Happy Easter ;) Next chapter will come the 2nd or 3rd of April
Ch. 5: Birthday
The rest of the week was pretty much like Hermione had predicted. Ancient Runes were just as interesting as she had hoped for them to be and Potions were as painful as she had feared. It seemed like being recognised as the good wizard didn't do anything to change Snape's behaviour towards the students. He still favoured the Slytherins visibly and he still sneered at Neville's attempts at potions. Besides that, the only exceptional event was Seamus blowing a charm into his face on their Wednesday's lesson of Charms.
All the teachers repeated the same mantra of being strict and trying to teach the students better for their own sakes. Hermione, of course, agreed with them and saw no problem in stricter teachers or more careful attitude towards homework and copying from others. Ron and Harry, of course, were not as enthusiastic. They were not happy that essays would now be checked to make sure that they did not contain chapters from the book or parts of other student's essays.
Hermione ignored most of their complaints, knowing that she will end up helping them with their essays anyway because they were her best friends and she couldn't say no. She worked, every evening, as usual. She ordered a book about Ancient Viking Runes for Shion, having heard that he was interested in the subject and having made sure that it wasn't the gift he was already getting from somebody else. She hoped for the nice weather to hold until the weekend.
The book arrived on Thursday, wrapped in blue paper with bronze ribbon. Harry, Ron and Ginny showered her with millions of questions about it that evening. What is it? Who is it for? Why is she giving a gift to some dude? That last one was Ron and Hermione started to put pieces together in her head. She wasn't sure if she was flattered or terrified with the idea of Ron fancying her, but she started to see the other boy in a different light.
By lunchtime on Sunday, however, she has had more than enough of the complaints, the lessons, homework and her persistent thoughts. She almost felt like she was suffocating. She ate her lunch with the speed that made even Ron look up in surprise and, checking that she had the book for Shion with her, all but ran out of the castle, happy that the nice weather held.
Once out, she twirled around and laughed, soaking in the autumn sun. She heard laughter behind her and turned to see Safu and Shion, walking up to her. She grinned at them, noticing that Shion was still wearing a scarf tightly wrapped around his neck. It seemed a bit weird on such a warm day. Hermione had even left her jumper and scarf in the dormitory, only taking the cloak in case it got windy.
'Are you having a cold?' she asked when they were close enough so that she didn't need to scream. Shion seemed confused, so she pointed towards the scarf. 'It is way too warm to wear one yet,' she added. Shion's hand travelled to the scarf slowly, as the boy blushed slightly. Either he got paler over the summer, Hermione though, or he blushes much easier than before.
'Uh, yeah,' he said without conviction.
'You could go to Madame Pomfrey,' she suggested, genuinely worried. 'I'm sure she can give you something if the cold doesn't go away,' she added, wondering why Shion looked more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment.
'He's one stubborn guy, who thinks he doesn't need to take advice from friends,' Safu cut in suddenly. 'Don't you think I didn't tell him to go to Madame Pomfrey every day this week?' she asked rhetorically. Hermione smiled at her mother-like anger, wondering if Shion realised just how infatuated Safu was.
'Would you stop?' Shion complained in a whiny tone, but Hermione thought that he didn't really sound as irritated as he should be if Safu has been pestering him about that matter for the whole week. She decided to let the matter drop and asked where they should go to sit, suspecting that Safu had everything planned out. Safu was one of those girls who didn't like to leave anything to chance and the possibility that the other guys would not be able to find them surely wasn't allowed into the day's plan.
'I was thinking we could sit somewhere close to the lake if it's not too windy,' Safu suggested with the tone saying "I know it's not too windy". Shion smiled and mentioned that he loved the lake.
'It's almost like a sea, that lake,' he said on their way. 'If there was anything I envied the ones, who took part in the Triwizarding Tournament, it is that they got to dive into the lake,' he added and told them about what they should be able to find there. Underwater environments were so mysterious, he said, flooding them with facts about the life in the oceans.
'When do you have time to read this kind of things?' Hermione asked when he stopped talking and she realised that it was all Muggle knowledge. Shion shrugged.
'During the summer mostly,' he said. 'During the school year I'm too busy with all the homework we have and all the other stuff I need to keep up with if I want to go to the university after this school,' he added. Hermione stopped and looked at him, eyes wide.
'University?' she repeated. 'You mean Muggle University?' she asked to be sure. Shion giggled a little.
'You, out of all the people, I would have thought wanted the same,' he said plainly. 'But yeah, I want to go to Muggle University and study ecology. That means I have to catch up with a lot of material from Muggle schools, but thankfully dad is keeping himself up to date with school, being a teacher and all. He buys all the books I should read and I spend loads of time during the summer catching up. That's why I don't have time to read the school books ahead, like you two do,' he explained.
They reached the spot Safu chose for them and Hermione dropped to the ground, surprised at what she heard. Until now, the thought of returning to Muggle life never occurred to her and she felt silly. After all: why not?
