Harry and Hermione looked at Ron incredulously.
"Malfoy of course!"
"Filch of course!" Harry and Hermione announced together.
"Filch?!"
"Malfoy?!" Again they cried in unison.
"Woah!" Ron put his hands up as if to slow down his thought process. "I was thinking Peeves." Hermione snorted and Ron shot her a scathing look. "It was a better guess than Filch!" Hermione glared at Ron for his outrageous comment, ready to fire back a clever yet still hurtful reply. To stop an imminent argument, Harry stood up and cleared his throat.
"Everybody relax!" Hermione and Ron stopped and looked up at Harry from the stone floor. Harry looked at each one of them in turn and then said, "Hermione, it couldn't be Filch because we didn't hear any wheezing and Ron, I recall Peeves plotting to smash some vases in Professor Trelawney's room all of today, therefore both of you must be wrong!" Harry crossed his arms, looking triumphant. For once he had managed to prove Hermione wrong without actually having to ask Hermione for help, and he couldn't help his chest from swelling a little. Hermione pursed her lips and looked away. She didn't want to encourage Harry's idea that Malfoy was a Death Eater, even if he did have a point, but it still didn't eliminate the other hundreds of students in Hogwarts. Hermione stood up and dusted off her robes before helping Ron up. It was difficult as they had been crammed between the space of the door, a bookcase against the wall and a derelict wooden desk that barely anyone had sat in judging by the coating of dust covering it. Ron was still growing alarmingly tall and Mrs. Weasley was fed up with his complaints of short robes, so that year she had bought him extra long robes that would accommodate not just one year, but several more years of growth. Ron's robes had gotten stuck behind the bookcase somehow, preventing him from standing up.
"You can't be serious." Harry muttered before stepping back carefully to give Hermione more room to maneuver. Hermione tugged and pulled, but Ron's robe did not give.
"Ron, how did you manage to get your robe stuck?!" she asked him, exasperated. Ron shrugged, still on the floor. "Harry! Some help!" Hermione demanded. Harry rolled his eyes and muttered,
"Honestly..." Harry tried to jiggle the bookcase, thinking it would loosen up Ron's robe, but it didn't budge; it was crammed full of enormous books and wasn't able to move the slightest for fear of collapsing. Ron's blushed deep red as Hermione sat down on his lap, hoping to get a better hold of that trapped corner of fabric. Hermione angrily pushed back her bushy hair from her eyes and gritted her teeth. She could feel Ron's heart racing and knew he was uncomfortable with their proximity.
"Bother..." Hermione pulled out her wand, jabbing it in Ron's eye in the process.
"Oy! Watch it!" Ron grumbled, rubbing his tearing eye. Hermione ignored him and pushed up her sleeves. Hermione tried to get comfortable by pushing Ron's legs apart and sitting inbetween them. Harry's eyes widened, and coughed slightly before turning away. Ron looked utterly disturbed, deepening in shades of red by the second.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione said, but nothing happened. Hermione frowned and bit her lip. "Wingardium Leviosa!" she cried, yet to no avail. The bookcase refused to move, let alone levitate. Hermione glared at the bookcase before pushing up her sleeves and shaking her hair. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione proclaimed! Still no movement. "Agh!" Hermione screamed! A bookcase! A simple bookcase had defied her! Harry and Ron exchanged confused looks but before Harry could say anything, Hermione burst into tears and threw herself onto Ron's chest. Ron, startled, froze. He looked to Harry for help but Harry just shrugged. Tentatively, Ron raised an arm and gently patted Hermione on the head. She buried herself into his robe, hiccupping occasionally. Encouraged, Ron carefully held her, rubbing the hysterical girl as a form of moral support. Harry tiptoed forward and carefully severed the corner of Ron's robes so he was freed. He then sat down awkwardly, his legs splayed at frightening angles, and slowly stroked Hermione's hair, trying to calm her down.
Slowly, Hermione's convulsions began to lessen and they eventually stopped. Hermione closed her eyes and clutched Ron's robes a little tighter. Her second break down that day! Was she losing it? Would she be able to make it this year? What was wrong with her? Hermione groaned and shut her eyes even more tightly, hoping the feeling of being unworthy could be blinked away. Unbidden, memories from the past summer flashed in Hermione's mind.
