A/N: Thanks so much for taking a look at the first chapter! Just a quick note about format - this is going to be an alternative POV story, so while Chapter 1 was written from Ron's perspective, this chapter will be following the thoughts of a certain tutor that was recommended to him :)
Special thanks to adenei for being such a huge help in the beta process!
I hope you enjoy this next entry - remember, I'll be updating every Monday!
If you like what you see, please let me know!
Chapter 2: "You're forgetting, I love going to class."
The smell of warm, fresh-from-the-oven sugar cookies emanated from the candle on Hermione Granger's dresser, helping her create a cozy ambiance to settle in for a morning of studying. In addition to completing her readings for her women's studies class, she had to start reviewing for her upcoming exam in biochemistry and begin a first draft of an essay for her evolution class. On top of all that, she had to prepare a lesson plan for her section of Intro to Bio later in the week. To most people, the amount of work that she was facing on a Monday morning would be daunting at best and massively depressing at worst. To Hermione, though, it had nothing to do with irresponsibility or procrastination over the weekend. It was just another opportunity to dig deeper into her lifelong interests through school, and she couldn't wait to get started.
She sat down in her plush office chair, pulled it up to the desk, and cracked her knuckles. Her laptop sat open to her right, and rows of pens and pencils were arranged in rainbow order on the upright organizer in the back left corner, leaving plenty of open space for her notes. Above the desk hung twin framed posters of her personal heroes, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell and Dr. Helen Taussig, two pioneers in the field of medicine. It was Hermione's happy place, and she never failed to be at her most productive when she worked there. With a smile on her face, she dove into the first task on her to-do list.
A knock on the door pulled her nose out of her book. "Come in," she said.
When the door opened, Hemione's roommate Parvati Patil peeked her head around the corner.
"You're already up?" Parvati asked, digging the heels of her palms into her eye sockets.
"Of course, today is a great day for me to get work done. I have to take advantage of the time when I have it."
"Yeah, God forbid you fall behind in anything ever. When are you going to cut yourself a break?"
"Hmm," Hermione said, chewing on the end of her pen. "Well, there's a year and a half left of undergrad, then four more years of medical school, three to five years of residency, and potentially another three years of fellowship. So…ten to fifteen years?"
"You have to be joking."
"Of course I am," Hermione replied with a soft chuckle. "I took a break this weekend and went home to visit my parents. Their dental practice was closed, so we got to spend all day together. It was great, we went to see the Bodies exhibit at the museum."
Parvati scoffed. "Haven't you seen that like ten times already?"
"Do you honestly think one could see and appreciate everything about the human body in one visit?" Hermione asked, leaning forward towards her friend. "Of course not! Each time I've gone, I've focused on a different system of the body; the nervous system, the cardiovascular system, the skeletal system…each has its own fascinating characteristics."
"You're such a nerd."
"I just find human physiology to be fascinating and beautiful."
"Okay, but when you go to medical school, you're–"
"If I go to medical school," Hermione corrected.
The groan coming from Parvati's mouth could be heard across campus. "Are you kidding me? There has never been a more qualified applicant in the history of medical school. You just landed in the ninety-ninth percentile on your MCAT, you have a 4.0 GPA, and your letters of recommendation will be sterling. You're already writing practice med school application essays, for God's sake. So yes, when you go to medical school, you'll be studying these things all the time. Why not save it until then?"
"I don't know…why wait?" Hermione offered, tossing her hands into the air.
"Or," Parvati said, a sly smile creeping onto her face, "if you want to learn about the human body, why don't you come with me some time and check them out at the bar. Ideally the male variety. You might like what you see."
"Not my scene."
"Are you sure? Some of them let you do shots right off their bodies. I defy you to find a better way to learn about ab muscles than by licking tequila off of a rock-hard set."
"Do you have any idea how many bacteria are present on every person's skin?" Hermione said, furrowing her eyebrows. "Many of which are not the same as the bacteria on your skin or in your mouth. I'm sorry, but that just sounds thoroughly unsanitary."
Parvati blew a big raspberry at Hermione, who chuckled for a moment. "You're a junior in college. Live a little. Have some fun. Meet some people. You need to date someday, you know."
"I dated Arthur in high school, remember?"
"Hermione, the boy's name was Arthur. Arthur. And you dated him for a week and never got any farther than holding his hand. It doesn't count as dating if you don't do anything more than the stuff you do with your freaking parents."
"Arthur was nice!"
"Arthur was Arthur, Hermione," Parvati sighed. "The one time he tried to kiss you, he missed and slobbered on your glasses. You can do better than Arthur."
"Well I liked him, but maybe you're right. In any case, I plan to meet my future spouse in medical school or residency, if I'm lucky enough to go."
"If you're–whatever, fine. Just do me a favor and at least keep your eyes open? You never know, right?"
"No, I suppose you don't."
"Anyways, I can't believe you managed to avoid Monday classes. You're so lucky."
"It just worked out that way, but it wouldn't have bothered me either way. You're forgetting, I love going to class."
"Right. Your sunshiny attitude is exhausting. You know that, right?" Parvati said, stifling a yawn.
Hermione looked up from her friend and smirked. "Perhaps you'd be less tired if you hadn't gotten home at two o'clock in the morning last night."
Cheeks glowing red, Parvati took a step backward. "Ahh, you heard that?"
"I did."
"Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you. I met up with the girls from my freshman dorm and we may have gone a little harder than we'd anticipated."
"It's fine, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, I was out again a minute later. Are you feeling alright this morning?"
"Mostly," Parvati answered, rubbing her stomach. "Probably should've stopped after that sixth shot, but you live and learn."
"Indeed you do."
"So you're just studying for the morning?"
Patting the stack of books in front of her, Hermione nodded. "Yes. I have to go meet up with Professor Sprout later today. She wants to talk to me about my section of Intro to Bio and told me she has another request for me."
"Teacher's pet, ladies and gentlemen. Ever since elementary school…" Parvati replied, gesturing towards Hermione as if she was showing off a prize on the Price is Right.
Hermione smirked back at her roommate. "And you've been the class clown ever since elementary school."
"Guilty as charged! And it's a good thing, too; someone has to balance out all of your Type A-ness, don't you think? That's why we've always gotten along so well!"
"Perhaps you're right," Hermione answered with a roll of her eyes. "But anyway, it's not my fault that Professor Sprout appreciates my intellect, and it doesn't make me a teacher's pet!"
"You know I'm just kidding," Parvati said with a smile. "And if everything you've told me about her is true, it sounds like she's a really useful person to know at this school, and you're lucky to be working with her. I just…I hope you can find a better sense of balance this semester. You always work so hard. You could do with some fun in your life."
"Studying is fun."
"Studying is work. It's an obligation. It's great that you enjoy what you're studying, but life is about more than reading and learning. It's about interactions. It's about connection. It's about people. Especially hot people."
Hermione laughed and turned back to her studying, popping in an earbud and turning her music back up. "If you say so. Have a great morning, Parvati, I'll see you tonight."
"Alright, see you tonight, Hermione."
The rest of the morning passed in no time at all. Hermione enjoyed her work so much that she nearly lost track of time. After taking a quick shower and changing, she set out across campus to meet with her mentor, Dr. Sprout. Hermione was thrilled that Dr. Sprout chose her to help oversee a discussion section and assist with grading. Earning her PhD in biology at age twenty-seven and contributing revolutionary work in the field of gene modification therapy, the woman was brilliant. It didn't hurt that she had the ear of the medical school admissions committee as well.
As soon as Hermione knocked on the professor's door, it swung open, and she was greeted by the small woman and her perpetually messy office.
"Hermione, perfect, thank you for coming. I wanted to talk to you before my faculty meetings later this afternoon. Sit, sit," Professor Sprout said.
"Thank you. I'm sorry I'm a bit late."
"You're actually early, but that's neither here nor there. So, how do you feel things are going so far?"
"So far so good, as far as I'm concerned. Is there anything you feel I should be doing differently?"
The professor smiled back at her. "No, I think you're doing an excellent job. I'm particularly impressed as you're still in your undergraduate years. You're aware that you're the first undergraduate student I've allowed to teach a section of Intro in all my years here, aren't you?"
"You've mentioned it before," Hermione replied, trying not to blush.
"Well, it's true, and you're doing very well so far. I'll admit, I was worried at first that you would have trouble controlling a classroom of your peers, but the students respect you. And, between you and me, the students in your section did better on the first exam than students in any other section, so I suspect you're doing something right."
"Oh, well that's nice to know. They've been working hard. I'm proud of them."
"You're sure we can't sway you to a life in academia?" Professor Sprout asked with a grin.
Hermione laughed. "No, it's always been medicine for me. Although I very much appreciate this opportunity."
"Understandable. You've earned the opportunity through hard work and excellent results. Now, that brings me to my second point. I have an additional favor to ask you. There's a student in the Tuesday section that's struggling with the material. Normally I'd ask the student's own Teaching Assistant to tutor him, but Neville's already tutoring two other students this semester. Do you think you'd be able to help?"
The idea made Hermione's insides squirm. She always had the most trouble with students who were having extreme difficulty. Would she even be able to help this person?
But Professor Sprout clearly trusted her with this responsibility, and it wouldn't look good to turn her down.
"Sure!" Hermione replied, plastering the most authentic smile she could muster on her face. "I'd be happy to meet with him. I can't promise any more than once per week given my other responsibilities, but if that's acceptable to you, I'll be there."
"Once per week will be fine. Thank you, Hermione, you're a lifesaver. I have his emails here somewhere. Perhaps you two could set something up for later in the week? The next exam is coming up soon, and he received the lowest first exam grade out of anyone in the entire class."
"I see. Well, that sounds fine. I'll see what I can do."
Professor Sprout dug through her desk drawer until she found a folded piece of paper with Hermione's name written across the top. She passed it across the desk, and Hermione opened and scanned it. It was a series of emails back and forth from the professor to a student named Ronald Weasley. Judging by the grammar in his emails, biology wasn't the only subject in which he could use some tutoring.
"Ron is a sophomore who plays on the frisbee team. Whatever that is," Professor Sprout explained. "I didn't know that that activity justified a team, but in any case, the coach is a personal friend, and he's worried that Ron will become ineligible if he can't get his grade up. I couldn't care less about his eligibility to play sports, but I don't like to stand by and do nothing while struggling students continue to struggle. Do you think you could email him and arrange things?"
It took great effort to withhold her judgmental huff, but Hermione smiled back at the older woman and nodded. "Of course, I'd be happy to."
"Perfect, thank you! Alright, I should probably finish up my work before our meetings. They're dreadfully boring, but what can you do? I'll see you on Friday for our weekly TA meeting?"
"I'll be there!"
"Excellent, have a great week."
"You too!"
As Hermione gathered her things and pulled her scarf around her neck to brace herself for the cold, she scoffed. A jock failing science? Could it be more cliche? The whole endeavor had the potential to be disastrous. She had never gotten along well with the sports-obsessed, and she doubted that would change any time soon. Hopefully, Ron Weasley would be willing to focus and actually study. If not, it could end up being a very long semester.
