Hello. Long time not updating, I know. I had to take this time in my holidays, use the hotel's internet and do a quick scan in order to publish it before the end of the year. I've been having some issues with this story, since I feel like I've changed since the beginning and that changes my view in some things but it's my goal to finish it.

*******B******

Paths – Chapter 12 – Plans

I'm trying to understand if I should just forget it or do something about the heated argument I can hear. Well, forget it it's almost impossible since her bedroom is just in front of my window and the distance isn't enough to forbid me of overhear anything. Yes, I'm eavesdropping. If I turn around in my bed and raise my head I can see their shadows moving, behind her curtains. In the last 15 minutes I felt like I should be doing something but honestly, I don't think that I should intrude. Not even Mrs Granger is doing it, since I've never heard her or even saw her intruding, and she certainly has all the reasons to. It's her daughter and her husband, in her own house.

I hate to jump into conclusions but the glimpses of this argument that I can get are making me worry. First, I feel like I haven't been doing a good job. My poor attempts to get Hermione distracted about her own issues (whatever they are) and the night we spent with my friends didn't look enough for her. Sure, she looked…fine. She chatted with the girls and in the end played darts with Jack and Renan, looking like someone having a good time. Even her strange moments with Mark seemed to be forgotten. But then, when we were coming back home, her mood became gloomy. I thought she was just tired.

Then, the next two days after that night, I never spent time with her again. I'd go to her house, ask for her and her mother would always tell that she was out or doing something that would take some time. In a subtle way, she was telling me that Hermione wanted space.

I ended up spending the next days alone or with my brother Michael, with who I shared my worries about Hermione and of course, he didn't think anything of it. I forgot that a life of an 8-year-old doesn't have this kind of problems. So I decided to get my mind away from the issue and get busy with something I was postponing since a couple weeks ago: university stuff.

But now, now that I had the acknowledge that Hermione was 'alive', I couldn't avoid getting instantly interested in what I was getting from the argument. Maybe I would know what she was up to in the last days, I thought in the beginning. The only reason I got behind this argument was because Hermione wanted to visit some friends.

"I'm just asking you to, please, do what I tell you this time!"

"It doesn't make any sense! I told you that I'll come back! It's just for a couple of hours!"

"After what you did to me and your mother, I can't trust you that much! You Hermione, you changed our lives! How I'm sure that this, right now, is real?"

"I already told you, I gave you back everything that was yours! It was my way to protect you! How many times do I have to repeat it?!"

Silence stretched and I was mad. Why can't they be explicit? For the things I'm hearing, Hermione stole something. Was it money a lot of money or any type of great possession of her parents? It still didn't look like something Hermione would do. And why would that prevent her of visiting her friends?

I notice that Mr Granger says something.

"What? You know that I'll not do it! Do you want me to live in a façade of life?!"

"I just want you to stay with us Hermione, is that so hard to understand?"

"No, because it's clear as water that I'll not do it!"

Mr Granger releases a loud, bitter laugh.

"I can't believe it! I wonder if you'd have that kind of… boldness with me if you were raised by us and not by…that people!"

Raised by what people? The gifted ones?

"I'm just trying to-"

"It still enervates me, you know, thinking that you spent one year alone with those two…boys!"

What? What boys? Alone why? Where those the 'friends' she wanted to visit?

"Oh, is that your problem?! You don't trust me alone with them?! I told you that nothing of that sort happened during our hunt."

Hunt?

"But now you don't have nothing to worry about, Hermione, that's why I don't want you with them!"

"Ohhh, but there's nothing wrong with me spending time with Luke, a boy I hardly know…"

My full attention is turned to them. I just hope that they don't decide to take it to a normal volume now. Mr Granger takes some time until he answers. I'm glad that at 12.37 a.m., the streets are calm enough for me to ear his strong voice.

"Luke is a good boy, I trust him and he will do you good. I just ask you to give him your time and friendship, Hermione. I want you to see that you can still have a life with us. We are your parents, we love you and we know what's the best for you. Just get to know him, do as I tell you for once in your life."

After some seconds, I hear a door closing.

It's 11:53 a.m. and I don't want to leave my bed since last night was awful and I hate to not be able to sleep.

I wish I could go back in time, the time when Hermione seemed perfect, even thought I didn't knew much about her. Being under the impression that she stole, changed her parents lives and spent one year isolated with two boys didn't left her in a good light, in my opinion.

She looks so… proper. And I can't believe that parents like her would have a daughter who does those kind of things.

A knock on my door makes me pretend that I'm sleeping.

"Come on Luke. Not even when you go out all night clubbing you stay in bed after 10."

I ignore Susan's voice. I know that she only wants me to wake up to help her with lunch. I hear the door closing and release a sigh, turning around in my bed to face the door.

