Chapter One: A Visit of Sorts
Hermione felt the slow static of irritation move swiftly up her spine as a young girl, fifteen in the least, moved from the opposite check stand and cut into her line.
"Excuse me," Hermione said, tapping the girl on the shoulder. The girl turned, a snarl already on her face. "I'm in a hurry and I was in line first."
The girl shook her head in disbelief and moved forward, placing her things on the conveyor belt.
"I really just want to get out of here. I've been waiting in line for twenty minutes already," Hermione snapped, tapping the girl on the shoulder again. This time, the teenager swirled around, slapping Hermione's hand away. "Hey! You need to calm down."
The girl reached up to her ears, removing her small pieces of plastic from her ears. Ear buds, Hermione thought, feeling a touch of anger. Fricken kids and their fricken ear buds. Even as the thought hit, Hermione felt old.
"You have a problem?" the girl asked and Hermione slowly shook her head. How nice it must be, she thought, to be able to drown out the world with a little music and a bad temper.
Looking at her watch, Hermione sighed. It was almost three O'clock and she was going to be late.
After fifteen more minutes of waiting, Hermione finally paid for her things and was on her way.
The walk to her apartment was a short one. It was only three blocks from the convenience store. Ten minutes of swift walking was enough to get her home, but three flights of stairs and fifty feet of hallway still stood between her and comfort.
336… Hermione paused in front of her door as she rummaged through her purse to find her keys and within seconds, she was inside, locking the dead bolt and the chain lock, as well as the cheap lock on the cheap door. The though that often struck Hermione was what the point of locking the locks was… all a person would have to do to get in was kick the door and it would fly of its hinges.
The place was crap, but it was a place, and she still planned on it being only temporary. Cheapside London was the last place that she had every thought she would end up, not the worst, but the last…
Setting her groceries on the counter, Hermione made a beeline for the restroom. The two hours in the convenient store had been hell. Their bathroom was out of order and she had just gotten off work, which left exactly no time to use the restroom.
Content now, Hermione threw her bag in the fridge and looked around for her cat. "Crookshanks…" she called out softly. "I know you're here and I know you've been drinking out of the toilet again. I know I don't have orange hair…"
There was a meow from the kitchen and Hermione watched as her companion leapt onto the counter and sat, staring at her with great intelligence. His look told Hermione that Crookshanks had no intentions of quitting his habits just because Hermione said so.
"You are a bad pet, Crookshanks," she said, shaking a finger at the cat rather fondly. "I should have gotten a dog," she added and Crookshanks let out a low, dangerous purr. "Or a rat, like Scabbers…" Crookshanks spat at her, jumping off of the counter. Hermione smiled as he walked into the corner where a cushion just for him was laid, spun in circles then plopped down onto the pillow.
"You had better not be sulking when I get home, or its more fancy feast," Hermione said as she grabbed her purse and walked out the door. She threw another glance at her watch and cursed under her breath. "Three fifteen… Harry will worry…" Who are you kidding? A voice in the back of her head whispered maliciously, but Hermione ignored it.
It was a half hour's ride to the derelict department store of Purge and Dowse Ltd. from Cheapside, but after everything else she had faced today, this would be the easiest.
Looking over her shoulder through the glass, Hermione made sure no one was watching before she slipped through the window just quickly enough so that people would question whether or not they truly saw her in the first place rather than wondering where she had gone.
Before she had time to adjust to the noise and all the people, Hermione was being buffeted around like a small child at a theme park filled with bigger kids. But it was always busy here… always.
Walking up to the front desk, a smiling blond woman smiled at her and said, "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, how can I help you?"
"I'm here to—" but she was cut off as the woman motioned her to be quiet.
"Yes, it looks like we do have a Frank Jessup here… he's on floor one being treated for a minor manticore sting. Yes, visiting hours are between, eight and eight…" Hermione held her mouth open to speak, but the woman held a finger to her lips. "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries!"
Hermione sighed, shaking her head as she walked away from the table. The woman would be absolutely no help at all and all Hermione wanted was to see Harry. She was late enough as it was and he would be upset. He hated when routine was broken.
