A/N: It was pointed out to me (by more than one person!) that I inadvertently made Hermione sound like a masochist in the last chapter. I apologize to all for my unclear wording, which I have changed. Jasmine was considering the possibility that Hermione enjoyed debating and kept trying to find that in Ron, despite the fact that he always disappointed her, not that she enjoyed being reduced to tears time after time by him. And Jasmine rejected that option anyway, deciding instead that Hermione probably hadn't figured out that Ron had been deliberately baiting her (some of the time, a least). Thanks to Silently Watches and Blitzstrahl for pointing out the problem.
Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "Escape" by JackPotr. He's only written a couple of Harry/Hermione stories, and this is a great tale of Harry leaving Britain after the final battle and Hermione realizing where she belongs. It's short and sweet.
Chapter 06 - Distractions and Realizations
Saturday, December 12, 1994, Late Morning.
After two hours of work in their commandeered classroom, the four Gryffindor friends had nothing to show for their efforts to solve the puzzle of the screeching egg except sore ears and frayed nerves. Casting the Bubble Head charm muffled the noise, but it was an advanced charm, and none of them were experienced enough to get it to hold for more than a few minutes (though Jasmine's and Hermione's seemed to last longest). Fortunately Hermione's silencing spells on the classroom door were strong enough to prevent outsiders from being alerted and coming to see what was going on.
Jasmine grumbled about stupid tournament organizers and finally agreed with everyone else when the suggestion was made to quit for a while. Everyone knew that "a while" might last until after Christmas, given how many other things they still needed to deal with. For that reason, it was decided that they would all do some independent research about different elements and compare notes once they met again.
Neville would focus on the relief at the top of the egg because it looked like a type of plant. Hermione would research the runes found etched around the bottom of the egg. Jasmine would look into languages and other types of communication that might incorporate screeching. Ginny would investigate the idea of an "egg" itself, in case it had more meaning than the obvious need to have an egg for a dragon's nest.
Fortunately the second task wasn't until the end of February so Jasmine wasn't worried. Yet. Hermione, in contrast, got nervous whenever she thought about it and so would ensure that no one would forget.
The three fourth-year students decided to spend the rest of the morning working in the library while Ginny chose instead to return to the Gryffindor common room to work with a couple of her year-mates. Once ensconced at Hermione's favorite library table, the three friends got to work on the various essays that had been assigned earlier that week. Despite being late in the morning, the library was relatively empty with just a few groups and individuals at work. The only noteworthy person there was Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang champion, who was reading something at one of the only tables in sight of their own.
Before this term, Neville hadn't had much experience doing assignments with friends and was surprised at how quickly the writing could go when working with these two witches — and usually with much better grades, too. I wonder how Ron is doing without their help? he thought. Well, there was no sense dwelling on it — he felt pretty sure Ron would eventually work his way back into the girls' trust. Assuming he continues to behave, Neville amended silently.
At lunch they met back up with Ginny, where she and Neville were invited to help the other two with what would be the first explicitly secret project being pursued. "I wish I could tell you more," Hermione explained, "because I know it's hard making a decision when you're in the dark like this. Unfortunately, I can't — it's an important secret for us. I can, however, tell you that it is about the behavior of the headmaster, and that another member of staff has recommended we do this because it might point to possible harm that has been done to Jasmine."
Ginny and Neville were at first a bit reluctant to give up more time, and to something unknown, but the hints offered definitely had them intrigued. Combined with their desire to help and protect Jasmine, they had reason enough to join the other two in the commandeered classroom, at least for a little while. They never expected that "a little while" would become nearly four hours, longer than they had spent on the egg that morning.
The girls started out by explaining how Jasmine had come to distrust Professor McGonagall, then about how they had approached the professor herself with their concerns, shocking her into remorse once they had laid it all out for her. Neville had already heard some of this earlier, but now Jasmine and Hermione went into far more detail.
At first they found it all difficult to accept, but the longer the girls went on, the harder it became to deny. Even more shocking was hearing that McGonagall had recommended that they cast a critical eye on Dumbledore's involvement in Jasmine Potter's life. Dumbledore was one of the giants of magical Britain and had been for some fifty years; to suggest that there was anything remotely questionable about his actions was tantamount to blasphemy — especially to Ginny, whose family had long been staunch Dumbledore supporters.
