Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and all it contains, I own only the plot of this story.
Through The Ages
Chapter One
Current Time: September 1, 1998
Hermione Granger's Point of View
The stifling air of the overcrowded train station was making me all the more anxious as I waited for Harry and Ron. They would be coming from the Burrow and would, of course, be late. The past few months have been stressful enough, and I really just needed to bury my nose in the extensive textbooks required for my courses this year to feel any sense of relief.
The Hogwarts Express would leave in 5 minutes from now, and we still had to find an empty compartment. The longer I stood here, the angrier I became. With only a minute until the train left, I turned on my heel and made my way onto the train, hoping bitterly that they wouldn't miss the train and try flying a car to school again.
I don't have to sit with them anyway, I tried to convince myself. I can just sit in the head compartment. It's quieter, and much more spacious. They won't miss me too much, anyway. With that, I walked to the front of the train as the final whistle signaling their departure sounded. I was buried deep inside my brain, letting my mind wander, so much that I nearly walked into the head compartment's door. I slid it open slightly to see if the Head Boy had arrived yet. Seeing the compartment empty, I slid onto a bench and curled into the corner by the window before pulling out a book and burying my nose in it.
Some time later, minutes, hours, who knows, the door slid open to reveal Draco Malfoy. Not sparing him a second glance, I returned to "Ancient Runes and Their History" by Hilairy Spocket.
"Hello, Granger. Suprise seeing you hear," he mocked as he sat down on the bench across from me. I looked up, expecting a sneer or a sarcastic smirk, but only found an emotionless face. Raising an eyebrow, I replied softly so to seem non-confrontational,
"Hello, Malfoy," before returning to my book. I wasn't looking to be mocked at the moment, and it seemed Malfoy and I were on the same page for once.
"I have a proposition, a proposal, if you will." I peeled my eyes away from my book to see his serious, yet continually expressionless face. "We'll be sharing a common room and completing rounds together, if you haven't heard, so I think we should attempt to be civl to each other. No more ferret or mudblood-" I winced at his casual use of the word literally engraved into me, yet he continued, "Let's start a clean slate. Agreed?" With that he stuck out a deathly pale hand and gave a nearly non-existent smile.
"Agreed." I mumbled, a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. "Oh, and Malfoy?"
"Yes?" He answered, looking back at me from the window.
"You can call me Hermione."
"Call me Draco."
With that, they looked away from each other, no other words spoken for the remainder of the train ride.
The silence that surrounded us was in no way awkward. Even when we broke the silence to inform the prefects of their rounds and the completion of our own rounds we had not spoken a single word to each other. It was a comfortable silnce, though. No words were necessary.
Occasionally, when it felt as though he was looking at me, I would look up to see his eyes glued to the window, to the endless scene of green swimming past us.
It is then that I would observe how he had changed, matured. His eyes, though not looking at me were still visible. They were a pool of silver, shining yet cold, no emotion evident. His hair was blond, yet it had darkened over the years, What had once been a platinum blond haired boy was no a dirty-blond-haired man. His lips, previously only seen in a smirk or sneer, were now relaxed, matching his eyes with his lack of emotion. His defined cheekbones showed that he had not been eating enough, as did the way his shirt and trousers hung loosely on his frame. It was then that his eyes turned and met mine, and I turned back to my book.
A short time later, they arrived at Hogwarts. The hauntingly beautiful castle loomed in the background, a place once related with joy-filled memories now overshadowed by those filled with death and war. I tore my eyes away from the horrifyingly beautiful school and made my way to the carriages, feeling lightheaded with the sudden onslaught of memories.
Being the last ones off the train after checking for lingering students, Draco and I shared a Thestral-carried carriage. The sight of the dark horses delivered another onslaught of painful memories, so I turned away.
"You can see them too, can't you," His soft voice was a welcome distraction from the memories. My eyes peeled away from the Thestrals to look him in his steely grey eyes.
"Very few can say no to that question a this point," I answered bitterly, staring at the rippling spine of the Thestral. tuning back, I saw Draco cringe slightly. Maybe it was memories, maybe it was my tone.
Maybe it was both.
"It was a bit of a stupid question. Seeing them makes you think of why you see them. No one wants to think of that." His open apology shocked me, as well as his confessions.
"Why?" I blurted out, unable to stop myself.
"What?"
"Why are you so... different? Your father goes to Azkaban and your mother is in the hospital and suddenly your a completely different person. There's more to the story, I can feel it." He sighed. I can tell he expected this.
"I can tell you already have a theory. You tell me."
"Your father wasn't just a Death Eater, he was a sadist. He beat your mother, and when you could walk and talk, he beat you too. It wasn't a lot at first, just a slap for crying. It wasn't enough, though. He would beat you bloody, especially when teaching you about blood values. He threatened you, said it would get worse for you and your mother, the beatings, if you didn't obey, discriminate against those lower than you. When you got to Hogwarts, you lashed out as he told you. Not only was it a defense mechanism, it was an outlet for all the abuse your father made you go through. Now others could experience the pain you went through.
"That's not what you wanted, though. No one should feel the pain you and your mother experienced. The time away from your father made you realize this. But fear for you and your mother's safety kept you from disobeying. Your taunting got worse over the years, as his beating had, to appease him. Then he made you join Voldemort. He'd kill your mother if you didn't, so you joined and let the Death Eaters into the school. That's why you couldn't kill Dumbledore, you didn't want any of it. the only reason you crossed over to the other side at the Final Battle was because your mother was their, the only person that you had ever loved and returned the feelings." I let out a breath. The idea just kept forming as I went along, it explained so much.
The carriage lurched as the Thestral stopped, my eyes glued to his. He rose, eyes leaving mine, and left the carriage.
I sat there for a moment before exiting the carriage and entering the school. I slid into the middle of the Sorting, as I had taken my time getting there. His reaction kept playing through my mind before my eyes widened and I knew I had been right. Why? A single tear slid down my face.
As one had slid down his.