Hey guys! So here's my new story. Hope you enjoy reading. Let me know what you think!

~25 Years ago ~

Zacharias Granger stood to the side of the crowded ballroom, wringing his hands and searching the crowd for her. She told him she would wear an emerald green gown, but he had encountered three other women in similar attire who most certainly were not his beloved.

He almost laughed to himself at that. His beloved. Only he would fall in love with a women from her writing alone. For almost a year Zacharias had been writing to Cecilia Abrams, getting lost in the words she wrote on paper. Her words always seemed to place a smile upon his face that would last for hours.

The only reason he was conducting this masquerade ball was so that they could finally meet. Cecilia had written in a previous letter that she couldn't show her face to anyone in public. Wanting desperately to see her, he planned the ball and sent his invitation along with it. Now he waited in impatient agony to finally meet her.

"Oh what in the world could possibly make you so nervous Zacharias" a voice whispered in his ear as an arm wrapped around his waist.

"Oh, not now Talia. I'm looking for someone" Zacharias said in annoyance as he pushed her arms off of him.

"Who? Is it one of your advisors? I just saw them over dancing with the ladies on the far side of the hall." Talia said while taking his hand and starting to pull him in that direction.

"No, I'm waiting for a woman," Zacharias said with a wistful sigh, "I've been waiting for an hour now, but I don't think she's coming today. I knew I shouldn't have invited so many people! I probably scared her off. Now she'll never come."

Lost in his thoughts, Zacharias didn't see the black cloud that came over Talia's face. Her anger rolled off her in waves as she thought "What other woman? No one else can have him. He's mine!"

Quickly masking her anger, she turned to him and said "If she doesn't come, you can always have me. You've denied me for so long, and I'm finally willing to give all of myself to you."

Zacharias turned towards her in shock. She was willing to give up her maidenhood to him before she married? He had carefully ignored her obvious intentions before, but he could not let this go on any longer. She was a good friend to him, but that was all she would ever be. A friend.

"I'm sorry Talia" Zacharias said as he took her hands in his, "but I just can't see you the same way. I love you as I would a dear friend or sister, but never enough to be with you that way. I'm so very sorry, but you must move on to someone else. There are plenty of young suitors vying for your attention. It will be better this way."

"Right. Of course… If you will excuse me Zacharias, I have to go check on my father. In his old age, he's probably wandered off by now" Talia said in a quiet, shaky voice. Turning on her heel, she briskly walked away from him. Only when she was in an abandoned corridor did she allow her tears to fall.


Zacharias was unsettled by how he left his best friend, but decided to wait until later to check on her. Turning back to the crowded room he continued his search.

After a few minutes, he heard a timid voice behind him, "Zacharias?"

Turning around he saw one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes upon. Her luscious brown hair lay in curls down to her waist. She was dressed in an emerald green dress with long sleeves and silver embellishing, the image of beauty and grace. A silver and green mask hid her face from him, and all he wanted to do was rip it off.

"Cecilia?" He said in an awed voice. His hand started to rise to stroke her cheek before he realized how inappropriate that would be, given the circumstances. What if it wasn't her? And even so, they were in a crowded room and had never even spoken face to face before.

A light blush covered her cheeks as she smiled softly at him. "Yes it's me. It's so lovely to finally meet you. I had a hard time finding you in this crowd. Someone helped me find you once I grew frustrated of searching on my own. You never told me in your letters that you were a Prince."

A small scowl came to his face as he said "I hate being known by my title. All of the people that I talk to as Prince of the Gryffindor Kingdom only speak to me for power, money, or to increase their social standings. I liked being able to talk to you as just Zacharias. Anyway, when did you arrive? I would have thought that I would have seen you before."

"Oh, I came a while ago, but I didn't want to approach you when that other women in pink was talking to you. Oh, I do hope my attendance didn't cut any important conversation short. She did look rather upset as she left."

Thinking back, Zacharias tried to remember anyone in pink speaking with him. It took him a while to realize that it was Talia. He had been so caught up in his thoughts and worries that he hadn't even taken notice of her gown color

"Of course not. That was just my good friend Talia. She was going to check on her father. The poor man has lost his memory, and she was probably worried about him."

The music in the background changed to a beautiful melody led by his friend Joshua, who played the lute. Bowing low before Cecilia he asked "May I have this dance m'lady"

They danced together without a care in the world, laughing and smiling till the early hours of the morning. When Cecilia finally had to leave, she pulled Zacharias to a deserted corridor and spoke softly to him.

"I had the most amazing time tonight Zacharias, but I'm afraid I've kept a secret from you for these long months. I had to make sure you truly liked me for me, and I just had to finally meet you."

"Loved my dear, not liked. I love you. I've loved you through your words and now meeting you face to face, you are more than I could ever have asked for. Whatever you have to tell me, it won't change that." Zacharias said as he gazed into her eyes.

She unexpectedly pulled him into a hug, clinging onto him for dear life. "Oh! I feel the same way Zacharias! I've been waiting so long, and meeting you has just been everything I've ever dreamed of. But you must know the truth.

