Yay, it's Xynn's first fanfiction! Well, on this website, anyways. So, roughly, this story will evolve with time and with some suggestions by (hopefully!) reviewers. Also, the title of this story isn't just "Human", it's "Human?"
Summary:
Hermione Granger expected her eighth year to be normal compared to all of the others. No dark lord trying to kill her or anything. So when a large amount of students return, including every Slytherin that ruined her life and then some, why does she feel like something worse will happen? That the one thing she tried to hide, would be exposed by her worst enemy and a new companion?
Human?, Chapter One
"Up and down, Gin. Up and down." Hermione said, as Ginny's wand wrapped a bandage around Harry's sprained ankle.
"Why'd you have to go and play Quidditch, anyways? I specifically told you to just rest. Then you try to kick off a broom? Merlin, Harry." Ginny said to her fiancé. Prior to this event, Harry's foot had been rolled over by a Vespa, which wasn't enjoyable. Then, he and Ron had tried to play Quidditch in the Burrow's yard.
"Well, I'm off. I need to make sure I've got everything packed up for the trip. Night, Gin. Night, Harry." Hermione said with a chuckle. The couple was absolutely adorable when one of them was injured. She walked to the Apparition point and apparated to her flat. With a sigh, she took her coat and shoes off, tossing them onto her couch. She headed to her bedroom to make sure no swimsuits were tossed about and such. She was walking out of her closet when she noticed something.
Her bedroom window was open.
Before she could rush over and close it, a figure dressed in black slid in and closed it without a word. Without breathing, Hermione watched as it looked around and sniffed the air. The witch quickly put a spell over herself, hoping this...person didn't notice her. In a few minutes, it seemed as if it'd gone through the house. Just as it was about to leave, it turned to the closet and lunged.
That was a year ago.
With a stretch, Hermione woke up bleary eyed and cranky. Standing above her was an angry redhead, and not the one she wanted to see.
"Merlin, Ron, stop doing that!" She screamed. The boy flinched before putting the pot and the spoon down at his sides.
"Sorry, 'Mione." He said sheepishly. "Wanna go get somethin' to eat before we leave?" He asked cheerily. Hermione peered over to her clock, then sat up quickly.
"Ronald! It's ten thirty! The train leaves at eleven!" She gasped. The redhead only shrugged.
"So? I've got all my things packed. So d'you." He said.
"But I've got to get ready! Plus, I'm Head Girl, so I can't fall asleep on the train. Merlin's mum, get out!" Hermione screamed again, shoving Ron out of her suite. Harry and Ginny had gotten married last night, and they had crashed at this hotel for the night. Hermione climbed out of bed, her brown orbs flickering over the clothes left out on her bed. What is it with Gin trying to dress me like a Slytherin? The woman thought, seeing an ensemble of greens and blacks. With a shrug, Hermione went to take a long shower.
Within a few minutes, she was out. Wrapping a towel around herself, she picked up the hotel room's phone and dialed room service.
"Yes, may I have two servings of eggs benedict, an order of french toast, a pitcher of orange juice and some cereal, along with milk? Thank you kindly." She placed the phone back in the holder and got to getting dressed. Ginny had laid out a simple emerald-green fitted top with some black skinny jeans, with some black flats. There were even a pair of black sunglasses, the ones that made you look like you were a superstar, and were bigger than your face. With a giggle, Hermione knocked on the door that connected her room and the newlyweds'. After some shuffling, the door opened to Harry's morning face.
"Mornin', 'Mione. Why're you up so early?" He asked.
"Harry, it's 10:40. We've got to leave now. I've ordered breakfast, so hurry up, or I'll eat your afters." Hermione said with a grin. Quickly, Harry shut the door and with some yelling, awoke Ginny and managed to dress her in some loose blue jeans and a black shirt. The new Mrs. Potter smiled blearily up at Hermione before curling up in a ball and falling onto her bed. With a laugh, Hermione opened the door, revealing a scared hotel staff member and Ron's flushed face. Hermione's eyebrow twitched as she dragged Ronald into the room by his ear.
"I will deal with you later." She growled, her eyes flashing white before she turned to the muggle. "I'm so sorry, sir. My friend tends to overreact greatly. What happened?" She asked, helping the man up and taking the cart inside the room.
