In Perpetuum

Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Aenigmatica temebris

Hermione was the first to wake in her dormitory which she shared with fellow Gryffindor girls: Lily Evans, Alice Hughes, Estrella Archbald and Heloise Dinkley.

Looking out the window at the sky, which was still faintly pink, she decided that it was too soon to get out from under the covers.

Instead she thought about what she would be “learning” in the coming weeks. She contemplated how she would temper her magic. The eleven-year-olds around her had never (consciously) used magic in their lives and her she was, a fully fledged witch. She would stick out worse than a sore thumb the very second she pointed her want. Still, she was excited to start using magic again. Up until now she had been frustrated beyond belief, not being able to perform magic. At times it felt like it would explode out of her like a grenade in a war zone.

Many of the spells they would be learning, Hermione already practiced silently and without any thought. It would be difficult to react beyond her natural instinct.

She put the thoughts out of her mind and instead focused on another pressing matter. How could she go and meet Hagrid without seeming strange or suspicious?

As the glow of sunshine peeked over the window sill, Hermione stretched one final time before hauling herself out of the bed,

Her past experiences with a dormitory full of girls gave her one sound bit of knowledge: Get the shower before the hot water runs out. So she hurried into the bathroom to stake claim on one of the showers.

She suppressed a grin at the memory of Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil arguing over who could spend what amount of time in front of the mirror and who exceeded their limit the previous morning. Ordinarily they were the best of friends, but when personal primping time was threatened, they turned menacing.

Hermione dressed quickly and made her way down the stairs to the Common Room below. Expecting it to be empty, she was surprised to find none other than Remus Lupin curled up in one of the armchairs, staring absently into the fireplace.

“Morning Remus”

Remus, who had also not expected anyone to be awake at this hour, jumped at the sudden noise. He mumbled a reply.

Although Hermione was not one to pry, she was curious as to why Remus was looking so morose. The full moon was not due for at least another week and a half. The adult Remus had expressed his extreme gratitude at being able to attend Hogwarts despite his ‘condition’. Hermione was at a loss as to what could be causing this stupor, especially when his friendship with Sirius and James seemed so solid.

“Is anything wrong Remus? I didn’t expect anyone else to be up at this hour.”

Remus snapped his head up.

“Wrong? No, nothing is wrong, I just couldn’t sleep. Excited, I guess.”

He forced a smile. Hermione was not fooled that easily, but she did not have the heart to interfere further in what was clearly a very personal matter. She steered the conversation into safer waters.

“I’m excited as well. I can’t wait to start charms and learn some proper spells. I’ve also heard that the teacher,Professor Flitwick is very nice.”

One by one, the rest of Gryffindor awoke and came down the stairs. With the increase in traffic, it became increasingly difficult to maintain a conversation so Hermione suggested that they go down to breakfast.

Sitting down at Gryffindor table, it was not until they were halfway through their bowls of porridge that James and Sirius casually strolled in through the door.

Just as they sat down there was an outburst of flapping wings as the owls came soaring in through the windows.

Letters from anxious parents and parcels of forgotten items found their way to their eager owners. Hermione noticed that Alice received a package much larger than most, full of things from forgotten books to more personal items. With a slightly pink face she put the parcel aside to be dealt with later.

Hermione had immediately taken to Alice Hughes. Her round face seemed kind. Hermione had recognised her instantly when she was assessing her peers before last night’s sorting. She was the spitting image of her son Neville.

Heloise Dinkley was not so easy to spot, despite her general air of distinctive dottiness. It was not until after Hermione had spoken to her that she recognised the faraway voice, although she had to admit that the radish earrings were a bit of a give-away that this was Luna’s mother.

Hermione was just finishing her last bite of porridge when the bell rung. Lessons had begun.

HPHPHPHPHP

Hermione needn’t have worried about coming up with a plan for meeting Hagrid. She had bumped into him when she had been strolling across the grounds one afternoon.

She had taken to exploring the grounds on her own. It was soothing to not have to speak to anyone else, to not have to pretend, even if it was only for a little while.

She had been walking near Hagrid’s hut, close to the edge of the forest, when she heard a gruff voice shout out quite close by.

Scared out of her wits, Hermione had turned and pulled her wand out in one fluid movement. After a moment of Hagrid looking at her with a curious and confused expression, she hastily stowed her wand away and apologised.

“My name is Hermione Potter, I just wasn’t expecting anyone, that’s all”

“Yer know yer not meant to be near the fores’. Actually most firs’ years are too scared to go near it, too dark and frightenin’ for ‘em.”

“I’m not afraid of the dark,” said Hermione enigmatically.

Hermione left Hagrid sometime later, satisfied that they would become friends once more.