'That's a lot of work,' she pointed out, noticing that Safu manoeuvred the situation so that Shion was sitting with his back towards the castle. She would have to commend the girl later on. 'To catch up with everything I mean.'
'Yeah, we learn totally different stuff here,' Shion agreed. 'I'm rather behind on physics, for example, but I should not need it for the university,' he trailed off and smiled. 'What are you planning to do after the school?' he asked.
'I have no idea really,' Hermione muttered. Until now her goal was to study everything that the school had to offer, to the best of her abilities. She figured that, with the grades she had, she could do just about everything. 'Are there ways to continue magical subjects after Hogwarts?' she asked.
'Sure,' Shion answered without hesitation. 'You can take apprenticeship with one of the teachers for one. Otherwise I know that you have advanced studies in Potions for example, that's how you become a Potions Master like Snape,' he said. Not for the first time, Hermione wondered how a Muggle born like her had so much more knowledge about the magical world than she could ever hope to have.
'What are you planning to do?' she asked Safu, who smiled slightly.
'I'll aim to be a Healer I suppose. I read a couple of books last summer and I think I could be interested in medical research and I heard that you can combine it with being a Healer,' she replied. Hermione looked away, thoughtful. What was it that she wanted to do?
'I suppose something with Numerology and Runes would be interesting,' she said after a while and looked at her Ravenclaw friends. They both smiled at her. 'I never thought about it actually, but wouldn't it be cool to discover something?' They laughed. Then Shion tilted his head to the sun with a smile. Safu looked at him with fondness and Hermione had to smile, although the expression vanished when she saw something red on Shion's neck. Was that strangulation marks? Her eyes widened at the very thought and she noticed that Safu was looking at her carefully. She was about to say something, but Safu shook her head.
'Shall we try the transfiguration?' the Ravenclaw girl asked and Shion looked back at them, still smiling. 'I brought a couple of random things and we can give each other tasks into what they should be changed,' Safu suggested.
'That sounds like a plan,' Hermione agreed, her mind still preoccupied with whatever it was that she saw. Suddenly Shion's behaviour from before was understandable, but she wasn't sure she was relieved. She found out soon enough, however, that she needed to clear her mind of those thoughts if she wanted to keep up with Shion and Safu in Transfiguration.
They started simple: needle into a pin, pin into a safety-pin and safety pin back to the needle. Then Safu pulled out and apple that turned into a pear, then into a carrot and back into an apple. Eventually they all tried to transfigure a dead object into a small animal. As her bee flew away, Hermione collapsed onto her back, looking up at the sky.
'I think we're good,' she laughed, enjoying the sun on her face. Shion and Safu agreed and then Safu charmed her wand to produce soap bubbles. Hermione laughed again, amazed, and asked to learn the spell. She even sat back up to see what move Safu would make with her wand, but they were disturbed by Ciel, Nezumi and Elizabeth all but jumping on Shion, making him shout in surprise.
'Surprise,' Elizabeth squealed and laughed at the indignant look on Shion's face, probably in response to be surprised like that. She kissed him on both cheeks and wished him all the best before making space for Ciel, who patted Shion's back and dropped a package on Shion's lap, saying his wishes that were more serious than those of Elizabeth. Hermione took that time to fish out the book she bought out of her bag.
'What though the radiance which was once so bright Be not forever taken from my sight, Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; Grief not, rather find, Strength in what remains behind,' Nezumi recited with a melodic voice and Hermione's jaw dropped. She would have never thought Nezumi to be one to recite poetry. However, judging by the contemplative smile with which Shion turned to Nezumi, Hermione guessed that it was nothing unusual.
'Don't forget about us,' Safu said. She had a smile on her face, but Hermione thought that she didn't sound entirely happy. However, she kissed Shion on both cheeks, just like Elizabeth did, and whispered something to him. He smiled at her and turned to Hermione who, feeling a bit out of place, wished him all the best and leaned to kiss his cheek as well.
'Thank you,' Shion said finally, sounding genuinely happy, and hugged the gifts to his chest.
'We have a cake as well,' Nezumi pointed out and Elizabeth produced the cake from nowhere seemingly. It was perfectly shaped and covered in what Hermione strongly suspected was white chocolate. On the top, in cherries half sunken into the chocolate, it was written "Happy birthday Shion".
'Let me guess,' Shion said, grinning at Nezumi. 'Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,' he said with a laugh.
'Nope, Lizzy and Safu baked this one,' Nezumi shot back, not missing a beat. Hermione blinked. 'I think it is a cherry cake.'
'Hey, that was from Shakespeare's Macbeth,' she said. Everybody turned at her and she felt a blush creep up her face at the sudden attention.
'Indeed it was,' Nezumi agreed. 'Ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger. Twenty if you know the author of the previous quote,' he added. Hermione tried to think if she heard it, but finally she shook her head in surrender.
