TMP2-6
Disclaimer: see previous chapter
In which suspicions are aired
Henry had finished the second task ten minutes earlier yet Professor Karkaroff continued to rant to all and sundry. The Slavic headmaster, with arms flailing wildly, slipped in and out of English as he fumed.
"He is the youngest, the least experienced and yet you expect me to believe he found the girl and returned in only thirty-four minutes without help?" he snapped. "Why are we here? Why do you insult us so, Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore sighed deeply. Not for the first time he wondered how Karkaroff managed to secure his position as Durmstrang's headmaster. Just about anyone else would have been easier to deal with but Dumbledore needed him so deal with the former Death Eater he must.
"My dear Professor Karkaroff," he patiently began struggling to keep the irritation from his voice. "There has been no cheating on our part. You have my word that neither I nor anyone on the Hogwarts staff aided Mr Porter in this task. I am as surprised as you that it was young Henry that returned first but it is a testament to his skill not proof of trickery."
"BAH!" Karkaroff spat. "Your word! His skill!"
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed dangerously but Madame Maxime spoke before he could say anything that he may have later regretted. "I, too, am amazed but investigation should precede accusation, ce n'est pas?"
Karkaroff rudely snorted.
Like Dumbledore, Madame Maxime's eyes took on a flinty glint "Animal noises are a poor counter argument. When facing a puzzle one with intelligence questions."
She turned her gaze upon Henry. "Monsieur Porter, 'ow did you survive underwater?"
"Gillyweed," he replied looking up at the woman who towered above him.
"And 'ow did you know to use that plant?"
"It was in two different books," Henry responded. "Magical Plants of the Mediterranean and Survival Magic."
"Did any of your teachers give you the books or refer you to them?"
"No, ma'am."
"Did they give you the gillyweed?"
"No, ma'am," Henry answered. "I ordered it from an apothecary in Diagon Alley. I still have the receipt."
"Did anyone tell you where the 'ostages were located?"
Henry shook his head. "No, ma'am."
"Merci," she said kindly before returning her attention to her colleagues. "I am satisfied that 'e speaks the truth."
"The boy lies," Karkaroff shouted.
"What you are saying is that I lie or do you think that I am that poor a legilimens?" the French woman asked coldly.
"If you believe the boy then you're a fool," he retorted.
"Tu imbecile emacie!" Madame Maxime snarled striding toward Karkaroff snatching her wand from her pocket.
"Please, everyone," Dumbledore pleaded stepping between them. "Remember where we are. Let us not argue like six-year olds in front of our students."
The Beauxbatons Headmistress stopped her charge but continued to stare daggers at her eastern colleague who stood his ground but who had prudently drawn his own wand.
Once Dumbledore was satisfied that a murder was not to take place, he turned to attention back to Professor Karkaroff.
"Tell me," he said. "How can I convince you that we have competed fairly?"
"You cannot," he growled.
"Surely, there must…" Dumbledore began.
"Excuse me, Headmaster," Henry interrupted as he rubbed his temples. Gillyweed had proved effective at allowing him to breathe underwater but it left in its wake a massive headache, something that neither text deemed worthy of mention. All Henry wanted was to lie down in some dark, warm, quiet place for a few hours. Karkaroff bellowing in his whiny voice was something that he did not need. "Professor Karkaroff, if you think that I have cheated then award me no points. Maybe you can convince Mr Crouch that I should be disqualified."
Professor Karkaroff stared haughtily at the youth. "I'll do just that. You shouldn't be in the tournament anyway."
"I could not agree more, sir."
"I'm not speaking in jest, boy," Karkaroff snapped angered at Henry's nonchalant tone.
"Neither am I, Professor," Henry evenly answered. "Get it through your head; as far as I am concerned the Triwizards Tournament isn't worth a tinker's dam."
"You heard him, Crouch," Karkaroff replied venomously spinning on his heel. "Forget your worthless magical contract. Disqualify him."
