Chapter 20
The next day, Hermione woke up late. She silently thanked the powers that be that classes were over, and her dorm mates let her sleep. Slowly, the events of the night before came back to her, and she came to the conclusion that she must have needed it.
She groaned, stretching, and as she sat up and opened her eyes, something on her bedside table caught her attention. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached out and picked up the small paper dragon and unfolding it, began to read:
5June 1992
Hermione,
Oh, thank Merlin you're safe! Dumbledore told us at breakfast what happened, everyone knows everything now, because it's some big secret. I can't believe that it was Professor Quirrell, though, now that I think about it, it does make sense. I remember plenty of times seeing him around Harry, but never wanting to touch him, even when Harry just offered him a friendly handshake.
To think that Harry's mother's magic still protected him! It's unbelievable! And for it to have that kind of reaction? Why, I'm surprised that the Ministry didn't get involved and try to lock him in Azkaban for what happened, even though it clearly wasn't Harry's fault. Knowing what Fudge is like though, it wouldn't surprise me if they tried, but to turn Quirrell into a pile of dust! I mean, it's rather scary the lengths Harry's mum went to in order to protect him from You-Know-Who.
Anyway, I hope that you'll be recovered enough to make it to the game tomorrow — and Harry too, though he's the worst for wear, and we will do our best without him if we need to. We could always call up one of the other students who wanted to try out for Seeker if possible, though from what I heard, you didn't do too bad on a broom, not to mention spotting that key.
Hermione smiled and shook her head.
I also have to tell you that I am so proud, and impressed with what you did as well. That took a lot of bravery. Never doubt that you are a true Gryffindor. I hope to see you at the feast if I don't see you at the game.
Oliver
Hermione sighed and shook her head again, smiling as she thought about Oliver trying to talk her into being a Seeker. She may have gone through something scary, and to him, that may have been enough to conquer her fear of flight, but in truth, it didn't.
She glanced at her wrist watch, another item she'd picked up in Diagon Alley at the beginning of the year when she couldn't find a style she liked that wasn't electronic in Muggle London. It was nearly lunch. Pushing herself from bed, she gathered her toiletries from her trunk and a change of clothes and made her way to the girl's showers.
Once there, she turned it to as hot as she could stand before getting in and letting the heat ease the tension in her muscles and wake her up for a few minutes before she washed up, lathering her hair and body before she rinsed, dried off and finally dressed in a fresh uniform, feeling refreshed.
Heading down to lunch, she waved at Ron and smiled, noticing he was talking with Neville, Seamus and Dean in Harry's absence, and made her way over to Oliver.
"Well, hello there, lass," Oliver greeted when George and Lee nodded toward her, and he turned around. He stood, and gave her a hug that she gladly returned. "Come on, sit down," he said. "You must be hungry."
"Starving," she agreed, taking her seat between Lee and Oliver and filling her plate.
"So," George said, and she looked up at him curiously as she began to eat.
"Dumbledore told us what happened," Fred said.
"Yes," Hermione said, swallowing her food and wiping at her mouth with her sleeve — something she would deny if ever asked about, and hoped Ron didn't see her. "That's what Oliver said in his letter."
"Said you weren't so bad with a broom from what he could tell," Oliver said behind her, and she sighed.
"I'm sorry, Oliver," she said, and shook her head. "There's no way I'm ready to be a Seeker for you. I know you need one now that Harry's in the infirmary, but it's not me. I was barely able to keep Ron and I both on that broom to get out. All it did was buck and wobble."
"Ah," Oliver said with a grin. "That's just because it sensed your fear, and you had plenty to be afraid of."
"Yeah," George said.
"The point is," Fred continued, "You got out."
"With Ron," George said.
"And went back," Fred remarked.
"With Dumbledore," George finished.
"Yeah," Lee said. "Flying should be a piece of cake now."
Hermione sighed, putting her food down, not meeting their eyes. "I suppose it should be," she said quietly before looking up at them, meeting each of their eyes in turn. "But it's not. I'm sorry, you'll have to get someone else."
"Hey," Oliver said, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's okay, really. Don't worry about it."
She smiled gratefully at him and the others as they nodded to her. "Oh!" she said recalling the night before. "I was going to tell you, I talked to Professor Dumbledore last night after Harry and Ron were squared away with Madam Pomfrey in the infirmary. You wouldn'tbelievewhat he said."
"Go on," the twins said, leaning closer.
