Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Harry Potter and the canon characters belong to J.K Rowling and I am only borrowing them to write for my and other people's enjoyment, without any intention of profiting from it. I thank this creative lady for blessing us with such a rich ground to build up our creativity on!
If there was one thing that Hermione Granger knew with one hundred percent certainty, it was that she was completely invisible under the shadow of her perfect best friend, Ginevra Weasley.
She was never one of those girls who really shined, even before meeting the redhead witch, but it was as if Ginny's vibrant presence sucked all the light out from the room, and placed a spotlight on her shiny red hair, and beautiful doe eyes, and no one could help, but look at her, and seek out her company.
It was not like she did it on purpose. Hermione knew that Gin was simply just being herself, a pocket full of sunshine, rainbows and unicorns, and she could not help but be completely adorable. That is how they became friends in the first place. The younger girl did not mind her introverted personality, or that she was a somewhat bossy know-it-all. She was warm and welcoming, and she had accepted her from the moment they had their first conversation, and they had become fast friends, despite their differences.
Ginny was a breath of fresh air in Hermione's structured life, a much needed relaxing influence, and that is why she could never hold a grudge against her, no matter how jealous she got in some of her weaker moments.
Ginevra Weasley was her best friend, and that meant more to her than any childish feeling of jealousy she sometimes inevitably harboured.
The brunette witch really could not fault that wizards, and even a few witches were noticing her friend instead of her. It had nothing to do with her looks, because even though she did not bother like young witches her age did, she did not look unfortunate at all.
Hermione was a rather petite girl, with soft chocolate coloured locks, perhaps more from a wilder persuasion than it was convenient, but the rich tendrils framed her face beautifully. She had warm light brown eyes, always staring at the world in quiet wonder and curiosity, unable to hide the flicker of open vulnerability in them. Her skin was pale, and lightly freckled at places, but it was not noticeable, unless someone looked closely.
Her real problem was that she found it really difficult to connect with people. Ever since she was a little girl, she had never fit in with her age group, and the older kids did not want to hang out with a 'baby', or so they told her. Her bright intellect, and her constant need to prove herself spiraled her into a world of books and distant loneliness.
She hoped with all her heart that would change when she arrived at Hogwarts. Discovering that she possessed the ability to do magic filled her with so much pride and joy, and most importantly, it filled her with the hope that she would finally have somewhere to belong. She never imagined that she would feel even lonelier in the magical environment, than she did in her mundane every day life.
Her secret inner pleas for friendship and laughter were quickly crushed when her overenthusiastic eagerness for rules and coursework appalled her school mates, making her an outcast even in her own House. Once more she became the target for pranks and bullying, and she completely gave herself to her studies. She figured that even though she was miserable with everything social related, she would be the best academically.
Her life drastically changed on Halloween the same year, when Harry Potter, and his redheaded side-kick friend who made her cry, saved her from a troll. The three of them formed an unlikely friendship, and for once in her life, she had someone to talk to. Furthermore being friendly with Harry really opened her up to eventually form a few more friendships over the years.
That is how she had become close with Neville Longbottom.
The shy, awkward Gryffindor wizard was a bit of an enigma to Hermione. They spent some quiet time together in the Library, where she helped him with his studies, and on one occasion, when she was the one stumped with her work, she discovered that the boy was a freaking genius in Herbology. When Neville was talking about herbs and plants, explaining the subtle intricacies of how to differentiate between the flora, or how to best take care of greenery, his whole face lit up with a smile so bright, it completely took her by surprise and mesmerized her.
Even when she understood the material, she still sought Neville out, so she could sit there and watch his shy smile curve into a grin without abandon when he explained to her about his passion.
Hermione was not a very experienced girl when it came to boys and crushes, but when she was in her fourth year, she finally admitted to herself that she was completely smitten with the boy.
She was a spluttering mess when Neville asked her to the Yule Ball, and even though she was aching to go with him, she already had a date, and she had to say no. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that he would ask her to attend with him, which is why she leapt at the chance of agreeing to go with Viktor when he asked her.
