Hermione yawned loudly as she woke up in her bedroom. She took a look around her room glancing at the pictures that were of her and her friends at Hogwarts. Hogwarts; she was scared of going back. Voldermort was at large now more than ever and because of him, she had to move into her holiday house in Italy because he had murdered her parents. Of the places her parents wanted to have a holiday house, it had to be Italy! She sat up and made a move to get out bed but stopped and fell back down onto the soft sheets that lay underneath her. She looked at her ceiling and smiled. There was a picture of her, Harry and Ron by Hogwarts Lake with the magnificent castle in the background. That sight of the picture always made her smile it was so beautiful. She sighed and continued her earlier actions of attempting to get out of bed. After succeeding this difficult feat, Hermione made her way towards the bathroom and started her daily routine; have a shower, dry off, brush teeth, wash face and clear up. She made her way back into her room and shuffled through her drawers, trying to find something suitable to wear in the hot summer heat that had taken over the country during the summer holidays. She soon settled with a simple white halter top and a green mini skirt with matching flip flops. Over the summer her hair had become more manageable and Hermione liked her hair now than in previous years where it had resembled somewhat of a birds nest. She laced her hair with flowers that magically tangled themselves in the curls and stayed there without falling out. Hermione made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, switching on the radio as she went.
She missed her parents in the mornings more than any other time. She missed how her mum would give her a kiss in the morning and give her breakfast whilst her dad would be sitting at the table reading the newspaper and Hermione would sneak a glance at whatever he was reading and read with him. Now it was just Hermione by herself making her own breakfast and reading the newspaper by herself. It was heart wrenching for her but she had come to the conclusion that it was probably better this way and that she shouldn't dwell on the past. She sat down at the table and began to read the Daily Prophet whilst listening to the WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network) to see if Voldermort had added to the damage that he had already done.
Hmm…no recent killings. That's odd. Why has he suddenly isolated himself? More than usual. It doesn't make sense. Hermione thought a confused expression placed upon her features. She quickly finished her coffee, washed up and got ready to go out for the day into Venice. Today she wanted to explore the Doge's Palace. She found it very interesting. She also had to go shopping today again. She hated shopping. With that being her last thought, she stepped out of the house, locked it up, and made sure all the necessary security charms were in place before jumping into her car and making her way to the train station. A long day was ahead of her.
Hermione entered her house and gasped loudly as she put down her shopping bags.
"Never again." She muttered as she flexed her sore arms. She vowed from that moment never to buy shopping first and then go trudging around a Palace for three hours non-stop. It hurt. She made her way into the kitchen with her bags and set them on the table before making herself a glass of water. She slowly sipped her water before sensing something was wrong in the house. She carefully put down her glass and made her way into the living room. She noticed a figure lurking in the corner with their back to her with the hood of their robes up over their head. It was hard to tell whether this person was a Death Eater or not.
Best stun him anyway. Just to be on the safe side. She thought making a grab for her wand. Just as the thought passed through her head, the figure turned around and shot a stunner at her. Fortunately Hermione had been prepared for this sudden attack and quickly ducked and rolled whilst sending her own stunner flying at him. Not ready for the unwanted response, the person got hit with the spell and fell to the floor in pain before fainting. Hermione got up and carefully made her way towards the figure keeping her wand trained on the person. She nudged them with her foot and realising that they were indeed unconscious, Hermione lifted up their left sleeve revealing a mark but not the Dark Mark. It was a small golden phoenix with a flame surrounding it. She realised that this was an Order member.
"Shit." She quickly pulled off their hood to see who it was. She gasped and fell backwards in shock as she saw the face of George Weasley staring back at her. She quickly composed herself and levitated him into the spare bedroom and put him down on the bed so he could rest. If he had any sense left in him when he woke up, he would come downstairs and come and tell her what he was doing in her house. Sighing, she made her way downstairs muttering about how she needed more coffee in the mornings.
George woke with a start, groaning slightly as he turned over in his bed.
Wait…bed? He thought. He opened his eyes and frantically looked around expecting to be in a dungeon with cuts and bruises all over his body but instead he found himself staring at a beautifully decorated room and he was lying in a queen size bed with a canopy hanging over him. The room was a deep red with gold borders and the curtains were pure white. The sheets of the bedding were pure white also but with one difference; it bore the Gryffindor crest on it. He was confused now; supposedly a Death Eater lived here but he couldn't see how a Death Eater would decorate one of their rooms all in Gryffindor colours. It was absurd. He slowly got out of bed and made his way to the door. He opened the door and was greeted with a long hallway in front of his eyes, decorated in a pale green with pieces of art placed upon the walls. No this was a mistake; no way would a Death Eater live here. He recognised some of the pieces of art and new instantly that they were painted by muggle painters. He slammed the door behind him and walked towards the stairway and made his way downstairs.
