Just a Muggle ...

.2. Persuaded

Dedicated to LilyEvans13, a dedicated reader of my stories!

.2. Persuaded

“... I just can’t believe it! How is it possible?” I cried out to Shayla in anguish. I took a deep, calming breath and continued, “Since I was eleven, I have been convinced of magic not existing, and then, nine years later, I find it does exist!”

Shayla laughed lightly, a smile forming on her lips. “Herms, it’s not your fault that your parents thought Hogwarts wasn’t real. What evidence is there to say that Hogwarts is real, or Muggle evidence, anyway?” She said the word ‘Muggle’ like it was a strange species of animal, though I suppose, in her superior world, non-magic people were looked down upon.

“Oh, that’s right, isn’t it?” I stated coldly, “I’m just a Muggle, aren’t I? No magic for poor old Hermione - no can do!” I sighed grumpily – what on Earth was wrong with me? I never got grumpy, no matter what happened!

Shayla’s expression turned pitiful. “Hermione, you’re not a Muggle. I suppose you could be considered a lost witch: A witch that should have been, but never was discovered.” Shayla replied sadly, shaking her head.

A considered the possibility of being a lost witch. What does that even mean? Will I ever get to learn magic? What would happen now that Shayla had told me about the magical world, would she get into trouble? I had so many questions... with no answers seeming to arise.

“Shay...” I trailed off. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore – I didn’t even know what to say to my best friend. My world had just been turned upside down, and the feeling wasn’t pleasant, knowing I could have gone to Hogwarts... learned magic, for crying out loud! It was like my life was walking on a tightrope, and it had just slipped and was clinging on for dear life, unsure about what to do next.

Suddenly, it was as if somebody had flicked a switch from within Shayla, causing her to jolt into action quickly. “Right then, Hermione Granger, listen up!” Shayla instructed. “We are going to forget all about this mess, it’s a Friday night! We should be out having fun! Which, for you information, is exactly what we are planning to do!”

Oh, no. Even when we were little, Shayla’s ideas of ‘fun’ where always very reckless and daring, each act of fun, no matter how big or small, ended up causing us to get into trouble. No doubt now Shayla was older, her plans of fun would be even more reckless and stupid.

“Shayla, define ‘fun’ for me...”

“Well, what do people of our age usually do on Friday nights? Party, of course!” Shayla stated, as if it were obvious (which, now I thought about it, it kind of was obvious) along with a series of giggles. “I know just the place! I went there with Parvati and Padma last week, it’s this small, hidden little Muggle club, not very well known, it’s really easy to get in, a memory spell does the trick-”

“Whoa, stop there!” I exclaimed, stopping Shayla’s rambling in its tracks. “Are you suggesting that we go to a club? We’ve only just turned twenty!”

Shayla rolled her eyes. “Twenty... twenty-one... same thing, right? Anyway, like I said, a simple memory spell on the bouncer does the trick! Nobody suspects a thing when you’re in – after all, you’ve got passed the bouncer, who is quite a hunk, if I do say so myself!”

I sighed. If Shayla had her heart set on that bouncer, she was going to force me to go with her whether I wanted to or not. “How about this, Shay: I’ll stay home and you go to the club with Parveti and Padma, whoever they are...”

“It’s Parvati and Padma,” Shayla corrected. “They’re twins, Parvati was in my house, Gryffindor, at Hogwarts, and Padma was in Ravenclaw. Besides, they can’t come tonight; they have some family thing... Didn’t really pay attention, to be honest, I was too busy staring at Mitchell...” She sighed dreamily and gazed off into the distance.

I snorted. “Mitchell? The bouncer’s called Mitchell?” I asked, trying not to laugh as I remembered a boy called Mitchell that had liked Shayla when we were five – he had asked her to be his girlfriend and Shayla had turned him down because she had seen him asking three other girls from our class.

“Hey, this Mitchell is the complete opposite of that creep!” Shayla shot me a playful glare, obviously understanding what I found funny. When she started to smirk, I instinctively knew she was relieving the memory, too.

“Whatever you say, Shayla...” I caught her eye, instantly knowing the look her face was morphing into. “But I’m still not going with you!”

Shayla pouted. “Please, Herms? Seriously, you need to meet someone yourself! Loosen up a little, have fun!” She hit my shoulder playfully, smiling.

I sighed, “Shayla, I am not made to go out to clubs! They are disgusting, dirty, horrid places where people become drunk, reckless and they... hook up with eachother!” Shayla gave me a look which clearly said ‘duh!’. “Shay, I am not going to become a reckless drunk! Not tonight, not ever!” I growled in frustration.

Shayla smiled evilly. “Fine,” she said, standing up and walking round my room, “if you don’t agree to come, I’ll hex you!” She pulled out her stick again and pointed it in my face. I gulped, now I knew it could actually perform magic.

“Don’t point that... stick at me!” I exclaimed, “I’m your best friend! You can’t harm me, we made a pact!” I stated smugly.

Shayla rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Herms, we made a pact when we were seven. Oh, what a big deal it is!” She said with mock worry.

“I still refuse to go! You can, hec me or whatever you said, if you want, but that won’t make me want to go with you! If your hec makes something bad happen, Shay, then I most certainly will not go!” I stated stubbornly.

“First of all, its hex, not hec, and second of all, I can make your two front teeth grow at a most certainly alarming rate...” She trailed off, already knowing she had won. If there was one thing she could target and know it would affect me, it was my teeth.

“Fine! Fine, I’ll go to the stupid club with you!”

~~~

Hey guys! After some problems in posting, I've finally got this posted up! So, today I’ve decided to make my A/Ns simpler. So here we go!

-       Thanks to FlorenceLovegood for yet another STUNNING banner! =D

-       The song on the side could be considered relevant, as it is about accepting who you are.

-       Please vote & comment to show your appreciation of this story! It means so so much!

~Bee