The moment she learned that he was going with Ginny, her heart sank into her stomach, and she had to admit to herself that she was rather jealous of her wonderful best friend. She did not show it at all though. She wanted to be supportive of her friends, even more so because it was the only way Gin could have attended, as she was not old enough to go otherwise.
They both told her that they were going as friends, and she smiled and nodded, and they all had a wonderful evening dancing together, until Ronald ruined the whole night for her with his insensitive remarks. She did not understand why he was so riled up about it, and she was quite offended by his behaviour. Harry remained passive about the situation, as usual.
She learned early on in their friendship, that to Harry, Ron would always come first, no matter whether he was in the wrong or not. It made her feel upset initially, but then she learned to adjust, because for the girl who grew up lonely, it meant the world to have Harry's, and even Ron's friendship. So she accepted the situation for what it was, which was easier when she became close with Ginny.
It was a wonderfully new experience when the cheerful redhead took her side in their conflicts, and she comforted her when she cried about her boys giving her the cold shoulder. She was really just looking out for all their well-being and safety, and that sometimes drove her to drastic measures, like bringing Harry's brand new Firebolt to Professor McGonagall for inspection after he refused to listen to reason.
She would have been a complete mess, if not for Ginny's and Neville's company, and even though Harry, Ron and Hermione were dubbed the 'Golden Trio', and she really loved them, and would do anything for Harry, she knew that the person who would literally die for her was Ginny.
Even knowing all that, it was slowly killing her inside to watch as Neville had become completely enamored with the beautiful redhead over the years.
They went through a lot of ordeals in their years of attending Hogwarts, and every year brought a new deadly situation for them to overcome, but they came out from the war relatively unscathed. They had to deal with the fallout head on however, from the loss of friends, school mates, Order members, and even family, to other political and economical changes.
Hermione took drastic measures to protect the ones she loved. She Obliviated her parents, removing every trace of herself from their consciousness, but she skillfully left echoes in their subconscious, so she could return their memories once everything was over and done with. She also planted an idea in their minds to relocate in Australia, so she could keep them safe.
Their reconciliation did not go well at all.
They were seething with fury that their only daughter had taken it up on herself to decide what was best for their lives. They did not seem to understand that the magical community had gone through a deadly war where people lost their lives, and they could have easily lost theirs as well, if they stayed in Britain, considering Hermione had a price on her head, being the genius best friend of Harry Potter, who had kept him safe and sound all these years. Her ability to keep Harry alive, not to mention the 'impurity' of her blood, painted an enormous target on her.
It probably did not help that she kept a lot of secrets from her parents, so they would not withdraw her from the one school where she actually had friends. She kept telling herself that it was only so that they would not worry, but eventually she had to admit to herself that she was mostly being selfish. She kept secrets to be able to keep her friends, and she did not take it into consideration how that would effect her relationship with her parents.
Here she was sobbing her heart out in her childhood bedroom, as she hurriedly waved her wand around to shrink all of her belongings and pack them into her beaded bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm, her mind replaying her mother's and father's words to her over and over again.
"Well, Hermione, you erased your presence from our minds and memories, stealing the most important essence of our lives from us, so now we shall see how you like it when we do the same." Emma said in a tone that made the brunette witch shudder.
"We might not have magic like you do, but that does not mean we cannot be as cruel to you as you were to us." Dan added in a quiet voice. "Go to your room and remove everything that is yours from our premises, because we do not want you, or anything you touched in this house."
It was like Hermione was stabbed in the heart with a sharp knife. For a few moments all she could do was stare at her parents blankly, unable to process what was happening.
"I..." Her voice quivered. "I am sorry." She sobbed quietly, and apparated into her room to get this done as quickly as she was able to do.
She understood their anger and thought that it was justified, because she should have talked to them about everything instead of keeping it all to herself, but she could not believe that her father accused her of cruelty, because she did everything to protect them. She did it out of love, whereas they were doing this out of vindication, and it did not sit right with her.
Once everything was in her bag, she walked out of her room, and took the stairs to walk downstairs to say a few words to her parents, maybe the last words she would ever say to them.
They turned to look at her, as she walked to them.
