DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. does, and she has every right to do whatever she thinks is best for Harry Potter. I just love writing. So sue me. Wait, seriously… don't.
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If there was one thing that had relieved Hermione from the depressing state she had before she fell asleep, it was the unexpected turn out of her slumber. Because the night that she had been expecting to turn out like the last two nighttimes she had been awake because of thinking, was also the same one that she had slept as peacefully as she would have were she in her own time.
Even her dreams weren't as bad as the ones she had before - dreams that were nothing but nightmares, nagging her until the crack of dawn. They were the same reasons why she had trouble sleeping not too long ago.
What was even more refreshing to her was the light that greeted her that morning. The wind of daylight that breezed through the open window of their dormitory was promising a pleasant break of day that she was hoping would carry out through the rest of the sunlight hours. The hum which the breeze sounded as it wafted into the room made relaxed her and agreed with what she was feeling.
But then - all these became useless the moment she read her schedule that Thursday morning for the first time.
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"FLYING LESSONS?" Hermione complained to Erin as they made their way to the Great Hall.
Her new friend looked at her before completely entering the massive room where students were already giving off quite a deafening noise as they ate their morning fill. She gave her a smile of exasperation and then shifted her gaze to the Gryffindor crowd to search for her brother.
"Flying lessons?" Hermione repeated quieter, reminding Erin of her question.
"Yes. Flying Lessons. We are required to have them." Erin gave no further explanation to this as she spotted the faces she was looking for. With no further clarification, she made her way towards her brother and friends, leaving Hermione, who was busy worrying to notice she was already alone.
"Morning." Erin greeted as she sat down across from Shawn, Cole and Alex who were all seated together on one row. Before putting food on her plate, she scooted over to make room for Hermione. When after some time no one sat down, Erin turned to look in wonder and found Hermione still standing near the entrance. She raised her hand above her head to call for her attention.
Hermione seemed to have been pulled out of a trance as she caught sight of Erin beckoning her to come over.
Exhausted from distress and trauma, Hermione trudged to the table, sat down. As she did, the boy across from her looked up and noticed the downtrodden expression on her face.
"Uh-what's the matter?" Shawn asked. The sudden question caused Cole and Alex, who were involved in a conversation, to stop their talk and look at her curiously.
"Noelle?" Shawn asked again when she didn't reply.
"She's complaining about Flying Lessons." Erin explained, and then added before taking a bite of her meal. "Been nagging about it since this morning."
"I happen to hate flying." Hermione confessed candidly, looking at Erin with a thanks-a-lot look.
"Can't imagine how you can? Supposed to be brilliant, isn't it?" Cole interjected.
`Spoken like a true Potter.' Hermione thought even as Cole inserted again.
"I don't know why 7th years still have lessons. No one takes it seriously anymore. They just fool around and goof with each other."
"Thought you didn't like Quidditch much?" Erin frowned as she looked at Cole, quite baffled, knowing that between Alex and Cole, the former was more into the sport.
"Flying and Quidditch are two whole different things for him." Alex knowingly supplied helpfully as he tipped his head toward Cole. "He thinks Quidditch is just Quidditch and Flying is-well-something he was born to do."
"Well, my parents weren't aware they had to place flying in my quality requirements." Hermione muttered, clearly distressed.
"What are you so frightened about?." Alex asked her with an amused look.
Hermione shot him a poisonous glare, unaware she was behaving more like herself by the minute. "I don't fly because I haven't had much experience. As well as, I never really bothered trying again ever since my first Flying Lesson, as it wasn't required before-in my school."
"Well, in Hogwarts, it is." Erin informed her, and then looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, it was only implied when they found out most of the students were bad at it. After that, teachers decided to get the 7th years to take the class from then on."
`Great!' Hermione felt her jaw drop. `Why can't I have transported a year earlier!'
"You can do it." Shawn urged her, and then he paused, taking a swig of his Pumpkin Juice. "Not so hard once you try. I mean, look at us (he gestured to himself and to the other three), if we can, so can you."
Although she was touched by his effort in making her feel all right, she retorted sardonically. "Oh, sure. Put me up against all Quidditch Players."
Everyone involved in the conversation laughed good-naturedly at her quip, even Cole who had been looking somber had exposed a grin, but Hermione had become busy realizing she found herself increasingly at home to savor her triumph over making Cole smile.
In the middle of her apprehension, Erin decided to reconstruct her brother's statement. "What my brother meant was: we also started as amateurs and however good we are now, we weren't skilled before. The fact is, we tried flying and liked it so we kept on practicing until we were good at it. Maybe, if you try, you can get rid of your fear."
"I have tried. And I can do perfectly when I put my mind to it, but usually; my imagination tends to get a little wild, so I terrify myself before I even get started."
