Final Goodbyes
Summer had been fun. Hermione had been just recently been on yet another ski trip with her parents. This year, she had successfully conquered the small slope, but wasn't sure if next year she would even attempt the larger one. It was nearly 20 feet taller, and the slope was much steeper. Her father, on the other hand, had nearly beat out one of the record holders for furthest jump, but was just short because of an impending tree. Hermione shook her head and smiled. He was still recovering from a fractured arm and broken nose. He was fortunate she had been there. She was able to help heal several of his other injuries before the ski-sled ambulance arrived. She was fortunate she had just turned seventeen, seeing as it would have been impossible for her to help him had she still been under the underage wizarding restriction. She was a bit embarrassed when she had to accompany him back up the slope on the emergency vehicle, but was proud of him for trying all the same. Her father wasn't the most coordinated of people, but she knew that he loved her and her mother, and that was all that mattered.
Hermione looked around her room. It was just as she had left it. The bed was made neatly, the curtains were drawn, and only a thin layer of dust rested on her mantle, even though she had been absent for nearly two weeks. She set her suitcase on her bed. It barely weighed ten pounds; thanks to a weight-reducing spell she had learned after reading a large book called, Useful Spells and their incantations. She breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of her own home for a moment. After all, she would be leaving again tomorrow for Hogwarts. She wished that her parents had scheduled the trip for earlier in the summer, so as to give her some time to rest before jumping on the train to school. But, she was looking forward to seeing Harry and Ron again, and was desperately missing having something to do. During her time at home, when her parents were working, she had nothing to do. They had a tv, but she found it recently to be more bothersome and noisy than anything. (That and she hadn't been able to figure out the new remote that her father had bought quite yet.) She pulled herself from her thoughts, and decided to have a quick afternoon snack before beginning to unpack, clean, and repack again. She went downstairs, and opened the refrigerator door only to find that since they had been gone on vacation her mother had failed to buy groceries. All that was left was a jar of pickles and some bread that was in the cabinet. She decided that a pickle sounded like it would hold her over, and ate it before heading back up to her room. It tasted a bit tart for her liking, but she wasn't one to complain about such trivial things.
Once in her room again, she opened her luggage and removed all the clothes and various trip necessities from her bag. With a quick wave of her wand and an incantation just as brief, all her clothes were spotless and folded into neat, divided stacks. She smiled and stretched. Mrs. Weasley had taught her that particular charm last summer. Hermione had informed her that she would be staying in the house mostly by herself this year, and so Mrs. Weasley had taught her a few household charms to practice for amusement. It was nice to see that she was already getting them down. After a few minutes of practicing a levitation charm by making her neatly stacked clothes fly swiftly, accurately, and efficiently into her suitcase, she grew tired. The long weeks and endless running to and fro had worn her out. With a flick of her wrist, the suitcase shut and locked itself, and then proceeded to upright itself next to her bedroom door. She changed into her pajamas, which ironically, were red and scarlet and had Emc2 printed all over them. Her time spent stitching all those hats and socks for the house elves in the past year had definitely given her the edge in making clothes of any kind. It had become a sort of hobby, and her talent had blossomed well. She crawled into her bed, and was out like a light in a few minutes time.
Hermione woke up the next morning to the delicious smell of French toast. She smiled and got up to walk down stairs. She could hear her mother and father talking in the kitchen. They were laughing and having fits of hysteria. They were probably talking about her father's ski trip accident. It was quite funny to look back on when no one was in any immediate danger. She stretched when she got to the bottom of the stairs, and sighed before breaking in. She opened the door to see them both smiling at her when she entered.
"Morning Darling." Her mother said, and she gave her a hug and kissed her on the forehead.
"Good morning mother." She replied, hugging her back and smiling. She walked over to her father and smiled at him. It seemed like she couldn't wipe it off. He rubbed her bushy hair, and also kissed her on the forehead saying,
"Bonjuor mademoiselle." She smiled even broader, if it was physically possible.
"Bonjuor." She replied.
"Did you make us French toast?" she asked. Her father had always been an excellent chef. Many times she had suggested that he make a career of it, and every time he would say that cooking should be left to the professionals.
"No. I would have made it, but…well…we have nothing to cook with." he said with a shrug.
"So where…?" but her mother cut her off.
"IHOP." She said with a smile, holding up a to-go bag.
Hermione smiled, grabbed a plate, and started eating with great gusto, discussing some minor issues with the winter break. It seemed like in no time at all, the blissful attitude of the house had shrunk away into hiding.
"Honey, I just don't know how we're going to make it work this year." Her mother said, stirring her coffee. "With all our schedules the way they are this Christmas…" she could tell that her mother was having a hard time saying it. She knew how important Christmas was to her, and she knew it would be hard.
"Its ok mom. I understand. It can't hurt for one Christmas, can it?" she said as comfortingly as she could. Personally, she was upset about it, but she wasn't one to complain when other people were already having a hard time. Her whining would just make things rougher than they were already.
"We're so proud of you honey." Her parents beamed at her and her mother gave her a hug and sent her off upstairs to get ready to leave. Hermione reached her room door and walked in to change. After she was done putting on her usual blue jeans, fitted tee, and blue jacket, she looked at herself in the mirror. She took a deep breath and made sure she looked composed before going down. She only allowed herself one tear before wiping it away and levitating her bag downstairs along side her. When she reached the bottom of the stairs her parents were talking amongst themselves, and smiled when they saw her coming down. Together they loaded up their family Subaru, and backed out of the driveway, headed for the station. She took one more look back before turning her eyes to the road ahead. No turning back now.
