About the State of Your Letter..., Love Hermione

About the State of Your Letter..., Love Hermione

Author: Lanni Weasley

France was not as fun as it should have been, Hermione decided. Quite frankly, it was boring. Well, it had not started out has boring, but then she caught an awful summer cold that rendered her inside the comforts of her hotel room. While her parents were out enjoying themselves greatly, she was stuck under the warmth of her blankets with a television and all her homework. She hadn't planned on any of this.

All in all, Hermione was most put out because she had been so excited to clear her head. Her Fifth Year had been so rough and unfortunate, especially since Sirius's death. In just three short weeks, she would already be heading back to Hogwarts for her Sixth Year. She often wondered if she would be able to see Harry and Ron soon.

She missed them so much! Don't get her wrong; Hermione enjoyed reading her textbooks for a third time and reviewing her homework for a fifth time, but she very much wanted to see her best friends. She could at least talk to them about things that she couldn't obviously talk about with her parents, and her textbooks weren't exactly that chatty.

She wanted to see if Harry was alright; he hadn't been responding to any of her letters over the summer, which worried her terribly. She wanted to see Ron because she needed her mood lightened; Ron always was one to lighten her mood--when they weren't arguing. Hermione sighed. She hoped they wouldn't argue as much this year; she hoped they could settle whatever their problem was. Maybe she could finally get everything off her chest...and onto to his lips.

"Hermione Granger, what are you thinking?!" she chided herself, jumping out of bed. A few blank pieces of parchment flew into the air off her lap; they landed on the floor. She grinned in spite of herself, even though she had made a mess.

As of late, Hermione had been having the strangest thoughts ever. She remembered one night a few months ago in the common room. She had been doing her homework while Ron and Harry were slacking as usual when it came to that Potions' essay. She had peered over her book and stared at Ron for quite some time until she began thinking, He has the cutest smile and his blue eyes shine like the lake on a sunny day... That thought had put quite the damper on her Ancient Runes' essay, as she had written it on the paper as the next line. She had almost turned it in like that.

Suddenly, a tiny owl flew into the window and landed on her head, causing Hermione to shriek and jolt out of bed. She rolled off her bed and onto the floor, tangled in a heap of bed sheets and the comforter. The owl, Pigwidgeon (more fondly known as Pig), was Ron's owl and was now flying around the room in a very boisterous manner. When she took a closer look from the floor, she saw that Pig had a letter attached to its leg. She untangled herself and stood up.

"C'mere, Pig," Hermione instructed. Pig did as he was told and flew to her. She took the letter from him and poured him so water, which he began to drink. Curious, she saw that it was from Ron, and not from Ginny as usual, and hastily opened it.

When Hermione first glanced at the letter, she thought, Oh, dear, this is so messy. Perhaps I need to help Ron write neater. Then, she thought, It's so much longer than normal! He actually listens!

Clearly, her lessons hadn't gone unheard. Hermione smiled as she began to read, trying her best to ignore all the scratch outs. He probably just couldn't think of what to write. She sighed with relief when she read that Harry also wasn't replying to Ron either, not because that she wasn't concerned about Harry but because it meant that he was just ignoring her.

"He did his homework already! He does listen to me!" Tears almost gathered in Hermione's eyes. She was so proud of Ron. She sniffed, however, but because of her summer cold. "He finally realized what's going on in this world. He's maturing so much. Thank God. Now for Harry..."

After Hermione finished reading the letter, she tried reading through the scratched out marks. She wanted to see what Ron had scratched out. However, her cold was making Hermione's eyes water so she couldn't read it. Resignedly, she sat the letter on the bed and curled up underneath the blankets again. She found a piece of paper and found a quill. She dipped it in ink and started her letter.

Dear Ron,

I'm so proud of you! I can't believe you did your homework already without my help. You didn't even ask me! I'm so excited. This bit of information makes me feel so much better. Since you've already done your homework (you didn't even owl me with questions!), I'll review it when I see you next. Even if you do have a lot of mistakes, I'll still be proud that you did your homework without asking me anything at all. This is a sign of your maturity. I'm so happy and proud!

Anyways, I say it makes me feel better because I have a summer cold. Can you believe it? Sick--on my vacation with my parents without any interruption in a long time! I'm so upset. It's so warm and nice outside, but I'm stuck inside my hotel with a bad cold. My parents are enjoying themselves. I mean, I do like reading and checking over my homework, but I wanted to do things with my parents and outside.

France is such an interesting place, too. There is so much magical history here right in the Muggle world in France. Did you know that? I was planning on intertwining some information that I've learned here with my Advanced Arithmancy essay. While my parents were eating at some restaurant (I'm allergic to a lot of the Muggle food here so I can only eat certain things), I went to the Wizarding side a little. It was positively fascinating!

Did you know that in 1232, a wizard named Jacque Chasus, helped in the finding and creation of the great Pylanorium Theory? That just so happened to be what my Advanced Arithmancy essay was about! I was going to see some of his documents that were saved from a fire, but then this cold came over me. I was so sad. Well, at least I have something I suppose.

Well, I've spent most of my time in my hotel room, reading and reviewing over my homework. But I have been watching a bit of television (you remember, the Muggle item called a TV that you watch shows on--I told you about this a few months ago). The only problem is that I only know some French. I mean, I've been learning it since I was fourteen (you know, when the Triwizard Tournament started and the Beauxbatons' students came), but because I've also been teaching myself German (same year, because of the Durmstrang students), it's been a little difficult for me. Mostly, I've understood the shows, but sometimes, it's a little too advanced for me. Still, they're quite lovely. Still, I miss my old shows. They're quite interesting, but you've never heard of them, of course. I'm not even sure you remember what a television is.

