Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's note: - Apologize in advance for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: - I don't own Harry Potter and anyone or anything related.

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Shock or Surprise

Robert Granger felt himself to be the luckiest man on the planet Earth. He had a very beautiful and a sensible wife. He was a proud father and he had the best daughter in the whole world, Hermione Granger.

Story of Hermione's birth had been quite interesting. She was born in a car. When Jane's water broke, Robert had quickly rushed to the hospital with Jane and her mother, who was staying with them to take care of her pregnant daughter.

Hermione was born even before they reached to the hospital. Fortunately, Jane's mother was a gynecologist. She had prepared in advance for any kind of circumstances, and hence, she managed to bring the situation under control. She had asked her son-in-law to continue driving as she took care of a very tired looking and almost unconscious Jane.

Once they reached to the hospital, Jane and the baby were admitted straight away. After sometime, Robert saw his daughter for the first time. He took her in his arms, holding her so delicately, as though if she was made of the finest china or she was the most precious jewel in the entire world.

Robert had been the happiest man the day his wife told him that they were going to have a baby. However, that happiest Robert was nothing, compared to the Robert who held his daughter for the first time in his arms after her birth.

For him, his daughter was a miracle. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on. He and Jane named her Hermione, a special name for their special daughter.

It was amazing as well as funny to see Hermione growing up from a toddler to a 16-year-old girl. Robert had so many memories of his little girl since the day when he held her for the first time in his arms. Like other children, Hermione never used to cry much. She wasn't a difficult child and it was always easy to please her.

Dee was the first word she spoke. Robert was convinced that Hermione was going to say Daddy. He even argued with Jane who said that the word sounded nowhere close to Daddy. In the end, he accepted, but from then on, he started trying to teach Hermione how to speak Daddy, he even tried to get something close to Dad or Da from her. Finally, to his relief one day Hermione did learn to say Da, but it didn't come under any memorable circumstances for the poor Robert.

That day Jane had gone to meet her mother and Robert was alone at home with little Hermione. He was feeding Hermione with the baby food. Hermione was eating like a good child without any resistance. All of a sudden, she vomited everything out on Robert's clothes. Robert was shocked and just stared at his daughter disbelievingly. For some reason Hermione found it very amusing, she pushed the bowl filled with baby food on the floor. Then, she began chanting Da Da and started laughing along with it.

Robert was very happy that his teaching lessons were finally showing the desired result. However, this happiness was short-lived as Hermione continued her hymn of Da Da for the whole day. Whenever Robert tried to make her eat something, she would just push the food on the floor and Robert had to clean the whole mess. Finally, when Jane came back from her mother's place, Robert felt a little relieved.

It wasn't until past midnight that Hermione finally got tired and went to sleep. Robert was completely knackered by the time he went to bed. Jane asked her husband that what really set off Hermione to carry on her Da Da song, but Robert never told his wife the real reason for why and how Hermione learned to say Da Da.

As much as Robert enjoyed watching his daughter growing up, it was hard for him to grasp that one day his little daughter won't be so little anymore. He didn't want his daughter to go out and face the cruel world alone, but he knew all this was a part of learning and living a life.

When Hermione stepped into her teenage, Robert was a little worried about his daughter. Hermione had a little difficulty in adjusting in her school. She didn't make many friends. When Hermione had started going to school, many times she would come home crying, saying that other kids made fun of her. As she grew up, things didn't change. However, thanks to Jane Hermione learned to face those who made fun of her. Robert was never good at handling his teenage daughter's haywire emotions so he let Jane handle the situation.

Robert knew that Hermione was a confident and an intelligent girl, but he was also aware of the fact that under the cover of a confident girl, an insecure girl existed. She always kept an indifferent attitude towards those who said bad things about her, but sometimes others' hurtful remarks did hurt her; she was a human after all.

Robert had seen the live example of his own cousin Martha, who always tried to make Hermione feel lesser as compared to her own daughter, Romilda. Her attacks were never direct, but very subtle, sugarcoated under the name of care and worry.

Jane had stopped Robert from interfering in Hermione's life wholly. She had explained to him that they couldn't always be the protective shield for Hermione. Of course, they would stand by their daughter whenever she needed them, but Hermione needed to learn to stand for herself, to fight her own battles and win them. She needed to be strong and believe in her own abilities.

