Chapter 5 – Correspondence
.
"On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince
.
That same Saturday, in the evening, Hermione finally began writing a letter to Ginny, just as she was threatened into doing. She smiled to herself, imagining her friend's surprise when she would read about Malfoy's behavior.
Then there was the matter of the book she had promised to send Draco. Hermione looked towards the couch, where she had left the small book. Upon finding it earlier, she had reread some of her favorite chapters.
"The Little Prince". The first time she had read it, she had been but nine years old and she had questioned every single unnatural thing in it. 'How could anyone live on such a small planet and talk to flowers? How can people travel through space with a flock of birds?'¹ Hermione smiled again, thinking about how unnatural everything in her world was now.
She stood up and walked towards the book, picking it up and returning to her desk. Then she shrunk a piece of parchment, making it small enough to fit inside the small book and she wrote her message to Draco.
'Please don't judge this book by its appearance.
One of the many things it will teach you is that
things are rarely what they seem to be.
I hope you will read it, despite its…heritage
and that you will understand what lies behind
its apparent simplicity.
H.G.'
After changing the note's content several times, Hermione was finally satisfied and placed it inside the book, which she wrapped in paper. Grabbing the letter for Ginny as well, Hermione left her apartment to go to the owlery. It was only after she arrived that Hermione realized she didn't know the Malfoys' address. She looked around, not really sure what kind of owl she was looking for, but she finally decided on a wise-looking barn owl. When she asked it if it could deliver her package even if the address was unknown, the owl hooted in consent and Hermione bound the wrapped book to it, petting its wings.
She watched the owl fly away and then moved towards a second, smaller owl, binding the letter to one of its legs and instructing it where to go. The little bird seemed quite excited about the long trip ahead, reminding Hermione of Pigwidgeon and therefore of Ron. She had known that it would be difficult for their relationship to remain unchanged once she left to Paris, and Auror-training took up a lot of Ron's time, making his letters less frequent too.
Hermione sighed and left the owlery, apparating back home, where a sleepless night awaited her. It had been such a strange day and there were so many things on her mind that sleep simply evaded her. So she spent the best part of the night thinking about Draco Malfoy and angry with herself for doing so. But whenever she tried to concentrate on something else, her thoughts eventually came back to him.
'Would he read the book? And if so, what would he think of it? What would he think of her' Hermione thought. 'He was bound to declare her a foolish, sentimental Gryffindor and change back to his old ways, laughing at her for actually believing he had changed.'
By four in the morning the only thing Hermione was grateful for was the fact that it was Sunday now and she could sleep as long as she needed to.
The next day (what was left of it) passed in a blur of reading and taking notes for her upcoming lessons, mixed with a feeling of nervousness and expectation. Hermione had caught herself staring out of the window in search of any approaching flying object a few times, and every time she did that she groaned in frustration, mentally scolding herself for hoping to receive an answer from Draco. 'Even if he would finally decide to read the book, surely it wouldn't happen the very next day' she told herself. Still, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed when no letter arrived that Sunday.
On her way to University the next morning, Hermione wondered if this Monday would bring about another 'coincidental' meeting with Lucius Malfoy, but somehow she dreaded that much less. She ventured outside the University's grounds during lunch break once again, but this time only to take a walk. She really needed to clear her mind and focus on her studies.
Eventually, Hermione decided to apparate near her favorite patisserie again and get some of those delicious croissants. The same unpleasant woman greeted her, giving Hermione an even odder look that usual. That was when she realized she was still wearing her Veneficus uniform. Hermione blushed and stormed out of the shop (not before buying the croissants, though) but she didn't bother to transfigure her clothes.
Walking along the small streets of the neighborhood, Hermione had almost finished eating when a young girl crossed her path. She was distributing fliers and after staring at Hermione for a few seconds, she reached her a peace of paper from one of the two piles the girl had. Unlike the fliers from the other pile, the one Hermione had received was in English. She rolled her eyes and sighed, then she looked at the small flier and her attention was immediately captured.
'Perhaps Lucius Malfoy had been right about coincidences after all' Hermione thought, reading the flier.
UNIQUE EXPOSITION OF
MAGICAL ITEMS
On the night when All Hallows are Even, Halloween,
the Musée de la Magie of Paris has the great honor to
host a one of a kind exposition of veritable magical items,
dating from the Middle Age and from more recent periods.
Books of spells, known as Grimoirs, talismans, amulets,
sigils and other objects used in magical rituals await you on
Saturday, 31st October from midnight 'til the hours of dawn.
Come find us in the quartier of Marais, 11 Rue Saint-Paul.
