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-=-=-=-
"Hermione?" Harry said and put an arm around his friend for support. "Hermione it's time to go. Come on."
Hermione was still huddled in her corner at the end of Hogsmeade's main street. She looked up at him with red eyes and a sob escaped her. She buried her face in his shoulder and let him pick her up, one hand holding up her back and the other under her knees.
"Ron, maybe we should take the Honeydukes passage. She's kind of sensitive right now you know?" Ron nodded and they snuck off towards the candy store. The owners were busy trying to bustle the students out of the store, so they didn't notice when Harry and Ron carried Hermione into their storeroom, opened the trapdoor, and shut it silently behind them.
"You want me to take her for awhile?" Ron asked. Harry moved her into an easier carrying position.
"No it's okay, she's not heavy." Hermione's body still shook from time to time as the sadness she had within her erupted. Her friends tried to calm her to the best of their ability but it was of no use, she wasn't one to be comforted at the moment.
They arrived back at Hogwarts before their classmates and that gave them a little time to make her look a bit more presentable. After a moment's contemplation about taking her cloak off, they finally decided it would be best to leave her fully clothed. Who knows what she would be yelling as soon as she got back into her right mind. Ron pulled back the bed covers and Harry laid her gently down on the mattress, brushing her hair out of her face. They tucked her in, watched her silently for a moment, and then crept from her room. She would be asleep by the time her roommates arrived.
-=-=-=-
The next morning Hermione came down the spiral staircase with a forced smile plastered onto her face. If one took a minute to look, her eyes would convey the hurt she felt inside. After a few hello's here and there, she, Harry, and Ron left the common room to take a walk outside.
All was silent for a few minutes until Ron finally spoke, shattering the uneasy energy around the three. "So, are you ready to talk about it?"
"No." She said quietly and sped up her pace a little. They met her stride for stride and walked in circles around the castle.
"He was right you know." She whispered. They looked at her sympathetically but didn't say anything. If she wanted to say anything more she would. They weren't going to push her, not this time. "Malfoy. Everything he said was true. I grew up as a Muggle because my real parents were ashamed of me." She hissed out the last sentence and anger replaced the sadness in her face.
"Well we're not ashamed of you." Ron reassured her and each of the boys simultaneously threw their arms around her in a gigantic hug. She allowed a small yet real smile and looked at the two of them. Taking one of their hands in each of her own, she led them back to the castle.
-=-=-=-
Draco sat in one of Slytherin's many emerald armchairs thinking. His fellow house members were enjoying their Sunday off by being outside in the frigid air, something he just didn't understand. He didn't feel the need to become a frostbitten icicle, thank you very much.
'Don't know why she was so upset. It's not like it was brand new information. I told her all about it already. . .which could be part of the problem.' He had been racking his mind for hours thinking about her. 'Oh well, I had to. If I didn't the anticipation would have killed me.' He ran a hand through his slick blonde hair, which fell in an unkempt manner over his eyes. 'She'll get over it eventually. She's tough right? Gryffindors are tough. And if I spend any more time thinking about her it could be bad for my health.' He stood up and cleared his mind of anything that even remotely resembled Hermione Granger. 'That's better. No more thinking about Granger- Damn it. Okay, actually going to do it this time.'
He left the common room to search for Professor Snape around the castle. He sometimes had tutoring on Sundays; it was part of the reason he was such a successful Potions student.
-=-=-=-
Hermione had gone off on her own after her walk with Harry and Ron, and eventually she found herself seated in one of the first floor hallways on the stone floor with her back against a statue of Pegasus.
She didn't cry. She had cried enough the day before to last her for a while. Her eyes were glazed over as she thought over yesterday's events. In the back of her mind she heard the click of a boot's heels on the stone floor but it didn't register with her brain until the person was hovering over her.
"Miss Granger?" Said a chilly voice. She glanced up and looked into the face of Professor Snape.
"Oh, hello Professor. I'll leave now. Sorry." She stuttered and stood up quickly, dusting herself off quickly. He put up a hand to stop her and she froze.