"Are you done?" Emma asked, and Hermione simply nodded.
"Good, please give your keys to us, we do not want you to have it anymore." Dan added, and held out his hand.
Hermione reached into the pocket of her jeans, and slowly dropped the keys into her father's hand. She felt so heartbroken and numb at the same time.
"Alright then. Go and leave us in peace, will you?" Emma spat at her.
Hermione looked up into her eyes, her emotions swirling in the light brown orbs. "I will go, don't worry, but before I do, I have something to say to you both." She said quietly.
"Make it quick!" Dan said impatiently, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"I am sincerely sorry that I kept so many secrets from you over the years, I should have been more forthcoming about the situation in the magical world." She began, and heard her mother snort. "I apologize for erasing your memories without your consent, however I will never apologize for protecting you, and you have no right to make me feel guilty about doing everything in my power to keep the people I love safe and sound." Hermione said, raising her passion laced voice.
"Oh, please!" Dan yelled angrily, but his daughter interrupted.
"No!" She said forcefully. "You said your piece already about me being an ungrateful, heartless, despicable human being already. It's my turn for words." She said, shaking with adrenalin. "I understand your anger, it is completely justified that you are angry, I would be too. However, you calling me ungrateful, heartless, despicable and cruel is very ironic Dad, don't you think? What I did, I did out of love for you guys, to protect you and keep you away from a war that took countless of lives. I have friends, mentors, and comrades who had died in this war, and I might have taken drastic measures to protect you, but I protected you and you are still alive."
"You are still alive, still breathing. You can hold each other close and revel in your love for one another. You might be angry, you might feel like I stole something from you, but whatever I did, I did so you can continue living your lives together." She angrily wiped her tears from her eyes with her hands. "You are still here, whereas I have friends that are mourning the loss of their brother, sister, mother and father, or the loss of their child. I am very happy that I am not one of those people grieving for the loss of her parents, because if you stayed in Britain, the Death Eaters would have found you, and they would have tortured you into insanity before killing you just so they could torture me."
"If I lost you, I would not have been able to do my job and keep Harry alive long enough, so he could do what he needed to do to rid the world from the evil that tainted it. I would have been a mess, I would have been unable to protect myself, much less anyone else..." Her voice trailed off, and her parents just stared at her.
"So yes. You calling me cruel is very ironic, considering what I have done, I have done out of love, and you are throwing me out and disowning me out of some need for vindication." She whispered quietly, and her words had cut into her parents.
"Get out!" Emma yelled at her, slapping her harshly, while Dan pulled her back from Hermione.
She held her hand to her face to soothe the sharp sting. "I am sorry, but at the end of the day I rather have you be mad at me, than me violently sobbing on your graves. I hope someday you will understand why I did what I did." She finished, and threw her bag over her shoulder, walking towards the door, and pausing for a moment to look over her shoulder. "I love you both. Hope you have a happy life." She said softly with so much sadness in her eyes that her father had an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.
"Goodbye." She whispered and apparated away.
She landed in front of the The Leaky Cauldron, and pushed her way inside, ignoring all the stares that were directed her way. Being a war heroine surely had its set backs, like having no personal space, which she desperately needed right now.
"Miss Granger!" Tom greeted her warmly. They have known each other for a long while now, given that she had stayed here for a few weeks every summer before going back to school.
"Good afternoon, Tom. How are you?" She asked softly, plastering on a fake smile. "You know I told you to call me Hermione so many times before." She added with a dry chuckle.
"Of course." He nodded, and briefly wondered why she seemed so off, but then he decided that it was none of his business. "I am good. Business has been growing since everything calmed down." He smiled. "What brings you here, Miss G-..., Hermione?" He asked, correcting himself.
She nodded along politely. "I need a room for a few weeks." She said carefully. "Would you have any available?"
Tom looked thoughtful as he looked the young brunette over, and then leaned down to look at the big brown leather-bound book where he kept bookings neat and organized.
"Let's see." He hummed, and went through a few pages, pausing once in a while to tap the top of his quill to his chin. "I do have a few options available for you." He eventually said, and looked at her. "What did you have in mind?"
