How to Love

III. Eyes

            He never really caught her eyes when she sat down on the Gryffindor table. He had a twin; that was all she recalled that night. She didn't really paid attention on him much and it bothered her that she could tell the twins apart. Hermione was one of the few people who can. They had the same red hair, eyes and pale complexion but there was something more; like she would notice how the other would scrunch his nose when thinking and the other would narrow his eyes. 

            She started noticing these little things since she was on her first year, when she would hang with them if Harry and Ron were gone. They were both funny, they lifted everyone's spirits when down; they liked messing with people and that was when hilarity ensues. They carried an air of confidence without being too mean like Malfoy; the list could go on but her first impression about them was opposite. 

            When she first heard about the twins and their friend Jordan Lee however, she saw them as prats. She also learned that they were Ron's older brothers and that didn't help either. She always saw the three with a big group of people who followed them and would always laugh at their antics and jokes making it hard for her to read in the common room. Those were the kinds of people she hated back then, they were in a school for a reason. 

            She almost confirmed that they were nothing but a bunch of gits one night when she was having dinner alone at the end of the table. Neville who obviously had gotten into trouble again was not with her. She was busy shoving food in her mouth when she noticed that the twins and their friends including Ronald were glancing at her. They were talking about her; well Ron was talking about her again.

            They were making fun of her for studying and being smart, it's not her fault she had to prove that being a muggleborn wasn’t as different to being a pureblood or half-blood. She glanced at them and caught them laugh at what Ron probably said. She tried her best to stop crying knowing that it would be a sign of weakness but she failed. She saw Percy, their prefect stood up from where he was silently seated beside Jordan and approached her. 

            "You must be Hermione Granger," he smiled, taking a seat beside her. 

            She didn't speak; she just looked down and nodded. 

            "Don't listen to my brothers, they're prats and can't appreciate a brilliant witch," he shrugged and frowned pointedly at the group.

            "You're a Weasley too?" Hermione stared at him, how can he be so different from them? She always sees him reading a book or two in the library, actually studying. 

            "Red hair, Hermione," he chuckled, pointing at his hair. 

            Upon hearing Ron and the others laugh, she hid her face with her hands.

            "Penelope and I need some assistance in the library, mind helping us?" he said, praying that he could take her mind off of the things she heard. 

            "Yes, please," she nodded and Percy guided her along the tables. 

            "Hermione Granger? The know-it-all mudblood?" Draco yelled from the Slytherin table. 

            Percy wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder 

            "Don't mind Malfoy there," he whispered. 

            "Hermione's a muggleborn! A mudblood, Weasley!" he continued and earned a few laugh from his friends. By then, Percy and Hermione were already by his seat.

            "You are not to talk to any of the muggleborns like that Mr. Malfoy," Percy warned. 

            "Oh I'm scared," Draco replied, who was completely annoyed by his sudden appearance. 

            Percy smiled at him, "Charming, Malfoy." 

            He turned to his brothers, "As for all of you, you are not to make fun of your fellow Gryffindors." 

            "Perce, we just aske-" Fred started; he knew they just asked, he was there but they didn't really stopped Ron with his wonderful narration of Hermione's being. 

            He raised his hand and walked away, taking the crying girl with him. 

            That night Hermione spent her time with Percy and Penelope in the library looking for books to borrow for their homeworks. 

            The next morning however was different, she felt a bit happier. Fred, George and Jordan talked to her during breakfast, she was supposed to snap at them or yell at them but their cheery attitude radiated toward her. They were funny and kind that shocked her out of her wits. Sure they cared a little about studying but she found them fascinating. She wasn't a fan of them being pranksters but she can't deny that it lifted students' spirits up during stressful times. 

            "We all need to wind up sometimes, live a little," Fred shrugged. 

            They were something more and from that day on, she looked at them with understanding and sometimes annoyance. They truly proved that her first impression of them was wrong which was a first. To other people who laugh at their jokes, they were just three best friends who lived a care-free life but to their friends, they were something more.

            It actually astounded Hermione when she learned that the Weasley family were having problems in their house but they never really showed it. It was hard having the twins as friends; you have to bombard them questions to know if they have a problem. Hermione, however found a way to determine if they're okay and it's by their eyes.

            Hermione considered eyes as windows of emotions. That pair of eyes were gates that are locked and would only be opened to people who understood their owners. Behind that was a bridge leading to where emotions were strong. Their hearts.