Hermione's POV
Panting heavily, I sunk to my knees and look at the clear blue sky.
Damn you blue sky with the sun radiating from it!
Either way, here I am. After five years after I received my invitation to the school, I am now in my family's training grounds.
Why, you ask?
It's because in the middle of my school year as a fifth year student in Hogwarts—just a year after we defeated Voldemort and his Horcruxes—I was sent away from school by my parents. It actually goes like this.
In the middle of January, just when the Christmas snow was melting, a small white dragon came by at dinner, holding a note. Curious as we all were, especially Ron, we stopped eating and watched as Professor Dumbledore opened the note, his eyes scanning the contents. Not so long after, I got called front and centre. As I stood in front of him, possibly nervous as to why, he also stood straight, passing me the envelope with sad eyes. Looking quite confused, I read the note.
My family was called in to step in for my grandparent's job. My father's father was the current king of Galia, a kingdom that is only heard from its famous medicinal herbs and weapon makers. Since they are now too old to rule over the kingdom, they've asked for my parents to step in, causing me and my siblings is, well, all royal. My limited magic use is broken and I can use them as I please, even the Unforgiving Curses. But like garbage I would use that.
My tears were already pouring on my face before I could reach the end, backing away from the long table as well as crumpling the note, and before running off outside the Great Hall, heading towards the common room. Crying my heart out was the only option I could give myself so as not to throw things around, because here I was, enjoying my year without Voldemort as a distraction then suddenly they relieve me from this school. Maybe after thirty minutes, Ron and the others came inside, all bearing looks of sadness. Harry told me that I should be leaving by tomorrow afternoon. Now crying insanely, I accept the hug Ginny gave me as well as the others.
My last day wasn't a tad bit happy. About two in the afternoon, my trunk, school books and my cat, Crookshanks are all set. The weirdest part of it was when Malfoy came up to me looking extremely embarrassed and when I expected a new teasing, he mumbled sorry for all the things he's done. Accepting his apology by the means of shaking hands, I was later bombarded with gifts. A new book from Harry, a violet notebook with white roses emblazed on the spine from Ginny, a box of Weasley Wizard Whizzes products from the Weasley twins, Fred and George, tons of candy from my friends and lastly, a charm bracelet with small owls and books from Ron. He sincerely promised that the money he paid this with wasn't stolen or borrowed, and that every time I get happy when I send them a letter, he made sure that I'll receive a new charm. Minutes after that moment, Dumbledore gave me the portkey, an old tin can, and hugged me for good luck as did rest, even Snape, who by the way gave me a small wooden box filled with very sleek tools like the scalpel. Waving them goodbye before I left was the hardest thing I've done. But I try not to. Proven difficult by the time goes.
When I thudded onto a ceramic floor, sharp spears were pointed at me. 'Bloody hell!' that's what Ron will say I guess, but when I returned their pointy welcome, they shuffled nervously and guiltily to their posts. I told them it was just a misconception that I was robbing their place and they said their apologies, so all was right. I was escorted by a green-eyed man in a suit to the throne room—by the way, it was like the Great Hall—to see that my twin siblings, Katherine and Len, both ten, are playing soccer with Dad. My twin siblings both have the blonde hair of my Dad and the cerulean eyes from my Mum. I was bombarded by hugs when Dad kicked the ball to hard that it bounced around the room until it just broke the window. Mum was still scolding the three of them as she hugged me. By the way, my Mum's name is Jane Louise Granger while Dad's name is Daniel Granger, both the soon-to-be king and queen of Galia. After having a snack, Mum literally dragged me towards my room where a herd of ladies-in-waiting waited for me. One advice: Once your mother suddenly drags you out of something, let's say from a bookstore, always escape. The horrible things, like hairdryers, scissors and an excessive amount of shampoos, conditioners and gel to make my hair now wavy and not at all bushy. What my friends will say or react, I don't know. At dinner, Mum explained that the coronation is tomorrow, and yes, there was delicious food.
Then the day after that, the coronation was successful, with my godparent by my side as I received my crown. Edward, my insanely irritating yet sweet brother couldn't come because he's overloaded with work, so my Mum just sent the package to him.
And here I am, seven months after that moment, pondering on how my friends are doing until Katherine joined me, wearing a white turtle neck and a dandelion skirt, her hair tied by the side. I think she was holding a book, 'The Lovely Bones' I deliberate.
"Hey sis," She smiled at me. You know, for a ten year old, she was short like me. But hey, she has some of the boys goggling at her. "Done yet?"