"I knew you were awake." She says with her arms crossed.

"Jesus Susan, you frightened me!"

She ignores me and approaches the windows, opening them.

"I think it's time for you to get up. And you should be thankful that I did it and not Michael, since he wanted to try to do it with some pot lids, like he saw in some cartoons…"

I rub my eyes, trying to avoid the light that is entering my bedroom.

"You didn't hear me knock 10 minutes ago?"

I don't answer.

"Not even the noise Michael is doing? Weird. Since Hermione arrived he's playing – more like annoying - her cat and having a good fun with it…"

"Hermione is here?" I say, rising quickly from my bed.

"Yeah, arrived half an hour ago, looking for you. Apparently Michael would be a better boyfriend, since he was awake to welcome her…"

"She's not my girlfriend."

Susan turns around from my window, looking confused.

"Really? I was under the impression that she was…" and leaves the room with a mischievous smile.

Without thinking, I leave my bedroom to take a quick a shower, catching a glimpse of downstairs to see if I can see her. I notice that the things I was bothered about just minutes ago are now in the back of my mind. I'm truly excited about being with her since the last time was almost a week ago.

Trying to not look too desperate and excited, I simply wear a t-shirt and some denim shorts and get downstairs. I go to the kitchen and Susan points to our living room, where Hermione is seated, her back facing me.

Before greeting her, I remember what I heard yesterday and now, it just seems a little insignificant, since none of those things are directly linked with me, and our friendship, that's new in her life.

"I just ask you to give him your time and friendship, Hermione."

I always was under the impression that she just spent time with me because of her father, but these words were the confirmation…and it was a bit sour.

And then, was when I decided what I would do today.

"Good morning Hermione." I say to her, going around the sofa to sit next to her, searching her face for remains of last night's argument.

She closes a book and put it back in the coffee table.

"Hello, Luke. If you haven't notice, it's almost evening." She says chuckling.

She looks happy but it's not genuine.

"Yeah, well… I was tired."

She looks like she wants to say something but Susan interrupts her.

"Hermione, do you want to lunch with us?"

She looks at me a little uncertain.

"Yes, thank you. But I don't want to be a bother…"

"Don't worry. Maybe my brothers will eat with manners with you here…" Susan says with a smile.

When she leaves an awkward silence descends and when I look at her, I see the Hermione I first knew.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?" she looks relieved that someone decided to talk.

"After lunch we need to take talk."

She looks at me surprised but I can see a little defence.

"Is there any problem?"

Fortunately, I'm saved from Michael noise.

"Come on, come on!"

He enters the living room with a cat, Crookshanks, following him. Susan was right when he said that Michael was only annoying him. The cat looked ready for a nap and right on cue, he approaches Hermione and lies on her lap.

"He must be tired." Hermione said, stroking him.

"He is funny! He was chasing a bird and jumped really high!"

Michael is waiting for some reply from Hermione but she is distracted, looking and touching the cat's fur with her borrows furrowed. Michael looks at me, shrugs and just runs to the kitchen. That's when Hermione mumbles.

"I need to talk to you too. I need your help."

"Michael, hurry or we will not take you to the park with us!" I shout.

After lunch, my little brother heard Hermione suggesting a walk to the park and he promptly invited himself. I noticed that Susan was very pleased with that and she even offered to clean the dishes, just to see us out sooner.

Michael descends running, bringing is remote control boat in his arms.

"What about Crookshanks?"

"Don't worry, he can go home alone." Hermione says. Right on cue, the cat appears from nowhere and exits through the door, going towards Hermione's house.

When we get to the park, Michael automatically runs to the pond and starts to setup his toy and Hermione sits in a bench close to him. Today the park is rather crowded. I need a place with less movement.

"Hermione?" she looks at me, "We don't need to be so close to him."

Clever as she is, quickly understands what I mean and raising from the seat, looks around.

"What about there?"

She points to an isolated bench that is located on top of the small hill the park has. From there we can see from above the clump, get a glimpse of the top of the buildings that are in the other side of the park and still be able to keep an eye on Michael. I nod to her in agreement and when she starts to ascend the hill, I notify my brother.

"We're going to be up there, is that alright?" He follows my finger and nods, not wanting to loose sight of his boat.

I start to follow Hermione and when we get to the bench, she goes straight to the point.

"So, we need to talk to each other. I really wish I could go first, since I really need your help but I can't do it without knowing what do you want to talk to me. I know I've been absent in the last days and I may have an idea of what you want to talk about… but I still need to hear you first. I can't ask you for anything if you are… mad at me."

