Disclaimer I don't Own the secret garden nor do I own Harry Potter (I wish I did) this is my twist on the classic books with Harry Potter characters
in my version of the story they are a lot older with Hermione being 17 (able to do magic) and Harry and Draco 18. I won't stop with the end of the book but keep going as I want to add a romance in there (maybe) but that's only if people like what they are reading .
Hermione Granger ~ Mary Lennox
Draco Malfoy ~ Colin Craven
Harry Potter ~ Dickon Sowerby (Harry is adopted into the Weasley family in this story)
Ginny Weasley ~ Martha Sowerby
Albus Dumbledore ~ Ben Weatherstaff
Lucius Malfoy ~ Archibald Craven
Minierva McGinagall ~ Mrs. Medlock (she played her in the movie as was perfect!)
Narcissa Malfoy ~ lily Craven (dead in this like the book, but she is referred to a lot)
Severus Snape ~ Doctor Craven (he is going to be best friend to Lucius and "uncle" figure Draco)
Mrs Weasley ~ Susan Sowerby
Chapter 7
The rain remained for a good week much to the dismay of Hermione. Mrs McGonagall had not forgotten that Hermione had went snooping and instructed Ginny to sit in the rooms with Hermione and keep her company. It wasn't so bad, the two girls chatted a lot about everything they could think of and Hermione could say with absolute certainty that Ginny was her best friend and perhaps she was hers, there was one day when Neville joined them and the three of them played card games all day while Hermione's new familiar snoozed by the fire. Though when Hermione opened her eyes the morning after the rain departed she couldn't help but jump from her bed and rush towards the window in her room in excitement, smiling at the view and calling Ginny, as she heard her mulling about in the room next door. "Ginny, look at the moor! Look at it!" she exclaimed.
The storm had ended and the grey mist and clouds had been swept away in the night by the howling familiar wind. The wind itself seemed to have stilled also, as if it knew everyone on the moor would want to appreciate the beauty and calm after the storm, and it did not disappoint with leaving a brilliant, deep blue sky in its wake to completely the beautiful picture of the moor. Hermione had never seen a sky so blue before and stared at it in awe. It reminded her of a deep cool blue of the ocean, it seemed to almost sparkle like water too in her mind. The moor itself seemed to look softly blue instead of its normal purple-black or dreary grey colour. This was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. "Aye," Ginny chuckled as she entered the room, wondering what the girl was talking about, "Th' storms over for a bit. It does like this at this time o' th' year. It goes off in the night like it was pretendin' it had never even been here at all, an' never planin' on comin' again. It will. That's because th# springtime's on its way." Ginny paused before adding, "It's a long way off yet, but it's comin'"
"I thought perhaps it just always rained in England." Hermione said with a shrug.
"Eh! No!" Ginny exclaimed, sitting down next to Hermione by the window, "Nowt o' th' soart!"
"What in Merlin's name does that mean, Gin?" Hermione asked, trying not to laugh at the weird phrase from her friend's mouth. In India Hermione had heard some of the natives speak different dialects which only few people understood, so she was not surprised when Ginny used words she didn't understand. However unlike India, Hermione was interested in learning the odd words Ginny came out with, not that she had enough nerve to ask her friend yet. She wanted to see if there was a book on Yorkshire first.
Ginny laughed good naturedly at her friend's question, "Oh there I go," she laughed, "talking broad Yorkshire again like Mrs. McGonagall said I mustn't." Hermione joined in with the giggles at this, "'Nowt o' th' sort' means 'Nothing-of-the-sort'" Ginny explained to Hermione once they stopped their laughter, "but it takes to long to say it." Hermione rolled her eyes at this remark, "Yorkshire's the sunniest place on the earth when it is sunny. I told thee tha'd like th' moor after a bit. Just you wait till you see th' gold-coloured gorse blossoms an' th' blossoms o' th' broom, an' th' heather flowerin', all the purples bells, an' hundreds o' butterflies flutterin' an' bees hummin' an' skylarks soarin' up an' singin'. You'll want to get out on it as sunrises an' live out on it all day like Harry does!" Ginny told her, before holding a hand out to her friend. Hermione took it and the two girls walked through to the little living area for Hermione.
"Could I ever get there, do you think?" Hermione asked, a little wistfully as she sat down and started to eat her breakfast.
"I don't know," Answered Ginny truthfully, "these last few weeks has done wonders for thee, but tha's never used tha' legs for an extended walks, it seems to me. Tha' couldn't walk five mile, yet. Its five mile to The Burrow" Ginny added to the girl.
"I should like to see your home one day, Gin," Hermione told her off handily as she took large spoonfuls of porridge. She was simply in the company of Ginny she didn't need to act that lady like around her.
