Chapter Text
To my one To my lo To John Doe
Hello. My name is Hermione Granger, Gryffindor. I'd never tho
Hermione crumpled the piece of parchment she'd been writing on and threw it on the floor. "This was a bad idea." she muttered, stretching her slender arms behind her back "Why am I doing this? I don't need a boyfriend, I don't even want one!"
Truth is, the entire female population of Gryffindor had been incessantly trying to find a special someone and Hermione had to resist the urge to roll her eyes every time she decided to sit with one of her fellow Housemates. They had become particularly interested in Hermione's love life, especially after her short-lived romance with Krum. No matter how many times she had tried to tell them they were just friends, no matter how hard she had wanted to shake them off her back, they were like eagles waiting for the right moment to strike.
"But don't you want someone to hold you when you're sad? Don't you want someone to kiss you? What's your ideal boyfriend like?" They would ask.
And honestly?
She did want those things, at some point. However, she valued her education more and she didn't want to start actively looking for a distraction from her studies or from her duty as a Prefect: being a muggleborn in a world filled with prejudice meant having to work twice as hard to be recognised - and sometimes, it still wasn't enough. She wasn't ready to throw her efforts down the drain like that, she needed to focus. She dreamt of change in the magical society, and she wanted to be the one changing it. She also dreamt of a family, another cat to keep Crooks company, a nice house with a well-kept garden and a porch full of flowers, but never once had she pictured her 'ideal boyfriend' and none of the wizards at Hogwarts really interested her. There had been a few, namely Gilderoy Lockhart and Ron, but those were simply an admiration crush gone wrong and love between siblings mistaken for romantic feelings.
Hermione rolled on the other side of the bed and sighed, watching the curtains dance with the light breeze coming from the window.
She had plenty of time to find a decent man, one willing to put up with her likely long working hours. She didn't understand why everyone wanted to find someone for her so soon, when they all knew it wouldn't last.
"Hermione, you always take things so seriously. It doesn't have to last forever! Don't you want to experience different things?"
Yes, different things, like a normal year for a change. A year without weird adventures which could potentially kill her before reaching her goals; she did not have time for this. She knew how impossible her request sounded, with Umbridge at Hogwarts and Voldemort's return - that didn't mean she couldn't try to make it as normal as possible.
She let her face fall on the pillow and growled, frustrated. Her thoughts brought her back to the conversation happened the previous morning with Ginny.
"Hermione, this is you we're talking about, not Harry. Trouble follows him, not you." Ginny said, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.
The Dining Hall was noisy and Hermione spotted a few nervous students trying to finish their essays in time for their first lesson. She rolled her eyes at the sight and focused her gaze back on the redhead. "You wouldn't be in danger, you know." Ginny continued.
Hermione scoffed while slicing her apple carefully. "Do I need to remind you that the first incident, the troll, was my fault?"
The fear experienced that day was etched in Hermione's mind, sometimes she still wondered what would have happened, had Harry and Ron gone with the others. She shivered at the thought. Ginny noticed and put a reassuring hand on Hermione's.
"It wasn't, Quirrell was the one who brought the troll at school, you were just... you know... wrong place at the wrong time? You're not like Harry. He doesn't realise it, but he chases trouble as much as trouble chases him."
Hermione shook her head frantically "I trapped Skeeter in a jar! For a year! I was the one investigating her. That could even be considered torture...! I slapped Draco!" she said, stabbing the apple slice with her knife. Ginny paused and considered her friend's words. Technically, both were acts of retaliation but Hermione was right, in a way; she wasn't really trying hard to stay out of trouble. So much for wanting peace and normality.
"It's not like they didn't deserve it and that just means you are trouble, not looking for it. Ah, the infamous Hermione Danger. Is that why you're not dating? Do you consider yourself a big bad girl?" the redhead winked and Hermione dropped her knife.
The clattering sound attracted the attention of most of the Gryffindor table, including the procrastinating posse. Hermione blushed and hissed "Ginevra Weasley!"
"Merlin, I was joking! Don't you ever call me that again, you sound like my mother." Ginny kicked Hermione under the table lightly, laughing at her friend's reddened cheeks. "In all seriousness, though, why aren't you dating? After all, 'you only live once, unless you're You-Know-Who', what is stopping you?"
Hermione sighed and looked around; Harry and Ron had joined them at the table and were eying them with curiosity. Hermione smiled and handed them some baked beans and bread. She then turned to Ginny and whispered "Gin... There's so much going on right now, I'm a Prefect, I still have work to do with S.P.E.W.! On top of that, I need to help Harry, we need to find a way to deal with Umbridge and he's be-"
"Okay, I'm stopping you there. Mione, you deserve to take a breather, you know? And since you long for a normal school year, I feel obliged to tell you that normal does include romance and should not include revenge on the dementor in pink." Ginny interrupted, stealing an apple slice from Hermione's plate. Hermione was one of the few people Ginny knew that actually peeled and sliced fruit. Hermione had told her it had to do with her parents' profession and that biting into hard food was bad for their teeth. She watched Hermione trying to swat her hand and laughed.
