A girl named Hermione Granger: Year Two
Chapter Two: Things are looking up
Disclaimer: Only thing I can pretend to own is Julie, Danny, Sarah, Joey and the unnamed five year old brother.
Hermione woke up the next day to find her sister no longer on the cramped bed with her. She flung the blankets from herself and tugged on a pair of slippers before racing down the stairs and into the kitchen. She felt a great wave of relief when she saw Julie standing at the stove, flipping pancakes. "Julie! You're still here!" She ran over and hugged her sister from behind, a big smile on her face. "Ha ha, whoa there. Calm down 'mione, I've got a hot pan in my hands." Julie said with a laugh, and Hermione quickly let go, taking two steps back. She looked around the kitchen quickly for her father, but he was no where to be seen. "He's gone to, er, Diagon ally, I think he said." Julie said as she noticed the younger girl's questioning examination of the room.
"Oh. I get it. You're only here to babysit me now." Hermione said with a slight pout, until her eyes fell upon the half full coffee pot on the counter. She grinned evilly and made a dash for the cupboard she knew would have the mugs in it, she was disappointed to find them all moved up, out of her reach however. "He says you're too young for coffee." Julie reached over and turned off the stove as she double checked that the last pancake was finished, then reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a mug and winked at Hermione, "And I say you'll need the energy today." Hermione poured the coffee into her cup and quickly took a sip. "Aahhh...I missed coffee." She sighed happily, gulping back the warm, bitter drink.
Severus was at a loss again. Julie had informed him this morning, before Hermione had woken up, that he had to tell her about Danny. So he'd come to Diagon Ally in an ill conceived attempt to find something with which he could bribe her with for forgiveness. Had she been a boy, the answer would have been to simply buy her a racing broom, and leave it at that. However, his daughter wasn't much of a flyer. He knew she liked books, but he'd be damned if he knew what sort of book might be fitting for the occasion. By quarter of ten, he decided on going into the sweetshop, and bought her a selection of the various candies they sold.
When he apparated back home, he heard laughter in his kitchen. At least he knew he wasn't going to have to wait for his daughter to wake up. He made his way into the kitchen and dropped the box of sweets. On his foot. Julie and Hermione were seated at the table, the former pouring the latter a cup of coffee, which he presumed was not her first cup of the day. "Good morning!" Hermione greeted cheerily, taking a sip from her cup of coffee.
Severus quickly plucked the box off his now sore foot, and deposited it on the table, allowing himself to slump down into an empty chair. "How many cups of coffee is that?" He asked, dreading the answer. The brunette witch just smiled and pushed the cup away with a sigh. "The second." She answered brightly. He gave the cup a half-hearted glare and shrugged. Perhaps Julie had thought it would help to 'soften the blow'.
He opened his mouth, but closed it again as he realized he didn't know where to start. "Maybe just let her read the letter?" Julie said simply, pouring syrup over her pancakes. She ignored her younger sisters questioning gaze, and gave Severus a brief, meaningful glance. The potions master ran his hands through his hair and flicked his wand to summon the aforementioned letter from his study. He wordlessly gave it to Hermione and watched her read it with interest.
Hermione, though she was angry, took the news calmly. It's not as though Danny had never run away for attention before, after all. She let her dark eyes fall on the box her father pushed towards her on the table. She hesitantly reached out and opened it to find the shaken contents of five broken sugar quills, four crushed chocolate frogs, and a scuffed box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. She couldn't help but burst out laughing at the contents.
Draco Lucius Malfoy was not having an ideal summer. Since he had been home, his father had hired a Quidditch coach for him, and he was being forced to attend several grueling hours of practice everyday. The most frustrating part was that he had rather liked Quidditch. Until now. And he didn't like being seeker, it wasn't his best skill, as he was quickly finding out. His father was insisting, however, that he would be seeker, and he would be better than Harry Potter, or else. And Draco was not eager to face the 'or else' part.
It was nearly a whole month into summer now, and he was finally able to at least catch glimpses of the snitch, whenever it was sunny enough for the speedy ball to glint in the light. His mother had been attempting to plead with his father to allow him a day or two off of training to go and visit his friends, by arguing that he would likely preform better if he had some time to relax and let his lessons sink in. At the moment he was slumped against the base of a tree, his new racing broom abandoned on the ground beside him, and his instructor was periodically banging his head against a tree on the other side of their practice field. The young Slytherin almost felt bad for the man whom had been bullied into training him, when he wasn't pitying himself over his lost summer.