I did walk a lot, I'll have you know. The buses here are terribly slow, so I preferred walking while I was feeling well. When I wasn't or when I was too hot (it is burning up!), I traveled on the bus, but most of the time, the air conditioning was broke (you remember, the thing that makes "wind" come out). And my parents won't let me eat the pastries because they say that they'll rot my teeth, but I've been sneaking a few here and there. You should be proud! I've taken after you in that area.

In any case, I'm not surprised that Harry isn't responding to you; he hasn't replied to any of my letters either, by the way, if that makes you feel any better (so that means that it isn't just you--you know that I'm terribly worried and concerned about Harry). We probably remind him too much of Sirius's death. I don't blame him, but it's awfully worrying me. He must be so sad and depressed! I wish I could be there to talk to him. I'm still wondering what Dumbledore talked with him about. It made Harry look even worse so it must have been pretty bad--or another heavy burden.

Do you think we should talk with him about it or give him some room because of Sirius's death? I don't know what to do. Ron, what do you think we should do? You "hang out" with him more because you're a guy, too. I'm a girl; I'm not sure how boys work, unlike the nature of girls.

On a lighter note, I don't know who Ginny's new correspondence is. I wouldn't tell you anyways, but I'm glad that you don't want to know. I always thought you were overprotective of her (Michael Corner was her boyfriend, and you had no business messing with it). Perhaps this is another area where you are maturing, but who knows right now. Or maybe you don't care enough about Ginny's safety. What happens if the guy she is talking with is bad news? Whoever it may be, don't get involved. If it's bad enough, she tell you, me, your mom, or one of your truckload of brothers.

Please ask your mother about Harry and me coming over to the Burrow. I miss you two so much that I feel as if I'm going to burst! I can't wait any longer. This has been a dreadfully long and slow summer. I feel so out of it everything--like I've lost touch with the Wizarding community. I don't even know if anything else has happened since I've been gone! I haven't been able to continue my prescription of the Daily Prophet since I'm in France and don't want my parents finding out about all the complications now. If they find out, they won't let me come back to Hogwarts, and I'll never get to see you or Harry again! That would be absolutely awful! I really want to come over to the Burrow. I also think that it would do Harry a lot of good to get away from the Dursleys. I completely agree with you.

At any rate, I would like to comment about the state of your letter. It was a complete mess! Did you spill ink on it or something? There's scratch marks all over the place. You know, if you can't write a neat letter to your friend, how are you supposed to have cleanly written essays to turn into your professors? Honestly, Ron, we've been at Hogwarts for five years, and I'm sure your mother helped you somewhat before you started school. I am going to make it my mission that you learn how to write a wonderful letter. It would be my pleasure to help you. You know that if you need any help, you can just ask me. I'm your friend.

Well, I'm sick of being in France, sick of being sick, and sick of being kept away from you and Harry. You must ask your mother about us coming to the Burrow as soon as you get this letter. I hope you ask her before that. My parents are getting a little suspicious because of my slow movements (that curse is still affecting me, if you didn't know). I hope you're feeling better. Have the scars left? Are you still having those nightmares? I hope you're getting better. I hope Harry's okay. I'm sure Ginny's doing better. I've been talking with her, too; she seems to have also kept in contact with Luna. Maybe we should also ask about Neville and Luna coming over to the Burrow. That would be lovely. I think we need to stick together now that this has happened to us all.

Oh, Ron, I miss you so much! It's not much fun without you here with me. I haven't heard a decent joke since I've last seen you. And even though it still hurts to laugh, I wish I could again. I can't wait to see you; it's been terribly boring without you. Perhaps, in exchange for me helping you with your letters, you can teach me more about chess. I think we should stop all this fighting nonsense. Whenever we have the need to fight, we should play chess. That seems to tremendously calm you down. What do you say? Can we have a peace treaty or something? That wasn't funny at all, was it? Darn! Maybe you should also help me on my sense of humor, since I seem to have very little of it.

I hope to see you soon! And I'll be pleased to help you with your letters. I'm so proud of you!

Love,

Hermione

Hermione reread her letter for any grammatical errors or spelling errors. When she saw none, she beamed at the letter and beckoned for Pig to come to her. The little owl did. She slipped the letter in an envelope and scribbled 'Ron' on it. She attached the letter to Pig and sent him out the window with a wave and a soft goodbye. When she returned to her textbooks and essays, she found that she couldn't concentrate.

Ron had been poking his nosy red head around in her mind for a while now. While she would not like to admit this, she had found that she had become rather--what was it Ginny had said in an earlier letter last week?--smitten with her red-haired best friend. But Ron was her best friend. Hermione Granger--logical, brilliant Hermione Granger--could not be smitten with one of her best friends, especially Ron, who was the laziest person on earth. Well, not the laziest (Harry was at the same level and there had to be lazier people out there), but still, Ron was a procrastinator. Hermione was anything but that. How could she love a git like that?

Hermione didn't know how, but she did. Sighing and feeling like banging her head against the wall many, many times, Hermione turned back to her essays in an attempt to keep herself sane. She couldn't wait to get away from here and see Ron. If she was kept away from him any longer, she might start having some pretty bad Ron-Withdraws, which could drive her insane.

Hermione looked at her Potions essay and thought, Poor Harry--he has to do such an awful essay while coping with Sirius's death. Maybe I'll help him extra. I'm sure he'll be quite surprised that Ron has all his homework done--he won't have anyone to procrastinate with.

And then, Hermione thought, Ron is maturing. This is wonderful! Maybe he'll finally get a clue so I can finally get my first kiss with that red-haired prat...

"Get ahold of yourself, Granger!" Hermione chided herself. "Ron is not a prat--most of the time. And I'm sure that he can never like someone like me."

Well, Hermione could always hope. Right?