Disclaimer: Everything, except for the plot, and maybe some of the characters belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling.
Prologue
I ran my fingers across the cover of my long-time favorite, Jane Eyre, a lone tear sliding down my pale cheek. My heart was drumming in my chest, and my hand stilled, lying motionlessly on the book as I leaned against the window beside me, hiding me from view as the drapery fell to place again.
Screams could be heard from the living room, and I let the book fall to the floor as I covered my ears with my small hands, screwing my eyes shut, not wanting to hear it anymore. But I could still hear it all, loud and clear. And when my father screamed for me to come to the living room, I quickly scrambled down from the window sill and padded over to the door that led to said room, slowly opening it.
"Come here." He said, his voice taking on a sickly sweet voice that was so unlike him that I couldn't help but to take a step back. "Hermione."
His eyes were threatening, his voice still sweet, and as I neared the arm chair he was sitting in, fear started to fill my heart, and I started to fidget with the hem of my skirt, looking everywhere but at him.
"Hermione, did you break the urn above the mantel?" Tears gathered in my eyes as I recalled the moment the beautifully carved urn crashed against the hardwood floor, spreading the ashes of my grandmother all over it.
"Yes." I whispered in a raspy voice, cowering back slightly after the word had left my mouth. "But I didn't mean to! I just wanted my book."
His hand hit my left cheek hard, and then my right. A sob escaped my mouth as I brought both of my hands up to my now throbbing cheeks, touching them gingerly as I felt them swell up slightly beneath my fingers. I could hear my mother's soft gasp before she left the room, and my father glared at me, his eyes shooting daggers through me, before he too left the room.
That was the first time my father ever hit me.
A/N: This is the first chapter of my new Harry Potter fanfic, and I hope you liked it, because I did. If you noticed, I used some reference to Jane Eyre, with Hermione sitting by the window, obscured from view by the drapery.
And I would also like some advice from you, because I have no idea who I am going to pair Hermione with. Please, help me!
I have wanted to write ever since I saw HP7 (which I think sounds like a chemistry formula), and I have to say that it was the best of all the Harry Potter movies, but I haven't really known what to write, as I think that everything I write is so lame compared to every other writer out there. But now I decided that it was time to do so, so I would like to know what you thought of it. If there are any faults in grammar or anything, please inform me of this!
Future chapters will be much longer than this, because I strive to write at least 1,000 words per chapter.