"Come with me." He said, as he turned and walked the opposite direction down the hall, not checking to see if she was even behind him still. She walked briskly to keep up with him and he led her to the dungeons and into the Potions classroom.
He sat down behind his desk and summoned a chair for her so she could be seated across from him. She sat down silently and waited for him to say something, anything.
He took a deep breath and folded his hands on top of the desk. For some reason it had pained his heart to see the Gryffindor so distraught. He pitied her and knew the feeling wouldn't leave him alone unless he did something about it.
"Miss Granger," he started, trying to find the right words to use. "I think it's time for me to tell you a bit about what I knew of your parents." He paused and she didn't breath. She hadn't been expecting this, not in the least. It was still a very touchy subject for her and she was surprised he had the courage to bring it up when she was still so vulnerable.
She didn't say anything; he hadn't expected her to. This would probably end up being a one-sided conversation where he talked and she listened. Hanging onto his every word but never giving any of her own.
"As the headmaster has already told you, I was your father's best friend when we were at school together. We did everything together. He was a good man. Your mother and I rivaled for his time." He mused softly. "She was always very upset when he chose to spend his free time with me instead of her. Mostly we spied on James Potter and his friends, trying to find things they did while breaking the rules and then turning them in to one of the teachers."
"After Hogwarts we both joined with Voldemort." She knew this already, but tried to look as if it was new to her. She wondered briefly if the look she had fixed on her face appeared to make her seem more constipated rather than shocked. "After some time I realized that it was wrong, not something I wanted to be doing. So I became a spy for the Ministry, letting them know about everything the deatheaters were doing. Your father, however, was devoted to the Dark Lord in a way I will never truly understand."
"I believe you know the rest of that story so I will not trouble you with it." She nodded slightly, her eyes never leaving his face. "What I want to tell you is a story of one of our happier times. He really was a good person, your mother as well. He just got off track."
"In our last year at school Josef and I were intent on seeing James, Sirius, and Remus all expelled. One day we-" He told her a long story of how her father and he had tricked the three Gryffindors into being somewhere they knew Filch would be after curfew. They almost had been expelled, but at the last moment Peeves had made a mess of a nearby hallway and they had snuck off when Filch had gone to see what the damage was.
She smiled at the Professor when he was finished. He did have a soft side, she realized. He didn't feel hate and sadness all the time. She thanked him for taking time out of his schedule to help her. He nodded stiffly, but she noticed a twinkling gleam in his eyes before he began to furiously grade papers. She stood from her chair and walked towards the door where her eyes locked with a pair of stormy gray ones.
Draco was once again leaning against the frame of the Potions room doorway. She continued walking and brushed past him. She sighed as the harsh sound of his heels clicking came from behind her and she whirled around to face him.
"Malfoy not now okay? I really do not have the patience or the strength to deal with you right now." She turned and began to make her way back to Gryffindor Tower again. To her surprise he stopped her, and she glanced at the hand that now held her tightly yet a bit gently on the arm.
"Look," he drawled slowly, "I'm tired of feeling guilty for this so I'm going to say this once and only once." He stopped for a moment and looked her in the eyes and she noticed he was nervous. She surveyed him quickly and found that he was kicking the ground with the toe of his boot, seeming rather unsure of himself. "I'm sorry that I didn't let you find out for yourself okay? I know it probably didn't help that you found out from me." The words came out quickly and a bit forcefully, but nevertheless she understood every bit of it.
She gave him a weak smile but couldn't find her voice. Somehow he knew she forgave him though. It might have been that she was just in a good mood after talking with the Professor or that she was just feeling absolvent, but she did forgive him.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes, they only stood looking at each other in an awkward yet strangely relieving silence, and after taking a breath, she decided to take her leave. The walk back to Gryffindor Tower stretched on and on as she replayed Snape's story in her mind. It was touching to know that not everything her parents had done had hurt people. They had been teenagers just like she was once.
While she couldn't forget what they had done to her, she was starting to understand why they did it a bit more. It had been a horrible reason but everyone makes stupid decisions sometimes. Some were just a little bit stupider than others.