"Since it's four in the afternoon, yes," I say, taking her hand and standing upright, dusting the dirt off my clothes, and walking away from the training area. "Where's Len?"
"Flirting up Emilie," She said, laughing as the Captain of the Guards, Uncle Ferdinand Elliot, lost a checkers game to his second-in-command Caesar Watson. "They're both in the kitchen, making those candy-coated chocolate chip cookies. God knows my brother can't cook as well as Emilie does."
Ah, forgot to mention Emilie. Emilie Retrari is the daughter of the head of the staff and the manager of the castle. She's twelve and she's the apple of the eyes of Len. She has shoulder-length chestnut brown hair and green eyes.
"Anyways, what are Mum and Dad doing?" I ask, opening the door to my room. It was a big room, possibly the same size as the Charms classroom.
"Going through orders, we're going to the Black Order, you know, where brother is," She says nonchalantly. I widen my eyes as I lifted my tank top when I entered my bathroom for a quick shower. "Excited as I am, I don't know if they have many books that suit me."
Ah, this is why I love her. She loves books as much as I do. "Don't worry," I tell her from inside the shower. "Everything will be fine, unless we suddenly kill your brother."
After a few minutes, I go out of the bathroom, already in my underwear, holding the pile of sweaty clothes in my arms and throwing them in the laundry basket. Opening my closet, I go through some clothes before picking up a white turtleneck sweater, a blue jacket with gold stitches and a blue plaid skirt.
"When are we leaving?" I ask as I started to put my clothes on.
"We leave at five, so we still have about twenty minutes," She said, tossing me my leg garter and my arm garter that I use to hold my knives. Technically at Galia, once you are ten, you start training with weapons. I, being fifteen years old, am five years late so I train overtime. By this time, I'm at the expert base and yes, the twins also train and now in their intermediate base. Both Len and Katherine use scythes and I use two swords for practice.
Putting the garters on their respectful places as well as my white boots, I hurriedly follow Katherine out of the room, crashing with Len.
"Ah!" He said, looking at me with surprise. Len—oh how do I explain this—um, he's kind of the opposite of Katherine. He's kind of the mischievous, crazy and very wild cannibal you'd like to have in your friend list. He's very hyper. He always leaves his sunny blonde hair in a small ponytail at the back. "Sorry sis!"
"Cookies made with Emilie hands?" I ask instead, looking at him sheepishly as we walk towards the throne room. He nodded enthusiastically, placing the cookies inside his backpack that Katherine passed to him. "What a surprise."
"Hey, her cookies are delicious like ice cream on a stick," He said, crossing his arms.
"The term is ice cream on a cup or cone," Katherine corrected. "For my brother, you're kind of... stupid."
"Look Katherine," He said, grinning smugly. "Just because you're the youngest, doesn't mean you have to kill the fun."
Katherine looked at him for a moment before smiling devilishly and running off. "First one at the throne room gets the first piece of Emilie's cookies!"
"Unfair!" He shouted, running off. "You got a head start!"
Laughing, I also joined in, my boots' heels clinking on the floor. Still laughing, I reached the open doors of the throne room only to laugh harder. Len and Katherine were running on the walls as Dad laughs while Mum scolds.
"Care to explain?" Uncle Ferdinand asked to me, an amused smile on his lips.
"If I say Katherine, would it be a good answer?"
"Technically, yes," He chuckled, now looking more amused as Mum scolds the both of them. "Your highness, you eldest daughter is here."
"Ah, yes," Dad said, tears of joy still running on his face. "S-Sorry Hermione, your siblings are irresistible to not laugh at."
"Hey!" The twins shouted defensively.
"Either way, we just called you so you can have your new weapons before you leave," Dad says, tossing me a long box and tossing two others at the twins. "They're all new and bathed in the most special potions."
"Professor Dumbledore?" I ask, already knowing. For the past seven months, Professor gave us a supply of potions for strengthening, invulnerability and healing. Plus, he's somehow a good friend to Dad.
"Why of course!" Mum said, smiling at us.
Rolling my eyes but chuckling, I opened the box to see two silver swords with jagged ends. On the hilt were blue sapphires. My name was engraved on the sword's blade. I looked over to the twins to see gold staffs until they became scythes with a topaz on its tip of the blade.
"Bloody hell," Len mused as he swiped his hand on the flat side of the blade. "Sweet weapons Dad."
