Where Hermione discovers something.
HERMIONE VIII
She sat alone at a table of the library, her books, parchments and notes from four different courses spread in front of her. It was Saturday, and Hermione decided to take the entire day at the library to progress in her homework. She wanted to get ahead before they returned from the holidays. The homework would only increase after that, as exams would approach. Harry offered to accompany her, but she refused. The first reason was that Harry wasn't as conscientious as she was in completing assignments. Of course, he worked seriously, but he wasn't as focused as she was, and he could interrupt her to discuss a mundane matter, especially if Ron was around. Secondly, it was obvious that Harry didn't really want to spend an entire day of the weekend at the library. And he was on time in his homework, unlike Ron. It was better if she left them alone while she could completely focus on her own work.
Right now, she was completing an essay on the growth of Internet and the impact it was expected to have on the Muggles and their relationships with the Wizarding World. It was for her course on Muggle Studies, of course. She liked Professor Burbage. She was a competent, intelligent, and engaging teacher, although Hermione couldn't claim her subject to be the most interesting, given Hermione already knew a lot of what she taught them. Still, she had to complete the homework she gave them. Being Muggle-born didn't spare her from students' obligations in that class. Quite the opposite, she felt pressure to perform even better than all her comrades.
After fifteen more minutes, she was done with her essay. She reviewed it quickly, then put it aside to focus on the only subject she despised this year: Divination. Four months after their first lesson, reading tea leaves proved to be as useless and futile as in the beginning. Professor Trelawney kept predicting disasters, especially to Parvati, who despite this went to see the professor outside the lessons. Hermione told her more than once to not care about this woman's words, but to no avail. Lavender was of no help, as she believed every word Trelawney uttered, and neither Sophie nor Lily showed any indication that they wanted to reassure Parvati after their first failed attempts.
Hermione went on with her Divination homework, hoping it would be finished soon. Her hopes were fulfilled since she didn't pour too much effort into doing the work. She just did what had to be done. Her previous efforts had resulted in poor results, and despite several attempts at rectifying the way she completed her assignments in this subject, it became soon apparent that Sibylle Trelawney only gave good notes when someone foreshadowed disasters and horrors, something Hermione refused to do. After an hour, she was done with Divination and went on to work on Ancient Runes.
She dug deep into the symbols of the past, translating them, not only in English, but also in magical terms to decipher their meaning, what they were used for, and what their usefulness was today. This subject was so much more than mere translation of old languages. Hermione was eager to learn runes from other civilizations, but they focused on the basis of rune studies, and runes from England and Ireland in their first year. It was interesting to learn of Gaelic, Scottish, Saxon, Pict, Anglo, Jute, even Roman, Viking and Norman runes to a certain extent, due to the influence those cultures had on England and the many wizards that had accompanied each invasion and migration, but Hermione hoped the following years would extend their horizons.
Hermione was bringing the last touch to her final translation when someone seized her by the shoulder. She jumped and pushed a small shout.
"Hermione, calm down. This is me."
Hermione did indeed calm down as soon as she realized who had only put her hand on her shoulder. "Susan, don't do it again. You almost caused me to have a heart attack."
"I'm sorry, Hermione," the red-haired girl with brown eyes replie. "I tried to whisper to you, but you wouldn't answer."
Well, it was true that they were in the library. They couldn't talk loudly. Whoever did so would be kicked out by Madam Pince. "What do you want, Susan?"
"Can I sit there?" She pointed the only chair, at the other side of the table, that wasn't occupied by piles of books or parchments. "There's no other place available in the library."
"Of, of course. I don't mind."
"Thank you."
The Hufflepuff smiled and went to sit at the empty place. Hermione really didn't mind that Susan would share her table. If it had been Hannah Abbott, or Ernie Macmillan, or Parvati, or Lavender, or even Padma, or Ron and Harry, she might have objected, but Susan was the kind of person who only talked about work whenever they were following a lesson or completing their homework. And that was when she talked at all. Susan wasn't very talkative to say the least. That's why Hermione appreciated her so much as a neighbor in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Study of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. It was the latter whose homework Hermione started once she finished dealing with Ancient Runes.
