Hello! Here's the sixth chapter.

I want to get something straight before you start reading it. In my opinion, after the battle, Hermione parents were not to fond about seeing their daughter in the wizarding world. Of course she must have told them what happened when she was on the run with Harry and Ron. And that's what's behind Mr. Granger "suggestion".

And don't forget: although Ron is not mentioned and won't be in the next chapters, he is still Hermione's boyfriend. But Luke doesn't know about him, and Hermione's parents don't know about their new relationship status. Maybe her mother, we'll see :)

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Paths - Chapter 6 - Agreements

"You must be joking!"

"I'm not! Listen, the romance is the main theme in the book. If not, the murder wouldn't have happened."

"Yeah, I know. But the romance only represents one third of the book... it can't be the main theme. It's silly."

Hermione and I have been discussing about this one book for fifteen minutes. We don't seem to agree about the correct pile for it. Don't get me wrong; we are having fun with it.

"No, it isn't! You're being macho about it. You don't want to admit that you've read this book which happens to be a romance."

"I don't have a problem with that! I've read Jane Austen!"

She looks surprised and chuckles.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, and quite enjoyed it."

She starts laughing, again. It's the fourth time since we started this task.

"Now I understand. If you're comparing this book with Jane Austen's, this is definitely not a romance. Oh Luke..."

Yesterday I would be mortified about someone making fun of me. I'm not used to that. But her laugh and the way she moves when she laughs it's enjoyable to watch. She wrinkles her nose and her eyebrows make a little dance when she needs to breath.

"Quit making fun of me, Hermione, please..." I almost beg her but I'm chuckling too, spoiling my serious face.

Suddenly I see a cat walking into the room and jumping to one of the armchairs. I recognize him. Is the same one my brother was patting yesterday afternoon, before his dentist appointment. The orange one.

"Hey Hermione, is that your cat?" I'm surprised. He looks bigger up close.

"Oh, you mad cat! I haven't seen you since yesterday!"

She drops the book and approaching him, sits besides him and starts to stroke his rather long hair.

"Where have you been? This is not the Burrow, you know?"

"He has a burrow? That's strange for a cat..."

She looks at me quickly, looking uncomfortable... Maybe she feels embarrassed about having a cat that likes to dig... a burrow.

"...but I guess that he is an original cat. What's his name?"

She looks at him, pulling him to her lap and swallows before answering.

"Crookshanks..."

"Crookshanks? Why?" I ask without thinking.

"Because of his legs, look..."

She puts the cat on the floor and while he's walking to the other armchair, I can see what she is talking about. I almost want to laugh because of the way her cat walks but that would be rude. And she really seems to like him.

I take a brief look at my watch when I see that it's almost 12:30 and my mom must be definitely awake and worried about Michael and me.

Right on cue, Michael and Mr. Granger appear in the living room, coming from the stairs. Mr. Granger is giving him a tip about the longer words. Then he spots us and notices his daughter's face.

"Is everything ok dear?" He looks at me questioning with his eyes but I don't know what to say. I look at her and I notice that, the tiredness that I saw yesterday in her eyes, returned. She looks sad. And I can't believe that it was because of our talking about her cat.

"Yeah..." She says while coming closer to the table where I'm at, holding some books. "I got distracted..."

She doesn't look at me when she approaches the table. Since my brother decided to question something to her father (again), I decide to take a risk and suggest her something that came to my mind when we were discussing about the book.

"Hermione, do you want to come with me to a book store, tomorrow? Since you like books, I can introduce you to my favorite bookstore. It's in this town and the owner is really friendly. She's the one who suggests me the books every time I go there. And then, we can even ask her what does she think about this book we were discussing about, to see which one of us were right. What do you think?"

She looks at me, opening the book absently and then, looks at her father, who is introducing Michael to Crookshanks.

"Alright. Tomorrow at 4?"

"Ok, I'll be here to pick you." I'm smiling at her. But inside I'm really excited about showing her around. Since we both enjoy reading, I guess I am the right person to show her our town, not Mike, who despises books.

Mr. Granger decided to get Michael and me home, even though we live in the next door. He wants to tell our mother where we were and give her some scones Mrs. Granger did this morning.