"I understand how you feel, but I'm not saying I agree with you not. You're the least person I expect to be a coward. I may not know you well enough to confirm it, but I'm sure you're made up of more than that." Cole said with a knowing look.
"I am." Hermione admitted with modesty as she tried hard not to get irritated by the persistency of the people she was talking to. They were, after all, just trying to help her out.
"Then, what's the problem? This is just the same as whatever fears you had before." Cole insisted matter-of-factly, unknown to him the growing resentment of Hermione about the whole matter.
Luckily, Hermione became relaxed at the last minute and she found herself firing at him a witty remark. "I'll tell you what-I'll agree to get on a broomstick and fly if you can show me a rule-from any rule book at all-which states that every person in the world should be fearless and perfect."
"Whoa." Erin breathed out, impressed by Hermione's comeback, and then she looked at Cole sympathetically as she added with the two corners of her mouth starting to twitch. "She has a point, Cole. Even you are afraid of some things. You can't deny that."
"Whatever." Cole muttered. "But, yeah, I guess I was being pushy."
"Oh? Were you being pushy? I didn't notice." Shawn interjected sarcastically, and then laughed as he ducked out of sight when a small piece of bread was suddenly aimed at him. When he returned back up, he took a big bite out of his food and while chewing, he asked in a muffled voice. "So what are we going to do about today's lesson?"
Coughing slightly to hide her own laughter, Erin spoke in a business-like tone. "If you don't want to attend the Flying Lesson, until you're ready that is, since you can't avoid it forever, what do you propose you can do?"
"I don't know." Hermione said truthfully. "My reason won't work. Whoever the teacher is won't accept my fear of heights as an excuse." She admitted, her principles getting the better of her.
"What if you just skipped it? You know, not show up." Shawn put in, before taking a swig of his beverage once more without averting his gaze from her face.
Hermione bit her lip for a second before opposing lightly. "But that would make me seem a terrible student. Imagine: I'm just a transferee and I have the nerve to skip a class?"
"You would still be skipping class even if you come up with another excuse." Cole contradicted; looking self-satisfied as he mentally punched the air triumphantly, thinking that he had at least gotten her back with the rule thing and had redeemed his not-overly bashed pride.
Hermione comically shook her head in Cole's direction as Erin nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with whatever he said. "But you know; if it would make her feel better, telling another excuse would not conjure an image of a `terrible student'."
Everyone suddenly became serious in keeping silent as they tried to think of a possible solution for Hermione's problem. This made her smile discreetly as she looked from one reflective person to another.
When no one was likely to come up with an excuse to get Hermione out of the lesson for another few minutes, Shawn decided to satisfy the rumbling of his stomach, which had been irritating him for the last 5 minutes, by consuming some of his meal.
Too bad for him, the exact time he swallowed his food was also the same moment an idea flashed in Alex's mind making him yell in feat an "I got it!" causing Shawn to choke on his food because of the sudden blow.
Patting his choking friend's back with strokes that might have caused Shawn to cough up not only his food but also blood, Cole turned to look at his best friend with knitted eyebrows. "What do you have?"
He lowered his voice. "An excuse."
"And?" .
"How many days has it been since you were in the Hospital Wing?" Alex asked Hermione, who was looking at him with an expectant gaze.
Counting mentally, she answered. "3 days-" She stopped and looked at him knowingly, suddenly catching the concept of his sudden question. "Wait, are you suggesting?"
"It might work." Alex nodded at her.
"Wait, wait." Erin stopped cutting off the eye connection between Alex and Hermione. "What are you two talking about?" She asked, looking from one individual to another.
"She's going to feign sickness and spend the day in the Hospital Wing." Cole answered Erin even before either of the persons in question could have an intake of breath. While it was a wonder for Erin and Shawn that Cole knew what Alex and Hermione had been talking about, the two weren't as nearly astonished as the twins were since they knew that it was just something Cole could do.
"No. She'll just tell Nurse Raeford she's still not up to flying since she still feels dizzy. It might be good enough to get her out of the lesson." Alex corrected.
"That's a plan." Shawn nodded and then he stretched his arms a bit before saying. "But you should have someone with you."
"I'm out." Cole said before anyone could suggest him. "Springbud wants to talk to me about something in Herbology. Might as well do it since the last time she asked and I didn't come, things got ugly. And you know how she gets." He said with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll take her." Erin volunteered chirpily, "I don't have anything to do to kill time, so I'm up for it."
With this affirmation, Cole turned to Hermione. "You should go after breakfast. And don't eat too much." Cole put in. And just when she thought he was finished, he surprised her, when, for the very first time since they met, he winked and gave her a rather fascinating grin. "To add evidence to your `sickness'."
