DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to JK Rowling, I own nothing except the locals :)
A/N - Thank you to everyone who has read this piece so far, I hope you are enjoying the piece and will continue to read. Also, a special thank you to my first reviewer - pawsrule - your feedback is highly valued and I hope you will continue to read & review. I know the first two chapters were rather short, but this one will be longer, as will the rest that follow.
Quick recap - Hermione has left behind the magical world, and has created a new identity (Jennifer) in the Muggle world - she will therefore be referred to as Jennifer in the beginning of the chapter.
And now, read & enjoy
xBx
~ Chapter2:TheFirstCrack~
Jennifer hadn't had the best nights sleep; Crookshanks had been unusually restless, waking her many times through the night, each time wanting to get her to the mirror. When morning came, a somewhat sleepy Jennifer begrudgingly left her bed, hoping a hot shower would make her feel slightly more human and alive. Crookshanks, still full of life, was still adamantly scratching at the mirror,
"Crookshanks, what is wrong with you? Why do want to get back there so desperately all of a sudden. And" she added, on closer inspection of the mirror "you've cracked it! How on earth did you do that?" the only response she received was a look of innocence that didn't fool her for one second.
"Someone's getting half their usual portion for breakfast this morning" Jennifer muttered on her way to the bathroom, then turning to her cat added "and it won't be me."
Crookshanks fully understood the comment and went sulking to a corner, glaring at his mistress' back as she left the room.
Fate seemed intent on doing nothing to improve Jennifer's mood throughout the day: the beauty of English weather shone through vigilantly… a torrential downpour of rain never ceased from morning until dusk, coupled with the odd rumble of thunder as well as some bracing sea winds to add to the mood. Not the most enticing weather for the holidaymakers, so it goes without saying that the café was somewhat lacking in customers. Sometimes it was nice when this happened, as it gave Jennifer a perfect opportunity to catch up with the locals, who were too brazened to the harsh weather of the coast to bother about a spot of rain.
"Jenny, why don't you sit down for a while, there's only me here you can't have that much to do" Betsy, the faithful local, who showed up every day, seemed to be the only person who would brave such weather.
"Alright," she sighed, "but only for five minutes, I need to feel like I'm doing something, that I'm actually earning a living" she added, as she took her place at Betsy's table, along with a hot chocolate to cheer her mood.
"You should be thankful for a day of rest, it didn't escape my notice that yesterday was incredibly busy for you, as was the rest of the week, come to think of it"
Jennifer laughed her agreement, "yeah, but I guess it's always like that at this time of year, I don't know how I managed to forget, I've never been so exhausted – thank god for Katie, she was a life-saver yesterday, I don't know how I managed so long without her"
"All the more reason to enjoy the peace while you can" Mothered Betsy, then added smugly "I told you so, and you know I'm always right"
Jennifer smiled and took a sip of her chocolate, expecting it to automatically lift her mood, unfortunately muggle chocolate didn't have the same affect as magical chocolate, and even after ten years, Jennifer still couldn't get used to it. "God, I miss Honeydukes chocolate on days like these" she sighed, without thinking.
"Honeydukes?" Quizzed her companion, who had obviously never heard of the famous sweet store of the magical world.
"Erm, just an old sweet store, I used to love when I was younger, obscure little place in the village I used to live", she mumbled quickly, blushing at her carelessness; 'How could I be so stupid to let that slip, god damn it' thought Jennifer. Luckily, the arrival of an unexpected customer put an end to the awkward explanation and allowed her to thankfully avoid any further questions about her past, which were bound to have arisen.
"Hi there, can I get you anything?" Jennifer asked as she sprang from her seat, not looking properly at the new arrival, and returned with her unfinished drink, to behind the counter. Her question was greeted with silence, while the gentleman stared at her, slowly taking in her appearance, a slight frown forming. Jennifer repeated her question, a little more slowly this time, still not taking in the man's appearance, assuming she had spoken too quickly for him to understand – sometimes she forgot how much of an accent she had developed,
"Can I get you anything? A drink, something to eat?"
"Hermione?"
Her head snapped up in shock and her cheeks flushed with confusion, at being called by a name no one here knew, that no one had ever spoken; she quickly turned to place her cup in the sink, to hide the blatant shock in her eyes and the blush on her cheeks, trying to regain her composure. 'How does he know me?' Shoe thought wildly, 'Or could it just be a coincidence?' she naively hoped, but as much as she wanted to believe the second thought, she could not get away from the fact that she definitely recognised the voice.
"I..I'm sorry," She stammered, then took a deep breath before turning and continuing with a smile, "You must be thinking of someone else, my name is Jennifer, Jennifer Parker, though most people call me Jenny. Now how about that drink?"