"I see you left your brains as well as your integrity in Azkaban, Karkaroff," Bartemius Crouch sneered.
Henry walked away. It was readily apparent that everyone's opinion was set in stone. The words would continue to fly but no one would change his mind. It would be a waste of energy to try.
He willed a small smile to stay on his lips as he waded through a sea of backslaps and handshakes as he made his way toward Maggie who was waiting before the changing tent. Fear of Henry being a parselmouth momentarily vanished in the excitement of his astonishing performance of the second task. More then one student was beginning to speculate on and approve of what had seemed unthinkable just hours earlier; that the muggleborn Henry Porter, the youngest champion, the unexpected champion, the least trained, least educated, smallest champion, might win the tournament.
Maggie felt his discomfort as she drew him into a hug. "You'll be able to leave soon." She whispered encouragingly in his ear.
Henry kissed her forehead. "It can't be soon enough," he replied.
"You truly hate being the centre of attention, don't you?" she asked.
He shrugged. Maggie was correct. He never understood the 'look at me' kids. They were like anaerobic beings that thrived in an environment entirely removed from the one that he inhabited. He knew that his ego was strong and he liked praise as much as anyone else did but he sought the approval of those closest to him. What was a ton of applause from people who barely knew him compared to an ounce of appreciation from his nearest and dearest?
Henry winced as a loud roar exploded from the congregated students. Cedric Diggory with his bubblehead charm still in place emerged from the lake with the inert form of Cho Chang in his arms. Professor Flitwick scampered across the stony beach to where Cedric was struggling to the shore. He quickly performed a drying charm on the pair as two older students took possession of the entranced Ravenclaw girl. Placing her on a litter, they followed on the heels of the professor and Cedric to the changing tent.
Disappointment ghosted across Cedric's face when he spotted Henry and Maggie. Looking down, he fumbled for his wand. By the time he reached the tent, both the bubblehead and the visible signs of frustration were gone. He stepped aside, allowing the rest of his group to go into the tent.
"Be a good fellow, Henry and tell me that I am at least second," he said through chattering teeth.
"Neither Viktor or Fleur have made it back yet," Henry told him.
"Good," Cedric said happily. "I should stay close enough to catch you yet."
Henry grinned. "You may find yourself in the lead. Professor Karkaroff thinks that I cheated so he is trying to get me disqualified."
Cedric grunted, glancing over at the still agitated Durmstrang headmaster. "Why would you cheat in a competition that you don't even want to be in?"
Henry tossed up his hands. "A point of logic that has not yet occurred to him. Anyway, you best get inside the tent and into some warm clothes before you catch pneumonia."
"Yeah, it is a bit nippy now that you mention it," a blue-lipped Cedric replied. He opened the tent flap before stopping. "Oh, by the way, Henry, congratulations but of course, I am still going to win."
"But of course," Henry chuckled.
Cedric winked before withdrawing into the tent.
"Professor Karkaroff needs some of Cedric's sportsmanship to rub off on him," Maggie said. "I'll wager that Viktor will take your finish far better then his headmaster has."
"No doubt," Henry replied. "Maggie, I'm sorry but I am going to have to go back to the dorm and lie down. My head feels like its going to split open."
"It's not like Quirrell again, is it?" she asked in a concerned whisper looking around for any malevolent stares.
"No," he reassured her. "It hurts all over like I've heard people describe a hangover or a migraine. I don't think that the gills provided enough oxygen for my body."
"Okay," she said. "Do you want some company?"
"It would be a great chance to link," he said scanning the bleachers that teemed with the entire student body. "But I just want to lie down in the dark until this thing goes away."
"A lost opportunity but I understand," she lightly replied. "Go lie down. I see you soon."
Henry gave her a quick peck on the cheek before skirting around to the back of the tent. His departure went unnoticed as a hysterical Fleur Delacour stumbling from the lake captured everyone's attention.