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"Prof. Dumbledore?" Harry voiced out, arising from the chair he was seating on. Careful not to make a sound loud enough to wake Ron, who was sleeping like a log on the chair next to him, he moved closer to the headmaster who was, up to now, reading the book, Tome Aloc Lution.
It was quite some time before the old professor finally looked up from the book, took off his glasses and answered him with a steely `yes'.
"I was wondering about-what you meant when-when you told Hermione that only when she has a strong will to travel can she go back here?" He asked; his voice raw with concern.
Before speaking, Dumbledore looked at Harry with a grave expression that sent unusual shivers running up and down his spine. "Some things, like the truth, Harry, are better left unsaid. For no matter how reality may be able to relieve you with your doubts and worries, it can still be capable of hurting you extremely."
There was a certain timbre in his voice that unnerved Harry as he looked intently at Prof. Dumbledore who seemed to be incomprehensible despite the fact that the headmaster's eyes were looking straight into his.
But he gave no further explanation to what he said. Although he knew he was right about the professor keeping a secret, he knew that no kind of persistency would make him speak. And Harry knew better than to make him mad.
This thought suddenly led him to think again about the fact that the headmaster hasn't so much as raise his voice at him or to anyone else involved in this situation, yet. But then again, he couldn't recall a time Prof. Dumbledore ever lost his composure even when more catastrophic events happened before.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to change the subject. "How's it coming with the incantation, sir?" He asked as he moved closer.
"Everything is surprisingly all set, Harry. We just have to wait till the right time comes." He said.
"But why do we have to wait?"
The headmaster linked his hands together and simply gazed at Harry with a calm façade and an amused glitter in both his eyes before explaining. "I believe that the opportunity to link two ages has a cycle of its own, just like the moon, the leap year and the eclipse we seldom witness. These wonders and creations of life that I speak of come only within a certain span of time and in order for us to view them or live through them, we are required to wait until it arrives. And just like the cycle of life, the path to the union of interaction between where Hermione is and where we are now, begins to grow once more after it disappears until it is already fully developed and total communication can be established."
"But we had managed to communicate with Hermione awhile ago, didn't we? So if the connection was already fully developed at that time, then why was it broken so quickly?" Harry asked; his question more for himself than for the headmaster.
Sensing this battle against his own thoughts, Prof. Dumbledore just smiled and let Harry think about the answer for his own query.
The boy looked so thoughtful and painstakingly induced to answer that particular issue that the old professor had to resist the urge to ease his troubles immediately. But he knew that Harry was already old enough to analyze most of the many things that is happening in his life so he decided to let him do this one on his own. So, relaxing back on his chair, he settled on giving him a couple more minutes to think.
But Harry didn't need another minute to consider, in fact, he already knew what the answer was and surprisingly, it wasn't at all that hard to grasp. "We didn't wait for the right time to communicate with Hermione, did we, sir? The path you were talking about a while ago wasn't fully developed the moment we connected our time to the time she's in." Then his expression changed from thoughtful to alarm. "Will that affect anything, professor?"
"I don't believe it will." The professor said unquestionably.
Harry found himself relaxing and then voicing out-"Then everything will be all right again." He breathed out quietly.
"We have yet to find that out, Harry." Dumbledore countered suddenly with a certain knowing look in his eyes that rapidly bothered him.
"What are you talking about, sir?" Harry asked; his voice getting louder and heavier with each word. "You've already connected with Hermione a few days ago. I reckon doing it again won't be as difficult as before, especially for you. So how can we not be sure that everything will be as it was when everything affecting it has already been decided in our favor?"
"The connection, yes. It is not that hard to do, if I may say." The old mentor put in almost certainly. Then he regarded the book Tome Aloc Lution that was lying idle on top of the table with a tilt of his head, "The potion, of course. Every ingredient is written there and all we have to do is tell Ms. Granger."
And then knowing that the worst was about to be revealed, Prof. Dumbledore paused for the briefest of brief seconds, taking time to regard Harry with a sympathetic look, hoping to prepare him for whatever he was to hear next.
But no matter how much Prof. Dumbledore dreaded the idea of wrecking the ideal turn out of everything, he could see no other reason to postpone what was necessary.
Clearing his throat, he decided to continue even as Harry shut his eyes to prevent the truth from crushing down on him.
"Hate it, Harry, if you want, but there's nothing we can say or do to change Hermione's decision if it isn't in favor of what you and Mr. Weasley wish her to do."
Prof. Dumbledore explained simply and then he became quiet. He didn't know how to react to this sudden realization, but he wasn't happy about it.
But for Harry, this was all he needed to hear to shut himself out from reality and drown himself in pity and gloom.
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