A/N: This is in response to the Fairytales Classroom Assignment #5 in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Forum. This is Task #2: Write about a very strong bond between siblings. IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an AU situation where Hermione has a sibling.
Disclaimer: None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me.
Title: A Time to Love
Author: hpjkrowling4ever
A Time to Love
It was the icy breeze that woke Hermione. She had not realised that she had left her window open overnight, and deeply regretted it now. Shivering, she wrapped her soft dressing gown around her and padded over to the window and drew the thick curtains open. One of the panes had ice twining up the glass in a beautiful pattern that Hermione could not help but trace with a long finger. She glanced out the window and saw that her parents' car had gone, most likely to pick up Cecilia from her school. Hermione sighed and placed her forehead against the cold glass of the window. Her eyes pricked slightly and she shook her head as if to rid herself of her bad thoughts.
Turning around, she pulled out a pair of comfortable, loose fitting trousers and her favourite baggy pullover from her cupboard. She tried to make her hair behave, but soon gave it up as a lost cause. Then, Hermione knelt down beside her desk and pulled out a large wrapped package. She stood up, cradling it gently in her hands as if it was the most precious gift she had ever held and placed it on her bedside table after a long moment of looking at it. Hermione's head snapped towards the windows when she heard the squeal of tires outside the front door.
"Hermione!"
Hermione seemed to hesitate a moment before calling out "Coming!" and rushing out of the room. She raced to the staircase, and stared down it for a moment.
Her parents, carrying two heavy suitcases, stood in the foyer of the house, and beside them, looking ever so small, was Hermione's younger sister. Hermione's eyes pricked again, but this time she let the tears fall. Her parents glanced at each other and silently left the foyer, headed towards Cecilia's room. After an interminably long moment, Hermione ran down the stairs and up to her sister, stopping centimetres away.
"Hermione?" Cecilia asked hesitantly, her sightless eyes looking in completely the wrong direction. Hermione swallowed.
"I'm here, Cece."
Cecilia turned her head slowly towards her older sister's voice and she stepped forwards uncertainly. Hermione's hands rushed to steady Cecilia, and before the sisters knew it they were clinging to each other as if they were drowning. Cecilia started sobbing into Hermione's shoulder and Hermione's hands rubbed her sister's back comfortingly, letting meaningless, soothing phrases fall from her mouth.
"Oh Cece," Hermione murmured. "Come on, let's go upstairs."
"I can't, 'Mione, I can't," Cecilia sobbed, shaking her head. "I can't anymore."
The tears almost overwhelmed Hermione this time, and she put a hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs. Flashes of her sister's bright, confident smile and boundless energy raced through Hermione's mind. The accident had robbed it all from them.
"Yes you can, Cece. I'm here now." Hermione wrapped a steadying arm around her sister's small waist and took a step forwards. "Can you feel that?" she asked, and Cecilia nodded jerkily. "Okay, I want you to try and follow my rhythm. Can you do that?"
"It's difficult."
"Everything worth learning is difficult, Cece." Hermione took another step forwards and her sister followed. Step by step, inch by inch, they got up the stairs and into Hermione's bedroom. Hermione could feel her sister becoming more confident with every step, and a small, weak smile was forming on Cecilia's lips. Hermione led Cecilia to her bed and then helped her up onto it. Cecilia lay down and curled into Hermione, her hands grabbing onto the fabric of Hermione's pullover. Hermione ran her hands through Cecilia's hair.
"I have a present for you," Hermione said after a moment. Cecilia shook her head.
"I don't want it. I can't see it."
"Cece, you can't let yourself fall. Cece, listen to me." Hermione pulled her sister up into a sitting position. "I know that this is difficult –"
"You weren't here!" Cecilia cried out, banging her fist against a pillow. Hermione swallowed again and took Cecilia's hand and rubbed circles onto it.
Cecilia and Hermione, despite the four-year age gap, had always been uncommonly close. Hermione had loved having someone to look after and guide, and Cecilia had always looked up to Hermione and helped make her sister relax and let go. She had made Hermione laugh and smile through the bullying she had gone through, and had laughed and smiled at all of Hermione's stories from Hogwarts. Hermione had protected Cecilia from any bullies and had always loved reading stories to Cecilia at night, just before Cecilia went to bed. There had been a time where Cecilia had refused to go to sleep unless Hermione had read a story to her.
Then, at the start of Hermione's fifth year, just when Umbridge was starting to drive her insane, her parents had told her about her sister's accident.
Cecilia had always been bright, bubbly, energetic – full of life. She loved every sport she turned her hand to and was always good at them. Her favourite sport had been hockey, and it was at a hockey match that her accident had happened. Cecilia had been hit in the head and blinded, changing her life completely. And just when she needed Hermione the most, her older sister had been at Hogwarts and unable to help her. Cecilia had been sent to a specialised school and had missed her sister's reassuring, calming company ferociously.
"No, Cece, I wasn't." Hermione pulled Cecilia into a tight hug. "I wasn't there."
