Chapter 9

Hermione made her way down Enchanter's Way, doing her final shopping before they left for their next destination later that day. Their time in Salem had been uneventful, thankfully. The three of them didn't know what it was like to be able to enjoy themselves and to go and do things without having to worry about being killed by Death Eaters.

Harry still had not made his decision about whether or not he wanted to play professional Quidditch. Hermione knew that Ron really wanted to be an Auror, but she had to give him credit – Ron wasn't pressing him to make a decision.

Hermione's own thoughts about Harry playing Quidditch were divided. She knew that Harry had probably seen enough battle and darkness for a lifetime and deserved to do what he liked with his life. On the other hand, she also knew that Harry could do so much more with his life. Would he be happy playing Quidditch?

Hermione thought back to the discussion the three of them had had the morning after the Quidditch match.

”So, he wants me to play professional Quidditch. He is starting up a team for Pennsylvania, and they will be the Philadelphia Centennials,” Harry said over breakfast.

“I haven't made a decision yet. But he did say that if I choose to go on with my schooling, that when I get out of school, I can join the team.”

That had been the end of the discussion between the three of them. But, for herself, it was always in the back of her mind.

Another thing that had been on her mind since the night that she and Ron had gone out together was Ron himself. She could see how the war had changed him. To the normal person, Ron looked exactly the same. But to her and Harry, they could see something had changed. There were times when he would be pensive or he would simply go off on his own. He'd never done that before, not that she remembered, but she knew that the war had affected everyone. They each had their own way of dealing with it.

***

“Good afternoon, Hermione,” Abigail greeted her cheerfully as she walked into There's No Place Like Tome.

“Good afternoon, Abigail. Have the books I ordered come in?” Hermione asked, going to the counter.

“Yes, they have. Here you are.” Abigail handed her two books that she had ordered: Medicinal Plants of the United States and The United States – A History of Magic.

“Thanks. Do you accept overseas orders? My friends and I are leaving later today, and I would really like to purchase more books from you in the future.”

“Of course I do. Let me give you one of our catalogs.” Abigail reached behind the counter, but Hermione held her hand up to ask her to wait.

“I'm going to go look around once more, and I'll get a catalog when I check out.” Hermione gave Abigail a smile, placed her books back on the counter, and made her way through the shop. By the time she was finished with looking through the shelves with which she had become so familiar, she had added three spell books and a potions book.

When she took her selections to the cash register, Abigail looked at her titles with interest.

“Are you sure that you want to buy these books? They are textbooks for the American Academy of Magic. They are normally purchased by ten-year-olds who are getting ready to go there.”

“Yes, I want to buy them. I am trying to get a better understanding of the Wizarding world in the United States. Incidentally, where is the American Academy of Magic?” Hermione asked as Abigail finished ringing up her purchases and gave her the total.

“It's in New Orleans. Here's a brochure about it,” Abigail said, handing her a brochure and taking the money that Hermione handed her.

“That's where we are going next. I think it would be interesting to see.” She stuck out her hand and shook Abigail's. “It was nice meeting you, Abigail. Thank you for all your help.”

“You're welcome, Hermione. I'm sorry that you can't stay longer; I have enjoyed getting to know you.” Abigail handed her a voucher. “Here, take this. You can use it on your next order.”

“Thank you, Abigail. I will certainly be keeping in touch with you and be ordering more books from you in the future. Maybe someday you can come visit me in the United Kingdom.”

“I'd like that.”

When Hermione got back to the hotel, she knocked on the joining door between hers and the boys' room.

“Come on in!”

Harry and Ron were each on their own bed, sorting through the purchases that they had made.

“Hey, Hermione,” Harry said, noticing her bag. “Been back to the bookstore?”

“Yes, I wanted to see if my books had come in. Did you guys know that there's a magic school in New Orleans? I bought some of their textbooks.”

"Textbooks?" Ron asks in disbelief. "Hermione, you come all the way to America — on vacation — and one of the first ruddy things you do is go out and buy textbooks? There'll be no exams on how to get back into the UK, ya know."

Hermione tried not to roll her eyes at him but was unsuccessful. “For your information, Ron, I didn't know they were textbooks when I picked them up. They looked interesting, and even Abigail was surprised. She told me that they were textbooks and asked if I still wanted to get them. We never know how we can learn from other cultures – they may have spells in here that we are going to be able to use.”

"I have trouble enough getting all the spells from our culture under control, much less adding on another," Ron said dryly. "Besides, what if you get some of the incantations crossed up, but only a little. Like you want to levitate something straight up, but instead you levitate sorta sideways and it smacks into the wall? Not bad if it's a book or something, but if it's a glass of pumpkin juice..."

Hermione lifted her eyebrow at him and shook her head. "And what if I find something that can help our country and give us a better way of life? I am not concerned about mixing up spells, considering I have been working with a full schedule since I was in third year, and I did not mix up the spells during that time. Yes, I know I missed a class, but that's why I gave up that insane schedule. Don't worry, I am not going to force you or Harry to learn the spells unless you want to."

"Oh, good," Ron said sarcastically. "All Harry and me have to do is carry the books all the way across America."

"And who was the one who carried your stuff in her beaded pocketbook on the Horcrux hunt?" Hermione asked, putting her bag with her books into her beaded bag.

Ron frowned a moment and looked uncomfortable before turning away and mumbling something under his breath that sounded vaguely like "don't remember."

“And considering the fact that you two are wizards who can make things lightweight, I wouldn't complain too much.” She looked at her watch and then looked at Harry and Ron. “We have two hours before our Portkey activates. I am going back to my room to pack.” She thought about suggesting that they do the same, but decided not to. She thought it might just make things worse.