"He-he-he um, pulled out a stick, and threatened to um, hex me? I-I don't know what that means but-" He was cut off when Hermione swiftly brought her wand up to the man's temple.
"Obliviate." She said. The last minute of this man's life, erased. Good. She sent him on his merry way, and shut the door. She then turned around and lifted her wand, then sharply brought it down.
"AVIS! OPPUGNO!" A small flock of paper birds flew from Hermione's wand, straight for Ron's being. Just like in sixth year. They pecked at him and he whined. Ginny quickly sat up, and batted at Hermione's hands. With a pout, the girl stopped the spell. Ron's shoulder heaved as he looked up at the girl.
"What was that for!?" He whined.
"Hm, I dunno. For trying to hex a muggle! Why in the name of Merlin would you need to hex him!?" Hermione yelled incredulously.
"Well..he..um..helookedliketomriddle." Ron mumbled.
"What?" Ginny asked, pointing to her ear.
"He said he looked like Tom Riddle." Harry said. "Which is so unbelievably stupid that I just..go eat your cereal, Ron." He finished, picking up a a plate of eggs Benedict and handing the other to Ginny. Hermione ate her french toast and in a matter of minutes, they were ready to go. Shrinking her trunk, and putting it in her pocket, Hermione followed everyone out of the hotel. After they checked out, though, she smashed her ring finger in between the door and the doorframe, causing her to spew out some words that even full-grown wizards wouldn't say. As they started to apparate, Hermione was too concentrated to fully apparate. As she made it to the outside of King's Cross, a horrible scream left her mouth.
"My finger! My whole damn finger is gone!" She said with a scream. She had so splinched herself. Quickly, Harry covered her with his cloak, and they all rushed her into platform 9 3/4. She was still screaming and had tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Most parents and students were looking over concerned, and just ignored her. It wasn't like her finger nub was bleeding and you could clearly see the bone.
"Hold still." A cold voice said. With a quick Accio charm, he had Hermione's trunk out of her pocket. He enlarged it and rummaged through it. He found a bottle full of brown liquid and put a drop of it on Hermione's finger. The majority of her finger started to grow back, but stopped at the knuckle. "Now we wait." Was all he said, before putting the essence away and shrinking her trunk again, stowing it back in her jeans pocket. When she looked up, she was shocked to see Draco Malfoy's face.
"Thank you, Malfoy." She whispered.
"Anytime, Granger." Draco said with a nod. He spun on his heel, heading back towards his mother and father, who glared at her with disdain. But his sister only smiled and waved.
"What the bloody hell did he mean by 'Anytime'!?" Ron huffed.
"Seeing as I'll have to share quarters with him for the rest of the year, we'll probably be fixing each other up." Hermione stated, pointing to Draco's 'Head Boy' pin. With a frustrated sigh, Ron headed onto the train. With a light laugh, she followed him, turning back to spot Draco again.
He was staring right back.
With a groan, Draco rolled over and sat up, spotting his twenty-year-old sister above him. Growling, he reducto'd the damned alarm clock out of her grasp. With a laugh, Andariel pulled her younger brother up and slapped him dead in the face.
"Shower and put these on." She said, throwing some clothes at him. "We leave in twenty-minutes. Mum's got the Prophet and some food for you downstairs." She finished, and left his room. He stood up and stretched, heading to the bathroom.
After a few minutes, he stepped out of the shower with his towel wrapped around his waist. He dressed in the red shirt and black pants his sister sat out for him. As he walked downstairs and grabbed the piece of toast awaiting him, he turned to his sister.
"I look like a bloody Griffyndor, Ariel." He muttered, biting down on the toast and picking up the prophet. "Oh look at that, Potty and the Weaslette got hitched." He said.
"Aw, Ginevra got married? Harry'll protect her. Speaking of marriage, when do you plan on doing it, Dragon?" Ariel asked, arching a brow. She looked just like her brother, except for the fact she had black hair. Draco flicked his sister's forehead and smirked.
"Hopefully I don't have to settle for anyone at Hogwarts." He mumbled.
"That Astoria girl seems nice." Narcissa said.
"She's a slut, mum. I'm surprised she doesn't have a disease." Ariel said with an eye roll. She stood up and grabbed her purse, signalling the time to leave. "Daddy, we're heading out! Come along, now!" She called upstairs. Their father came downstairs with the same boring look on his face. They all apparated to the outside of King's Cross. Upon arriving, they heard pained screams. He recognised those screams. God dammit Granger, what've you done this time? He thought, following the foursome into the magical platform. He shuffled his family into a corner and strutted over to Hermione.