Ginny stared at her friend for a moment, and if Hermione had glanced up at that moment she would have sworn she could see the cogs turning in Ginny's brain as she thought of something. With a flick of her wand the polishing brushes began to rub down the grate, and Ginny sat down on the arm chair she normally sat in (when Crookshanks hadn't claimed it) to start mending one of Hermione's woolly knee high socks. In that moment she was thinking two things. The first was; she would very like to one day invite Hermione to Sunday lunch at The Burrow, the whole atmosphere would be great for the girl and her mother would love to meet the girl. However she knew she would have to wait a little longer till the girl built up her strength before she could do that. The second thing she couldn't help but think was that the plain faced girl who she had first met did not look quite so sour any more.
"I'll ask my mother about inviting you to a Sunday lunch," she told Hermione who grinned at her, "She's one o' them that nearly always sees a way to do things. But she'll want thee to walk with me across the moors though, walk up an appetite." A look of determination flitted across Hermione's face and Ginny knew, one day, when Hermione eventually joined them for Sunday lunches (once you go to one Molly Weasley invited you to all of them) she would always walk, like Ginny did. Something Ginny was looking forward too, sometimes the walk could get a little lonely and she knew with Hermione by her side it would never be boring. "I'm off there today, its my day off" Ginny explained to Hermione who nodded, "I'll get mother to talk to Mrs. McGonagall, she thinks a lot o' my mother you see."
"I like your mother," Hermione said.
"I should think tha' did" agreed Ginny.
"I have never met her" Hermione added.
"No, tha' hasn't" replied Ginny as she stopped her work to rub the end of her nose a little as if puzzled for a moment. She turned to look at her friend before saying simply, "She's that sensible an' hard workin' an' good-natured an' clean that no one could help likin' her whether they'd seen her or not."
"I like Harry too," Hermione added, "And I've never seen him."
This caused Ginny to laugh, "I've told thee that th' very birds likes him an' the rabbits, so o' course you like him. I wonder," Ginny paused to stare at Hermione as she finished her breakfast and cleared it away onto the silver tray with a flick of her wrist, "what Harry would think of thee."
"He wouldn't like me," Hermione said in her stiff, cold little way, looking down at her fingers, "not many people here do."
Ginny watched Hermione in a reflective sort of manor as the girl settled herself in the armchair opposite her, it seemed she was in no real hurry to get onto the moor now their conversation had started up, "how does tha' like thyself?" she inquired after a moment, really quite curious to know the girls answer.
Hermione hesitated for a moment and thought over the girl's question, "Not at all – really," she answered honestly, "but I never thought about it before"
Ginny smiled a little at the second part of the girls answer, "mother asked me that once," she told Hermione, "she was starting the wash tub up with some spell only my mother would know, an' I was in a bad temper an' talkin' ill of folk in my year at school, an' she turns round on me an' says: 'tha' young vixen, tha'! there tha' stands sayin' tha' doesn't like this one an' tha' doesn't like that one. How does tha' like thysel?' it made me stop talking and laugh." This caused Hermione to smile and shake her head. Ginny's mother sounded like a sensible person whom she was looking forward to meeting one day.
Ginny accompanied Hermione down the hall, both of them buttoning up their cloaks, Hermione's being the grander of the two, and putting bobble hats on their heads. Hermione placing a burgundy one Ginny's mother had made for her last time Ginny went home on her head. She had been ever so grateful for the gift, it was the first one she had gotten from someone that had meant something to her. The moment the two girls parted Hermione ran round and round the fountain in the flower garden ten times, feeling much like a child instead of the young adult she was meant to be. She counted the times carefully, deciding if she wanted to be strong enough to walk with Ginny she needed to do this every time she went out, and when she had finished she felt ready for her day back in the gardens. Hermione paused to take a deep breath in of air as she looked around at how fresh everything looked. Before turning on her heel and headed straight towards the kitchen-gardens where she was hoping Albus would be. To her surprise and delight he was in there, along with another gardener and two elf's who helped in gardens. Much like the weather had cheered up Hermione's mood, it seemed to have done the same with Albus in her opinion. As soon as she wandered over to him, he spoke to her "springtime's comin'," he told her, "Cannot tha' smell it?"
Hermione sniffed the air and nodded her head, she swore she could, "I smell something nice, it's fresh and damp but in a good way" she told him.
"That's th' good rich earth," he told her, digging away into the soil. "its glad when plantin' time comes. In the winter its got nowt to do." He paused to look at her a gleam in his eye, "Tha' should see th' flower gardens things will be stirrin' down below in th' dark now. Soon thee'll see bits o' green spikes stickin' out o' th' earth"
"What will they be exactly?" she asked softly.
Albus stopped his digging and leaned on his spade for a moment looking over the girl as he thought, "Crocuses an' snowdrops an' daffydills, most probably. Has tha' never seen them?"