However, they couldn't ignore the evidence that had already been amassed against McGonagall, and much of that counted against the headmaster as well, so they all got to work. Ginny and Neville didn't have as much to contribute since they hadn't been as closely involved with Jasmine as Hermione had, but they both had stories to tell, and as purebloods who were raised in the magical community their perspectives proved to be helpful when analyzing the many incidents and conversations.
Ideally they would have started with Dumbledore's early years, but none of them knew enough about that to even begin. Hermione promised she'd do the research later, assuming she could find unbiased books. They also couldn't say anything about his legislative record, which inspired another promise of research from the bushy-haired witch. Thus they started with Jasmine's own life, and it wasn't an auspicious beginning once they considered the ramifications of leaving a toddler on a doorstep like a bottle of milk — and in the middle of a November night, too!
Jasmine had to admit that the Durselys' treatment of her was a bit more understandable given that they were never asked if they would or could raise a second child and were apparently never offered any sort of help, financial or otherwise. She honestly had no idea how much of a burden she had been on their lives and finances. That didn't excuse their behavior, of course; nor did it excuse the fact that either Dumbledore never bothered to check on Jasmine, or else he did, knew exactly what was happening, and left her there anyway.
"Who on earth does that sort of thing?!" asked Ginny, giving voice to the outrage that they all were feeling. Her reaction would have been much worse had Jasmine gone into significant detail about how she was treated at the Dursleys, but she wasn't quite ready to do that yet.
Hermione, after thinking for a few minutes, suggested that it seemed awfully suspicious that no one from the school or from the local authority ever checked up on her. If her appearance when she first arrived at Hogwarts had been indicative — and Jasmine assured them that it was — she had spent most of her life walking around too thin, too small, and wearing clothing that obviously didn't fit her. "Teachers are required by law to report even a suspicion of abuse," Hermione pointed out, "so what happened? Did they all magically forget? Or did someone inform the authorities, but that report was magically lost?"
Jasmine looked questioningly at Hermione when she raised these issues as if to say, Who could have done such a thing? Hermione tilted her head sideways and looked expectantly at her. Jasmine's eyebrows rose almost into her hairline when she reached the same conclusion her girlfriend obviously had. Dumbledore? We think he may have done some heinous things, but... this? Hermione gave a little shrug of resignation, knowing they had no evidence of wrongdoing but couldn't afford to ignore the possibility.
Ginny and Neville didn't even realize that the other two had just had a silent conversation, much less what the topic was.
They then proceeded through a variety of strange or suspicious things about her life: having only the kind but admittedly hapless Hagrid to introduce her to the wizarding world, the fact that she was already recognizable and famous even before then, the absence of mail, and her complete ignorance about basic things like the scope of her family's inheritance — and did she even have any other relatives? Next came concerns about Hogwarts as a school: some notably poor teachers, the lack of discipline for misbehaving students (even if some of the beneficiaries were the Marauders and the Weasley twins), tolerance of pureblood bigotry, and a general failure to provide guidance.
The most important topic was of course Jasmine's experiences at Hogwarts. Every year it seemed she had saved the school and/or the headmaster's job, despite the fact that that should be a task for adults. All she had received as recognition had been some house points, and never once was she offered any sort of counseling to deal with the deaths and dangers she'd faced.
In the end, the four students were all disturbed about both the number of questionable incidents and how serious some of them had been. Hermione had filled up dozens of sheets of parchment and was covered in splotches of ink because her growing anger prevented her from being her usually neat self. It was a somber and depressed group that split up so they could get a bit of homework done before dinner, but they all promised to be back after the meal so they could practice some more dancing. They agreed that they could use something fun and distracting to end the day with.
Sunday, December 13, 1994, Early Morning.
The Hogwarts library tended to be even more sparsely populated on Sunday mornings than on Saturdays, though it was noteworthy that Viktor Krum was once again present. The relative emptiness of the library always suited Hermione Granger, which was why she had long made it a habit to use the library during these unpopular hours. Well, she used the library at all hours, to be honest, but everyone knew that she could be found here early most weekend mornings.
These were the times that she could be guaranteed use of the table she wanted (a table she threatened many times to ward against everyone else, once she learned the necessary rune sets), to find the books she needed (thus necessitating the larger, stronger table), and to avoid the distractions of chatting, pestering students (because libraries are for books, not annoying people). Though to be fair, there was one other she graciously conceded should be allowed use of the library alongside her: Jasmine Potter.
Jasmine, for her part, was never the library or book snob that Hermione was, nor was she as academically competitive as Hermione was driven to be. This didn't mean that she wasn't smart or creative, but left to her own devices she probably would have settled for a much lower standard of work in her classes. That ceased to be an option after she'd saved Hermione from that troll.
For her part, Hermione certainly wasn't going to let her first friend be anything less than the best witch she could possibly be. It was that sort of bossiness that helped prevent Hermione from having any other close friends, and it definitely grated on the green-eyed witch at times. Yet she must have seen something in Hermione that made her persevere in the friendship, trying to moderate her bossy mannerisms while Hermione in turn worked to get her friend to be more committed and driven in her academics.
Somewhere along the way, they had found a comfortable middle ground which they could inhabit together. That's why Jasmine usually accompanies me to the library early on weekend mornings despite her preference to have a lie in, mused Hermione. That's also why we usually quit early enough before lunch to go for a walk, despite my preference to keep working until the library closes.
It could be a delicate balance, but it worked for them. At least, it had worked for the past few years — now, however, Hermione wasn't so sure.
She'd already organized and rewritten her notes on Dumbledore for their afternoon meeting with Professor McGonagall, and she wanted to get in a little research into Dumbledore's early life — or at least get a handle on how good the material in the library was.
Unfortunately, she had become distracted... and Hermione Granger hated being distracted from her work. The current source of her distraction was none other than the girl sitting across from her. Being distracted by her isn't that unusual, Hermione noted to herself. But she'd long since learned how to deal with Jasmine's most common distracting behaviors — talking about Quidditch, trying to balance a quill on her nose, cackling over some new plan to thwart her nemesis of the week, and of course deliberately mispronouncing spells solely for the purpose of getting a rise out of her. She thinks I don't know it's deliberate.
These were all things Hermione had learned to deal with, but now Jasmine had somehow found a new and diabolical method of utterly distracting her from work. She's just sitting there, Hermione fumed. Working! Jasmine had always been smart and a hard worker, at least when she put her mind to it, and Hermione always liked seeing her do well.
Now, though, there's something more. Looking up from her book, the bushy-haired witch licked her lips while staring at her new girlfriend. Now... she looks good while doing it.
Granted, Jasmine had always been pretty and was getting prettier as the years went by; but now, instead of simply being an intellectual realization, it was something Hermione could feel. Her heart had sped up, there were butterflies in her stomach, her mouth was dry... for a bit, she was afraid she might be getting sick. Worse, the more she looked at Jasmine, the greater the reaction; the greater the reaction, the more distracted she was; the more distracted she was, the more she ended up looking.
Holy Cricket! Hermione realized, I really am falling for her, aren't I? I had my first kiss Thursday morning. I had my first snogging session Friday night. Now here it is, only Sunday morning, and all I want to do is jump across this table and snog her senseless. How did that happen? Is this normal?
Jasmine picked that moment to catch Hermione staring at her and of course gave her that lopsided grin of hers before asking, "Whatcha thinking about there so hard?" A part of Hermione so wanted to tell the truth and say "snogging you senseless," just to see how much she liked being distracted. A slightly larger part, though, was still embarrassed to be having such thoughts at all and would never admit to them in public, so instead she simply answered, "What color knickers you're wearing."
Hermione froze and thought her heart might have stopped completely. Where in Merlin's name did that come from?! Jasmine looked a little puzzled, but said simply, "Well, all you have to do was ask..." Hermione felt herself blush so furiously that she wondered how it was that she still had blood left for anywhere else in her body.
And this is why I hate being distracted, Hermione thought, I can't concentrate on anything that I try to do! I can't even control what words come out of my mouth!
Quickly packing her books, Hermione grabbed Jasmine's hand and started muttering, "So much for that, we might as well leave. There's no way I'm getting any further work done now. I hope you're happy, distracting me so much. I don't see how you expect me to get any work done at all, with you sitting there, reading, and... and... wearing colored knickers. I mean, honestly!"
Jasmine looked thoughtful for a moment at Hermione's babbling, then leaned in close and whispered with exaggerated innocence, "What? Would you prefer I didn't wear any?"
Sunday, December 13, 1994, Afternoon.
When the two witches entered Professor McGonagall's office after lunch, Hermione's face was still flaming, and Jasmine sported a self-satisfied smile. Minerva looked closer and didn't see the disheveled clothing or tousled hair that usually characterized a recent visit to a broom cupboard, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know what had caused these reactions. Sometimes it's best to simply let sleeping hippogriffs lie.
"Well," Minerva began after all three witches were seated on either side of her desk, "is there anything either of you want to ask or say before we start? Have you done as I suggested and given some thought to the actions of the headmaster?"
"As a matter of fact, we have," answered Jasmine, who then turned to look at Hermione. The red-faced witch was staring straight ahead as if she hadn't heard anything, then suddenly she seemed to come back to herself, saying, "Oh, yes. Right." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a sheaf of parchment to hand over to her professor. "The two of us worked with Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley to come up with a list of questionable actions and events. The first piece of parchment is a summary list; the rest contain all the details we know of."
Minerva was impressed with the thoroughness of the work, though perhaps not entirely surprised, given the source. Even just reading over the summary, she experienced a combination of anger and shame — anger that so many awful things had happened to a child, and shame at her own role in many of them.
In the end, shame won out, but it was a near thing. She had to close her eyes for a moment after putting down the parchment in order to regain her composure. Once she trusted her voice enough to resume speaking, she looked back and forth between the two students. "Thank you for this — there is information in here that even I wasn't aware of. However, I assume that you have left out some details... like, for example, everything you went through with your relatives, Miss Potter?"
Jasmine suddenly found something interesting to pull at in her lap. She couldn't bring herself to meet anyone's eyes, but she did nod her head. Only Hermione's hand on her arm kept her from jumping up and running. She hadn't been willing to discuss anything but the barest of generalities when Ginny and Neville were present; it had been hard enough to explain the few extra details to Hermione later.
"I realize that this isn't a pleasant subject, but I would recommend going into specifics. If we are ever to use this against the headmaster, the more specific details we have — including dates, if possible — the better." Both girls looked sharply at their professor upon hearing this. Neither had expected that either they or anyone else would act against Dumbledore.
"Yes, you heard me right," Minerva continued. "I'm not promising you that we ever will. I'm not even making any promises about how — we might not be able to do more than merely threaten him with releasing it. But whatever we might want to do, we'll be more likely to accomplish our goals if we have more information. And yes, I do mean we. I have failed you both, you in particular Miss Potter, and I don't intend to do that again. I'll be helping and supporting you in whatever way I can."
After straightening up the sheaf of parchment, Minerva pulled out her wand and duplicated it with a quick wave. Handing what might have been the original over to Hermione, she said, "Please take this back and add to it anything else that you can. I'll add to the copy I have. Later, we can combine the two into a more complete and accurate record of events. In fact, we should consider making it a standing appointment to meet Sunday afternoons. We'll have enough matters to discuss that I think we'll be able to fill the rest of the school year with ease."
"Professor," Jasmine started after a moment, "assuming that everything we wrote down is true as far as we know it, what has given him the right to meddle in my life so much?"
"That's a good question, and I'm not sure if there is a good answer. One likely possibility is that he might have asserted some form of guardianship over you."
"Guardianship?" Jasmine asked. "I thought the Dursleys were my guardians."
"That's right, I'm sorry," Minerva responded. "I mean a magical guardianship."
"What's that?" Hermione interjected, frowning.
Sighing, Minerva answered, "This is never easy to explain to muggleborn students. In the muggle world, a child's parents or guardians are normally contacted for permission to do certain things. The same is true in the magical community... except where muggle parents are concerned. You see, muggles don't know enough about magic to easily make informed decisions for their children, and it's difficult to get them into magical places where they can see what's going on. Unfortunately, given the magical community's lack of respect for muggles, the category of things that a magical guardian has authority over has expanded greatly."
"Does every muggleborn student have a magical guardian?" Hermione asked.
"Yes and no," Minerva answered. "Usually, there's no need to go beyond what is already covered for all students under the concept of in loco parentis. So decisions are made by whomever is the immediately responsible adult — the healer, the headmaster, or even your head of house. When a more serious situation arises, the headmaster makes a determination about whether this is something muggle parents can deal with, or if it requires too much magical knowledge or experience and is thus a decision that a magical guardian must make. For example, Miss Granger, your parents weren't consulted about your medical treatment when you were petrified in second year."
"So he might have asserted some form of magical guardianship over me in order to make decisions about my life?" Jasmine asked.
"That is one possibility," Minerva answered. "I'm not sure, though, where I'd look to find out." Minerva McGonagall then adopted a much softer expression. "Now, I think I invited you here to talk about the Potter family and your possible inheritance, yes? Well, I obviously don't have all the information, and some of what I think I know may be wrong. I'm relying in part on what I heard in passing from your parents and grandparents over the years."
"The first thing to know is that your family was once considered an 'Ancient and Noble' family. This designation is reserved for the oldest and most powerful families in magical society. The Potters lost the title in the wake of the Grindelwald war because so much of their resources were destroyed. The family was no less old, of course, but they lost a lot of money and power. Your family's enemies took advantage of that. Fortunately your family didn't lose their hereditary seat on the Wizengamot, but that might have been partially because of your grandfather's marriage to Dorea Black. The Black family today remains 'Ancient and Noble,' by the way. I don't know what happened to that seat — if it's still available to you, if it was transferred to someone else, or what. I also don't know if or how the 'Ancient and Noble' status can be regained."
Minerva then turned in her seat, bent over, and picked up an average-looking bookbag. "This," she said, "is a collection of books that all deal with the Potter family in some fashion. Some are about specific Potter individuals while others are general histories that I think include important information about Potters." Hermione's eyes flashed in excitement at the prospect of so much new knowledge — and knowledge about her favorite person, too!
"Wow," Jasmine said as she accepted the bag. She didn't miss the unconscious little grasping motions that Hermione's hands were making. "Where did all of this come from?"
"Another good question, Miss Potter. They used to be in the library."
"Used to be?" Hermione asked with a dangerous edge in her voice. Had her precious library been violated?
"Yes. I went looking for them, surprised that neither of you had ever thought to check them out, but I discovered that they were all missing. After a bit of hunting, I found that they had been placed in a storage room used for duplicates and overflow books."
"Why would they have been put there? And by whom?" Jasmine asked
"I honestly don't know," McGonagall said, shaking her head. "I don't even know how long they've been there."
Neither girl had anything to say to that. One more thing to put on their list of suspicious incidents.
"With regards to your likely inheritance," continued Minerva, "I have less information. Even after the Grindelwald war, the Potters had a fair amount of money, properties, and investments. They weren't destitute, though they weren't as rich and powerful as they had been. However, that was sixty years ago, and I don't know what happened to it all. Your grandfather Charlus was, as far as I know, a shrewd businessman. With Dorea by his side, I would have expected him to grow the Potter fortune."
"Your father James... well, I have no idea what sort of businessman he was or might have become. He died too young. I don't know how much he started with when he became head of the family, and I couldn't tell you how much was left when he died. However, everything that was left should have been set aside for you, Miss Potter."
"So, that's what's in my trust vault?" Jasmine asked.
"Miss Potter, a trust vault is exactly that — a trust," explained Minerva. "Those funds are made available to you for your schooling while you are growing up. A trust isn't meant to be a person's full inheritance. In fact, it's something you would have had available to you even if your parents were alive. It's a way for you to be somewhat financially independent and gives you a chance to demonstrate how responsible you are with your family's money while you are attending school. There should be at least one standard family vault, however it wouldn't be available to you until you reach your majority."
"There's an awful lot of uncertainty in all this," Jasmine said morosely.
"Indeed, Miss Potter. I'm afraid that the only place you're likely to get any certainty is Gringotts — and even then, I'm not sure. The goblins are sticklers for rules and regulations. I don't know what rules might limit what they can and cannot tell you."
