She Walked Away

Musical Inspiration:

Poets of the FallCarnival of Rust
Placebo Twenty Years
RedLet it Burn
Taylor SwiftSafe and Sound
Alana GraceBlack Roses Red

NOTES

This story grew from its original prompt but in the end it will all tie into the prompt; I picked the prompt to use as a one-shot to kick off my writing…and boy did it. She Walked Away is sitting at Chapter Ninety that has already been written and is just now getting into the original idea of the fan fiction.

With that being said I will post two chapters a week. One on Sunday, the other on Wednesday; if I get an abnormal (read: high) number of reviews on a particular chapter I will be willing to post outside of my schedule.

I do not own Harry Potter and Co. That honor goes to J. K. Rowling.

Prompt: A person decides to leave their family and never speak to them again. The reason is not love, nor hate.

WORD COUNT: Excluding Authoress Note 3,522

Chapter One: Humble Beginnings

It was early January and the library at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was busier than Hermione had ever seen it this year, except towards end of term testing. Her usual table had been taken over by some third year Ravenclaws that you could hardly see over a stack of books which irked her just a little bit, but they were only third years and probably didn't know that since Hermione's first year this table had been dedicated as hers due to the massive amounts of studying she did, she always preferred a quiet corner in the back of the stacks that others were unlikely to visit. The problem now was that there wasn't an open table in sight that hadn't been taken over by OWL or NEWT students, usually Ravenclaws, that where studying with all their might for tests that where four to six months away.

Giving her table up as a lost cause she happened to run across Madam Pince who was restocking shelves as well as watching a mixed group of first year Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws that looked like they were up to something other than homework or studying for tests. Most people avoided the library once OWL and NEWT studying season had started since the 5th and 7th year students where liable to bite someone's head off if they breathed too loudly, and lord help them if they actually spoke.

Hermione approached the stern librarian and was glad to see a small smile cross her face. Irma Pince had learned that Hermione was one of the students at Hogwarts that could be trusted with a book beyond exception.

"Madam Pince, I can't seem to find an open table anywhere." She said, hoping the librarian would be able to help her out and when she saw Madam Pince smile at her, she knew she had come to the right conclusion.

"Come with me." She said, leading Hermione through the tall bookcases of books at a brisk pace before they made a sharp turn at the Wizarding Legislation section and then entered a door that Hermione had seen but had never bothered to explore before.

Beyond the door the entered in was a hallway that made a square around the main body of the room and there where countless doors on the walls. Madam Pince kept walking until she came to a room labeled '32G' which she unlocked with a wave of her wand.

"We have study corrals but try and keep them to only those working on OWLs and NEWTs. The password for this door is 'Libra Draconis' it is yours as long as you are here at Hogwarts, most of the OWL and NEWT students know about them but don't bother asking for them unless the tables are full. There is a strict limit of three people per room. You may check out books to have placed in here when you know you'll need them ahead of time. If you know the general subject of the paper I can have books pulled that way." She said, pausing to take a breath before continuing. "The books checked out to this room do not leave this room but you may check out from general circulation as you wish and I will extend to you the curtsey of increasing the number of books you may check out from five to ten. You take good care of your books so I know there will be no concern about their safety. The study corrals open two hours earlier than the general library and close two hours later than the general library so on weekends that would give you sixteen hours to work if that is your desire. It is recommended that you purchase some extra supplies while in Hogsmeade this afternoon so you may leave them in here. I will also add another bookcase in here so that you may bring your own books and keep them separate from the library books, even though the library books are marked, it is better to be safe than sorry. Might I suggest an extendable charm on your bag before it breaks it seems. You'll find what you need in the Charms section under Study Charms if my memory serves me right." She said, giving the girl a genuine smile before she turned to re-enter the rest of the library and find out who had started yelling just outside the study corrals.

Once Madam Pince left her to her own devices Hermione began her ritual of setting up her table for maximum studying efficiency. She first set her bag down in the chair next to the table she had planned on sitting in before sitting in the chair, making sure it was exactly two inches away from the table before opening her school bag.

First came the parchment which was placed in front of her and to the left, aligned flush with the table edge. Next, the books, which were stacked to the right of the parchment in individual stacks by subject matter. Next came two ink wells which were placed above the books but closer to the parchment and then three quills where aligned across the top of the parchment and then her planner was placed to the left of her parchment stack.

Once her ritual was complete she pulled out her spiral notebook that held her book list for her essays that she had to write. Leaving her studying set up she quickly browsed the shelves pulling down a stack of books that would make any other student quiver before she returned to her precious study corral and placed them in their own stack, starting with the 'A' subjects on bottom all the way to 'P' for Potions before she began the task of setting up a revision plan for herself and her two boys, who were going to fail their OWLs if they didn't start studying harder than they were.

A glance at her wristwatch told her the boys would be looking for her since it was almost time to go to Hogsmeade Village. Leaving her things in the study corral except for a copy of her running book list as well as a few school supplies she needed, just managing to catch the boys as they started to exit the castle.

"Do you think you could pick a few things up for me?" she asked, laughing when both Harry and Ron jumped in surprise.

"Sure, what all do you need?" Harry asked, balking slightly at the length of the list that he was handed, knowing it would take the entirety of their trip to pull the books.

"I've already owled them my order, all you have to do is pick it up, although I do need you to stop at the quill shops, although you could probably just pick up a few quills when you get yours Harry. Other than that I just need you to stop at Tomes and Scrolls, as well as the stationary store." She said, handing him a handful of Galleons before she waved them on their way, not wanting to keep them any longer than she had imposed upon them, it was supposed to be a free day for them where they could go look at Qudditch Supplies and visit Zonk's Joke Shop. That was why she had thought to send an owl ahead of them to make sure that all the books she needed would be provided for her, as well as to make it easier on the boys.

Making her way back to the library Hermione made a stop by the Charms section to find the extendable charm so that she could apply it to her school bag. It would be nice to be able to carry around as many books as she could ever want. Find the correct book she pulled it down before making her way to her private study corral, glad that there where permanent silencing charms and anti-eavesdropping charms placed around the room as she found the correct spell, or spells rather, that would enable her to carry as many possible books and writing equipment as she desired.

The first spell that was applied was the weightless charm which immediately made a difference in the weight of her school bag. From there she placed a charm that was supposed to keep it from ripping at the seams and then her final charm was the extendable charm which was a series of charms so complex any other student wouldn't have been able to accomplish it as just a fifth year; a few of them where NEWT level charms. Once they charms where all in place she began the process of taking tedious notes on the process, thinking that it would come in handy down the road.

By the time the boys returned from Hogsmeade, Hermione had returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, grinning from ear to ear when they walked in with a shrunken box from Tomes and Scrolls that had her name written all over it.

"Would you like to come with me and see the study corrals I found? Madam Pince let me check one out for my duration of stay at Hogwarts even though they're usually reserved for OWL or NEWT students, she said not enough students asked for them this year so one of them is now reserved for me." She said, accepting the box from the bookstore, itching to go through it but decided on waiting until she was in either her room or her study corral.

"Is it quieter than the main floor of the library?" Ron of all people asked, however, it was well known that during OWLs and NEWT studying season the library got louder when it should have actually gotten quieter. This was due to a huge influx of students as they started feeling the pressures of their exams creeping up on them.

"Yes and because the room is enclosed you can cast a privacy charm and a 'Quietus' and not have to listen to the noise from the outside." She said, surprised that Ron was actually showing interest, although his mother had threatened to kill him if he didn't pass all of his OWLs this year, including Divination of all things. "Madam Pince said we could share a corral if we chose to since there is a limit of three students per study corral." She said; glad to see that even Ron was shaking his head in approval of her idea.

"Sorry mate, but I'm going to have to pull a Hermione until OWLs are finished or there will be nothing left of me to return for Sixth Year courses." Ron said, looking at Harry who grimaced in sympathy.

"Unfortunately Ron that threat didn't apply just to you; I received a thinly veiled threat covering the same thing from your mother and Sirius as well as Remus. So I'm in the same boat as all of you." Harry said.

"Let's go to the corral and then we'll discuss the details once we're inside. The common room is starting to fill up again." Hermione said, and as the boys looked around they realized that was a correct assumption before they started making the rather long trek to the library. Two moving staircases and a trick step later found them entering the library and making their way back to the Magical Legislation section and taking a sharp turn into a door neither of the boys had noticed before at their time here at Hogwarts.

Once inside their personal study carrel they helped Hermione shelf the books she had purchased each picking out a few to take back the common room with them before they settled in to start working on revision of four and a half years' worth of material.

"This is ridiculous. There is no way we can go over all of this by the time NEWTs arrive." Ron said, letting his head hit the desk with a groan, which Harry was inclined to agree with.

"Yes we can. We have five months until we sit our OWLs and we have five years' worth of material to cover. If we cover a year's worth of material a month per class we'll finish up with two weeks to spare to go over test-taking skills and things of that sort." Hermione said, as she pulled forth a 3-inch, three ring binder that she had set up over the Christmas or Yule holidays. Flipping to the first divider where three pre-typed study schedules lay waiting for them.

Handing Ron and Harry their schedules she looked over her schedule which was packed to the gills since she took eleven classes while the boys only took nine classes.

"You study one subject a day, except for Saturday and Sunday where you study two, but you will have to cover a year's worth of material per month. I doubt either of you kept your old notes?" she asked, not surprised when they shook their heads no.

Sighing Hermione pulled out her file folder before enlarging all of the Transfiguration notes she had taken from First Year up to what they had gone over so far in Fifth Year and making them a copy before doing the same with all their other course notes.

"I can't help you with in-class Divination notes as I dropped the subject but if you can show me a copy of your course outline I can throw together some notes for you later tonight." She said, not surprised when the boys immediately took her up on the offer, not realizing how thin this would stretch her until it was testing time. "Alright then, if you'll hand me that outline I'll get started putting together something for you to go on, keep in mind that some of what you go over may or may not be on your OWL which is why this is so stressful you have no way of narrowing it down by any means. True you could look at the review of last year's OWL but it's technically illegal to reveal the test questions or ask about certain test questions word for word." Hermione said as she made her way from the study corral. "I'll be back. I'm going to go pick up some Divination books to start working on planning out your study schedule." She said as she left with their topic outline in hand.

Once in the Divination section Hermione took a good look at their topic outline before pulling down three books a piece that where not used within the classroom to give them a good overview of what was on the OWL Divination test. Since Firenze had been hired it seemed like everyone's grades had gone up in the class for those that were actually trying. Since his installation as Divination teacher however, Ron and Harry had started failing their Dream Journals because he could tell that they were making them up. After their first failed journal they asked him what to do if they didn't remember their dreams and he said to leave it blank but to put either a clear quartz crystal or an amethyst crystal underneath their pillow and to look into making either a dream pillow or purchasing a dream catcher. They had done as he had suggested and began recording their dreams as they happened and would be finding out what they made next Friday as that was when their next journals where due.

When Hermione returned she was floating ten Divination books in front of her, letting them fall to the table before her before she began flipping through them and taking notes on what would be a good revision schedule for the boys Divination course.

It took her only an hour to throw together a decent Divination revision schedule for them before merging it with their already completed revision schedule and handing it back to Ron and Harry, who noticed there was very little free time for them, but Mrs. Weasley would kill them if they didn't pass all their OWLs and Hermione had still allowed time for their Qudditch Practice and Prefects rounds for Ron.

"This is crazy!" Ron said, not liking the lack of free time he was accustomed to.

"My schedule is heavier than yours, I'm taking three more classes than you are. Besides the stuff up until third year should be quick work and the schedule is flexible enough that you can work ahead if you finish earlier enough." She said, giving Ron a disapproving look as she turned back to her file folder pulling out her History of Magic notes along with her Potions notes before copying them onto blank sheets of parchment for the boys and then doing the same with Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy.

When she handed them to the boys, who were looking at her with something akin to awe that she had kept the notes from when she was eleven she just gave them a look that said 'really' before she spoke.

"That's everything from First Year thru now. Follow the schedule I've created for you and you'll do fine. I'm not completely done with your Divination revision schedule but I'll have that done by Monday at the latest." She said, attempting to turn back to her work once again when Harry stopped her, handing her a shrunken package.

"I picked up a few things for you from Flourish and Blott's that the manager thought you might like. It seems you've made an impression on him since he is constantly pulling books for you." He said, giving her a smile as she grinned like a little girl at Christmas before un-shrinking the package Harry had purchased for her.

Turing her attention back to the texts she had purchased she ran her hand down a few of the spines, most of them where only for reference material and for the purpose of cross-referencing a few things. Seeing all the books she had purchased there she gave a slight nod of her head before turning to the one that Harry had purchased for her.

Inside the package that had, at the least, quadrupled in size, lay several of the more expensive tomes that she had her eye on for a while now covering everything that could possibly come up on their OWL tests. There where reference books for Herbology and Potions ingredients as well as workbooks for Astronomy, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes that where two thousand pages long. Looking through the workbooks Hermione deemed them worthy enough that if they could just work through the workbooks they would be fine and could manage very well for their OWL subjects. The DADA workbook was by far her most favorite, especially since the class was being taught by such a toad of a woman.

"I purchased the workbook for everyone that is in the DA." Harry said, glad that he didn't have to keep his voice down about Dumbledore's Army, they were always worried about members of the Inquisitor's Squad finding out about their secret training sessions.

"It's brilliant Harry. It covers everything we should have learned our first, second, fourth and fifth years here, as well as a review of what Remus was covering. Thank you for the extra books" Hermione said, glad to see that Harry had been somewhat paying attention, even if he always got top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts, as she gave him a tight hug.

"I do come up with some good ideas every now and again." Harry said chuckling slightly, glad that Hermione had liked his idea of purchasing the workbooks for everyone in the DA.

"Start working on your homework Harry, now that you don't have Qudditch Practice anymore it gives you more time to study." Hermione said, wincing when she reminded them that Dolores Umbridge had given him a life-time ban on Qudditch at Hogwarts and had attempted to disband all the Qudditch teams.

Harry just gave her a wry look as he turned his attention back to the paper for Potions that he had been working on, glad for once that Hermione was riding him about his homework. It wouldn't do to be sent to see Umbridge just because he failed to turn in a homework assignment, and Snape would be the one Professor to do such a thing. He had had about enough of that nasty Blood Quill as he could stand. It did help that all the points he was losing because of her where very quick to come back to Gryffindor as the other teachers had seemed to make it a pact to give Harry has many points as possible before the end of the term, hell he had been given points by Professor Sprout for handing her a watering can. If that wasn't manipulating the system he didn't know what was. As Harry turned his attention back to his Potion's essay, Hermione went to work on creating a color-coded revision schedule for them all with as many of the times coinciding as she possibly could manage.