A girl named Hermione Granger: Year Four
Chapter Two: Marks and Marking Your Territory
When Hermione awoke the next morning, it was to a loud, repetitive knock at her door. This she knew, even in her groggy, sleepy state, could only mean that Julie had come for the day. "Come in." She called out, sitting up to stretch her stiff muscles as the door swung open to reveal not only Julie, but her father as well.
"Good morning," Julie said cheerfully, dropping a bulging bag onto the end of Hermione's bed as she swept into the room. The bag supported itself a moment before spilling clothes over the top of her summer quilt. Hermione picked a shirt out of the small pile and gave her elder sister a confused look. There was no way her father would let her out of the house in this. It was almost exactly the same as the tank top she had worn the day before. Her eyes flickered over to her father, and sure enough, he wasn't looking too pleased.
"Uh, Julie I don't think –" "Nonsense! It's summer, you need warm weather clothes!" Julie cut her off with a large smile, and she pushed Severus out of the door way and shut the door on him. She waited until she heard his footsteps going back downstairs, and turned to face Hermione with a softer smile.
"So, kiddo, I heard you wanted to join a summer sports league." She said casually as she sat down on the bean bag chair, pulling a folded paper out of her pocket. Hermione nodded slowly, "Yeah, that's right. Dad already refused to sign it though." She had no idea where Julie was going with this.
"Well, it just so happens, I've signed it." Julie tossed the folded square into Hermione's lap and laughed as the young brunette's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "But this says you live –" "Next door." Hermione wasn't sure what confused her more; the fact that her father had obviously given the form to Julie for her to sign or that Julie had decided to move to Spinner's End.
"So, you're living in Spinner's End, then?" She asked hesitantly, trying to figure out the passive look that had settled over Julie's features. "Yes. I won't be moving in for another week or so, but it was Severus' idea. He seemed to think you were unhappy having just him around." The tone of her voice implied that she was leaving out several small, but important, details.
Hermione shifted through the rest of the clothes and found shorts that were shorter than the pair she had worn the day before. "There's no way he'll let me out of the house in these!" Her father would have a heart attack, she was sure, if he caught her going outside wearing short-shorts. Julie chuckled from where she was sitting, "Oh don't worry about him; we had a long discussion last night. You're also allowed to date now, if you want."
Hermione bit her lip and fought down a blush as she recalled that she had already tried dating, and it hadn't ended well. "N-no, I don't think I will. It sounds kind of – of – of lame." As she struggled to think up a decent lie, Julie's face dawned with understanding. "OH MY – You've already been on your first date!" She squealed, jumping to her feet in excitement. "NO!" Hermione jumped up and clamped her hands over Julie's mouth quickly, "No, I haven't! Shhhhh!" She did not want her dad to know she'd attempted to have a date with Draco. That was simply out of the question.
Julie pulled Hermione's hands away from her mouth and gave her a knowing look, "Okay, we won't do this here. Get dressed, we're going shopping. You need gear for football." She strolled out of the overly pink room, and left the fourteen year old severely regretting her wish to join the muggle sport.
She picked out a pair of dark blue shorts and a black wife beater, and dressed quickly, grabbing her purse. She didn't know if she would be able to convince Julie to go to Diagon Alley or not, but this could be her only chance for a while.
She made her way down stairs and picked out a pair of trainers from the coat closet, "Julie!" She called out, looking down the hall, not sure as to where her sister was waiting. "In the study! We're taking the floo today!" Julie's voice called out, and so Hermione stepped into the hall and made her way into her father's study, not slipping on her shoes until she stepped onto the smooth, hard wood flooring. She didn't want to get in trouble for tracking dirt.
Her father was facing the window when she entered the room, and when he turned around and saw her outfit he did exactly what she thought he would. His face went purple and his left eye began to twitch violently. He looked like he was about to spontaneously combust.
"We're going to Diagon Alley first, so you can refill your purse, and get some muggle money. I'm afraid I haven't got much of anything to spare since I had to rent the whole house next door, on such short notice." Hermione finally understood why Julie had given her these clothes to wear; revenge on her father. Obviously he had been the deciding factor in her renting the house next door, that much had been established before, but it appeared that he had set it up without waiting for her to decide herself.
"Okay," Hermione brought her hand up to rub at the back of her neck, "Then we'll be going off into muggle London for your other things." By now, Severus' hands were shaking almost imperceptibly despite being folded across his chest. Hermione felt bad for her father, although he had brought the whole thing upon himself, and she resolved to buy some clothes he would approve of.
As Julie was pulling the jar of floo powder down from its place on the mantle, Hermione felt a rush of pain in her left arm and doubled over at the same time her father grunted in pain.
She fell to her knees, gasping for breath, holding her arm so tightly she was sure it was going to bruise. Her father and Julie were at her side within moments, trying to pry her hand off her arm. What she saw when they finally managed, almost made her sick. Surrounded by bruises the size of her fingers, the faint outline of the mark was showing. "What –" Severus placed a finger over her lips and drew out his wand, though the bruises stubbornly remained where they were.
"It's resisting." He said calmly, though he looked anything but. Without a word, bandages shot out of the tip of his wand and fastened themselves tightly over most of her forearm. "I'm afraid that will have to do for now. I'll contact Dumbledore while you are out, and see if perhaps he knows anything helpful." It was a bad enough sign that his mark was hurting; but for it to be affecting Hermione, who didn't even have an actual mark, well, that was ominous.
Julie helped her to her feet and led her to the fireplace, "Don't let the bandages come off until you've returned here." This time, his voice betrayed the worry he was trying to hide. "Yes father," Hermione whispered as Julie led her through the floo to Diagon Alley.
Hermione was stuck in her own thoughts as she ambled down Diagon Alley, with Julie holding her wrist tightly, "What a way to start the day." Julie said with a groan, her eyes flickering down to stare at the bandages. She had, since Christmas, hoped that the mark would fade from Hermione's life; because, for the mark to be there, the source magic had to growing in power.
The glare of the sun that reflected off the gleaming doors to Gringotts awoke Hermione from her thoughts, "How much should I get?" She asked, falling into step beside her sister, so Julie finally dropped her wrist. "I don't know, get a hundred pounds, I know where there are some good sales in muggle London. And, however much Galleons you want. Just try not to dally."
Hermione stepped onto the marble floors and took a deep breath before stepping up to a free teller's booth, where a goblin was counting out a stack of gold and rubies. "Hermione Granger, here to make a withdrawal and exchange galleons for pounds." She tried very hard to keep her voice even and flat as the goblin sneered down at her. "Your key?" He wheezed, holding out his hand with his long fingers extended firmly.
She reached into her purse and pulled out the small silver key, "Here it is," she said as she placed it in his hand. "And how many pounds will you be needing?" "One hundred." She had no idea what the current exchange rate was for pounds, though she doubted it was very high. "It's six sickles to a pound, currently." The goblin informed her. "Six hundred sickles?" She asked incredulously, feeling her eyes go wide at the thought.
She knew she had plenty of piles of gold and silver and bronze, but she had never thought to actually count it as of yet. The goblin became amused by her surprise and, in a condescending drawl, snickered, "Do not fret, Miss Granger. Your vault has more than an ample amount for such a transaction. Barely the tip of the mountain, I dare say."
She laughed nervously, "Yes, I suppose so. Could I perhaps get a tally of the contents, if it wouldn't take too long?" She knew she ought to stay on top of her banking information; it was not wise to spend like a fool when you did not know your limits. She was a little ashamed she had not thought of it before now.
"Not at all, Miss. I'll have Griphook lead you down, and have the tally and the pounds ready upon your return. Do not worry yourself with removing the amount to be exchanged; such large dealings are done at the desk." He snapped his long fingers, and her guide appeared at her side, with a sneer that clearly stated he'd rather be doing just about anything else.
"Follow me, Miss." Griphook said, leading her down the familiar path to the vaults. The dark cavern beneath the gleaming marble bank seemed foreboding, as she seated herself in the cart, and the goblin set it in motion.
The ride was silent, but for the squealing of the wheels on the track, and the rushing air. By the time they had stopped in front of her vault, Hermione was dizzy and had to lean on the wall as Griphook opened the door.
The gleaming piles of money seemed to tower over her, as she stepped inside, and the walls were lined with shelves full of intricate baubles, and books which looked as though they might fall apart on contact. Truthfully, her purse was still quite full of gold, silver and bronze; she had originally thought she would need to withdraw the money to be exchanged. However, she carefully swept another twenty of each coin into her purse and stepped up to a shelf to examine a particularly old book.
"Griphook, am I allowed to remove the books?" She figured it would be safer to ask before touching, especially knowing what her mother was; the odds that the books were cursed was quite high. "It is your vault Miss; you may do as you please." He replied from his place at the door.
She reached out and gently touched the spine of the book before her, and it leapt into her hand with a lurch. It was so heavy, at first, that she nearly dropped it in surprise, but she managed to steady its weight with her other hand, and open the cover.
Dust flew into the air as the hard cover fell roughly to the side, and she gasped when she saw the contents; it was addressed to her. She snapped the cover shut and placed it in her bag, "I'll be taking this book with me as well." She called out as she ventured further in, to examine what appeared to be an old photo album.
Encouraged by the response of the previous book, she reached out to pluck the album off the shelf, only to retract her hand as a shock of magic course through her fingers. "Okay, guess I just got lucky with the first one." She muttered to herself, examining her fingers, to see if any marks had been left. "Is Miss done?" Griphook's voice startled her, and she jumped as she realized that she had been in the vault longer than she had anticipated. "Yes, yes I'm done. Let's return to the lobby, please."
After three hours of shopping, they finally stopped for lunch at a small muggle cafe, "Alright, now you have to tell me everything." Hermione groaned and sunk into her chair as Julie fixed her bright green eyes on her. "I don't know what you're talking about." The fourteen year old said, attempting to duck out of the conversation; she didn't particularly want anyone else to know about the disastrous almost-first-date. It was bad enough that Draco had told Pansy.
Julie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her younger sister, "Hermione, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. It's your choice."
The young Gryffindor weighed her options for a moment. She could cave now, and tell Julie about it, in a crowded muggle cafe where her father would not overhear; or she could cave in sometime next week, within hearing ranger of her father. It went without saying that her father was the last person she wanted to have know about any of it. "Fine."
She leaned across the table, so she could lower her voice, "Just before Christmas, I was supposed to meet Draco for butterbeer in Hogsmeade, but Harry and Ron intervened and screwed up the whole thing, and Draco and I have decided to just be friends...though he did try to..." her face flushed bright red as she recalled the way the blonde boy had had her pressed to the wall of her father's office, and how he had almost kissed her.
Julie squealed and reached across the small round table, pinching Hermione's cheek with a grin, "I knew it! You and Draco! Oh Narcissa is going to love this!" All the colour drained from the fourteen year olds face at the mention of Narcissa. "No! You can't tell her! Because then Draco will know I told you, and it'll end up getting back to dad, and he'll be apoplectic!" Julie laughed at her panicked display, and eventually, allowed herself to be promised into secrecy.
That night Hermione lay on her bed, staring at her ceiling with apprehension. Her day of shopping with Julie had been long, although they had certainly accomplished their goals. Her dresser was full of clothes that fit, and tucked under her bed was a box containing her new cleats and shin guards for football, as well as a ball of her own, so she could practice at home, and school if she felt so inclined.
Lying on her nightstand was a small plastic box, containing contact lenses, which she had insisted upon. The thought of giving the students of Hogwarts more fodder for teasing her, had been a near unbearable thought.
Her apprehension, however, stemmed from what was occurring at this very moment. She could hear through the walls, the discussion between Julie and her father, which had ended very suggestively a few moments prior. It was well past the designated curfew her father had set, and she was growing more restless by the minute.
Her eyes flickered over to her broom, her rarely used comet two-sixty, and she climbed off her bed. It really was a shame to have such a fine broom, and never fly it. She couldn't fly it here of course, but maybe, she could get together with a friend, and fly with them. Though she didn't know who she could ask; Harry lived with muggles, and she and Ron were still very tentative as friends. Hell, she got along better with Ginny. She gasped as the idea came to her rather suddenly, Ginny. The young red haired girl loved to fly.
She quickly snatched up some parchment and a quill, and was selecting a bottle of ink when she heard the sound of her father's bedroom door closing. Although all sound died with the soft click of the door, she shuddered and picked a random bottle of ink before opening her window and grabbing her broom. As much as it didn't bother her, for them to be together (they both deserved to be happy, after all,) she didn't much like being awake to ponder their activities.
She seated herself on her broom and glided out the window, she obviously couldn't go far, she would risk being seen by muggles, but her eyes fell upon the perfect place to land; the roof. She directed her broom up, and gently touched down on the peak of the roof. The view was amazing, and for a few moments she merely basked in the glow of the half moon, and the many stars twinkling down at her.
She made her way carefully along until she reached where a second peak went to the front of the house, creating a safe nook for her to sit on, and she settled down with her legs crossed, and her broom settled between her lower back and the shingles, twisting open the cap of her deep blue ink and setting it in between her legs. Next she flattened the parchment out over her left knee and adjusted the quill in her right hand, dipping the tip into the ink.