"I'm not mad a you." The moment these words leave my mouth, I notice that this was my blind urge to make her feel better. What I heard the night before comes to the front of my mind again and I feel that, right now, I need to be fair with myself. I don't want to go to bed today feeling that I'm still avoiding knowing the truth about her just to feel better. It isn't working. "I just need to know something."

Straightening her back, she faces me, waiting.

"I heard the argument last night." I say, without looking at her.

"What argument?"

"The one you had with your father at night."

She doesn't say anything and I have to look at her. She is looking at me with her eyes wide open and her lips parted. I was hoping that she would be mad because I overheard them, not surprised. I almost tell her that I didn't get the all thing, just to soothe her.

She clears her head and takes a deep breath. I use that moment to see if Michael is in the same spot when she talks.

"So… you have questions."

"I have questions since the beginning Hermione, and I really tried to not be bothered by them but since last night, I think I need to know who am I dealing with."

"So you're scared of me?"

"Not scared but if you're being forced to be my friend-"

"Who said I'm being forced?"

"I know you would rather be with your special friends!"

Instantly she stands up, with her fists clenched, fuming. Maybe this is the real Hermione. I've been dealing with a sweet version of her. The version that puts up with me.

"What do you know Luke?" she asks, almost fuming.

I know nothing, that's the truth.

"Tell me what you need to know, I'll tell you what I can and I'll leave you alone."

"That's funny!" I say, releasing a bitter laugh, "I don't think that what I need to know and what you can tell me is going to help things! But yes, let's go ahead and pretend that this is the solution…"

She turns around, crossing her arms, and I thank the heavens for that. Not looking at her face helps me. I can gather my thoughts and choose wisely what to say. I stand up and approach her.

"I shouldn't be bothered about what you did last year. I heard… some things. They didn't sound good and I don't know what to think." I release a sigh and take a step back. " But you shouldn't be dealing with me just because your father asks to. I don't want that. I mean, in the beginning I… it didn't bother me. But that just turns our friendship, or whatever this is, meaningless. And I'd like to be really, your friend."

I sense her body loosing and when she starts to turn around, I stop her, putting my hands in her shoulders.

"Don't turn around."

"Why?"

"Can we talk like this?"

"Does it help you?"

"Yeah."

I see that she isn't very confortable because she can't see me. But she doesn't turn around.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I know that… you want to be with your friends…"

"You mean my 'special friends'?"

"I'm sorry."

When I start to ponder if I should beg her to stop with the silence, she talks.

"That's what I need your help for. I need to see them. I miss them."

Bending, she sits cross-legged in the grass.

"What can I do?"

"For now, just listen to me." She said, turning around and I decided to sit in front of her.

After minutes of hesitation and a lot of reformed phrases, she tries to explain. It started when she was eleven and she was 'selected' for a school that had people like her. Promptly, she told me to forget all I knew about 'gifted' people, since her case was unlike the ones I was used to. Apparently, the school she went to belongs to a 'place' where rules are a bit different, where people can think of you differently just because your parents aren't the same 'thing' as you.

I was still trying to figure what she really 'is' when she told that there were some issues that happened in the last years. Her school became involved in said problems with the more powerful people of that 'place', and it reached a climax a few months ago. Then, she went silent for a long time.

"You didn't told your parents about those 'issues', did you?"

"No, I made them being unaware of it." She looked ashamed.

"Were those…'issues' really serious?"

"If I say that my parents want to send me to a psychologist because they are afraid that I ended up with a trauma, does it help?" she asked.

"A lot." And it's true. At least I have an idea of the proportions of things, I guess… "So, your father wants you to be away of people from that…'place'. I can understand why, Hermione."

"Of course you can Luke. I'm sure he talked about them in a lovely way."

"No, he didn't." I say, "Are your friends those… two boys you spent last year with?" I ask, a bit afraid of her answer.

"You're judging…"

"That's not it. I'm sure you had your…reasons to do it." But I was still judging.

"Yes. Let's just say that we were trying to get... evidence to end… the problems." She said. "The thing is, I really need to be with them." She looked me in the eye and I notice that they were almost watering. "They are the only people who can help me at the moment. They were there with me, Luke."

"Did you tell that to your father?"

"Of course I did!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air and then, she started sobbing, hiding her face.

She had a point. Were the feelings of Mr. Granger towards her friends so bad that he would rather see his daughter upset?

"I can talk to him about that. Do you think it could help?"

"No." she said after quietly cleaning her face from the tears.

"But how can I help?"

After some deep breaths, she looked at me with determination in her eyes.

"Well… I think that first, I should introduce you to my friends."

****F****

I hope you enjoyed. If not, I respect you :).

Comments? Reviews (good and bad)? Give it a go!

I wish you a Happy New Year and less writer's block to me :P: