February 1942
Four weeks. That's how long it had taken Hermione to come to terms with Minerva giving her the cold shoulder. After two she'd stopped crying herself to sleep over the hollow feeling in her chest, and after three she'd given up on her attempts to appease the other girl. She knew that Minerva was still a regular, hormonal teenager, who tended to act irrationally from time to time, so Hermione wasn't ready to give up on her first friend just yet.
She didn't think it was right how her housemate was treating her, but she could still understand where Minerva was coming from, a broken heart wasn't something that could be fixed in a couple of days.
"Anybody home?" Hermione snapped out of her musings and turned her attention back to the other boy. Standing across from Evan, with her wand raised, she was ready to deflect any hexes he might send her way.
"Come on, dear, I won't bite." At his teasing words, Hermione hurled another stinging hex in his direction, watching sourly as it dissolved upon hitting his hastily conjured shield. She had come to enjoy their weekly duelling sessions quite a lot, with the other boy's becoming increasingly well versed in their spellwork. Without the constant threat of war looming over her head, it was actually quite fun to test her skills against her peers.
"Relashio!" Hermione silently waved her wand in a circular motion, effectively blocking Evan's attempt to disarm her. As she watched her opponent scowl at her casual display of nonverbal magic, Hermione felt a smile tucking at the corners of her lips. In the past two months, the young witch had slowly but surely gained the other group members respect. In the beginning, she'd to hold back a lot, following Riddle's order to keep his precious housemates happy. Now though, she actually had to concentrate to hold up against most of them, Avery and Evan in particular. The first time her friend had managed to catch Hermione off guard, she hadn't been able to look him in the eyes for days. The fact that the others were getting closer to her own level was unnerving, to say the least.
The two of them continued throwing spells at each other until Hermione eventually managed to gain the upper hand, easily catching Evan's wand after disarming him with a simple Expelliarmus. He gave her a proud smile before taking his wand back, and again, Hermione was acutely aware of his warm hand brushing over her own.
"You did great dear." His voice was perhaps the single most dangerous thing Hermione had encountered in this time. She felt goosebumps forming on her arms as she listened to his praise. After their kiss a couple of weeks ago, it had taken Hermione the entire Christmas break to process the whole thing, but thankfully Evan was the textbook definition of a charmer and had gracefully dispelled any lingering feelings of awkwardness with that damned smile of his.
For now. Hermione thought while stepping away from the troublesome boy. "I can only say the same for you Evan."
The two of them made room for the next pair and joined Abraxas and Antonin at the backside of the classroom. Hermione made herself comfortable next to the only Ravenclaw in the group, returning his curt nod after slipping her wand back into her sleeve.
"Did you finish Slughorn's assignment for tomorrow?" Antonin asked, his eyes never leaving the two Slytherins duelling each other.
"No, I need to rewrite my conclusion, I'm not happy with it." Even though she'd already done most of their current coursework in the future, there was a surprising amount of new, or rather old, additions to the curriculum, that hadn't been taught in her previous classes. Their current potions assignment being one of those additions. It seemed like the standards in this era were much higher than in her old time, and Hermione didn't wonder for the first time why so many modules had been taken off the syllabus. It irked her studious mind that she'd missed out on so many topics during her first time at Hogwarts.
"We can look over our texts after this if you want." Antonin offered, and Hermione eagerly agreed. If someone had told her a few years ago, that she'd one day get along with the scary man that still sometimes haunted her dreams she would've laughed at them. But as she watched the dark-haired boy from the corner of her eyes, she didn't see anything but a young man with a passion for obscure spells and a knack for Herbology of all things and as much as she tried, she just couldn't bring herself to hate the other boy...
"Hermione, before I forget this is for you." Evan interrupted, shoving a small box into her face and causing Hermione to raise an eyebrow at the smiling boy.
"If this is a ring I'll punch you, Rosier." She threatened, but her friend just laughed.
"Don't worry I'm not that desperate." Deciding to believe him for now, Hermione opened the wooden container and peeked inside. Feeling her breath hitch at the sight, she looked back at Evan with narrowed eyes.
"It's for your wand! Just a small accessory that I found at Hogsmeade last week." Hermione pulled the silver item from the velvet cushion it was placed on. It was beautiful, she couldn't deny that. She had seen similar jewellery on other witches wands in the past but had never had one herself. Holding the delicately carved spiral near her wand, she watched in fascination as it suddenly sprung to life and curled itself around the bottom. Intrigued she examined Evan's present closer before remembering that she wasn't alone.
"It's beautiful, thank you, Evan." Shifting her attention back to the beaming boy, she gave him a grateful smile which he returned tenfold, his cheeky dimples seemingly mocking Hermione. I need to get over this crush. I can't live like this any longer.
"A little kiss would be a sufficient reward." He teased, causing Hermione in turn to kick his shin. "Ow, come on dear, we talked about those violent tendencies of yours."
"Shut up Evan!"...
April 1942
"I think we should talk Mione." Minerva's quiet voice drifted through the dark room. Their other roommates were already fast asleep, and one glance at the watch on her bedside table told Hermione that it was way too late for that particular conversation.