Ginny,
I hope your summer has been alright so far. I was wondering if maybe we could go flying some this summer, if you know anywhere that we can. I overheard Ron saying to Harry that he practices flying with Fred and George during the summer. Of course, I'd rather not fly with those three, and I have the sneaking suspicion they tend to forget to invite you along. So I was thinking we could spend time together, without the boys hanging around like flies. Let me know if you have any free days, and I'll be free to hang out between football practices and games. You could even come here, if you promise to keep it secret, and I could teach you football and we could get ice cream! I have floo, too. It would be so nice to spend time with a girl close to my age.
Hermione
She read over her letter, hoping that it didn't sound rude, or offensive to the younger girl. It was nothing but truth, her siblings dismissed her a lot at school, and it wasn't a far stretch of the imagination to picture it being the case at home too. This would be good for both of them, then, as she would get to have a girl friend, and she could treat Ginny like a little sister ought to be treated.
She carefully re-capped the ink and twirled the quill in her hand looking up hopefully at the stars. She had never been close to other girls, even as a child. Her days in primary school had been long and lonely; most kids had found her too weird to hang around. Even Hogwarts was shaping up rather poorly. She did have friends, of course, Harry, Ron, Draco, Pansy and Ginny, but most of her days there had been spent alone. The boys used her for a scapegoat, and the girls like a last resort. It would be nice to firm up some bonds of friendship now, before things could get crazy and complicated at school. Summer was a slower pace, there was little to no stress, and it heralded more opportunities for conversations about fun things.
She didn't know how long she sat there, watching the stars, and the street, but she eventually began to feel drowsy, and carefully arranged herself on her broom once again, before returning to her room. She was surprised to find her father in her door way, looking a little worried. "Where were you?" He asked, eyeing the broom in her hand.
"I was on the roof, writing a letter." She answered, holding up the rolled letter, ink jar and quill with the hand not clutching her broom. Her father's face relaxed and his shoulders slouched, "You shouldn't go off on your own like that, I was –" "I didn't leave the house, technically, dad." She cut him off, and he rolled his eyes. "I suppose you didn't, really, except while on your broom." His tone changed, and she sighed. "Okay, I didn't leave the yard, then."
He didn't respond, and that was when she realized he was only wearing sleep pants, and she could hear Julie snoring down the hall. "Did you need something?" She asked hesitantly. It was odd for her father to seek her out late at night, and a little weird for him to wait for Julie to fall asleep first.
"I just wanted to talk, come down to the kitchen and I will make some tea." He left without waiting for her to respond, and she placed her broom and letter on her bed, placing the quill and ink on her bedside table, before following him downstairs.
She stepped into the kitchen, finding it dimly lit by candles, and her father leaning against the counter as the kettle was being heated on the stove. "What did you want to talk about?" She wasn't sure why she whispered, but it felt like it would be wrong to speak any louder in the soft lighting and informal setting. "Take a seat, we'll talk once the tea is done," He was stalling, she knew, but she didn't push. Instead, she took her usual seat quietly, and watched as her father plucked the kettle off the stove just before it could whistle, and she watched him pour the steaming water into two cups, as little round tea bags floated up, only to be pushed back down by tea spoons.
He sauntered over to the table, and set a cup in front of her, seating himself across from her. The candles that were on the counters flew over and hovered above the table with a flick of his wand. "Now we can talk, I'd like to start with a question." His eyes locked onto hers, and she wondered if she was in trouble again. "How is your arm?"
Hermione jumped, and looked down at her left arm, "I don't know," the mark and bruises had vanished earlier, leaving them all stumped, "it's fine I guess. It doesn't hurt anymore at least." "Good, good. Julie will be happy to hear that when she wakes up." The air became tense between them, and she took a sip of her tea, pretending to be interested in it, so she could break eye contact.
"She and I have been talking, recently," his voice grew thick, as he struggled to find the right words, "about when we should do this," he made a motion with his hand between them, so she knew that this talk was planned, "and I convinced her to let me handle it."
Hermione was now thoroughly confused. "What do you –" "You know we've been seeing each other," the pieces fell together quickly, and Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her chair, this was starting to sound like the talk she had had with Jane and David just before their youngest son was born. "Things often happen," she gripped her tea cup gently, "and it happens that Julie, is expecting."