And, that's where Hermione's interest in the books played a big part in shaping her personality. Her knowledge about the things, her thirst for gaining more knowledge, and her ability to understand people's personalities and emotions around her helped her in defining and shaping her own personality and attitude towards them. She understood that everyone was different and people hurt others to hide their own insecurities and inner battles.

Amidst everything, Harry Potter entered into her life. Robert was shocked beyond imagination when his daughter told him that she was dating Harry Potter. He didn't even realize when his daughter had grown up to the age where she would start dating a boy. Just like any other father Robert was not happy to let his daughter in the company of a boy, but he trusted his daughter that if she had any problems she would come to him. However, even if reluctantly, he had to agree that since his daughter had started dating Harry Potter, there were many positive changes in her to be noticed by everyone.

Last night when she came back from the birthday party…However, Robert's thought process didn't last long when he was disturbed by a voice next to him.

"Good morning, Rob." Jane said as she sat next to her husband on the dining table and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Morning Jane," Robert replied with a smile.

"What were you thinking?" Jane asked curiously, "You seemed to be quite deep in thought."

Robert got up from his seat and made his way to the kitchen counter. He filled two empty mugs with hot coffee and came back to the table. He gave one mug to Jane and sat back on his seat.

"So?" Jane asked again.

Robert took a deep breath and started. "I was thinking about Hermione. She has changed a lot in last month or so." Robert stated his observation.

"Well, I hope it's a good thing." Jane said.

"Yes…Yes it is." Robert agreed and then he continued…

"You saw her last night. She looked so happy and she was talking so much. I never knew she could talk so much." Robert said, "I was a little scared to allow her to go to the party. I mean she was going to a whole new gathering."

"It's understandable, Rob. I was a little worried as well, but I also know that our Hermione is not a damsel in distress. She can tackle the unfriendly situations without our help." Jane said.

"I think Harry has a very positive effect on her." She added.

"Yeah, you are right. Last night she said that Harry never left her side in the party." Robert said, reluctantly agreeing with Jane. Jane smiled and squeezed his hand.

"It doesn't mean that I am happy with her for dating Harry." Robert grumbled.

Jane started giggling at her husband's mutterings. "Oh Rob," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Hermione is lucky to have you as her father." Jane said proudly.

"Of course she is, after all I am the best daddy in the whole world." Robert said teasingly pulling his wife on his lap.

"Robert!" Jane exclaimed, hitting Robert on the arm playfully. "Hermione and Romilda would be coming down any moment." She said.

"So what? I am flirting with my wife, not with the neighbor's wife." Robert said, his eyes shining with mirth.

Jane simply rolled her eyes at him and tried to get up from his lap.

"Hey," Robert said pulling his wife back onto his lap, "Where are you going?"

Jane opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by a voice.

"Mum, dad, are you in the kitchen?" They heard Hermione's voice from the living room.

Robert was shocked and quickly got up from his chair, forgetting that Jane was still sitting on his lap.

"Ouch!" Jane cried as she fell down on the kitchen floor.

"What happened?" Hermione asked in a concerned voice, standing at the door of the kitchen. She had come to the kitchen when she heard her mother whimpering in pain.

"Oh nothing," Jane said dismissively, getting up from the floor. Robert helped Jane standing straight before looking back at his daughter.

"Good morning Hermione, looks like you slept well." Robert said with a smile, trying to distract her.

"Oh yes, I did." Hermione replied with a smile, making her way to the dining table. She sat down on one of the empty chairs placing both of her hands on the table and looked at her parents.

"So what's the plan for today?" Hermione asked.

"Are you not going to the school today?" Jane asked looking confused.

"No, today all the students are having a day off." Hermione replied.

"Why?" Robert asked as he and Jane took their seats at the table.

"All the teachers and the principal are going for the picnic today." Hermione explained.

"Okay," Robert said.

"Well, we also have news for you." Jane said with a meaningful look in her eyes.

Hermione was about to ask her mum that what was it, but just then Romilda entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Uncle Robert, Aunt Jane," She said and sat next to Hermione, without even acknowledging her presence, and devoid of any doubt, Hermione did the same.