She dug deep into work again. Her mind was filled to the brim by numbers and calculations. It was like pursuing her lessons in mathematics from the time she didn't know she was a witch. She was in the middle of very complex equations when Susan did something that seldom happened in her case. She interrupted Hermione.
"What?" Hermione replied, exasperated to be interrupted.
"I just wanted to ask if I could read your essay in Muggle Studies. I wanted to take this subject this year, but I couldn't."
"Of course. Take it."
Susan didn't have to ask her permission. But yet again, Susan was way too polite sometimes. There were even times when she still asked Hermione for permission to sit next to her in class. With all that, Susan made her lose her focus on Arithmancy. Hermione probably lost several minutes due to this interruption. And the logical and mathematical problems she had to solve further down the line proved to be even more complicated. She ended up scrubbing the back of her neck incessantly. At some point, she met a dead-end. One of the problems she faced seemed to be unsolvable. She rubbed behind her head quicker and quicker, until she was interrupted once again.
"Hermione, are you alright?"
"Yes," Hermione snapped in silence at Susan. She looked at her friend, who went right away back to her own homework, an uneasy expression on her face. Hermione felt guilty for snapping at Susan, but she needed to advance in her homework. She looked at her notes to find another solution to the problem she was facing, to no avail. She finally stood up.
"Keep an eyer on my things, Susan. I've got to find something," Hermione told her right as she headed for the shelves.
Hermione managed to find what she wanted relatively quickly, though she wished it had taken less than five minutes. She came across Madam Pince, who made her lose some more time as she checked the book Hermione just seized from the shelves to make sure it wasn't damaged. To not arrange things, she met Neville, who happened to be working on his Potions homework. She didn't have the heart to refuse to help him, though she wished for once he didn't ask her to.
She needed an additional half-hour to get Neville to produce something decent for Snape when she finally managed to get back to her table. When she came back, it was to find Susan standing over her place, looking at all her stuff scattered on the table.
"Susan, excuse me. I've got to get back to work," she said as she got around her friend.
"Hermione, why did you note all the dates when Professor Lupin was sick?"
Hermione froze in her movements as Susan asked the question. Hermione then noticed that Susan Bones was holding something in her hands, a small notebook she used to note things that were important.
"Hey, that's mine," she said right away, snatching away the notebook from Susan's hands. "I didn't give you permission to dig into my stuff."
"I didn't want to. I was working on my homework in Arithmancy. I saw yours and wanted to see which problem you had difficulty with, and your notebook was open at this page. I just saw it."
Damn. Hermione had noted when she arrived in the library yesterday's date. Professor Lupin had been absent again. It was Padma who confirmed it to her. She must have forgotten to close her notebook after she wrote down the new date, another proof that Professor Lupin was…
Hermione looked straight into Susan's eyes, fearing the worst. She threw the notebook into her bag, then proceeded to gather all her books and parchments.
"I've got to head to the Great Hall. It's time for lunch," she offered as an excuse.
Susan looked at her watch. "Oh, you're right. Can I follow you?"
"No!" She said it too quickly. "I mean, I'm heading for the Gryffindor Tower. It would force you into a detour."
"Oh, okay. Well, see you later, Hermione."
She left before Susan could complete her sentence, and escaped the library in less time than it would have been necessary to write about it. Hermione hurried into the corridors, trying to put some distance between her and Susan. She hoped that her friend didn't understand what Hermione had understood a long time ago. She should have been more careful. She shouldn't have left her notebook in a place where anyone could take a look at it. She shouldn't even have noted the dates when Professor Lupin was absent.