"Really, Minny now you think is a good time to talk?" The silvery moonlight that shone through the windows of the tower did little to illuminate the room. Before Hermione could protest, she felt her friend sit down at the end of her bed, closing the curtains behind her. With her wand already drawn, the girl murmured a small muffling spell before turning around to face Hermione.
"Lumos." Hermione felt her eyes sting at the sudden flash of bright light and hissed at Minerva's thoughtless action.
"Merlin, I really think this can wait until tomorrow Minny." She tried to convince her friend, fully aware that she was wasting her breath.
"I think we can both agree that what you did wasn't right but-" Minerva began, but Hermione raised her hand.
"I already told you that I didn't tell that git, I'd sent Abraxas and Evan after him." A tense silence filled the small space they were sitting in.
"It was obvious that you didn't like him very much." Minerva eventually spat back, causing Hermione in turn to curl her lips at her friend's angry voice.
"He isn't a great person Minny, and if you'd let me speak for one second, I'd explain why." Minerva curled her hands around her wand, but Hermione didn't let the girl's sour expression get to her.
"He cheated on you with Merlin knows how many girls and all I did was teach him a lesson." Tears were welling up in her friend's eyes, but Hermione wasn't done just yet.
"You didn't even give me a chance to explain myself and that hurt. A lot." She might as well have punched the other girl right in the gut judging from her pained expression, but after a month of receiving the cold shoulder from Minerva, she didn't feel too bad about her words.
When Minerva finally looked at her again, Hermione knew that the girl didn't believe her. She felt her heart sink at the dark look that crossed her friends face.
"Why? Why don't you want to see me happy?" Asked Minerva with trembling lips and Hermione flinched at her friend's broken voice. She was at a loss for words, unsure how to handle the situation. It was late, she was tired, and Minerva was clearly very emotionally distraught right now. Her odds of turning this conversation around were vanishingly slim. Shifting into a more comfortable position, Hermione tried to reach for her friend's hand, but Minerva hastily pulled hers to her chest.
"You're my best friend Minny, I'd never do anything to hurt you." She said earnestly.
"You know what, I think I haven't been your best friend for a while now." Hermione recoiled at her friend's spiteful words.
"You never tell me anything. Charlus and I haven't been invited to your house once and don't tell me you were busy. I know that your Slytherin friends visited multiple times." Minerva continued, raising her hand, every time Hermione tried to interrupt her speech.
"I think you're a big fat liar Hermione. You pretend to be so different from those bigoted purebloods you surround yourself with, but deep down you're just as bad as them." Nearly yelling towards the end of her sentence, Minerva regarded her with an accusing glare. Hermione's hands were trembling under the heavy layers of her covers, and she felt the familiar sense of dread that came before the panic, settling deep within her chest. The usually comfortable space within her curtains suddenly felt suffocating, and Hermione struggled to form a proper sentence in her mind.
"I-I'd never support any of their views Minny, you know that."
"If you really believe that Hermione than you're either blind or stupid." Minerva's bitter voice cut through Hermione like a knife. "You sit in your ivory tower, the world handed to you on a silver platter, and you don't even realise how hypocritical you sound every time you open your mouth."
"Minny I-"
"No, Mione you don't get it. Since the first time I've met you, I knew that you came from a completely different world." If you only knew. Hermione thought bitterly as she listened to her distraught friend. Minerva's eyes wandered over her silken nightgown and back to the Lestrange crest embroidered on its chest, the intertwined letters standing in stark contrast to the white fabric.
"When I first told my mum about you she told me to stay away from the likes of you, I didn't understand back then but now... You live in this world where even as a witch you can seemingly achieve anything." Hermione once again tried to speak up, but Minerva just talked over her trembling voice.
"You want to stand up to your family, so you befriend some poor Halfblood, you want to be just as powerful as the boys, so you throw convention in the wind and surround yourself with wizards. And instead of facing any kind of retribution you get rewarded for everything." Hermione was painfully aware of the fact that Minerva didn't know about half of the sacrifices she'd made to get where she was now, but it still hurt to hear her friend talking to her like that...
The young witch wanted to grab her friend by the shoulders and shake her until she understood how awful she felt, how difficult it was to endure this madness that was her life now. But she knew she couldn't. She shouldn't. Minerva was too good, too innocent to know about the price most children from old families had to pay in exchange for their comfortable lives. The abuse, those cold, empty manors, looming proudly on the edges of most English villages they had to return to every summer. There were exceptions like Charlus, but Hermione had seen the bruises on Evan's arms after the Christmas break. She'd witnessed Abraxas losing his teasing attitude every time he returned to Hogwarts, and she didn't even want to think about Dolohov's or Avery's families after hearing the two talking about their father's preferred methods of punishment when they were younger once.
"I worked hard to get where I am now Minny, I'm not some secret pureblood fanatic nor am I using you to act up against my father." Hermione finally managed to say, while attempting to calm her twitching hands. She still felt like she couldn't breathe properly and wanted nothing more than to end this conversation.