Hermione inhaled loudly as if she had been startled. Perplexed, her eyes darted about the tent before they stopped on a smiling Maggie.
"Welcome back, Hermione," she said swatting a water beetle from her friend's bushy hair.
"How do you feel, Miss Granger?" Madame Pomfrey asked.
"I…I feel confused," Hermione replied struggling to sit up. "Disoriented."
The healer nodded. "Lie back for a bit, dear while I give you a quick examination. The disorientation is a side effect of the stasis charm. You'll be fine in a few moments."
Hermione frowned as she quit her efforts to rise. "Is that Professor Karkaroff? What's he going on about?"
Maggie eyed the shadows on the tent wall with a mixture of distain and exasperation. Outside Karkaroff was not bothering to keep his voice down as he interrogated Viktor. She could not understand the words that they were speaking but the tone was unmistakable.
"He's questioning Viktor," Maggie explained. "He's convinced that Henry cheated."
"Oh, you're here," Hermione said. "That means Henry is back already. He beat Viktor back."
Maggie laughed softly. "You are disoriented, aren't you?"
"But otherwise in good health," Madame Pomfrey said. "Stasis charms are tricky. We healers generally use them for only the direst of emergencies. Just another aspect of this tournament that I do not like."
"I'm sorry, miss," Hermione said contritely.
The healer patted her arm gently. "For what are you apologising, dear? It was not your scatterbrained notion to revive something that was best left in the pages of history. Excuse me now while I go rescue Mr Krum from the clutches of his headmaster. Athlete or no, I need to examine him."
Maggie spied the beetle fly through the open tent flap following Madame Pomfrey outside. The healer cut off Karkaroff's questions by the simple method of stepping between him and his student.
Hermione sat up and swung herself off the gurney. She wobbled slightly but stayed upright.
"That was more graceful then I was. I nearly fell on my face," Maggie laughed. "Here's your hat, coat, and gloves. Your gumboots are by your feet."
"Thank you," Hermione said retrieving her outerwear. "It is cold."
"Are you okay?" Maggie asked as Hermione hurriedly pulled on her gear.
"Yes," Hermione replied. "It was just… well; you went through it just a few minutes ago."
"It was a while ago, actually," Maggie said coming around to her friend's side.
Hermione heard the pride in Maggie's voice. Henry had to have been the first to return. "Was Viktor that slow in retrieving me?" she asked sliding her feet into her boots.
Maggie waggled her hand. "He was the last one back to the shore although Fleur failed to rescue her sister. She was in an absolute panic before Madame Maxime convinced her that the egg's song not withstanding, her sister was in no danger. The merfolk brought her back a few minutes ago."
Hermione looked at the tent flap but made no move to leave. Instead, she stared at the departing shadows of Viktor, Karkaroff, and Madame Pomfrey through half-closed eyes. Maggie had known her long enough to know that she was lost in thought.
"Why does Professor Karkaroff think that Henry cheated?" Hermione finally asked. "Come to that, where is Henry?"
"Henry went back to our dorm to lie down. Apparently a severe headache is a by-product of using gillyweed," Maggie replied.
"The books did not say anything about that," Hermione protested feeling betrayed.
"Anyway, Professor Karkaroff believes that Henry cheated since he was the first one to complete the task," Maggie continued.
"There is more to it then that surely," Hermione reasoned. "He's in a state."
"It was the speed in which Henry completed the task in that got him in high dudgeon," said Maggie. "What bothers Professor Karkaroff is that Henry is the youngest champion yet he was back with me in tow in thirty-four minutes, twenty-seven minutes ahead of Cedric who was next. He's convinced that Professor Dumbledore or one of the teachers told Henry where we could be found in the lake."
Hermione nodded keeping her eyes on the tent wall. "But Henry doesn't need anyone to tell him where you're at, does he?" she asked quietly.
Maggie blanched. "We are rarely apart anymore," she replied carefully.