Walking into the elevator, Hermione pressed the button for the fourth floor and waited for the doors to close.
"Wait! Hold the doors!" someone called and Hermione immediately pressed the hold button.
The man hurried onto the elevator, a large box held tightly in his grasp, and turned to her. "Thanks, this box is really awkward to— Granger?" the man suddenly asked, his voice full of disbelief.
Hermione turned to look at him and she truly regretted ever being born. "What are you doing here?" she asked, not even bothering to act pleased.
"I… well, I work here," he replied.
"Really…" Hermione murmured. "And how's that working out for you?"
"Great… Really great so far." He answered. "I've just started two weeks ago, but everyone's been kind."
"No doubt."
"Here to see Harry?" he asked and Hermione's eyed him indignantly, a frown forming on her face. "Nothing offensive meant… I… I just know that he's here… staying here for the time being and you were all inseparable at school…"
Hermione realized how tight her muscles were coiled and forced herself to relax. She felt her muscles loosen and with the loss of tension, she felt the anger leave her body. "Yeah, I'm here to see Harry," she replied and he nodded. "I come every Tuesday at three O'clock.
"A little late today," he said, looking at his wristwatch. "A quarter till four."
"I know… I got held back at work and… anyways, I know I'm late and…" There was a ding and the elevator doors opened. "Well, this is my floor," she said.
"Mine too," he admitted, stepping off the elevator with her. "I have a box to deliver at the front."
Hermione hoped with all her heart that the front was the opposite direction, but her luck had never been good and as it turned out, they were headed the same direction.
"It was weird seeing you, Herm—Granger," he said, clearing his throat. They had reached Harry's room.
"Yeah," she agreed, feeling the awkwardness of the situation most acutely. She could see in his eyes that he was looking for something, but Merlin be damned if she was going to give it to him.
"Well…" He jammed his hands into his pockets and Hermione could only hope to god that this moment would end very, very soon before she got angry.
Hermione shrugged suddenly and turned the handle. She got halfway through the door when she felt a tug on her arm.
"Look, Draco, I don't know what you want from me, but—" Hermione immediately saw that it wasn't him, but Harry with a wide smile on his face. "Harry!" she shouted, throwing her arms around him. She nodded to the nurse, who smiled and walked away. "You'll never believe who I just saw, Harry," she said and smile widened, but he didn't say a word.
"That was Draco Malfoy," she said. "We haven't seen him in two years, have we?" she asked and Harry shook his head. "Strange to think that he works at a hospital, isn't it?" she asked and Harry shrugged. "Oh well… do you have any new drawings for me to look at?"
He nodded vehemently and led her by the arm to his desk over in the corner. On top of the desk was a pile of drawing paper nearly a foot high. Hermione gathered them all up in her arms and walked to the bed, motioning Harry to sit beside her, which he did without hesitation.
Hermione looked at the first drawing and felt her smile fading. "Beautiful," she whispered, turning to the next picture, then the next, then the next. Once she had gone through all of the drawings she felt the urge to curl into a ball and cry, but it would upset Harry. It upset him when she cried.
Hermione turned away from him and wiped the tears from her eyes before they could be shed.
"I should go now," she said and he looked crushed and it broke her heart. "I love you Harry… I'll see you next Tuesday, all right?" he nodded slowly. Hermione was about to leave when he grabbed her by the arm to catch her attention. He thrust something into her hand then shoved her out the door before she could look at it.
Hermione folded it, not even looking at it, and put it in her purse. She would look at it later when she was alone. Not right now in this building full of people who didn't care about him… people who had forgotten the boy who lived and everything he had sacrificed to keep life this way.
Hermione felt tears fill her eyes again, but held them back. This was no place for the tears of a bitter young woman.
A/N: First of all I, I hope you liked it... This chapter is pretty much just to get a feel for the character Hermione has become and I guarantee, they will get longer and better. Girl scout's honor... If you liked it, please review, and even if you didn't I'd like to hear from you! Reviews are a great way for me to fix my style and improve, which is one of my main goals on this site. Thank you!