Scowling at her friend, Minerva shook her head, apparently not convinced by Hermione's words.
"All I ever wanted from you was honesty, Mione. You live those two separate lives, raving about equal rights in our common room, only to run off a second later with your Slytherins to Merlin knows where. I just don't buy it anymore, Ignatius was the last straw." Sitting up from the bed, Minerva pushed the curtains open.
"I really hoped you'd apologise today Mione, but all you did was continue lying. We're done." And with that, Minerva waved her wand, and the room turned dark again. Without saying anything else, the other Gryffindor walked back to her bed and shut her curtains with more force than necessary, leaving Hermione struggling to comprehend her last words. We're done. Hermione shook her head. We're done.
"No." She whispered, feeling her mind going into overdrive. Shoving away her covers, Hermione stumbled out of her bed and ran towards the bathroom. Everything felt wrong. Pressing her fists over her closed eyes, she sunk to the floor and tried to control her breathing. We're done. The words kept replaying in her mind, and Hermione's heart was pounding against her chest. She needed to go somewhere else. Somewhere away from the girl in the room next door. We're done. Pulling herself up from the cold tiles, Hermione returned to the dorm room, grabbing her wand and robe before silently slipping out of the door. Chewing her lips in an attempt to keep her tears at bay, she passed through the deserted common room, ignoring the fat lady's protest at her late excursion...
Turning around another corner, she found herself standing in front of the same girl's bathroom she'd caught Prewett and the Ravenclaw girl all those weeks ago. Swallowing down another sob, she pushed the doors open and pointed her wand at the first stall door.
"Expulso!" It burst into a thousand splinters, littering the floor and wall behind it. Hermione felt the rage coursing through her veins like liquid fire, and she wondered for a moment if this was how Rodolphus always felt like.
She reached another door. It met the same fate as the previous one. Hermione let out an angry hiss, not even aware of the splintered wood digging into her bare feet as she walked towards her next target. She was so damn tired of crying. Minerva didn't know anything, and it made Hermione furious that the other girl just assumed the worst of her. Didn't their friendship mean anything to her? Coming to a halt in front of another stall Hermione suddenly noticed a shadow in the flickering lights by the sinks. What the- Turning around fully, Hermione walked towards the huddled thing on the floor. An awful suspicion settling in the pit of her stomach as she got closer, and she gripped her wand a little tighter.
"Merlin, please no." Licking her dry lips, Hermione bowed down and nudged the thing with her wand. It didn't move. She'd seen enough of her slaughtered classmates to recognise what she was looking at. She felt bile rising up in her throat, but forced herself to grab the huddled figure and turn it around.
"Damn it!" Hermione stared at the familiar bespectacled profile of Myrtle Warren. Her eyes were wide open, her face forever frozen in a terrified grimace. She wanted to scream, cry, do anything other than keep staring at the girl's pale face, but she was paralysed, her mind had come to a standstill, forcing her to burn the image of the young Ravenclaw forever into the back of her mind...
A loud bang finally tore Hermione away from her stupor and before she could move, warm arms pulled her away from the dead, dead child.
"Love, can you hear me? Merlin, is that Warren?" She wasn't in the bathroom anymore, she felt his hands on her cold cheeks, the sudden touch making her flinch.
"What were you doing here in the middle of the night? You're freezing." Finally recognising Evan's voice through the haze of her whirling thoughts, Hermione looked at his worry-stricken face, still unable to forget the lifeless body a few feet away. I'm not safe here. I need to get away before Voldemort finds me.
"Let go of me Evan, I need to leave." She spoke with a trembling voice, trying to push the frantic boy away from her.
"What are you talking about Hermione, we need to get you to the infirmary." Struggling against his hold, Hermione already went over all the possible hideouts she could reach before sunrise. I need my bag, where did I put my bag?
"Hermione? No, whatever is going on you'll stay with me."...
Evan didn't know what was happening. The charm he'd placed on Hermione's present had woken him just a few minutes after midnight, alarming him to her emotional distress. He'd gotten up immediately, following the pull of the enchanted item towards the girl's bathroom on the third floor only to find Hermione huddled over the dead body of the younger Ravenclaw.
Trying to collect himself he held onto his struggling friend. She was confused that much was clear and it scared him to see the usually strong witch so distraught.
"They mustn't find me." She whispered feverishly while clawing at his trembling arms, her wand seemingly forgotten in her right hand. Evan let out a frustrated sigh and called for one of the castle's house-elves.
"Alarm the headmaster and Medi-Witch, there's a dead student in the bathrooms on the third floor." He said, his voice sounding much stronger than he actually felt. At the sight of the student's still body, the elf let out a terrified yelp before vanishing again, leaving Evan to deal with Hermione alone.
"Hermione, love you need to calm down. The Headmaster is on his way." He turned the shaking girl towards him and pressed her firmly against his chest, effectively blocking her eyes from the outside world. He felt her small hands pulling at his shirt, but he was determined to shield her from this horrible sight until help arrived. His mind wandered back to the dead girl behind them, and he wondered what had happened to her. Why had Hermione been with her?
