He shook his head, not seeing how else he could get out of this.
"Alright fine, I guess I can-"
"Brilliant Ron. Thank you!" She exclaimed, giving him a bear hug before unwrapping herself and sitting back down.
She couldn't wait for Sunday and to see who else would be there. Maybe she or Ron would know someone, and they'd have tons of fun.
XXXXX
"Come on Ron, we don't want to be late!" Hermione yelled, ignoring Ron's comment ("Yeah wouldn't want that would we?"). As soon as they landed in the designated spot where they were supposed to apparate, she could see the group standing a little ways from them. There were a lot more people then she thought there'd be.
"Wow there's about 30 people here. Look!"
"Yes Hermione I see that." Ron grumbled. He could already tell he was going to regret saying yes to this. She told him it would be hot, as it was summertime, so he wore tan khaki shorts with a maroon tank top. He also put on sunblock, because Merlin knows he tans too easily and could already feel his red hair burning up. Hermione was wearing faded blue jeans and a white halter top and was gesturing at Ron to catch up.
Once he did, he could hear a lady's voice shouting over everyone. He looked up and saw she was standing on a bench while everyone gathered around. She had shoulder length black hair with half in a neat bun and the other half left out, but for some reason she kept touching her bun as if she was afraid it would pop out.
"Well it looks like everyone is hear, so I guess we'll start then." There was a loud cheer over the small crowd and she continued, "First thing, I'm passing around some pamphlets so make sure you take one. " She pulled her wand out of her pocket and flicked it at the pile of papers on the bench. The papers dispersed and everyone's hands reached up to grab one. "Inside the pamphlets are a map of all the trails you can take on the hill. I thought it would be fun to start the first day with a bit of a race. I've assigned each pamphlet a color of the group you will be placed in. There are 5 different colors red, blue, yellow, green, and purple. If you just take your wand and tap the map, it'll show the color of your group and the trail you'll be taking! First group to get to the Leith Hill Tower will get a prize! So I think we'll have reds at the that tree over there. Blues stay here with me, yellows…" The sound of everyone tapping their maps and going to their groups brought Hermione's attention back to her map. She opened her pamphlet and found the map on the bottom of the left page. She lightly tapped it before seeing a purple line run through the map stopping at the tower at the end.
"Hey are you in the purp… oh." She had looked over at Ron's pamphlet, hoping to have the same color, but was disappointed to see a bright blue line running through his map.
"Oh no, we're in different groups." Hermione stated, feeling a bit guilty that she brought Ron over for company only to be separated now.
Ron sighed, "Its okay Hermione, we'll still have fun and talk all about it later." He put on a smile to show he really was fine with it. "Well I'll see you later then." He gave her a quick hug and left to go stand with his group. She walked over to where she remembered the purple group was supposed to meet.
For the very observational person she was, it only took her a few details to recognize the figure in front of her. The shockingly white hair glinting in the sunlight, the know-it-all smirk on his pale face, and the sparkling crest engraved into his backpack which was slung over one shoulder, could only be one person…
"Draco get your group going, we're all starting now." The lady with the black hair said.
He gave her a dashing smile, and then turned around to rest his eyes on Hermione. Malfoy paused, looking utterly perplexed he said, "Granger? What are you doing here?"
Hermione tried to look at ease, and not extremely uncomfortable. "Er well ... I came to hike, just like you … I suppose."
"Oh I'm not here to hike, I just came to support Alisa." He gestured back to the woman who called out to him moments before.
Hermione glanced to her and then back to Malfoy. She assumed Alisa was his girlfriend, as she didn't see any ring on his finger, but didn't say anything.
"So seriously," Malfoy crossed his arms glaring at her. "What are you doing here?"
"I just came to hike, nothing else."
Suddenly, the other four people in their group surrounded Hermione.
"Oh my god, you're Hermione Granger!"
"It's the Minister of Magic!"
"What are you doing here?"
"Can I have your autograph?"
Hermione's cheeks turned red at all the attention. She could see Malfoy sneering at the back of them, as if thinking this was the real reason why she'd come. Of course, she'd been used to the attention by now, from being one of "The Golden Trio" to the Minister of Magic, but she'd actually just come to have a good time. Honestly, did these people really think she just stayed in her office all day working. She wondered if Ron was having the same issue as her.
"Hello, I'm just here to look at the scenery and to see Leith Hill Tower. I'm sure it'll be a good experience for all of us." They all nodded and started chattering amongst themselves, but Hermione wasn't listening. Her eyes were trained on Malfoy who walked away, hands in his pockets, muttering underneath his breath.
Why was he upset? Because of the attention she was getting? Wait was he … jealous? No he couldn't be. He seemed to collect himself before she was able to make up her mind.
He walked back up to the huddle, "Whether or not you all are interested in coming, I'll be on my way, you know cause of that prize at the end?" He ended with a smirk. That got the group's attention.
Hermione rolled her eyes, as if she cared about some prize.