"Stop stealing my food, there are plenty of apples on this table, grab one of those! Anyway, that's not exactly my idea of normal..." Hermione mumbled, noticing the ever-growing amount of people glancing their way feigning indifference. She was afraid of Harry and Ron listening to their conversation, but quickly realised that both were distracted: Ron was laughing at Neville and Harry was trying to catch Dumbledore's eye. The wise wizard had been avoiding Harry and he was extremely bothered by it. Hermione noticed how his veins stood out more than usual and his rigid posture betrayed his smile; to make things worse, he'd been labelled a liar even by some of his own Housemates, people who were supposed to know and trust him. "When it rains, it pours." Hermione thought sadly, looking at her best friend.
"I know, your idea of school year is drowning in parchment and bo- Oh, I know!" Ginny said excitedly. Hermione looked at Ginny suspiciously. "I feel like I'm about to regret this... What is it, Gin?"
Ginny grabbed some hash browns and started explaining "Remember when we were discussing how owls managed to find Snuffles?"
"Yes... and?"
"Well, we haven't discovered much yet, only that they follow a magic trace."
Hermione straightened her back, definitely more interested now that the topic had shifted.
"...Yes, they only need a name to trace a wizard, unless he's using a Repelling spell or something similar."
"And you thought that was bicornshit."
Hermione pulled a face at Ginny's vocabulary but provided an explanation nonetheless.
"Of course! I mean, yes, wizards tend to have peculiar names, but what about namesakes? How do owls know who's the right recipient, if you don't write an address on the letter? Imagine someone didn't know Barty Crouch Jr., their letter would be for Barty Crouch right? How does an owl know?"
Ginny grinned slyly "And here comes the fun part! Why don't you try to catch two nifflers with one gold coin? Write a letter to a stranger, try to convey the type of person you wish to reach."
The bushy-haired girl looked at her friend flabbergasted. "Gin, you know I love you, but this is ridiculous! It won't work!"
Ginny shrugged and took a sip of her almost forgotten orange juice.
"You'll never know if you don't try. What's the worst that could happen, objectively? The owl might come back with your unopened letter, sure, but at least you'll discover something new."
"Absolutely not, Ginny, I'm not doing it." Hermione said categorically.
"Come on, Mione, why not? Don't you want to learn more?"
And that's how Ginny managed to convince her: her thirst for knowledge. Hermione sighed and went to pick up the discarded letter, planning to use her failed attempt to jot down ideas. She sat on her bed, the softness of the duvet caressing her bare legs, and tried to come up with a charming letter for her 'potential lover'.
Without success.
Hermione moaned and hid her crimson face behind the piece of parchment. "It's not like the letter will actually be delivered," Hermione thought, trying to convince herself "I still don't know if owls work like that. But what if they do? Will I be stuck writing letters to someone I don't know? Would it be worse if I knew him?" Hermione started sucking her quill mindlessly.
"I can always stop writing if I don't like him. But what if I end up liking him?" she bit down on her quill subconsciously, confusion spreading through her face when she realised she hadn't been chewing her ballpoint pen cap. She chuckled and muttered "Nervous habits die hard, huh? And now I'm talking to myself."
She stared at the ruined parchment and dipped her quill in the ink pot, careful to avoid any spillage on her bed. She was fed up with Hogwarts' use of house elves and she really didn't want to add any unnecessary chore for them.
Hi,
This is Hermi
Hello.
I'm trying to understand something, could you send this letter back with the word 'yes' written on it?
"This is awful." the muggleborn stated while she stared at the ink blots on the parchment, wishing they would come up with something in her stead. She slapped her face with both hands and started writing again "Come on, it can't be harder than Snape's Potions essays".
The next day, Hermione woke up in a daze. She remembered completing the letter and she found it on the floor, near one of the wooden bed legs. She yawned, scrunching her eyes, and picked up what will very likely be the worst mistake of her life. She made her bed and looked outside the window: it was still early, she could see the pinkish orange colours of dawn and smiled. She had enough time for a quick trip to the Owlery. She dressed up with the clothes she left on her trunk after undressing the night before and headed out.
It was chilly but the sun was timidly warming the castle halls. Hermione looked around and waved at a first-year Hufflepuff who nervously waved back. The castle was almost deserted and Hermione basked in the unusually quiet atmosphere. When she reached the Owlery, she almost tripped on the stairs, excitement having the better of her.
She tried to spot one of the school owls and she found one near Hedwig. The plumage was brown with some grey streaks: it was definitely smaller than Hedwig, but its eyes were hypnotising.
"Hey buddy, may I ask you to deliver a letter to a friend of mine?" Hermione said, while rolling the parchment. The owl hooted in response. The muggleborn smiled and secured the letter on its leg. "My friend is smart, protective, witty, fiercely loyal and... fascinating" she murmured the last part, almost embarrassed and pointed to the parchment "If you can't deliver it, I'll be waiting to get this back".
Hermione watched the owl take off and exhaled a breath she didn't realise she was holding. She replayed her words in her head.
Hi stranger,
I don't know who you are and you don't know me. However, if you received my letter, there's a high chance we might meet in the future. I won't tell you my name and you don't need to tell me yours. This is an experiment, I'm just listening to a part of my brain I usually try to leave alone.
I have a few questions: what's your favourite colour? Are you in school? If not, what do you do for a living?
I will ask more interesting questions in the future, I swear.
Signed a (tentative) friend
"And now let's hope he's not some kind of sadistic killer, otherwise I might kill Ginny" Hermione said, heading to the Dining Hall for breakfast.