"Evan please don't let them find me again." Hermione's terrified voice brought him back to the present and forcefully shutting his eyes, he waited until little lights started to dance in front of the blackness.
"Who Hermione? Who mustn't find you?" He asked hoarsely, having an inkling who she was referring to. He hadn't bought her explanation about her family's arrival on the isles for one second. No duelling lesson taught anyone to fight the way she did, even though she seemed to think her cover was watertight.
"You-Know-Who's men, they'll kill me." He didn't need to ask who You-Know-Who was. There were only so many evil wizards rampaging the continent at the moment. Feeling his heart go out for the young witch in his arms, he couldn't even imagine what horrors she'd faced back home, her severe reaction to Warren's body, telling him more than enough...
"Merlin, what happened here, Mr Rosier?" The shocked voice of Headmaster Dippet caused the girl in his arms to freeze, and he knew that he needed to get Hermione away from this place.
"We were just..." He tried to come up with a believable excuse for their current predicament. Hermione was still only clad in her flimsy nightgown, her robes barely covering anything just as he was only wearing his sleeping attire himself. The entire thing was highly inappropriate.
"Hermione and I are to be engaged soon Headmaster Dippet." If Hermione had been in her right mind, she would've slapped him for those words, but it was the first reasonable explanation for their presence in the corridors he could come up with, seeing as he didn't want Hermione involved in this mess at all cost.
Better to let the Headmaster think they were just stealing away for some quiet time than having no explanation at all. Dippet's disapproving but thankfully not suspicious glare was enough to calm the boy, and he put on his most convincing caught-in-the-act face.
"Twenty Points from Slytherin and Gryffindor each, for wandering around past curfew and indecent behaviour. I've expected better from you Mr Rosier." Evan felt the weight on his chest lifting at the Headmaster's apparent dismissal.
"I've alarmed the Aurors, my- the poor girl is shaking, we should take her to the Hospital Wing." Professor Dumbledore came to a halt next to the Headmaster, and Evan gladly followed the teacher's advice. Giving the two men a final nod, he gently steered Hermione away from the scene and towards the frantic Medi-witch who took one look at the two before signing them to follow her.
"Merlin, help us, this is truly a scary night. Follow me, Mr Rosier." Just as he was about to go after the witch, Hermione suddenly began struggling in his hold, and it took him all his remaining strength to hold the thrashing girl down.
"Hermione, you need to calm down." Tears were streaming down the younger girl's face, and Evan felt his heart clench.
"Let go of me. Ridd-" Before she could finish that sentence he put his hand over her mouth. He suddenly knew exactly who to blame for the Ravenclaw's death. If Hermione even so much as mentioned his name, he'd kill them both.
"Shh, please Hermione. You need to calm down." When the girl continued struggling he turned towards the Medi-Witch with pleading eyes and taking pity on the two she waved her wand and Hermione became still in his arms.
"She's had a very traumatising experience Mr Rosier, but don't worry we'll fix her right up. Would you mind carrying Miss Lestrange or shall I levitate her?" Immediately picking up the unconscious girl, Evan looked down at her tear-streaked cheeks with sad eyes. He prayed that one day, she'd finally accept him and let him protect her...
Hermione woke up to the familiar sight of the Hospital Wing. She didn't feel rested at all, and her hands and legs felt stiff under the thin bed sheets. Merlin, I screwed up. The past events came rushing back into her memory and gripping her head, she tried to keep calm. Myrtle was dead, and it was her fault. She should've remembered that Tom found the chamber this year. Harry had told her the story so many times. I should've remembered! She didn't think that he had wanted to kill the girl. The basilisk was not something that could be entirely controlled, and Tom didn't know what would be waiting for him down in the chambers. Still, a girl was dead, and she could've prevented it had she not been that busy living her teenage life. She felt ashamed of herself.
"Ah, Miss Lestrange you are awake. How are you feeling, you gave Mr Rosier quite the scare last night, here drink this." Hermione let the Medi-Witch spoon-feed her what she suspected to be a calming draught before leaning her head back onto her pillow.
"What happened while I was asleep?" She asked, feeling the potion relaxing her tense muscles.
"They found the culprit in the early morning hours, it was to be expected that that half breed would only bring misfortune to this school." Hermione knew she was talking about Hagrid. Sweet Hagrid who had just been accepted into Hogwarts last year. She hadn't spoken to him, her friends and school keeping her busy and now she had let history repeat itself, robbing the boy of a bright future. She truly hated who she had become at that moment, the old Hermione would've never allowed for that to happen.
"I see." She eventually answered, feeling drowsy from the potent calming draught she'd been given.
"Rest now Miss Lestrange, you're safe here." And with that Hermione closed her eyes again. Relieved to escape the grim reality of her life for a few more hours...
September 1942
Hermione stared at the little boy that was currently sitting on her lap, giggling at something only he was seeing. She couldn't believe that the small auburn-haired child in front of her was really her cousin. He is so big. It had been nearly a year since her last stay at Lestrange Manor and even though it hadn't felt that long, looking at the babbling toddler now, it seemed to have been an eternity.
