A/N: Author's Note: Hello everyone. I hope you enjoy. This is my first Harry Potter Fanfic and I couldn't be more excited. I hope you all enjoy it. Don't forget to review. Enjoy!
-Meli101
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They are the property of J.K. Rowling.
The summer sun blazed upon the streets of London as if it were trying to melt the skin off of people's flesh. During the summer, the streets filled with children trying to enjoy their vacation by hanging out with their friends, and with tourists trying to soak up as much of the city as they could. The sounds of different languages, accents, and traffic permeated the air on that hot summer's day.
A girl with brown bushy hair made her way through the traffic of people to the outskirts of London. She walked through the streets barely aware of the traffic surrounding her as she lost herself to the small book that was clasped between her hands. As she continued walking with her attention focused on the book, she nearly collided into multiple people who grunted insults at her carelessness. Yet, she could not have cared less for she would not even gaze up from her reading to mutter some sort of apology.
After some time, she halted in front of a little dark alley that had all manner of crates and boxes from the nearby shops and restaurant scattered across. Closing her book, she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. As she drew closer to the alley she brought the small book closer to her chest. Tears rimmed the corners of her brown eyes as she stopped herself in front of the entrance to the alley. As the seconds passed, her breath hitched a bit. Putting the book into her purse, she took one step into the alley and glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one paid any attention to her. She grabbed inside her purse and pulled out her wand.
"Lumos," she whispered. Her wand slowly became a beacon of light that illuminated the dark alley with slight clarity. The light only extended a couple of feet in front of her so that all she could make out was paper, and trash strewn upon the floor. Drawing closer to the end of the tunnel, she glanced around her surroundings. She remembered her last time walking through the alley, crouching behind crates and boxes so as to not be caught. She had followed Death Eaters through the alley in the hopes of learning information about the enemy. Stopping in her tracks, she caught sight of where the Death Eaters had conversed, a doorway only big enough for two or three people. A thousand images flooded her head as she looked upon the doorway.
The tears fell from her eyes down her cheeks as the memories pervaded her mind. The fresher the memories were, the more tears escaped from her eyes. The more the memories lingered, the more her body trembled from her sobs. She placed her wand inside of the purse. Hugging herself, she stepped backwards trying to get back to the street. As she backed out of the alley, she bumped into various boxes and crates. Finally, one managed to make her fall.
She sat on the ground hugging and rocking herself as she let the memories from the last few years replay in her head. Setting her mouth into a thin line and forcing herself to breathe through her nose, she sat on the littered ground.
Attempting to push the images from her mind, she glanced over to the direction of the doorway again. A small sob escaped her lips. "I can't do this," she muttered to herself. "I can't do this. I am sorry. I-I ju-ust c-cant."
She stormed out of the alley, hugging her purse close to herself. After allowing herself to have one last look down the alley, she forced the tears and sobs to stop as she stepped back into the streets of London. Since she had reached the outskirts of London, there were hardly any people roaming the streets. Those who were, were hardly aware of their surroundings. They did not notice her emerging from the alley and those who did notice did not care.
Taking in a long deep breath, she let out a strained, audible sigh. After walking for several minutes, she came upon a coffee shop that sold her favorite cup of Earl Grey Tea. Before entering, she wiped away any traces of tears, and forced a smile onto her face. As soon as she walked into the little shop, she found herself a small table by the window to sit in as she always did. Quickly, she glanced over the menu only to see that nothing had changed.
Within a few seconds, a young man walked over to her table with a warm smile on his face. "Hermione? Is that really you?"
Hermione, who had been gazing off, was forced to focus her attention on the young man before her. Hermione's thick brown eyebrow shot upward as she tried to figure out who the young man was. She stared at him for a couple more seconds until the realization hit her.
"Benjamin?" she inquired. "Mer-My goodness, I haven't seen you for years. I hardly even recognized you. You've changed."
He threw her a mischievous smile and gave her a small wink, "I know. I have turned out to be a remarkably attractive young man. The ladies can barely keep their eyes off of me."
Hermione gave a weak laugh as she glanced sideways with a slight blush on her cheeks. His laughter rumbled low and deep within his chest. "I'm only joking. I haven't turned out to be such a narcissist."
Hermione looked up at Benjamin noting how much he had changed. The last time she had seen him was the summer before her fourth year at Hogwarts. He had been a few inches shorter than Hermione and his voice would often falter between the deep voice of a man and the smooth voice of a small boy. She glanced at Benjamin, whose baby fat seemed to have been replaced by muscle. He certainly seemed a foot taller than he had been the last time they had seen each other.
