Description: A woman flees her past with help from a close relation and takes to the high seas. Meanwhile, a young man takes on the challenge of his business, lordship and … a season at the hands of the courtiers.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Characters of the Harry Potter Franchise™. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers®. For if they did belong to me I would surely be rich.
Chapter One
One Year and Seven Months Later
Hermione Granger stood at the wheel of her ship, the Silver Wind, The cool winter breeze of the Caribbean blowing through her long brown hair. She looked down at the elegant silver compass in her hands. The arrow pointed northwest.
"Mr. Murray" she called to the ships second mate. William Murray came rushing up the stairs to his captain.
"Yes captain"
"Take the wheel. I'm retiring for the night"
"Yes my lady"
Hermione slowly descended the stairs to the main deck. The spotless deck seemed to shine in the moon light. Only one lantern was alight on the deck. She extinguished it with a single breath. The striking Captain slowly walked the deck; the skirts of her dress blew with the wind as the ship sailed on the clam waters.
She reached the bowsprit and leaned over the side of the ship looked towards the horizon. She could she a ship no too far ahead of them flying British colors. The young captain raced across the deck to the crew's quarters.
"Men! Get up! I see our prey at the horizon!" she said throwing open the doors.
The men began to jump out of bed racing to clothe them selves before going up to the deck. Hermione returned to the ship wheel and was watching the nearby ship as her crew prepared for the catch.
Lord Harry James Potter lay in his bed aboard his ship, the Emerald Stag, thinking of his days at Hogwarts and the friend he missed so dearly, Hermione Granger. He had been on the island of Jamaica checking on the branch of his shipping company located there. He found that this trip had been especially hard for him. He simply could not get her out of his head. It had been over 3 years since he had last seen her. He sighed as he remembered that night:
Her beautiful simile. The extraordinary white gown she wore. The way her hair was pulled away from her elegant neck which was encircled with diamonds and pearls. The way she looked at me before I departed. Her last hug, it was as if she had never wanted to let me go. Her soft skin as I kissed her cheek and said good night. The feeling of her warm breath on my neck.
I had never thought of my best friend in such ways. I was entranced by her beauty and returned to meet her later that night. We met in the gardens behind the Granger family manor. She still wore her beautiful gown; her hair fell beautifully around her shoulders. She was no longer draped in ornate jewels. She was just Hermione the girl I may have fallen in love with. We sat in the grass just staring at the stars before she said:
"Harry, what would you say if I told you I was leaving tonight?"
I told her I would tell her I loved her and that I would miss her. I asked her if she planned to leave.
She let out a sigh before replying "I feel as if I have no choice my mother plans to marry me off to some terribly old Duke in order to bring more money to the family. I don't love him and I've never even met him" Her brown eyes were moist with tears. I hugged her one last time and then offered her my hand. She got up off the ground and took it. And I told her sadly.
"I will miss you…but if you must…then go" I kissed her hand and looked at her face one more time. I could see her tears shimmering on her cheeks in the moonlight. She was truly a vision. I boldly kissed her soft lips before turning and leaving her in the garden.
The last time Harry had seen her was the night of her first society ball. He lay in his bed trying to get her tear stained face out of his head. He was just falling into a light slumber when he heard the Captain shout:
"Pirates! Man the guns! Raise all sails try to out run them!"
Harry jumped from his bed and raced about his cabin putting on his clothes. He found only his bloomers and a shirt before pulling on his shoes, grabbing his sword and going onto the main deck.
Meanwhile…..
"Raise the colors! Make sure they know exactly who they are facing!" shouted Hermione.
The crew raced across the deck following the orders of their fierce but fair (in more ways than one) captain. Edward Mayes, the first mate, kept order on the deck while the captain remained above on the wheel deck. They were just behind the ship and could see its crew running about trying to prepare for the impending attack. The Silver Wind maneuvered around the Emerald Stag just as Hermione shouted:
"Fly with the winds men take all you can find!" She fired her pistol in the air and watched her men take siege of the other ship.
A smirk crossed her face as she slowly started towards the stairs.
Just as Harry got onto the deck the siege began. Pirates crossed onto the ship firing their pistols. The crew of the Emerald Stag started to fight back immediately. Harry ran up one more flight of stairs to the ships wheel. Through the clouds of pistol smoke he could see a figure walking down the stairs of the pirates' ship preparing to cross to the Emerald stag. 'That must be the captain' Harry thought.
He started back towards the stairs but he was intercepted by one of the pirates. Harry drew his sword preparing to fight. The pirate lunged at him and Harry parried his attack before attacking the pirate himself and disarming him. Harry ran down the stairs to the main deck just in time to meet the Captain.
The Captain wore a hood which cast a shadow over their face. The captain drew out an exquisite sword. And Harry raised his. The duel began slowly both performing simple attacks and parries. The figure seemed disinterested in the duel. Harry tried to get the captain to become more engaged but his enthusiasm was met with the captain's seemingly effortless skill. The captain pulled a pistol from within their cloak and shot one of the Stag's crew members. Harry began to become even more offensive in his attacks until he finally disarmed the figure with a stunning attack. The captain lost hold of the pistol and resumed the duel. Harry once again attacked his opponent and this time his attack succeeded and the dueler dropped the sword.
