Brews and Braids

Chapter 3

Pansy entered their dorm room with Hermione's small hand clasped in hers. The most notable  change was Hermione's bed, which was lower than before. At the foot of the bed, an open trunk held an assortment of Hermione-sized clothes and shoes.

Hermione gasped, her eyes wide with wonder. She turn to face Pansy, gazing up at her earnestly. "I get to sleep here? The beds are like princess beds," Hermione looked down in a way that almost seemed sad. "I wish dragons were real. Then one could guard our tower like in the stories and keeps us safe from the boys who try to take us away."

Pansy bit back a laugh as Hermione seriously explained, "Boys are gross, you know. Anyway, the dragon would be my friend. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"That would be awesome." Pansy wished she could tell the girl that dragons were real, though they didn't quite work like that, but she knew McGonagall hadn't yet decided how to approach the whole 'magic-is-real-and-this-is-a-school-of-magic' thing, let alone the fact that Hermione herself was a witch. Instead, she showed Hermione which bed was hers, conspiratorially whispering that it was a great bed for jumping.

Hermione leapt on the bed, giving it a few jumps before she collapsed on the bed in giggles. "Mum doesn't let me jump on my bed at home. That was fun!" She let out a giant yawn.

"Are you sleepy?"

"No," Hermione insisted, as another yawn betrayed her.

Pansy joined her on the bed. "Well, how about you tell me what you want for dinner and then take a nap so that you can eat when you wake up."

"Dad says taking naps will keep me from falling asleep at night."

"I think it will be okay just this once. It's been a weird day, yeah," Pansy said reassuringly. "What do you want for dinner."

Eyes already drooping, the 4-year-old responded, "A grilled cheese, please? They're my favorite."

"Of course." The reply was lost on the sleeping girl. Pansy gently brushed Hermione's hair from her face and carefully maneuvered the covers from underneath her, tucking her in. 

She sat back with a sigh, before rising and ducking into the bathroom. That should be close enough if something happened, right? She didn't want to call Mippy, their assigned house elf, and risk the pop of house elf apparation waking Hermione up and exposing magic. 

"Mippy," she called softly, the house elf appearing almost immediately.

"How can Mippy be serving Mistress Pansy?"

"Mippy, can you bring two grilled cheeses to Hermione and I in about an hour? If it's not too much trouble, can you knock and then leave them right outside the door to the hallway? Hermione is taking a nap."

Mippy gazed eagerly up at Pansy. "Of course, Mistress. Mippy is pleased to be serving Mistress Pansy and Mistress Hermione." The elf disappeared in another loud pop.

--

Pansy laughed as Hermione dug into her grilled cheese with gusto — though she did agree that the sandwiches were delicious.

"Hermione, how is it even possible to make that much of a mess on yourself with a grilled cheese?"

The girl refused to slow down eating to respond, so shrugged and then she talked quickly, her cheeks bulging with food, "This is the best grilled cheese I've ever had."

"You're going to need a bath when you're done."

--

Hermione insisted that she was capable of taking her bath alone, and Pansy had no clue whether or not kids her age were supposed to bathe alone. She was an only child, and she didn't remember that type of detail from her own childhood. She compromised, insisting that the bathroom door would stay open in case Hermione needed help, but that she would sit on her bed, where she couldn't see the tub, so that Hermione wasn't uncomfortable.