Ship of Dreams
Chapter Three
...Well, her sort of savior, anyway. Hermione had been the one to actually hit the man, but she never would have been able to if her 'savior' hadn't distracted them.
"Are you okay?" the man asked. Because of his actions, Hermione doubted he was up to no good. Then again, he could be trying to trick her. Just in case, Hermione decided to be on her best guard, and keep her book in hand. Who knew with the male sex?
"Yes, thank you," Hermione said stiffly. She sounded like a stuck-up person who found anyone below first class beneath her, and she hated herself for it, but Hermione felt her dignity had suffered enough lately, and that it would be best that, now that she had extended her 'thank you's, if she just left. Strangely though, she found she couldn't, like someone had 'Petricicus Totalus'ed her feet- if that was even a word.
"Who are you?" she blurted out instead. When the man stepped into the light, Hermione held back a gasp. The man had jet-black hair, emerald green eyes, a fairly friendly face that looked like it had seen hard times, and, the most remarkable of all, a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. It couldn't be!
"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Harry Potter." Hermione bit back the urge to respond
'I know who you are! I've read about you in-' and proceed to name all of the books he was in.
You're supposed to be cutting back from that world! Besides, it sounds school-girlish and childish, she sharply
reminded herself.
"Hermione Granger. Pleasure to meet you." She gave him one brief shake of the hand, setting down her book before doing so, giving him another quick look as she did. Was he a first class passenger visiting this class as she was? After all, he had inherited money from his parents- quite a lot of it if the rumors were true - and with all the awards given to him, he would have made a lot of money that way, too. And yet his clothes were worn and looked as if he had been wearing the same thing for days. Maybe he dressed that way to blend in?
They stood in silence for a few minutes, neither quite sure what to say. Hermione had never been completely alone with the male sex before (not counting her father, of course) because it was quite improper for an unmarried girl of her class. Now that she had the freedom to say what she liked without worrying about a disapproving look or a smart scolding later, she found nothing would come up in her brain.
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Hermione once again felt the urge to leave.
"My mother is expecting me, and I shan't make her wait." It was somewhat true. Mrs. Granger would be back soon, and she was expecting Hermione to be in bed. "I thank you again." With that said, Hermione took her leave, completely forgetting about her book.
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Harry watched Hermione go with some interest. He had been walking to his rooms when he first saw her.
At first he felt angry. It wasn't right that first class passengers were allowed to come and go when they chose to, gaping at poverty like it was some sort of circus act. But Hermione hadn't done that. She just sat down and read, and it seemed that she had just been looking for a quiet place to read without being disturbed.
Then the men came, and Harry wasn't quite sure what to do. He didn't want to do magic because he didn't want to be traced or get special treatment from the Ministry for breaking the law by performing magic on Muggles. But he didn't have to worry. When he called out to them, Hermione took action. She really was quite the unusual girl, especially for first class. Harry felt drawn to her presence; she intrigued him. He doubted, however, that he would ever see her again. He couldn't exactly go traipsing up to first class, and after tonight, Hermione probably wasn't going to come back down there.
Then he noticed her book and smiled.
"Maybe I'll be seeing her soon after all," he thought hopefully as he picked up the book and went to his room.
A/N- Sorry this chappie's so short! I'm not very good at writing long chapters, unfortunately.
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