Author's Note: So okay, I think I have to many unfinished fics up here, especially Harry Potter ones, but this one was too good to pass up! I'll try not to waffle on though so with the note.
Note 1) This is a completely AU fic. As in, they're not wizards. There is no Hogwarts. Magic is limited to one or two things that fit in with the plot line and will be explained later. As in, they know each other, but their relationships have been altered somewhat to suit the storyline and my own purposes. I tried to make them as parallel and as close to their usual counterparts as possible!
Note 2) College fic, sort of. But that's not exactly the focus.
Note 3) Sorry for anything in advance!I had a good friend (AshTonks) read it for me in advance and we both love the idea. Please, however, critique not flame. There is a big difference.
References: Title is from a popular song of the same name, the artist of which, I can't remember her name! Blast my crappish memory sometimes. However, the title has a lot to do with the plot in a sort of literal and twisted way. However, if I made mistakes (American sorry haha) please point them out to me!
The first three quotes that appear in the first part are as follows:
(Quote 1 is from Robert Maynard Hutchins)
(Quote 2 is from Walker Percy)
(Quote 3 is from Oscar Wilde, "The Critic as Artist," 1890)
Summary: AU. Hermione Granger thought all there was to life was school, until she met Scabior. He soon shows her that not all of life can come from textbooks, but at how high a price? He is guarding a gruesome secret and Hermione has to figure out a way to save both of them before it is too late.
Content Rating: M for later stuff.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the associated characters. I do not own the title of the fic. I do not own the quotes used in this chapter. No money was made from the writing of this fic.
Jar of Hearts
Chapter 1: First Impressions
It was once said that "The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." However, it has also been said that "You can get all A's and still flunk life."
I was one of those people, whom those quotes were written for.
School was everything to me.
Before I met him anyway.
Then I understood what Oscar Wilde meant when he said "Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught."
Education means nothing without experience…
X
Hermione was not fond of pubs. In fact, she wasn't sure exactly why she was in the pub, except that some friends had dragged her from what was sure to be a quiet Friday night in with her books, her comforting reading chair, and a warm cappuccino.
It was loud for starters. An obnoxious band was playing the small stage. It seemed their intent was to see who could play the loudest, not necessarily the best amongst themselves. She couldn't distinguish real words being sung. Her ears promptly protested.
The place had its own sort of noxious perfume. The heavy toxic scent of cheap cigarettes permeated the air, mixed with stale ale, and years of sweat and grime. She feared touching any available surface with her bare skin, thus resolving to keep her gloves on, despite the stuffy atmosphere.
If it hadn't been for the promise of meeting her younger roommate, Ginny Weasley's brother, Hermione might not have left at all. Ginny had been goading Hermione along for weeks now, that her brother was just the right sort of mate for her, and that a good snog would straighten them out.
How could Hermione resist?
She had smiled politely and nodded that she would accompany them on their weekly scrimmage to the pub that Ginny's oldest brother, Bill, worked weekends at to "hang out." Hermione wasn't exactly a popular girl.
There was a huge gap between being popular and being known. Hermione was known for her always perfect grades, but that didn't make her popular. In fact, it made her rather unpopular with most of her classmates.
They whispered that it made them look bad. But Hermione couldn't help her intelligence, any more than she could help tame her bushy hair. Knowing the answers and studying was as natural to her as breathing.
She was used to the ridicule of her peers, having lived with it all her life. She had a quite normal childhood, born to normal parents who were both dentists. That alone was enough to alienate her. When she had become a teenager, she had continued her weekend of ritual of extra homework and playing board games with her parents instead of going out on dates.
Hermione wanted a good education, to make something of herself. Shouldn't that be what anyone wanted?
But once she got into University, she realized how much her normal hormones had been lacking. Her first roommate had been an upperclassman who moved out not long after her arrival. She spent much of her first year alone and focused. If it had not been for her one lone friend, Harry Potter, she might not have had any contact with anyone else all year long.
Harry Potter was one of those quietly popular students. Everyone knew something about him, as his parents had been the victims of a terrible murderous rampage when he was born. He never let that stop him though. He lived with his aunt's family most of his life, until he could legally move out. He didn't speak of the abuse at home, though everyone probably knew about it.
Instead, he excelled at sports and made a name for himself that way, just like his father had before him. Hermione's brilliance had helped him when they were kids and they kept contact then. She was still amazed they could get along so well, even when they were so different. It was even more surprising that he had made into the same University as her, when he had been so unsure of what to do with his life.
But she was thankful for it, none the less.