The exposition will be available next week as well, on
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, between 14.00 and 19.00. ²
Hermione reread the text, fascinated by its words. And this was a Muggle exposition... She knew she would visit the museum the second she finished reading the flier. She also knew that Muggles had always been intrigued by magic and the supernatural, but Hermione had never studied magic from this point of view. Ever since she had attended Hogwarts, nearly all her time had been dedicated to learning more about the wizarding world, a world she belonged to, a world she wanted to be accepted by.
So now she was curious. 'Did all those objects really have magical qualities? And if they did, was it the same kind of magic she knew so much about?' So many questions had formed in Hermione's mind that time was once again forgotten.
It was only when a bell struck two times that Hermione realized her break was over and she would be late. She thanked whatever force had made apparition possible as she ran through the grounds of Veneficus to reach the classroom on time. Hermione entered it just as the professor was taking his seat and with a whispered apology she sat down herself.
The entire purpose of Hermione's walk outside of the University's grounds had been to clear her mind of all thoughts that didn't concern studying. It had failed miserably because there was only one thing she could think of the entire day: the Halloween exposition. For the first time ever she was anxious for the day to be over so she could find out more about the museum. She remembered seeing it on her 'Museums of Paris' list but she hadn't read the few paragraphs describing it.
The moment her last lesson ended, Hermione left the classroom at an uncharacteristically hasty pace. She wished it was earlier so she could still find an open library or bookshop in Muggle Paris, because she really wanted more information about the Museum of Magic and about Le Marais. Unfortunately for her, she would have to content herself with what she had home for now.
Hermione apparated in her neighborhood and rushed towards her apartment. She burst inside and nearly shrieked when a bird, no doubt startled by her sudden entrance, began to fly around the living room. It took the grey owl a few moments to settle back down, just enough time for Hermione to realize that it probably belonged to the Malfoys. She was frustrated with herself for being so nervous; her hands actually shook while untying a letter from one of the owl's legs.
The owl didn't take off immediately, obviously waiting for a reply, but Hermione was too busy looking at the letter to notice. The envelope was blank, excepting a silver snake which slithered across it and made it rather easy for Hermione to realize who the sender was. She opened it carefully, taking out the piece of parchment and staring at the first word written on it. It was underlined and followed by several exclamation signs and she had to burst into laughter after the initial shock passed. The letter said:
Hermione (!!!),
I would have sent you a book in return, but I doubt
there's anything you haven't read yet.
I'm sure you will be extremely…surprised when I'll
tell you that I have never read any piece of Muggle
literature before.
I confess that I probably wouldn't have read this one
either, if what you said on Saturday wouldn't have left
me quite curious to know what you were talking about.
I won't make any comments about it in this letter though,
but rest assured that I really enjoyed reading it; I would
simply much rather discuss it with you face-to-face.
As I'm sure you've already realized, I have a lot of free
time on my hands, so if you agree to meet with me, you
can decide when and where, just let me know.
And perhaps you will bring me another book to read,
that way you could start a sort of rehabilitation program
with me, I'm sure you'd enjoy the lectures.
Draco
Hermione couldn't decide if she should laugh or feel slightly offended. Her first reaction was to be glad he had read and liked the novel (if she could actually trust his words), but despite the fact that Draco's letter didn't contain any malicious remarks, he still teased her.
So Hermione decided to answer him in the same sarcastic tone. She sat down at her desk, unrolled a piece of parchment and picked up her quill. She pondered a few seconds before beginning, a smile settled on her lips.
Esteemed Mr. Malfoy,
I must start by telling you how surprised I was to find
out that you actually knew my name.
I thank you for your compliment, but I assure you that
you are mistaken, I have never claimed to know every-
thing and I too have a confession to make: I am rather
ignorant when it comes to wizarding literature.
Perhaps we could transform your rehabilitation program
into an educational one from which we would both
benefit; after all, I'm sure you know that everything
comes with a price and my…guidance would be no
different.
Well, all jokes aside, I have to say that I'd like to have
a literary meeting with you, but this week is rather full
for me; perhaps we could leave it for the next.
Meanwhile, I will send you another book; I couldn't
bear to know that you are bored, poor thing…
You might find it even more to your liking since you
said you truly liked Potions. This novel is suggestively
called "The Alchemist" and it contains a Muggle
perception of Alchemy.
I'm glad you enjoyed "Le Petit Prince" and I hope you
will like this novel too.
Hermione
Author's notes
¹ I read The Little Prince with a 9-year old boy just last spring and I was very surprised to see how reluctant he was to take all the fantastical elements of the novel for granted. He really questioned everything.
² The Musée de la Magie really exists, in the Marais district of Paris, at 11 Rue Saint-Paul. It's also open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, between 14.00 and 19.00.
Darn it. It has been such a busy week that I haven't had too much time to write…I really wanted to post the next chapter (6) on Halloween (and this one earlier, of course) because the action there takes place October 31st 1999, exactly eleven years ago. Oh well…hopefully the weekend will be more productive.
By the way, I really enjoy writing letters :P