She did it while she was completing the homework Professor Snape gave them. He replaced Professor Lupin the Friday before the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, the one when Harry was heavily injured. Hermione still couldn't believe they allowed Dementors on the grounds. They were supposed to stay at the limits of the school grounds. Harry could have died if Dumbledore did not intervene. But the day before, to everyone's anger and despair, even Hermione, Snape gave them two rolls of parchment to write on the ways to recognize and kill werewolves. Professor Lupin cancelled this homework as soon as he was back, but Hermione had already finished it. She was probably the only one who finished it, and that was probably for the best. She didn't think it wise for other people to know that Remus Lupin was a werewolf.
Hermione highly doubted that other students discovered the truth. She suspected that Snape gave them this lesson and homework on purpose, in the hopes to reveal Professor Lupin's lycanthropy. It couldn't be a coincidence. Hermione had noticed how Snape seemed to hate Lupin, more than any other previous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She suspected it had something to do with the fact that Professor Lupin had been a friend of Harry's father, who was Snape's sworn enemy back when they were both students at Hogwarts.
She had wanted to talk to Harry about this, to know for sure whether Lupin was a werewolf. But when she compared all his absences with the moon calendar, the truth was impossible to deny. Hermione finally decided to not talk about this. Harry knew Lupin for a very long time. He was a friend of his mother. If he knew and didn't want to talk about this with them, it was his business. If he didn't know, Hermione didn't want to be the person to reveal such a secret if his own family decided it was better to leave him out of it. Anyway, there was no way that Dumbledore wasn't aware of Professor Lupin's condition. He had been a student here at Hogwarts before. Dumbledore certainly knew about this since this time. A student couldn't hide his lycanthropy without the help of teachers. And if Dumbledore believed that Remus Lupin was no danger, then Hermione saw no reason to reveal a truth that would only spread panic among the students. And Professor Lupin proved to be a very competent teacher, and very kind. So Hermione kept her silence. She didn't even tell Harry and Ron about it.
She hoped that Susan wouldn't discover the truth. Hermione was planning to head for the Great Hall, but instead she went to the Gryffindor Tower, like she said she would. There, she tore the page from her notebook with the dates of Professor Lupin's absences, and subtly threw it into one of the fires. Then she headed back to the Great Hall where she found Harry and Ron in the middle of their lunch.
"So, had a good time in the library?" Ron asked her.
"Yes," she replied, making as many efforts as possible to sound normal.
She cast a glance at the table of the Hufflepuffs as she sat down, and noticed Susan with Hannah, Sally-Anne, and a few other girls and boys from the same house discussing together. Hermione hoped that Susan wasn't telling them about Professor Lupin, but their conversation didn't seem animated enough to believe it. Hermione tried to cool down. After all, all that Susan saw was a list of dates. Hermione had written nothing about these dates being days of full moon. Susan wasn't that curious by nature. Hopefully, she would let go of this story. Hermione should have behaved more normally with her at the library. It would have had less chance to raise suspicions.
"I completed the translations for Ancient Runes, by the way," Harry told her.
"Oh, good news!" she said, glad to go back to casual topics of discussion. She had berated Harry yesterday for not completing it sooner. Hermione had not finished it either, but she had much more work than Harry.
"Fred and George made fireworks in the common room. You missed a good show," Ron told her.
Hermione was glad she missed it. She wouldn't have been able to focus on her homework with all this noise around. Still, she had to admit that it was soothing to be in the Great Hall, surrounded by noise, and discussing with her friends. It didn't last, however. Half an hour later, Harry and Ron were leaving, heading for the common room to play a game of Wizard's chess. Hermione didn't have time to play. She went alone to the library to complete her Arithmancy homework.
She walked through the corridors. They were nearing the middle of December, the weather was cold, so most students remained in their common rooms or in the library. Few wandered in the corridors. Hermione remembered how empty the corridors looked last year, after the first aggressions by the Basilisk. Students feared to be attacked back then. It was in a similar weather, with the castle dark and sunlight unable to break through the clouds, that Justin Finch-Fletchley was Petrified. Hermione didn't fear it to happen again. The Basilisk was dead. Only this year, they had Peter Pettigrew to be worried about, and creatures who chased him, who were supposed to protect them but instead terrorized them like few things could.