Harry raised his sword to the figure's neck.
"Get your crew off of my ship" he said menacingly.
The deck had fallen silent. The pirates merely stared at their unarmed captain while the merchant sailors stared at Harry.
"I haven't surrendered to you" said the soft voice from underneath the hood. Harry stared at the figure. He raised the sword to the figures hood.
"You don't want to do that" said the figure.
"Why don't I want to do this?" he said his sword still holding the hood.
"You won't like what you see"
Harry continued to stare at the figure. The voice coming from beneath the hood was achingly familiar. He made his decision. He used the sword to lift the hood, revealing the face beneath it. As the hood fell he saw a cascade of brown hair and a pale face. It was Hermione Granger.
Harry Potter stared upon the face of his best friend for the first time in 3 years. She was still just as stunning as he remembered her.
"Hello Harry" she said coolly.
"What are you doing here?" he said the shock evident in his voice.
She rolled her eyes "I'm working, of course"
Harry quickly shook of his initial shock at seeing her beneath the hood.
"Well Captain," he said studying her closely "While you may not have surrendered to me I have bested you in a duel"
"I'm a pirate is that supposed to mean a bloody thing to me?"
"So your band of criminals must go!" he said ignoring her snide comment. "Except you, my lady will be staying with my ship as collateral. I will release once we get to land, but they must stay away from my ships. You lot, Go fetch your Captain's effects and get the bloody hell off of my ship!"
Not a single pirate moved. They all looked towards their Captain.
"They won't listen to you." She said removing her glove and examining her fingernails.
"Well then I suggest you make them listen" he said picking up the pistol she had dropped during their duel.
"Fine. Men let the winds retreat, follow his orders and continue the course to Silver gate. Disperse and I will send you word as soon as I can." She looked down dejectedly as her crew slowly began to retreat from the Emerald Stag.
Edward returned minutes later levitating two of her trunks behind him.
"My captain" he said kneeling before her. He stood and whispered in her ear "Are you sure you do not want us to follow?"
"All will be fine Edward go to Silver gate as I told you and tell the crew to go see their families. I will send word when we are to gather again. Do not worry about me, I'll be fine."
"The last time you said that…in Singapore, It didn't seem as if everything was fine."
"Edward just go"
The young pirate bowed to his captain before retreating to the other ship.
"Captain Hale" said Harry in a haughty tone.
"Yes my Lord"
"Continue our course to London"
"It shall be done my Lord."
Hermione merely watched as her ship sailed away. Her crew men adjusting the sails to make hast to Silver Gate. She looked down dejectedly before turning away from the ship. She took in her new surroundings. The Emerald Stag was an opulent merchant ship. The masts and railings had ornate carvings that encircled them and disappeared into the sails. The decks were spotless and the sails were freshly starched.
'What a disgusting display of wealth and status' she thought looking around at the ship. 'A beautifully gilded cage in the middle of the sea'
"Miss Granger" said a voice from behind her. She turned around to see her old friend, Harry Potter standing nearby. He walked towards her slowly, his jet black hair blowing in the breeze.
"Hermione" he said upon reaching her side. "I…I feel as if I'm seeing a ghost. I never thought I would see you again."
She simply stared at the man before her.
'He has changed so much' she thought sadly. She looked into his green eyes before looking to her hands once again.
"Hermione…let me show you to the quarters" he said taking her arm gently and steering her towards the stern of the ship. She said nothing to him as he unlocked the door. He led her into his quarters and closed the door behind her.
"Please sit Hermione." He said pulling out a chair from the table. She made no move to sit down. "If you're mad at me I apologize for the display upstairs. Surely you were acting on your authority as well"
Hermione looks from Harry to the chair. She removes her cloak and sits down. Harry circles behind her glancing briefly at her exposed shoulders before sitting across from her at the table.
"Hermione…you wouldn't believe how much I have wished to see you. I was surprised to see you tonight though. A pirate ship is not exactly the place I would expect to see a woman of your caliber."
"That just goes to show you how wrong you are in thinking that."
"What I meant to say was I never expected to see you…especially not as a criminal," Harry said. 'I must choose my words carefully, so that she doesn't take them as offense'
"Hermione, why are you acting so…cold? I thought…I thought you would be glad to see a familiar face especially your best friend."
She remained silent. All that could be heard were the waves and the tapping of her boot on the wooden floor.
"Please Hermione speak to me. I know you're not mute"
She laughed a cold, heartless laugh "I would bet that is all you know about me" she said coolly.
Harry stared at the woman before him. She was still reasonably pale, her hair was the same brown, yet there was something so different about her. Harry looked at her face once again. Her eyes showed a deep sadness, they were no longer warm and friendly as they once had been.
"What happened to you, Hermione?" he said quietly.
"What happened to me?" she said sorrowfully looking down at her hands and then back up at Harry. "What happened to me is unimportant. All you must know is that I am no longer the weak young girl you once knew…she is gone. She is probably still hiding in Singapore."
"What happened in Singapore?"
She didn't answer his question. She silently rose out of her seat and walked to the window bench, where she sat down and gazed out upon the open sea.
Harry started at the silent woman. 'What could have possibly happened to her to have changed her so deeply?'
End of Chapter One