Hermione watched the clouds flash past, over and over again. Back and forth, she swung, her head tilted back so she could watch the sky. It was a beautiful day, and Hermione had decided to spend the day in the park, rather than worry about Harry or Ron or school for once. The air smelt of honeysuckle and Hermione inhaled deeply; there were some pleasures that couldn't be conjured with magic. She closed her eyes and let the motion of the swing soothe her. Ever since she was a little girl, the slight jolt in her stomach when the swing dropped always excited her. The smooth glide to the next peak relaxed her. The wind passing through her hair and the sun on her face rejuvenated her.
"Enjoying yourself?" A slightly amused voice asked, breaking Hermione's meditation session. Her eyes snapped open, ready to glare at a fat pesky 8-year-old boy that had nothing better to do during his holidays but annoy girls older than him, in hopes of being seen by his friends talking to high school girls. Instead she saw a tall boy, no not even a boy, but a young man, with skin the color of ebony and broad shoulders. He had a winning smile and a swimmer's body. Hermione put down her feet to stop the swing from moving and gawked. The young man had a well structured face and his head was shaved. His smile widened as he said,
"Can you speak at all?"
Hermione blinked and tried to say something, but the words caught in her throat.
"Agheibe..." she managed to grunt.
"Sorry, didn't catch that!" he laughed, eyes twinkling. Hermione blushed and brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"I said, hello."
"Hello." He replied, white teeth sharply contrasting with his face, "May I join you?" he asked, pointing towards the empty swing next to Hermione.
"Oh... Be my guest!" Hermione's heart fluttered; he was so devastatingly handsome. He sat himself down and starting rocking slightly on the swing. Hermione blushed some more and looked down at her lap. There was an awkward silence, neither one saying anything. Hermione chanced a glance at her companion and admired his seemingly perfect profile. He caught her looking and grinned but Hermione ducked her head in shame. "So are you new in Chippenham?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Yeah, just moved in a week ago. I'm in that house down the lane." He pointed down Hermione's street.
"Oh wow, I live down there! Coincedence?" Hermione questioned playfully, bordering on flirting. He was silent for a second and Hermione looked away, painfully embarrassed.
"Fate, perhaps." He flashed his superb smile again. Hermione smiled back and started to scuff the dirt. "So which school do you go to?" He asked. Hermione froze, desperately thinking of a reliable answer.
"Just... uh... a school... around here..." she grimaced, looking away to hide her expression. He laughed again,
"Just some school? Does it have a name?" Hermione drew a breath and turned towards him,
"I'd tell you, but then I'd start to think you were stalking me." Hermione answered with a sly smile on her face. He laughed again, it was a rich and deep laugh, and Hermione couldn't help but notice his eyes crinkle and his chest shake. Hermione stood up, brushed off her old but fashionably worn jeans, thanking god how they were casually loose but still hugged enough to accentuate her hips and butt. "I have to go" Hermione turned back to him, "but I'll see you around okay." She smiled slightly and started to walk away.
"But you don't even know my name!" He called after her.
"Then what is it?" She yelled back.
"Brad."
"Well then, nice to meet you Brad!" Hermione said, walking backward so she could wave to him.
"And yours is?"
"Goodbye Brad..." Hermione turned away again, a big smile on her face, hair flying around, glinting in the sun.
Brad sat on the swing a second, still smiling, before getting up and running after Hermione.
"Hermione... it's time to go." Harry's voice brought Hermione back from her day dream. They could hear the hordes of students passing through the hallways, chattering and joking. Hermione tilted her head up, and saw Ron's worried eyes staring down on her.
"You okay?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I'll be alright..." she answered. "Sorry guys... I don't know what's wrong with me today."
"Hermione, it's just nerves. Don't worry about it, they'll pass!" Harry assured her. He got up from his place and offered her his hand. Hermione smiled and took it. She turned around and offered her hand to Ron. He smiled and took it. All three headed out the door, to join the masses of happily ignorant students, to be normal once again even for a brief second, but the beautiful moment was shattered with a scream.