"Well," said Hermione, trying to look hopeful, "we've got a place to start. We've got books to read and maybe a trip to Gringotts to plan."
"If you two intend to visit Gringotts," Minerva said with a stern look, "be certain to talk to me first. I'd like to try to schedule it for a time when the headmaster is out of the castle and hopefully occupied for the day. The less he knows, the better."
Hermione suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, Professor, have you by any chance seen a copy of the tournament rules? Jasmine asked Professor Dumbledore for a copy, but he never got back to her. I doubt that asking again would do any good, at least given what we are learning now. Do you have any ideas of where we could find it?"
Minerva thought about that for a moment before answering, "To be perfectly honest, I haven't seen a copy and I probably should have — not just as a member of staff, but as the Head of House for one of the champions. I'll start looking around."
"Thank you for all this information, Professor..." Jasmine said as she started to stand, but she was interrupted before she could finish.
"I need to ask you two a question. Forgive me if this sounds a bit too forward, but it's important. Tell me honestly: how serious are the two of you?"
Jasmine and Hermione looked at each other for a moment, both biting their bottom lips and feeling a bit bewildered at the question. Then Jasmine said as they both turned back to their professor, "To be honest, Professor, that's a hard question to answer. I mean, we've only just started. It sounds strange to say that we're serious already." She bit her bottom lip again as Hermione took up the line of thought. "At the same time, though, I can't deny that it feels serious, and I'm sure Jasmine would agree."
The auburn-haired witch nodded her head vigorously, then Hermione continued, "Maybe it just sounds like immature teens in their first relationship, but I'd like to think it has more to do with how close we've been for the past three years. I think we're both committed to making this work because of how right it feels and because, quite frankly, I can't imagine being without her." Hermione was smiling at Jasmine when she said this last, and the other witch returned that smile, saying, "I feel the same way."
Nodding, their transfiguration professor said, "Good, I'm glad to hear all of that — both that you're serious and that you're cautious, given that this is your first relationship. Knowing that, I have something for the two of you."
Reaching into her desk drawer, Minerva pulled out a large, well-worn book with black leather binding. Handing it directly to Hermione, she said, "This is a special book. Few copies were ever printed — in fact, I don't think I've ever seen another copy, though that's not surprising. However many there are left, they are all probably well-hidden in private collections."
Taking the book gingerly into her hands, Hermione read the title: The Power of Love: Love is Never Dangerous, by D. Tempest Pureheart. She turned back to her professor with a questioning look in her eye.
"This was written in the early 20th century to defend, ah, 'alternative' relationships," explained Minerva. "It covers same-sex, polygamous, and polyamorous relationships. Since it was written by a witch, it deals almost entirely with the concerns and relationships of witches. There may be a similar book with wizards in mind, but I've never seen one. Ms. Pureheart refutes the common, traditionalist arguments against such relationships, explains what's good and valuable about them, and finally describes how such relationships can affect or interact with magic — in particular, magical rites and rituals."
Now both girls were looking at the book with awe and reverence. Neither had been able to find anything of value on this topic in the Hogwarts library. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, unable to tear her eyes away from the heavy tome. "I promise I'll get it back to you as soon—"
"No," Minerva interrupted while holding up a hand. "It's yours. I am gifting it to you, since you have need of it whereas I do not. It makes no sense for me to allow it to go to waste, buried in an old trunk. Use it well, but I implore you to keep it secret. This book was never officially banned, but I think that's only because the Ministry never wanted to be seen admitting that such behaviors or relationships exist in the first place. Instead, it is considered inappropriate to have a copy, especially for witches as young as you. If it were discovered in your possession, it would probably be confiscated then 'accidentally' destroyed. So keep it safe."
Neither girl knew what to say. They had pretty much given up hope at finding written material on this topic — it seemed to be so taboo in magical society that no one was willing to write about it, not even for the purpose of criticizing it. Now, though, they had been gifted what seemed like a priceless treasure: a rare book that not only talked about relationships like theirs, but explained how such relationships could interact with magic. And rituals! That was a highly restricted subject that wasn't even taught in Hogwarts, but here was a professor simply handing information over.