His eyes lit up when a house elf with bulbous green eyes and batty ears appeared beside him, "Mistress requests your presence young Master." It said in a squeaky voice, bowing so low its nose almost touched the ground. "Very well Dobby, tell her I'll be there in a minute." He dismissed the elf and, when it had left, he did a little pre-victory dance. His mother had said she wouldn't send for him until she'd convinced his father, and he was excited to be allowed to leave the manor. He hopped onto his broom and raced back to the manor as quickly as he could. Within minutes he was sitting in his mother's drawing room, trying very hard to keep from grinning in an un-Malfoy like way.
"Draco," Narcissa tilted her head in greeting to her son and smiled softly, "Your father has finally relented, if you promise to work harder upon your return, you may have a one week break." She almost laughed at the joy in his eyes, but refrained from doing so, "Perhaps you could go and visit Blaise, or, if you would like, Severus will be leaving for Scotland tomorrow and you may go with him." She, of course, knew that Snape would be bringing his daughter on the trip as well, and she really wanted her son to become very fond of the girl. Surely, one day, it would come out that she was his daughter, and then she could persuade her husband to arrange a marriage between them.
Draco was immediately torn. To stay and visit his best friend Blaise, and probably Crabbe and Goyle as well, or to go to Scotland with his godfather and Hermione. It was entirely likely that this would be his only chance to relax all summer, and he would need to make the most of it. "I think I'd like to stay, but I'd like to visit uncle today." He felt rather proud of his idea. "Very well, but go and shower. You smell dreadful. I'll floo Severus and let him know to expect you."
Hermione and Julie were setting up a Monopoly board on the kitchen table when Snape rushed into his study, saying something about a 'floo' call. Julie gave Hermione a questioning look, assuming it was something magic related, but the brown haired Gryffindor merely shrugged, "I don't know what a 'floo' call is. It's the first I've heard of it." She said simply, counting out the money notes, setting aside three piles. She was nearly finished when her father swept back into the room with a light frown. "You'll have to set it for two more. That was Narcissa. She floo'd to tell me Draco wanted to visit, and when I told her we were having a game day, she insisted on coming along as well." He was worried about how Narcissa would react to Julie being here, her being a muggle, but it was too late to do anything now. He had already mentioned her being here.
Hermione grinned at the thought of having Draco over, (she could finally teach him a game in which she excelled,) but wasn't sure how to feel about the older woman coming as well. She remembered her being slightly snobbish, and got the distinct impression she was one of the witches who thought they were better than muggles. Although, she supposed, no one had to tell her Julie was a muggle, and if it did slip out, what did it matter? Julie got on alright with her father, and Draco, so one woman's opinion hardly mattered.
Within minutes there was a knock at the door and Severus went to retrieve their guests, leaving Julie and Hermione pick their playing pieces. "I'll be the top hat, I think." Hermione said, pulling out the small piece of metal, as Julie claimed the iron for herself. Draco was the first to enter the kitchen, with his mother and godfather close behind him. "What's this?" He asked curiously, looking at the brightly coloured board. Hermione smirked slightly, "This is Monopoly, it's a muggle board game, where you buy properties and build hotels." The blonde boy looked at the game funny, and shrugged, "How much money do you need to play?" At his nonchalant question, both Hermione and Julie giggled. "You don't need any real money, it comes with play money." Hermione said, trying to stop laughing as she saw the slight frown on his face.
Four grueling hours later, they quit the game. Julie protested slightly at the unanimous decision, as she was gleefully counting her huge stack of fake money, but was ignored. "I forgot how awfully long that game could get." Hermione moaned, slumping onto the table, a few meager one dollar bills and two mortgaged properties in front of her. It had been a long time since she'd lost a game of Monopoly.
"How about Hermione and Draco go outside, and get some fresh air?" Narcissa asked, somehow still sounding chipper, although she had lost terribly at a muggle board game. Hermione was glad to take the chance to escape, but was halted halfway to the door by her father. "Stay in the yard." His voice left no room for argument, and she was blushing with embarrassment as she stomped out into the back yard, not waiting for Draco to follow her. The young Slytherin was right behind her however, eager to flee the prying eyes of the adults.