As she kept examining him, she noticed that everything about him had changed except his eyes. She thought that his eyes had always seemed to be calculating, observing, and understanding. She looked into his grey eyes and found that they still looked as if they were two steps ahead of everyone. His grey eyes. Her gaze fell back onto the window as a slight frown formed on her lips.
She could see him scratch the back of his head through the reflection of the window. "Well…I don't think that came out right. Look, I'm sorry. I don't think I'm full of myself. At least I hope not." He let out a nervous laugh as he stood there fumbling with his hands. "I hope you don't think I'm a pig-headed idiot."
Hermione turned around to face him. She saw that he went back to scratching the back of his head. She smiled as he kept speaking. "Well, I hope you like tea. We sell all sorts of teas."
He let out an intake of breath and rolled his eyes, "Of course, you know that. You've been here before. Well…we also sell various assortments of pastries and coffee." He threw a quick glance at the menu resting on the table, "You probably knew that too."
The girl with the bushy brown hair let out a small laugh, "My goodness Benjamin. I never thought I'd ever see your head grow so large. Tell me, how are you able to fit through that door with such a large, inflated head?"
Benjamin's laughter filled the room. "Hermione, it is so good to have you in town again. I don't believe I've seen you in what? Four years? Bloody hell, I can't believe it's been so long." He smiled down at her, "And I can see that I am not the only one that has changed."
A brush of pink slowly swept across Hermione's cheeks as she glanced down at her hands that rested on the table. When she turned to look at him, he kept scratching the back of his head and glancing to the other side of the shop. His cheeks appeared to be flourished with color.
After a few moments, he cleared his throat. "I'll go get that cup of Earl Grey tea for you. Just a quarter sugar, right?"
Hermione rummaged her hand through her bush of hair, trying to not make it look unkempt. "I can see your memory hasn't failed you yet. That will be fine. Thank you, Benjamin."
The corners of his mouth slightly tugged upwards. "You can call me Ben. That's if you would like."
Hermione returned his smile, "Thank you…Ben."
Once Ben had brought over her tea, the shop had suddenly become very busy, but she just sat there staring past the window. A couple of times, she stared at her cup of tea remembering how ridiculous her Divination classes had been with Professor Trelawney. A smile formed on her lips as she remembered as everyone in the Gryffindor common room talked about Trelawney's frequent predictions about Harry's death and misfortunes.
The memory faded into her sixth year at Hogwarts when she had been on patrol with Draco Malfoy. They had patrolled the halls together, making sure to keep their distance from one another. Hermione would often throw casual glances at Malfoy. Within the last few months at Hogwarts, his eyes appeared to sink deeper into his face. His silvery blonde hair was not as sleek and polished as it usually was, but it seemed unkempt with some hairs standing on their end. She noted how lost his eyes seemed at that moment as opposed to how they normally looked, calculating.
His voice broke her train of thought, "What are you looking at, Granger? I think I have made it clear that I do not enjoy being stared at by women of such low rank."
She rolled her eyes at him, "And what have I told you, Draco? I am not particularly keen on talking to boys who have a brain the size of an insect."
Draco snorted at her response, "Then I can't imagine why you talk to the Weasel. Doesn't seem to have any brain at all."
Hermione glared at him from across the room, "Tell me, ferret, how does it feel to know that a woman you consider to be so below you holds the same position that you do. Doesn't make you seem so special does it, you prat?"
"You and I will never be on the same level, Granger. Not even in your dreams."
"That's right, Malfoy. You will never be able to reach my level. Not even in your dreams."
His nostril flared a bit as his eyes narrowed, "You filthy little m-" He stopped himself as he heard footsteps coming down the hallway.
Hermione turned herself around, "Lumos" she whispered. She took a few careful steps toward the noise, her wand held out in front of her. "Who goes there? Reveal yourself and your punishment will not be as severe as it could be."
From the shadows appeared the shape of a woman. As the shape drew nearer, Hermione recognized the woman as Professor Trelawney. Trelawney's eyes were shut as she walked past Hermione and stood directly in front of Malfoy.
The voice that came out of her mouth was deeper and raspier than that of Trelawney's regular voice. "My dear boy. Boy forced to be a man. You have been sentenced to your own demise. Do not fear. Not even a dragon can win against the inevitable. Yes? Yes. There is always hope, for the strong shall not falter without a fight. Yes, you are most right, Malfoy. The world is made up of many different shades of grey, but some can only see in black or white. Oh my, I am so sorry. All your misfortunes are laid out before me. The house is on fire! Even the very foundation is turned to ash. NO!"
She took several steps back, "The crows are coming for you!"