'Ah, I'm disappointed,' Ciel muttered. 'Rumour had it that you knew everything,' he added and although his voice wasn't exactly cheerful or joking, Hermione could detect no mocking in his words. For a Slytherin, he was even polite, she thought.
'Wasn't it William Wordsworth?' Shion asked. Hermione recognised the name of a Muggle poet and her eyes widened when Nezumi proclaimed that Ravenclaw earned ten points as well. Elizabeth suggested that they have the cake and Safu magicked six plates into existence.
'Wait,' Hermione started. 'How does a pure-blood wizard like you know Muggle classics?' she asked, remembering that Phantomhives were at least as important a family as Malfoys were. Nezumi smirked but it was Shion who answered.
'He spends half of the summer in my dad's library,' he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'Before we went to Hogwarts he spent even more time there, much to my dad's joy,' he added while Elizabeth cut six pieces out of the deliciously looking cake.
'You knew each other before Hogwarts?' Hermione asked, accepting a plate of the cake with muttered thanks. Almost automatically, she transfigured a blade of grass into a spoon. 'I thought you were Muggle born,' she added, looking at Shion.
'I am,' he confirmed. 'My mom was doing business with their fathers, em, father,' he explained with a tiny blush. Hermione didn't miss his slip, but decided to keep it for later investigation. 'She still is really,' Shion added. Safu bit her lower lip.
'Besides, we have always been neighbours,' Ciel kicked in calmly. 'Father knew that Shion was going to be a wizard since he managed to change the colour of his pram when he was just a bit over one year old,' he added and described the event. Hermione could see that it was a joke often repeated, because Elizabeth and Safu were butting in with comments and Shion was blushing like there was no tomorrow. She had to laugh.
'Anyhow,' Nezumi took up the story. 'Father thought that we,' he motioned at himself and Ciel. 'Should hang out with Shion and teach him some about the wizarding world in exchange for learning about the Muggle world. He wasn't very fond at the idea of his sons making fools of themselves in front of Muggle born Hogwarts' students,' he added. Try as she might, Hermione couldn't detect any aversion in his voice.
'I thought that pure bloods don't really like Muggle borns,' she spoke the words before she was able to stop herself.
'That's interesting, considering how you hang out with Weasley all the time,' Ciel pointed out in a slightly mocking tone. Hermione bit her lower lip and looked at the cake piece on her plate. Inside it had three layers of dark cake, separated by white cream with cherries and she really had to focus on the conversation, even though she wasn't sure how to continue.
'Well, Ron said,' she started and trailed off.
'That his family is exceptional?' Nezumi asked, irony clearly audible in his voice. 'How pretentious of him,' he added. Hermione felt that she needed to defend her friend.
'You know, with the experience of Malfoy and Parkinson, it's not that hard to believe him either,' she said hotly. Ciel winced slightly, while Elizabeth smiled.
'Now you know,' she said. 'My family doesn't have anything against Muggle born wizards either,' she added. 'Maybe it will make your experience in Hogwarts nicer to know.' Hermione wanted to ask her how she could know that, but Elizabeth answered before she could speak. She said that Shion and Safu were not that comfortable with Malfoy's attitude either, even though the blond Slytherin mostly ignored them.
'So,' Hermione looked at Elizabeth and Safu. 'I know how those three got to know each other, but how do you fit into the picture?' she asked. Much to her surprise, Ciel blushed and said that Elizabeth was his fiancée. Hermione's eyes were probably as wide as saucers when she heard it and she almost missed Elizabeth reminding Ciel to call her Lizzy.
'Nothing as shocking about me,' Safu commented. 'I simply met Shion on the first day of school and we somehow got along. Then he introduced me to those two brats and Lizzy and here we are,' she added with a laugh. Then she took a spoonful of cake and Hermione realised she hasn't yet tried the cake. She quickly corrected that mistake, her eyes closing in bliss at the delicious taste. Together with the sun warming her back, Hermione was sure that it would make one of the best memories of her life.
'So tell us how you got to hang out with Weasley and Potter,' Ciel asked after a moment, during which they all enjoyed the cake. 'Safu and Shion had said it hasn't been from the very beginning,' he added. Unwillingly, Hermione thought back to her first days in Hogwarts, when the only people she could even begin to call friends were Shion and Safu. She shook those thoughts off and told them the story of the cave troll in the girl's bathroom.
They were perfect audience. Lizzy, Safu and Shion gasped in all the right moments, while the Phantomhive twins came up with witty commentaries, making everybody laugh. Before she realised, Hermione was telling them the best of the moments of her friendship with Ron and Harry. They have heard, of course, of their most famous exploits, like the Chamber of Secrets, or stopping Quirrel from getting the Philosopher's Stone, but there were many more, smaller stories that made up everyday life that Hermione shared, listening to stories from the others in exchange.
Only when the sun was low and the wind became chilly, did they move, gathering everything and making their way towards the castle.