To Be With You
Chapter 1 - Meeting & Discovery
Hermione sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts express with Ron Weasley and Harry Potter heading to Hogwarts to begin her last year.
Ron and Harry were playing a game of wizards chess, and Hermione was reading a book when a knock at the door was heard. They all looked up and saw a beautiful girl with knee-length chestnut brown hair standing there.
"Excuse me," she said politely, "But may I sit with you? Everywhere else is full."
"Of course." Hermione said, putting her book aside.
"The girl smiled and sat next to Hermione. "Thank you. My name is Lilli by the way."
"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger, and the two gaping nits over there are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
"Hi there." Lilli said, waving at Ron and Harry.
"So Lilli, are you new to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, "I haven't seen you before."
"I'm new." Lilli nodded. "But the only reason I've transferred is because my father was in an accident I've been sent to live with my uncle, who just happens to be a teacher at Hogwarts."
"Who's your uncle?" Harry asked, looking at Lilli with interest.
"Well," Lilli said, folding her hands in her lap, "His name is...Serverus Snape."
"Snape!" Ron, Harry, and Hermione exclaimed.
Lilli nodded. "Yes. He's my father's brother."
Ron and Harry looked at Lilli for a moment, then got up and left the compartment. Hermione however, put a hand on Lilli's shoulder.
"Don't mind them." She said, smiling softly. "They just don't like Snape very much."
"Thanks." Lilli replied as she got to her feet. "It doesn't bother me. I'm not proud to have a former death eater for an uncle, but he's the only other living relative I've got."
Lilli then turned to door, raised her hands, and then, much to Hermione's surprise, a sheet of ice appeared and covered the door, freezing it shut.
"How in the world did you do that?" Hermione asked in awe.
"My mother was a water sprite." Lilli said, smiling softly at Hermione. "About a couple of months after my mother gave birth to me, her people took and locked her away somewhere. My father never saw her again and when I was five, he took me to the place where they first met."
Lilli sat down next to Hermione before she continued.
"It was a small lake, just outside of London. He told me he had gone for a walk and stopped at that lake for a drink, when all of a sudden he looked up and saw my mother standing in the middle of the lake. She was wearing a light blue dress that melted into the lake. It was love at first sight, but my mother's people forbid her to marry him, so they ran away and spent the next three years on the run. It wasn't until I was almost three months old that they found my mother and took her away."
"I'm so sorry." Hermione said as she put her arm around Lilli's shoulder.
"Don't be." Lilli smiled. "My father spoke nothing but good words about my mother."
Lilli stood up and looked at Hermione. "Do you mind if I changed back to my normal appearance?" She asked.
"Be my guest." Hermione replied.
Lilli smiled, then closed her eyes and shook her head. Her hair changed from a deep chest-nut brown to a snowy white. Hermione looked on as Lilli's ears changed from a normal rounded tip to more of a pointed tip, like that of an elf.
Lilli opened her eyes and sat down across from Hermione. "Much better." She said with a sigh, "I don't think I could have held that look much longer."
"Wow, you're so...wow." Hermione stuttered.
"I'm so what?" Lilli asked, giving Hermione an odd look.
"Beautiful." Hermione replied looking into Lilli's ice-blue eyes.
Lilli smiled. "Thank you." She replied taking Hermione's hand in hers. "I think you're beautiful too."
"Lilli, can I ask you something?" Hermione said, pulling her hands away.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Is it true that sprites can sense each others presence?"
"Yes, they can, Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious."
"You're lying. Another thing about sprites is that they can tell when another sprite is lying."
"I can't be a sprite!" Hermione exclaimed, giving Lilli a puzzled look. "I may have been adopted by the Grangers but that doesn't mean that I'm a sprite!"
"There is one way to find out for sure."
"How?"
"Hold up your left index finger."
Hermione hesitated for a moment, but held up her finger. Lilli then took her left index finger and held it to Hermione's. Their fingertips glowed blue for a moment, and this startled Hermione.
"What the heck was that?" Hermione exclaimed jerking her finger away.
"That glow means that you are indeed a sprite, a water sprite at that." Lilli replied, smiling gently.
Hermione looked at Lilli for a moment, and then put her head in her hands.
"Don't worry." Lilli said, gently putting her hand on Hermione's shoulder, "I was shocked not to say the least when I found out that I was a sprite, but it's not as bas as you think, and you'll get the hand of your abilities soon enough."
Hermione sighed and looked up at Lilli.
"I still don't believe it, you know." She said, smiling slightly, "I mean...I've always liked water and stuff but I never thought my being a water sprite would be the reason why."
"Like I said, you'll get the hand of your abilities soon enough, and I'll help you with that if you like."
"I'd like that."
Hermione sat up and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She looked at the sheet of ice that covered the compartment door, and thought 'How can I make that thing melt?' And much to both her and Lilli's surprise, the ice melted and quickly disappeared.
"How the hell did I do that?" Hermione exclaimed, pointing her finger at the door.
"You wanted the ice to melt right?" Lilli asked.
Hermione nodded. "All I did was think about how I could make the ice melt, and the next thing I knew the ice melted."
"That's one of the first things a water sprite learns, how to make ice melt."
"I'm so tired." Hermione said with a yawn.
"That's to be expected. When you first use your abilities it takes a lot out of you, but over time you'll learn how to make it all work without losing so much energy."
