Hagrid cheerfully led the girls through the forbidden forest. Well, cheerful for him. HE could walk for miles. All of the other girls, save the fit Ravenclaw, looked like the seventh circle of hell would be more endurable than this trek.
Hermione knew that she would begin to feel the after-effects of a nice Bulgarian vacation. She just hoped that she didn't have to go through a three-hour hike through the Forbidden Forest to realize that she was so out of shape. However, she didn't feel as bad about her physique when she saw Pansy and Hannah panting right along with her. She gazed with envy at the joyous Cho who was currently bouncing right in step with the equally cheerful half-giant. Curse that girl, with her Qudditch and her athleticism.
Just as Hermione was about to resort to a levitation charm for her luggage, the group came across a large clearing. There was a lonely cottage to one side of a clearing. The clearing itself was about an acre large, an amazing size for the heart of the thick Forbidden Forest. The cottage was natural stone, with a semi-unsteady foundation. The roof was straw, and in a great need of another thatching. Hermione guessed the house had to be an old farm-house. Circa sixteenth century perhaps. The place was a little too far from Hogsmeade to make a decent living off of the soil, which was now all over the four girl's shoes.
The girls stepped inside and Pansy scoffed at the miniscule size of the place. Only three rooms. Her house elves had a humble four room hut, and that was made her family seem stingy. The entry room had a fireplace that looked like it hadn't been swept since its creation along with a couch that was less comfortable than the Cruciatus curse. The second room was no better. Four beds were equipped with blankets and spaced to the far corners of the room. Two changing screens were located on either side of the room, ready for use. Pansy placed her bag on the bed closest to the door and glared at the three other girls, daring them to take her bed. Parkinsons always have first choice. She then followed the Hannah into the final room.
Hannah was the most excited about this room. This is where most of the action would be. It was simple, yet functional. A large cauldron was placed in the middle of the room. How much salve is Dumbledore expecting? A corner was packed to the brim with many common and uncommon potion ingredients. They even had boomslang skin!
THUD. That was odd. A book just fell out of the wall. "Ummm. Can anyone explain this?"
Hermione peeked her head into the room. "Oh yes, I forgot to tell you. Madame Pince had arranged for a portal between this house and the library. We can pass our requests for books on parchment through the portal. Every three days, she will check the portal and send along the books through the portal at noon. Someone needs to make sure they pick them up."
Hannah reached for the book. Salvaging Salves. Interesting title. This would be a good place to start the research. If the article in the Prophet was correct, the salve would take five weeks to make, which left no more than three weeks to research.
Meanwhile, Cho was observing the exterior of the cabin. Obviously, repairs needed to be done. Good thing the long grass in the clearing would be sufficient enough to patch the roof. The stones, however, needed to be refortified. Why did Dumbledore not repair this cottage? Men can be so forgetful. The sun was near set, so the repairs would have to wait for another day. She headed into the cottage to settle into her new home.
The other three were already good and settled into their nightdresses. Cho disappeared inside the screen and reappeared with her favorite pajamas on. She started to unpack her suitcase. It didn't take long for her to realize that there were no places for, well, anything.
"Merlin! Where did Dumbledore expect us to put everything! We need a set of drawers to make sure our clothes stay clean! UGH! MEN!"
"Put a sock in it, Cho. If I have to endure these inferior conditions, you will as well. Just stop fussing about it." Pansy then took the sudden silence to take out a piece of parchment, a quill and some ink. After lighting her wand to see, she began to write on the parchment. Even though she couldn't bring her owl to the, erg, residence, she could document her stay in case there was anything interesting to notify Draco with. After taking up a foot of parchment with her account of the recent events, she cast a quick privacy spell over the parchment and slid it underneath the mattress. Hermione and she were the last two still awake. The sun had barely set an hour ago, but Pansy didn't care. She was fatigued after such a trying day. She fell back into her bed and ended the light spell which was cast on her wand. Within moments she was asleep.
Hermione was almost done with her itinerary for the next couple of days. She had already filled an astonishing four feet of parchment filled with books they would need from the library. She finished not long after Pansy extinguished the light on her wand. Extinguishing her own wand, Hermione looked around at the other sleeping girls. She shouldn't have been so quick to judge them. Even Pansy seemed tolerable. She knew she had to do something to let them know that she didn't carry her wand up her arse. Remembering what Cho had said earlier, she wandlessly summoned the soot from the fireplace and carefully directed it to the middle of the room. She concentrated for several moments on the soot, imagining it to take the form of her will. A few minutes later, the soot vanished, and dresser appeared in its stead. The dresser was a nicely finished cherry wood and had one large drawer facing each bed. Satisfied, but also briefly worn out from her effort, Hermione fell back into her bed to sleep, letting the dark and her dreams sort out her thoughts on her new house-mates.
Hermione thought that no one was watching her when she transfigured the dresser, but some one was. When Hermione fell asleep, the girl smiled and thought to herself: "Maybe she's okay. So what if she stole Harry."
A/N: Just another random reader: thank you so much for reading my story! I'm glad you like it so far! I know this chapter was short, and I apologize. I also will not be able to update till about Tuesday or Wednesday. Just because I will surely burn out on this story at the rate I am writing these chapters. And the next few chapters will be really important because it will catch the story up to the 6th book! Slowly, but surely. I hope that you continue to read, because as long as you read the story, I will surely keep writing!