"Isn't he just precious? Just yesterday he said your father's name for the first time." Loreen smiled warmly at the unfamiliar sight of her niece and son enjoying each other's company. Hermione raised her brows at that statement, a little thrown off by the fact that the infant she remembered was already capable of forming his first words. Had she really been gone that long?
"He grew a lot since I last saw him." She eventually said, watching as the little boy made an attempt to pull on one of her locks. Leaning a little further away from the mischievous toddler, Hermione tried to overcome the lingering dread that was pooling in her stomach, every time she remembered that this boy was her actual blood relative and that his father was a time traveller. She didn't even want to think of all the possible consequences of his birth to the timeline.
"You should really visit more often. He'll for sure adore you when he's older." Hermione didn't know how to feel about that. She'd never been in any sort of mentor role in her old life for her relatives, with her being the only child in the family. She didn't think she was ready for the responsibility.
"I'm sorry Aunt Loreen, I'll try to better myself." She spoke politely, to appease the hovering woman for now...
After her return to Lestrange manor, the first thing she'd done was to tell Rodolphus what had happened to Myrtle, expressing the immense guilt she felt. He had explained that some things were just meant to happen and after weeks of him constantly assuring her, she'd started to believe him.
Without Minny and Charlus lifting her spirits, she'd only had Evan to talk to, but after finding out about the charm he'd put on her wand, which conveniently was irreversible, she was still cross with him, despite his best intentions. Sneaky brat. Eying the innocent accessory at the bottom of her wand she scowled. She should've known that Slytherins never just did something nice without an ulterior motive.
"I still can't believe you don't want to celebrate your birthday this year Hermione." Loreen carefully lifted Edwin from Hermione's arms as she spoke, having noticed her growing unease with holding the toddler. Giving the woman a grateful smile, Hermione brushed the wrinkles out of her skirt before getting up as well.
"I'm really not in the mood for a celebration this year, maybe next time." She'd turned fifteen two days ago and had decided that following the events at school, a lavish party was the last thing on her mind right now. I still can't believe it's been over five years already. Her body was finally not that of a scrawny child anymore, and she apparently hadn't been the only one shocked at her sudden development of a cleavage. When Rabastan had seen her at the train station, he'd nearly choked on his own breath. Giggling at the memory of the flustered man, she once again patted over her new burgundy robes that her uncle had given her as a present on that same evening. They were her first real witches' robes, not the usual ones children wore. They were more form-fitting and swished beautifully when she twirled around in front of her mirror.
She felt like Narcissa Malfoy, gliding around the house and couldn't suppress the need to lift her chin a little higher than necessary every time she wore those particular robes. To put it simply, she felt like a woman again, and that feeling of getting her previous body back was the most glorious experience she'd ever had.
"Of course child, I understand. You were so brave, a true Lestrange." Hermione internally cringed at her aunt's words, unsure if she should be offended by the woman claiming to know what a real Lestrange was like or amused at the thought of her actually handling the situation like a true Lestrange by losing it completely and going completely cray cray on poor Evan until someone had literally knocked her out.
"Thank you, aunt, if you excuse me, I still have to finish some homework." Before the woman could answer Hermione, she hurriedly left the room, unwilling to put up with the woman for a minute longer. She could only take so much of Loreen at a time and now with the baby added to the mix, she felt seriously exhausted after spending time with the two.
Closing her doors behind her, Hermione threw herself face down on her soft bed and inhaled the by now familiar scent of the house deeply, instantly feeling more at ease. Her mind wandered back to her little cousin, and she wondered if he'd ever feel like actual family to her. He was her blood, unlike Loreen, but that did little to convince her brain that this was a child she should love unconditionally. Everything seemed to revolve around precious little Edwin with Rabastan, and that somehow didn't sit right with her. She was glad that Rodolphus appeared to be just as unsure how to feel about the addition to his family tree as herself.
She was connected to the two brothers through their shared pasts, and that made for a bond much stronger than anything Loreen and Edwin could ever provide in her opinion. The woman didn't even know her real husband, and this was probably what irked her the most. That condescending tone of hers when she didn't even know that her beloved husband was a criminal that had spent half of his life locked away in Azkaban...
"Daughter of mine!" Her doors swung open and ignoring her annoyed huff the older man came to a halt near her bed, crossing his arms in the process.
"Get out, we discussed this a million times, my room is out of limits." Rodolphus tutted at her dismissive tone, and she felt his warm hands on her exposed lower legs before he roughly pulled her from the bed. Twisting her ankles from his grip, she cursed at the chuckling man and kicked his hands away.
"Morgana is my witness, you're such a teenager it's hilarious." Huffing at the man, Hermione stood up, craning her neck to look into her father's sparkling eyes. Whatever he was excited about, it usually meant bad news for Hermione.
"Shocking I know, what do you want Rod-" At his stern gaze Hermione caught herself.
"Father. What can I help you with father?" He seemed to stand a little taller at the mention of his title, making Hermione even more suspicious of the man.
"I planned a little get together with our Lord's circle in celebration of your birthday tonight, wear this."
