Change of Pace
It was the next day, and Hermione was still not over Ron and Harry not supporting her. She walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, but instead of her usual spot between the boys, she sat a few people down from them by Fred and George.
They looked up when they saw her plop down.
"Well, look what we have here, Gred!"
"Looks like we got ourselves one-third of the golden Gryfs"
The twins laughed, and Hermione just rolled her eyes.
"Trouble in Paradise, Grangie?" Fred ( She thinks) asked. She took a deep breath and looked at the both of them, wondering if they, too, would judge her.
After a couple of moments of silence, she spoke.
"No, I'm just trying to make more friends." She started, "I can't just hang out with Ron and Harry forever." She finished. And while this was not the main reason for her sitting away from her boys, it was true. Hermione didn't have that many friends if you thought about it. She barely spoke to Parvati and Lavander, but that was because it seemed they were never interested in anything she had to say. They thought she was stuck up, and she thought they were...well... not interesting.
When Hermione put more thought into it, she realized she was usually alone, if not with Ron or Harry.
"Well, you've come to the right place then, Granger!" George(maybe) laughed. "Us 7th Years are going to the astronomy tower later to pull a prank on Flinch. You in?"
Hermione stopped chewing and thought for a second. Normally, she was against playing pranks; it went against her whole "Goody-goody act," as Ron called it. But you know what? Screw what people thought. She could pull pranks and have fun just as much as anyone else.
"Sure. Why not." She said finally.
"Really?" Angelina chimed in. Angelina was a 7th year on the Quidditch team and friends with Fred and George. She was a tall girl with long black braids, and she was pretty smart if Hermione said so herself.
"Sure. A prank once in a while can't be that bad." Hermione shrugged.
"All right!" Fred and George high-fived each other, and the rest of breakfast was spent planning out their little prank that would happen in the afternoon.
The day went by as usual, and the prank went all right if Hermione did say so herself. It was not very harmful and did give everyone a good laugh, so she guessed it went all right. And it was light enough that it didn't weigh down on her moral compass.
Hermione was walking up to the Gryffindor dorms when she heard someone shout her name. She looked back and saw Angelina and two other girls.
"Hermione! Wait up." She yelled, racing up the stairs to catch up. " Come to our dorms; we're going to mine to hang out." Hermione was stunned. She usually wasn't invited to things, even small things such as hangouts, if it wasn't from someone like Harry or the Weasleys, and if she was being honest, sometimes the invited felt like pity Vites because they felt bad for leaving her out, so usually, she would decline.
"Sure," She answered after some time, and Angelina led the group to her dorm.
It was 5 PM at this point, and Hermione was keeping track of time until curfew hit.
"My name's Michelle Bursow," one of the girls spoke.
"And mine's Ameilia Heartfellow," the other said.
After some talking, Hermione found out that Michelle and Ameilia were Angelina's roommates. Michelle was a blond, thin girl with straight teeth and a pretty smile, and Amelia was a redhead (not Weasley red, slightly lighter) with a slim face and dimples.
Watching the three of them interact made Hermione long for something like that. The jokes they made, the way they laughed with each other, and the way they treated each other like sisters.
"Come on, Hermione! We're gonna paint our nails. Oh, wait! Did you guys hear about what happened to Loretta and Another?" Angelina started.
And that was how they spent their time together. Hermione seemed melted in with the little group of three, and they all talked with each other. This was the first time since coming to Hogwarts that she did something like this and felt good. They didn't make Hermione feel like she didn't belong, and their welcoming spirit allowed Hermione to stop worrying about things like her essays and research.
While they were talking, Hermione spotted a book near Michelle's bedpost.
"What's that?" She questioned. Michelle looked over.
"Oh, that's just Angelina's notebook about quidditch moves. She's like obsessed with them." She said, getting up and grabbing the book. She brought it over to their little group and started to flip through it. In it were moves that had been analyzed, ways to counterattack them, and different phrases.
"Oh, I remember this! I started writing it in first year when I came to Hogwarts because I didn't know what Quidditch was! When I first saw Gryffindor play, I knew I wanted to be on the team, so I started studying. And look at me now! 5 years later, and I'm a usual player.
The topic soon shifted away from the book, but Hermione's mind still lingered.
When it was getting late and Hermione was getting ready to leave, she pulled Angelina to the side while Michelle and Ameilia left to get ready for bed,
" Can I possibly borrow your journal?" She asked quietly.
Truthfully, she didn't know how Angelina would react. Weather she'd laugh at Hermione and question why she would be interested or think she was strange because she was acting out of character.
But it was none of the above.
Angelina was still for a moment, then smiled.
"Sure! Borrow it for as long as you need! I haven't written in it since 4th year, though, so there's still some of my special moves you're gonna have to ask me directly about." She nudged Hermione playfully.
Hermoine giggled and thanked her. She said her goodbyes and left the girls' dorms. She walked over to her own dorm, where Parvati and Lavander hadn't shown up yet. She got ready for bed and went onto her bed, closing the curtains. She waited until they showed up, talked, got ready for bed, and then slept. She started doing this so the girls wouldn't notice her leaving after curfew. Once she was sure they were sleeping, she got up, changed into Harry's old (her new) gear, and snuck out of the Gryffindor dorms.
The journal, left in the dorm because she was sure Malfoy would make fun, was tucked in her trunk by her bed.
She walked to the fields quickly, hoping not to run into anyone, slightly hopeful for her practice today.