Hermione shook her head, she had never heard of any flowers like that. "Everything was hot and wet and green in India, it was like everything grew over night." She told him, causing him to laugh a little and shake his head.
"Things won't grow up overnight here," said Dumbledore, "Tha'll have to wait for 'em here. They'll poke up slowly, more an' more, an' uncurl a leaf one day an' another the next. An' you will get to watch 'em"
This caused a smile to form on Hermione's face, she liked the idea of that. She was looking forward to watching the flowers grow, "I think I will like that," she told Albus who nodded his head in agreement. He too thought watching that would do wonders for the young miss.
Before either of the odd friends could say anymore a soft rustle of wings in flight could be heard and Hermione turned round to see Robin had come to say hello. He was very chirpy and lively, and he hopped closely to the girl's feet putting his head to one side looking at her slyly. Hermione looked from him to Albus Dumbledore, "do you think he remembers me?" she couldn't help but ask, she had been away a week due to the rain so she wasn't sure.
"Remembers thee!" Albus exclaimed in surprise, "o' course he does! He knows every inch o' these gardens, let alone th' people. He's never seen a little witch like thee here before, an' he's bent in findin' out all about thee. Tha's go no chance hiding anythin' from him"
"Do you think there are things stirring down below in the garden where he lives?" Hermione inquired.
"What garden?" grunted Dumbledore as he turned to start working again, his expression souring.
"The one where the old rose-trees are." She couldn't help but ask, mainly because there was still so much unknown about the garden she so wished she could find. "Do you think the flowers are dead, or do some still come alive each year? Where there ever any roses or did I make that up?"
"Ask him," Albus said with a nod of his head to the bird by her feet, "he's the only one who knows. No one has seen inside it for over 16 year."
Hermione's eyebrows raised at this news. 16 years was a long time for a garden to be abandoned. With a slight nod of her head to Albus she walked away, slowly thinking over everything she had been told. This enchanted garden was something she had come to like, even though she hadn't seen it yet, much like Harry and Ginny's mother. To her she was starting to feel she liked a fair lot of things – which the few people and things she did like were a lot to someone like her who didn't like a lot. Hermione was counting Robin as a person in her mind when it came to people she liked.
She went about her normal walk around the gardens, finishing by entering the maze knowing exactly were to walk to find the long, ivy-covered wall where she could see the tops of trees. Robin made an appearance on her walk. Hermione turned on her heel instantly when she heard the chirp and twitter at the end of the row. Robin was perched carefully in the ivy, as if waiting for her, though he was acting as if he had not been following the odd witch all morning. But she knew, oh she knew and she was filled with delight her hands trembled slightly at the thought he remembered all about her. "You did remember me!" she cried out, hurrying towards the small bird.
He chirped, and talked, and coaxed and hopped all about, as excited to see her as she was to see him. His red waistcoat was like satin and he puffed out his tiny breast even further and Hermione couldn't think when she had ever seen a bird so magnificent. She was so surprised he let her get as close as she did, but he knew she would never put a hand out to reach him or do anything to startle him in the tiniest way. he knew because he may as well be a person – only he was nicer than any person in the world could be. And she was so happy that she could scarcely breathe. She laughed and followed him as he took flight, round the maze and stopping by a flower bed on the outside where the maze met the moor. Hermione paused her running and looked at where he stopped. The flower-bed was not quite bare. Yes, it was bare of any flowers, but due to it being on the cusp of the moor the gardeners had wanted the land to flow into the manors gardens so there was wild shrubs and bushes tucked away at the edge that met the moor. This is where Robin seemed to be hopping about the most. Hermione moved closer getting to her knees as she noticed a pile of freshly turned up earth. He stopped on top of it and started to peck at it as he looked for a worm to eat. It seemed as if someone had recently turned up this earth but Hermione had no clue as to who would have done something like that. she poked at the earth as it was clear Robin wanted her to know something under this earth, but she had no clue what, but after much poking about she finally felt something under the soil. As if something had been buried there. Taking her wand out, she summoned the object to her. It was an old key, made of rusty iron or brass, she wasn't sure, but it weight a lot. Hermione got to her feet in awe and almost a fearful expression as she held the key in her hand. "Perhaps," she whispered to herself, "Perhaps this is the key to the garden?" she smiled at the thought though another popped to her head, "but the earth was freshly dug, so who put in here for me to find. Do you know Robin?" the small bird simply chirped mysterious at the girl who shook her head fondly at him before she turned on her heel, and ran from the edge of the moor making sure to hide the key in the pocket of the cloak. If Hermione had turned she would have seen the dark haired boy with bright green eyes smiling at her, his hands covered in dirt, and owl on his shoulder. But she never turned around so she never would know he was the one who placed the key in the whole, on Robin's orders of course.
Tell me your thoughts, thanks
Sarahx
