In This Life or the Next
Chapter One: Smiles
Hermione Granger, top student at Hogworts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stepped onto the bright red train at platform nine and three quarters.
Harry and Ron were two compartments back, but Hermione felt like being alone on the train this time.
Putting her robes on first thing, she sat down by the window and watched the scenery pass by.
Summer hadn't been anything spectacular; she read while watching Ron and Harry practice flying around the Weasley hidden field. It was relaxing, but it felt sad at the same time. They normally had some kind of adventure over at the Weasley's humble burrow.
She had to go home early that year, her dad managed to get a letter to her.
If nothing spectacular happened in Hermione's opinion, it was because she was trying to forget.
Trying to forget what happed after she went home.
Her mother had given birth to her little sister, the reason she was called home early, and that made her smile. She helped out in taking care of Little Emily. She enjoyed it.
But when she pulled out her schoolbooks, her mom screamed.
She didn't want Hermione's gifts to ever be near the baby. She didn't want her new baby to be different.
She wanted a 'normal' child.
A tear fell down her cheek as she remembered.
Hermione had then finished her homework quickly out of the sight of the baby, and went back to caring for it with her mother.
This was fine for a while.
Then her mother decided that her other daughter's presence could affect the child, and banished Hermione to her room for the rest of the summer.
The tear that had fallen before, was nothing compared to the streams coming down unnoticed by her conscious self.
She curled up into herself and tried to sleep some.
She had disobeyed her mother at times during the summer. She often visited the baby when her mother and father were sleeping.
Her father thought that her mother was being unfair, but decided not to do anything.
The baby seemed to like her. Hermione rocked the child so that it wouldn't cry, and wake her parents. She sang to it softly.
She would have loved to play with her little sister, but she was afraid that Emily would laugh so loud.
The door to the compartment opened.
"Granger." A voice called.
She looked up and saw Malfoy scowling at her.
"What am I too late? Who harassed you before I had a chance?" he smirked, and then frowned.
He saw the tears falling down her cheeks and the slight puffiness of her eyes. He, Draco Malfoy, had never ever been able to make her go to tears like that. Yeah sure he could make her furious, and in their second year he got weeping out of her, but he had never brought this much sadness to her face.
In a weird disturbed way, it made him feel jealous.
He walked over and crouched in front of her. "Come on, who did this to you?"
She put a hand up to her face and felt the wetness of her tears. "Why does it matter Malfoy." She stated softly not trusting her own voice.
"Well, it matters quite a bit, Granger, because I should be the only person to make you cry." He handed her a clean piece of cloth. "Now who did this." He stated no longer asking.
Hermione sighed; he was acting strange, almost as if he was being protective of her. In a strange freaky way, that had mainly to do with the fact that he appeared to want to be the only person to make her sad.
"My mother." She gave up.
He blinked. "Your mother?" he stood up, "Why would you own mother want you to cry?"
"She didn't do it on purpose MAFLOY!" Hermione snapped at him.
"That's no good.." he sat in front of her, "Tell me what made you this upset?"
"My mother pulled a 'you're a freak' scene." At his apparent confusion, she took another breath and tried to explain it. "Like most pureblood wizards hate the un-magical populous of the world, the un-magical look at the magical populous of the world as if they were freaks of nature. Some hide it and live with the differences, showing it when they can no longer hide it, AKA my mother, Some absolutely hate the other kind AKA Your family and Harry's family. And some adore both sides, AKA Dumbledore. Get it?"
"Yeah." He regarded her oddly, "I didn't realize that type of thing affected you much, I mean I call you Mudblood all the time don't I? It doesn't even faze you any more. If it does I can always think of ways to bring it up, I mean I can't lose to your mother, that's just pitiful!"
Hermione looked at him oddly, "You don't understand, it's different when someone you trust, and love, calls you a freak because of what you are." Her tears had dried up. Malfoy had at least made her forget her sadness for a while.
"Ok." He said standing, "Then here is the plan, you must smile. I will not allow anyone else to make you sad. Even if it is a loved one, if you ever feel like some one else is going to make you cry, you come tell me ok?"
Hermione put up a half smile, "Watch it Malfoy, some one might think you care about me."
He looked at her oddly, "What do you mean? Of course, I do, you're my form of entertainment, and you're basically useless if I'm not the one who is picking on you." He smirked, standing, "Got to go, and remember Mudblood, smile."
Hermione wasn't quite sure what had just happened, as she watched him leave the compartment, but she just couldn't stop smiling.
*.`~*`.*~*.`~*`.*~
AN:
Ok I don't know if I should write more on this, but I needed to stretch my writing mind so that I could actually work out of a blocked wall on my other stories.
Tell me what you think. Should I leave it be or add more? If I add, it won't go how most of you will think. ^_^ I have another idea I might incorporate into this story.