"Hermione."
She turned to come face to face with Susan. She had her bag on her shoulder, like Hermione did, but she also had a determined expression that Hermione seldom saw in her.
"We need to talk."
Hermione's worst fears seemed to materialize. "Talk about what?" she answered as innocently as she could.
"Don't try this with me. I'm no fool. Why did you write down all the dates when Professor Lupin was sick?"
"Because I was afraid for him. He's a very good teacher. I was just… worried, that's all."
"Why were you worried?"
Hermione didn't like the path this discussion was taking. "Well, our teacher is always absent. I was wondering why."
She realized immediately that she just made a terrible mistake. "Then why is he absent? Did you find out why?"
Hermione's breathing quickened. "No… I haven't."
Susan Bones looked at her with an exasperated expression. The quiet girl from Hufflepuff was nowhere to be seen right now. "I said something similar to Professor Snape at the beginning of the term, when he interrogated me, and that cost points to my house."
Hermione frowned. What did she mean? Professor Snape questioned Susan? Why? Susan looked furtively around her.
"I know."
The words she uttered next were barely understandable. Hermione looked around them, then spotted an empty classroom. She pointed towards it. Susan nodded. The two girls walked in, and Hermione closed the door behind them.
"You know?" she asked Susan right away.
"Yes, I know. I've known since the beginning of the term."
Susan said nothing more. Hermione didn't know what to say, or even what to think. How could Susan have known about this from the very beginning? And were they even talking about the same thing? Susan didn't tell her what she knew.
"What do you know exactly?" Hermione asked her.
The red-haired girl didn't answer right away. She hesitated. When she finally replied, it wasn't what Hermione was hoping. "I shouldn't even be talking to you about that. Snape threatened me. He warned that something very bad would happen to me if I told anyone else."
Hermione was confused. It was Snape who gave them the homework, who pointed her in the right direction. Why would he threaten Susan to not reveal Professor Lupin's secret?
"Susan, I don't get it. Why did Snape give us a homework on werewolves?"
That was it. Hermione said the word. Susan sighed and sat down on one of the chairs in the classroom. "I don't know. I was very surprised when he gave us a lesson on them. It was as if he wanted us to find out the truth."
"But… you already knew?" Susan nodded. "How?"
"My aunt told me."
"Your aunt?"
"Yes. She works for the Ministry of Magic, and she learned that Professor Lupin was a werewolf when he was hired. She told me before the term began because she wanted me to be careful around him, just in case."
"So you've known since the beginning of the year about Professor Lupin's condition?"
"Yes."
"And you told no one?"
"No. Well, I tried to talk about it with Harry…"
"Harry knows?" Hermione felt insulted for a moment that Harry didn't tell her about Lupin while he would have discussed it with Susan.
"No, he doesn't. I asked him if Professor Lupin was dangerous, but he didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. I stopped talking with him before he could realize what this was about. Snape surprised our conversation and warned me against talking about it."
Hermione's temper cooled down. "Alright. So, if I understand correctly, no one knows about it except us?"
"As far as I know. You told no one?"
"No. I mean, I was shocked when I understood that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, but… He's such a good teacher, and he never hurt anybody. And… Well, I guess Dumbledore knows what he's doing."
"All the teachers know about him. It's Snape who told me when he brought me into his office."
That was a relief for Hermione, though this was no surprise either. A werewolf teacher could hardly have kept his condition a secret from the other teachers.
"So… we are the only two students to know about it," Hermione summarized.
Susan nodded. "But I suggest you get rid of…"
"It's already done," Hermione cut it short, knowing Susan was refering to the notebook she saw this morning. "I don't want the word spreading through Hogwarts."
