So here's the beginning of my second fic, it's Dramione of course but there will be other pairings in this story. Its definitely not like The Voice, but I hope you all like just the same. Just to clear things up right away, it will be present time as in 2012 present, mainly because I will be using certain things like songs and some references that definitely weren't around in 1998/1999. Well with that said, here's chapter one.


Hermione sat in a quaint little café, sipping a raspberry cappuccino, staring blankly at the empty seat in front of her.

It was the first time she'd really 'gone out' in about six months, after her parent's death.

*Six months ago*

Almost a year after the war ended, Hermione had traveled all the way to Australia to find her parents and reverse the memory charm she'd placed on them. They all returned to England as a family but kept the house her parents had already bought there to use as a vacation home. Three months after they returned to England, her parents insisted that she take a vacation and make good use of their Australian home, after a week of badgering, Hermione finally relented and booked a first class seat on the next flight out.

A week into her vacation, she was relaxing on a lounge chair out on her bedroom's terrace when an owl with an envelope flew down and landed beside her. She thought it was odd that an owl was there, if her parents wanted to contact her they just called her, so did Harry and Ron; something big must have happened.

She cautiously took the envelope from the owl and before she could get up to give it a treat, it had already flown away. She opened the envelope and read the letter slowly; it was a good thing she was already sitting down, if she hadn't, she would have collapsed on the ground crying.

It was a letter from Harry; her parents had been killed by a couple of rouge death eaters that had remained hidden and under the ministry's radar, until they attacked her parents.

Hermione broke down crying, she couldn't believe her parents were gone, she'd only gotten them back a few months ago and now she'd lost them again, this time for good. After crying for what felt like hours, Hermione booked the next flight back to England which to her dismay was not until the next afternoon.

She cried herself to sleep that night, not being able to think about anything other than the fact that she was now alone in the world.

The next morning, she woke up and immediately started packing, she began to cry again as she picked up a picture she'd framed and put on her bedside table; it was of her and her parents on the terrace of that very house, she'd taken it after she lifted the charm, on their last night in the house before they returned to England. She packed it along with the rest of her belongings, ate breakfast and around noon, she left for the airport.

As she stared out the window of her first class seat, her mind wandered to her parents again; the last time she'd been on a flight from Australia to England was when they were all returning as a happy family. She quickly wiped her eyes, as she didn't want others to see her crying and ask her if she was alright.

The day after she arrived in England was the day of her parents' funeral; Harry, Ron and the rest of the Weasley family all showed up to give their condolences and invited Hermione to stay at the Burrow with them so she would not be alone; she declined.

After the funeral she walked back to the home her parents had left her and cried herself to sleep once more. The following afternoon, after ignoring all owls sent to her by her friends offering their condolences and asking her to stay with them so she would not be alone, she left her house for the first time, went to purchase pink peonies, her mother's favorite, and went to visit her parents grave for the first time.

*Present Day*

"Granger?"

The use of her surname barely registered in her mind as she heard it, she looked up and saw Draco Malfoy standing in front of her.


Draco walked into his favorite café, and ordered his favorite drink, a raspberry cappuccino. He was about to walk toward the exit when he spotted a familiar head of brown curls sitting alone at a table.

He hadn't seen Hermione granger in over a year; the last time he saw her was at the ministry's anniversary ball to commemorate Harry Potter's victory over Voldemort.

She'd looked stunning in a light pink dress with gold embroidery on the top. Surprisingly she was not on Weasley's arm, nor on Potter's but on Viktor Krum's. He'd always suspected that Weasley had a thing for her but there he was, proving him wrong by gliding, yes gliding, on the dance floor with one of his best friends, Pansy Parkinson.

He'd wanted to go over and at least say hello to Granger but every time he spotted her, she was busy talking to some ministry official or on the floor with Krum. By the time he finally decided he would go up to her, no matter what she was doing, she had already left.

And now here she was sitting in a café, alone. But there was something different about her now. Her eyes, which were normally filled with fire and emotion, were now empty and sullen. Why? She looked so tired and sad; he decided to investigate a bit.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Go ahead" said Hermione, her voice barely above a whisper.

Draco sat down in the chair across from her and continued to analyze her; she was none the wiser as she seemed enthralled by the contents of her coffee mug. It bothered Draco to see her that way, he'd only ever admitted this to his best friend Blaise but he'd always been fascinated by Hermione granger. In their school days it was mostly because no matter how hard he tried, she always beat him at pretty much everything. It wasn't until the Yule ball, fourth year that he began to see her as more than the insufferable know it all that always bested him.

"You look nice" said Draco, after a few minutes of an awkward silence.

Hermione snorted, "You don't have to lie to me Malfoy; I know I look horrible. I figured my outside appearance should match how I feel on the inside."

That threw Draco off a bit, he hadn't even expected her to respond to him and if she did, he certainly didn't expect THAT as a response. His curiosity peaked but aside from being curious, he was actually starting to grow concerned, which was totally unlike him. They weren't friends, hell they were barely considered acquaintances, why was he concerned?

She looked up at him and met his eyes; Draco felt a chill go down his spine. Looking into Hermione's eyes would do that to anyone that had previously known her, her entire body just emitted sadness; it bothered Draco immensely.

He was about to ask her what was wrong when she took a large drink from her mug, set it down and got up to leave.

"As lovely as this was, I must be leaving Malfoy"

Before Draco could get a word in edgewise, Hermione had her coat on and walking out the door.

"What just happened?" thought Draco as he watched her walk down the street.


Hermione walked to the end of the street where her car was parked, it had been her father's car but seeing as he would no longer be able to use it, she took possession of it just like she had their two homes.

She climbed into it, plugged in her iPod and pushed play as she left for home. About halfway there, "Anthem of the Angels" by Breaking Benjamin came on and Hermione began to cry, still mourning the loss of her parents.

When she arrived home, she took a long shower, changed into her pajamas even though it was still midafternoon, and fell into a heavy sleep.

The next morning when she woke up, Hermione made a sudden decision; she was going to Australia.


how was it? should I continue it or just delete it right now? review! :D