Slow Grenade

Chapter Nine

By the time Hermione arrived back at Hogwarts she was buzzing with excitement to see her friends and recommence lessons. Despite having a wonderful Christmas with her parents, she had missed everything to do with the wizarding world, and even the regular owls she received did little to soothe the ache she felt.

Hermione found Harry and Ron lounging on the comfortable common room sofa as she hurriedly made her way inside the portrait hole. They both grinned up at her as she flopped down between them. In an attempt to maintain some semblance of manners she briefly enquired about their holidays, before asking what she really wanted to know. "So, did you find out who Nicolas Flamel was?"

The boys rolled their eyes in mock exasperation at her eagerness for knowledge, but Harry shook his head and said no. Instead, he told her about the Mirror of Erised ("why would they keep something like that in a school?") and his newly gifted invisibility cloak ("can I see? I'd love to do some research on it!").

They continued to talk for the next hour before Hermione insisted they all go to bed. "It is the first day of term tomorrow after all. We really need to be ready to learn as well as putting more research hours in, I think."

As she stood, Hermione accidentally caught one of the Chocolate Frog cards Harry and Ron had been comparing on the table and it fell to the floor. Harry bent to pick it up and gasped.

"I've found him!" he whispered, gazing at picture of Professor Dumbledore in his hand.

Pausing from the staircase, Hermione asked, "Found what?"

"Flamel!" Ron exclaimed as he leaned over Harry's shoulder. "You told us you'd seen his name somewhere, mate!"

"Listen to this," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!"

"Stay there!" Hermione yelped and sprinted up to her dormitory.

Harry and Ron barely had time to exchange surprised looks before she was racing back, an enormous old book in her arms.

"I never thought to look in here!" she muttered, flicking fervently through the pages.

"A little light reading?" Ron chuckled sarcastically.

Hermione waved her hand impatiently in front of his face as she at last found what she was looking for. "Nicolas Flamel," she breathed, "is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"

She was frustrated at the lack of response her dramatic statement had made on the boys but she pushed the book into their laps for them to read.

"See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it."

"A stone that makes gold and stops you ever dying," said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."

The trio continued to engage in excited conversation until they were yawning more than talking and finally went to bed.

The weeks passed quickly by in a haze of research and homework and, walking towards Charms with Harry, Ron, and Neville one blustery day, Hermione was disappointed that she had yet to spend much time with Draco.

So, when she saw him leaning elegantly against the wall by their classroom, she wasn't able to conceal her sudden grin. There was no time to consider whether anyone had noticed the faux pas, however, as Crabbe and Goyle immediately took a step towards them, the latter clicking his knuckles.

Draco sighed internally; he was frustrated that his first proper encounter with Hermione after their separation was going to be this way. On the other hand, he was ready to assert his dominance over her Gryffindor idiots. Malfoys did not share, and Draco particularly hated having to share his friend with them.

Smirking Draco pulled himself from the wall and walked towards the four. "Surprised to hear you're going ahead with the Quidditch match tomorrow, Potter. Wonder how long you're going to stay on the broom this time?"

Harry scowled and strode towards him, closely followed by Ron. Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose and prayed for strength.

Draco continued, "You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team? It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's you Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money," he looked over at Neville, "you should be on the team Longbottom, you've got no brains."

"Shut it, Malfoy," Ron snarled as he and Harry went to grab their wands.

Neville attempted to do the same and, somehow, managed to become entangled in his robes. They twisted around him as he struggled to free himself and he fell, almost comically, to the floor. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter before moving back to the wall as they heard Professor Flitwick hurrying around the corner.

"Oh, Granger," Draco called over his shoulder as he entered the classroom. "I'm shocked you're not in the library. Will you be sleeping with the books tonight? I imagine they've missed you and that bushy head of yours."

He hoped she got the message.