"I agree." An uncomfortable silence lingered between the two girls, but Susan finally broke it. "Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, Hermione. I don't want you to have problems with Professor Snape like I did."
"I'm not sure Snape cares that much if people find out the truth about Lupin. Giving us this homework, really? He must have known that someone would understand."
"I know. I don't get it. I'm still surprised that no one understood after our first lesson, with the Boggart. Professor Lupin's Boggart took the appearance of…"
"A full moon," Hermione completed. "Yes, I know. Well, the best thing to do is to not talk about it again. I mean, he's the best teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts we've ever had. I don't want him to lose his job."
Susan nodded. "He testified against Peter Pettigrew during summer. And since his Boggart is a full moon, I think it's clear he's afraid of himself. He certainly never wanted to be a werewolf."
"He testified against Pettigrew? Really?"
"Yes. But I didn't hear his testimony. It happened behind close doors. Journalists and attendees were not allowed while he testified."
Something came to Hermione's mind. "Susan… I never asked you before but… You're not afraid of Pettigrew? That he might come after you. Everyone thinks he might come after Harry, but when we think about it, he could decide to come after your family as well."
Susan frowned at the question, but her features smoothed almost instantly. "A little. I'm more worried about my mother. She testified against him. But so far, he's not tried anything. The whole Ministry is after him, but they have no clue about where he could be. And he was next to Harry for two years, and he never tried anything against him. He's probably just hiding." Hermione got the distinct impression that Susan was trying to minimize the situation, and that she wasn't sure about what she said herself. "I think I'm more afraid of Dementors than of Pettigrew right now. Especially after what happened during Quidditch." Susan shook her head. "I was really afraid that Harry might be dead."
"I know. Me too. Professor Lupin is going to teach him how to fight Dementors."
"Really?" Susan looked curious all of a sudden.
"Yes. He's the one who chased the Dementor on the Hogwarts Express."
Susan looked down, her eyebrows frowned, as if she was thinking hard. "Was it that silvery thing? I saw one on the train, and I think that's what Dumbledore used as well during the match."
"Probably," Hermione said. She had to confess, to her shame, that she didn't know how to fight off Dementors. She made no research about it, as a consequence of her full schedule. She wondered if Harry would succeed in mastering this kind of magic. It was obviously very advanced.
"I wish I was able to fight off Dementors me too," Susan said. "It's horrible when they're around. Harry may have fallen from his broomstick, but Justin and Sally were close to fainting as well. Everyone was screaming when they appeared on the pitch."
Hermione nodded. Although she wasn't as affected by Dementors like Harry was, none of her memories around them were happy.
"Do you think Professor Lupin could teach us all how to fight Dementors?" Susan asked. "I mean, it could be useful, given we're surrounded by them."
In fact, Hermione had already thought about it. She shook her head. "I took a look at each year's program. Dementors are only discussed by the sixth year. It is not in the third year's program."
Susan looked disappointed. "Well, in this case, we can only try to stay away from these things, and pray that they don't bother us again," she said, discouraged.
Hermione looked at her watch. "Sorry, Susan. I've got to get to the library. Work to do."
"Still Arithmancy?"
"Yes." Hermione was heading towards the door when Susan held her back again by speaking.
"Did you manage to solve Problem Seven? Ernie and I tried this morning, but we can't manage to find a solution."
A part of Hermione felt relieved. This was the very same problem that gave her headaches this morning. She was definitely not the only one who struggled with it.
"I'm blocked as well," she confessed.
"I could come with you. We could try to find a solution together."
Hermione wasn't a fan of working with other people lately. The others often interrupted their homework to hold discussions unrelated to school and disturbed her. However, she really had a hard time with that problem in Arithmancy, and Susan was not the kind of person to interrupt her at every turn. At least, not for stupid reasons. She agreed and both girls headed for the library.
