A/N: I completely changed the plot and chapters that came after the Prologue. For those who have read the previous version, I hope that you also enjoy this one. Thanks again for your support. :D
WINGS OF DREAMS
CHAPTER 1:
Dawn was breaking. The day's first rays peeked up from the horizon. Clouds glowed in an array of pinks, purples, and oranges. Little by little, the tendrils grew, stretching as far as they could reach, touching the roofs of houses and setting the trees ablaze. It was a magnificent view, worth getting up early just to see it...
...Which was precisely why Hermione Granger was lying on her roof at this moment, with her eyes closed, a smile evident upon her lips. Up here, it was bliss: So peaceful and...Well, wonderful. It was rare occasion where she didn't have to worry; she only had to focus on the scene in front of her. If it were in her personality, Hermione would have squealed in happiness and satisfaction.
By now, you may have asked yourself, Isn't Hermione afraid of heights? More importantly, why is she on the roof? Apparently, Hermione used to watch the sunrise from her balcony. However, today, she felt an odd and sudden urge to climb up, up towards the open sky. Feeling daring, she stood upon the balcony railings and unexpectedly, climbed atop roof with ease. To her surprise, she was not overwhelmed with fear, but with excitement of being so high up. She smirked to herself, thinking, the bookworm Hermione Granger, the girl with a fear of heights and brooms, has willingly climbed onto her roof. Well, what do you know?
The cool, crisp breeze played with her hair, gently swaying the trees. Her back was against the brick chimney, her hands clasped together behind her neck, and her legs bent and positioned so that her knees touched and formed a rough triangle. She breathed deeply, savoring the fresh air that the early morning brought. Her thoughts were happily occupied with the fact that she was returning to Hogwarts, her true home, today. Now this, she thought to herself, is life at its best.
-xxxxx-
Not too far away, a boy also sat upon his resident roof. The wind tousled his already messy hair while he stared with glazed eyes at the broken dawn, almost longingly. As the sun rose higher, it illuminated the silhouette of another figure upon their roof. He wrinkled his brow in confusion. Ever since he discovered this pleasurable wonder of the world, he had sneaked up here everyday, watching the sunrise in awe every time. It was a way to escape all the worries and stress factors in his life; they sloughed off as he climbed higher. It was the closest he could get to flying on his broom. During past times, he had never seen any other human being. Shrugging, he pushed it to the back of his mind, and expertly made his way back to his bedroom window. He slipped back inside quietly, in time for his forced routine of making breakfast for the rest of the house's inhabitants.
-xxxxx-
After sitting upon the roof for a substantial amount of time, Hermione finally tore herself from this carefree world and headed back towards reality. This was quite ironic since she had no idea how she'd get back down. Finally, she clumsily clambered back down and went into her room, feeling unusually confident and content.
-xxxxx-
Hermione finished dressing, pulling silky, tight-fitting gloves onto her hands. They were white and fingerless, and by now, felt like a second skin. She had had them for as long as she could remember, especially useful since they seemed grow conveniently along with her. Although quite elegant and casual at the same time, she didn't wear them for fashion or just because they were a gift from her now-deceased grandmother, but because they hid something that she did not want anyone to see.
On the palm of her left hand was an odd birthmark; it had six defined and well-formed dots that formed a perfect, equilateral triangle. It was quite small and unnoticeable, really, almost the size of a dime, but what was even queerer was that at unexpected times, the dots would grow brightly and eventually refine themselves into rays of light that resembled laser beams. This, undoubtly, would be very hard to miss.
It first happened when she turned three, her grandmother told her to come to her room after everyone left. The party ended at almost 12, and being the ever-curious girl, she quickly scrambled to her grandmother's bedroom, not bothering to get ready for bed first.
Her grandmother greeted her warmly and smiled in excitement. Since excitement is contagious, Hermione quickly became very eager to know what her grandmother had in store for her. Taking out an ancient, carved box from her dresser, her grandmother motioned Hermione to sit down and settled down on her rocking chair. She handed the box to Hermione and sat back down, rocking gently.