Hermione mumbled something, then laid down on the bench and fell into a light sleep.
-
An hour later, Ron and Harry returned to the compartment.
"Hey, Hermione! Lilli!" Harry called out as he and Ron entered the compartment.
Just as Harry closed the door, a jet of water hit him in the face.
"What the hell?" Harry shouted, "Who did that?"
He looked at Ron who just held up his hands and shook his head. Harry looked around the compartment, but didn't see any sign of Hermione or Lilli.
"Where did they go?" Ron asked as he glanced around the seemingly empty compartment.
Just then, a soft giggle was heard.
"Ok Hermione," Harry called out, "We know you're here somewhere, so come out so we can see you."
A soft sigh was heard, then Hermione and Lilli came out of their hiding place. Hermione cast aside the invisibility cloak that she and Lilli were hiding under and smiled somewhat evilly at Ron and Harry.
"You two are no fun at all, you know that?" Hermione said with a smirk.
Ron and Harry stared in shock and amazement at the sight before them. Lilli was sitting behind Hermione and had her arms draped around her shoulders.
"What's going on here?" Harry asked, glaring at Hermione.
"I'm just having some fun." Hermione said, giving Ron and Harry an innocent smile, "And you're spoiling it."
"That's not what I meant Hermione. I meant why are you and Lilli sitting the way you are."
Lilli and Hermione looked at the way they were sitting, then back at Harry.
"What's wrong with it?" Lilli asked, looking at Ron and Harry.
"It looks rather intimate, that's what wrong with it." Harry exclaimed, waving his hands.
"Sprites are naturally attracted to each other, regardless of sex." Lilli said as she ran her finger along the top hem of Hermione's tight black shirt. "And since we're both water sprites, we see nothing wrong with it."
"Did you say water sprite?" Ron asked, finally getting over his shock, "I thought sprites were small little things with blue skin and big black eyes."
"You're thinking of Cornish pixies Ron." Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "Sprites can look like normal people if they choose, but they do have some rather distinctive features, like pointed ears and snowy white hair."
"Then why don't you..." Harry started to say, but found himself cut off by a dumping of cold water on his head.
"What the hell was that for?" Harry screamed, looking at Lilli and Hermione.
"Because you were being a complete ass about something that is nothing at all." Hermione said with a smirk.
Before Harry could do anything, Ron grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the compartment door.
"Let's get out of here." he said, cautiously as he pulled Harry out of the compartment, "Before you do something stupid."
He and Harry left the compartment, closing the door behind them. Once they were gone, Lilli and Hermione burst out laughing.
"Did you see the look on his face!" Lilli exclaimed. "He looked pissed."
"He got what he deserved." Hermione said with a shrug. "Besides, if he can't accept me for whom I am, than he's not worth my time."
"Good girl." Lilli said, smiling at Hermione, "He's an asshole anyway."
"Don't I know it!" Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "I mean...I had a crush on him since second year, and he never even clued in; all he could think about was Cho Chang!"
Hermione stood up and pointed at the door.
"I dropped major hints to him for the past four years, and he was completely oblivious to it all."
"Talking about me?" Came a cool, yet icy voice.
Hermione looked at the door and saw none other than Draco Malfoy. She crossed her arms across her chest and said, "Don't flatter yourself Malfoy. Not every girl in Hogwarts has a crush on you."
"No need to get so feisty Granger." Draco said, holding up his hands, "Besides why would you want to think about Potter, especially after all the fun we had during the Easter break last year."
Hermione gave Draco an evil glare, then waved her left index finger in a circle above his head, causing a large amount of cold water to splash down on his head.
"What the fk was that!" Draco screamed as he wiped water off his face with his hand.
"How many times have I told you to keep your fantasies to yourself Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione said, waving a finger in Draco's face, "And just so you know, it wasn't me that night."
"Who else could it have been?"
Hermione put her hand on Draco's shoulder and gave him an evil smirk.
"Draco, that night you had a very hot and passionate homosexual experience."
"What the..." Draco stuttered, taking a couple steps back.
"Yep, Blaise Zambini mad a bet with me and lost, so he drank some polyjuice potion with my hair in it...and the rest wrote itself."
"No! It was you...it had to be."
"Well it wasn't, so get used to it."
Draco's face went ghost white as he backed out of the compartment, muttering under his breath. Once he was gone, Hermione sat down and leaned into Lilli's arms.
"I thought that asshole would never leave." She sighed as she glanced out the window.
"Did he really do that with a guy?" Lilli asked as she ran her fingers through Hermione's sleek, smooth hair.
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "It was me." She said, sitting up and looking at Lilli. "I was drunk as a skunk, but I still remembered what happened."
"So why did you just lie to him about it?"
"Because I wanted to see how he'd react if he thought that he had a gay experience. He's treated me like dirt since my first year and I wanted to pay him back in spades for how he's treated me, and telling him that I gave some polyjuice potion to a good friend of mine was a good start to what I have in store for him."
"He's put you through a lot I take it?"
Hermione nodded. "He has and I've had enough."
They sat in silence for a while, then a bell sounded, announcing that the train had arrived in Hogsmeade Station. Hermione opened her trunk and grabbed robe, along with her wand. She put her robe over her shoulder, then shrunk her trunk.
"Let's go." She said, giving Lilli a smile.
Lilli nodded, then grabbed her own trunk and followed Hermione off the train to one of the student carriages, waiting to take them to the castle.