Chapter Four
Hermione awoke the next morning to the incessant buzzing of her alarm clock. It was ringing in her ears, but she was too groggy to open her eyes. She reached for her wand, which she usually slept next to, to blast it off. When she was too sleepy, she never wanted to actually get up and walk to her nightstand to turn it off manually.
"My WAND!" she suddenly shot up in bed wide-awake, realizing it wasn't in its usual spot by her side. She blinked a couple times as her surroundings came into view.
"What was that Hermione?" Meegan came into view as Hermione realized she was at camp and not at school.
"Oh nothing. I must have been dreaming and it woke me up. I cannot even remember what about now," she faked, "I think I'll go shower."
"You should. Hurry up then. Allison is there now. I already took mine. We got up half and hour before you. There could be quite a line forming," Meegan began to towel her hair.
Hermione glanced at her clock. It only read 6:03am. "You mean to say, you go up at 5:30!"
"Hermione, this is camp! She who gets up earliest gets to look her best that day. And might I add with *certain* boys around, looking one's best is always a plus."
"I should hurry then!" Hermione smiled, catching on. She certainly did not want to run out of time and end up waiting for campers at 7:00 with still damp hair. She grabbed her things, slipped on some thong sandals, and began back up the path toward the bathrooms. Right as she got towards the door, she heard a voice behind her.
"HERMIONNEE!" He had to be only twenty feet behind her or so.
"Dear me," she whispered, stopping for a moment. She knew it was Harry. She debated on whether or not to turn, but then realized she looked simply dreadful. Instead, she bolted into the bathroom, pretending she didn't hear him.
~*~
"Ron, she hates me," Harry frowned sitting down next to Ron at breakfast.
"Wha'?" he asked through mouthfuls of food.
"Herm..." he started before looking around and lowering his voice to a whisper, "Hermione."
"Did you let her know you fancied her?" Ron asked.
"Quiet down, you git," he nearly went ballistic.
"Did you?" he lowered his voice a bit to appease Harry.
"No, all I did was call her name this morning."
"And?"
"That's it. She stopped walking for a moment, then just kept going."
"And you're in a tizzy again because?"
"Bloody hell Ron, I do not get into tizzies! The point was, I think she heard me. I mean, why did she stop then? And if she heard me, then ignored me, maybe she's upset that I hugged her last night."
"You're being a git. She most likely didn't hear you. This is 'Mione. If she were upset for you hugging her, she'd let you know about it in a most unfriendly way."
"True. Remember the way she slugged Dean last year for touching her behind on a dare from Seamus?" Harry laughed.
"Do I ever! I talked Seamus into starting that dare! It was bloody brilliant!"
"Dean had a black eye for a week!" Harry recalled doubling over.
"Ya…" Ron laughed wiping a tear from his eye. "She didn't beat you, you know. It'll be all right."
"Lucky for me," Harry laughing subsided as her noticed Hermione walking over with her breakfast in hand.
"Good morning Harry, Ron. I trust you both slept well," she took a seat across from Harry next to Ron. Inside, he sighed a bit, wishing she were next to him. Even if it was just to feel her body head radiating against him.
"Fine, thanks," Ron noticed he had food again and became thoroughly interested in it now that's Harry's non-dilemma had been fixed.
"Harry," she hesitated, looking across the table. "I…I didn't mean to not speak to you this morning. Its just that..."
"It's all right. No need to explain," Harry eyes averted to his feet.
"No, I meant to say, I looked bloody dreadful. I just didn't want you to laugh. Not that you would but well you know girls. And neither of you have ever seen me right as I wake up. It's really a terrible sight," she smiled brightly as he looked up at her.
"Oh, don't worry about it then. I just assumed you didn't hear me," he lied.
"Oh. Well, I just wanted to clear that up incase...Oh, anyway. Let's eat shall we? We are expected up at the recreation field in only ten minutes," she averted her eyes from his again. They were too tempting to get lost in, and instead turned to her cold cereal before her.
'They are incorrigible!' Ron sighed looking to and fro between in friends. 'I need to do something to get those two...' He dropping his spoon into his cereal bowl and splashing milk on Hermione interrupted his thoughts.
"Ron, you git!" she glared, grabbing her napkin to clean up.
"Sorry..." he mumbled but his sights were set on the most beautiful Muggle he's ever laid eyes on who was approaching their table.
"Hermione!" she called, snapping Ron from her gaze and to Hermione next to him.
"Hello Meegan! Come, sit with us," she smiled as the girl walked over.
"You met Harry last night," Hermione pointed at Harry whom Meegan had just taken a seat next to.
"Right, good morning Harry," she smiled politely, holding back a giggle as she remembered her, Hermione's and Allison's discussion about Harry they'd had after he left last night.