I really felt welcome in his house. His wife is really nice and Hermione is easy to get along. Well, not in the beginning, but after some minutes exchanging books back and forth, I guess she became more comfortable and talking with her was really easy to do. I didn't feel like I was talking with someone gifted. Don't get me wrong, she talks like an adult and I can tell that she does know more about life than I do, but she never played the superiority card. She was really humble.

"So, tomorrow you'll show Hermione around?" Mr. Granger asks me while he is closing the door. My brother is a couple steps ahead us, walking and jumping at the same time.

"Yes. I'll show her my favorite bookstore. I hope it's ok with you, sir."

"Oh, no. I don't have any problem with that. It'll be good for her..." He stops and starts staring at the flowers in his yard. When he stares at me again, he is biting his lip. Maybe he will play the father part and tell me the conditions.

"Luke, can I ask you something?" He asks me in a whisper. I look at Michael, who is leaning at their front gate and looking to the street. I guess that he wants to tell me about my brothers reading problem.

"Sure..." I approach him and he leads me to his garage.

"Michael, your brother and I will be at the garage checking some things. Could you wait a minute? It'll be fast."

"Alright!" He shouts and sits on the grass, opening one of the many books Mr. Granger lend him.

We get to the garage and while Mr. Granger is looking for the light switch, I start wondering that maybe this isn't about Michael.

"So, Luke. I guess that my daughter and you get along really well, since you too enjoy reading, and you look like and good boy academically too. Is that right?" He is really straightforward.

I'm slightly blushed but since the garage light isn't too bright, I'm not worried.

"Yeah, I enjoy having good grades. And knowledge is never too much."

He looks satisfied with my answer.

"I'm glad that you think like that. You seem like the perfect person for what I need. Tell me, Luke. Would you like to be with Hermione more frequently? Did you enjoy her company?"

All the books I've read about subtlety in psychology can't tell me what he is getting at. Fathers usually don't want boys around their daughters. At least 'frequently', like he said.

"Well, today was the first time I socialize with her, but I really enjoyed it. She is really intelligent and I know that I'll learn a lot with her. And, sir, about being with her more frequently, well, I can't make that decision alone. If she's comfortable with that, I won't mind at all."

I feel like I talked too much. He is searching me and smiling.

"Luke, I'm really glad that you enjoy Hermione's company. I wouldn't force you to do what I'm about to ask..."

He looks at the door and then, at me.

"I would really like that Hermione could find friends in here. And I guess that you are a good way to start."

"Really? It doesn't bother you that I'm a boy. Maybe a girl would be a better friend. There are some things that I don't understand and-"

"No, no! Believe me! That isn't a problem at all." He startled me with the interruption and I can see that he is nervous. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, sir."

He starts to play with his watch.

"Look, I hope that I won't scare you with what I'm about to say, but I really need you. You don't know this, but Hermione have been studying in a school that... isn't very common."

"A school for gifted people? I know that, she told me."

He looks surprised and I wonder why. It's being gifted something that they don't like to tell people?

"Gifted? Hm... I guess you can say that." I want to ask him what he means with that but he is faster. "The thing is, Jean and I think that Hermione should be around people like... you. People in her school are... different and maybe... she needs to be with normal people again. It'll be good for her..."

"Are they that much different?"

"Hmm...slightly. They are good people and she found really good friends there but… being always with them is… restricting her."

I wonder if he was talking to himself in the end because he did it in a whisper. He turns to the opposite wall, with his back to me.

"We decided to withdraw her from them for a while. She didn't like it of course. But she doesn't understand that being with them is stressful for her and for us, She's just eighteen and I want her to behave like a teenager, not being worried like an adult."

I'm having a strange feeling about this school and her friends. Maybe they are a group of gifted people who behaves like a cult. And maybe that's why Mr. Granger doesn't seem to like them. The way he says that they are not common and normal, looks like a light way to tell me what he really thinks about them.

He starts wandering in the garage, picking some tools randomly while talking.

"Her… school had some… issues this year. Things are coming back to normal, of course, but they're still dealing with some… stuff… "

I do not understand a thing about what he's saying. He is pouting and I'm almost afraid that he is going to cry. But he recovers. And looks at me.

"They are not the best people to be around her at the moment. Hermione needs to be with people who enjoy life. She was always a mature girl indeed, but at the moment, she shouldn't be. She needs to be a teenager." And silence fills the garage.

