3.2
Care of Magical Creatures was… annoying. I was fine with animals of all sorts, really I was. Trekking through the Amazon I might even have seen a few that no one else ever had. In comparison with real-life experiences it was both boring and one-dimensional. Hagrid was a pleasant enough sort, but he wasn't a teacher. Not that I didn't know that from previous year, but I'd stuck with it to stay with my friends.
Said friends had spent the hour alternating between pestering me with questions about where I'd been, quidditch, and a tournament. It was all just so childish that despite trying to listen I started tuning them out. I turned down a trip to the World Quidditch Tournament, why would I be interested in the high school equivalent? 'I'm a bad friend,' I mused. I was growing away from them, both in age and interests. Still, with the growing crack in the time turner I was using it less and less. Perhaps it was time to reconnect, maybe come clean about Arda and my transformation and jaunts through time…
Or not. Harry would keep my secret for now, but he was planning on becoming an Auror. Ten years down the line he might decide that the Law was more important than a faded friendship. And Ron, well, if me being half-spider didn't send him running to Dumbledore, the forest full of giant intelligent spiders certainly would. 'Tch, a good murderer running loose and I'd bet we'd bond again well enough.'
To add insult to injury, today's class might have ruined unicorns for me forever. It was all very nice to start with. The young ones in particular were beautiful and brilliantly shiny, so much so that it felt like I could see their souls shining through their skin. Predictably the boys had a spot of trouble when it came to petting them, but I hadn't anticipated any issues for myself. Unfortunately, and much to Hagrid's consternation, the whole herd gathered together when I stepped forward, elders guarding the foals. The answer came to me after a moment. Unicorns had the ability to see through nearly all illusions, including the ones covering my lower half. They could probably smell something was off too. At least they weren't as bad as dogs. The small ones like chihuahuas in particular tended to attack me the moment they sniffed my legs.
My dissatisfaction over not being able to pet the unicorns was compounded by what would have otherwise been a miraculous event. For the first time ever, the girls of both Gryffindor and Slytherin united. Sadly it was for a not-inconspicuous series of whispers. "Did you see that?" "Someone's not a virgin." "Super-slut." "Have you seen her boobs lately?" "So fake, right?" "Totally. Her face too." "You ever notice how her legs don't always move right? I think she glamoured herself to look taller."
I'd cursed under my breath at that. Daphne was a smart cookie, even if she did use it for evil. I was annoyed with the slut comments, but they'd already been insinuating for some time now. The glamour comment would be harder to live with. Up until today there hadn't been any real proof that I'd been fiddling with my appearance. Even if I did finally get my glamours to be seamless there would be rumors about me for years. I'd considered making some more mature friends amongst the upper years but with these fresh rumors the well would be more poisoned than ever. Maybe it was time to start cultivating a friendship outside of Hogwarts.
I mused on a great many things as I walked to lunch with Harry and Ron. I did my best to keep up with their conversation since I didn't plan on actually sitting down with them (anatomically impossible, though it would be suspicious if I didn't grab a sandwich on my way through) but my mind was somewhere else. I was tempted to just delve further into the spider society of Arda. There were dangers, yes, but so much to learn. Still, I wasn't sure that a bunch of spiders calling me Grandmother constituted the friend I needed. Psychologically it probably wouldn't be entirely healthy. Present circumstances made normal human (particularly non-magical) companionship a bit tricky. Maybe a pen pal?
A giant flaming goblet in the middle of the Great Hall stopped me in my tracks. "Umm, what's up with the chalice?"
Ron and Harry looked up at me (though with Ron growing like a weed he wouldn't be for much longer). "Hermione," said Ron, "did you listen to a single thing we've said?"