Fight With Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 2)

03 - Luna and the Carriages

Ellie awoke to the gentle kiss Hermione had placed on her lips, fluttering her eyes open to see her girlfriend standing over her.

"Wakey, wakey, darling. We're here," Hermione cooed softly as she stood up straight to pick up her carry-on.

Ellie looked around the carriage in confusion, groaning as she swung her legs over the bench. The frosted window that showed the outside now portrayed the night sky, letting darkness into the compartment. Other than the low lighting, it looked exactly as it did earlier, but the candy wrappers were now gone.

"How long have I been asleep?" Ellie questioned as she rubbed her eyes groggily.

"The entire time. I came back to check on you, but you were already asleep. I didn't want to wake you," Hermione explained. "I see you've rested well. You didn't even wake up when Ron came in here. Have you been sleeping okay lately?"

"Yeah, I've been sleeping fine," Ellie brushed off.

In truth, Ellie hadn't been sleeping fine at all. Over the summer, she spent many restless nights with the haunting image of Cedric's corpse, and her nightmares usually consisted of reliving that moment.

Hermione took Ellie's hands and pulled her up to her feet. Ellie glanced at the prefect badge pinned on Hermione's sweater, touching it lightly with her index finger.

"Lovely badge you got there," Ellie complimented.

"Thank you," Hermione beamed as the gold on Ellie's collarbones caught her eye. "Charming necklace, by the way."

Ellie glanced down at her necklace before looking up to her girlfriend with a wide smile. The two stared at each other in admiration, not speaking, just gazing. Hermione finally broke the stare with a deepening blush, stepping behind her girlfriend to get to the door.

"Come on, love. We've got a carriage to catch," Hermione spoke as she took Ellie's hand, lacing her fingers with her own.

The two walked hand in hand out of the now-deserted train, being the last ones off.

"Are you ready?" Hermione questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"You know... with everything that happened last year, it's just that I want to make sure you're okay," Hermione explained. "I want you to know that I'll be here if you need to take a break from all the commotion."

"Darling, as much as I appreciate your intentions, I've been trying to forget about the entire thing now that I'm back here," Ellie sighed as she halted them both to a stop, the lamp overhead dimly illuminating their faces.

"Oh—I'm so sorry, Ellie," Hermione quickly apologized.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. You didn't know."

"Goodness, I feel awful now," Hermione fretted as she slouched her shoulders to emphasize her point.

"Look, don't stress about how I'm feeling. I just want to push this topic aside and have a calm, peaceful year. I want to focus on us—our relationship," Ellie reassured as she cupped either side of Hermione's cheeks.

Ellie looked around briefly to check for people before pressing her lips against Hermione's in attempt to ease her girlfriend's worry. It seemed to have work as Hermione smiled slightly, breaking away to lean her forehead against Ellie's.

"You know I love you, right?" Hermione mumbled.

"Clearly," Ellie blushed. "I love you more, though."

"Don't test me," Hermione warned light-heartedly as she pecked Ellie's lips once more.

The lovers let out similar giggles as Hermione led Ellie towards the carriages, their cheeks flushed from each other's presence alone. They walked over to meet with Harry, Ron, and Neville, who were just waiting for the next carriage to Hogwarts. They quickly let go of each other's hands, careful to make sure their relationship stayed hidden.

Ellie greeted the three of them, and they nodded politely. As they waited for the next carriage, Harry turned around slowly, looking up at what appeared to be nothing.

"What is it?" Harry asked, his eyes fixated at the top of the carriage.

"What's what?" Ron countered as the rest of the group turned around in confusion.

"That. Pulling the carriage," Harry answered as he continued to stare at an invisible force.

"Nothing's pulling the carriage, Harry. It's pulling itself like always," Hermione chimed in before glancing to Ellie with a puzzled expression.

Harry stepped forward, closer to the carriage itself, keeping his eyes fixated on the invisible object as the rest followed suit.

The sudden sound of a girl's voice startled the group as they peered upwards to the source. The girl was seated in the carriage already, her strands of blonde hair peeking from behind the upside-down tabloid of The Quibbler.

"You're not going mad," she spoke, bringing the newspaper down to reveal herself. "I can see them too. You're just as sane as I am."

Ellie smiled at the familiar face, making the girl's eyes light up with joy.

The group of five proceeded to climb into the carriage to take their seats, the silence making it all the more awkward. They adjusted themselves on either side of the bench, the lovers finding that they had to be separated for the ride. In result, Neville, Harry, and Hermione sat on one side as Ellie, Luna, and Ron sat on the other.

"Everyone, this is Loony Love—" Hermione spoke assertively.

Ellie tilted her head in confusion as Hermione caught herself quickly.

"Luna Lovegood," Hermione corrected.

The group stared at each other uncomfortably while Luna kept an innocent expression, observing her carriage-mates.

"How was your summer, Luna?" Ellie questioned, breaking the silence altogether.

"It was quite nice, actually," Luna chirped happily. "I spent a lot of time with my friends. They live just outside my house."

"Your friends live just outside your house?" Ellie repeated with an arched brow.

"Moon frogs, of course. And Blibbering Humdingers," Luna grinned with fascination. "Once you get to know them, you'll see they're very friendly creatures."

"Yeah... I bet they're real nice," Ellie trailed with confusion, though she still wanted to appear intrigued.

The conversation went quiet again, but Hermione spoke up in attempt to stir the stillness of the carriage.

"An interesting necklace," Hermione observed as she stared at the string of corks hung around Luna's neck.

"It's a charm, actually," Luna replied as she toyed with the corks with her fingers.

She paused to look at Neville, who was seated in an uncomfortable position, hugging an oddly shaped plant.

"It keeps away the nargles," Luna whispered, leaning towards Neville.

The group just stared at her in fascination, intrigued by her beliefs. The carriage begun to pull itself, the sound of hooves clacking against the ground.

"Hungry. I hope there's pudding," Luna spoke up once more, shrugging her shoulders innocently.

"What's a nargle?" Ron questioned in a near whisper, but the rest of the group heard him.

"No idea," Hermione replied with a defeated tone.

Ellie attempted to suppress her laugh, the thought of Hermione's lack of knowledge baffling her. Having heard her girlfriend, Hermione narrowed her eyes at Ellie knowingly. The Hufflepuff simply smirked teasingly as she winked at Hermione, earning a sarcastic, yet loving eye roll from the latter.

For the rest of the ride, the group of six sat in silence as the carriage drew them towards the castle, spurring another arduous year at Hogwarts.