"Good morning dear," Robert replied warmly.

"So, what were you talking about?" Hermione asked, gaining the attention of both of her parents.

"Well, Potters have invited us for the dinner at their place this evening." Jane said waiting for her daughter's reaction.

Hermione was surprised, as this was the last thing she would have expected to hear from her mum.

"We will be leaving for the work in an hour, but we'll be back before 5. You both should be ready by then. Then, we'll leave together around 6." Robert said and both the teenage girls nodded. Then, Robert left the kitchen and Romilda too stood up to leave.

"I better go and see if I have a proper dress for the dinner." Romilda said in a hurried voice and left the kitchen before anyone could respond to her statement.

"Is it necessary to take her to the dinner? Can't we leave her at home?" Hermione asked her mum, despite knowing that it was a wishful thinking on her part.

"Hermione," Jane said with intent.

"Ok. Ok. I got it." Hermione looked defensively, "She's the family and I should not talk like this."

"I am glad you remember your lessons correctly." Jane said with a chuckle.

"Mum!" Hermione said in disbelief, and then she started laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Jane smiled and got up from her seat to prepare the breakfast.

"Hey mum, do you need any help with the breakfast?" Hermione asked sincerely.

Jane stopped in her tracks and looked at Hermione with a stunned look on her face. Hermione turned red out of embarrassment when she realized what she had said.

Jane sat back on her chair and looked at Hermione with a smile.

"Hermione dear, to prepare the breakfast we need this kitchen in one piece. Half-burned kitchen will be of no use. Are you getting what I am trying to say?" Jane said slowly as though if she was talking to a child.

"Mum, this is not fair." Hermione said whiningly.

Jane took Hermione's hand in her own and squeezed it.

"I know dear, but you have to understand that you should never try your hand at cooking." Jane said consolingly, although her eyes were shining with mirth.

She got up to leave the table. "And I hope Harry knows how to cook." She added with a wink and quickly made her way to the kitchen counter, leaving a dumbfounded Hermione behind.

Hermione was speechless at her mother's comment. At first, she didn't understand what her mum was trying to say, but next moment she knew that her mum was thinking about long-standing relationship between her and Harry. Like that was ever going to happen.

`Does she think Harry and I are going to end up together forever?' Hermione thought with disbelief. She decided not to pay any heed to it and left the kitchen.

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Hermione was making her way back to her bedroom. She passed through Romilda's room and heard a muffled voice coming out of her room. She pressed her left ear to the door trying to overhear something that would tell her what exactly was going on in the room. Assortments of thoughts were going through her mind. Was Romilda alone in the room or someone else was there in the room with her? Was she talking on the phone? Why was she not talking clearly? To Hermione it was obvious that Romilda was whispering so that no one else could hear her outside the room.

Hermione was about to leave when she heard the four words `between Harry and Hermione', which stopped her in her tracks.

`She's talking about me and Harry.' She thought skeptically.

Hermione tried to hear some more, but couldn't hear anything else. She heard the footsteps coming towards the door. She quickly left from there, and got inside her room, which was right next to Romilda's room.

She closed the door and took a deep breath in relief.

`That was close.' She thought and made her way to the bathroom.

After taking a quick shower, Hermione got ready and went downstairs and then into the kitchen. It was already 8:30 A.M. Her parents and Romilda were already there, taking in their breakfast. Her parents looked ready to leave for the work, while Romilda was still in her nightclothes. Hermione joined them on the table. Romilda and Jane were sitting on one side and Jane was sitting across Robert. Hermione took the seat next to Jane and in front of Romilda, and filled a glass with the pumpkin juice.

"Are you going out somewhere?" Jane asked, noticing that Hermione was dressed to go out. She put two slices of toast in Hermione's plate and looked at her expectantly.

"Yes. Today, I'll be working at Flourish and Blotts from 9 to 4." Hermione replied, taking a bite of the toast.

Jane simply nodded and went back to eating her breakfast.

After finishing the breakfast, Robert and Jane left for the dentistry. They had told Romilda and Hermione that they were having a tight schedule and would not be coming home for lunch. So they told the girls to order something for the lunch for themselves.

Before leaving for the shop, Hermione called Luna on her cell phone. After five seconds, Luna received the call.