"Only for my children," He says, now standing up and hugging us three. "Now, our time is almost up. I want all of you to take care of yourselves and Hermione, your wand is in your luggage so that you can have a back-up if you need one. Edward's weapons are already packed, so you can go."
"Okay, Dad," I say, hugging him back and receiving a flurry of kisses from Mum. "Mum, I'll be alright!"
"Oh, I know you'll be," She said, nodding seriously. "It's your brother I'm worried about. I haven't told him that you guys will stay there. Now hurry up, we have a meeting with our advisers."
Laughing, I kiss her on the cheek before getting escorted by Uncle until Emilie stood before us, a blush on her cheeks. Len stiffened and Katherine nodded her head towards Emilie then at Len. Gulping, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips before running off.
"Well," I said, poking him at his ticklish side. He did not yelp or move away. "He's hard as a stone."
"After encountering a surprising turn just like that? I would think so," Uncle laughed before pushing us forward. "Now hurry up, the car is waiting for you."
"Car?"
"Are we there yet?" My siblings whined as the car drove by the streets of Britain. It was a long ride, a boring one in fact. We already travelled for three straight hours and all we can do is play 'who-sees-the-most-weird-looking-outfits'. By far, Len is winning followed by my sister then me. The weirdest outfit of all time goes to a fat man wearing drapes from the shower with a rainbow belt, red boots with yellow smiley faces and a jester hat. Katherine used the official term 'hobos' to describe them as Len described them as 'weirdoes'.
"Almost, your highnesses," The driver says from up front. Sighing in relief, we all place our suitcases on the floor. Opening mine, I took out a sealed letter that was to be given to the head of the European Branch of the Black Order and my wand. Placing my wand in my boot, I look out the window to see that it was so dark.
"Ah, it feels so good to see brother again," Katherine sighed wistfully. Looking at my watch, it read eight o' clock in the evening.
"Of course," I say as the car stopped. "You haven't seen him for what? Six years?"
"Exactly that long," Len nodded, opening the door and stepping outside. Katherine and I followed to see a black cathedral on top of a hill. "Okay, where in Batman's cave are we?"
"This is the European Branch of the Black Order, your highnesses," He said, placing our other suitcases on the ground. "I cannot further enter because unofficial drivers are not allowed."
"Thank you," I say smiling at him before grabbing my suitcases and placing it on my stroller as did the twins with theirs.
Walking upwards, Katherine was starting to shake. "Are those actual bats?"
Looking upward, I saw a flurry of black circular and diamond things with wings fly around. "No, but how interesting yet very annoying at the same time…"
"Can I shoot them?" Len asked, readying his toy gun.
"No."
"Hey, Komui!" A man with spiky golden brown hair yells as he stared at the screen. "Can you and your friend come here?"
"What is it, Reever?" A violet haired man, Komui, says, entering the room with his second-in-command, a brunette man with ocean eyes. "Is it new parts for my Komurin?"
"Like hell it is. Besides, I watch over you in case you . We have three visitors," The man, Reever says as he looked at the screen. "Two girls, a blond and a brunette, and a boy. One looks like a teenager and the other two look-alikes look like ten year-olds. Should we—"
"W-W-W-Wait," The brunette man says, moving closer to the screen, his eyes widening. "Those aren't just visitors, those are my siblings!"
"Darn it," Katherine cursed as she stared at the cathedral in front of us. "It's bloody huge. I don't know if I like this at all, sis."
"Shh," I say, ushering them both behind me as I knock on the doors. "Hello? Is there anyone there?"
And with just five knocks, a humongous face appeared, making me yelp and jump back.
"Alrighty," A cheerful voice says from nowhere. "You know what to do Gatekeeper."
"Is this some kind of—"
Before I could finish, the 'Gatekeeper' moved and its eyes glowed and got focused on me. Before ten seconds, it started screaming out. "Defective! She's defective!"
Covering my ears, I glared at the door. "Defective? Are you calling me a toy?!"
"Make it shut up!" Katherine screamed, covering her ears so tightly that it wouldn't unravel for years. Len was running around, screaming curses at the door.
"Release the demon—ouch!" The voice says loudly and without a second later, a man with long blue haired stood right in front of me, a long samurai sword in his hand.
"You've got some guts to even think about—"He started until I cut him off.
"I've got good guts because I almost got my ears wretched clean with blades by that blasted doorbell of yours," I scoffed, signalling the two to hide. "And you are?"
"Whatever," He scoffs angrily, flashing a katana up to my eyes. Did it just... come out from his hands?! I jumped back immediately before it can make contact with my nose. "Activate!"