Stepping away from him, she untied the mask behind her head. "I had to hide myself because my face is known to some who have evil intentions. I come from a family that has been both cursed and blessed with siren's blood. My great ancestor, Alexandra, was a siren who saved a man from his death when her sisters sang to his unsuspecting crew. She felt a calling towards him, and knew that he was her one true love. Alexandra knew her love could not live on the island with her family, so she swam her beloved to shore and changed into a pure human form. They lived together on the land for years and had many children. One day, her singing led a lecherous man to her while she was in the forest picking berries. As a human, she lured others in with her song, but it was not as strong as when she was in her siren form. The man had heard of the sirens and, thinking she was dangerous, killed her in the woods. He took her body back to a wizard for money. Ever since, my family has been persecuted, as they could only produce female children with the same siren's blood. The blood of a siren is stronger than that of a human, so all of Alexandria's descendants have the same potency of their blood. For generations they have been hunted. To protect them, they were sent far away and only communicated through letters, as I have with you. When the time came, they lived with their beloved in seclusion to protect their family. We all have the same distinctive birthmark behind our ear of a crashing ship to remind us of our ancestry."

Zacharias understood what she had said but he did not care. He loved her with all his heart, and would never let her go.

"I'll protect you my dear. My heart was taken in by your words and I will never let you go."


~20 years ago~

Years had passed and Zacharias had finally married Cecilia. After months of letters, he had finally found out the location of her home. He courted her for years before she had finally said she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Zacharias proposed to her the very next day. They had a small wedding at her home with their families only, something that baffled his family. In the words of his mother it "simply wasn't done. A royal wedding cannot occur without any of the esteemed people of the other kingdoms in attendance". When he gave them the options of either not attending the wedding or coming by themselves, they finally relented. He only invited his parents, seven brothers and sisters, and his friends Joshua and Talia. He was love struck and constantly missed the glares pointed at him and his fiancé by one angry bridesmaid. They were happily married and moved into a little cottage next to Cecilia's parents soon after.

A year later they had a beautiful daughter. Little Hermione Granger was born with big, curious brown eyes and curly brown hair. She had her mother's nose, mouth, and of course, birthmark. She also seemed to have developed her father's signature scowl whenever she didn't get what she wanted, which amused Zacharias greatly.

All was well until around Hermione's first birthday, when a group of men on horseback came riding through the village. They demanded to be given the sirens or they would burn the village to the ground.

Quickly escaping on horseback while the commotion was still happening in the main part of the village, Zacharias took his family back to his kingdom. Knowing they could have very little time, he looked for anyone he could trust. Seeing Talia walking down the secluded pathway, he called to her.

"Talia please. Take Hermione to the house across the river. We've filled it with all the things she will need to grow and learn. We are being followed by hunters. Take her and keep her safe. We will meet you at the cottage when we aren't being hunted. If we don't make it back, tell her of her siren's blood when she gets older. Please, for me Talia, take care of her." Zacharias said with tears in his eyes. He quickly sped away from the castle, leaving a shocked Talia in his place.

Looking down at the baby crying in her arms, a wicked smile stretched across her face. She would have her revenge. The little girl should have been hers, and now she was. She may not have Zacharias' love, but she would have his child.

Briskly walking through the crowds, Talia ignored anyone who tried to talk to her. When she came towards the river on the far side of the kingdom, she found the cottage he spoke of. Stepping inside, Talia saw hundreds of books lying on the shelves of his walls. There was a beautifully crafted crib in pink and ivory sitting in the corner, along with a chest filled with dresses.

Talia placed the baby in the crib to allow herself space to think. Pacing back and forth across the floor of the cottage, her anger increased in intensity. Who did he think he was? For years after meeting that little wench, he had barely even spoken to her. And now? Now, he hands her Hermione, a baby that should have been hers, and goes into hiding. Did he think she was going to wait for him to come back? Just to be thrown aside as soon as he gets his daughter back? She wouldn't stick around to find out.

Talia thought of just leaving the cottage, but Zacharias might have thought that someone had stopped her from reaching it in time. She wanted him to know, to feel the pain she felt every day. She would use her powers. She was a witch and had powers just like Zacharias. It was why they were so close, they learned to control their magic from the same master. Talia had used her magic abilities months ago to keep herself safe. She also used it to stop the pain. Anger and jealousy was all Talia could feel anymore, no pain.

Using her wand, she shrunk all of the belongings that were meant for Hermione so that they fit in the palm of her hand. As she walked outside, she placed the pieces in a pouch on the side of her dress. On the door she wrote in gold shimmering letters that could never be removed:

"You could have loved me Zacharias, but you settled for that bitch. Now I will keep what should have been mine. Forever."


Talia fled to the Slytherin Kingdom, a place that had been in constant rivalry with the Gryffindors. Deep in the forest on the edge of the lands, Talia found a clearing that would be the perfect spot for her. It was surrounded by large trees that made a canopy over the clearing. Gently setting the wailing baby on the grass nearby, she made a large tower in the center of the clearing. The gray-green stones blended in with the surroundings making it unnoticeable unless someone was very close by.

"Come my dear. I'll keep you locked up here, where you will be safe. You cannot break your heart if you don't have anyone to give it to," Talia said as she kissed her newfound daughter on the forehead. And so, Hermione's life in isolation began.

Hey guys! So this is just the back story to Hermione's life. Hope you liked it! More to come soon.

Love,

~Dreaming~