Disclaimer: Harry Potter and company belong to JK Rowling. "More to Life" belongs to Stacie Orrico and her record label.
What is this thing that I feel
Like I am missing?
And why can't I let it go?
There's got to be more to life
Than chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
Cause the more that I
Think there must be more to life
Well there's life but I'm sure
There's got to be more...
More to Life, Stacie Orrico
Chapter One
"Good evening. You are watching WINN, Wizarding International News Network, and this is Correspondent Hermione Granger reporting from Hogsmeade in the United Kingdom. At approximately four oh seven pm, London time, several wizards were arrested on charges of illegal use of charms on barrels. Dolores Kettlebrick, Chad Noele, and Gee Albany were bewitching these barrels full of butterbeer to roll until they hit someone. No one was hurt although quite a few wound up sticky after this childish incident. The three pranksters are facing a fine and probation. That's all here in Hogsmeade. Stay tuned for the ten o'clock news after the special concert tonight starring Celina Warbeck, the award winning singing sensation." I said staring into the camera.
"That's a cut," a chubby man, my boss, said. "Good work, Hermione dear."
"Sam, when am I going to get a real report?" I asked, dropping the microphone in its case.
"Darling, you have real reports," Sam answered as he pointed to something for the camera man to get.
"Sam, you know bloody well what I mean. I don't want to report rolling barrels of butterbeer or wizards that attempt to launch cats into flight. I want to report real issues like Ministry laws or wars. Not pranksters who want their thirty second shot at fame."
"Hermione, just be patient. You have only been working this job for two years. You can't expect to be on top right away." Sam said, which didn't really help my mood any whatsoever.
"Come on, Mione let's go get dinner at the Three Broomsticks." Lavender Brown, my best friend, my roommate and make up artist, said, placing her perfectly tanned arm around my shoulder.
"I don't know." I said, picking my purse up off the cobblestone street and throwing on my arm.
"We don't even have to eat dinner! We can skip straight to the brownie sundaes if you want."
"I'm in!" I giggled and we turned onto one of the busy main streets of Hogsmeade, unlike the small one we had just filmed on. The Three Broomsticks, the largest pub in Hogsmeade, was packed as usual.
"Where do you want to sit?" Lavender asked, although the clearly wasn't much of a choice seeing as how almost every table was full.
"At a table that-" I glanced around. "-has been cleaned." Servers were darting around, they were obviously short handed tonight. There wasn't enough to serve people, let alone clean the tables of those who had already left.
"You want to just go eat somewhere else?" Lavender practically shouted over the roar of wizards. "What about that little café on the next block over?"
"You mean Tea Leaves? Parvati said that place was really cool." I answered, eager to get out of the place. My head was beginning to pound with the deafening roar of wizards all gripping about their lousy day at work.
"I think its right down this way," Lavender said as we nearly avoided being run over by an old hag pushing a cart full of dead flowers and a variety of squash.
"I think you are right." I replied. "So when are you and Seamus tying the knot?"
Lavender blushed profusely. "He hasn't popped the question yet but I know he will soon. I already found the perfect wedding dress."
"You are going to be such a pretty bride." I said honestly despite the fact that I envied her natural beauty. She was tall and paper thin, possibly due to the fact that she was a health food nut. She had pretty golden blonde shoulder length straight hair and just the perfect amount of light freckles sprinkled across her nose. And these pretty ocean blue eyes that everyone wants. I swear to Merlin, that I have never even seen a zit on her face. She doesn't even wear make-up. You know, she should probably be the one on the wizard wireless news. They broadcast it over televisions, which now wizards have been using since they have realized, thanks to a muggle specialist, that it makes it easier to communicate news rather than by sending out a million owls. Lavender looks as if she should be on the telly but she definitely doesn't have enough brains to be a reporter. I highly doubt that Lavender knows anything about foreign countries except for which ones have excellent beaches and the only wars she knows about are the wars in the romance books she reads where the knight has to rescue the princess from her country at war.
Not that I should really be talking. None of my reports have covered anything remotely intelligent. I have covered everything from an outbreak of flobberworms at a pet store to a muggle mailbox which refused to open thanks to some menacing witch who cast a charm on her poor little old neighbor. Honestly, do people have anything better to do with their time that hex eighty-five year old muggle's mailboxes?
"Oh my god, Hermione," Lavender said, drawing in a quick breathe. "I didn't mean to go this way."
I was terribly confused until I looked around. I realized that up a couple stores was WWW, Fred and George's store. And it was in the only path to Tea leaves.
"Its fine," I muttered, looking at my clogs and not at the store.
"Have you talked to any of them? Since you know, you and Ron.." Lavender said, obviously uncomfortable.
"Broke up? No." I replied, a little too harshly I think because Lavender sort of side stepped away from me.
"Well, it's not like we are going to talk to them, we are just walking by." Lavender said a little unconvincingly.
"Right. No one will see us. We are just worrywarts." I said and Lavender smiled weakly.