"Hey Hermione, good morning," Luna said cheerfully.

"Hi Luna, what are you doing today?" Hermione asked in return.

"I am not doing anything important today. Why?" Luna asked curiously.

"Can you come to the shop where I work? I would be working there for almost the whole day. It would be nice to have some company. You can also help me with my work there." Hermione said. She was aware that Romilda was standing behind her and listening to every word she was saying.

"Sure. When would you be leaving for the shop?" Luna asked.

"I am leaving right now." Hermione replied.

"Okay, I'll be there in an hour." Luna replied.

"Ok then. Bye." Hermione said and put down the receiver.

She turned around and looked at Romilda, who was standing there lost in her thoughts.

"Are you going somewhere out today?" Hermione asked her.

"No," Romilda replied.

Hermione simply nodded. After taking her jacket from her room, Hermione left the house.

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Hermione was sitting alone in the shop. She was reading a book when door of the shop opened.

"Hi Hermione," Luna said with a smile.

Hermione looked up and smiled at her best friend.

"Hi Luna, come on in." She replied and gestured Luna to sit on an empty stool next to the chair she was sitting on. Luna gladly took the seat.

"You are alone." Luna stated looking around the shop.

"Yup!" Hermione replied.

"Where's the owner?" Luna asked again.

"He has gone to do some personal errands. He said he would be back after lunchtime." Hermione said. Luna simply nodded.

"So what happened with Ron yesterday?" Hermione asked, getting straight to the point.

Luna smiled dreamily. "He's very different, you know. He apologized to me for his behavior, and said that he was completely freaked out when I said those three words to him." Luna took a deep breath and continued,

"He said he really, I mean really cares for me and want some time to figure out the depth of his feelings for me. He said that he doesn't want it to be just a passing affair, but a real relationship between us. He also said that he doesn't want to break up with me and let me go, and that I am one of the best things that have happened in his life." Luna finished with the same dreamy smile on her face.

Hermione looked surprised. "Did he really say all those things? I wasn't aware that he could talk so maturely." She said.

"No, he didn't exactly say all those things in words, but I caught the meaning in between lines. He also said that Harry helped him in understanding his predicament because he was having a hard time getting himself out of this mess. His words, not mine." Luna said the last part feeling a little defensive towards Ron.

Hermione simply rolled her eyes. "At least he accepted that he got some help from his best friend. That was really nice of him to give some credit to Harry for this." She said with a smile.

Luna looked relieved at her reaction and smiled back in return.

They both chatted for some time when Hermione suddenly remembered about dinner invitation from the Potters.

"Harry's parents have invited my parents, me, and Romilda for dinner at their place today." Hermione said.

Luna looked excited at this piece of information.

"Wow! That's incredible, Hermione. You must be very excited to spend some time with Harry. It's a good thing that your and his parents have friendly relations. It would be easier for both the families when you both decide to marry." Luna said happily.

Hermione almost stopped breathing at Luna's incongruous conclusions. She opened her mouth to retort when a customer entered into the shop. Hermione composed herself with great difficulty and stoop up for receiving the customer.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" Hermione asked politely.

"Umm…Hi, I was looking for Jane Austen's book, Pride and Prejudice. Do you have that book in your shop?" Customer asked.

Hermione smiled at him.

"Yeah, we do have that book, just give me a sec, I'll be back with your book." Hermione said. She gestured Luna to keep an eye on the customer as she went towards the racks at the back of the shop to get the book.

Hermione made a quick search for the book, found it, and came back to the front of the shop. She prepared the bill and handed it to the customer. After paying for the bill, customer left the shop with the book, and a pleased look on his face.

Hermione sat back on her chair and gazed at Luna thoughtfully.

Throughout the transaction, Hermione kept thinking about what Luna had said earlier. Sometimes she felt amazed and sometimes she felt very frustrated at the far-fetched imagination of her best friend. She was glad that customer came into the shop just at the right time. Otherwise, in her fit of rage, she might have said some unreasonable things to Luna, which she was sure, she would have regretted later. She managed to cool her mind during those precious minutes when she dealt with the customer. She finally decided to let the matter go and talk about something else.

"I heard that a new teacher from France is going to join our school in next year." Hermione asked curiously.