Down in the kitchen, Hermione heard the door to the spare bedroom slam and knew that George was awake. She made two cups of coffee and a small fruit salad in two bowls and set them on a tray before taking the tray into the living room and setting it down on the coffee table. She sat down and waited patiently for George to enter. Soon enough, George entered the living room and gasped at the sight before him. He hadn't taken a proper look at the detail of the room; the room was a light shade of yellow and had photos upon the walls. The room bore a fireplace in the corner which was made of pure white marble and upon it were more photos and ornaments which had great amounts of detail on them. He turned around to find a young woman sitting on the sofa reading a magazine in on hand whilst drinking her coffee in the other. He raised his wand warily in case she attacked again.
"George, do you really think I'm going to stun you again? I only stunned you the first time because I thought you were a Death Eater. I know now that you are not and that you are an Order member. So please sit. We have much to discuss." She said patting the seat next to her. His eyes had widened considerably by this point and he carefully made his way over to her and sat down waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. He looked at her more carefully and thought he recognised her but he couldn't be sure.
"Do you want something to eat? Or something to drink?" she asked snapping him out of his trance. He only then realised how hungry he was. He nodded a yes and she pointed to the ready made coffee and fruit salad placed on the coffee table beside them. He raised an eyebrow and took them. He looked at her suspiciously. She rolled her eyes at the look he gave her.
"George it's not poisoned! Honestly, I swear you're more suspicious than Mad-Eye! Go on eat!" she said. He carried on eyeing her suspiciously and tried a bit of the fruit salad. His eyes lit up at the taste and he ate a bit more and soon enough it was gone with the coffee.
"Thank you that was delicious." He said gratefully. Hermione just nodded her head and took the dirty dishes into the kitchen to clean up. George followed her knowing they had to talk.
"So why are you here George?" she asked not looking at him but looking out of the window instead. George shrugged before replying.
"This house is supposedly home to a Death Eater but I'm not so sure they got the right details. You don't seem sort of Death Eater like." He said smiling slightly. Hermione laughed at the last comment.
"No I'm not a Death Eater. I can act a bit like one at times but I can assure you I'm not one. I've still got another year to go at Hogwarts!" she said still smiling at George. His eyes widened at this new piece of information.
"You're still at Hogwarts. Bloody hell, whoever found this information about this house belonging to a Death Eater is seriously mucked up in the head. Or they got the wrong file. Either way it's pretty bad." He said whilst Hermione was laughing her head off. She didn't know why but she found him hilarious to talk to. George then suddenly fixed his eyes on her and she noticed this which made her feel uncomfortable.
"Is something wrong?" she asked nervously. His gaze was making her feel like a zoo animal.
"Do I know you by any chance? You look extremely familiar but I can't quite seem to recognise you." He asked wanting to know the answer. Who was she? Hermione blinked a couple of times before she replied to the question.
"George it's me, Hermione Granger. Harry and Ron's best friend." She said not quite believing that he didn't recognize her. George blinked a couple of times and realised that she was telling the truth.
"Blimey Hermione. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you it's just…you've changed so much. You look beautiful." He said smiling at her. She blushed a deep red at the given compliment and smiled back at him shyly. Then George looked around and frowned.
"Hermione, where are your parents? I would have thought that you would be living in England. Not all the way out here." he asked but immediately regretted it.
Hermione's eyes had grown considerably darker at the mention of her parents. She pointed to the living room and he went in there. She quickly followed and took out her wand. He backed off slightly thinking she was going to stun him but instead found her muttering a considerable amount of charms around the room. Once she was finished she pocketed her wand and faced George with a sorrowful expression placed upon her features.
"George, my parents are dead. The day I got back from school for the summer holidays this year we were attacked. In the evening I was getting ready for bed and my parents were too. By the time we had gone to bed I realised something was wrong but I couldn't think what so I went to sleep. Then a few hours later I heard noises coming from downstairs. I grabbed my wand and slowly made my way downstairs. George it was horrible what I saw…'
Hermione gasped at the sight that she saw before her eyes. At least twenty Death Eaters were in the living room and on the floor was her father in a pool of blood. One of the Death Eaters had heard her gasp and she was dragged into the middle of the circle of Death Eaters. She bit back a scream as she was thrown into her father's blood. She turned around to see Voldermort making his way towards her. He stopped by her cowering body and smirked at her.
