I don't own Harry Potter or any of the related characters.
Does Anybody Hear Her?
Eleven-year-old Hermione Granger paced in her while trying to ignore the yelling that was coming from the living room of their two bedroom flat. Her parents never fought, but now they were fighting about her future. And it was all because of one stupid letter.
She was a witch. Well, at least explained some things... like that incident with the frogs.
Her mother was all for learning to do magic. She thought it would make Hermione feel whole. She knew how easy it was for her daughter to surrender to depression. She knew that magic was the answer.
That was nine years ago.
Hermione's mum died a few months after Hermione entered Hogwarts. Her father still allowed Hermione to attend the school but they were never as close as before. When she came home, he barely even looked at her. He had no idea how much he was hurting his daughter... but then again maybe he did and just didn't care.
So she buried herself in her books. She tried to forget the lack of affection that she got at home. Soon enough, even the books weren't a distraction. What she needed was love.
Sure, she had a few friends but she never truly believed that they loved her. She was just someone there that they could use to help them with homework. They didn't really care for her.
After she left Hogwarts, she lost contact with them. That was just another blow to her heart.
So she dated around, hoping to find someone that would love her. She thought she found prince charming a few times, but they all ended up just using her for one thing or another. She was just about ready to give up.
The two years after they left school, Harry Potter searched endlessly for his best friend, Hermione Granger. She just disappeared one day and was never seen again. With the threat of Voldemort gone, he knew that she was still alive.
He just didn't know where she was. He didn't know where she lived while she was in school so he couldn't ask her father. It was frustrating that he couldn't do anything.
"Harry, maybe she doesn't want to be found. The war was hard on her. She needs a break from all of it." Ron or Ginny Weasley told him this at least once again. And every time he would answer the same way.
"She would never have left me. She was too loyal."
Hermione stormed out of her latest ex-boyfriends flat. She had, had enough of his superior attitude. She ran out to the nearest coffee shop to collect her thoughts. She was so sure that this was the one. She angrily wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall. She would never him that satisfaction, even though he couldn't see her.
The people around her looked at her as though she was scum. She knew she didn't look her best but recently her ex-boyfriend had ride of her clothes and forced her to wear things that she, and everybody else, didn't feel were appropriate. She could feel their judging eyes even though they didn't know her or her situation.
She let the tears fall.
Harry walked into a coffee shop to get out of the rain and to get something warm to drink. The place was full but he wasn't looking forward to going back outside. He walked to the back of the café hoping to find a place to sit.
The only unoccupied was the one across a young bushy-haired woman with her head buried in her arms.
He reached out to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the touch.
He said the first thing that came to his mind. The one thing he had wanted to say for the past two years.
"I love you."
She got out of her chair and kissed him.
It had stooped raining and the two of them left the shop in each other's embrace.