Healer

[Healer] - Chapter Three

Aiko woke up with the summer sun, around six o'clock. She has an hour or so before she needed to be up, so she decided to unpack her trunk seeing as she didn't bother the previous night. Aiko pulled the curtains back and tied them to the posts looking around the room. There were three other beds with people in them: Hermione, Lavender and Parvati were still asleep. Aiko's bed was next to a window in the circular room and see could see that it was going to be a bright clear day.

Upon unpacking her trunk, Aiko pulled out her clock and noticed that it was earlier than she'd thought; it was only five fifteen. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'Early bird catches the worm.' Aiko pulled out her Jansport backpack and stuck her wand, some pens and parchment in it, ready for the day. She'd never gotten used to writing with a quill and ink; somehow most of it ended up on her hands rather than on the paper. She only used quills and ink on special occasions, usually the same days she wore her robes.

Aiko packed all her things away neatly in her bedside table or back in her trunk. Grabbing her toiletry bag, she headed off to the girls' bathroom at the end of the hall. It was a pristine white, making the room seem a lot bigger than it actually was. The faucets were sparkling clean and the stalls had hot water. Aiko took the one nearest the door and soon the room was full of pink steam. Finding fluffy towels on the shelf, Aiko brushed her teeth and combed her hair, tying it up into a simple ponytail. Normal she just left it down, but it was probably a good idea to keep it out of the way.

Heading back to the girls' dorm in a towel is not the best idea, even at six in the morning. With her toiletries in one hand, and her dirty clothes in the other while pinching the towel shut with your arms, Aiko tried to open the door. No one was awake yet, but if they were they couldn't hear Aiko in the hall. Aiko heard voices down in the common room, and she looked over the railing from the second floor landing to see Ron and Harry talking in hushed voices.

"Good morning," she said in a voice not more than a whisper. They both just stared. "I can't open the door without flashing the entire floor. Would one of you mind opening it for me?" Harry stood up and took the stairs too at a time, leaving Ron with his jaw hanging open. Aiko's face felt hot as Harry reached past her to turn the doorknob.

"Thanks." She gently closed the door behind her. Harry went back down to the couch and gave Ron a sound slap around the ears.

"Ow! What was that for?" He forgot his voice, and if anyone was sleeping still, they weren't anymore.

"It's bad enough that she's got to start school in a new place, but you have to stare?"

"You were staring too!"

"At least I know when to stop." Harry crossed his arms and rested his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes. A few more minutes of sleep were always welcome.

Aiko quickly dressed her face still pink with embarrassment. Hermione started to stir, peaking through the curtains with a groggy "Good morning."

"Hey, sleep well?"

"Not really, I think I ate too much. Why are you blushing?"

"Oh... Hmm... I think I gave Ron and Harry some fuel for their imaginations this morning."

"They're up already? That's a first."

"I didn't think anyone would be up at six, so I took a shower. In the end, I couldn't open the door with everything in my hands so I had to ask Ron and Harry for help... in my towel."

Hermione cracked up with laughter, waking the others but they just rolled over and drifted off to sleep for another half-hour.

"What's worse, is that all Ron could do was stare at me."

"I'm sure he'll be over it by breakfast. Don't worry, they're all around nice guys."

Hermione and Aiko came down to the Great Hall around seven, being the first day of classes the Hall was still pretty empty. The girls spotted Ron and Harry near the end of the table, and rushed to join them. Aiko took the seat next to Harry, and Hermione sat next to Ron. She was still blushing about her little incident that morning. Harry told her she was lucky she didn't wait any longer or she would have had worse problems if the Weasley twins had been awake.

"I guess you're right, it could have been worse."

"Aiko, I'm sorry for staring. I didn't mean to." Ron looked genuinely sorry, he seemed a little uncomfortable about the issue of 'girls'.

"Don't worry about it Ron. I've had worse happen to me." She just laughed it off, and told them that was a story for another day.

More introductions followed as people started drifting into the Great Hall: the rest of the Weasleys, Neville, and the little Creevey's. Ginny sat down next to Hermione; they all enjoyed a big breakfast and a laugh about the 'towel incident'. Schedules were passed out around.

"Damn it! I've got three classes with that asshole Malfoy!"

"She's only met him once, and she hates him as much as we do!" Ron was rather amazed. This year they had Herbology, Potions and Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins.

"Well, I've got him four times so be thankful." Hermione also had Arithmancy with them. It wasn't even eight yet, and the day couldn't get any worse.