"Well," Hermione said. "After I explained what all happened, up to and including everything from the beginning of the year, he offered to test me so I could skip grades," she finished with a grin.
"Really?" Lee asked. "Cool!"
"Yeah," Oliver said. "That's like..."
"Never happened," the twins said.
"So, are you going to?" Oliver asked.
Hermione sighed and shook her head, her smile fading. "No," she said.
"Why not?" Lee asked.
"Well," she said looking at all of them. "Who would look out for Harry and Ron?"
"You have a point," the twins said.
"I mean," Hermione said. "I know that I could probably test up enough to join all of you, or at least a year behind you in Charms alone, but..." she paused and sighed. "If last night showed me anything, it's that they need me to either keep them out of trouble, or help them out of it if they get in it, and Harry tends to rush head first into danger without thinking of the consequences."
"Yeah," George said.
"That's true," Fred added.
"Still," Lee said. "It's cool that Dumbledore gave you the option."
"Yes, it was rather unexpected," Hermione said. "I really thought I was in trouble."
"So," Oliver said. "Are you at least going to come to the game tomorrow? We're playing Ravenclaw."
"I wouldn't miss it," Hermione said with a smile.
True to her word, the next day she went to the game, dragging Ron with her. Oliver had gotten one of the other Seeker tryouts to fill in for Harry, but it just wasn't enough. They weren't nearly as good as Harry was, and if she were truly honest with herself, Hermione thought that maybe she would have truly done a better job. Regardless of the eventual loss, Hermione was there to support Oliver and the team, and cheered for them regardless. She just laughed and shook her head when she caught Ron looking at her as though she'd grown a second head.
Hermione went to visit Harry in the infirmary after the game, as well as the next day, and saw a mountain of flowers, and candy added. She scolded Ron for invading the stash, opening the Chocolate Frogs, but she also had to laugh when the twins tried to bring him a toilet seat.
The next day, she and Ron were called to the infirmary with the news that Harry was awake and about to be released. They hurried down the stairs and met him as he was on his way up. Hermione smiled down at him from the stairs when she saw him coming.
"Alright there, Ron?" Harry asked.
"Alright," Ron replied. "You?"
"Alright," Harry answered with a shrug. "Hermione?"
"Never better," she replied with a grin. With that, they headed up to the common room to get ready to head to dinner.
Harry told them about waking up in the infirmary and talking to Professor Dumbledore as they continued on the way. All of them were relieved that they no longer had to worry about the Stone falling into Voldemort's hands, and felt that they could breathe easy, for now at least. They couldn't believe that they'd had it all wrong about Professor Snape though — well, Harry and Ron couldn't anyway. Hermione just shook her head when they still held to their conviction that he had to be involved somehow and was pulling the wool over Dumbledore's eyes. Some things, she thought, never changed.
Heading down to dinner, the happiness faded when they entered the Great Hall to see Slytherin banners everywhere. They tried to ignore it as they sat down. Just before they started to dish up their plates, a clear chime rang through the hall, and they looked up to see Professor McGonagall tapping the side of her goblet with a spoon to get everyone's attention, and saw Professor Dumbledore stand.
"Another year, gone," he said. "And now as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding. And, the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor with 312 points. Third place, Hufflepuff with 352 points. In second place, Ravenclaw with 426 points, and in first place, with 472 points, Slytherin house."
Cheers erupted loudly from the Slytherin table, and Hermione saw Malfoy smirk at them.
"Yes, well done, Slytherin, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore said. "However, recent eventsmustbe taken into account. And, I have a few last-minute points to award. To Ms Hermione Granger..."
Hermione blinked in surprise when she heard her name.
"...for the cool use of intellect when others were in grave peril," Dumbledore said. "50 points."
Hermione looked up and caught his eye, and he smiled at her with a nod.
"Second, to Mr Ronald Weasley," Dumbledore continued. "For the best-played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, 50 points. And third, to Mr Harry Potter, for purenerveandoutstandingcourage, I award Gryffindor house 60 points."
It took Hermione just a moment to do the calculations in her head, and then she leaned forward and whispered around the table excitedly, "We're tied with Slytherin!"
"And finally," Dumbledore said, drawing their attention once more. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great dealmoreto stand up to your friends. I award 10 points - to Neville Longbottom."
Hermione, and the rest of the table cheered loudly as she watched Neville blink in shock. She smiled, recalling that he'd never won any points for them.