"Hold still." Was all he said, as he looked over the splinch. He summoned Hermione's trunk and looked through it, finding the Essence of Dittany. He put a drop of it where the missing digit was and it grew back up to the knuckle. "Now we wait." He said, shrinking her trunk and stowing it back into the girl's pocket. She looked up and seemed to let out an involuntary gasp as she did so.
"Thank you, Malfoy." She whispered.
"Anytime, Granger." He replied with a nod. He turned around and walked back over to god family.
"Did you just go and touch that filthy mudblood!" Lucius hissed to his son, scourgifying the boy's hands. Draco lightly shoved his father, his eyes hardening.
"Don't, father. She's been through enough. The war is over." He said, pecking his mother on the cheek. Lucius snorted and Andariel grunted.
"Dad, auntie Bella carved the word Mudblood on that damn girl's arm! Can't you just shut it for once!?" Ariel's accent tended to become more pronounced when she was angry. With a laugh, he hugged and kissed her goodbye.
"Bye-a, Dragon. Keep 'er safe." She said, waving to Hermione. He turned to look at her, only to find she was already looking.
Draco climbed aboard the train and settled into a compartment with Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe and, unfortunately, Astoria.
"Eh mate, what was all that screaming out there?" Blaise asked.
"Granger splinched herself, the fuckin' broad." Pansy said. Draco smacked the back of her head.
"Calm down, Pansy. It was only her ring finger." He said, leaning back on the girl before hearing something clink in his pocket. He swore out loud as he found her bottle of Dittany.
"What's that?" Astoria asked.
"Granger's-"
"I'll bring it to her!" Pansy shouted, grabbing the bottle and running out of the compartment. Draco immediately stood up and followed her. By the time Draco had made it, Pansy had already started taunting her.
"Don't think just because he fixed your damn splinch, that he actually likes you. He only did it to shut you up, he told me himself. He regrets doing it, because now he's been infected by-"
"Merlin, Pansy, just shut up!" Draco exclaimed, even though Hermione was already running out of the compartment. He turned around and followed her to the very back of the train. It was old and dusty, and the window was stuck open. The witch huddled in the corner of the seat, her head ducked in between her knees.
"God dammit, whoever it is, just leave alone before I Avada Kedavra you." She moaned, without looking up.
"Well that would be unfortunate. You'd never get to see my beautiful children." He said sarcastically. Hermione showed a bit of her tear streaked face and laughed bitterly.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked lightly. With a shrug, he sat down next to her.
"I figured we'd have to learn to tolerate each other sooner or later." He said with a laugh. She rolled her eyes and turned her head, so it was still laying on her knees, but she was looking at him.
"Well then, Malfoy, what's your favourite colour?" She said. "And don't you dare say green, because that is bollocks." She added.
"I like the colour red. It's energetic. Motivating. Yours is yellow, if I remember correctly." Draco said, tapping his temple.
"I've taking a liking to black. Makes me feel safe." Hermione replied lightly, pulling out her 'Diva' sunglasses and putting them on with a smile. Just as Draco was about to ask something, a boy came rushing in.
"Um, Hermione Granger? Someone's asking for you in the main carriage." The third year said. She stood up, her glasses and expression making her look exceptional.
"What the hell are you on about? Who's asking for me?" She said, quite irritated. As she waited, she propped her hand on her hips.
"Um, they say their name is Arion, but-" The boy was cut off by Hermione rushing out of the carriage.
God dammit, not now, Arys, not now! Hermione thought, as she pushed past people who were looking out of their compartments, due to Draco calling her name as she ran.
"This doesn't concern you, Malfoy!" She called, still running.
"If some unknown person is on this damn train, it is!" He yelled back, finally catching up to the speeding witch.
"He's my brother, you dolt!" She screamed, finally making it to the carriage. A boy around Andariel's age stood up with a grin. He had sky blue eyes and hair darker than Harry Potter's. His skin was similar to Hermione's, and he was her height as well. He donned a simple pair of black jeans, black tennis, a white shirt and a leather jacket with a collar.