She walked at the back of the of the group while Malfoy was at the front, as if he were the leader. But Malfoy couldn't ruin her mood, however salty he was. Going on this hiking trip seemed to be a better and better decision as each minute went by. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. From the jade green trees to the clear blue sky above her to the patches of bluebells and daisies sprouting everywhere around them. It was all so much to take in. Her favorite tree by far were the the weeping willows. They were just so beautiful to look at with their crowns of branches swaying in the wind. But most of all it reminded her of Hogwarts-
"Oy! Granger, you're slowing down the group. Catch up!" Malfoy hollered. Her head whipped back towards his voice, and she realized she had slowed down to look at the flowers some more. The group was about a 100 feet in front of her continuing down the trail, but Malfoy had stopped behind them, impatiently tapping his foot waiting.
Hermione rolled her eyes and hurried to catch up with Malfoy. His long strides kept him constantly a few paces in front of her, but she noticed he seemed to stay close with her. She found this quite appalling as she thought for sure as soon as she'd caught up with the group again, he'd be back to the front away from her. After a few minutes of awkward silence, his strides became shorter and waited for Hermione to come to the same pace as him so that they walked side by side. She found this even more surprising.
"So why'd you come here?" Malfoy asked for the third time, tentatively.
Hermione sighed, why wouldn't anyone believe her that she just came for fun. "Why else would I come here Malfoy? To enjoy the scenery and the nature of course."
He scoffed, "And here I thought it was just to spend time with your ridiculous boyfriend." She was now more confused than ever. Charlie wasn't even here!
"What do you even mean?! He isn't even-" She stopped herself as she suddenly realized what he'd meant. "Ron is not my boyfriend!"
"Well that's news to me, so why'd you come alone with him then?"
"Because I wanted someone to come with me that's why." She exclaimed.
"So old Potter wasn't available then? Probably couldn't stand the thought of you being alone together if you ask me-"
She interrupted him, "Ron is not interested in me for your information, and even though it is not your business, he has a wonderful girlfriend."
"Ha! Weasel actually has a girlfriend does he? Well, makes more sense then you having a love life that's for sure." He ended with a smirk.
She couldn't stop herself from glaring at him, "Are you kidding me? My boyfriend Charlie would say otherwise."
Now he seemed to pause and think. "You're dating… Charlie Wealey?! Are you serious? You're best friend's brother? Come on Granger-"
"Wow you really have a low opinion of me don't you?" She asked exasperatedly, not waiting for an answer. "I'm dating Charlie Wilson not Wealey!" She stamped her foot and walked to the front of the group not wanting to do any more with him.
She kept on the path, every few moments checking her map to make sure she took the right trail. She stopped to pick a scarlet pimpernel. It went from a soft orange to a bright scarlett in the middle and put it behind her ear. She thought it looked ravishing contrasting with her hair.
She carried on taking a few turns here and there making sure to scan the map before. After taking a sharp right onto another path, too busy examining the low hanging branches of the trees, she barely walked five feet before hearing another holler behind her.
"Oy! Fancy going down the wrong trail Granger?"
Looking back she realized, she had stepped foot onto a completely different trail. Of course. Why didn't she look at the map properly? She turned 180 degrees and strolled right past Malfoy to the back of their group, who had correctly taken the left path. This time, however, she didn't go to the front, fearing making another mistake.
Right behind, she felt Malfoy. His large distinguished shadow dancing with hers in front of them while the sun beat at their backs. After a few moments, he came to her side as if their last conversation hadn't happened.
"So what do you think the prize will be?" He asked abruptly. She was extremely surprised by this. Why did he keep talking to her? She was almost tempted to actually ask.
"I don't know, but shouldn't you? Seeing as Alisa is your girlfriend and she planned this."
"Well that's true, but she wouldn't tell me."
"Oh." Hermione didn't know what else to say to this. Normally she would continue with something with work. But seeing as she knew what his job was already and what he did she didn't see any point to this.
"I bet it's honeydukes." She stated, and looked over to see an appalled look on Malfoy this time and added, "Or some other kind of chocolate or candy."
"Really? I was thinking more of a boring galleon prize." Malfoy replied with a hint of a smile.
"Oh no, I would expect do that or at least I would never do that, and if that's the prize I'd probably give it to Ron. I'd much rather prefer something sweet."
"Hmm maybe I would too. So what's your favorite sweet then?" His smile getting wider by the second. She tried to recall a time when she saw Draco Malfoy smiling, but couldn't come up with anything. This made her grin back.
"Well I like mint chocolate chip ice cream."
Malfoy raised one of his eyebrows and said, "Never had that myself. What about wizarding candy?"
She thought about it for a second. "Well chocolate frogs aren't too bad I suppose. Probably just honeydukes chocolate for me." This he nodded to, apparently able to relate. Just to be polite she said, "How about you?"
"Chocolate frogs for me. But I never collected the stupid cards." He finished with a smirk.
They went on having a very unusual yet nice conversation. Hermione couldn't help but actually like this version of Draco Malfoy. The one who didn't make fun of her at every turn. The one who didn't just curse or spell her randomly. The one who actually laughed and smiled and seemed to enjoy his life. She wondered if this version would stay.