Title: Deal
Team: Caerphilly Catapults
Position: Chaser 1
Round: QL Daily Prophet A Very Senior Year Competition
Prompt: Hermione Granger
Additional Prompts used: [dialogue] "Ron? Is this a book? I've never seen you carrying around one of those before."
Hogwarts Assignment: Arthimancy, task 4
Prompt: write about someone helping a friend to accomplish their goal
Alphabetti Spaghetti: spell out your favourite character's first name – O
Prompt: O.W.L.s
Build your own adventure: plot twist number 4
Prompt: [plot point] making a deal
Flower Power: list 3, Amaranthus
Prompt: [action] reading a book
Honeydukes hoarder: lollipops and suckers
Prompt: flabbergasted
Just Friends: clay beads, 10
Prompt: [dialogue] "My perfect evening is staying inside, alone, with a cup of tea and a good book."
Murder Mystery: location, janitor's closet; murderer, James Potter; weapon, sharp pen/pencil
Prompt: [trait] organised; [emotion] happiness; [emotion] prepared
Writing club: would you rather, number 3; quotations, number 10; here for the year, number 8; fight club, number 17; colour theory, number 16
Prompt: Hermione Granger; "Now you're just insulting me." / "Well, that was not my intention, but I'm glad to hear it."; write about best friends; [word] shiver; [dialogue] "My skull's so full, it's tearing me apart."
Gather Your Party: bard, number 5
Prompt: [setting] library
Scamander's Case: Fwooper, male
Prompt: [emotion] flabbergasted
Word count: 1206
Betas: Dora, Rose
A/N
Hermione was in her happy place–the library. Harry was in yet another detention with that absolutely hideous and foul little toad and Ron was–well, she wasn't actually entirely sure where Ron was. He was probably doing something Quidditch-related since he had zero self-confidence in his Keeping abilities. The O.W.L.s were this year and Hermione was determined to be prepared for them. Okay, they still had a lot of subjects to cover before the end of the year, and yes, she had already read all of the relevant school books (and some extras) on the subjects and she could probably pass her O.W.L.s right now and pass them well, but she would still rather be well prepared. The more she committed to her memory now, the less she would have to ensure she retained later and merely refresh her memory.
She reached into her bag and pulled out her quill, ink, parchment and the study chart she had drawn up during the summer holidays. She looked over her chart and checked that her books and notes were all organised appropriately to ensure the most efficient use of her time during these study sessions. All seemed to be in order, so she pulled her first book towards her and began. While she did so enjoy the peace and quiet she got in the library, she still wished that Harry and Ron would be more interested in joining her in these study sessions, but they would scoff at her doing this before Easter, never mind long before Christmas. Oh well, that didn't have to stop her from being in her element and she began reading and making notes.
An hour later, Hermione closed her book and stretched, her neck was aching from bending over her notes. She glanced around the library and spotted Ron! Ron was in a library voluntarily! And he wasn't just in here looking for her, he was actually perusing the books and looked lost in thought. She watched him curiously as he pulled down a book and made his way back towards the door of the library. Hermione shook her head. Ron had used the library for books so little that he either didn't know, or had forgotten, that he would have to check the book out of the library or face Madam Pince's wrath.
He passed close to Hermione, so engrossed in his task that he didn't notice her and Hermione couldn't resist the temptation. She reached out as he drew near and pulled the book from his hand.
"Hey!" Ron protested, turning round to see who had stolen his book, his face falling when he spotted Hermione. "Oh, hi, Hermione. I was just…"
"Ron? Is this a book? I've never seen you carrying around one of those before," Hermione said, flabbergasted. "Ron! This is a book on Transfiguration! What's going on?"
"Nothing…I just needed to…erm…try to understand that homework McGonagall gave us today," Ron said, looking wildly around the library, lest he be spotted.
"Ron, we didn't have Transfiguration today. What are you up to?"
"I…I was…I was planning on studying so that I might actually have a chance of passing my O.W.L.s," Ron said, blushing furiously.
Hermione couldn't help it, but she burst out laughing and Ron looked affronted.
"I'm sorry, Ron, I'm so sorry, but I just never thought that I would hear you say those words," Hermione said, still laughing. "I thought you were just going to be content to fail your O.W.L.s."
"Now you're just insulting me," Ron said indignantly.
"Well, that was not my intention, but I'm glad to hear it," Hermione said, finally getting her laughter under control. "And I'm glad to hear that you're actually taking these exams seriously, but why the change of heart?"
"Promise you won't laugh?" Ron demanded, glaring at Hermione who was still grinning.
"I promise, Ron," Hermione said.
"Well, Harry wants to be an Auror after Hogwarts and I'm quite certain that to do that, you'll need quite a lot of qualifications."
"Well, naturally," Hermione agreed. "It's a job with a lot of responsibilities and danger."
"And well…I thought that I would quite like to be an Auror as well."
Whatever Hermione had been expecting Ron to say, it was not that and her mouth dropped open in surprise as she stared at Ron as though she had never seen him before.
"Don't look so flabbergasted!" Ron said. Hermione looked even more surprised by Ron using the word 'flabbergasted' than she had been by his revelations about his ambition to become an Auror.
"Now you're insulting me without saying anything," Ron told Hermione.
"I don't mean to, it's just, I've never seen this side of you, Ron," Hermione said. "Have you been sneaking in here since the start of term?"
"Yeah," Ron said, taking a seat beside Hermione at the table.
"How have you been getting on?" Hermione asked. "Have you got a study plan?"
"I'm not that organised, Hermione," Ron laughed. "It is still me you're talking to."
"Fair enough," Hermione laughed. "I'm just content with you actually caring about your exams."
"I'm struggling though, to be honest. I honestly have no idea what McGonagall is talking about half the time."
"I'll make you a deal," Hermione said. "As long as you let me make you a study plan to help keep you on track, I'll help you study to make sure that you can accomplish your goal of becoming an Auror with Harry."
"Really?" Ron asked, looking as flabbergasted as Hermione had been.
"Really," Hermione replied.
"Deal, on one condition from me," Ron told Hermione.
"What's that?"
"Don't tell Harry about this." Ron held out his hand to Hermione to shake on their deal.
"Deal," Hermione said, shaking Ron's hand.
Several hours later, Ron and Hermione were packing up their books and quills to head back to the common room.
"My skull's so full, it's tearing me apart," Ron said, yawning as he packed his notes. "How do you do this all the time?"
"I quite enjoy it, Ron," Hermione said, shouldering her bag. "It's pretty close to a perfect evening for me."
"What is your idea of a perfect evening?" Ron asked as he swung his own bag onto his shoulder and they made their way out of the library and back towards the common room.
"My perfect evening is staying inside, alone, with a cup of tea and a good book," Hermione replied with a smile.
"Of course it is," Ron laughed.
"Do you think Harry will be back from his detention with Umbridge yet?" Ron asked, as they approached the portrait of the fat lady.
Hermione suppressed a shiver at the mention of that woman's name.
"She's so evil," Hermione whispered. "I hope he is. I hate the thought of what she's doing to him in those detentions. I've got him some Murtlap Essence to soak his hand in but we need to do something about that woman."
They climbed in the portrait hole to see that Harry was not yet back from his detention with Umbridge.
"Poison?" Ron suggested and to his surprise, Hermione laughed as they sat down to wait for Harry.