"Is she having some kind of depression because of what happened?"

It's the only thing I can ask because I want him to tell me more. I don't think that asking directly more details about her school or friends would be a good idea.

"I don't know. It's possible."

Why is it possible? Now I need to ask!

"Sir, what really happened with her school?"

He sighs and looks at the floor.

"I'm sorry Luke, I can't tell you. They have a… rule. I don't want to get in trouble."

I nod at him in understanding, but I'm not resigned.

"I just need you to be with her, while she's still here. Jean and I are working most of the weekdays and I don't want her to feel alone. In September she'll be going back, and I want her to stay. She's being away from us since she was eleven. In the last years, she spent most of her holidays with her friends from there and not with us, her parents. We almost feel like outsiders in her life."

Alright: now I'm really sure that that people from her school are a freak cult who takes the gifted children away from their parents. Maybe 'they' think that normal parents can't take care of gifted children. That's so wrong that I'm almost furious with 'them'. And I don't know 'them'. It's strange to think that Hermione belongs to that group.

And now I understand what Mr. Granger is asking. In the beginning, I thought that I would do it because I want to know her. But now, I want to do it because the Grangers deserve to have their daughter back. And I want to help them.

"I'll help you Mr. Granger. You can count on me." I say and I'm determined to do my best.

"I don't want you to feel that you 'must' do it. I'm not forcing you Luke, remember that."

"I know you aren't, sir." He looks at me and smiles. "So, is this a secret? She mustn't know that you want me to be friends her?'

He leads me outside and squeezes one of my shoulders.

"She must think that you're the one who wants to be friends with her."

"But I want to!" I say presently. He chuckles and I'm embarrassed, again.

"I figured. Maybe I didn't needed to ask you, right?" And he smiles at me.

He calls Michael, who was lying on the grass reading, and takes us through the front gate.

I'm glad that Mr. Granger accompanied us. If not, my mother would have scowled me until night because I didn't left her a note saying where we were. Mr. Granger promptly saved me, saying that he was the one who thought wrong and forgot to tell me to warn her. My brother didn't say anything so my mom believed him.

Since I made this agreement with Mr. Granger, I can tell that he is willing to take me of the hook with my mother, if that avoids me being grounded. While he and my mother were speaking, he praised me about my manners and culture to her and she was almost shining with proud. He is a master with words.

My mother even decided to invite Mr. Granger and his family to dinner, next weekend, to make a 'decent welcoming to our new neighbours', even though she left with him and my sister Susan to greet Mrs. Granger and Hermione, who she thought were 'very similar too each other but the girl looks older than a eighteen-year-old'.

I can tell that she doesn't know that I'm trying to be friends with Hermione, because she spent the lunch telling Susan to 'get to know the girl', because 'the girl needs friends'. I didn't say a thing about that being my "job" and Michael pretended to be uninterested about that matter too, saying that he only cares about 'Dr. Granger because he is my dentist and my reading tutor.' Later he confessed to me that he liked Hermione a lot and she was a lot nicer than Susan.

At the end of the day, I had to give him all my football gear. The kid did more than I deserved and who would have thought that tomorrow I would be showing Hermione my favorite bookstore? Yesterday I didn't even knew her name, her age, her smell….

Her smell? Now I look like a psychotic person. But yes. Now I know her smell.

Now I'm in bed, looking through some books I have about traumas and stress situations, trying to know how to deal if she has some downfall. I've done this a couple of times before (one of the times was with Mike, after a problem with his parents marriage). But then, I remember how we spent our morning with the books and it hits me…

Hermione doesn't look weak and she's not the kind of person who needs someone's support all the time. She looks like someone who prefers to deal with her problems alone. Some psychologists say that's not recommended. But how many times I've done the same to protect my mother or even my siblings from worrying about me?

As I think about it, I close the books. I won't need them this time.

I want to be her friend, not a therapist. It doesn't matter that her father asked me to do it. I'll do it in the most sincere way. I don't want to be worrying about her as if I'm a doctor. Because she doesn't need a doctor, she needs a friend from outside, who's impartial and has no strings attached with what happened.

Because whatever happened with her school, friends, or even her cat, she was stronger than that.

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I hope you liked it. I think that with this chapter I just ended the preliminary part of this story.

Please review and tell me what you're thinking :)