Misery Loves Its Company – A Harry Potter fanfic
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of it's contents are the sole property of J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Okay, so this is my first shot at writing what will hopefully turn out to be a decent fanfic. A friend and I are each going to write a chapter of it. We don't know the plot yet; all we know is the pairing is Draco & Hermione. Anyways, now I'm rambling.. Enjoy !
Oh by the way, this is disregarding Dumbledore's death and the fleeing of Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. So I guess it's AU because they're all still back at school. it's not in correspondence to the sixth book. Ok, let's get on with this now!
Chapter 1: The Letter
"Oi! Watch where you're going, you filthy little mudblood!"
Draco Malfoy's voice was definitely recognizable, even with the loud tooting of the Hogwarts Express. Trying to fit her trunk into the overhead compartment, Hermione Granger had stumbled backwards and bumped into him.
Oddly out of character, Hermione only spared Draco a short glance before walking into the compartment to sit next to Luna Lovegood, a dreamy Ravenclaw. Surprised that Hermione hadn't even bothered to come up with a snappy retort, Draco Malfoy opened the compartment door and said,
"What's wrong with you, Granger? Finally learned your place when in the presence of those of us worthy of learning magic?"
Before she even had a chance to respond, Harry and Ron had already drawn their wands and had them pointed towards Draco. He scoffed,
"Do you really think I'm afraid of you two?" Looking at Hermione, he added, "Might want to keep an eye on Pothead and Weasel. Wouldn't want anything happening to them, now would we?" and with his trademark smirk on his face, he strode from the small area.
"'Mione, what is wrong with you …? You've seemed pretty out of it since we were leaving the burrow this morning." Asked Harry
Hearing no response, he snapped his fingers in front of Hermione's face, which had been staring out the window watching the trees rush by.
"Oh, sorry Harry. What did you say ?", asked Hermione
"Are you okay? What's gotten into you?"
"Oh … nothing. Just tired, I guess." responded Hermione, before resuming her gazing.
Flashback to earlier that morning -------------------------------------
Hermione walked into the room she was sharing with Ginny at the burrow with a skip in her step, eager to finally be leaving for the start of a new term. When she sat down on her bed, she heard a tapping on the window. Looking up, she saw a majestic eagle owl that she didn't recognize, hitting its' beak to the window impatiently.
She opened the window and the owl flew in and landed on her nightstand, holding out its leg where a letter was attached. She reached over to untie the letter. Instead of staying, the owl took off out through the window, showing that the mysterious owner wasn't expecting a reply.
Already packed, she figured she could spare a couple of minutes reading the unexpected letter. In elegant script, it read,
H. Granger,
You must be surprised to be reading this, and I don't blame you. All I can say is, you shall have to deal with your surprise, as I don't plan on telling you who I am. I've been keeping a close eye on you lately, and I don't think you're being as precautious as you should be. Obviously, it is up to you to listen to me. But I warn you that you should heed my advice. We live in dangerous times.
p.s. don't try to seek me out or figure out who I am, they would only turn into dead-ends.
The note was unsigned and left Hermione with a feeling of uneasiness settling into her stomach. Before she had a chance to gather her thoughts, she heard Mrs. Weasley's voice ringing out through the house,
"Ron! Ginny! Harry! Hermione! Come down! We're leaving for the train!"
Hermione tucked the note into her robes, and said, "wingardium leviosa", levitating her trunk in front of her as she made her way down the uneven steps of the Weasley home.
End flashback. Back to the present -------------------------------------
Thoughts of the mysterious letter were running through Hermione's mind:
What had the author been referring to when he said that I wasn't being cautious, as I should be? Surely he couldn't be referring to my trip down Knockturn Alley… I made sure no one followed me. Not even Ron and Harry know I had gone there. That has got to stay a secret. If anyone ever found out what I was doing there, Merlin knows what would happen…
Her thoughts continued as Harry kept shooting her worried glances. Ron, being Ron, was too busy eating a chocolate frog to notice the tension in the compartment. However, he wasn't alone, as Luna was also engrossed in a copy of her father's magazine, The Quibbler.
Hermione had a feeling this year wouldn't be smooth sailing. Then again, none of her previous years had been… The only thing looking up was that she was named Head Girl, so she got her own dorm. She vaguely wondered who the Head Boy would be this year…
And so began her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry…