It was a weekend. A sunny, bright weekend in June of 1990. There were two children, a ten-year-old and an eleven-year-old talking excitedly on the grounds of an elementary school.
The ten year old was a girl. One with brown curly hair that never fell smoothly, and hung in messy strands. Her eyes were a warm, chocolate brown and she had a small, upturned nose. She wore a purple sundress, decorated with white tropical flowers.
The eleven year old was a boy and he had white-blond hair with piercing gray eyes. He was a rather handsome boy and already, in school, girls were falling head over heels. His clothing was classy; not at all what a normal young boy should wear, but completely fitting with his family.
"'Mione," The boy said, kicking a stone along the grass. "We should make a promise to stay friends forever."
The girl nodded excitedly. "Yes, that's a grand idea, Drakey!" She tugged on his hand and pointed at the large oak tree standing in the middle of the field. "We should bury a time capsule around there! Then we come dig it up seven years later and we'll remember how good of friends we are now!"
Drakey smiled. "Alright. How 'bout we each put in a letter to the other and we'll read them when we come back after seven years. I'll bring a box, and tomorrow, at 5, we should bury the box there, three steps east from the big tree. See you tomorrow, Hermione!"
Hermione gave a solemn nod and turned to speed away to her house, located just behind the school. She waved at her parents who were waiting for her.
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"Alright, here, start digging, Draco."
Draco pulled his shovel out of the dirt and began digging, shoving his shovel as far as it would go before lifting it up and depositing it on the side. "Help me," He said, staggering under the weight of the soil.
Hermione rolled her eyes, but picked up her shovel. "Fine, I'll dig at this side, you do the other."
The two dug the hole deep enough to fit the metal box Draco had brought. They both placed their enveloped letters into the box and stared for a while, unable to believe that in seven years, they would be in the same position. Hermione's envelope was a pale purple with light blue flowers dotting the front and back. She had glued a pink ribbon onto the corner. Draco's envelope was a plain creamy white, but the texture was smooth and he had his initials, D.M., carved delicately in gold font on the corner.
"Well, let's put it in." Hermione broke their awed silence and she tugged the box until it dropped into the hole. Then the two filled the dirt back in and wiped off their hands.
"See you later, I got to go," Draco said, picking up his shovel. "Bye, Hermione!"
"Bye!"
The girl ran back home and darted down the hallway to her bedroom. The door was wide open and the contents either spread all over, or stacked too neatly. Her mother was squatting in the middle, in front of a suitcase and a cardboard box, packing things in.
"What's going on, Mom?" The girl's voice was soft.
"Oh!" The mother jumped and gave her daughter a meek smile. "Didn't hear you come in, 'Mione. I'm packing. We're moving tomorrow. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. You just were too happy for me to ruin it."
"Where? Why?" Draco had an empty house next to his. Maybe they were moving there like the kids had always talked about.
"Somewhere far. Daddy's got a new job, and we decided moving the whole family was better than him going off on his own." Her mother turned back to pack.
"I gotta tell Draco!" The girl ran back down the hall, slipping on her sneakers and almost out the door when her mother shouted.
"Hermione!"
She turned to look at her mother, who was standing just outside her bedroom. Her sneakered feet were itching to run, but the look on her mother's face made Hermione understand that she would be in big trouble. And Hermione Granger never got in trouble. So she stayed, and popped her sneakers off using her heels.
"Can I go tomorrow?" The girl asked, her face sullen. Sometimes she hated listening to her parents.
Her mother gave a weak smile. She knew she didn't want her daughter going out so late. She also knew that there was no way there would be time tomorrow to say goodbye, but it was what her beloved daughter wanted to hear that was more important. "Of course, 'Mione. Of course we'll go say goodbye."
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"You promised!" Hermione shrieked, grasping at the car door to avoid getting sucked in by her mother. "You said we could go see Draco!"
"We don't have time!" Her mother grasped at her jacket and latched on to keep her daughter still.
"You promised! He doesn't know I'm leaving! DRACO!" She screamed. Her mother finally pulled her into the car and buckled her in.
"We'll call them! We'll call them when we get there, and then he'll know. Alright?" Her mother smoothed back her bushy hair. "Honey?"
"Fine. But we better get to call him." Hermione folded her arms with a huff and jerked her head away from her mom. She stared out the window for the car ride to the airport.
But they didn't call. Ever. And slowly, Hermione forgot about it. She never forgot about the time capsule though, and that was what was keeping her friends with Draco. Someday, in seven years to be exact, she would come back and find him, and everything would be okay. So for now, she'll just be the quiet little girl her mother expected.
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"'Mione?" Ron waved a hand in front of her face.
"What is it Ronald?" She asked, annoyed that she was interrupted when she was trying to read her book. It was extremely touching, and having someone constantly talk to you kind of ruined that mood.
"Why and when are you leaving for London?" He asked.
"Because, Ron, we are going to have to start applying to colleges this next school year and I want to get some experience in before then. So I am going to London for an architectural program that will definitely give me an advantage in applying for schools." She answered, looking back down at her book. "Two days."
His face fell. "Two days? So we won't be seeing you at all this summer?"