"Scared mudblood? You should be. I am, of course, the most feared wizard amongst the wizarding world and the best." He said in a gloating manner.
"You're not the best you pathetic excuse of a human being! Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard to ever live along with Harry Potter. Your powers would never beat them!" she screamed at him. The Death Eaters surrounding the two held their breath; this girl was a nutcase to think she could get away with words like that. Voldermort merely smiled at the girl.
"Yes, I suppose you're right. My powers would never overcome Dumbledore's or Potter's…which brings me to why I'm here. I need your skills and powers Miss. Granger to make me the most powerful wizard in the world. In return I promise you freedom and I won't harm your mother." Hermione's eyes widened when he mentioned her mother. She turned around to find her mother there by the Death Eaters with a knife at her throat. Hermione was stuck in a trap that no one was going to help her get out of. Hermione looked as though she had made her decision when her mother shouted to her.
"Hermione! Don't you even think about it! You're stronger than that and I believe in you. Don't turn away from your friends Hermione! They need you now more than ever." Hermione looked at her mother and tears started to pour from her eyes.
"But mum…I don't want you to die." She gasped out.
"I'll be with your father and then we'll both be away from danger. I don't want you to die though Hermione. You're strong and you can get through this. Trust me Hermione and make the right decision!"
"Hermione, I can give you power. You can rule as my queen. You can help me conquer the world and you can see your mother live."
"No! I won't do it! I'm not going to be your power source. Find somebody else to do the job." She cried at him. He glared at her with his sharp red eyes.
"So be it." He waved his hand towards the Death Eaters.
"No! Mum I'm so sorry!" Hermione sobbed into her sleeve.
"Hermione don't be. Know that your father and I will always be with you. Just look in your heart Hermione and you'll find us there. I love you sweetheart."
"I love you too Mum." Hermione whispered still sobbing quietly.
Voldermort waved his hand to the followers who held her mother and they slit her throat, condemning her to death. Hermione's head shot in the other direction when they did this and she bit back another sob threatening to spill from her throat. Voldermort looked at her and laughed.
"The joy I get from torturing mudbloods is unimaginable. And to see Potter's best friend fall in front of me is the highlight of them all." He laughed loudly along with his Death Eaters. Hermione couldn't take it anymore; she shot up, which caught the Death Eater holding her off guard, and pulled out a knife from her back pocket that was hidden and sliced it across the Death Eaters neck. He fell to the ground with blood pouring out of his neck. The other followers looked at her in shock; they weren't expecting her to know how to use such weapons. Voldermort let out a raging scream.
"KILL HER!"
Hermione quickly put herself into fighting mode. She kicked one of the Death Eaters in the groin, jumped over him and grabbed the swords that were hanging on the opposite wall. She swivelled round and twirled the swords in her hands, glaring at everyone in the room. No one dared to move; she looked dangerous, more than Voldermort. Then…
"Boo." Hermione whispered. Panic arose amongst the followers and immediately the stunners and Unforgivables were flying all over the room. Hermione sent them flying back to the senders as she reflected them off her swords. She slashed and fought the Death Eaters until it was just her and Voldermort left over. She didn't recognize any of the followers that she had killed knowing that they must be attending some other raids or something. She looked up after killing the last Death Eater and glared at Voldermort. He returned the look and sent a stunner towards her, hoping that it would distract her for a moment. She simply blocked it and started moving towards him. Panic set in and he fled from her home. She looked everywhere for him and couldn't find him but knew that it wouldn't be safe here anymore. She went upstairs and packed her bags and with one last look at her parents dead bodies she walked out the front door with a single tear sliding sown her cheek as she walked down the pathway to start her life over once more.
By the end of her story, Hermione had several tear tracks down her face and she was breathing heavily, trying desperately to forget the images that had haunted her since that day. George could find no words to say how sorry he was for her and how proud he was of her. He simply moved over to her and embraced tightly. He felt her fall into his embrace in an instant as she poured her heart out onto his shirt. Soon enough she was asleep on his chest with a peaceful look set on her features. He didn't have the heart to wake her; she looked so tired earlier on so he decided that he would stay there and let her rest. After a while he too fell asleep with his head on hers and her head on his chest, both embracing each other as though for dear life.
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