The Mockingbird
There is a mockingbird outside her window, right up on a willow branch.
Hermione recognizes the bird at once-she has seen one before.
She remembered in her sixth year in Hogwarts. Each night, she would spend sometime in the library-this had became her hobbit, to visit the library everyday even if she had nothing to deal with all those old, mysterious and magical books lying on the wooden shelf. This could comfort her, especially in the days that everyone was terrified by the return of the Dark Lord.
And there was one mockingbird-one that look so alike with this bird with grey feathers right in front of her-would sang to her every single night.
It was the same song though, every night, repeating the same melody. This song burned into her mind, not only because she heard it for the whole year-but because she could hear the deep feelings inside it.
For the first few months, she could tell from the melody, that whoever sang this song to the bird was facing great danger. Hermione believes that it was someone that sent the bird to her, to tell her a message, to ask for help. This could never be a melody picked up by the mockingbird from other birds-birds wouldn't have feelings like this. In the short tune, she could hear a whole story, of a desperate man , probably a student, that needed someone, to deliver him from the danger that he was in. But she couldn't figure it out.
She followed the trail of the mockingbird. It always flew back to the Astronomy Tower, though the window, then disappeared in the building. Hermione thought that the one who sang to the bird, then let the bird to deliver the song to her, must be inside the tower. However, every time she rushed to the tower, tripped over the stairs, trying to reach the person that was in the tower-she could only see the window opened, and the stars in the dark night sky. He was already gone.
That person was hiding from her. He mustn't want Hermione to discover his secret but at the same time he wanted her to know. Hermione could never understand the reason why.
In the following nights she still went to the library, waiting for the bird to come, and listened, that watched it flew back to the tower. She wondered what he was thinking, sending a bird to sing a song to her, but never show up.
The song changed, though, not the melody, but it became more and more desperate, it contained more fear. Like a wounded animal, howling in the night. He was fighting, hard, against what he was facing, but just that he can't escape.
"If only you can tell me who sent you." She asked the bird. But the bird just looked into her eyes, and flew back as usual. Of course, the bird would never understand what she was talking about.
For the last few times she heard this song, it was different from before. He seemed to lost hope, to give up completely. The song was like, apologizing, and regret, and still, the fear to something that never change though out the whole year.
An on that day she hear the last song from the bird, Dumbledore was killed.
Hermione looks at the almost identical bird. Slowly, she begins humming that song. The bird listens, then picks up the melody when she sings the third time.
Hermione closes her eyes, letting the melody brings her back to the days in Hogwarts, although it was a hard time fighting Voldemort, she had Harry and Ron…and she can never forget the arrogant boy with white blond hair…
Her fingers tap on the table, following the melody. Tap, Tap, Tap, then stop for a while, and then tap… Her fingers begin working on their own. Tap, Tap, Tap…
Wait.
This is not just a melody.
The way it pauses, there is a rhythm.
She remembers when she was studying in muggle school, her teacher once taught them about Morse code, just for fun, but Hermione memorized them.
She listened to the way the fingers tap, grabbed a pen, and quickly drop down the rhythm.
．．．． ． ．－． — — ．． — — — －． ．
．— —． ．－．． ． ．－ ．．． ．
．．． ．－ ．．．－ ．
— — ．
．．－． ．－． — — — — —
－ ．．．． ．
－．． ．－ ．－． －．－
She tries to unscramble the code by her own memory. Maybe she is wrong, maybe it isn't even a code, maybe it is just a song, just a song…
When she's finished with the last line, Hermione stared at the few words on the paper.
"HERMIONE PLEASE SAVE ME FROM THE DARK"
A mockingbird flew to the Astronomy Tower. It rested on a teenage boy's hand. The boy raised his long, thin fingers that were as white as chalk. His stormy grey eyes looked at the bird as it flew away, up to the sky, and was lost in the night sky. His white blond hair fell gracefully over his eyes.
"I just hope that she would forgive me when someday, someday she will understand, who is the one hiding on the tower." He glanced over the window. The brunette girl was running from the library, toward the tower-he knew exactly who she was looking for. And he wouldn't let her find him.
The boy turned and grabbed his wand, tight. This is the night, he knew it, he have to do it, or the one who must not be named would kill his mother. He wouldn't let this happened to her.
Draco gave one last look at the sky, where the mockingbird had flew to. And he just wished that he could fly up high to a place without the Dark Lord, just like that mockingbird.
====The End====