Life is Strange: A Hermione Granger Story

Chapter Two

"Hermione," someone whispered in her ear.

"Hermione,"another voice whispered in her other ear.

"Hermione," the voices said in unison, breathing warm air into both her ears.

Hermione's eyes opened abruptly. Looking to her left and right she saw her two best friends, bare inches from her face. They were both leaning in towards her, now laughing hysterically at her shocked look and the deep blush that was surfacing.

"Boys," she scoffed as she got to her feet. But inside she was wincing and trying to beg her face to cool down. The boys' whispers in her ears had caused her body to thrum in a way that was completely unexpected, and she was unaccustomed to feeling so strangely.

The boys stood up, and being boys unsubtly gave her a once over. But she couldn't fault them since she was surprised to find herself doing the same thing to them. Boys did change abruptly she knew, but the two in front of her had changed so drastically.

Ron's lanky body, which had once seemed so, so, well, so tall and off kilter, gangly and unfinished, had filled out. He wore his usual Chudley Cannons polo, but instead of hanging off his body, his chest looked broad and his arms looked muscular. She noticed a faint orange fuzz around his cheeks as well. He grinned at her, and she saw that his smile and his demeanor, his way of standing even, had changed. He gave off an air of confidence that was brand new.

Harry had changed as well. He had always been short, but now he was almost as tall as Ron, and while he didn't have Ron's musculature, he looked tightly coiled, wiry and strong. A seeker's body for sure. And he held himself differently than Ron. If Ron's posture said, "I can handle anything anyone throws at me," Harry's said, "I'm quietly waiting for anything." He seemed less extroverted, more focused somehow.

"Hermione, it's so fantastic to see you," Ron bellowed, pulling her into a rough hug.

All thoughts of calming down were wiped away when he took her in his arms. She had hugged Ron before, but this new Ron did not put his arms hesitantly about her for a few seconds and then let go in a rush. Oh no. Confident Ron pulled her into his arms, his hands on her lower back, large and warm. He held his cheek against hers, and it was slightly bristly. He held her for quite a few minutes before Harry said, "Come on mate. I need a hug too."

Ron gave her a tight squeeze before letting go. So tight that she noticed something else brand new about Ron. Not having experienced it before, she was unsure, but Hermione had definitely felt something hard pressed against her for a second.

"My turn," Harry smirked. When he pulled Hermione into a hug she was again flustered by how her body reacted. Harry pulled her in close and breathed, ever so slightly in her ear, before letting go. If she wasn't bright red before, now she must look like a strawberry, her face felt so hot.

The boys immediately grabbed her trunks and started pushing through the crowds of students, some alone, some with their parents. Hermione was bemused to see that so many people were already lined up for the hissing train. The roar of the engine and the hum of the crowd was very loud, and yet she had dozed off and not heard a peep as she slept.

She followed somewhat numbly behind her two friends. Hermione decided, in a rush, that she had better get some control over herself. These were her friends for Merlin's sake, and she vowed that she would treat them the same as always, even if they looked so different and acted so different, and even if she was...seeing them in a new way. She knew she looked no different, and knew their greeting was just friendly flirting. Nothing would be more embarrassing or worse for their friendship, then if they ever found out how she had felt, even if it was only for a brief instant. It was just one of those things, she nodded to herself. A natural reaction as young people's bodies changed and grew. So now she was ready to move on, and...