Harry Potter : An American in Hogwarts

Hermione quietly settled into the seat beside him, pulled out a quill and a fresh sheet of parchment, then immediately buried herself in writing as though Tyson simply didn't exist.

Well... she certainly tried to. The faint pink tint creeping over the tips of her ears completely gave her away.

Tyson's eyebrows twitched. What kind of tsundere behaviour was this? Couldn't she have just asked if she wanted to talk?

For nearly a minute, he let her continue the performance, pretending to be completely invisible. Then the little devil on his shoulder won.

A mischievous grin spread across his face.

He leaned in until he was close enough for her to feel his breath brush against her ear before speaking in a quiet, whispery tone.

"Good morning, Hermione."

The effect was immediate.

"Eep!"

Hermione practically jumped in her chair, jerking sideways with one hand clutching the edge of the table before spinning toward him, wide-eyed.

"What is wrong with you? I could have fallen off the chair!" She said indignantly, her eyes narrowing into a glare that would've been considerably more intimidating had the blush not spread from her ears all the way across her cheeks.

Tyson spread his hands innocently. "Your fault for sitting there pretending I didn't exist. I couldn't help myself."

"Oh, please, I wasn't pretending!" Hermione immediately retorted. "I was simply too immersed in my homework and didn't notice you."

"Oh?" Tyson nodded toward the parchment. "Then how come you haven't made it past the second sentence in a whole minute?"

Hermione instinctively looked down.

The page contained nothing more than a title, a single unfinished sentence, and an unfortunately large ink blot right in the middle of it.

Her cheeks warmed. "It's because... you distracted me."

Tyson pressed his lips together, barely holding back a laugh. "I didn't know you were such a tsundere, Mrs. Granger."

Hermione's brows immediately knitted together.

"What does that mean?"

"You don't need to know."

"I do if you're calling me by that."

"Not telling you." Tyson's grin only widened. "Just know that you are."

"Arghhh!"

Hermione let out a frustrated groan, throwing her hands into the air. Just as it looked like she was about to shoot back, he suddenly saw her freeze, the blush draining from her face.

"What?" Tyson raised an eyebrow. "Scabber's got your tongue?"

Hermione didn't answer. Instead, her gaze shifted past his shoulder.

A bad feeling rose in Tyson's heart.

He turned... and found Madam Pince standing directly behind him.

Neither of them had heard her approach.

Her thin lips were pressed into a line so tight they had nearly disappeared, and the look she gave the pair suggested she'd much rather shelve them than the books around them.

For a long, dreadful moment, she said nothing.

"Am I to understand," Madam Pince began at last, her voice barely above a whisper but stern enough to send shivers down any first year's asscrack, "that the two of you have mistaken Hogwarts Library for the Great Hall?"

Neither of them dared to answer. Hermione because... well, she was Hermione. Tyson also remained silent, knowing this time it was really their fault.

Madam Pince continued sternly. "If you wish to gossip, squabble, or make peculiar noises at one another, I suggest you do so outside. Hogwarts Library is strictly for studying."

"W-We apologise, Madam Pince," Hermione murmured.

With Hermione taking charge, Tyson also muttered a "sorry."

"You will be if I have to come over here again," Madam Pince replied crisply. "I shall have you both removed from the library for the remainder of the semester."

Hermione's eyes went so wide with horror that Tyson was afraid they would pop out of their sockets at any moment.

"And I assure you," Madam Pince continued, "I have done it before. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes, Madam Pince!" Hermione answered immediately.

Tyson nodded just as quickly. "Crystal."

Madam Pince gave them one last stern look, then, without another word, turned and glided away between the shelves, her footsteps as soundless as a cat until she disappeared from sight.

Tyson waited another few seconds before finally letting out the breath he'd been holding.

"What a terrifying woman," he muttered under his breath. Seriously, what kind of heaven-defying stealth technique was she using?

His senses had always been sharp, yet he hadn't heard so much as a single footstep. Hell, even Hermione hadn't noticed her coming, despite the woman walking straight into her line of sight. If Tyson didn't know that Apparition was prohibited inside the castle, he would have suspected she had teleported behind him.

He turned to Hermione, who looked like she'd just received a royal pardon.

Sensing his gaze, she looked up and shot him a glare.

Tyson dramatically widened his eyes, pulling the girl into an involuntary staring contest.

Hermione held on for half a minute before letting out a frustrated huff and looking away.

"Childish," she muttered, then dipped her quill into the ink and returned to her essay.

Although she went back to behaving like a tsundere, there was a slight curve to her lips. Seeing that her mood had considerably improved, he decided to get to the point.

"So," Tyson said, lowering his voice to little more than a whisper, "what are you doing in the library at this hour? Shouldn't you be having lunch in the Great Hall?"

Hermione's quill paused, and Tyson noticed her fingers tighten ever so slightly around it.

"I..." Her eyes remained fixed on the parchment. "I wasn't feeling particularly hungry, so I thought I'd get started on Professor McGonagall's assignment instead."

His gaze drifted to the heading at the top of the page.

Transfiguration.

'Right. Gryffindor had Transfiguration with the snakes this morning.'

"So," he said casually, as though the thought had only just occurred to him, "how was Transfiguration? Was it as magical as it sounds?"

The gloomy air surrounding Hermione seemed to vanish at the mere mention of the subject.

She looked up, a brilliant spark lighting up her eyes.

"It was amazing!" she said, her voice brimming with excitement.

"Professor McGonagall explained that Transfiguration isn't simply waving a wand and saying an incantation. Every transformation has a precise magical structure behind it. You have to understand exactly what you're changing, maintain the object's stability, and keep a clear image of the final form in your mind. If your concentration slips for even a second, the transformation either fails completely... or becomes incomplete."

As she spoke, her hands began moving almost unconsciously, tracing little gestures through the air as she relived the lesson.

"We started by turning matchsticks into needles. Most of the class only managed to sharpen one end, or only change the shape of the matchstick, not the material..."

A small smile slowly spread across her face, her voice laced with a hint of pride.

"...I was the only one who managed to transfigure a proper needle before class ended. Professor McGonagall praised me and even awarded Gryffindor five points."

She looked at him expectantly.

Tyson almost laughed, recognising the look. It practically screamed, 'Praise me!'

"I'd have been more surprised if you hadn't been able to do that," he said with a smile.

Hermione blinked.

"...Really?"

"Yup." Tyson nodded. "Didn't you tell me yourself? You had already learned everything in The Standard Book of Spells before school even started. It means your intent and will are already strong enough to cast most of the first-year spells. All you're really missing is the conceptual understanding behind the magic and the practical experience to tie it all together."

He met her bright brown eyes.

"Honestly..." Tyson shrugged. "You're probably one of the most talented students in our year."

Hermione seemed momentarily stunned.

Then a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, and a genuine smile bloomed across her face. "...Thank you. It means a lot."

Tyson smiled back.

A comfortable silence settled between them before Hermione suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! I heard Ravenclaw had Potions this morning."

Now it was Tyson's turn to be gloomy.

Hermione tilted her head curiously. "How was Professor Snape?"

Tyson stared at her for several long seconds before answering bluntly, "An absolute bastard."

...

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