Chapter 6: Once a Bookworm...

Hermione rose very early the next morning. It was Sunday, so many of the students were still fast asleep, but she was itching to explore this castle that was now her home.

Carefully, she dressed herself in her brand new robes with the proud Gryffindor colours, and made her way into the common room. Although none of the other girls in her dorm had been awake as she quietly readied herself for the day, she found a few older students in the common room, including a familiar head of bright red hair.

Charlie Weasley, the boy who had helped her onto the train and abandoned her to the tender mercies of his twin brothers, was sitting on a couch with his head tilted back, staring into space. She placed herself in front of him, and cleared her throat pointedly to gain his attention. Lazily, he rolled his head along the puffy cushions until he could see her, and raised an eyebrow.

Despite herself, a corner of her mouth crooked into an almost-grin. "You are not awake, are you, Charlie Weasley?"

"Define 'awake'."

"As I suspected."

She eyed him quickly, wondering if it wouldn't be better to leave her question for another time, but her mouth began moving before her brain could make a decision. "Why did you leave me with your brothers?"

His eyes focused slightly as he began to wake himself up more fully. "I dunno, really. It seemed like a great idea, and it just felt right. I'm a big fan of Flutterby salad, you know." He lazily winked at her, and she raised an eyebrow at his careless answer.

"Do you mean to tell me that you abandoned a defenceless first year with your highly mischievous twin brothers on a 'feeling'? And, you attribute said feeling to a common household green that an old wives' tale recounts as perhaps having an effect on your 'inner eye'?"

His eyes twinkling, Charlie nodded. "Sounds about right."

Hermione's fists found a very familiar place on her hips as she tried to decide whether he was pulling her tail. Seeing this, Charlie sat up straight in his seat. "I honestly don't know, Granger. It felt like a good idea at the time."

Her posture relaxed a bit at this admission: It didn't sound like he had malicious intentions. Maybe her fortuitous placement really had been based on the whim of a teenage boy.

"Why are you awake so early?" Her gaze focused on Charlie at his question.

"I could ask the same of you, although I would suppose that it is not by choice."

He nodded. "I help the groundskeeper with some of the animals that live around Hogwarts. I was making my way outside to see him when I decided that I was still too tired to walk all the way there. Your reason?"

Hermione's eyes shone as she recalled her purpose in being awake so early. "I wanted to explore the castle. Professor McGonagall told me that there was a magnificent Library, and I want to find it."

His relaxed face tightened slightly in worry. "That's not a very good idea. This is a big castle, and very easy to get lost in."

Seeing her face fall slightly, he amended his statement. "Tell you what: I'll take you to the Library, and leave you there to look around a bit. It's a couple of hours until breakfast, so you can explore in there a while. I'll send the twins to find you for some food when they wake up, or come and find you myself."

A brilliant smile spread across her face at his offer, and he could see that she barely restrained herself from clapping her hands together like a little girl. He levered himself from his comfortable seat, and led her through the portrait hole, talking as he went.

"You'll want to ask the twins to take you exploring. They know a lot about this castle, even though they've only been here for a year. Most people just stick to the corridor that they need to get between classes, but those two made a point of exploring everything they could access in their spare time. I had to go and rescue them a few times when they got utterly lost, but I don't think you could find better guides."

She nodded: It made more sense to take advantage of the twins' existing knowledge than wander aimlessly on her own. They could move her more quickly past the boring areas of the castle to the fascinating unexplored corridors and rooms.

Vainly, Hermione tried to remember the twists and staircases that Charlie took to get to the Library, but gave up after five minutes or so. Finally, they arrived at an impressive ancient door in a corridor of its own. Hermione felt her breathing pick up in excitement, and Charlie turned an amused smile to her.

"Here you are, Granger. Please don't get distracted in here and forget to eat or something. We'd like for you to survive at least a week at Hogwarts."

Hermione cocked her eyebrow at him, and sniffed. As he turned to go, she suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"Charlie, wait!" She pulled out her trusty notebook, and flipped to a new page, offering it to him. "Would you write down the directions to get from Gryffindor Tower to the Library for me please?"

He scratched his head, but cautioned as he accepted the notebook and pencil, "The directions won't be easy to follow, you know. The portraits visit each other, but I think I might remember enough stationary details for you to get by. It certainly couldn't hurt, but don't depend on this. Try to learn your way on your own, the way the rest of us did."

Hermione nodded in agreement, and watched as he scrawled several lines on the clean page. He handed her belongings back to her, then waved over his shoulder as he began walking back down the hallway.

Hermione tucked her notebook back into its customary pocket, and turned back to face the large door. With an anticipatory grin, she tugged on the handle, pleased that the door swung open with little effort on her part.

Hermione stepped through the door with awe, admiring the rows of books in a room larger than any she had ever seen, including the great hall. This room, right here, was heaven.