Hermione turned to face her tiny friend. Maggie was wearing a winter coat but she had undone the top buttons in the relative warmth of the tent. Slowly Hermione ran a gloved finger along the silver chain around Maggie's neck then down her dress front stopping over the slight bulge that the hidden pendant made there. She tapped it delicately.
"He retrieved you so quickly because he could feel precisely where you were."
Maggie's normally expressive face went blank as the girls locked eyes. Like two wildcats that accidentally encountered one another on a mountain trail, they froze waiting for the other to make a move.
"What's your game, Hermione?" Maggie asked frostily.
"What's yours?" Hermione hissed. "Do you have any bloody idea what you have done?"
"Yes, I do," Maggie countered. "Far better then you, undoubtedly."
"I read about these things, Maggie," replied Hermione. "What you have done is inexcusable."
"I know that I have done more then read a passage or two on the subject," Maggie shot back vehemently although her voice carried no further then Hermione's ears.
"Okay, you're the expert," Hermione replied sharply. "Tell me why you did it."
Hermione was convinced that Maggie would storm out of the tent without saying anything but she stayed. Hermione could almost see the gears working as her friend thought the matter over. The raven-haired girl craned her neck. Outside, the assembly was breaking up. The bleachers reverberated as hundreds of feet pounded down the steps. The excited babble of their fellow students filled the air.
"C'mon, let's get out of here," Maggie sombrely said grabbing Hermione's hand. "There are too many ears around."
The girls exited the tent. They quickly blended in with the throng as it made its way like a giant centipede from the lakeshore towards Hogwarts Castle. More then one student wanted to question Hermione and Maggie about what occurred but they lost interest when they discovered that neither had anything interesting to say since both were entranced well before the task began.
As the approached the main entrance, Maggie veered across the lawn breaking a trail through the thick snow. Hermione followed her. Together they struggled onward in silence until they were in the middle of the grounds far away from anyone else.
"Well?" Hermione finally asked politely her own earlier temper abated.
"How long have you known?" Maggie asked.
"Since last month," Hermione answered. "That weekend that you spent in Edinburgh, I saw Henry's pendant when he took his shirt off prior to dunking his head into the tub."
"Careless of him," Maggie blandly said stopping before a wooden bench.
"Henry's not the type to wear jewellery so I knew that it had to be magic of some sort," Hermione continued. "Since he never mentioned the pendant, I did not ask him about it, Instead, I got some books on the subject."
"How very like you," Maggie said sardonically.
"We are what we are," replied Hermione. "I found very few references to them and only one picture."
"It's difficult to find much information about magic from the Persian Empire," Maggie said.
"It would be more correct to say the Achaemenid Empire, in this instance," responded Hermione.
"So few of us have your elegant preciseness when it comes to such labels," her friend said.
"That's a polite way of saying that I am as pedantic as Professor Binns," replied Hermione ironically. "But we are straying from the subject."
"Back to it then," Maggie said resignedly. "Do you masturbate, Hermione?"
"WHAT?"
"Do you finger yourself?" she asked. "Do you do the kit kat shuffle?"
"I know what it means," Hermione replied in exasperation. "What kind of question is that? What does it have to do with what we're talking about?"
Maggie sat down on the bench. Hermione joined her and waited patiently as Maggie's eyes slowly wandered over the snow-covered peaks that surrounded the castle.
"Winter is cold and barren," she finally said. "Everything gets locked in ice."
"Spring will soon be here," Hermione replied.
"When will my spring get here?" asked Maggie.
Hermione shook her head. "What's with the metaphors and allusions, Maggie?"
"The seasonal metaphors are apt, Hermione," she replied. "And the question about masturbation was not meant to be insulting but it is part of my explanation. You haven't slept with Victor, have you? You would have told me if you had, I'm sure."
"No, I haven't. I'm still a virgin."
"But you have kissed him a few times," Maggie said. "Maybe even made out with hands roaming a bit."