"'Morning," he smiled politely back, turning to his cereal.
"This," Hermione rose her voice to a bit of an accented note, herself remembering their latter of the conversation where Meegan noted her interest in Ron, "is my other best friend Ron."
"Ron Weasley," he smiled, immediately sticking his hand out across the table. He nearly jumped out of his skin as she took it.
"Meegan White," she smiled, nervously trying to focus on his eyes.
"Very nice to meet you Meegan," he smiled goofily, sitting back down.
"Same to you," she smiled as Allison walked up and introductions were made for her.
~*~
All the counselors had assembled on the upper recreation field. "Greg" as the camper director insisted on simply being called, had handed out cabin lists and directed the counselors on where to wait while their campers were arriving. Hermione had bid farewell to Ron and Harry who, with their junior counselor Patrick Johnson, had gone off to meet their campers.
Currently, Hermione, Meegan, and Allison were sitting together in the grass looking at their cabin list. They had 12 ten year old girls: Abigail Sedgwick, Kyra Brooks, Allana Petersen, Annika Holmes, Ginger Marks, Emma Long, Rose Maguire, Hannah O'Meara, Sarah Wilson, and Juliet Brown.
The three girls had already become very comfortable with each other and were quite happy to be working together all summer.
Slowly as they waited, their campers began to arrive one by one. By 7:30, Abigail, or Abby as she preferred, Kyra, Allana, Sarah, Hannah, Ginger, and Rose were all already there. All of the girls except for Sarah had been to Camp Silver Lake before and were already good friends. They included Sarah without any qualms. The girls sat gabbling with Allison while Meegan and Hermione waited for the rest. Next to arrive were Emma and Annika together. They were apparently best friends who had also both been to camp before. They quickly joined the other girls and joined in the catching up that was going on.
"Just Juliet then," Hermione read off their list to Meegan. As if she spoke too soon, a girl approached them. She was carrying her bags and waving over her shoulder to her parents who were speaking to Greg. She had shoulder length brown hair and bright blue eyes. As she looked at Hermione and Meegan, the counselors Greg had directed her to, she smiled like the other girls had but her eyes widened unnaturally large at the sight of Hermione and she let out a small gasp. She covered it up though and introduced herself, "I'm Juliet Brown. You must be Meegan and H...Hermione," she smiled.
"Yes, nice to meet you Juliet," Meegan smiled. Hermione was still quiet wondering why Juliet had looked at her so strangely. "Have you been to camp before?
"Yes," she smiled, "this is my 4th year. My older sister came here before me also," she noted eyeing Hermione again. "Well then, I think we should all go to our cabin since I'm last to arrive, right?" She smiled friendly at the girls.
"Right," Hermione mumbled, still puzzling over Juliet. Meegan went to gather the girls as Hermione and Juliet started off since Juliet still had her bags in hand.
"Hermione Granger, is it not?" Juliet smiled, finally speaking, as they were halfway there.
"Yes, how did you..."
"It's Brown, Juliet BROWN," she rolled her eyes giggling, "I mentioned my older sister went here. I do believe you two are friends at Hogwarts."
Hermione nearly choked stopping for a moment, 'How did Juliet know I went to Hogwarts!?!' She nearly panicked. This was not good. She raked her brain and suddenly shouted, "Lavender! Oh Lavender Brown, she's your older sister isn't she?" Hermione smiled as she made the connection.
"Took you a bit did it," Juliet joked. "I heard you're top of your class, a Prefect in fact."
"Sorry," she laughed back, "I just didn't expect to see anyone else here from Hogwarts."
"Oh, I don't go yet, but I do start this September. I already got my letter. I hope I'm in Gryffindor too!"
"It's the best," she smiled but turned around noticing the other girls approaching, "Best to not mention..."
"School? Right, of course," Juliet smiled.
~*~
"Harry, why are we back at our cabin?" Ron was complaining to Harry as their campers unpacked.
"What are you talking about?" Harry looked up from the magazine he'd taken from Ron.
"We're only got eleven of our campers! Shouldn't we be waiting still," Ron said with exasperation. He was frantic. Harry nearly laughed. Obviously even though he'd grown up in a large family, Ron wasn't good with kids. True, he was younger, so he was used to being the one getting cared for. Or maybe it was just the overload of Muggles that was making him nervous.
"Ron, breathe and think. Do you remember what Greg told us?" Harry went back to reading his magazine.
"That William Creevey would be arriving late and to go wait in the cabin with the other boys," Ron took a breath after finishing the sentence entirely with his last one.
"Right Ron. Why don't you sit for a while? You look like you could use a rest," Harry chuckled a bit.