Hermione approached her from behind. As she was about to place her hand upon Trelawney's shoulder, Trelawney turned to face her. "Merlin's beard. Your fate brings you great sadness. Yes. One day, Miss Granger, your eyes will be able to recognize the grey. Your life will be full of color then, but everything shall fade into the darkness. Brace yourself, for the crows will come. They will not come for you, just yet. But they are coming. Brace yourself!"
Draco made his way across the hallway. He placed his pale hand on Trelawney's shoulder. "I have had enough of this woman."
The moment Draco's hand came in contact with Trelawney, her eye's shot open. Her eyes glanced back between Hermione and Draco. Hermione could tell from Trelawney's skittering eyes that she had no idea where she was at that moment.
"Professor Trelawney?" Hermione kept herself from rolling her eyes as Trelawney jumped at the sound of Hermione's voice.
"Hermione?" Her gaze drifted to Draco, "Draco?" After a few seconds of silence, Trelawney spoke up again, "Merlin's beard, I must have been sleep walking again. This is the second night. I must prepare the tea leaves. Yes, yes. Perhaps, I should also take the auspices into account as well. Yes, I must. It is wonderful to see you children."
With those final words, she walked down the hallway towards the Divination Tower, frantically muttering to herself.
Hermione watched as Draco's eyebrows furrowed together for a few seconds. His lips were set in a thin line as he watched Trelawney disappear. He turned his gaze to her and rolled his eyes. "That woman deserves to be committed to St. Mungo's for insanity."
Hermione looked at Draco and gave him a smug smile, "I believe that is the only thing we will ever agree on, Malfoy."
The sound of footsteps drawing closer to her table broke Hermione out of her memories. She looked at herself in the mirror and realized she had been frowning the whole time. She let out a sigh before Ben arrived at her table. As she turned to face him, she hid her slight frown behind a smile.
"Well, I am almost off of work for the night. Do you need anything else before I head out?"
Hermione glanced down at her cold tea and shook her head, until she realized she needed to pay. "Actually, could you bring the bill?"
Ben smiled at her, "Don't worry about it. It was on me tonight."
Hermione dug through her purse, "Oh no, I can pay for it." She reached up and grabbed a few pounds.
Ben let out a deep chuckle and held up his hands in protest. "It is fine, Hermione. Think of this as a 'welcome back' gift. It was really good to see you, and I do hope you come back again. I wish we could have talked more, but the shop became extremely busy."
"Thank you. It's okay. I understand. It was good to see you too. Hopefully, I will see you around soon."
Ben nodded at her and walked away from the table. Hermione could see through the reflection of the window that he stopped himself in the middle of the shop, and rummaged a hand through his black hair. She turned to look and saw that he was headed towards her again.
"Hermione, I was wondering if you wanted a ride home? It looks like it is getting pretty late. We could catch up a bit on the drive to your place."
She stared out the window to see the sun slowing setting over the city of London. "I think I would like that," she said with a lop-sided smile.
Ben looked at her with excitement shining through his calculating, grey eyes. "Let me grab my coat, and then we can leave."
Hermione couldn't remember most of the car ride over to her small apartment in the center of Oxford. They had arrived at her place quicker than she had anticipated. Their conversation had stimulated Hermione's brain, which had put a huge smile on Hermione's face. It had been quite a while since she had had a conversation with anyone that seemed to be on the same intellectual level as her.
When she entered the apartment, though, her smile faltered. The window inside of her living room was opened. A sandy brown owl flew in through the window and perched on her armrest. It placed a heavy looking letter on her couch. Then it looked at her with large eyes as if prompting her to open the letter that lay on her couch.
Hermione made her way to her kitchen table, grabbed a hair clip, and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She walked towards the couch tentatively. Lingering in front of the couch, she stared at the thick parchment of paper that sunk into the couch. Her hand tentatively stroked the owl's heart-shaped head, which closed its eyes in delight.
"Let me guess. You brought me some more work from the ministry? Has more evidence about the elves' case arrived to the Ministry?"
The owl opened one eye as she stopped petting him and reached for the letters instead. "It seems I have a lot of work to do this week." She plopped herself onto the couch and kicked off her boots.
Once she felt cozy and comfortable on the couch, she opened the letter excited for any more evidence regarding her case about the mistreatment of house elves at the Parkinson Manor. Slowly, she ripped the envelope open and took out the pack within. As she read the letter, the excitement in her eyes faltered. Her nails slightly dug into her skin as she balled up her hand into a fist. Getting up from the couch, she made her way into the kitchen.
She placed the letter on her small dining table and began rubbing her left temple with her hand. "This cannot be happening," she muttered to herself. "This cannot be happening," she said a bit louder. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her nostrils flared with anger.