Hermione blushed. "A bit," she admitted. "Some of the girls in my dorm have accused me of being frigid for not sleeping with a guy that half the females in school would hop into bed with in a heartbeat but I'm just not comfortable with the idea of doing anything more then kissing right now."
"But you have the normal physical reactions, correct?" asked Maggie.
"Which you don't," Hermione guessed.
Maggie looked down at her boots. "None of the ones that are a prelude to having sex. I don't get wet or…"
"Please, Maggie, I know what happens," Hermione quickly interrupted. "Let's not get any more graphic then we already have."
Maggie laughed for the first time since leaving the tent. "Prude."
"I'm not a prude," Hermione protested.
Smiling, Maggie squeezed her hand. "You are, Hermione or shall we say prudent. You and Henry could be brother and sister. You both have the same old-fashioned morality."
"Henry hasn't tried anything then?" Hermione asked.
"No, he hasn't" Maggie replied. "Even if I had a normal body, it is unlikely that events would go beyond what they have so far which physically has been limited to kissing. I would not be surprised if the two of us don't lose our virginity until we consummate our marriage."
Hermione frowned. "If that's the way it is then why the pendants?"
Maggie bent over and scooped a handful of snow. With seemingly single-minded concentration, she meticulously patted it into a near perfect sphere before heaving it in an awkward throwing motion that many girls have.
"I panicked," she said at last. "I felt that something was wrong with when all of the girls my age were suddenly talking about nothing but boys and I could not understand what they meant but to have it so unequivocally confirmed by Doctor Murray was shattering. It was like a death knell echoing through the mountains."
"You're going to be fine," Hermione replied encouragingly. "It's just going to take some time is all."
"So far there have been no changes in me other then the hormones throwing a spanner into my emotional works," Maggie said. "I sometimes tease Henry with some sexual innuendo trying to force something out of me but I really don't feel anything like that still."
"You knew from the onset that the process was measured in years not months," Hermione said. "Besides, I know you understood what we were talking about when the subject got around to boys. I'm certain that you know more about sex then I do."
Maggie smiled weakly. "Oh, I know the mechanics. Growing up in a castle full of teenagers, I saw a great deal and heard far more over the years but I don't have sexual desire. I literally do not yet have the ability to have it. Like Doctor Murray said, I'm nine years-old still in body."
"But I've heard you tell Henry time and time again that you love him," Hermione argued. "I refuse to believe that you're lying to him."
"Hermione, you can wager your life and soul that I love Henry," Maggie replied fervently. "I WILL marry him someday and I will have his children."
"A rather strange statement for a nine year-old," Hermione mused.
"I may not be able to lust but I can love," Maggie snapped.
"Are you certain that it isn't a child's possessiveness toward her favourite dolly?" Hermione asked calmly.
Maggie's anger blazed contorting her face into a demonic mask but Hermione coolly stared back at her even as the tiny girl drew back her hand to slap her. The blow never fell. With a visible struggle, Maggie squelched her rage. Her nostrils flared one final time as she lowered her hand.
"Whatever my physical shortcomings are," Maggie icily said spacing her words with mathematical exactness. "I can still dream about a future that I want; a future that has Henry with me forever."
"And you thought the only way to do that is to enslave him by magic?" Hermione asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
"Yes," Maggie said raising a hand quickly to stop Hermione's retort. "That is what I was thinking when I bought the pendants but not what I was thinking when Henry and I performed the binding ritual. By the time we got to that point I realised that it was unnecessary."
"Then why go through with it?" Hermione asked unconvinced.
"Answer me truthfully, Hermione." Maggie said earnestly. "Most of what you remember about what you read of the pendants is what happens when the bound pair makes love, isn't it?"
Hermione coloured. "Well, what can happen," she replied.
Maggie smiled. "It is an interesting phenomenon but since we aren't having sex that is something for another day. Right now, what the pendants do is allow Henry and me to share ourselves, our minds with each other. It isn't physical. It's mental and maybe even spiritual but I cannot tell you the depths of intimacy that we have achieved in the last few months. That's what I wanted. That's what I was after when I performed the ritual."
