Chapter 3: The Photographic Mind and the Levitation Mishap part-2
At that precise moment, a particularly large and gnarly gnome burst from a hole in the ground directly behind her. This gnome was not fleeing; it was attacking. It latched its gritty little hands onto the hem of Hermione's skirt.
"Get off!" Hermione yelped, spinning around.
The gnome growled and bit into the fabric, holding on for dear life. Hermione kicked her leg out, trying to shake the creature off, but it was stubborn. The weight of the gnome was pulling the skirt down slightly, but the sturdy waistband held firm.
(Not enough,) I critiqued silently. (We need an opposing force.)
"Hold on, Hermione! I will get it!" Harry shouted.
Harry, ever the hero, raised his wand. He was aiming for the gnome attached to the hem of her skirt.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry shouted, swishing and flicking his wand.
Harry's aim was true. The spell hit the gnome perfectly. However, Harry had underestimated the grip strength of the gnome. As the gnome was suddenly subjected to zero gravity and an upward force, it did not let go of the fabric.
Instead, the gnome shot straight up into the air, taking the light, flowery skirt up with it.
It was a textbook "Marilyn Monroe" moment, but violent and magical. The skirt was yanked vertically, completely inverting over Hermione's head like an umbrella caught in a storm.
"Harry!" Hermione screamed, her voice muffled by her own clothing.
She was left standing there, her arms flailing blindly, completely exposed from the waist down. The sunlight caught every detail. The same white panties with the bear print were visible again, but this time, the angle was panoramic. I could see the smooth curve of her hips and the slightly flushed skin of her thighs.
(...cough...)
Harry froze, his wand still raised. He stared. He absolutely stared. It was not that he wanted to be a pervert, but the human brain takes a moment to process sudden visual data.
"Oh, blimey," Harry whispered, his face turning the color of a tomato.
"Put it down! Put it down!" Hermione shrieked, spinning in a circle, which only served to give us a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the situation.
"Finite!" Harry yelled, panicking.
The spell broke. Gravity reasserted itself. The gnome fell and the skirt wooshed back down, covering Hermione. Unfortunately, the gnome was still holding on, so when it hit the ground, it dragged the skirt down with it, causing Hermione to lose her balance.
She stumbled backward, tripping over a pumpkin.
"Whoa!" Harry lunged forward to catch her.
History, as they say, repeats itself. But this time, Harry did not just catch her. His momentum carried him forward and he tripped over the same pumpkin. He tackled Hermione around the waist and they both went down into the tall grass.
Harry landed face-first. Specifically, his face landed directly into the soft valley between Hermione's neck and shoulder, while his hand, instinctively reaching out to brace himself, clamped firmly onto her left breast.
(...cough...)
A silence descended upon the garden, broken only by the angry chittering of the stunned gnome.
"System Alert," the voice chimed joyfully in my head. "Incident recorded. Type: Full skirt inversion followed by accidental groping (Manual). Target involved: Harry Potter. Rating: S-class. Reward: Skill 'Magical Theory Comprehension (Master Level)' and twenty attribute points."
I stood there, leaning against an apple tree, watching the grass rustle as the two heroes of the wizarding world scrambled away from each other.
"I am so sorry! I tripped! The pumpkin!" Harry was shouting, scrambling backward on his hands and knees.
"Don't touch me! Just... just stay there!" Hermione cried out, her voice trembling with a mix of rage and extreme embarrassment. She was clutching her chest, her face so red she looked like she might combust.
I decided it was time to intervene before Harry got hexed into oblivion. I walked over, keeping my expression neutral, though I was internally dancing a jig.
"Are you two alright?" I asked, peering over the grass. "That gnome looked vicious. Did it bite anyone?"
Harry looked up at me, sweat pouring down his face. "No. No bites. Just... gravity."
Hermione stood up, aggressively brushing grass off her skirt. She refused to look at either of us. "I am going inside," she stated, her voice icy. "I need to... I need to wash up."
She turned and marched toward the house, her walk stiff and unnatural.
"She is going to kill me," Harry moaned, putting his head in his hands. "I just groped Hermione Granger. I am a dead man."
I patted Harry on the shoulder. "Don't worry, mate. It was an accident. Besides," I added, lowering my voice conspiratorially, "it is not like you did not enjoy the view earlier."
Harry's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "I didn't! I mean... I... it was... the spell..."
"Relax," I laughed. "Your secret is safe with me. But maybe we should finish the de-gnoming before Mum comes out and asks why Hermione is hiding in the bathroom."
Harry nodded vigorously, scrambling to his feet. "Right. Yes. Work. Let us work."
I watched him rush off to the other side of the garden, putting as much distance between himself and the house as possible.
"Status," I thought.
The text scrolled in my vision.
Current Status:Name: Ron WeasleyIntelligence: High (Enhanced)System Points: 30Skills: Photographic Memory, Magical Theory Comprehension (Master Level)Next Goal: Trigger an incident involving a magical creature or potion.
(Master Level Magical Theory,) I thought, feeling a surge of knowledge settling into my brain like sediment in a lake. I suddenly understood the arithmancy behind the spell Harry had just cast. I understood why the vector of the spell had interacted with the gnome's mass to create that specific lift.
I looked at my wand. In the original story, Ron was average. But with this system and with a wife as accident-prone as Hermione was becoming, I was going to be the most powerful wizard of the age.