Hermione patiently waited while the older wizard perused his book, and could not help but admire how organized he was. She always appreciated a good structure, especially for something as important as a business.
"Oh. Nothing too fancy. I can't really afford anything like that." She said, and looked up at Tom. "I just need a room with a comfortable bed, a desk, and preferably an en suit bathroom."
The innkeeper nodded and produced a key with a room number engraved on it, seemingly out of blue, and handed it to the witch. "Room number eleven will do nicely for you. It's one of our coziest, and most affordable rooms." He said softly, but truthfully he was going to discount it for the young witch, as he had a bit of a soft spot for the young girl that he thought of as a daughter. He was never blessed with a child, but he liked to think that if he had a daughter, she would be as bright as Hermione Granger.
"Thank you, Tom, I appreciate it." Hermione said and accepted the key, turning around to make her way to her new accommodation.
She spent the next few hours making her room comfortable for her use.
She had to admit it was a very nice space. The walls were painted a soft yellow, and they were bare for the most part, except for a small piece of artwork hanging over the headboard. The bed was just big enough for her to sleep on it comfortably, with the bedding and sheets arranged neatly on a thick mattress, which she quickly exchanged with her own, as they were neatly packed up in her beaded bag, and she did not want think about who laid there before her.
There was a desk tucked into the left upper corner of the room, with a matching uncomfortable looking chair resting in front of it, under white painted windows that seemed to be charmed to show some outdoors scenery. Further down from the desk was a small dresser, that was just aligned perfectly to make space for the door next to it, which she suspected would lead to the bathroom.
She was proven correct when she opened the room to reveal a really small room that had a bath tub, a toilet, and a small sink. There was a very simple mirror hanging above it, so simple in fact, that it was basically just unframed glass that you could see yourself reflected in.
She almost jumped out of her skin, when it spoke to her. "You gotta do something with that hair honey, it's angling in all directions." It chuckled at her, and she waved her wand in irritation to shut the enchanted object up.
It was not like she was offended or anything, she just had no patience for magical objects talking to her. She felt so tightly wound, that if she did not find something to do to relax, she would explode. She spent the last few hours sobbing uncontrollably while unpacking, and she felt completely exhausted and spent.
That was when a small owl tapped the enchanted window of the room, and she broke out of her reverie. She let the bird in, and reached into her bag to find her owl treats. After a few minutes of rummaging around, she finally found the small box of treats, and offered one to the bird.
The owl hooted at her angrily for making it wait so long, and practically ripped the treat out form her hand, and flew off, after Hermione untied the parchment from its legs.
She simply shook her head at the owl's antics and broke the wax seal, unrolling the paper carefully, her eyes roaming over the familiar script.
"Dear Hermione,
I hope you are well. I am writing to inquire whether or not you are free to hang out with me this evening? I know you just got back from Australia with your parents a few days ago, but I miss you, and I have something to talk about with you as well.
Please let me know soon!
Your adoring friend,
Neville"
Hermione sighed heavily, as she mused about the contents of his letter. Her heart swelled when she read those three wonderful words: 'I miss you.' She was not naïve enough to consider that it had any underlying meaning other than their close friendship, and the fact that before she went on the run with Harry and Ron, she hung out with Neville and Ginny half the time, thus they formed their own trio of sorts over the years.
It was funny really. She might have been the girl who kept Harry and Ron alive, but the people she found true companionship with were Neville and Ginny. Where she looked after Harry and Ron, the other two looked after her. It was completely refreshing from going from protector to protected. She really needed Nev's and Gin's support, because she was not as fierce and tough as she projected to the world, and thankfully her best friends knew that, as they noticed the vulnerability in her eyes that others chose to ignore.
She sighed once more and quickly scribbled a response on a spare piece of parchment, and went out to find an available owl to send the message with, as his owl threw a fit and flew away. Trust Neville Longbottom to have the oddest familiars ever. A disappearing toad, and a temperamental owl, figures.
A few hours later, she walked into the dining area of The Leaky Cauldron and spotted Neville instantly, her heartbeats quickening. He was so handsome leaning his tall frame against the counter talking with Tom animatedly. They seemed to be deep in conversation, so Hermione took her time to take in the sight of the wizard who stole her heart.
He was wearing casual wizarding robes, that were haphazardly thrown over his shoulders over a light grey button up shirt, and light brown slacks. His hair was a slightly messy arrangement of short light brown curls, and as he paused in conversation to look over in her direction, his bright baby blue eyes took her breath away.
She took a moment to compose herself and walked over to greet her friend.
"Hermione!" Neville exclaimed excitedly, and lifted the short witch up for a gentle hug. "I have missed you so much. How have you been?" He asked.
Hermione could not help the soft blush that graced her cheeks at the close contact with Neville, so she quickly pulled back. "It's good to see you, Nev." She smiled. "Let's talk about you first." She said, as she did not want to ruin their outing with tales of her parents. "How are you? What did you want to talk to me about?"
He raised an eyebrow at her obvious deflection of his question, but went ahead with it, as he learned in the years of their friendship, that it was better to let Hermione talk about what was bothering her at her own pace, rather than force it out of her.
"I am good." He smiled. "Very good in fact! You are looking at the new Apprentice of Professor Sprout!" He grinned happily, and Hermione let out a very uncharacteristic squeal.
"Oh my god, Nev, that is wonderful!" She said, sharing in his joy. "You are an absolute genius with Herbology, and you will learn so much more from Professor Sprout. I am so proud of you!" She gushed, and hugged him briefly.
"Thank you, Mia!" Neville beamed, blushing slightly when she hugged him. "I am going back for my eighth year to get my N.E.W.T.s, and Professor Sprout thought that would be a wonderful start for an apprenticeship."
She nodded in agreement. She was also going back to school next year, but she did not think further than that yet. "Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked curiously after they ordered some drinks.
Neville's face flushed scarlet and he shook his head. "No, I mean, not completely." He said slowly, and gazed at Hermione. "I need your help."
She blinked slightly at his odd reaction. "You know I would do anything for you, Nev." She said with so much sincerity in her voice, that Nev's heart skipped a beat.
"I know." He smiled, and squeezed her hand.
"Well then, please share with the class, Professor Longbottom." She teased playfully, and he chuckled softly.
"I need your help with courting Ginny." He said quietly, his face flushing scarlet once more.
Hermione momentarily froze. "What?" She asked softly, finding it hard to breathe.
"I am in love with Ginny, and I have absolutely no idea how to go about it." He said shyly. "Would you please help me out, Mia?" He asked tenderly, looking hopefully into her eyes.
Hermione felt like her whole world shattered into a million tiny fragments. The wonderful wizard that her heart yearned for fell in love with her perfect best friend, and asked for her help to get the girl. This was the worst day she had ever experienced, even worse than Dolohov's Curse, or Lestrange's knife action. It was on par with her parents disowning her, if not even more devastating.
But it did not matter, did it? If she was a true friend, and she liked to pride herself in being one, she had to put Nev's and Ginny's happiness in front of her own, and no matter how hard it was going to be, she would do that. She loved them with all her heart, and she would do anything to see them happy.
She smiled a tight smile, and squeezed his hand. "Of course I will help you, as I said I would do anything for you." She said softly, controlling her voice as best as she could.
Her own feelings will just have to remain invisible.
A/N: Alright, so as promised this is the start of a longer Nemione story that I am writing.
The idea is that Hermione is in love with Neville, but he seeks her out to aid him is wooing her best friend, Ginny. What's a girl to do, but put her own happiness on the back-burner for the happiness of her best friends. Ginny is not single however, she has a boyfriend, and while Neville has feelings for Ginny, he truly loves Hermione, but thinks she is way out of his league, so he focuses on Gin and his feelings for her.
Dramatic, huh? We shall see how this spins out.
Also, there is a side plot of Hermione's parents dealing with being Obliviated in a totally crappy way, mainly because I was looking to write some Angst as well, which I usually don't really do.
Anyways, I hope you will join me for this ride! c:
Thank you for reading!