Her logical brain shut down, and she looked up at her father with wide eyes, "Expecting what?" She asked weakly, earning a pointed look from her father, "expecting a baby." She broke eye contact again and looked down at her cup, "Oh." She really didn't know how to feel. She liked how her family was right now, with her father and Julie devoting time to her, and seeing Jane and David once or twice a year. If a baby was added into the mix, what would change? Julie's affections would switch to the baby, and her father…he might do the same. It would be his chance to be a proper father, and she'd just be the left over child, his but at the same time not.
"That's…interesting news." She said hesitantly, chancing a look at her father's face. He seemed a little lost, and she didn't know what to think. "Hermione; this is why I'm having Julie move next door. And it's what we've been fighting over." He reached across the table and placed his large, warm hand over hers, "Why not have her live here?" 'And send me away?' she added in her mind, feeling pessimism swarm through her. "This house is decidedly not a good place for her to stay permanently. All the potions ingredients I have would be dangerous for the both of them."
This wasn't as reassuring as she had hoped. It felt like the implication was that the only other room in the house was hers, and she was in the way of him and Julie forming a real new family. "The baby can just have my room and I'll go back –" "Hermione," Her father tightened his grip over her hand, and his tone made her shiver, "that isn't what I meant, and you know it."
Severus had not thought, when he had offered to be the one to inform his daughter, that she would be so resistant to the idea. He could admit that this was certainly not something he had expected to have happen, but in his mind it didn't change anything. Hermione was still his daughter, and she would come first, no matter who, or what, came around.
Hermione's face went red and she stood up, though Severus refused to let her hand go, "We're already a family, one that is more messed up than most, but a family none the less." He stood as well, keeping her hand in his, and slowly walked around the edge of the small dinner table. "I don't think we're that messed up," Hermione whispered, watching him as he got closer, "I like what we have, and I don't want it to change." She felt her lower lip tremble as he stopped in front of her and dropped her hand to place both of his on her shoulders.
"It's always going to change." He said firmly, "That can't be stopped. But this might be a change for the better." She stiffened, "Might? You don't sound sure." "I can't say I'm particularly attached to the idea. I never wanted to be a –" he trailed off, and she stepped back, remembering when she had first met her father. He had told her he had not been disappointed upon finding her, and it had never quite occurred to her just why that was. He hadn't wanted to be father, she could see it clearly on his face now, as he watched her, and thus he hadn't been disappointed because he hadn't even bothered to imagine who his first child was.
She swallowed thickly and looked down at her dirty feet, "You never wanted to have a family." She felt a surprising bitterness in her chest, although she felt she had no place to be bitter. She was the one who had barged into his life, asking and begging for more affection, more connection to each other. He had wanted to leave her with Jane and David, with her brothers and sisters. It probably hadn't even been his idea to make their relation known to her. Perhaps it had been Dumbledore who had talked him into it.
"Hermione," Severus could see she was hurt by his words, and he simply refused to let her pull away from him now, "maybe I had never planned on it," he stepped closer again, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest, so her head was resting just below his shoulders, "but I like how things are now, too."
Her arms wrapped firmly around his middle, seeking comfort. She wanted to wake up and find this to be a dream. "You'd best go get some rest; you've had a busy day."
End Chapter Two!
As I'm segmenting what I've already written, I'm beginning to feel like I'm writing a soap opera.
Anyway; thank you all for the reviews and story alerts; my phone was full of email notifications when I woke up this morning.
Ok, I'd like to explain the Ginny-bit here. I realized I've been sort of down playing Ginny up until now; only tossing her in when I remember, and so I decided to bring out some more of her during the summer; because she and Hermione share a tent during the world cup (potentially with Julie...)
Unfortunately the next chapter is the only solo time I have written so far; and it's dedicated to explaining Hermione's family situation to her. Also, it explains a little more in depth about why Severus gave in so easy on the ungrounding.
AN 2.0 - Ok, so it's been about a week, so here I am posting chapter two! And I have some odd, but interesting news for you all. I've discovered my next venture after I finish the A girl named Hermione Granger series; and it is Legend of Zelda, Twilight princess. I've already started it, but any one who's played it knows how long of a game it is; so if I am working on it and the A.G.N.H.G. series at the same time; I should be far enough into the L.O.Z.T.P. fanfic to begin posting when A.G.N.H.G. is done. As is, I'm ten pages and eleven thousand words in and have only gotten as far as Link fetching his wodden sword from his house. Believe me, it will be so detailed you won't need to play the game to figure it out. Although, as per usual, I'm adding my own twists...and yes, Link speaks in it. But maybe after some temples, he won't speak as much. Maybe. We'll see.