"What?" Only then did she notice the little elf at his side who handed her a flat, white box.
"It's a late present, custom-made and disgustingly expensive, so you better stop growing. I won't buy you something like this every year." Rolling her eyes at the man's words, she put the container down on her bed.
"You know that's not what I meant. Why did you invite them on such short notice? Merlin, does this mean Avery is coming as well?" The thought of the older boy's taunting smirks haunting her in her own home, almost made her hurl a curse at Rodolphus' head. What have I ever done to deserve this?
"We still have a mission here so stop whining, it'll be fun, I remember my teenage years to be the most enjoyable time of my life." Rolling her eyes at the man, Hermione turned to look what he had gotten her.
"Yeah, nothing more fun than hanging out with a bunch of hormonal teenage wizards, I think you sometimes tend to forget that I'm in fact a witch." Lifting the lid off the box, she pulled out a set of beautiful emerald robes. Letting her hands wander over the soft fabric she suddenly let out a surprised gasp.
"They're pants. Oh Merlin, real pants!" They were quite loose fitting, looking more like a long skirt than actual pants but still. Hermione turned around, beaming at the man patiently waiting behind her.
"Thank you so much, I never thought I'd be able to wear anything but dresses and skirts ever again." Still clutching her new robes firmly to her chest, she allowed Rodolphus to put a hand on her shoulder.
"We have to make use of our right to wear supposedly daring French couture at some point, and you won't be able to keep up with those boys in billowing skirts after all." They smiled at each other before Hermione cleared her throat, pointing at her doors.
"I'll try them on immediately, now get out. You can't keep coming into your fifteen-year-old daughter's room, it's inappropriate." Rodolphus looked like he had bitten into something sour at her words but made his way towards the door nonetheless.
"My brother and I killed you once, I think we're past the point of societal norms." He called before closing the doors with a wink of his hand, causing Hermione to scoff.
"Thanks for reminding me why I hate you!" She yelled and heard the man chuckle on his way back to his study. Bastard.
Turning her attention back to her new favourite thing in her wardrobe, Hermione ran behind the screen near her dressing room and quickly peeled herself out of her stiff robes. When she stepped into the soft pants, she nearly cried at the familiar feeling, slowly slipping them over her hips. Fixing them shortly above her navel she put on the complementary blouse and outer robe, closing the intricate buttons up in the front, before running towards the large mirror in her dressing room.
"Wicked." She gave into the need to do a jumping jack, enjoying the elating feeling of being able to move her legs freely. Feeling a little silly after while of crouching and kicking alone in front of her mirror Hermione composed herself and calmly sat back down on her bed.
"Winny?" At her call, her elf plopped into the room, immediately admiring Hermione's new robes.
"Missy looks so beautiful." Smiling at the gushing elf, Hermione asked her to take care of her hair for the evening. If she had to hang out with those horrid people, then she'd at least make sure that they knew they were in the presence of a witch and should behave as such. Too often had she had to deal with them getting a little too unbearable during their club meetings, after writing her off as one of them. She hated it. Just as with Harry and Ron, they seemed to forget that she was just as much of a girl as Ginny and Cho. Well, Evan is an exception but he's insufferable in every other regard so, he's still not in my good books...
"Morgana's tits, you clean up nice Lestrange." Was the first thing Hermione heard after Rodolphus had left the children to themselves, crowded around the blazing bonfire he'd ignited in celebration of her birthday. Glowering at Avery, she flicked her hair while turning away from the boy.
"So nice of you to say, Avery, can't say the same for you though." She cackled at his indignant spluttering, before returning her attention to Riddle who was silently watching the rowdy crowd from his seat a little away from the fire.
"Merlin, I hate that boy so much, how was your summer, Riddle." As he looked at her, Myrtle's terrified face flickered through her mind, and she hurriedly took a sip from the fire whiskey some of the boy's had borrowed from their father's stashes.
"I see you're not above joining those buffoons in their drunken escapades?" He spoke calmly, regarding the glass in her hand with a judgemental glare. He clearly wasn't a fan of alcohol. Interesting.
"Just a little to tolerate Avery for an entire evening." And I'm actually twenty-three and deserve this after having to stay sober for the past five years. Hermione was not a supporter of underage drinking, but as most of the boys would turn seventeen this or next year anyway, she just couldn't be bothered to play the responsible role.
"Understandable I guess. I've been reading the books you got me, I need some more until next week." She nodded eagerly, actually interested in the topics he was reading up on. The books discussed highly advanced magical theory that even she had trouble understanding and having a second opinion would surely help her in her studies.
"Consider it done." She was about to ask him another question when she felt someone's arm slipping around her waist.
"We're playing some games, won't you two join us?" Hermione turned her head towards Evan, her stern gaze ordering him to remove his offending limb from her body instantly if he valued his flawless freckled face. Slowly removing himself from her form, the other boy regarded them with a questioning look and sighing Hermione got up as well. Better to get wasted with them then having to deal with them later wholly sober. She thought to herself while waiting for Riddle's answer.