The man approached the counter, and repeated her name, hardly louder than a whisper, "Hermione" this time, less of a question, more of a certainty - He knew it was her, she could change her name, she could change her hair, she could even change her accent, but he would always know her. Always.
She looked up; she couldn't help it, she turned and looked straight into the startling green eyes of the best friend she'd left behind those many years ago and without thinking she breathed out his name in shock,
"Harry?"
In that one moment she forgot where she was, forgot the façade she had worked so hard to uphold, and the lies that she had continued to build up and strengthen around herself over the many years; within seconds they came crashing down, and once again she was Hermione Granger.
"Harry", she repeated, barely more than a whisper, "what are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same question. And I think I have some more important ones to follow...Jennifer" he stressed the name, causing Hermione to turn away in pretence of checking something on the till.
The sound of a throat clearing brought Hermione out of her forgotten past and back into her 'Jennifer' façade with a jolt.
"Erm," Betsy awkwardly interrupted, her presence had been completely forgotten by the other two, and Hermione hoped she hadn't heard too much, "I take it you two know each other from a long time ago, and must have lots to catch up on so I'll get going"
"Oh, Betsy, no, don't be silly, you don't have to rush off" Hermione desperately trying to avoid the confrontation she knew was going to come if she was left alone with Harry.
"No, it's fine, I have lots to do anyway before the family get here this evening" Hermione knew Betsy well enough to hear the decided tone of her voice, and knew that she was going to be left alone with Harry, no matter what she said,
"Well, be sure to come down tomorrow," sighed Hermione, admitting defeat, "haven't seen you grandson in a while, it'll be nice to catch up"
"I'll make sure we call by, I've left you're money on the table" with that Betsy left, leaving Harry and Hermione alone for the first time in ten years.
A few moments of awkward silence followed Betsy's departure, finally broken by Hermione,
"So," she said, with a forced air of nonchalance, "are you going to tell me what are you dong here, of all places? Or are you going to stand there silently for a little while longer?" She turned back to the table she recently left, clearing it of the remnants of Betsy's drink, to give her something to do, to avoid Harry's stare.
"Looking for you." Harry stated simply, a slight hint of annoyance tinged his tome causing Hermione to freeze in shock for a few seconds, even after all these years she could hear, better than anyone, the simmering temper that was never far below the surface, "What else would I be doing?" He added quietly,
Finally regaining her speech, Hermione managed to stammer out "How…how did you know where I was?"
"Well I didn't, hence why it's taken me ten years to find you." A hint of exasperation, now added to the tinge of annoyance, which was now more noticeable than before, Hermione braced herself for his hot temper that she felt sure she was about to experience, "I never stopped looking for you, you know?" He continued, "And it didn't help not knowing why you had disappeared in the first place, and whether or not is was of your own free will" Harry paused before continuing, hoping Hermione would explain on her own...apparently Hermione had no such idea in her head, and Harry's statement was followed by more minutes of uncomfortable silence, this time, finally broken by Harry,
"Why the hell did you run off like that?" The words came out louder, and more severe than he had intended, his anger coming quickly to the surface. And though she had expected it from the moment she realised who he was, it still caused Hermione's eyes to flash with anger at being spoken to in such a way. But Harry had kept his feelings bottled for ten years, and his patience was wearing thin.
Hermione took a deep breath, "I had to get away" she responded simply, and calmly, as if it should be obvious, adding as an afterthought, unable to control all her anger, "and I don't appreciate being spoken to like that in my own place, especially by someone I haven't spoken to in ten years"
"And who's fault is that?" Harry retorted, slowly losing his self-restraint on his anger, the discussion becoming increasingly heated by the second.
"What does it matter that I left anyway? It's not as if I left any family behind, I wasn't leaving anyone alone-" She broke off at the sight of the look on Harry's face, who looked as if he had just been backhanded,
"What about me?" He demanded, barely concealing his hurt and anger, "Did you think I wouldn't care? That I wouldn't worry? You left without a word to anybody!"
"You have Ginny, you have the entire Weasley family, and they are your family, they always have been. But Me? I was never as much a part of that family as you were; yes, I had my parents, and yes, I had Ron. But they're gone now," Hermione faulted slightly, a lump forming in her throat, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks I haven't cried about them in ten years I will not start now she thought bitterly, turning away from Harry, she didn't want his to see her crying and vulnerable after ten years, "Gone, because I could not save them! Because even though I tried to learn everything there was to learn about magic, it still wasn't enough-"
"You can't blame yourself for their deaths-" Harry interrupted her quietly, taking a step toward her hoping to quieten her before she got worse. What he didn't expect was his response making her explode,
"Yes I can!" she shouted, turning back to face him as her anger burst forth, "Especially my parents' death, they were reluctant for me to join the magical world form the beginning, did you know that? But I begged them to let me go. I wanted to know everything and I begged, and as a result I got them killed, do you have any idea how that feels?"