Hermione narrowed her eyes in thought. "Just how intimate are we discussing here?"
"In some ways frighteningly so," Maggie replied. "Until we bonded, I had not realised how many walls we hide behind. How little of ourselves that we truly share with others. When we link, Henry sees me laid bare in a manner that far outdistances mere nudity. All of me is there for him, even the dark corners of my mind that I am ashamed to acknowledge."
"That does sound frightening," Hermione said.
"It does but it is actually liberating," her friend intently replied. "Henry is beyond a doubt a good person yet I can see the same darkness lurking on the frontiers of his psyche also. When you can acknowledge and accept all of the aspects of your self, you begin to grow; you begin to become truly human."
Hermione stared at her earnest companion as she thought over what she had said. Hermione did not have a strictly material worldview but she was far more at ease with tangible proofs and tactile evidence. It hampered her in when it came to certain facets of her study of Ars Magica as her disastrous foray into Divination the previous year aptly demonstrated. Maggie and her pendants were venturing into what was to Hermione a disturbingly esoteric realm.
"It is still a high price to pay for self-awareness," she finally said.
Maggie shook her head in frustration. "Hermione, the pendants are not a Faustian bargain. I have not bartered my soul for a trinket. I have freed myself."
"That you will have to explain," Hermione replied.
"Okay then, another truthful answer from you if you will," Maggie said. "You've always thought of me as gushy, flighty, and not terribly bright, haven't you?"
Embarrassment crept over Hermione's features. "I still liked you."
"I know," Maggie acknowledged. "But how do you view me now?"
Hermione paused. She had not reflected upon it but Maggie had changed a lot this year. Maggie's work in the Ancient Runes and Arthimancy classes that they had together was almost on a par with her own. Her personality had also undergone a transformation. While Maggie was still very short with a slender frame that was devoid of the slightest feminine curve but she no longer gave the impression of being a child. Hermione could not remember the last time that Maggie had described anything as super, which was her catchall adjective not too long ago.
"Are you saying that the pendants are making you smarter and more mature?"
"Yes and no," Maggie replied ambiguously. "The maturity is something I've be working very hard on myself. I've been crushing any childish impulse mercilessly."
"What happened to accepting yourself?" Hermione asked incongruously.
Maggie laughed loudly. "Accepting yourself does not mean that you have to stop striving to improve yourself."
"Clever answer," Hermione replied.
"Yes, it was," Maggie responded without any false modesty. "An incidental result of the bond is that it has allowed me to get smarter."
"How?" Hermione asked burning with curiosity.
"Okay, understand this is guesswork on my part," Maggie replied "But I remember that several years ago Madame Pomfrey was explaining to Barbara about how sometimes when someone has a head injury and part of the brain is damaged, the brain will actually form new connections; it rewires itself to follow different pathways that allows it to keep performing needed functions."
"Yes, I've read that also," said Hermione. "People with dyslexia have to do something similar to be able to read."
"When Henry and I started linking minds, I surmise that my brain had new pathways opened for it," Maggie continued to explain. "Henry described it as barriers being removed in his mind. For me, I'm learning more because I can visualise the concepts that our professors teach us more readily. Mum has been very pleased with my progress in her class this year."
Maggie caught the speculative look on her friend's face. "You're trying to figure out a way to do the same thing without the pendants, aren't you?" she asked with a laugh.
"Guilty as charged," confessed Hermione laughing along with her.
"I never asked Mum about it but I think that it is probable that being an animagus will do something similiar for you," Maggie said. "I don't see how it couldn't. You'll be viewing the world with completely different senses."
Hermione arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Yes, I never thought about it but I think that you are likely correct."
"How close are you?" asked Maggie.
"Very close," answered Hermione. "In the next session or two I'll make the attempt. I just wish I had some control over what I become. What's the use of going through all of this just to become a snail or ant?"