"I won't join the drinking, but I'll come over with you." Evan, feeling a little bolder from the whiskey, cheered and led them towards the rest of the group. He shoved Hermione on the bench between Abraxas and himself whereas Riddle sat down next to Dolohov, who looked more than a little uncomfortable about the whole thing.
"Loser has to put on one of Lestrange's dresses!" Avery exclaimed, earning loud cheers from the entire group, whereas Hermione just pursed her lips. As if she'd let any of those idiots wear her precious new robes.
"Alright, let's play some games..."
It had gotten late, and the group had gotten increasingly rowdier. Hermione was feeling extremely light-headed, and she blamed her dulled sense of responsibility for her next action.
"Let's go to the village and scare some muggles!" One of the boys suggested and everyone except for Hermione, Tom and Dolohov loudly agreed. Before she knew what was happening, their group was already on the move, wands in their hands and ready to cause some mayhem.
"What about our trace?" She asked a little concerned.
"Don't worry if necessary, father will just erase the records." Abraxas slurred more or less coherent, which in turn just made Hermione angry.
"That's so illegal, how can he just do that." She asked incredulously, turning towards Dolohov and Riddle for support.
"Calm down Hermione, that's just how it's always been, why are you getting all...Hermione over this?" She sighed at Abraxas' hollow insult, happy to see that at least Tom seemed to agree with her on this matter.
"Tom thinks it's crap too, so get off your high horse Abraxas." At hearing his name, the pale boy regarded her with a deadpan look. He looked at her like that one time she'd thrown herself into his arms during their second year and she wondered how he'd react to her advances now that they were both older. And prettier. She added in her head.
"Tom?" She successfully got his attention and promptly launching herself at the boy, she let out a delighted laugh at his annoyed grunt as he caught her reflexively. Ignoring the other boy's incredulous stares, she rested her head on Tom's shoulder for a second.
"No more whiskey for Lestrange tonight." He drawled while peeling her off him before shoving her back towards Evan and Abraxas.
"Spoilsport." She pouted as she grabbed onto Evan's arm, trying to keep her steps steady on the uneven forest ground.
"I see you still have a death wish love," Evan whispered as they continued their journey towards the village and Hermione giggled.
"Don't tell him, but deep down he likes it." Her friend barked out a laugh at her teasing words, taking her hand in his and happily swinging them up and down.
"Hey, I found a house!" Avery interrupted their conversation from his spot at the front of the group. Hermione stood on her tiptoes in an attempt to see over the shoulders of the other boys, but before she could ask what Avery was doing, orange flames shot towards the night sky and shocked, Hermione watched as the two trees in the front garden of the house lit up.
"What the- Are you insane Avery? Augmenti." Hermione tried to gain control over the crackling flames, but the older boy just laughed at her before stepping out of the forest and onto the cobblestone road of the outskirts of the village.
"First one to draw a muggle out wins!" Suddenly feeling as if she was back, fighting off death eater on one their raids through muggle neighbourhoods, Hermione swallowed down her rising anxiety. Everyone except for Riddle had joined Avery, even Dolohov, who had just lit a mailbox on fire.
"Okay, that was stupid. I need to get them away from the town now." While Hermione still contemplated how to get a bunch of inebriated teenage boys away from exploding mailboxes, the door of the house to her right opened, and a middle-aged man in a pair of old-fashioned pyjamas stepped out.
"Muggle! Dolohov got the Muggle, run!" And suddenly everyone was running back towards the manor laughing loudly, and Hermione suddenly realised that those boys didn't want to torture some unsuspecting muggles, unlike their future descendants. They were just irresponsible, spoiled brats. Breathing out a tense breath she didn't know she'd been holding Hermione turned on her heels and followed them through the forest at a more leisure pace. Catching up to Riddle who wouldn't be caught running like a headless chicken if the entire Auror Department was on his heels.
"If your hands come even near my person again tonight I'll not hesitate to hex you, Lestrange." He warned her as she swayed dangerously close to the older boy. Hermione tried to pull herself together, but the forest around her was swinging up and down like she was on the world's most nauseating cruise ship and if she didn't find anything to hold on immediately, she'd empty the contents of her stomach right on Riddle's shiny shoes.
"Please Tom, I don't feel so good." Throwing her a nasty look, the Slytherin watched her pathetic attempt to stay upright before seemingly coming to a decision in his mind.
"That'll cost you one favour I promised you." Gritting her teeth at the boy's offer she wanted to do nothing more than flip him off and make her way towards the manor herself. Sadly, her body was not in agreement with her mind, and she found herself heavily leaning on the other boy before the rest of her body had even registered what had happened.
"I'll take this as a yes. Merlin, pull yourself together Lestrange." Together they made it back to the manor where the other boys were already drinking around the fire again. Hermione was not in the mood for any more fire whiskey and was just about to ask Riddle to escort her to her room when Evan crouched down in front of her. His cheeks flushed from the cold night air.
"I'll take her from here, come on Mione." When he went to grab her hand, Hermione pulled back and gripped Riddle's upper arm a little tighter.