Ginny had moved in at the beginning of Hermione's second year of college; the difference in their personalities and goals was like night and day. Hermione liked that though. Ginny introduced her to things she hadn't known about before, always trying to include her in activities. Hermione was grateful for the invitations, even if she didn't make good on them very often. In turn, Hermione introduced her to Harry Potter, and the two hit it off right away.
Hermione guessed, as she tried to avoid being pressed against burly pub goers, that Ginny was trying to return the favor.
"Hermione! There you are!" Harry yelled across the way. She could see Ginny sitting beside him in a booth, as well as a bunch of ginger-haired boys she wasn't exactly familiar with. She tried to wave back, but her arm was pinned to her side by another patron.
Instead, she pressed on, hoping to reach the table before something unfortunate happened. She fell onto the slick cushions beside a red head that appeared to be about the same age.
"I was scared you would back out on us," Ginny teased. Hermione didn't add that she nearly had.
"Not tonight," she smiled. The boy beside her cleared his throat.
"Um 'ermione, this is my older brother, Ron." She turned enough to offer her hand. His hair was a little shaggy, like it was due for a trim soon, but his eyes were warm and he grinned at her as he stuck out his hand. He took in her average appearance with more interest than most men.
"Pleasure to meet you," she said.
"Yeah, same 'ere." His shake was brief but firm. Hermione felt awkward though.
"Have I seen you around campus before?"
"Probably," he shrugged. "I study with 'arry."
"Oh, I see," she nodded. So far this wasn't turning out well. First impressions were rarely a good measure of whether you would like a person though.
"Get you something to drink?"
"No thanks. I'm not much of a drinker," she told him honestly.
"Just some water then?" She didn't want to be rude, but Hermione wasn't sure that she wanted even a glass of water from the taps of this place.
"Uh sure."
"Be right back then." He stepped out the other side of the booth and headed for the bar.
"So what do you think of 'im?" Ginny asked, though any conversation being held in that dive was at a yell, as she leaned across the table.
"I don't know," Hermione shrugged, being honest. He seemed okay, but already she doubted they would have much in common.
Harry stopped nursing his drink enough to tell her, "Come on Hermione, you could do with some fun in your life. It's all books." He made a valid point, but Hermione wasn't sure her idea of fun was this Friday night. She could clearly see what his idea of fun was with Ginny as they shared an intimate kiss.
She felt awkward and turned her eyes to her surroundings, though the interior was almost too dark to make anything of. One of the ginger-haired men at the table next to her caught her eye and promptly took Ron's spot. She guessed they were part of his family.
"Is this the bookworm then?" he yelled at Ginny.
"Don't call 'er that Fred, or is it George?" Ginny yelled back at him.
"Alright, I'm cutting you off," he told her with a laugh. "Already 'ad one drink too many if you can't tell us apart." An identical boy joined him a moment later.
"So you would be Ginny's wormy friend then?" the other one asked.
"Don't call 'er that," Ginny insisted on Hermione's behalf. "'ermione these are my brothers, Fred and George."
"Nice to meet you," she nodded as she thrust out her hand. She immediately wished she hadn't, as the twin that took it had some sort of shocker device in his palm. She shrieked and took her hand back as soon as possible.
"Oy, what are you lot doing to 'er?" Ron demanded as he stormed over to them.
"Just playing," one started, "a prank," the other finished as they jumped out of the booth and headed back to their own table. Hermione's hand felt like it was going to go numb and fall off for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry about them," Ron told her as he handed her the cool glass of water. Out of habit, Hermione reached for it with her right hand, remembering a second too late that it was still tingling from the force of their attack.
The water spilled out of the clear glass, mostly down the front of her body before she slammed it down on the table. The twins laughed harder than they had been moments before as Ron, Harry, and Ginny rushed to find napkins to help wipe up the mess.
"My fault," Hermione told them. "Where is the washroom?" Ginny quickly gave her the directions and offered to accompany her. "No, its okay," she smiled. "I'll be right back." She pressed through the crowds as well as she could, glad for the eventual privacy of the ladies room.
It was as unappealing as the rest of the pub. Hermione was glad that she didn't actually have to go. She grabbed a handful of paper towels and tried to patch herself up as best she could. Her feelings of leaving had only intensified.
Was it fate that her one night out was a disaster? A sign that yes indeed she should have stayed in? Or was it because she had no interest in staying that she was somehow causing these unfortunate events? She had read enough to know that it was possible to cause your own unhappiness.
"No use crying about it now though," she told her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She would just go back to the table, make up some story about having to leave quickly for an emergency, and then return to the dorm.