"This cannot be happening," she shouted at the owl, who opened its wings in alarm. She stormed back into the kitchen and grabbed the letter.
While walking back into her living room, she read the letter aloud, "Dear Miss Granger, we are writing this letter requesting that you attend the trial of the Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, as witness." She turned to the owl, "Can you believe that? They want me to bear witness in Lucius' trial. Request? The Ministry does not simply request for people to do things. They demand it. Can't they see that I have my hands full with the Parkinson Manor case?"
The owl tipped its head to one side as Hermione kept on speaking. "Do you know the best part about this?" The owl simply turned its head around, not looking at the bushy haired witch.
"They are ordering that all who stand witness in this trial go to counseling at St. Mungo's. Why? So that all who stand as witness in the trial are deemed to possess a sound mind." She paused and combed her hand through her hair. "A sound mind? I think I would know if my mind was slipping away from me. I don't need someone, who the Ministry thinks is qualified, to intrude upon my memories or thoughts."
She went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She took a tiny sip of the wine. Then she proceeded with chugging the rest of the glass. When she sat on the couch, she stared at the letter. A single tear fell onto the letter.
"I can't do this. I won't do this. I can't and won't deal with this." She stood from the couch and tore the letter into tiny pieces. "Bye," she muttered to the owl.
She staggered into the kitchen, where she poured herself another glass of wine. Promptly, she made herself a hot bath. She sat in her bath tub, drinking her glass of wine. While she sat there, her memories floated back to her sixth birthday when she had spilled the cake with blue icing onto her newly bought dress. One of her neighbors came over and tipped Hermione's chin up to her.
"Hermione, why are you crying? It is your birthday, you should be happy."
Small Hermione glanced at her neighbor, "Miss Ferguson, I-I-I dr-r-ropped the c-cake on m-m-my new d-d-dress."
"Oh, I see. Well, it is a good thing that I have a solution for this problem."
"Y-you d-d-do?" Hermione asked as she rubbed the tears away from her eyes.
"Yes. I am going to tell you a secret okay? Will you keep it a secret for me?" Hermione nodded. "All we need is water. The water will wash away any of the impurities. It won't leave it like it is brand new, but it will get rid of some of the blue stain. But you know what you need to do first, Hermione?"
Hermione shook her head, "You need to tell your mother about your little incident, so that she can help you." Miss Ferguson looked at Hermione with sadness in her eyes. "Later in life, Hermione, you may come across times when you feel like you don't know how to wash away stains. I want you to remember that water can help wash it away. Time is like water. With time, the stains will fade away, but they will never be truly gone. And when you find yourself needing soap to wash away these stains, you can always ask for help. But first, you need to tell someone about the stain and how you got it. Will you remember that for me, Hermione?"
Hermione had nodded to Miss Ferguson, who had passed away the following summer. Hermione kept reheating the water with her wand thinking of what Miss Ferguson had said to her that summer. She pushed the thoughts from her head as she filled up her glass with more wine she had brought from the kitchen.
When she woke up in the morning, with a slight headache, she spotted the same owl perched on her couch's armrest. Her eyes immediately dropped down to the couch, and she softly cursed under her breath. On the couch lay the same letter, which had patched itself up. As she approached the couch, she spotted a note attached to the letter.
She picked it up and read it:
Dear Miss Granger,
We will not be taking no for an answer. In the letter you will find the date and time which you are requested to attend the trial. Also, we have enclosed the name of the Healer, who will be examining you throughout these months. We hope to hear back with your confirmation letter.
-Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Hermione crumpled the paper up into a small ball and stared at the owl. "They may have won, but I want to see them try to make me talk." She stuck her nose up in the air, as she grabbed a couple of books from the floor and poured herself a glass of wine.
She opened the other letter on her couch, "As for now, I have a case to crack."
Author's Note: I hoped you enjoyed it. As you can tell, I will be taking it slow with this story. I want to make sure the character development and plot correlate nicely. Also, I want to make sure that I set things up before we delve deep into the plot. If something is not making sense to you, I promise that later down the story it will. Also, I shall warn you now that this story will take a while to be written because I am in the middle of college and I will be juggling classes, exams, clubs, performances, and graduate school applications along with some other stories, so please bear with me. I will try to either update once or twice a month, but the chapters will get longer. That way you have more material to read.
I hope you liked it and I really hope you review so I can know what I am doing right, or wrong. Also, I just want to know your opinion or what you think. I love reviews, they are so helpful in the journey of writing. So please, I urge you to review. It will only take a minute of your time.