"Well, yes as a matter of fact," Harry's anger flaring as quickly as it had faulted, "or have you forgotten about Voldemort murdering my parents to get to me when I was a baby?"
"But that is different, you've always been a wizard, you're parents were both magical, they knew all there was to know about the magical world. You were born into that world, I wasn't, I had a choice, and if I had chosen to do what my parents wanted me to do they would still be here!-"
"How can you be so god damn dense Hermione-" Harry interrupted her, unconsciously stepping closer to her, losing the last little piece of self control, his fully fledged anger bursting out,
"Don't you dare speak to me like that-" Hermione, yelled, slowly reaching a level of anger high enough to rival even Harry's legendary temper, taking a step forward in turn. As their argument had progressed, both were shouting louder and louder, and without realising it, they had slowly made their way toward each other, so that now they were practically touching,
"WHY?" Harry shouted in her face, only just resisting the urge to grab her shoulders and shake her into sense and reason, "You're unbelievably naïve to think that just because you wouldn't know about Voldemort you're parents would be safe! No one was safe, Magical or Muggle. Ignoring it isn't going to get you anywhere. Now for god's sake, stop pretending to be Jennifer…whatever you call yourself. You're Hermione, Hermione. Jean. Granger. Get over it and move on!" Harry's anger had completely taken over, and he became aware from her demeanour that he may have crossed a line. It soon became apparent that the last sentence seemed to push Hermione over the edge, as she spoke next in a barely audible whisper, positively seething, her breathing strong an erratic.
"How. Dare. You." Hermione breathed, anger rippling off each word, "Who the fuck" – wow thought Harry, as he took a step back from her; clearly he'd pushed her too far:The Hermione he knew never spoke like that unless she was seriously pissed – "do you think you are to talk to me like that. What do you think I've been doing all these years? I have created a new life for myself here-" Hermione slowly began raising the volume of her rant, slowly building up to and explosion; Harry took another, slightly larger, step back "- a life away from everything that happened! So I could deal with it! In peace! On my own! No one constantly asking me in a hushed and patronising voice: 'how are you coping?' or 'If you need to talk you know where I am' and other pathetic, useless bullshit like that! And now, after ten years, you show up out of the blue! Shout at me and offend me, and then, presumably, expect me to come back with you-"
"I haven't even asked you that!" Harry yelled defensively, his anger almost giving way to his surprise that, as ever, she seemed to know his every thought,
"NO! BUT YOU WE'RE GOING TO!" Hermione's voice now reaching a higher pitch, almost too high for human ears to register, "I'm not stupid! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COME HERE AND EXPECT ME TO DROP EVERYTHING! I'M HAPPY HERE, I HAVE MY OWN FRIENDS, MY OWN WORLD, THE MUGGLE WORLD, WHERE I BELONG WHERE IVE ALWAYS BELONGED-"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE AND YOU GOD DAMN KNOW IT" yelled Harry, brought back to his anger by the suggestion that Hermione was never meant to be more than ordinary,
Hermione remained silent for a couple of seconds and Harry was fully prepared for another explosion; in bracing himself for the worst, he was caught off guard by Hermione's large sigh and the slump of her shoulders, it was as if she simply decided to give up,
"Get out" she sighed, the abrupt change from yelling to a normal level surprised Harry, "what?"
"I said, Get out." She repeated, not looking at him, "Harry, I mean it, just go. NOW"
"Hermione-" he began, about to try and reason with her. Big mistake, Hermione exploded once again,
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY CAFÉ. RIGHT. NOW!" she literally shrieked the words at him, almost perforating his eardrums
"OUT" she yelled, reaching for the empty mug she had been drinking for a half hour before. When Harry didn't move she yelled again, this time throwing the mug, which hit the wall above his head, causing his temper to flare once more.
"FINE!" he yelled, "BUT THIS IS NOT OVER! I'M NOT LEAVING HERE UNTIL I'VE TALKED TO YOU LIKE A RATIONAL HUMAN BEING! I DON'T CARE HOW LONG I HAVE TO WAIT, I'VE ALREADY WAITED TEN YEARS I'LL WAIT IT AGAIN IF I HAVE TO." With that he left, slamming the door behind.
Hermione stormed to the door, locked it and flipped the sign to 'closed', completely forgetting that was not long past midday. Then, sitting down at the nearest table, she began to cry for the first time since finding about her parents' death. She cried for hours, and the occasional rumble of thunder, slowly getting louder, was the only sound that could eventually drown out her sobs, and signalled the strengthening storm ready to rage throughout the night.
A/N: So that's chapter 2, considerably longer than the first one, and quite possibly the longest of them all. But hopefully future chapters will be around this length.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, the next one will be up within the 24 hours, until then please review :)
xBx