Hermione's rhythm of work did not suffer much from Susan's presence. In fact, she kind of helped Hermione a lot, bringing a perspective Hermione had not thought about while trying to solve this problem, and others once they finally succeeded at solving it. When dinner time arrived, they had almost finished. Hermione insisted that they kept working until their whole homework was completed. The two girls then went to the Great Hall, arriving late. Susan headed for the Hufflepuff tabled where Hannah waved her hand to signal her presence, while Hermione searched for Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table. She only found Ginny.
"Hi, Ginny," Hermione told her as she sat down.
"Hi, Hermione." The face of Ron's sister lightened up when Hermione took place next to her. "I'm happy to see you."
"Have you seen Harry and Ron?"
"Yes. I think they waited for you, but they left two minutes ago, I think. Dinner is almost over."
It was true. The Great Hall was only half-full, and students left at every moment. Hermione saw Pansy Parkinson and her gang walking through the doors. She wouldn't complain about that. Ginny herself was at her dessert.
"You had a good day?" Hermione asked as she took some grilled ham and beans.
"Yes. Though I wish there was more to do at Hogwarts during winter. There's not much we can do outside for now. It's all rain and mud. Not even a glimpse of snow."
"You've got your homework to do."
"I know. But I don't want to spend my time doing that. Anyway, we don't have enough to occupy all our time."
It was true. Hermione had the habit of forgetting that the others didn't have a schedule as busy as hers. "Did you spend time with your friends?"
Hermione regretted the question right away. To her surprise, however, Ginny didn't seem to mind. "Not really. I mean, sometimes we discuss about Quidditch. One of my roommates is a fan of the Holyhead Harpies, but no one was really available today. Harry and Ron did some homework and played chess. Fred and George were gone somewhere, and Percy is too busy between his responsibilities as Head Boy and his N.E.W.T.s. There are times I wonder if seventh years have a life at all."
"It's a very important year," Hermione explained. "The results at their N.E. will determine their future, what they're going to do after they leave Hogwarts. And Percy got his duties as Head Boy on top of that, so no wonder he doesn't have much time."
"Oh, he has time," Ginny assured. "I surprised him with Penelope Clearwater the other day. You know, the girl he's dating. Whatever they were doing, it took them time."
"Well, Percy got to find some time for her," Hermione explained, philosophically. "They are in different houses, so they can't see each other during the evenings. And he's the only one with a girlfriend in your family, so that's no surprise if he's trying to spend time with her."
Ginny nodded quietly. She didn't seem that interested by what Hermione was saying. "Did you ever think about having a boyfriend, Hermione?"
She was quite surprised by Ginny's question. She tried to answer it the best she could. "Not really. I mean, almost no one in our year is dating. We're too young for that."
Truth be told, she never thought seriously about it. She had a crush on Professor Lockhart last year, like a few other girls of the school, but it proved to be misplaced. In honesty, Hermione didn't consider having a boyfriend as a priority. It wasn't even important in her eyes. She already had her studies, her parents, her friends, and it was more than enough for her.
"You think so?" Ginny asked.
"Yes." She looked at Ginny, who nodded but sounded disappointed. "Look, Ginny. I'm fourteen. You're twelve. At our age, no one thinks about going out with a boy." At least, no one should think about it. "There are so many other things in life. We shouldn't define ourselves by whether or not we are with someone, or by the number of boys who are looking at us."
"I know," Ginny said impatiently, snapping. "I never meant that." Then she sighed. "Sorry. I'm edgy. Someone called me a snake doll before dinner."
Hermione sympathized with Ginny on that. "I'm sorry, Ginny. It will go away."
"Really? It's been months, Hermione. An entire summer. Now we're at the end of the term and people still treat me either as a victim who was manipulated, or almost as a murderer. And since everyone knows about Scabber being Peter Pettigrew, it's been worse."
Hermione was aware of this situation. It didn't happen so often, but from time to time, she would hear someone whispering behind Ginny or one of her brothers. Between the Chamber of Secrets and Pettigrew, some people suspected the Weasleys to be cursed, a hypothesis supported by their poverty, while very few put forward the theory that the Weasleys were in fact a family of dark wizards. Of course, Hermione knew this was untrue, but it still caused some inconvenience for Ron and his family.
