1 Chapter Two: A Haunting Memory
"The winter wind howls and threatens to take you,
But I will stay at your side and willingly protect you,
Though the dark, cold shadow covers your cradle,
1.1 I will keep singing this lullaby to you…"
The little girl kept on walking in the freezing blizzard. For now, she did not know where she was, or even who she was. She just kept on walking on the wild, unwelcome snow. Lost, isolated, and with only a memory of a sweet nighttime lullaby that was probably sung to her around wintertime when she was younger. All she could do was walk and keep on singing.
"The forest bear may want to claw you,
But I will keep you away from harm,
The snow may fiercely wind around you,
But I shall keep you safe and warm…"
Although she did not remember, the little girl had been left there on the small snowy peak three days ago. She had been living in a poor orphanage that was out of money, and the conditions were even worse during winter. There at the orphanage, she had been starved, beaten and overworked. She could not remember who had sung her that lullaby three years ago, but what she knew, that person had given her a present of love. She did not know her own name, but a locket with the letter 'H' engraved on it hung from her neck.
Hmmm…la la la la la…remember how much I loved you when I sang your favorite winter lullaby to you…
The little girl suddenly blacked out near a bridge of snow leading to a small village. She remembered nothing.
A young hunter named Ernest Granger found the girl's body in the deep frost bowl a day later. He carried her in his arms to the warm village just a mile ahead.
= = = = =
"Hermione!"
A frightened sob echoed through the Gryffindor common room. Little Marcus Granger may have been twelve at that time, but he loved his older sister dearly and still had the childish fear of the dark. Hermione went downstairs from her dorm to find Marcus shaking like crazy at the foot of the stairs going to the boys' dormitory.
"Hermione…I'm really scared this time!"
"I know, Marc…" Hermione ran a gentle hand through her little brother's bushy blond hair. It soothed him.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
"Marcus, there's such a thing as sex discrimination here at Hogwarts, you know. Tell you what, since it's Christmas, Seamus, Dean and Neville are away for the holidays, you can go sleep in an extra bed with Harry and Ron. Tell them you were scared again, OK?"
Marcus' eyes still held a hint of fear.
"Will you sing me a lullaby before I go to sleep?"
"Oh, alright…" And Hermione sang the lullaby that her heart remembered from eleven years ago.
"The winter wind howls and threatens to take you,
But I will stay at your side and willingly protect you,
Though the dark, cold shadow covers your cradle,
1.1 I will keep singing this lullaby to you…"
The little girl kept on walking in the freezing blizzard. For now, she did not know where she was, or even who she was. She just kept on walking on the wild, unwelcome snow. Lost, isolated, and with only a memory of a sweet nighttime lullaby that was probably sung to her around wintertime when she was younger. All she could do was walk and keep on singing.
"The forest bear may want to claw you,
But I will keep you away from harm,
The snow may fiercely wind around you,
But I shall keep you safe and warm…"
Although she did not remember, the little girl had been left there on the small snowy peak three days ago. She had been living in a poor orphanage that was out of money, and the conditions were even worse during winter. There at the orphanage, she had been starved, beaten and overworked. She could not remember who had sung her that lullaby three years ago, but what she knew, that person had given her a present of love. She did not know her own name, but a locket with the letter 'H' engraved on it hung from her neck.
Hmmm…la la la la la…remember how much I loved you when I sang your favorite winter lullaby to you…
The little girl suddenly blacked out near a bridge of snow leading to a small village. She remembered nothing.
A young hunter named Ernest Granger found the girl's body in the deep frost bowl a day later. He carried her in his arms to the warm village just a mile ahead.
= = = = =
"Hermione!"
A frightened sob echoed through the Gryffindor common room. Little Marcus Granger may have been twelve at that time, but he loved his older sister dearly and still had the childish fear of the dark. Hermione went downstairs from her dorm to find Marcus shaking like crazy at the foot of the stairs going to the boys' dormitory.
"Hermione…I'm really scared this time!"
"I know, Marc…" Hermione ran a gentle hand through her little brother's bushy blond hair. It soothed him.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
"Marcus, there's such a thing as sex discrimination here at Hogwarts, you know. Tell you what, since it's Christmas, Seamus, Dean and Neville are away for the holidays, you can go sleep in an extra bed with Harry and Ron. Tell them you were scared again, OK?"
Marcus' eyes still held a hint of fear.
"Will you sing me a lullaby before I go to sleep?"
"Oh, alright…" And Hermione sang the lullaby that her heart remembered from eleven years ago.