Hermione finished drying herself off as best she could and then stepped back out into the unfriendly atmosphere.
However, as well minded as her intentions had been, Hermione found after a second of glancing at the table, she didn't care to return the rest of the night. A wavy-haired, bubbling girl had plopped herself into the booth where Hermione had occupied seconds before. Hermione recognized her as Lavender Brown, a nice girl though not quite on her intellectual standards.
It seemed, however, Lavender and Ron were on the same level though as Hermione watched the other her give a firm kiss to his cheek. Her stomach burned with an intensity she didn't know she had and she forgot all about her plan to politely excuse herself from this social disaster.
Instead, she turned and tried to fight her way out of the pub before anyone noticed and tried to stop her. It wasn't like she was terribly interested in Ron; she wasn't. It was more the principle of the thing. Already he was allowing another girl to get so close when he was supposed to be waiting on Hermione to return.
Of course, maybe Hermione had jumped to conclusions a bit. She didn't try to talk herself out of heading for the door though. Ron was giving her all the excuse to leave that she needed. Ginny wouldn't be back until late, if she came back at all, and she would be drunk as a skunk if she did.
It was better to leave before anyone noticed. Her Jane Austen complete works were waiting for her back at the dorm for a bit of light bed time reading.
What Hermione didn't plan on, was being thrust against the bar and into a complete stranger. While this occurrence alone is not much to warrant significance, it just so happened that the man she bumped into, was not ordinary by any means.
"Sorry," Hermione apologized as she dusted herself off. The shortest way, by the bar stools had seemed the best option at the time but in retrospect it actually wasn't. Her eyes took time to notice the type of person she had bumped into.
His clothing was quite mismatched, if she was being nice; second hand and a bit worn if she wasn't being polite. Leather with military, a random scarf, plaid pants, and work boots to top it all off. Some of her classmates loved clothing like that though; that wasn't unusual.
Her eyes traveled up his neck to his chin, where he was in need of a shave; unless that was the style. His dark hair was wild but loosely restrained, which would give one the first impression that he didn't care what it did, except that she could see where a section had been dyed a deep mix of chestnut and crimson.
However, it was his hooded eyes that really grabbed her. They were blue? She couldn't tell if he had rings around them from a lack of sleep or if it was a type of makeup. To her, they seemed pleading but mischievous.
"Hello beautiful," his rough accent rasped through, his clear eyes raking over her appearance like a fine toothed comb, shaking her back to reality. Of all the things though in the pub, he had to be the most repulsive to her; he was forthcoming and uncivilized in a modern way; a punk. She turned her head away, hoping his beastly attentions would be placed on someone else. "Fancy a pint?"
"No thank you," she ground out.
"You look like you could use one," he continued, following her.
"No thank you," she told him again. "I'm not a drinker."
"And what are you then?" he inquired. Suddenly, she wished she wasn't alone. He was quite persistent and the dorm was swiftly too far away. Hermione ignored him, shoving her hands further down in her pockets, hoping for something to threaten him with should he become physical. "Oh, the old silent treatment then, love?"
He laughed as he continued the chase. Hermione was trying to place as many patrons between herself and her follower as possible. She had her phone in an emergency, if she got the chance.
"Your boyfriend not paying any attention to you?"
"He isn't my boyfriend," she snapped. So he had been watching her?
"Of course not," he agreed. She was nearly to the door. Would he dare follow her outside? "He doesn't deserve to be if he acts that way."
"And you could do better?" She paused beside the doorway, turning her neck far enough to see over her shoulder. He was standing a few feet away, an amused smirk gracing his rugged face, as he watched her for a few moments.
"Maybe," he shrugged, taking a step closer. Out of fear and later she would confess to herself, a bit of flattery, her pulse began to race. He sniffed the air, his eyes coming to rest on the exposed part of her neck. He could smell the faint traces of her perfume in all of this?
"I'm not interested," Hermione told him firmly as she pressed her full weight against the door, hoping to take him by surprise and escape into the night.
"Don't be too sure," he called after her. Every few seconds her eyes darted over her shoulder furtively to be sure that he wasn't lurking in the shadows following along. He wasn't. But somehow she could still feel his sharp gaze lingering on her.
A shiver that had nothing to do with the weather crawled down her spine.
He was just a random stranger, someone she would never see again she rationalized as she crawled under the covers once she got back to her dorm room. But somehow, she felt her life wasn't that simple.
Author's End Note: Watcha think? Too far out there? Just right? Anything else? Do you like it? Should I stop asking questions now? Probably.