She crossed her arms over her stomach and shivered in the cold. Soon the snow would come and they would have a beautiful white holiday season.
'And that,' she thought, 'is always something to look forward to.'
She smiled to herself once more and arrived at the portrait hole.
-=-=-=-
I know it's short. But there was not much that had to be accomplished in this chapter. However, the next one will defiantly be long. I only have two more chapters, three if I decide to do an epilogue. Gosh that makes me sad. I've been working on this for over two months now. It feels so weird that it's almost over.
I have, however, already begun my new story. It's called The Snake Charmer if you want to read it.
REVIEW!
-=-=-=-
"Hermione?" Harry said and put an arm around his friend for support. "Hermione it's time to go. Come on."
Hermione was still huddled in her corner at the end of Hogsmeade's main street. She looked up at him with red eyes and a sob escaped her. She buried her face in his shoulder and let him pick her up, one hand holding up her back and the other under her knees.
"Ron, maybe we should take the Honeydukes passage. She's kind of sensitive right now you know?" Ron nodded and they snuck off towards the candy store. The owners were busy trying to bustle the students out of the store, so they didn't notice when Harry and Ron carried Hermione into their storeroom, opened the trapdoor, and shut it silently behind them.
"You want me to take her for awhile?" Ron asked. Harry moved her into an easier carrying position.
"No it's okay, she's not heavy." Hermione's body still shook from time to time as the sadness she had within her erupted. Her friends tried to calm her to the best of their ability but it was of no use, she wasn't one to be comforted at the moment.
They arrived back at Hogwarts before their classmates and that gave them a little time to make her look a bit more presentable. After a moment's contemplation about taking her cloak off, they finally decided it would be best to leave her fully clothed. Who knows what she would be yelling as soon as she got back into her right mind. Ron pulled back the bed covers and Harry laid her gently down on the mattress, brushing her hair out of her face. They tucked her in, watched her silently for a moment, and then crept from her room. She would be asleep by the time her roommates arrived.
-=-=-=-
The next morning Hermione came down the spiral staircase with a forced smile plastered onto her face. If one took a minute to look, her eyes would convey the hurt she felt inside. After a few hello's here and there, she, Harry, and Ron left the common room to take a walk outside.
All was silent for a few minutes until Ron finally spoke, shattering the uneasy energy around the three. "So, are you ready to talk about it?"
"No." She said quietly and sped up her pace a little. They met her stride for stride and walked in circles around the castle.
"He was right you know." She whispered. They looked at her sympathetically but didn't say anything. If she wanted to say anything more she would. They weren't going to push her, not this time. "Malfoy. Everything he said was true. I grew up as a Muggle because my real parents were ashamed of me." She hissed out the last sentence and anger replaced the sadness in her face.
"Well we're not ashamed of you." Ron reassured her and each of the boys simultaneously threw their arms around her in a gigantic hug. She allowed a small yet real smile and looked at the two of them. Taking one of their hands in each of her own, she led them back to the castle.
-=-=-=-
Draco sat in one of Slytherin's many emerald armchairs thinking. His fellow house members were enjoying their Sunday off by being outside in the frigid air, something he just didn't understand. He didn't feel the need to become a frostbitten icicle, thank you very much.
'Don't know why she was so upset. It's not like it was brand new information. I told her all about it already. . .which could be part of the problem.' He had been racking his mind for hours thinking about her. 'Oh well, I had to. If I didn't the anticipation would have killed me.' He ran a hand through his slick blonde hair, which fell in an unkempt manner over his eyes. 'She'll get over it eventually. She's tough right? Gryffindors are tough. And if I spend any more time thinking about her it could be bad for my health.' He stood up and cleared his mind of anything that even remotely resembled Hermione Granger. 'That's better. No more thinking about Granger- Damn it. Okay, actually going to do it this time.'
He left the common room to search for Professor Snape around the castle. He sometimes had tutoring on Sundays; it was part of the reason he was such a successful Potions student.
-=-=-=-
Hermione had gone off on her own after her walk with Harry and Ron, and eventually she found herself seated in one of the first floor hallways on the stone floor with her back against a statue of Pegasus.