"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe a change of decoration is in order," Dumbledore said and clapped his hands together once, before holding them out. A soft breeze swept through the hall and the banners fluttered as they changed colour from Slytherin's green and silver to Gryffindor's red and gold. "Gryffindor wins the House Cup," Dumbledore announced while the cheers echoed through the hall.
Over the next few days, Hermione hung around the lake with Harry and Ron, and the Quidditch pitch with Oliver, Lee and the twins. It was nice to relax for a change and reflect on what the year had been. She made sure to return her books to the library that she had checked out, on the morning of June 20th, as she checked her things and repacked for the fifth time. She made sure to toss some books into a bag to carry so she wouldn't have to dig in her trunk, not really paying attention to what she put in it, when Harry and Ron called her from downstairs.
"Hermione!" Harry called.
"Aren't you ready yet?" Ron joined.
"Coming!" she called back, rolling her eyes.
Closing her trunk for the final time, she threw the bag over her shoulder and levitated her trunk downstairs to put with the others to be taken to the train.
"About time," Ron said when she appeared at the bottom of the stairs with her trunk in tow.
"Come on, we're going to be late," Harry said, and they hurried off with the rest of the students.
They made it to the platform just in time. Somehow, Hermione wasn't exactly sure how they'd managed it, but her trunk was already in the compartment when they boarded the train. She just smiled and shook her head as she put her bag on the seat before heading back to the doorway with Ron and Harry, who was waiting to say goodbye to Hagrid.
"It feels strange to be going home, doesn't it?" she asked.
"I'm not going home," Harry replied, gazing up at Hagrid, and then the castle on the hill beyond. "Not really."
They boarded the train the final time after Harry said goodbye to Hagrid and made their way to their seats where she had put her bag. Digging into it she pulled out a large tome and blinked at it in surprise.
"Hey isn't that...?" Ron asked when she groaned.
"I thought I turned them all in!" she insisted. "I'll have to write to Madam Pince and apologise. I'll see if I can keep it over the summer, it will be hard to return, it's so heavy."
The door opened suddenly and Oliver joined them for a moment. He grinned at her when he noticed the book in her hands. "Oh," he said. "Did you finally get a chance to start it?"
Hermione blinked at him, lost. She opened the book and then groaned again, putting her head in her hand.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
Hermione shook her head for a moment and then looked up at them. "I can't believe I could be so stupid," she muttered.
Oliver looked at her questioningly. "What's wrong, lass?" he asked.
"Remember that book?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry and Ron. "The one we found Flamel in?"
"Yeah," Harry replied.
"Kinda hard to forget it," Ron said. "You called it light reading... why?"
"I didn't need to check it out," Hermione said with a groan.
"What do you mean," Harry asked.
"Oliver," Hermione said with a smile.
"Yes, lass?" Oliver said.
"You gave me the book I needed at Christmas," she said.
Oliver blinked. "Really?"
Hermione nodded and showed Harry and Ron the inscription Oliver had written in the book, then quickly turned the pages to show Oliver the passage that had led them on their adventure that year. They all had a good laugh at it, and even Hermione had to join in, shaking her head.
"Did you need something, Oliver?" she asked when their laughter dissipated.
Oliver nodded. "I wanted to ask you, Hermione," he said, flushing slightly. "If you'd like to keep in touch over the holiday. We don't have to, of course, but..."
"Of course I will!" Hermione said with a smile, cutting him off.
"Oh, great!" Oliver said, then nodded toward the book. "I hope you enjoy it."
"I'm sure I will," Hermione said with a smile.
"Well," Oliver said awkwardly all of a sudden. "I'd better go. If I don't see you on the platform, I hope you have a good summer."
Hermione smiled at him. "You too," she said.
Oliver nodded and waved to the others before he hurried off.
Ron and Harry busted up laughing.
"What?" Hermione asked, confused.
"Nothing," Harry said. "Never mind."
"Just read your bloody book," Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Fine," Hermione said after a moment, and settled herself on the seat. "I will."
She spent the rest of the train ride home reading the copy ofAlchemical duodecimo, although she still couldn't believe that if she'd just taken the time to read it after Oliver had given it to her, they would have been much better off, and perhaps, not in as much danger as they had been.
"Have a great summer!" was shouted by everyone to their friends as they bid each other goodbye on the platform, and waved as they headed off with their families. It was with relief that Hermione headed off with her parents though she couldn't help but look forward to the summer ahead and the return to Hogwarts next fall.