"Look, it's Herm-own-ninny!" He said with a chuckle. For that, the Head Girl punched him in the arm and her mouth settled into a grim line.
"What is it, Arion? It's bad enough you snuck on this damn train, now he's in here, and he won't leave." She muttered, motioning to Draco, who stood in the doorway.
"I can make him leave.." Arion whispered. With a shake of her head, she turned to Draco and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Malfoy, if you stand and guard the door, I'll be in your debt. Twice. I will roughly do anything to get you out of this room." She said. A smirk appeared on Draco's face as he backed out.
"You better remember this conversation, Granger." He said cryptically, shutting the door. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to Arion.
"Well, in short, mum and dad are gone." He said. Hermione's parents had long since died, so he was talking about her other parents.
"What d'you mean 'gone'? Are they on a mission?" Hermione hissed.
"They're vampires, Hermione, and they've been watched by the Ministry for years!" Arion hissed right back. Hermione's eyes widened and she grabbed his jacket collar.
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" She whispered, brown eyes on blue.
"I mean," He said, grasping his sister's hands in his. "They had a whole damn basement full of Ministry reports and files in their house! The Ministry is in their house." Arion whispered. Hermione shook her head. And shook it again. She backed away from the boy and leaned against the door.
"No. No. They're not dead, Arys. You think they are, but they're not. I know they're not!" She mostly whispered that last part to herself. Arion walked over to her and she pulled her wand out.
"Don't. You may be part wizard, but I am so much more powerful than you are." She said, her voice deadly. Arion's eyes flashed white as he chuckled lowly.
"Yeah, but I'm more powerful than you when it comes to the other half." He said, his tone matching hers. He stalked towards her and she quickly stood up and let loose a scream as her brother disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
Draco had docked points from a student who'd turn another child's hair pink when the scream sounded. Again, everyone poked their nosy heads out of their compartments to get a look at the action. One student almost opened the door when it was thrown open from the inside. Hermione, wild-eyed and scared, looked around for a certain snake. She found his stormy grey eyes and ran over to him, panting heavily. Before he could say anything, she had curled into him and started sobbing her eyes out. Her small hands clutched the back of his shirt and he awkwardly patted her on the back. Ginny, Harry, Ron and some other eighth year Gryffindors ran over and glared at Draco.
"What the bloody hell did you do to her, you snake!?" Ginny screamed, putting a hand on Hermione's back. Surprisingly, the witch's body shrunk away from the redhead's touch.
"He's cursed her! Are you so lonely that you've charmed her into being your bloody girlfriend?" Ronald accused. That activated something in Hermione. For the third time that day, she was crying, and she was sick of people thinking she was helpless! Wrenched herself out of Draco's arms and turned around, jabbing a finger into Ron's chest.
"For your information, Ronald, no, I haven't been cursed! I've just received news that two people I'm very close to may have died, by a person I thought was dead, so why don't you and your little brain go and mull that over!?" She screamed, her voice going hoarse. The posse's faces softened and again, Ginny tried to reach out to her, but Hermione simply turned her body towards Draco again.
"No. I don't want pity. I'm sick of being the one who's pitied." She said coldly, turning to her compartment. Per usual, everyone who could followed her. She grabbed her trunk and opened it, pulling out her robes. Turning to the crowd, she pulled her glasses off and threw them at one of the spectators.
"What, I haven't bared myself enough? You want to see me naked, too!?" She hissed, slamming the compartment door shut, even though about five other people were originally sitting in it. She darkened the glass and quickly changed into her robes. She shrunk the trunk, put it in one of her pockets, and walked out. She turned to Draco, who had also changed into his robes.
"Do we have a meeting to go to?" She asked, making sure her voice didn't sound small. He shook his head.
"McGonagall has arranged their schedules and nonsense. She, and I quote, said we 'already have enough on our plates'. I'm guessing there's something happening that we won't like." He replied.
"Probably. I hope there's no idiotic House Unification class or activity. There's been enough at trying to do that." The witch said, with a roll of her eyes. The train stopped and she turned to the Slytherin next to her. "Ready?" Hermione asked with a giggle.
"Sure." Draco said, following the brunette off of the train.
I liked that. I liked that a lot. I'm guessing by now, you guys have realised that, if her parents are vampires, that Hermione and Arion are vampires, right? More will be explained as the story progresses. Peace, yo, and please review!
Much love, Xynny.