"I missed you. So much." Cecilia's head was tucked into Hermione's neck. "I can't – I can't see. I don't know what you look like anymore. I can't see you smile – or – or know when you're going to laugh – because your eyes – they – they just smile and then I know that I'm about to make you crack – but I can't – I can't!" Cecilia started hyperventilating.
"Hey, hey, Cece. Shh, shh I'm here now and I'm going to help you." Hermione ran her arms up and down's Cecilia's until Cecilia's breaths evened out. "Okay, okay." Hermione sat cross-legged on the bed. "Sit down. Just like m–" Hermione cut herself off and shook her head angrily at her slip up. "Cross-legged."
Cecilia arranged herself clumsily on Hermione's bed and it pained Hermione to see her usually graceful, elegant sister reduced to this shadow of herself.
"Now, where are you?"
"In your room." Cecilia looked confused. "On your bed."
"Can you visualise my room?"
"Yes, it's big. Your desk is on my right, against the wall. There are all your bookshelves everywhere in the room." Exasperation at Hermione's bookish tendencies trickled into her sister's voice and a smile tugged at Hermione's lips at this positive sign. "And then there's the beanbags – they're still there, right?" Cecilia's eyes were shut tight and she was frowning in concentration.
"Yes, they're still there." Hermione shuffled closer to Cecilia. "Now put your hands to my face."
Cecilia's hands floundered in the air for a bit before Hermione guided them to her mouth, where a smile was flirting around her lips. Cecilia's face lit up and she traced Hermione's smile.
"You're smiling."
"That's right." Hermione smiled wider. "I'm smiling because I'm so proud of you, because you're still here and you're fighting. You've always been a fighter, Cece. It's one of your best qualities."
Cecilia launched herself into Hermione's arms, a laugh bubbling up in her chest. Hermione fell back against her pillows, giggling madly. Cecilia's hand ran down Hermione's chest and started tickling her. Hermione shrieked, and writhed around on the bed, but her hands never left Cecilia's sides. She caught sight of a delighted grin on Cecilia's face and tears pricked at her eyes for a completely different reason.
"Stop! Stop it, Cece!"
"Do you forfeit?" Cecilia asked, pausing briefly. Hermione breathed heavily.
"Yes – yes. What's my forfeit?" she asked. Cecilia slid off Hermione and turned up her palms.
"My present?"
Hermione leant over the side of the bed and handed the present to Cecilia, who ran her hands across it. Her fingers found the bow and she undid it carefully.
"It's your favourite wrapping paper," Hermione said softly, watching Cecilia's face carefully. "The one with the bears."
Cecilia gave Hermione a watery smile and pulled off the wrapping paper to reveal a box. Cecilia ran her hands along the box, tracing all the carvings.
"'Mione?" she asked uncertainly, pulling at the hem of her shirt nervously. Hermione put her hand on top of her sister's.
"Feel the carvings, Cece. What are they?" Hermione guided Cecilia's hands along the box.
"Flowers."
"Yes. What do flowers mean to us?" Hermione asked, moving to sit behind Cecilia. She pulled Cecilia onto her lap and tucked her sister's head under her chin. Cecilia snuggled up into Hermione and pulled the box closer.
"Growing." Hermione was referring to the time when she had been six and Cecilia had been extremely upset when all the snowdrops and daffodils disappeared. Hermione had patiently explained that they would grow again, bigger and stronger in time for next year.
"That's right." Hermione kissed the top of Cecilia's head. "You'll grow bigger and stronger again, better than ever before, Cece."
Cecilia found the latch and opened the box up. She put her hand inside and felt the top of the round CDs that were lying in snug compartments.
"CDs?" she asked.
"I've recorded myself reading out all your favourite books. They're all arranged alphabetically and I asked Mum and Dad to find someone to carve the Braille names in front of them." Hermione put Cecilia's index finger on the Braille writing inside the box. "There are spaces at the end of the box for more books – I mean, that's if you like it, I don't know…" Hermione trailed off when she heard her sister's breath catch. "Cece? Don't you like it?"
Cecilia put the box down and turned around to bury her head in Hermione's chest again. Hermione's arms automatically wrapped themselves around Cecilia's waist.
"Cece?"
"I love it, 'Mione," Cecilia sniffled into Hermione's pullover. "I love you."
"And I love you too, so much." Hermione pulled Cecilia over so that they were lying down on Hermione's bed. Hermione felt so much love and protectiveness for Cecilia that she almost didn't know what to do with it.
Hermione and Cecilia stayed wrapped in each other for a very long time, until Cecilia fell asleep in Hermione's bed, surrounded by her sister's bookshelves and knickknacks and that special feeling of safety that she had only ever felt around Hermione. Hermione slid off the bed and tucked the heavy duvet around Cecilia before tiptoeing out of the room.
Their parents were standing on the landing outside Hermione's room with hopeful looks on their faces. And Hermione let herself fall into their arms.
"She'll be okay. She'll be okay."
No icy breeze could touch her now.
A/N: The prompts I used were shirt and love. I apologise if I have in any way offended anyone. Please leave me a message or PM me if so.