New Beginnings 5
AN: I had plans to speed up the story a bit time wise but the muse told me otherwise. Sorry for the delay. The characters weren't cooperating with the author. HAHA Snarky.
Two weeks had passed since Hermione had her first broom lesson with Oliver, and she was growing frustrated. The beginning of the lessons would start out great with her relaxed, but by the end of the lesson, she was a weeping mess, clutching Oliver as he gently brought her to the heather patch to calm her nerves. Her frustration had only brought out her fear even more, so she planned on telling Oliver that she didn't want any more lessons.
Hermione got up from the table in the library, where she went instead of eating breakfast in the Great Hall. She was hiding from the two older boys so she could keep her resolve to quit the lessons when she saw them. She arrived at the pitch before the boys. They must be still eating. Good! Gives me a chance to review my thoughts and words for Oliver. I can't let him pep talk me into more of these lessons. Hermione paced back and forth while she bolstered her resolve. I have to remember NOT to look into his eyes. They distract me. I hope Percy doesn't get disappointed in me. I…
"Hermione! Is something wrong? We didn't see you at breakfast." Oliver's worried tone broke through her mental rant.
Hermione's head snapped up to see them looking at her with genuine concern on their faces. Hermione immediately went into a defensive stance by crossing her arms and wiping her face blank of emotions.
The boys' expression changed to surprised apprehension. Oliver tried to take a step closer, but stopped when she threw out her hand. The nervous Percy hung back because he knew that the issue was between them.
"I quit these lessons!" Hermione turned away from the boys because she couldn't look them anymore. "I get so stressed out from the panic attacks after every lesson that I would rather keep my sanity, and just fail the bloody course! I don't see the necessity of flying when I know that there are other forms of transport in the wizarding world. I DID MY RESEARCH!" Hermione's hands had curled into fists as she ranted.
"Oh wee lass, I know that you are frustrated with the lessons, but I feel that you are so close. I have faith in you!" Oliver feebly tried to cheer her up and could see that he failed by the way her hands were still clenched tightly.
Percy had disappeared when Oliver started his pep talk so he missed Hermione's reaction.
Hermione snorted as she turned to see that they were alone.
"FRUSTRATED! Oliver, I am so tired of being emotionally drained after our sessions. It is affecting my schoolwork, and I take that seriously!" Hermione roared as she waved her arms before she crossed them again.
"Hermione, please give me one more chance." She gave him a stern look. "Pretty please? Percy gave me a bloody brilliant idea, which will hopefully relieve some of this stress that you are having. I am so sorry that I didn't notice how much it was affecting you. I really do think it will work if you give it a chance. If it doesn't, then I will let you quit. Alright?" Oliver implored and stared at her with his puppy eyes. Percy showed up just as Oliver finished his pleading for one more lesson.
Hermione glanced at Percy to see that he was standing there with something in his hand. It looked the heather from behind the pitch. "So Prefect Percy, what is this brilliant plan?"
Percy flinched at Hermione's nickname for him and was surprised that she hadn't loosened up yet. He glanced at Oliver, who nudged him to go on and explain his own idea. Percy took a deep breath and faced Hermione.
"As you know, I have been watching the lessons on the sidelines, per our Head of House's request."
Hermione acknowledged that remark with a slight nod.
"I figured out that there was a recurring issue during the lessons, but I want to know if you have."
Hermione arched her eyebrow, which caused Percy to swallow hard, but he stood firm and soldiered on.
"Hermione, please answer the question. Oliver asked me these when he taught me and it helped me realize what my issue was with flying." Percy threw his hand up before she interrupted. "Now I know that the two of you had a conversation about your fears, but I don't think you have truly grasped the problem."
Hermione mumbled to herself at first, but the boys could see that the tension in her body had eased, almost too quickly. Oliver sprang forward next to her, just in case he needed to catch her. They were startled by the change in her, especially when she finally looked up and her face was all crumpled and getting tearful.
"Hermione, why don't we sit down for a minute before we continue this discussion?" Oliver gently tugged her towards one of the pitch's benches. Hermione immediately covered up her face and started to cry.
The boys looked at each other in alarm. Oliver carefully sat next to her and awkwardly patted her back to try to console her. Hermione tried to move away from him to get him to stop, but Oliver didn't get the hint and missed Percy's signal to leave her alone. He went to rub her back again and Hermione turned and pushed him off the bench as she cried out, "UGH! OLIVER! I AM NOT UPSET!"
"You aren't upset?" Oliver looked confused as he went back to kneeling in front of her with Percy.
"UGH! NO!" Hermione paused for a breath. "I am crying more out of frustration. I am frustrated at the fact that I am struggling with this bloody class! I know what Percy is saying is correct but… UGH!" Hermione threw her arms up.
The two boys looked at each other and held a silent conversation before Oliver blinked in agreement. He took a cleansing breath before he tried to grab Hermione's attention.
"Hermione, please look at me. I know that you are frustrated and most likely anxious." Hermione jiggled her head in her hands. "Percy reminded me of something else that I forgot and should have done with you from the beginning."
Hermione looked up at him with puffy red eyes. She slanted her head a tad bit out of curiosity.
Oliver took that as a good sign and continued his explanation, "Have you heard of meditation?"
"Yes."
"Have you done it before?"
"Not really. I tried to do yoga, which is a similar thing, but it wasn't for me."
"I meditate before I go to fly, whether it is a practice or a game. Yes, I realize that you haven't seen me do it here because I do it in my room or one of the classrooms before I leave the castle. It helps me focus on the task at hand." Hermione still looked at him skeptical at his idea so Oliver tried a different tactic. "Alright, do you want to know how I do it?" Hermione bobbed her head.
"I just find a chair in the classroom or lay back against the pillow in my room. I close my eyes and start thinking about my favorite spot that I visited all the time while growing up." Hermione squinted her eyes thinking about what he has said so far. "The place that I visualize is a meadow two fields over full of wildflowers and heather where they trail a running creek. Me and my friends would play back there on hot summer days."
Hermione smiled slightly at his memory.
"Now I want you to find that one place or scenery that brings you serenity; for example, the library or even the heather field behind here. You don't have to tell us where. Just find a quiet place to just close your eyes and let yourself relax and regain your focus." Oliver paused to sense her emotions; it appeared that they were still slightly high and a tad tense. Oliver thought of a question to ask her. "Now I have a question for you." Hermione focused more on Oliver than Percy to show him that she was paying attention. "What I want to know is what you've done in the past that would have calmed you down when you are distraught?"
Hermione closed her eyes to think back when she was at home and what she did to restore her emotions and regain her focus. She opened them when she was ready to answer him. She noticed that they still had concerned looks and it made her realize that they were genuinely worried and not making it up. That realization slowly let her body relax a tad bit more.
"When I was younger and at school, I would hide in the library or the bathroom to let the emotion flow free and then if I was in the library, I would grab a book and lose myself and by the time it was time to go back to class, I would be calm enough."
Oliver thought about what she said and asked a different one, "And what did you do when you were home upset?"
Hermione flinched as a wave of emotions hit her all at once. Hermione hid her face once more to cry.
"Hermione! What is wrong?" Oliver inquired with panic in his tone. Hermione mumbled something that they couldn't hear. "I am sorry, lass but I didn't catch what you said."
Hermione moved her hand away from her mouth far enough for her to respond again. "I said that I miss my parents so much." Hermione started sobbing even harder than before.
"Oh Hermione," Oliver once again sat next to her and pulled her into his chest. She tried to fight him off, but he wasn't having it. "Lass, just cry. Let me comfort you, please." Hermione stopped fighting him, and she held onto him tightly as she let the tears roll. Oliver gently rubbed her back as he was rocking her. Oliver looked over to Percy and noticed that he was getting anxious for her. "Wee lass, can you tell me what they did for you when you were younger?"
Hermione took a shaky breath and patted Oliver on his chest to let him know that she was alright now. She wiped the tears off her face. Oliver moved back in front of her. When she was ready, she explained, "They would sit on the loveseat and have me sit in between them, and we would briefly discuss the problem because they always said that bottling it up was bad. After a brief discussion, we would read some Shakespeare. Did you know I was named after a character from one of his plays?" The boys shook their head. "Yeah, I was from 'The Winter's Tale.' Anyway, then they would go get a clipping of the heather" Hermione gestured to the heather that Percy was still holding. "…and put it in my room."