"Thanks but I know what you're planning, I wasn't born yesterday Evan. Tom, would you mind?" Judging by his cold glare he undoubtedly would, but a deal was a deal, so he regarded the Rosier heir with a hard look on his face, prompting the boy to hastily scramble out of their way.
"Alright, alright you got me, see you tomorrow Mione!" He called after her and Hermione was still appalled by the fact, that Rodolphus had offered all of them to stay overnight. They weren't a hotel for Merlin's sake. The only positive thing about this whole event had been Loreen's sour expression at him mentioning that fact during dinner, the young mother clearly not impressed with a bunch of rowdy teenagers staying at her precious home. Sucks to be the wife of the second brother...
Hermione allowed Riddle to more or less carry her up the stairs towards her room. If she hadn't been so smashed, she'd have found it more than a little unnerving that he could remember where her rooms were.
"Thanks for your help Tom, I trust Evan only as far as I can throw and that's not very far." Finally arriving at the familiar double doors of her bedroom, Hermione let go of Riddle's abused arm and leaned heavily on her door. I really need to get to bed.
"Can you take it from here Lestrange or do I have to carry you to your bed?" He asked sarcastically, not expecting Hermione to actually fail to open her own doors.
"Winny!" She yelled, but her elf was nowhere to be seen. Irritated Hermione pulled at her doorknob, but it wouldn't budge.
"Merlin, Lestrange your inebriated brain is more useless than Avery's." Shoving the girl away he waved his hand, and her doors swung open.
"Ohh, I forgot I can just do that. Being a witch is so amazing." She said excitedly, watching Riddle enter her room first and pulling back her covers before returning to her and gently steering Hermione towards the bed.
"Arms." Doing as she was told, she raised her arms eagerly, not even flinching when Riddle waved his wand and her outer robe levitated from her body towards the low bank at the front of her bed.
"Sit." She fell down onto her heavenly soft mattress, barely able to keep her eyes open. Her shoes flew off her feet and joined her robes.
"Good, now lie down and stop being a nuisance." He pushed her shoulders into her pillows, and Hermione smiled sweetly at the expressionless boy.
"You're so pretty Riddle, it's really not fair." The boy ignored her ramblings about his perfect hair and chiselled cheekbones, instead trying to get her hands off his already crinkled robes. Feeling uncharacteristically bold, Hermione pulled the boy closer, looking straight into his grey eyes.
"Why do you have to be so brilliant Riddle. Brilliant and pretty." For the first time this evening, Riddle seemed to be thrown off by her words, and she watched satisfied as his mouth turned into a thin line.
"You should sleep Lestrange before you say even more things you'll regret tomorrow." Finally, getting her hands off his robe, Riddle quickly exited the room, before Hermione could reply. Rubbing her face, Hermione took a deep breath and pulled her covers up to her chin. Merlin, why am I like this?
Closing her eyes, she decided to outright deny everything tomorrow. Quickly succumbing to her hazy dreams, Hermione imagined that her doors opened again and even felt someone throwing themselves across the end of her bed. Obviously, her doors wouldn't let anyone in without her explicit consent, Riddle's ability to enter her room at his leisure already forgotten, so she drifted off again...
Winny's shrill shrieks tore Hermione from her restful slumber and barely conscious, the girl sat up.
"Morgana, what time is it?" A deep voice that definitely did not belong to her still wailing house elf, nearly gave Hermione a heart attack and yelping at the unwelcome guest in her bed she kicked the other boy immediately off the side of it. Earning herself a muffled curse from the other person in return.
"Avery? What in Merlin's name are you doing in my room?" Upon seeing the disgruntled boy sitting up, still fully clothed and his dark hair standing up into every direction of the sky, Hermione sneered in disgust at the thought of sharing anything with the boy. Especially her cursed bed!
"Winny, will you shut up already?" Hermione groaned, and her elf finally stopped having a full-blown breakdown in her room.
"Winny has failed her Missy, she will never find a husband now, forever alone just like Missy's father." Feeling the urge to face-palm at her elf's sorrowful whining, Hermione rubbed her tired eyes.
"She wouldn't have found someone anyways, elf, I mean have you looked at her?" He eyed her dishevelled form, judging her tangled locks for an exceptionally long time.
"Screw you, Avery!" Throwing one of her pillows at the boy's head, she crawled over her mattress towards where the boy was sitting and pointed a finger at him.
"We will never talk about this to anyone, ever. If you even so much as think about this night I'll gut you." Raising his arms in defence, Avery pulled himself up and slunk towards her door.
"Your chastity is safe with me Lestrange, I'd rather be boiled alive then tell anyone I spend the night with your barmy arse." Throwing another pillow after the boy, she watched it harmlessly bouncing off the doorframe, inwardly cursing the older Slytherin.
"I'll never drink again."...
Tnx for your patience and all the reviews. Before you come after me about bad, lousy alcohol! This story is rated M! Also, I'm from Europe so Hell, at 16 we were allowed to buy wine and beer... let's be honest, who didn't dabble with alcohol around that age and regretted it. still think 17 is much too young to be a legal adult tho, wtf wizarding world?! xoxo