"I'm afraid not, Ron," Actually, she wasn't really that sad about it. She would enjoy spending the summer surrounded by intelligent others, rather than her friends. Not to say her friends were dull, it was just that they lacked in her passion for knowledge. Glancing at her watch, she sighed. "I've got to go, see you later. Have to pack for my trip."
"Alright 'Mione. Call me before and after you leave!" He called.
"Okay. Take care," She swung her book bag over her shoulder and strode across the green park to her house, on the edge. They had moved into this particular house because it was just on the edge of a park, where the neighborhood children played, and it reminded them all of the home they had before, on the edge of the school playground.
She dropped her bag on the carpet and hurried upstairs to begin her packing. She would be leaving in one and a half days, and she hadn't packed a single thing. Packing for three months of being away from home should really take more thought, but Hermione thought she would be able to remember everything. After all, she wasn't called the smartest girl in her class just for schoolwork.
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"Alright, mum." Hermione smiled at her phone. "I've got it! I'm a big girl now; I can surely find my way onto a large metal plane that is only at most two hundred feet away." She paused. "Yes, I've got all my bags." Another moment of chattering. "I'm fine. If I get hungry, I'll buy something. I know, I know. Okay. I love you mum!"
She shoved her phone into her pocket and shifted in her seat. She had been waiting for an hour now, since her parents had insisted on being early so there was no way she would miss the flight. Even though getting through security and the passport stage had taken up much of the time, she still found herself bored. So she had called her parents, and they had ended up lecturing her about everything again. Now that she was still waiting, she sighed and decided to call Harry, who would surely be with Ron right now to wait for her call. The phone rang several times before it was picked up.
"Hello?" Harry's voice was breathy, like he had been running.
"Hi, Harry. It's Hermione." She said.
She heard some shuffling noises before a thump. "Sorry." Came Harry's voice. "Ron wanted you on speaker."
"Hi, Hermione!" That was Ron. "Where are you now?"
"At the airport. I got here early, so I decided to give you guys a call. How are you doing without me, for…" She looked at her watch. "About 13 hours?"
Harry chuckled. "I've been fine, but Ron her-"
"Harry!" Ron snapped. She could imagine his face flushing.
Harry laughed. "Alright! Just tell her what you wanted to say."
"Right." Ron cleared his throat. "My sister, Ginny, you know her right?"
"Yeah." Hermione said, watching the plane land on the runway.
"Well, Ginny is in London too, apparently. And mum wanted you to keep an eye on her, and her you. She has your cell number, and she's supposed to call you tomorrow so you two can meet up. You okay with that?"
"Yeah, that's great! I've always wanted to meet your little sister. She was in London because she went to boarding school right?" Hermione sat up straighter. Ron's sister was always the angel of the Weasely household, and now she would finally get to meet her.
"Yep. Anyway, I gotta go. So stay safe!" Ron rushed, and she heard some muffled whispering before Harry's voice came back.
"Ron had to go. Well, I'll just say stay safe and be careful. Call us soon, 'Mione!"
"Bye," They disconnected just as the flight attendants called up sections to board the plane.
Hermione boarded and buckled herself in, waiting patiently for the plane to take off. As soon as the plane was in the air, she pulled out her iPod and listened to music the whole flight. Slowly, she fell asleep.
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She had officially been in London for 12 hours, checking into the apartment she would be renting, eating lunch, and unpacking nearly everything. Now she was heading for the college, London Institute of Architecture and Interior Design, to make sure the group leader knew she was in town now.
It was a slightly cold day, with a chilly breeze and the sun hiding behind thick clouds. She was hurrying on the sidewalk, trying to push her way through the crowd. One man pushed into her shoulder and she whipped her head around to glare at him, but she rammed straight into another man.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" She gasped, and bowed repeatedly. "I don't know what I was doing, I'm so sorry-"
"Do you not have eyes?" The man spat. Actually, man was an overstatement. The stranger was more her age, much taller, with slight muscles in his arms. He had white-blonde hair that fell roguishly and striking blue gray eyes that looked straight through her soul. Snapping her eyes away from his, she put her hands on her hips.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Do. You. Not. Have. Eyes?" The boy said, brushing off his jeans with a glare. "You'd think a girl could walk like a woman."
"What is your problem? I apologized and I don't know what else you expect me to say. I've said all I need to." She added on angrily. "I walk perfectly fine, thank you very much! If you were watching, this wouldn't have happened!"
"You were the one that crashed into me, not the other way around, girl!" He snapped.
"I said I'm sorry." She huffed. "I'd like to be on my way by the way, so goodbye." She stepped in a round circle around him.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"If this is your strange way of picking up girls, I suggest you find a different hobby." She answered before spinning on her heel and strutting away in annoyance. What was that guy's problem?
Speaking of guys, Draco would probably be his age now. There was only one more day before she is supposed to meet him to dig up the box, and she was nervous. What if she didn't like him anymore? What if he didn't like her?
She shook away the thoughts and entered the college, greeting the girl that was waiting for summer group students. She signed in, and said goodbye to return to her apartment for dinner.
What a day! She flopped on her bed. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better.