All of them grumbling went off to their first lesson as the bell rang: Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was giving them the run down of the year's curriculum, Aiko absentmindedly twirling her pen with her fingers. Ron was staring at her, and not very subtly either.

"What?"

"How do you do that? That thing with your... thing."

Aiko was confused. "My pen?"

"Yeah, how do you do that thing with your pen?"

Professor McGonagall had stopped talking and was looking right at Ron and Aiko. "Ahem. If you wouldn't mind finishing you conversation after class?" They both got a little pink around the ears and mumbled their sorrys. Professor McGonagall wanted them to transfigure a pincushion to a hedgehog: something they'd already covered but she was sure they needed some review. As everyone was trying to get his or her brains working after the summer holiday (except for Hermione of course), Ron asked Aiko again to show her the pen twirl.

"It's easy! Just hold your pen - or quill, but I don't think it will work - between your first and second finger, that's right. Rest the end between your first finger and thumb so it's tight. No, wrong end. Yes, like that. Then let the end slip and make it twirl. No, Ron! Let me try... No you can't do it with a quill. Try my pen." Ron tried and tried for the whole period, never managing to get his pincushion to so much as move, but did master the pen twirl.

The morning was rather uneventful, nothing note worthy happened. Aiko walked down the marble staircase and sauntered into the Great Hall where Harry, Ron and Hermione were already eating lunch. She grabbed some food, and exited the hall without so much as a smile. Ron and Hermione exchanged puzzled looks as Harry ran after Aiko. She'd gone outside to sit under one of the trees on the grounds. She had a book in her lap and a cup of something steamy.

"Mind if I join you?" She looked up from her book, and took another bite of her sandwich.

"Go ahead, I don't own the tree." Harry sat quietly for a few minutes, surveying the grounds: it was a beautiful day and students littered the lawn.

"This may sound a little... forward but is anything wrong?"

Aiko looked up from her book again and took a sip of whatever was in her cup. She shook her head as she ate some more of her sandwich. "Why would there be anything wrong?"

"Well, you didn't even look around the Hall at lunch and you seemed pretty quiet in History of Magic this morning."

"Harry, you're not my keeper. Don't worry about it! I just wanted to have a little time to myself with my tea since I missed out on it this morning. I wasn't talkative this morning, because I was sleepy, weren't you?"

Harry nodded and looked a little relieved.

"Why do you care so much? We've got a whole year to become friends, and neither of us is going anywhere. Besides..." Aiko trailed off and stared at her shoes.

"Besides what?"

"I feel like I'm intruding."

"Intruding on who? On what?" Harry was shocked to hear this, especially when everyone has been so friendly towards her.

"On you and Ron and Hermione. You guys seem like such a tight group." Harry was silent for a while, choosing his words carefully.

"Well, that's true. We are best friends but that doesn't mean we don't anyone else to be friends with us. Don't think you're intruding, you're more than welcome to join us." Harry watched the expression on Aiko's face, and was relieved that she turned to smile at him.

"Thanks Harry. I'm glad to have you around, you're making this so much easier." He got up and offered her his hand. "Nah, I think I'm going to hang out here for a while longer, I've still got tea and my book."

"Alright, you know where to find us."

The week continued, as did the favorable weather. Hermione, Ron and Harry joined Aiko out on the grounds everyday figuring they ought to take the opportunity before the weather started turning sour. It was an ideal Friday afternoon: no confrontations with Malfoy that day and hardly any homework. The sun was high and breeze was cool. Aiko sat under her favorite tree, which turned out to be a chestnut tree. She wasn't sure if they grew this far north, but she didn't care. She left her stuff in an untidy pile under one of the shady boughs before finding a foothold to haul her light frame into the branches.

She climbed halfway up the tree when she heard voices come towards her perch. Aiko peered through the leaves and spotted her three friends. There were carrying enough food for another couple of people between them; they'd knicked the food from the table in the Hall for a TGIF celebration.

"Are you sure you got enough bread, Ron? We're not trying to feed a starving country, you know," Hermione criticized Ron's choice in the fare he brought.

"I'm saving some for later! I've to pull an all-nighter for McGonagall, she wants my essay by eight tomorrow morning since I didn't get it finished for today."

"Finished? Please!" Hermione's voice was laced with easy laughter. "You haven't even started!"

"I... Well..." Ron couldn't any comeback, and just fell silent. Harry just trailed them silently with the thermos of pumpkin juice and four glasses. He could never understand why they had to pick fights with each other all the time.