RELENA
Chapter One: Smiles
Hermione Granger, top student at Hogworts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stepped onto the bright red train at platform nine and three quarters.
Harry and Ron were two compartments back, but Hermione felt like being alone on the train this time.
Putting her robes on first thing, she sat down by the window and watched the scenery pass by.
Summer hadn't been anything spectacular; she read while watching Ron and Harry practice flying around the Weasley hidden field. It was relaxing, but it felt sad at the same time. They normally had some kind of adventure over at the Weasley's humble burrow.
She had to go home early that year, her dad managed to get a letter to her.
If nothing spectacular happened in Hermione's opinion, it was because she was trying to forget.
Trying to forget what happed after she went home.
Her mother had given birth to her little sister, the reason she was called home early, and that made her smile. She helped out in taking care of Little Emily. She enjoyed it.
But when she pulled out her schoolbooks, her mom screamed.
She didn't want Hermione's gifts to ever be near the baby. She didn't want her new baby to be different.
She wanted a 'normal' child.
A tear fell down her cheek as she remembered.
Hermione had then finished her homework quickly out of the sight of the baby, and went back to caring for it with her mother.
This was fine for a while.
Then her mother decided that her other daughter's presence could affect the child, and banished Hermione to her room for the rest of the summer.
The tear that had fallen before, was nothing compared to the streams coming down unnoticed by her conscious self.
She curled up into herself and tried to sleep some.
She had disobeyed her mother at times during the summer. She often visited the baby when her mother and father were sleeping.
Her father thought that her mother was being unfair, but decided not to do anything.
The baby seemed to like her. Hermione rocked the child so that it wouldn't cry, and wake her parents. She sang to it softly.
She would have loved to play with her little sister, but she was afraid that Emily would laugh so loud.
The door to the compartment opened.
"Granger." A voice called.
She looked up and saw Malfoy scowling at her.
"What am I too late? Who harassed you before I had a chance?" he smirked, and then frowned.
He saw the tears falling down her cheeks and the slight puffiness of her eyes. He, Draco Malfoy, had never ever been able to make her go to tears like that. Yeah sure he could make her furious, and in their second year he got weeping out of her, but he had never brought this much sadness to her face.
In a weird disturbed way, it made him feel jealous.
He walked over and crouched in front of her. "Come on, who did this to you?"
She put a hand up to her face and felt the wetness of her tears. "Why does it matter Malfoy." She stated softly not trusting her own voice.
"Well, it matters quite a bit, Granger, because I should be the only person to make you cry." He handed her a clean piece of cloth. "Now who did this." He stated no longer asking.
Hermione sighed; he was acting strange, almost as if he was being protective of her. In a strange freaky way, that had mainly to do with the fact that he appeared to want to be the only person to make her sad.
"My mother." She gave up.
He blinked. "Your mother?" he stood up, "Why would you own mother want you to cry?"
"She didn't do it on purpose MAFLOY!" Hermione snapped at him.
"That's no good.." he sat in front of her, "Tell me what made you this upset?"
"My mother pulled a 'you're a freak' scene." At his apparent confusion, she took another breath and tried to explain it. "Like most pureblood wizards hate the un-magical populous of the world, the un-magical look at the magical populous of the world as if they were freaks of nature. Some hide it and live with the differences, showing it when they can no longer hide it, AKA my mother, Some absolutely hate the other kind AKA Your family and Harry's family. And some adore both sides, AKA Dumbledore. Get it?"
"Yeah." He regarded her oddly, "I didn't realize that type of thing affected you much, I mean I call you Mudblood all the time don't I? It doesn't even faze you any more. If it does I can always think of ways to bring it up, I mean I can't lose to your mother, that's just pitiful!"
Hermione looked at him oddly, "You don't understand, it's different when someone you trust, and love, calls you a freak because of what you are." Her tears had dried up. Malfoy had at least made her forget her sadness for a while.
"Ok." He said standing, "Then here is the plan, you must smile. I will not allow anyone else to make you sad. Even if it is a loved one, if you ever feel like some one else is going to make you cry, you come tell me ok?"
Hermione put up a half smile, "Watch it Malfoy, some one might think you care about me."
He looked at her oddly, "What do you mean? Of course, I do, you're my form of entertainment, and you're basically useless if I'm not the one who is picking on you." He smirked, standing, "Got to go, and remember Mudblood, smile."
Hermione wasn't quite sure what had just happened, as she watched him leave the compartment, but she just couldn't stop smiling.
*.`~*`.*~*.`~*`.*~
AN:
Ok I don't know if I should write more on this, but I needed to stretch my writing mind so that I could actually work out of a blocked wall on my other stories.
Tell me what you think. Should I leave it be or add more? If I add, it won't go how most of you will think. ^_^ I have another idea I might incorporate into this story.
RELENA