Hermione was not in a good mood, and no, it had nothing to do with the fact that Harry was practically cheating in potions and doing better than her. Alright, it had everything to do with that. She huffed as she sat down at the Gryffindor table and began to grab pieces of toast and butter them. How was she supposed to get into the Slug Club if Harry kept one-upping her? Perhaps she should take a literal page out of his book and-
Her thought was interrupted by a large grey owl swooping down and placing himself right in front of her on the table. It had a bright magenta sash around its neck, and a gold emblem with "WW" was hanging from it. Chuckling to herself, Hermione untied the package from the owl. Who knew what ridiculous thing those terrible two had sent her? Probably some love potion, or perhaps a skiving snackbox as a joke.
To her great surprise, Hermione opened up the package and saw a letter on top of a box. The letter was not addressed from both twins as she expected. Instead, there was only Fred's name, written in a tidy scrawl. Curious, she opened the letter and read his message.
Dear Hermione,
You were eyeing these at the shop, and I thought I'd let you experience one. (For educational purposes, of course.) Let me know how you like it!
Sincerely,
Fred
P.S. Don't let Ron know that I gave you something for free- he'd go knuts!
Hermione rolled her eyes at the silly pun. She remembered when Ron hadn't had a single knut to buy his brothers' items with. Shaking her head with a smile, she looked down and saw a Patented Daydream Charm. She laughed to herself and wondered when she would ever have an opportunity to use it and what she would use it for.
Later that evening, after a remarkable recreation of her favorite childhood memory, Hermione sat down and began to write a letter. She spent the next thirty minutes writing and re-writing her letter to make sure that it was perfect. Satisfied with the final product, Hermione made her way to the owlery and sent it off to 93 Diagon Alley. She watched the owl fly off into the distance, and then returned to the common room to resume studying.
'Maybe,' she mused, 'I can convince Harry to let me take a look at his potions book.'
"Hey! Nick it, and get kicked, little mister!" George was shouting over by the fake wands.
Fred laughed to himself as he watched this, staring around his shop with a familiar sense of pride. A constant stream of kids and harassed parents were coming in through the shop doors, and the next moment, so did an owl. Fred hopped down from his place on the staircase and went to meet the creature.
"Hello, sir- oh yes, thank you very much!" he said to the owl as he took the message. "You deserve a treat for all your hard work!" he smiled, handing a treat to the tired bird. It nipped at his fingers happily before taking flight and swooping out of the shop.
The second he looked at the letter in his hands, his heart stopped. Hermione's name was written in perfect cursive on the front. Fred glanced around the shop. He could take a quick break, right? Yes, he decided, he could just this once. Fred made his way through the crowds toward the back room and shut the door firmly behind him. He leaned up against the door and opened the letter.
Dear Fred,
First of all, thank you for the gift. I just used it, and it worked incredibly well! It was as if I truly was on the beach in France with my mum and dad. I didn't use it in class, as I know it was intended for, and Harry did mention afterward that I did look slightly dazed. I am aware that this is a side effect, but perhaps some day I could look into how to get rid of it for you? Once again, thank you for the gift, and I cannot wait to hear about what else you have created!
Truly,
Hermione
P.S. I didn't let Ron know, although earlier he was complaining about his "unfair treatment" at the your shop
Fred chuckled, then re-read the note twice more before it actually sunk in. Hermione had really liked one of their products! And she was offering to help them with it! There was no doubt in his mind on whether or not he would take her up on that offer. With a huge grin on his face, Fred sat down and began to write his reply.
The next morning, Hermione was once again surprised when the same magenta-decorated owl landed next to her plate. She hadn't expected such a quick reply, and hadn't yet had an opportunity to research for ways to get rid of the dazed side effect. She took another sip of her pumpkin juice before she opened the letter.
Dear Hermione,
I will gladly accept your help! If there's anyone that solve a problem, it's little-miss-know-it-all. Would you like to meet me at The Three Broomsticks during your next Hogsmeade weekend? Until then, we can trade ideas for the daydream charm. I've already tried diluting the side effects by lessoning the levels of unicorn hairs and pixie petals, but that makes the daydream less realistic. I'll leave a piece of parchment with the exact "recipe" for the charm, and you can see what you think.
With a Lot of Excitement,
Fred
Hermione hummed to herself and pulled the second piece of parchment to the front. The ingredients and instructions were very precise, and the process had obviously taken him a long time. She stared at the "recipe" contemplatively as she sipped on her pumpkin juice once more. Surely some research in the library would lead her to the right answer…and then she needed to figure out when the next Hogsmeade weekend was. She decided to wait until she'd done some searching to reply to Fred.
Dear Fred,
I'm so sorry for taking so long to reply! I've spent more hours in the library than you can imagine, and I have a few ideas that I think are worth discussing. The soonest Hogsmeade weekend is September 14th. (Sorry it's so far off) How about we meet at The Three Broomsticks around noon?
Bring parchment and a quill,
Hermione
Dear Hermione,
That sounds great! I should have known that the reason you hadn't responded was because you were in the library. Feel free to send me any ideas before we meet! I'll test them out when I can.
Can't wait for a butterbeer,
Fred
Dear Fred,
Here is what I have come up with:
3.8 grams of pixie petals, sliced
5.74 grams of essence of dittany
2.6 unicorn hairs
4 doxy eggs, finely chopped
1 drop of lavender oil
Stir the pixie petals with the essence of dittany in a cauldron on high for five minutes, then add the unicorn hairs. Strain potion and slowly add the doxy eggs. Bottle and add lavender oil on top before you put a stopper in it.
(I replaced the moondew with lavender oil. It's a muggle oil often used for relaxation, and I thought that it wouldn't cause as deep of a sleep as moondew, therefore reducing the both side effects. Also, it needs to be at the top so that the consumer smells the lavender first, which will relax them before they go under.)
Hope it works,
Hermione
Dear Hermione,
You are absolutely brilliant! Adding a bit more dittany did help, as did the lavender oil. I think we need to add a few more pixie petals, but it has definitely improved! I've decided you need to see the laboratory. Maybe over Christmas break? That way you can actually see how the process goes. I think you'd find it interesting!
See you Saturday,
Fred