Once the door was closed behind him he let out a low whistle, "So, that wasn't awkward at all." He drawled, referring to the strained conversation that had taken place half way through the game, when his mother had asked Julie if she'd attended Hogwarts herself. Hermione groaned and flopped down on the ground so she could look directly at the clouds, "Oh yeah, no that was perfectly pleasant." She grumbled sarcastically. That had been the longest four hours of her life. "So, what have you been up to this summer?" Draco asked, laying himself down beside her, with his hands folded behind his head.
Hermione bit her lip and played mental ping pong about what to say. She had been forbidden to tell him about his father attacking her at the park, of course, but aside from that she'd done next to nothing. "Well," She started, pretending to be trying to recall events, "I stayed out late one night, trying to figure out where my muggle family was living, and father couldn't find me, so he went to Jane, and she called Julie, and they found me asleep in the park." It was relatively close to the truth, she decided, "And since then, he lets her come visit on Friday's." She felt bad for lying, but she knew she couldn't say anything without her father interrupting her. Draco just nodded, "That's a lie." He was laughing as he called her out, and she flushed again with embarrassment. "Yeah. It is. But I've been forbidden to say what happened. I got attacked in the park, you know? Scared the bejeezus out of my dad." She tried to cover her mouth from view so that her father couldn't guess at what she'd said, but was relieved to find none of the adults watching through the windows.
She dropped her hand back to its resting place on her stomach as Draco looked at her, aghast with the news. "What?" He was sure he'd heard that wrong. He had to've. Hermione just shrugged, "You heard me. I can't repeat it, and I don't know for sure who it was, but I think he was a death eater." She remembered the foul things he had muttered to her, and it brought back memories of the school year when she'd been called names by the older students. "Hey, Draco?" The one name reverberated in her mind, and she realized that she still did not know what it meant. He grunted in response, stunned by her previous confession. "What's 'mudblood' mean?" His reaction was actually quite funny, she decided, as he chocked on his own spit and shot up into a sitting position. "Where'd you hear that?" If possible, he looked more offended at the word then he had upon hearing she'd been attacked.
She shrugged casually, and looked into his eyes for a moment, "A few of the older kids were calling me that at Hogwarts, when I lost all those house points." She knew it had to be an insult, but she had managed to put it out of her mind before the exams had started. "It refers to muggle born witches and wizards. It means that their blood is dirty, unlike mine, which is pure. Mine's considered pure, because every one in my family has been a witch, wizard, or veela." His words sunk in, and she frowned. Oh, so that's what it was. Her attention caught at the end of his sentence and stuck to one word in particular. "What's a veela?" She saw his usual arrogant smirk slide across his face, and she rolled her eyes. "Veela are magical creatures, they look mostly human, except they're tragically beautiful. Most pureblood families have at least some veela blood in them, to ensure all future generations will be beautiful." He was so smug by the end of his explanation that she tugged some grass from the lawn and tossed it in his face playfully.
They chatted about various things for a few hours, including both his lavish birthday present from his father (a racing broom, the Nimbus 2001,) and how Hermione was feeling cut off from all her friends, either because she was unable to write them by Snape's rules, or not receiving answers from the ones she did write to. Draco was just telling her to send them howlers, for fun of course, when they were called back inside for dinner. Draco was the first to his feet, and he offered his hand to her, which she stared at, slightly surprised. She placed her hand in his and he hoisted her to her feet, a small smirk adorning his face, "Malfoy's are gentlemen." He said with a self important air, and the brunette laughed at him while she brushed the dirt from her shirt and pants. "Hurry up you two! My food's getting cold!" Julie shouted from the kitchen, leaning halfway out of the tiny window above the sink. Hermione shuffled inside quickly, with Draco close behind, and took her usual seat between her father and Julie, while Draco joined his mother on the far side of the table.
The dinner mood was light and surprisingly fun. It seemed that Narcissa had decided to disregard the fact that Julie was a muggle, and the two actually got along quite well.
End chapter two! I know it's short compared to chapter one, but that is because I cut it down. It originally had chapter three added at the end, but I thought it mildly ridiculous to have such a long chapter, and you'll see what I mean when chapter three is posted. Also, by doing this, I've managed to get twelve chapters out of Year Two. And I have cute, fluffy bits coming your way. Some sweet little Dramione build up.
So far Year Three is is suffering my boredom and I've decided to throw a massive hole into my plot, that you'll hate, but love because it'll just help build up the Dramione.