"Wait!" Oliver interrupted her explanation. "Are you telling me that the heather is making you miss them more?"
Hermione jabbed her head.
"Oh lass, I think I know how to think of it a different way."
"Oh?"
"You say that the heather makes you remember your parents, right?"
"Yes, Oliver. They used it to help calm me down if they weren't home to hug. They told me to let the aroma seep into my senses and when they get home, we would talk."
"Alright, Hermione, don't you think it could still work here?"
Hermione tapped her chin while she thought about it and her head dropped to her chin.
"Hermione, please look at me." Oliver waited until he got her attention. "I know that you don't think that it would work here, but I think it will and I will tell you how. I bet that Percy would make you an everlasting bouquet of the heather." Percy bobbed his head vigorously. "Leave it on your nightstand next to your bed. Then, when you are having a bad day, go up to your room and lay down and meditate with the fragrance of the heather relax you. Give us a signal that you need us to talk. We will, or just I will meet you at the couch later and we'll cuddle and talk. If you have a book for us to read, bring it."
Hermione just stared at them in amazement at their gesture. "Are you sure that you want to do that? I mean, I am going through a lot at the moment."
"Oh, are you? More than just the homesickness?" Oliver moved to sit next to her. "Percy, sit on the other side of her."
Percy looked for approval from Hermione before he moved. He handed her a loose heather that he had grabbed earlier. Hermione sighed as she took a sniff. She looked a little scared to talk as she peeked at Percy. It dawned on him that it might have something to do with one of his brothers. "You know, Hermione, you can tell me anything even if it is about one of my brothers. The twins tend to be much sometimes, and Ron still hasn't quite learned his manners."
"Are you sure, Percy? I don't want to seem like that I am constantly badmouthing him."
"Don't worry, Hermione. Oliver here has heard me complain about them all the time, and occasionally he would surprise me by agreeing with me."
"Oh, okay. It's just that Ron is mean to me, and I think his rudeness is rubbing off onto Harry. Harry wasn't always rude when I first met him. Did your brother always have the foot in mouth syndrome?"
Percy shook his head in disgust at his brother's behavior and then snorted at Hermione's question. "Oh yes, he always got into trouble with Mum with his mouth, but she couldn't seem to break him of it either." Percy groaned. "Do I even let her know or maybe ask the professor?"
"Oh I don't want you to get him in trouble with his mother. Maybe asking Professor McGonagall?"
"I agree with Hermione, Percy. There isn't much that your Mum could do from home, except maybe send a Howler, which is more embarrassing than helpful."
"A Howler?"
"It is like a letter but it comes red and it will explode if you don't open it right away and it is usually the sender yelling at the receiver." Hermione cringed at the description. "Yeah, it isn't pleasant, me lass."
"I think both of you are right. I will speak to our Head of House the next time I have a free moment."
The three of them sat on the bench in silence for a few minutes digesting all that was revealed. Hermione was starting to wonder why the flowers were in Percy's hands. She looked at him. "Percy?"
He was startled out of his muse. "Oh Hermione, yes?"
"Sorry didn't mean to startle you." Percy waved her off. "I was wondering why you are holding flowers?"
The boys exchanged looks before they dipped their heads.
"That, my friend, is an excellent question, but I think Oliver wanted to finish first."
Hermione turned towards Oliver to give him her full attention.
"Okay, wee lass," Oliver shifted back off the bench to face her better. Hermione noticed the absence of his warmth. "I want you to tell me how are you feeling right now?"
Hermione closed her eyes and gauged her emotions. "I am still a bit upset, but it is better than it was before we started talking. I am actually surprised how easy it is to talk to you and Percy."
"Right then, that means I am going to need Percy to join me over here," Oliver patted the grass as Percy moved, which made Hermione pout. "Ah, lass, don't be sad. I want you to try to meditate, but you can't have anyone around you." Hermione understood what Oliver meant. "Now, I want you to close your eyes and visualize a safe place for yourself."
Hermione closed her eyes and slowly thought about different places that made her feel safe and at peace.