Luna nodded. "Yeah, her name is Fleur Delacour. Ron told me that she is engaged to his brother, Bill Weasley. That's why she is coming to England." Luna replied.

"Wow! World is just so small." Hermione said in awe.

"She might be your future sister-in-law." Hermione said teasingly.

Luna looked at her best friend with wide innocent eyes. "I know." She simply replied, her voice laced with conviction.

Hermione looked at Luna with curious eyes and a lazy smile on her face. Luna was an original piece in her own way. There was no one else like her in the whole world. She was a passionate person and always did the right thing, Ok, maybe not always, but most of the time. However, she was like an angel, untouched by world's malice and selfishness. Even though she knew that fairy tales were just an imagination of the human mind, she still believed that things that happen in fantasy world could occur in real life as well.

Meeting Ronald Weasley was like a fairy tale for Luna. She believed that Ron was the one for her. Hermione knew that Luna was deeply hurt by the incident that happened between her and Ron at the birthday party of Ginny Weasley.

However, Hermione was impressed by the manner in which Ron handled the situation. This assured her that Ron was very serious about Luna and would try his best not to hurt her.

"You know, you are really a fairy tale girl, Luna." Hermione said with amusement.

"And Ron is my prince charming." Luna added with a wink.

Hermione simply rolled her eyes and laughed at her best friend.

"Don't worry Hermione. You have also met your prince charming in Harry Potter. You just need to accept it and you will see that real life can also be fairy tale." Luna said with a dreamy smile on her face.

Hermione growled in frustration. "We are talking about you, not me." She said.

"What's wrong in talking about you and Harry?" Luna was getting a little frustrated now.

"Because I don't want to," Hermione said looking irritated.

Luna opened her mouth to defend herself, but Hermione stopped her.

"Look, can't we talk about something else? You know what, I'll tell you something I heard this morning." Hermione offered.

Luna nodded grudgingly. Hermione smiled at her friend's reluctance and ice between Luna and her was broken.

"Fine, go on," Luna said, trying to look stern and failing miserably as her lips broke into a small smile.

Hermione told her about what she heard outside Romilda's room, but Luna didn't look very surprised.

"Do you think she's up to something?" Hermione asked.

"Knowing your cousin, I'll advise you to be careful, but I'll also tell you not to think much about it. Just enjoy the evening with Harry." Luna said with a smile and after looking at the exasperation coming across Hermione's face, she burst out laughing and soon Hermione joined in with her laughter.

They both continued to chat and tease each other for the rest of the day. Luna didn't let Hermione avoid the subject of Harry Potter and they debated various times, about what was happening between Harry and Hermione. However, after some time Hermione found it easier to talk about her non-existent relationship with Harry. She told Luna about the last night when she and Harry became friends for real, although Hermione didn't mention anything about the kiss. And as said by Luna, it was the first step towards the real relationship between Harry and her.

Owner of the shop returned at 3:30 P.M. Luna left after that and when the clock struck 4 P.M., shop owner told Hermione that her working time was over and that she was free to go home.

Hermione made her way towards her home where another surprise of the day was waiting for her.

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Hermione rang the doorbell and waited for her cousin to open the door. After approximately five minutes, Romilda opened the door. She let Hermione in and closed the door after that.

Hermione started making her way to her room, but Romilda stopped her.

"Hermione, can I talk to you?" She asked politely.

Hermione turned around to look at her cousin who was looking very nervous. She was taken aback by Romilda's polite manner. `What's gotten into her?' Hermione thought disbelievingly.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked warily.

Romilda simply shrugged her shoulders. "I just want to talk with you. Will you come with me to the kitchen? I ordered some noodles for you. You must be hungry after working in the shop for the whole day."

Hermione was feeling ravenous as she had not eaten anything after breakfast, but she didn't reply immediately. She wasn't sure what to think of Romilda's behavior. Why was she all of a sudden so civil towards her? It was the first time, as far as Hermione could remember that Romilda had said more than three sentences to her without making any kind of scathing remark towards her.

Hermione knew something was up. Romilda had never been good to her since they were kids. Why would she change her behavior now?