The smoothed, carved wood caressed Hermione's then-small hands. The lid was decorated with a simple design that looked identical to the birthmark on her palm, only on a larger scale. Somehow knowing that she was holding a valuable object, she carefully removed the lid. Her mouth opened into an 'o' and stared in wonder at the piece of jewelry.
Three gems, on red, one yellow, one blue, were set on the sides of a triangle made of three diamonds, creating another triangle, but larger. A white gold circlet emblazoned with foreign characters encircled the jewels. They all hung from a fine chain, also made of white gold. But what was even more amazing was the size of this masterpiece. It was able match her birthmark dot for dot.
Hermione brushed her fingers over the pendant, immediately triggering a reaction. Her palm felt unusually warm and pulsing. She turned her hand a saw the birthmark glowing with heat and light, and her eyes widened in alarm.
Her grandmother, often called Isi, short for Isabelle, saw her granddaughter's reaction and smiled softly. "So it's true," she murmured to herself. Hermione's sharp ears picked up the whisper, but not the words. She looked up, expectant. Isi rose out of her chair, and took yet another box from her dresser and sat back down. The opened box revealed gloves, the gloves that hid the strange light that originated from the equally strange mark...The same gloves that she now wore, and had worn since then.
-xxxxx-
It was five to 11, and platform 9 ¾ was bursting with students. One particular seventh year, Ron, tall and redheaded, easily scanned the scores of people to find his two best friends, Harry and Hermione.
"Ron! Over here!" Swiveling his head, he saw Hermione behind him, trying to reach him through the thick crowd. She was dressed in muggle clothes and her hair in a messy low bun.
"Hi, have you seen Harry?" he asked.
"No, I haven't. He should be here soon though. His uncle always drops him off pretty late."
They were about to search the mass students again when they heard the familiar voice of the last member of their trio, Harry.
"Boo!"
They both turned to see their friend and smiled. Although they had all exchanged numerous letters and notes during the summer, it just wasn't the same as seeing each other.
"Why don't we catch up on the train? It's about to leave soon, and we need to find a compartment."
They climbed into the train and luckily found the last empty one. By now, all of the students had boarded the train and Hogwarts Express was ready to leave.
Choo! Choo! Choo!
Three, consecutive, high-pitched whistles signaled the departure of the train. Predictably, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle paid them a little 'visit'. All three friends rolled their eyes as the heard their noisy 'guests' arriving, Malfoy scolding them, and his accomplices blabbering apologies. Harry, Hermione, and Ron counted under their breaths:
Five, four, three, two, one-
With a flourish, Malfoy slid open the door and looked down upon them haughtily. Sneering, he said to Hermione, "No Head Girl badge, I see. I'm sorry to say, but I'm not surprised. Who in their right mind would've made a mudblood Head Girl?" With that, he laughed, and his two friends joined in, a delayed moment later.
Hermione's eyes sparkled angrily, but held an authentic, pleased smile on her face. Her two comrades smartly held their tempers in check and remained silent. Draco immediately noticed and stopped laughing. "What, have you all become so stupid that you can't even answer me? Even I didn't think you were that dumb," his eyes narrowing as he failed to provoke them. His cheeks tinged a faint pink. What angered him further were the identical, nonchalant looks on their faces. Steaming, he whipped out his wand, but Harry stood up and stopped him before he could yell out a curse.
Coolly, Harry said, "I don't think you want points docked before you even reach the school." Draco scoffed. "Stop acting like you're above me. Remember, I'm prefect and if I remember correctly, only the Weasel and the Mudblood were made prefect, not Golden Boy." Again, he tried to hit a nerve, but Harry's reaction to his comment was unexpected.
Harry smirked. "If I remember correctly, the Head Boy's decision overrules those of a prefect." Draco's eyes widened and gaped as he realized what Harry meant. He then hurriedly motioned for his cronies follow him and leave. Once the compartment door slid closed, all three erupted in laughter.
Although she was in high spirits, Hermione couldn't stop nagging thoughts from swarming her mind. When she sighted Harry's left palm as he closed the door, she saw a birthmark that looked exactly like hers in the exact same place. Even odder was the fact that she had never seen it there before.