"Will you two just cool it? It's only been the first week, and you're already breathing down each other's necks." He sat down, leaning against the trunk of the aged tree. He noticed Aiko's things scattered over the lush grass. "I wonder where Aiko went? Why would she leave her stuff out here?" Ron and Hermione shrugged and joined Harry on the grass.

Aiko stifled her laugh on her perch, watching, as they grew concerned below her. Aiko realized that these were really friends to cherish; they hardly knew her and they were worried. She climbed down to the lowest branch and sat with her feet dangling in the air. She considered pelting them with little chestnuts, but thought better of it. They were still small, and could hardly hurt but she thought better of it. Aiko grabbed a handful of the little nuts and leaned back off the branch. No one noticed her hanging by her knees of the low branch until her hair tickled Harry's face.

"Hey! What are you doing up there?"

"I'm getting you presents! Here." Aiko gave a little nut to each and kept one for herself. "They're chestnuts, but you can't eat them yet. I just though they were cute." Aiko reached up and grabbed the branch, one hand on either side of her knees. She brought her knees forward off the branch and twisted back until her arms were as far as they could go and gracefully landed on the ground between Harry and Ron as she let go.

The four Gryffindors had a little feast of their own, laughing and joking about their first week. They asked Aiko what she thought about Hogwarts and how it compared to Mahou Academy. In turn Aiko asked them about their pasts at Hogwarts. They had more than a few stories to tell.

After swapping stories for the better part of an hour, Aiko started feeling uncomfortably warm despite the shade. She removed her robe and left it in a pile on top of her backpack, sitting on the grass in her skirt and cotton shirt. She loosened her tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons. The others soon followed suit; the heat was getting to them as the sun rose higher in the sky.

Aiko glanced around the grounds noticing others doing the same, shedding the excess layers of clothing. There were more people outside than usual, seeing as it was one of the most beautiful days of the year and a Friday. The sky was a bright azure blue and the grass and lake seemed to shine with clarity.

"You know what I feel like doing right now?" Aiko asked after they all drifted into their own thoughts due to the heat. They all gave her blank stares, too lazy to answer verbally. "I feel like going for a swim. I used to swim in the creek behind my house when I was a kid on days just like this."

Aiko took off her shoes and stuffed her socks in them and padded barefoot over the soft grass to the edge of the lake near the chestnut tree. She flopped down, and dipped her feet into the cool water. She sighed with relief; it was so refreshing. She lay down on the grass and looked up into the cloudless sky. Ron soon joined her, followed by Harry. Hermione refused, saying she needed a head start on an Arithmancy essay.

Harry sat on Aiko's right, while Ron took the left. They both rolled up their pants and dipped their feet into the water too. Despite the refreshing feeling the lake offered she was soon starting to feel clammy with sweat.

"Okay, this is ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous?" Ron looked thoroughly confused. Aiko stood up and started to unbutton her skirt. "What are you doing?!" A look of surprise and horror replaced confusion and Aiko stepped out of her skirt and started to unbutton her shirt.

Harry barely had time to protest and urge Aiko to put her clothes back on before she was out of them, only clad in her bra and underwear. She towered over both boys who still sat on the grass. Anyone looking from a distance would have thought Aiko was wearing a two-piece swimming suit, however up close such as Ron and Harry were, you would never mistake it for anything but underwear.

Ron was flushing red at the sight of Aiko in nothing more than the bare minimum, which reminded him of the 'towel incident' of the first day. He was jolted suddenly out of his thoughts as Aiko cannonballed into the shoulder-deep water, splashing both boys. She treaded water, laughing so hard, nearly drowning herself.

"What are doing? There's a giant squid in there you know!" Harry couldn't believe his eyes.

"So? I'm not bothering it, it shouldn't bother me."

Harry thought back to the previous year and the second task. He'd been in the lake for under an hour and he hadn't seen any squid.

"Aren't you guys coming in? Or are you just going to stare at me, having a good time all by myself?" Aiko flipped onto her back, floating on top of the water. Ron was the first to move, peeling off his shirt and pants, leaving them in a heap on the bank. He took a running jump into the water, sending ripples all the way to the opposite bank. Aiko started splashing him, and he returned fire.

"Truce!" Ron called, realizing he was in a losing battle. He swam over to Aiko and whispered something in her ear, causing a mischievous grin to crack on her face. Harry couldn't help but be a little scared as his two friends started to come near him. They slowly walked out of the water and sat down on either side of Harry, dripping wet.

"I can't help notice, you guys are wet. And staring at me in a really scary way."