At about 9:00, all the boys had unpacked and were playing cards with the counselors when a small boy, much smaller than the other eleven-year- old boys, opened the door. All the boys on the floor stopped and looked up at him. He had a backpack on and another bag in his hands. His sleeping back was in his other had and a large camera was slung around his next. He had brown, unruly hair, much like Harry's. Strangely, Harry thought he looked very familiar.
As the boy looked at Harry, his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and he dropped all of his bags on site. He fumbled to grab his camera in his hands rambling excitedly, "You're Harry Potter!! You're Harry Potter!! I know you! It's Harry Potter!! HARRY POTTER!"
Ron began to laugh having figured it out, then it hit Harry and it was turn for his eyes to grown. CREEVEY. In a flash, he stood up and flew to the door slipping a hand over William's mouth to stop his yelling. "We'll be right back," he quickly announced pulling William outside and shutting the door.
"HARRY! HARRY POTTER!" he yelled as soon as Harry took his hand off the boy's mouth.
"Shhhhhhhhhhh!" Harry said sternly looking around to see if anyone else was outside. "William, WILLIAM!" He tried to make the boy stop. "Calm down, do you want to get us both in trouble."
The boy stopped and stared at Harry in awe, "He knows my name..." He said in a whisper.
"Of course I do, I'm your counselor."
"Hhh..H-Harry P-p-Potter's mm-my c-counselor?" He looked as if he were about to faint.
'And I thought Colin and Dennis were annoying,' Harry rolled his eyes. "William, if anyone finds...finds out that I'm well, you know.." he lowered in voice to a near inaudible level, "a wizard." He looked around again quickly, "Well, let's just say we'll both get ourselves in big trouble. William looked at him with big eyes and nodded. "All right then, no talk about Hogwarts or magic, or such things?" The boy nodded again, still staring at Harry in awe. "So you'll be at school then next year?" The boy nodded again. "Right then, if you don't say anything here. I'll let you take my picture all you want. You can have my autograph, whatever, alright?" The boy nodded again looking very excited. "Okay, we're going to go back inside now, but you must promise no mention of anything." The boy nodded again. Harry and William went back inside. William quietly picked up his bags and joined the other boys playing cards, still glancing at Harry ever once in awhile. Ron got up and went over to talk to Harry once William was settled.
"And you thought Colin was bad when you met him," Ron laughed.
"Shut up," Harry frowned. He did not need a smaller, more annoying version of Colin Creevey following him around all summer.
~*~
"Okay, okay, everyone quiet down!" Greg yelled as the entire camp had gathered in the lodge and were now seated at their own designated tables. "First off, I'd like to welcome each and everyone of you to Camp Silver Lake!" He took a pause as everyone cheered. "Now, I trust your counselors have all gone over the rules with you. Just as a reminder. No one, and I mean NO ONE, is allowed in or near to the lake without our lifeguard, Patty Bryant on duty." He motioned to a girl next to him who looked to be about their age. She smiled and waved at the kids. "Now then, I'd like to introduce the rest of the staff to you. This is my brother Peter Walters. He's the Recreation Director." A couple of older girls, as well as girl counselors, giggled as a muscular, tan man stood up and waved.
He looked like he was about a year or so younger than Greg. "This is his first year as Recreation Director. Last year he was a counselor so I'm sure many of you remember him." He turned to a blond thirty-something woman, "This is Wendy. She's our Arts and Crafts Director and has been with the camp since I was a camper. We are all very lucky to have her." Wendy smiled and waved. "This," he had a man, about his same age, stand up next to him, "is my Assistant Director Joe Alexander. This is his first year. Joe is a friend of mine from Oxford so I think you'll find him highly qualified." Joe, like Greg, was tall and strong with brown hair, except his hair ended in small curls. A few more girls sighed at his introduction. "Finally, I'd like to introduce you to our camp nurse, Madame Pomfrey."
"Blimey Harry, do you think," Ron started paling as he talked to Harry sitting next to him.
"I don't think, I know," Harry choked out staring in disbelief as none other that Madame Pomfrey stood and waved, smiling. Harry quickly glanced at Hermione a few tables away. She looked unphased. Harry frowned a bit and made a mental note to ask her later. Next to Harry, he felt a small tug come from his shirt. He looked over to see William Creevey looking up at him. He motioned for Harry to lean over and as he did so, William whispered into his ear.
"Isn't that the school nurse?"
"Yes," he hissed back, "Now no more talk of Hog-school alright?"
"All right," William whispered as they turned their attention back to Greg.
"So, that's all I needed to tell you all. You're all free to take a tour of the grounds or join a game of kick ball I'll have Peter start. You have about an hour and a half until lunch at noon. I expect everyone back up here promptly. Anyone late eats last! Now everyone go have some fun!"