Title: Just Like a Fairy Tale
Author: Roni Black
Rating: M, for future chapters.
Spoilers: All seven books.
Genre: Romance, Fantasy.
Era: Two eras – one which I'm not disclosing yet, the other is right after Book Seven. Hermione goes back to her final year at Hogwarts and things take on from there. Obviously, the Epilogue will be viciously ignored in this story. However, I do stick to canon as much as I can.
Summary: Hermione sets out to reveal the truth about her past with Draco on her side. Two star-crossed lovers set on a journey through time and fate.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the most talented woman in the world, obviously, and her name is JK Rowling.
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A/N: I've written something like this before, but now it's different. Hope you like it!
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Prologue
The old wizard looked up from his books. His white hair and beard were glowing softly in the moonlight. It was rather early in the evening, and there was fire in the fireplace on the opposite wall; yet the witch in the long, blue travelling cloak in front of him was shivering.
"How may I be of service to you, my dear?" the old wizard asked.
"They say – they say that only you could help me. I – I have no hope left. I am sure you've heard of my eldest daughter's departure – I have not been myself since she left – but – "
She took a deep breath. Her shoulders were shaking.
"Sit, my dear child, sit," said the old wizard kindly, motioning to the soft armchair in front of his desk.
She sat, burying her face in her hands. The wizard got up and walked over to her. He did so extremely slowly, leaning on a cane. He placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. She took another deep breath and looked up at him.
"He is back," she whispered.
The old wizard's expression changed. For the first time, he looked worried.
"He is back," she repeated. "Merwyn. He is back, and he is threatening my child."
"Your child? But you don't mean – "
"You know that ever since my husband's death, I have not sought the company of another man. I have dedicated my life to my daughters. But Merwyn is after me, as he had been before my marriage – you will remember. I have turned him down over and over again. I have been foolish to hope that he would give up."
She slowly got to her feet, walked over to the window and looked outside as though the moon could give her answers. The old wizard watched her in silence. She spoke so quietly now, that he had to come closer to listen.
"He will kill my baby daughter. Unless I give in to him."
"What did you say?"
"He will."
She turned around to face him again. "I know he will. He has never yet broken a promise." Her shoulders shaking, she buried her face in her hands again. "He will kill the only ray of hope left in my life. I have been living for this baby ever since my daughter left, and now – now he is going to kill her."
The old wizard was, apparently, at loss for words. He walked past her to the window, his bright eyes even brighter by the moonlight. But the witch was not looking at him.
"Will you help me?" she whispered.
He did not answer at once, and she inched closer behind him.
"We have sworn to protect each other. But it is not myself I want you to save. It is only my daughter that I worry about. I beg you, help me save my daughter – "
"This is not a question of want," said the wizard sharply. "Of course I would like to help you. I would do anything in my power to help you."
She broke into tears again. "You don't believe you can?"
"How?" he asked, turning to face her once more. "I cannot fight him. I am old, child, older than you will remember, older than you will ever be. It will not do to place protective charms and curses around her, because he will be able to penetrate them all; do not forget that I have taught him everything I know. I keep no secrets from my students. It will do no good to hide her, either, because he will find her wherever we keep her, and I know of no witch or wizard powerful enough to protect her from Merwyn."
He seemed to be lost in thought. The witch stared at him, transfixed, hardly daring to breathe.
"The only solution I see," he said, extremely slowly, "is to hide your daughter where he cannot find her."
"But – but you just said – "
"No witch or wizard I know is powerful enough to protect her. But then, I only know witches and wizards from our own time."
He stopped, his eyes twinkling at her. The witch froze for a moment, then sighed.
"I know you have had this long-last fascination with time-travelling, but what on earth – "
"The only solution I see," the old wizard cut across her sharply, "is to take your daughter to a place where she can no longer be of danger from him. But I will have to warn you, my dear woman: there are great dangers everwhere. There always have been... and there always will be."
But the witch was hardly listening. Her eyes wandered to the large book he was writing, then to the huge hourglass near his desk.
"Have you found the way?" she breathed.
"I have."
~*~
"You must realize this, though," the wizard said, a few hours later. They were deep in the dark forest, and the hourglass was hovering next to them, having been Disillusioned by the witch all the way from the wizard's office.
Cheiron, the snow-white centaur, was standing close and watching as the witch and the sleeping child in her arms stood bravely in the circle of light formed by the wizard.
"Cheiron," cried the witch, as the wizard walked around her in circles, muttering all sorts of enchantments. "Cheiron, you must tell me. You must have seen... I know you are the wisest of them all... Where is my child going? Where am I taking her? What will become of her? Will she survive? Will I ever see her again?"
Cheiron stared at her for a few minutes in silence. Her dark eyes were growing more and more fearful. At last, he replied: "Your child is going to a very dark era indeed. Kind strangers will take her and raise her as their own. However, by no means will she have an easy life there. She will go through great dangers and join hands with the power of good to conquer the power of evil, and find love, joy, and happiness. Yes, she will survive."
"Will I ever see her again?" the witch asked. Her face was growing whiter and whiter.
"I cannot be sure," the centaur answered softly. "Time brings what Time sees right."
Tears were now pouring quietly down the witch's cheeks. She stared at the sleeping child in her arms for a long time. The child was barely two years old and looked very much like her mother, with dark and curly hair and very pale complexion. Her dark eyes, just like her mother's, were closed, and her small chest was rising and falling with each peaceful breath she took.
~*~
The woman and her child appeared as if from nowhere; they were standing at the edge of a forest, quite different than the forest they had, apparently, just left. A small town was right ahead. The woman slowly let the girl down on the ground. The little girl, having just woken up, didn't seem to want to let go.
"You stay here, darling," said the woman, hugging the little girl tightly. "I am going to leave you for a while, but I will come back soon. Wait here, all right?"
"Don't go, Mother," begged the little girl, "let me go with you!"
"I can't, dear. Stay here."
"Mother, don't leave me here. I'm scared."
The little girl's lips were quivering. The witch swallowed hard and looked over her daughter's shoulder, so she wouldn't see her cry.
"You have nothing to be scared of, darling," she finally said, pressing a kiss to the little girl's forehead. "Nothing here will harm you. I must go now. Do not come after me, it might be dangerous."
She started for the forest.
"No! Mother, don't leave me here!" cried the little girl, bursting into tears.
The woman came back and hugged her tightly. "I cannot take you with me," she whispered. "Shh... it's all right. Wait here. I must go now." She kissed her again, took one long, last look at her, and hurried into the forest. In a moment, she was gone.
The little girl started sobbing. She made a couple of steps as if to follow the woman, but didn't dare to, because she knew it was dangerous. She waited for a little while, trying not to cry. But rather soon, night fell and everything was dark. And darker of all was the forest, in which her mother had disappeared.
The little girl waited a long time, but her mother did not return. After a while she could hardly see the forest anymore, and everything around her was so dark that the only visible light was coming from the windows of the little houses of the nearest town. That was when the little girl gave up and burst out crying again.
"Mother," she sobbed, "come back! Mother! Mother! Please..."
~*~
"Can you hear that?" a woman asked her husband. The two of them were sitting in their kitchen, having dinner together.
"Hear what?" her husband asked.
"It's like... someone is crying out there," said the woman. "Listen closely."
Her husband listened. "Yes, I think you're right. It sounds like it's coming from the forest."
"It's someone in trouble. They need help," said the woman urgently. "Let's go out and find them."
Her husband nodded. "It sounds like a child. It's probably the Davidsons' little boy and he got lost in the forest." He got to his feet. "I'd better take him home."
"I'm coming with you," said his wife, getting her coat.
"Why?"
She shrugged. "It just feels like I need to." They both hurried outside.
"It's freezing out here," said the man. "Why would the Davidsons let little Matthew out on such a cold night?"
"Maybe they didn't know he went out," his wife suggested as the two of them hurried in the direction of the cries. "Maybe they're looking for him. They must be worried sick. And the little guy must be frightened out of his wits."
"Must be," said her husband.
As they got closer, they could hear the sobbing voice more clearly, and after a minute or so they could figure out the words.
"Mother," it cried, "Mother!"
"Poor little Matthew," said the woman.
"M-mother," sobbed the voice, "please come, please..."
"He's terrified," said the man. "And I can't blame him."
"Mother, I'm cold, come and get me..."
"Just around the hill," panted the woman.
"Hang on, Matthew, we're on our way!" cried the man.
Then the couple circled the hill. Saw the sobbing child. And gasped in surprise.
It was a little girl they had never seen before in town. She looked very young – she could not be more than two years old. She was wearing blue and silky robes, sitting on the ground, her face buried in her hands, sobbing heartbreakingly.
