The hallway was dark and she could hear the rain pelting the windows. Lightning stretched across the sky and the noise bellowed. It was not all a pleasant experience, and she wished she could get out of this place.
There seemed to be something alluring at the far end of the dark corridor. Though she knew she should leave as soon as possible, her legs kept carrying her further and further. Finally, she stopped in front of a half closed door.
No, it's not safe.
Her hand pressed on the door and she entered the room. The storm seemed not affecting the room at all, it seemed that the moment as she stepped into the room, the storm stopped. It was a normal bedroom, just any common bedroom found in mansions or villas. But then, something told her that it was not any bedroom. There were sudden crashes at the far end of the room. Hermione ran around the corner and found the dismantled drawers on the floor. Just when her hands reached her pocket, she found that her wand was missing. Without her wand, it would never be safe.
The door next to the drawer opened and a man came out and searched in the mess.
"Syrus—" whispered a woman as she came in, with a baby in her arms.
"We don't have time, you go first, I will follow you."
"But I cannot—"
"You go on hiding first, I will catch up with you. Just go!"
The door banged and Hermione could not help going towards the woman, wishing that they could escape in time. The baby was crying hard, almost choking itself. Hermione tried to touch it, but her hand went through it as though the people were all ghosts. The door kept on banging and lights flashed outside.
"Hurry—"
The door swung open and swarms of people came in. Hermione gasped and the wizard standing at the front sent out a green spark, she yelled and a screech followed. She could only feel her heart suddenly dropping into an endless hole. Her muscles tensed up and she shivered, until the moment her body reached the ground…
"Hermione," said a voice.
Before her eyes was a familiar figure, and she immediately sat up, staring at him.
"What are you doing in here?" asked Hermione coldly.
Draco did not answer, his silence made Hermione irritated, but what could she say when he was the true owner of this manor whereas she was not?
"If you don't mind, I wish you can go back to your room," said Hermione. "It's very late now."
"If only I had been nice to you all the time."
"I don't need your compassion."
"I know you hate me for what I have done during those times in Hogwarts," said Draco in his plain tone. "I was hostile towards you, calling you Mudblood, dirty blood. But I don't mean—"
"You have always been like that and I have got used to it."
"I mean, if I had known you're one of us, I would not have—"
"Never have I belonged to your group."
"I apologize for what I had done those days."
"What?"
Pink tinges appeared on his pale face.
"I said I am sorry."
"Sorry for what?" asked Hermione, quite irritated.
"For being mean to you. I ask for your forgiveness."
"What if I am just a Muggle-born, will you still ask for my forgiveness? I think not."
Draco glanced at the window.
"I should have been nice to you," said Draco. "I was so upset when you are with Potter and Weasley."
"What's wrong with them?"
"They are always getting into trouble and try to be famous—"
"They never do so and this is just purely your false sense of illusion—"
"This is the truth and you are just thinking on your blinding trust—"
"I know them well—"
"You are blindfolded—"
"Stop it.," said Hermione, took the book from the table and flipped it over. "You and I are never in the same world and there is nothing between us."
The clock struck, she glared at Draco, signalling him to leave. Draco knew he was not welcomed, and so he stood up and left the room. The room was once back to silence and darkness.
Hugging her mother's diary, she felt something warm welling in her eyes. She looked up, trying to make herself more comfortable. As she turned over the pages, her palm glided pass the blank parchment. But the tears ran out of her eyes and slid down to her cheeks. She flipped open the book and tears dropped onto the parchment, leaving dim marks on the parchment. Strangely, the parchment seemed to have absorbed the tears, Hermione gazed at the spot where the teardrops disappear. She flipped over the pages, then finding something written on the page. She took out her wand and lit up the room, trying to figure out the words.
Don't cry.
She bit her lips, thinking of the black diary that had massive impact on the school, nearly killing her and her friends. Would this diary being the same? The words disappeared and new sentences appeared.
Don't cry, let me show you something.
Hermione did not know what to do. She knew there was something more behind this little diary, this would not just be any Hogwarts student's diary.
The diary started flipping itself and stopped at a page. Though it was also blank, she could huge warmth under the blankness.
Let me show you my days in Hogwarts.
There is a sudden tinkling at the tips of her fingers. Out of surprise, she withdrew her hand. The diary started flipping again, but in a slower-paced. At the moment it stopped, another new line appeared.
What about the first day of Hogwarts? Journey to Hogwarts and the Sorting Ceremony?
The diary glowed and strands of golden threads shot out from the parchment, surrounding her, and she closed her eyes as the strong lights flashed in front of her.