`It must be something to do with what I heard this morning or may be she's really trying to be good with me. Nah! That's not possible.' Hermione contemplated, dismissing the latter part of her thoughts.

"Hermione," Romilda called again.

Hermione jerked out of her musings, only to find that Romilda was smiling at her graciously.

"Come on, let's go in the kitchen." Romilda said with a smile. Taking Hermione's hand, she led her to the kitchen.

She asked Hermione to sit on the chair and served the noodles for her. While Hermione ate in silence, Romilda started speaking.

"I know you are very surprised by my behavior." Romilda started.

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Romilda interrupted her. "It's written all over your face, Hermione." She said with a laugh.

"So what are your intentions behind this sudden change of behavior?" Hermione asked.

"I just wanted to apologize for the way I have treated you all these years. I am really sorry for everything." Romilda sincerely apologized.

Shock was written all over Hermione's face as she looked at her cousin, who was giving her an apologetic smile.

"I know it's completely unexpected, but I am saying it from my heart. I am really feeling very bad for treating you so badly. Please forgive me." Romilda said hopefully.

Hermione didn't know what to say. It was the last thing she would have expected from Romilda. Definitely, something was wrong.

`She wasn't even looking at me this morning, and now all of a sudden she is apologizing to me. She's up to something for sure. I would have to be careful around her.' Hermione thought.

"I know it's difficult for you to believe me right now, but give me a chance. I'll prove it to you that I have changed." Romilda looked at Hermione with pleading eyes.

Hermione was feeling extremely uncomfortable. She had no idea what to do. She just wanted to get away from her cousin as soon as possible.

"Umm…Ok, I forgive you." Hermione said looking uncomfortable.

"Oh Hermione, thank you so much, you don't know how much it means to me that you are giving me a chance to correct all my faults." Romilda said giddily and got up from her seat.

"Well, I should better go and start getting ready." Romilda said jovially and after that, she left the kitchen.

Hermione sighed with relief and finished her meal. She checked her watch, which showed 4:30 P.M. After washing the plate, she made her way to her bedroom feeling a little dazed. After getting inside her room, Hermione lied down on the bed on her back, folding her arms behind her head and closed her eyes to calm down her nerves. She was still in disbelief over what had happened just a few minutes back.

What really possessed Romilda to change herself? She had always thought herself to be better than Hermione, and now out of the blue she realized that it was unfair of her to treat her cousin like this. Was this some kind of conspiracy on the part of Romilda to get back at her? Was Cho behind all this? After years of unannounced enmity, it was almost impractical for Hermione to trust Romilda's sincere request for forgiveness. People like Romilda didn't change their attitude overnight, unless they had an ulterior motive behind it. Hermione had a suspicion that her apology had something to do with her and Harry being together as she had heard her cousin talking about it in the morning. Romilda was certainly talking to someone on the phone, Hermione figured out.

Hermione didn't realize for how long she lied there on her bed thinking about Romilda, because surprisingly she realized that somebody was knocking on the door of her bedroom. She rubbed her eyes to remove the haze, got out of her bed, and opened the door.

"Mum," Hermione said looking surprised. Jane was standing at the door and staring at Hermione sternly. Romilda was standing right behind her. Jane and Romilda both were dressed for the dinner at the Potters' place.

`When did mum come back from the dentistry?' Hermione thought feeling a little sleepy.

"We are leaving in 20 minutes, get ready, and come down." Jane said austerely.

Hermione checked her watch to see the time. She was bewildered realizing that it was showing 5:45 P.M.

"Sorry mum, I think I was too tired and dozed off." Hermione said tiredly rubbing her forehead.

Jane softened a bit and smiled at her daughter. "It's alright, dear. Just be quick, we'll be waiting for you downstairs." She said and left to go down the stairs. However, Romilda was still standing there looking exquisite in her halter neck, knee-length black dress.

"Do you need some help in getting ready?" She asked.

"Huh? Um…no, thanks, I'll manage. Tell mum I'll be down in 10 minutes." Hermione replied.

Romilda simply nodded, though she looked a little disappointed.

Once Romilda left, Hermione closed the door and took a deep breath.

"What the hell is happening today?" She said looking around her room as though if expecting the answer to jump out from some corner of the room.

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Author's note:- So what you think? Please tell me through your reviews.

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