Tears of gratitude shone in both witches' eyes when they thanked their Transfiguration professor and left. Smiling sadly, Minerva McGonagall allowed herself to turn back once again to memories she had thought were long buried and forgotten. She hadn't wanted to ever be reminded of that pain, but she wasn't going to be able to help these two young witches if she continued to ignore her own past.
It surprised her that she was opening up so much to them — she was usually far more reserved around her students, maintaining a strictly professional relationship and not getting personally involved. That attitude couldn't continue, though, because she owed it to them to help them with this. She owed it to someone else, too.
Walking slowly to her private bedroom, she opened a battered trunk and dug around a bit to pull out a magically sealed box. After softly reciting the password, she opened it and pulled out an old, worn photo album. On it was a name: Bonnie Freya Roy. Sitting down on the edge of her tartan-covered bed, she gently opened the book to the first page of pictures and began to silently weep.
Sunday, December 13, 1994, Late Night.
Hermione Granger couldn't sleep. She'd been lying in bed for hours, but sleep stubbornly would not come. As she lay there in bed, she listened to the soft sounds of girls sleeping around her — and of one girl in particular. After more than three years, she had learned to easily pick out the sounds of Jasmine Potter sleeping. She could always tell, without ever having to think about it, when Jasmine was sleeping soundly, when she was having a nightmare, and when she was simply lying awake.
Jasmine was the reason she was the one currently lying awake. She'd been experiencing stronger and stronger reactions to Jasmine, and they didn't make sense. Hermione hated it when things didn't make sense. Normally when something didn't make sense, she'd head to the library, grab twenty or thirty books, and research it to death. In this case, though, she had no idea where she'd begin to do research. She wasn't even confident that she understood the problem.
On the one hand, she considered, I've started kissing and even snogging Jasmine. I've been thinking more and more how pretty she is. While looking at her or thinking about her, my heart starts racing, and my mouth goes dry. To cap it all off, earlier today thoughts about her in her knickers came to me out of nowhere, making me so embarrassed and excited that I couldn't think straight. And if that weren't bad enough, Jasmine had the gall to get me to think about her not wearing any knickers. She did that on purpose, just to watch me squirm — I know she did!
On the other hand, Hermione continued to muse, Jasmine and I are friends. We're best friends, in fact. We do everything possible together. I've seen her when she's happy. I've seen her when she's moody and depressed. I've seen her when she hasn't slept and has horrible circles under her eyes. I've held her when she's sick and hocking up bogies. I've seen her in her knickers on an almost daily basis. I've seen her without her knickers. I've seen her naked in the shower many times.
Hermione sat up at this point, hoping that a vertical position might be conducive to problem-solving. Over the past three years, we've been friends, roommates, partners, and equals. We're so in sync with each other that most of the time we don't even need to speak when working together. It's a relationship that hasn't had a single romantic or erotic element whatsoever.
And that aspect of the relationship hadn't stopped, she realized. Earlier, when we changed clothes for bed, it was perfectly normal. I was completely indifferent to her state of dress. But a few hours earlier, the idea of her not wearing knickers produced so many naughty thoughts that I couldn't stop blushing! As if to prove her point, she could feel a blush start again, accompanied by a warm feeling in her lower abdomen.
OK, I get it, I'm not straight. Not entirely, anyway. She buried her face in her hands as she sighed in resignation. I fancy Jasmine. I want to kiss Jasmine. I want to... do things with Jasmine. The warm feeling started spreading at this point. But how can I pursue that sort of thing with my best friend? I can't do all the things friends casually do without even noticing and explore a romantic, physical relationship with her at the same time, can I? If we regularly change clothes in front of each other, thoughts of her in her knickers won't be exciting; if I get excited thinking about her in her knickers, we won't be able to change or shower casually in front of each other.
I don't understand how having both could be possible, but I don't want to have to choose! Flopping back on the bed, Hermione groaned in frustration. Why do relationships have to be so complicated? Isn't there a book where I can get all the answers?
Casting Tempus, she saw that a grand total of ten minutes had passed since the last time she looked, and she was no closer to either answers or sleep. It was going to be a long, long night.