You see, Ron and I were in the perfect relationship two years ago, when we were both twenty one. Then things fell apart. I mean they didn't really fall apart, it's just we were at two different places. Ron had his career established. He played keeper for the Chudley Cannons. I had just gotten my career off the ground. Neither of us was every home, always traveling with work. One rare night when we were both home, we got into a huge argument about how we never see each other. We both had totally different solutions to the problem. I wanted to take a break but still technically be together. Ron wanted to get married which was something I definitely wasn't ready for. And he didn't take it to well when I said that I wasn't ready. I left that night and never went back to the burrow. I haven't talked to him since and I don't think I ever will.
As we walked past the store, my eyes got the better of me and darted up to look in the bright and colorful window. Fred and George were setting off a display of products to show a customer their effects. I recognized that customer. I leaned forward to get a better look.
"No!" I said, stomping my foot for emphasis.
"Please, Mione!" Lavender pleaded.
"I don't care if Seamus is in there! I wouldn't go in there even if the author of Hogwarts, A History was in there giving out autographs!" I shouted
"You would so go in there if the author of Hogwarts, A History was in there."
"Okay, maybe I would but he isn't in there now so I am not going in!"
"Mione, I can't go in there alone! Seamus will totally know that I only went in there because he was in there and then he will think I am some obsessive stalker or something!" Lavender whined.
"Well you might as well be a stalker! Do you realize how many pictures of him there are in our apartment? You have more than his mother probably does!"
"Please just go in! I only want to say hi! Just pretend that we were going in to buy your brother a birthday present and we happen to casually bump into him! Please!"
"Lavender, you realize that I don't have a brother, don't you?"
"Please Mione! You can be my maid of honor at the wedding!"
"I was going to be the maid of honor before this weird obsessive stalking episode! Can't you just talk to him when you see him for dinner tomorrow? He is coming over remember?"
"What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't say hi to my boyfriend who could possibly be my fiancée in a few days?"
"You would be the kind of girlfriend whose best friend's ex-boyfriend's older brothers own the store that your boyfriend is in. You would be the kind of girlfriend that doesn't want to humiliate her best friend in front of her ex-boyfriend, whom she ran away from two years, brothers."
"You do realize that I didn't follow any of that right? You said 'friend' like a record number of times in one conversation." Lavender said, now pulling me towards the door to the Weasley shop.
"Lav..."
"Mione, please? I promise that you don't have to say anything to them."
"You so owe me for this!"
"Anything! I swear!"
A little bell rang as the two of us stepped in the store. Seamus, Fred, and George all turned in the direction of the door. I felt like a deer in headlights.
"Seamus!" Lavender squealed and ran up to hug her adorable Irish boyfriend. Seamus hugged her absentmindedly and stared at me if I lost my mind. Before he was Lavender's boyfriend he was like the third member of our little friendship. He came over and watched sappy muggle movies (which he seemed to enjoy a lot for being a guy) with us when we were both upset at something a boyfriend had done or a particular bad day (especially the segment that featured me and Lavender reporting about a pair of bewitched flying monkeys. I still have nightmares about that.). He knew very well of my situation with Ron and the rest of the Weasleys.
But since I was standing in this store now being stared at by one of my friends, and my ex's brothers while Lavender rambled about some great deal she had gotten on this sweater at Madame Fleur's Shoppe, I was beginning to wonder if maybe I really was as insane as Seamus apparently thought I was. I should have at least thought to use a glamour charm before walking in the store. A good thought, just a tad bit too late...
"Mione." George said, haphazardly placing the fake wand he was holding back on the display.
"Wow.um it's been awhile." Fred commented, although it sounded as if he was sort of ticked at me.
Just remember, I thought to myself, Lavender promised I wouldn't have to talk. Say nothing. Pretend you forgot English or something. Thoughts were blazing through my mind. Maybe I could convince him that he had mistaken me for someone else.
"Uh, no hablo ingles." I muttered.
"Yo hablo español también, Hermione!" Fred hissed.
Crud, it figured that I picked the one other language in the world that Fred Weasley knew.
"Hi, Fred. George." I said, staring at my scuffed up clogs for the second time in this short afternoon.
"Nice to see you too, Hermione." Fred snapped. "It's only been what two years since our last conversation?"
"Something like that." I said, knowing very well that my face was beating red.
Fred seemed to soften a bit, seeing that I was clearly uncomfortable. Seamus and Lavender were staring at me and I had a feeling that George was too even though I couldn't see him since he was now standing behind me.
"I think we ought to go and leave you here to sort things out," Lavender whispered.
No! I wanted to scream at her but she had apparated away. Why hadn't I thought of that? We could have just apparated past the store! I swear, my best ideas come just a little bit too late.
"So want to explain what happened, Mione?" George asked.
Thanks so much for reading! Please please review! Flames will be used to toast marshmallows.
Cya,
Simple plan gc fan