The Last Black (Hermione Granger x Male Reader) Vol.2

CHAPTER FIVE: The Full Moon

The rest of the morning I spent in the lounge getting to know everyone. I wasn't sure whether it was the butterbeers I'd had with breakfast, the news about being able to go back to school, or the calming draught, but I felt a lot cheerier. Fred and George talked me through each of their inventions which they had gifted me, it was quite incredible what they were capable of. Ginny talked my ears off for about an hour as she explained some hex she had read about in one of her older brother's charms books. I liked Ginny Weasley, she didn't require a lot of attention, you just had to sit and listen to her. It was easy to listen to her too, since she got you so enthusiastic about what she was talking about. Then Charlie finally had the chance to talk to me about dragons.

I think I liked Charlie the best. He was very down-to-earth and could talk for hours. Charlie sort of reminded me of a lumberjack, with his thick stubble and strong build. "Haven't seen anyone take on a Vipertooth alone and succeed so quickly," he complimented, "nice use of the birds."

"I kind of just panicked," I laughed nervously, "I'm sure you could have done a lot better."

Charlie smirked, "well yeah I could have, but it's my job."

"What's it like working with those every day?" I asked. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I left Hogwarts, but I did really enjoy Care for Magical Creatures, so maybe I could become a dragonologist, like Charlie.

"Tough," he replied, "lots of physical pain, but I love it. Dragons are amazing creatures."

"Oh, I don't think I could cope with getting bitten by that Vipertooth again," I winced, rubbing my arm where the teeth had sunk into the flesh.

Charlie laughed, "she's a sweetheart actually," he said, "we call her Victoria."

"Well Victoria almost made me lose my arm," I told him, "tell her I'm expecting an apology letter." He grinned at this, and we continued chatting.

Come noon, I was beginning to feel irritable again, and restless, so I retired to my bedroom. The calming draft must have begun to wear off. Lupin had told me I'd need as much rest as possible before we left the house to spend the full moon away from everyone. I couldn't sleep though, so instead I just lay on my bed and flicked through the book that Charlie had gotten me and wondered what it would be like to be a dragonologist.

(Hermione's POV)

I had only seen (Y/N) twice since I got to Grimmauld Place. Once on our first night when he came down to collect his dinner, and once when he passed me on the stairs quickly in order to go into Remus' room. Each time I had seen him he'd looked nervous and scared. Mrs Black had told us that he was just unwell and needed some space. But I really wanted to see him and talk to him. For almost a month I thought he was dead, and that I'd never see him again. Now he was back, but he didn't want anything to do with me.

The weeks before I'd heard the news of him being alive had been the absolute worst. Mum and Dad weren't too sure if I should be returning to school in September since they weren't certain if it was safe or not. Penelope was a constant annoyance as well. She kept making distasteful remarks about (Y/N) Black. One morning I had been reading the prophet when and she'd remarked, 'why didn't he just use his magic stick? Then he'd be fine'. This had infuriated me, and I'd almost pulled out my wand on her. Her opinion was that I didn't have any business being with a wizard. She'd even tried to get me to go with her to see her friend and her friend's younger brother. I had refused to go though, despite my parents telling me it would be healthy to have friends outside of Hogwarts.

(Y/N) did seem chirpier today though. He even sat down with us all for breakfast and cracked a few of his sarcastic jokes. I'd tried my hardest not to look at him, even when he was smiling and all I wanted to do was laugh with him. I was immensely proud of him for getting all top grades, so once he had gone back to his room, I decided to go see if he'd chat with me. With the present I'd gotten him under one arm, I knocked the door, and much to my delight he answered. He kind of froze for a moment, in what seemed like fear mixed with anxiety. "Happy Birthday," I smiled, handing him the small gift. He half-smiled and thanked me.