Harry Potter Caretaker of the Bookworm

**Caretaker of the Bookworm**

A HariPo ficlet

by mew-tsubaki

Note: These characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. Set kinda in the beginning of **Chamber of Secrets**, by the way.This is a rather late birthday present for **xakemii**—Happy birthday, Kimmy~! Read, review, and enjoy! ;)

- ^-^3

"…buck-toothed, bushy-haired know-it-all…"

"Seamus, come off it. She means well, really…"

"I never wanted anuther Mother here with me at school, Dean!"

"She _does_ need to get a bit of a life…"

"Lavender…!"

"What, Parvati? So what that she was with Harry last year when that whole thing with the Philosopher's Stone went down? It doesn't undo her nagging and annoying personality."

The witch in question sat across from these four students on the other side of the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione Granger, now a twelve-year-old second year, had her nose buried in a book. It was the usual sight for her; Hermione wasn't the best witch in her class because she gossiped or played lots of Quidditch, after all.

However, coming to Hogwarts was still a little hard. Her first year hadn't been all that bad—once she became friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, that is. Before their friendship, she had been a loner. Now she was someone with a few good mates…but it didn't mean the rest of their classmates or fellow Gryffindors had to like her.

Overhearing Seamus' and Lavender's nasty words, twins Fred and George Weasley put down the blueprints for the shop they hoped to have one day and exchanged glances. Being Ron's older brothers, they remembered hearing complaints about how insufferable Hermione could be, though they heard less of that once Hermione proved to be a true friend. The twins still didn't understand why she was in Gryffindor, though, and not Ravenclaw; her brains would've better suited her there.

Fred nudged George. "Lookit her. It's like she doesn't hear them at all!"

George shrugged. "She might not. You've seen her around, Fred. Even Ron and Harry complain that she doesn't seem to hear them half the time because she's always reading some textbook or doing some homework. She's always so…_absorbed_ in her work."

"That's not normal."

"No, it's not."

"But I still want to smack those stupid second years for making fun of her. She's a good person."

"For a brainiac."

"For a brainiac."

"But we need to meet up with Lee for a minute and talk about setting off the dungbombs in Snape's classroom." George stood and gathered up their papers.

"All right," Fred agreed. "I'll be right up." George left him without any prodding, so Fred sat back in his chair, letting some of the protruding wall's shadow fall over him. He watched and waited to see if anything would happen.

Happen it did. Seamus Finnigan decided he wanted to go to bed early, so he crossed the room with Dean Thomas trailing behind. Near Hermione, he kicked her rucksack into her stack of texts and notes. Papers went flying everywhere.

Fred stood up and fixed the sandy-haired Irish lad with a look. "Oi, you! What do you think you're doing?"

Seamus paled, knowing that being on the receiving end of one of the twins' pranks was _not_ a good thing. "N-nothin'," he spluttered, and he and Dean dashed up to the boys' dormitory before Fred had the chance to growl at him. However, he scared Lavender and Parvati out of the Common Room, so he felt a little bit successful.

"No good underclassmen… Think they can do whatever they want…" Fred paused when he realized he was pretty much talking to himself. "Er, Hermione, you there?"

The brunette witch blinked and looked up for the first time that evening. "Oh… Sorry. What time is it?"

"Late," he answered, seriously wondering where her head was.

She squinted and sighed. "Oh, no! I wanted to finish my Charms research before tomorrow!"

"What, Flitwick already stuck you guys with an essay?"

"Yes, and it's due next week, but I know I'll never have the time otherwise to write it and—Why are you laughing?"

Fred chuckled as he picked up her notes and stuck them in her bag. "Ron really has you pegged," he stated.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Pegged as what?"

"You really didn't notice what was going on earlier?"

"What, Seamus bickering about my correcting him?" She rolled her eyes and gathered her things. "I've partially become used to that treatment from many. I can't help it; I like to help people."

Fred's grin fell a bit. "Uh, 'Mione…"

"Don't call me that."

"If you think you're helping," he continued, ignoring her interruption, "then it's no wonder why he bullied you. Not everyone needs or wants help."

"Well then we'll have to agree to disagree. Besides, I can handle them. I went up against Snape's potions riddle, didn't I? And I'm constantly looking after Harry and Ron. Seamus and Lavender and the others aren't that important." She stood with a bright smile that didn't seem at all toothy to Fred.

He also understood now why she was in this House.

"Good night, Fred, and thank you," Hermione said and she disappeared for the night.

The Weasley twin smirked, shaking his head as he climbed the stairs himself. She may be brave and strong, but it didn't mean he couldn't look out for her. She _had_ thanked him, after all.

But bloody hell was she smart. There hadn't been an F on him. So how did she know it was him?

- ^-^3

**Sweet and short, but kinda nice. I'm not usually one to write any of the trio, but I agree with Morghen—there's just something about Fremione that clicks. Now I should start my Percemione… ;) Oh, and this was kinda an origin of 'Mione's nickname! Cute, right? XD**

**Review, please! And thanks for reading~!**

**-mew-tsubaki :3**


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Harry Potter, Friendship, Romance