Hermione gazed behind her as the Hogwarts train rolled into the mountains. Another school year was finished. She had only one more year to look forward to at Hogwarts, as she had finished her sixth year. Hogwarts had been her home and she was sad to leave it, but she was also looking forward to a career afterwards. Harry, Ron, and she had just started training to be aurors after school. Dumboldore had organized a special DADA class for aurors-to-be through the ministry.
"Hermione, over here!"
She whirled around at the sound of her father's voice. Of course! He was over at the Platform 9. Her family always waited there for her. She flashed a smile and trotted over with her trunk rolling behind her. She threw herself into his arms; she had missed him so much! Seeing her mom there too, she extended the hug out to her. They all stood there in a group hug for a few minutes, then they seperated and started to walk towards the waiting taxi.
"Mom, Dad, we did so much this year! Harry and Ron were co-captains for the Gryffindor quidditch team, we won the house cup, Trelawney was sacked, and Fawkes was reborn into two phoenixes! Ron played a trick on Snape that made his robes disappear and then blink like Christmas lights, and Dobby had it fixed that Malfoys cup would spill on him daily for a week!" Hermione chatted quickly as they made their way to the car parked outside. Her dad helped her hoist her trunk into the trunk, and her mom helped the baby . . . BABY!
"Mom, who is that?" Hermione demanded.
Her parents exchanged glances over the hood.
"Honey, this is Annie. We know we should have warned you, but the story is quite long, so we decided to wait until you came home. But isn't she cute?"
Hermione couldn't believe it. She was gone for just a few months and they replaced her. Jealousy ran through her and she glared at the child. She had always been the only child, and now they decided to have another child without even letting her know?
It was a long ride home. Hermione sat silently, watching Annie slobber all over the carseat. Annie just garbled back to her. Disgusted, Hermione turned away to look out the window. She felt like a stranger in her own land. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they pulled into her driveway.
Hermione slammed the car door behind her and ran onto the porch. There itwas! Her swing hung there faithfully. She ran and collapsed onto it, letting the wind carry her back and forth. The swing had always offered comfort to her. She had made it with her grandfather when she was six, after she had begged him to make a 'project'. He had smiled at her and brought her to his workshop, where they worked hard for a month. The swing was wooded and painted as bright as the sky. It was rainbowed, with clouds and birds circling it. Hermione loved to lay on it and fall asleep with the sun on her face.
She lay there until she felt someone standing over her. Peeking out of one eye, she saw that it was Annie, trying to crawl onto her. She hopped up and ran past Annie into the house, then tore up the stairs to her bedroom. Hermione locked the door behind her. Finally! She had total privacy. With that, she sat on her bed and took the room in. It was the same room as it was 5 years ago, and for that matter, for most of her life. It had the same yellow walls, the same green bedspread, and the same old desk. The only change was that the posters on her wall had gone from the WizardBoyz to enlarged photos of her friends. Hermione started to unpack quietly.
After a few hours, her stomach started to growl. As if on cue, her mom called up the stairs, "Hermione, do you want some supper?".
Hermione silently trudged down the stairs. As she passed Annie in the living room, she couldn't help but wonder if she had jumped to conclusions. Annie was cute, she had to admit. She had big brown eyes and bouncing curls, just as Hermione had always wished for. She sighed. Hermione knew she had acted childish and felt ashamed. There had to be a logical explanation for it all. Maybe her parents would be willing to tell the long story now.