"Sometimes, people have long memories. But look at Harry. Almost the whole school believed he was the heir of Slytherin last year, but if someone said that today, everyone else would consider him a fool."
"Yes, but… It's Harry. And it wasn't true anyway, what people said," Ginny countered. "I just wish we could put all this behind us. If only they didn't let Scabber escape, everyone wouldn't be talking about him, and then maybe yes, people would forget about that."
"Just give it some time, Ginny. And try to do things, to spend time. Try to make some friends."
"Easier said than done."
Hermione was now at her dessert. Ginny was on the brink of finishing her own. "I would have liked to try for the Quidditch team this year, but there were no trials," Ginny continued.
"Oh no?"
"No. Harry told me that Wood wants to focus on the players he has."
"That's not very wise. What happens if one of the players is injured or unavailable to play?"
"Apparently, he's got a list of reservists, and he's happy with it."
Hermione sighed. "Really? I think Wood is just desperate to win the Quidditch Cup this year. This is his last year at Hogwarts, and he wants to win it at all costs. That must be why he's taking such huge risks."
"It didn't pay off so far, judging by the results of the first game."
Hermione nodded. "Well, the good news is, Oliver is leaving after this year. He will not be captain next year. The new captain will certainly hold trials to choose players, if only the Keeper."
"Yeah, but I don't want to play in the Keeper position."
"What position would interest you the most?"
"Chaser. And I don't see Angelina or Alicia or Katie leaving the team any time soon. I mean, Angelina and Alicia are the oldest, and this is just their fifth year. I don't see how I could make my way into the team. I'm only twelve-years-old."
"That doesn't matter. Harry was eleven-years-old when he integrated the team."
Hermione was afraid she might have made a mistake, but Ginny only nodded. "You never thought about joining the team, Hermione?"
She was surprised by Ginny's question. "No. I don't have enough time. And I'm not good enough, anyway."
She had to admit that during their first flying lesson, two years ago, Hermione had a pang of jealousy when she saw other students, Harry first, getting their broomsticks into their hands at first try, while Hermione needed several attempts to succeed. Only, when it came to flying, Harry just seemed to have a natural talent. She witnessed it firsthand that day, and she was agape when he flew straight towards Malfoy at his first try, despite finding him idiot for flying when Hooch specifically forbade it. But it was one of the things that she ended up liking with Ron and Harry. They did stupid things, but stupid things that paid in the end. Those stupid things helped to save her from a troll and from Petrification, after all, even though she wished they put their brain to better use sometimes, especially Ron.
Ginny argued with Hermione about the fact she didn't have time, so Hermione had to once again explain how busy her schedule was this year. This turned the conversation towards discussing what elective subjects Ginny could take next year. Hermione strongly advised her against taking Divination. They talked about Hagrid's courses in Care of Magical Creatures, Ginny being unsure about what to think of them based on what she heard, though apparently the burns and cuts some students had when they came back from these lessons didn't seem to frighten her in the slightest. Ginny also wondered why Hermione took Muggle Studies when her parents were Muggles, and she had to explain all over again that she was interested in the vision wizards had of Muggles. Ginny didn't seem that interested by the subject though. She didn't share her father's passion for Muggles. She looked more interested in Ancient Runes when Hermione talked about them, and Hermione couldn't miss the fact that Ginny seemed more interested in that subject once Hermione let it slip that Harry was following that course as well.
Hermione's dinner lasted longer than she had planned. She had to take her leave of Ginny in the end. They walked back together to the Gryffindor Tower, in fact, but once there, Hermione buried herself again in homework again. She spent the entire evening on it, not allowing anyone to bother her.
And so, two people know. And Hermione is litterally buried under work. No surprise there.
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Next chapter: Ron