"No we aren't," Ron said. He tossed a glance back over his shoulder at Hermione who was engrossed in a book with a quill in her teeth. He caught Aiko's eyes, and nodded. They both grabbed Harry by the arms and shoved him into the water.

Before he fell, he twisted to face his attackers and tried to grab something to prevent the inevitable. He managed to get Aiko's wrist, pulling her into the water with him.

"Hey!! That wasn't fair! Uneven odds! I wasn't prepared! I -" Harry was cut off and Aiko dunked his head under the water.

"What a whiner!"

"You're telling me." Ron offered Aiko a hand and helped her out of the lake. "Should we go for the bookworm?" Aiko didn't know if they should, Hermione looked pretty swamped with papers and books. Harry pulled himself from the lake, and joined the circle.

"I'm going to get you back you know," he said playfully poking Aiko in the side.

"Yeah, yeah. You can only hope." He poked him back in the gut. "So what's the attack plan?" She turned her attention back to Ron. Harry, intrigued by the word 'attack' also looked at Ron.

"Well, we could just sneak up behind her and I'll get her over my shoulder so she can't go anywhere and we can just throw her in the lake. Or you can cover her eyes and we'll just push her in..." Ron ran through half a dozen scenarios before Harry said,

"She's going to kill you afterwards, you do know that?" His question was aimed mostly at Ron. This only made him grin wider.

"Nah, she couldn't stay mad at me."

"Oh I beg to differ," Harry said under his breath, he couldn't count how many times Hermione and Ron had stopped talking.

Finally, they decided that Ron and Harry (he wanted in too) would bring Hermione and toss her in the lake, one taking her legs and the other her arms. Aiko would be the innocent bystander since they knew how much fury Hermione could release. Aiko could be the voice of reason to calm the savage beast as they were about to get fried.

Hermione looked up to see a half-naked Ron and dripping wet Harry walked towards her. "What happed to you?" The only thing she received was a hug from a very wet Harry, thoroughly soaking her front. "What was that for?" Hermione punch Harry in the shoulder, he winced.

"Ow, that hurt!"

"Good, I'm glad! I'm wearing clothes for a reason. I don't plan on getting soaked." At this remark, both boys cracked into evil grins.

"Well, we have other plans!" Harry caught Hermione round the knees, toppling over into Ron's awaiting arms. She struggled against them, but it was useless. Ron was a foot taller than she was and Harry had a strong grip from playing Quidditch. Being unable to free herself, she resorted to screaming.

"If you throw me in that lake, I swear! I'll curse you back to next Tuesday!! Ron! Don't you dare! Harry! I'm warning you!!" The only thing Hermione accomplished was getting everyone's attention from around the grounds. Even Hagrid poked his out of his cabin door to witness Hermione's dunking.

"Alright there, Hermione?" he called from the wooden hut.

"No! Hagrid, help me!! Somebody!! Anybody!!" Hagrid chuckled to himself and watched as the tables turned. Aiko came up from behind Harry and jumped on his back as they got to the edge of the lake. Lucky for her, he was still in his dripping clothes so she had something to grab onto. He was at least six inches taller than she was, but was caught off guard by this attack. He let go of Hermione's legs to grab the knees the rested on his hips.

Aiko slid off Harry's back, and he grabbed her wrist to bring her around to face him. She had an innocent smile on her face as she started poking him in the stomach. Harry'd never been told not to hit girls but he couldn't even defend himself since he was racked with laughter. Finally, he stepped back a little too far, and fell into the lake.

Ron still had Hermione from behind but she managed to slip from his grasp and land on the grass. She crawled through his open legs and pushed him from behind into the lake. Ron and Harry were laughing too much to care that they'd be ambushed. Aiko and Hermione high-fived, heading back up to the tree. Aiko quickly dressed and grabbed her things before running back to the castle. She cast one last glance over her shoulders and stuck out her tongue at Ron and Harry's mock anger as they shook their fists at her.

"We trusted you! We'll get you back!!" Ron called as the heavy door closed behind Aiko.

"Damn, and we thought we were clever." Harry laughed and he pulled himself out of the lake, his heavy clothes weighing him down.

"Oh don't worry. We'll get them back." Ron rubbed his hands together and let out a fake evil laugh. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Fear my wrath!" He looked around the green expanse of the open grass and noticed Hermione was no where to be seen. "Where'd Hermione go?"

"I think she's 'fearing your wrath'." Harry laughed as he and Ron hurried back to the castle with their things before dinner.