The man and the woman froze for a moment, not sure what to do next. Then the woman's maternal instincts overcame her and she hurried forward. Her husband followed her quickly.
"Hey there," the woman said softly, crouching on the ground beside the little girl. "Why are you crying?"
The little girl looked up, and when she saw the two strangers, she let out a frightened gasp and moved backwards in fear.
"No, don't be afraid," said the woman in the same soft voice, "we don't want to harm you. We want to help. Have you got lost? Is that why you're crying?"
The little girl swallowed her tears. "M-my mother told me to wait here for her, but she didn't come back," she stammered.
The man and the woman exchanged glances.
"Where did your mother go?" the man asked, crouching next to her as well.
"Into the forest," said the little girl, pointing to some random spot. "She told me not to follow. She said she'd come back really soon. But she didn't."
The man and the woman exchanged glances again. "She may have been attacked by a wolf," the woman muttered, so that only her husband could hear her.
"Maybe I should go in and look for her," said the man. "Would it make you feel better?" he added, addressing the little girl.
"You won't find her in there," said the girl sadly. "She must have Disapparated by now."
The man and the woman stared at her.
"She must have what?"
"Disapparated," the little girl repeated. "I'm cold," she added, hugging herself and shuddering.
The man took off his own coat at once and wrapped it around the little girl's shoulders, over her strange robes. It was way too big for such a small girl, and the sight brought a smile to their faces.
"I'll tell you what," said the woman. "We'll take you home. You can have dinner with us, you must be really hungry. And you can get some sleep."
"B-but I need to wait for Mother! She t-told me to wait right here!" said the little girl, starting to sob again.
"Oh no, don't cry," said the woman quickly, patting her hair.
"Here. I'll leave your mommy a note right here, and that way she will know where to find you when she comes back," said the man. He took out a piece of paper, scribbled something on it and glued it to a near rock. "She will find that note and come to our house to get you. All right?"
The little girl leaned over the note and read out loud: "Dear Mother, I went with two nice people who live in the closest house right across the hill. Come and get me."
"You can read?" said the man, astonished.
"Of course," said the little girl as if it were obvious.
"How old are you?" the woman wondered.
"Two," the little girl replied, holding up two fingers.
The man and the woman stared at each other, then at the child, then decided to let it go.
"So shall we?" said the man. "Come on, we'll take you home and your mommy will probably come and get you soon."
"All right," the little girl agreed. The man picked her up and held her close and very carefully. Then they started walking, with the woman hurrying along beside them.
"You speak very well for a two-year-old," said the man. "And you can read. I'm really impressed."
"Do you have children?" asked the little girl as they approached the house.
"No," said the woman quietly.
They entered the house and turned on the lights. The little girl looked at the lightbulb in wonder, then looked around her as if this was the first time she saw a house before. The man and the woman stared at her. At last, the little girl looked at the man carrying her, then at his wife.
"Are you Muggles?" she asked.
"Sorry, dear?" said the woman.
The little girl did not reply. She looked around some more, then yawned.
"You should go to bed," said the woman at once. "You must be exhausted. I'll set the guest room." She hurried upstairs.
"By the way, what is your name?" the man asked the little girl.
"It's Hermione," she replied.
~*~
"So what are we going to do with her?" the woman asked. "How will we find her mother?"
"I'll notify the police first thing tomorrow morning," said the man. "They will find her mother. And until then, she can stay here, can't she?"
"Of course she can. I'll take a couple of days off work."
They both stared at each other.
"Did you notice – " the man began.
"Yes," his wife agreed fervently.
"There's something strange about her," the man said.
"I know. It's like she's... really not a normal child. And what did she say about us being Muggles, or something like that?"
"No idea," said the man, shrugging. "And how I wouldn't find her mother, because she must have Disapparated? That was weird. Do you think it was some kind of baby talk? Maybe it's her way of pronouncing another word?"
"Like what?" his wife asked.
There was a long silence.
"What if the police can't find her mother?" the woman asked.
"It's like there was a reason she was there all alone, wasn't there?" said her husband.
"What if we can't find her parents or anybody who knows something about her?" said the woman.
"Then maybe..." the man cleared his throat. "Maybe she can stay here."
His wife gazed at him.
"If we really can't find her relatives," the man added.
"Of course," the woman murmured. "Yes. You're right. She can stay here. With us."
~*~
A/N: So, hi everyone! I don't know how often this will be updated, but I'm going to do my best. Please leave me a review!