"Three guesses what Henry wants to become," said Maggie.
"Oh, I don't know," Hermione laughed. "A horse, maybe?"
"Right in one," Maggie replied. "But getting back to the pendants; since I could not have a normal relationship with Henry I used them to chart a different way to connect with him. Believe me I would never harm him. I love him and it is not the possessiveness of a little girl toward her favourite doll."
Hermione nodded. She remained uncertain as to the wisdom of the binding. Henry was probably not aware of the full ramifications of the ritual when he took part in it but he trusted Maggie. Hermione admitted to herself that, for someone she had not considered overly intelligent, Maggie seemed to have done a fair amount of research into the pendants but the most basic fact was that both of them were only fourteen years old. Maggie had locked the two of them together in a far more compulsory fashion then any ritual of church or state. No bishop could annul it. No judge could end it and considering the number of ghosts in the castle, Hermione was not confident that even the death could sever the link.
Hermione sighed deeply. "Maggie, I truly hope that it works for you and Henry because I would hate to see two people that I love so unhappy in the future because of one mistake."
Maggie scooted closer to the older girl and took her hands into her own. "You still see the bond in terms of chains; as if Henry and I are manacled together like prisoners. In truth, I tell you that it is the furthest thing from it. As I told Henry on the day that we performed the ritual the pendants are wings. The two of us are soaring through skies that most people cannot even raise their eyes to see. What is frustrating to Henry and me is how little opportunity we get to link."
Hermione looked deep into the soulful blue eyes of the other girl. Only sincerity sparkled in them, sincerity and a plea to be believed.
"I have managed to go from being angry with you to worried about you to envious of you in a matter of minutes," Hermione surrendered with a rueful shake of her head.
Maggie beatifically smiled. She had not realised how important to her Hermione's favourable opinion on the matter was until then. "Someday, when you find your true love, I hope you have the good fortune to find a set of these pendants and the courage to use them."
"Oh, you don't think that Viktor's the one?" Hermione asked lightly smiling back at her friend.
"No, not any more then you do," Maggie replied. "He's a great guy. He's just not the guy for you."
"No, I suppose not," Hermione admitted. "It will be like Chris summed it up when Ginny broke it off with him. It was fun now it's over."
Maggie stood and stamped her cold feet. "I don't know what Ginny is looking for in a boyfriend but she'll be hard-pressed to find someone better then Chris in this girl's estimation."
"Yes, I agree," Hermione replied. She stood shooting warming charms at her and Maggie's feet.
"Thank you. So, what's the verdict, Hermione? Is the air clear between us?" Maggie said wanting to hear the words.
"I'm still not completely comfortable with it but it's mostly because I'm not comfortable with irreversible steps," Hermione replied. "I'll continue to keep your secret."
"Thank you," Maggie gratefully said. "There is nothing anyone can do about it but knowing adults that won't stop them from trying and I don't and Henry really doesn't need that aggravation."
Maggie paused before continuing diffidently. "Hermione, I'm sorry about nearly hitting you. As I have said, the hormones are playing havoc with my emotions. Sometimes my control is not what it should be."
"Its okay, Maggie, honestly," Hermione answered. "I'll admit that it was a deliberately provocative question."
Maggie tugged her into a tight hug. "You've been a true friend to me, Hermione. I shouldn't keep secrets from you."
Hermione returned the hug with heartfelt joy. The last traces of both girls' anger evaporated.
"You're the best friend that I ever had, Maggie," she replied. "I haven't felt a moment of loneliness since I met you, Henry, and Chris."
The girls clung to each other for a few moments before breaking apart.
"Ready to go inside?" asked Maggie
Hermione looked over the snow covered grounds unbroken and pristine save for the trail that they had made getting to the bench.
"If you don't think that it is beneath your new-found maturity, what I'd really like to do is make a snowman," she said.
"I hope that I never get too mature for fun," Maggie laughed.