As he said it, the katana glowed, creating a reddish hue to it. Behind the trees, Katherine and Len were frantically pulling out their weapons.
I panicked and raised my hands in defence. "L-Look, we were just—"
And he slashed. I hastily drew my knives from my garters and deflected his strikes one by one.
"Crap," The brunette man says, plopping his new weakened body on a chair. "What the hell? First the magic school, now this?"
"Hey, she's good," A girl noticed as she entered the room. Her green hair was tied in two ponytails. "Is that Kanda?"
"The one and only," Komui says cheerily.
"To hell with you Komui," Edward groaned, but a smile was playing on his lips. "Aren't you enjoying yourself too much? Even placing Kanda?"
"I want to know how she's different," Komui said in a sing-song voice before resuming his watching. As Hermione dodged each and every attack Kanda gives to her. "Look, she's even better than you—"
"Do you want me to kick you on you private places?"
"No?"
"Then shut the crap up."
"Can we just cut this out?" I pleaded, grunting as he swiped his blade close to my neck. I have my back on the wall now, my knifes in a criss-cross to deflect the blade to go any further to my neck
"No cutting unless you show me some skin to cho—"
"Look, I've got a letter!" I say at him just before I kicked him at his side then hitting his chin with my elbow, making him fly ten feet to the side. Behind the trees, Katherine and Len were cheering. As well as they should be. I walk up to him, using my knives to cut his sword in half as he raised it. "And here I thought my enemy was horrible!"
"A letter?" He asked, recovering from my kick since he was picking himself from the ground, looking at his sword with a sort of pity. "From who?"
"From my mother, you butt!" I say, very annoyed, sheathing the knives back and signalling my two siblings to come here. "It's addressed to a guy named Komui Lee? And where the hell is my brother? I want them both sued!"
"Brother?"
"And here I am!" A voice shouts happily. The doors open wide to reveal my brother Edward, a girl and a man. "Hello there—"
Thud.
"That's for making me endure a load of trouble," I say to him from above the violet-haired man. I glare at my brother, Edward, and he raises both hands in defense and surrender. "To the Underworld with you, Edward, you could have at least told him to knock it off."
"And there's my little gal," Edward says, enveloping me in his arms. I accepted the hug before thumping him on the head for good measure. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"For making us wait for six whole years. And you just had to practically used your pretty toy to kill me," I scoff, crossing my arms. Katherine and Len both hug his arms and began to swing them playfully. Edward grew a little more than the last time I saw him. Curse him with his progressive growth. "And why are you working without sending us letters?"
"I—"
"Let's have this conversation another time," The girl with ponytails said, placing an arm on my shoulder. "Hi! I'm Lenalee Lee. My brother is that old goat you're stepping on."
"Ah, sorry," I apologized, removing my foot from his head. "I'm sorry for your burden. He's like my brother, only more stupid than the rest of us."
"Nah, don't worry about it," Lenalee says, waving her hand. Edward just grunts in an annoyed way. "He's used to it."
"Then I can do it again?" I ask.
"May—"
"Can we all discuss this inside the Order, please?" Komui groaned, wiping the dirt off his face as he walked forward. Laughing a little, I place my hand on the handle of my stroller and pulling it inside. The man with the long hair still hasn't talked and I craned my neck to see him silently cursing as he placed his broken sword in his belt. Stopping for a moment, I walk to him, my wand precariously on my hand.
"Hey there," I say to him. He looked at me with a twinge of annoyance. "I want to apologize for breaking your sword—"
"Yes, and it still isn't accepted," He grumbled.
"—and I want to fix it," I finished, ignoring his comment.
"Fix it?" He asked incredulously. "How?"
"Can I just have a look at it?" I ask, holding out my hands. "Please?" I added. Cautiously, he placed his sword on my hands. "Turn around?"
Looking slightly miffed, he turned his head around. As I whispered 'Reparo', he turned his body. His face was priceless.
"Fixed it," I proclaim, giving his sword a swift toss that it ended in its sheath. "Better now?"
"Okay…" He said, partially unsure. He looked kind of uncomfortable until he breathed in and looked at me with fierce eyes. "You and I will have a match."
"Um, sure?" I answered, scratching the back of my neck.
"Tomorrow morning, no weapons," He said firmly before walking away.
"Hm," I hummed, looking slightly irritated. "How rude…"
"Hermione!" Edward called, already pushing my stroller forward. "Do you want the tour of the place or not?"