She didn't cry. She had cried enough the day before to last her for a while. Her eyes were glazed over as she thought over yesterday's events. In the back of her mind she heard the click of a boot's heels on the stone floor but it didn't register with her brain until the person was hovering over her.
"Miss Granger?" Said a chilly voice. She glanced up and looked into the face of Professor Snape.
"Oh, hello Professor. I'll leave now. Sorry." She stuttered and stood up quickly, dusting herself off quickly. He put up a hand to stop her and she froze.
"Come with me." He said, as he turned and walked the opposite direction down the hall, not checking to see if she was even behind him still. She walked briskly to keep up with him and he led her to the dungeons and into the Potions classroom.
He sat down behind his desk and summoned a chair for her so she could be seated across from him. She sat down silently and waited for him to say something, anything.
He took a deep breath and folded his hands on top of the desk. For some reason it had pained his heart to see the Gryffindor so distraught. He pitied her and knew the feeling wouldn't leave him alone unless he did something about it.
"Miss Granger," he started, trying to find the right words to use. "I think it's time for me to tell you a bit about what I knew of your parents." He paused and she didn't breath. She hadn't been expecting this, not in the least. It was still a very touchy subject for her and she was surprised he had the courage to bring it up when she was still so vulnerable.
She didn't say anything; he hadn't expected her to. This would probably end up being a one-sided conversation where he talked and she listened. Hanging onto his every word but never giving any of her own.
"As the headmaster has already told you, I was your father's best friend when we were at school together. We did everything together. He was a good man. Your mother and I rivaled for his time." He mused softly. "She was always very upset when he chose to spend his free time with me instead of her. Mostly we spied on James Potter and his friends, trying to find things they did while breaking the rules and then turning them in to one of the teachers."
"After Hogwarts we both joined with Voldemort." She knew this already, but tried to look as if it was new to her. She wondered briefly if the look she had fixed on her face appeared to make her seem more constipated rather than shocked. "After some time I realized that it was wrong, not something I wanted to be doing. So I became a spy for the Ministry, letting them know about everything the deatheaters were doing. Your father, however, was devoted to the Dark Lord in a way I will never truly understand."
"I believe you know the rest of that story so I will not trouble you with it." She nodded slightly, her eyes never leaving his face. "What I want to tell you is a story of one of our happier times. He really was a good person, your mother as well. He just got off track."
"In our last year at school Josef and I were intent on seeing James, Sirius, and Remus all expelled. One day we-" He told her a long story of how her father and he had tricked the three Gryffindors into being somewhere they knew Filch would be after curfew. They almost had been expelled, but at the last moment Peeves had made a mess of a nearby hallway and they had snuck off when Filch had gone to see what the damage was.
She smiled at the Professor when he was finished. He did have a soft side, she realized. He didn't feel hate and sadness all the time. She thanked him for taking time out of his schedule to help her. He nodded stiffly, but she noticed a twinkling gleam in his eyes before he began to furiously grade papers. She stood from her chair and walked towards the door where her eyes locked with a pair of stormy gray ones.
Draco was once again leaning against the frame of the Potions room doorway. She continued walking and brushed past him. She sighed as the harsh sound of his heels clicking came from behind her and she whirled around to face him.
"Malfoy not now okay? I really do not have the patience or the strength to deal with you right now." She turned and began to make her way back to Gryffindor Tower again. To her surprise he stopped her, and she glanced at the hand that now held her tightly yet a bit gently on the arm.
"Look," he drawled slowly, "I'm tired of feeling guilty for this so I'm going to say this once and only once." He stopped for a moment and looked her in the eyes and she noticed he was nervous. She surveyed him quickly and found that he was kicking the ground with the toe of his boot, seeming rather unsure of himself. "I'm sorry that I didn't let you find out for yourself okay? I know it probably didn't help that you found out from me." The words came out quickly and a bit forcefully, but nevertheless she understood every bit of it.
She gave him a weak smile but couldn't find her voice. Somehow he knew she forgave him though. It might have been that she was just in a good mood after talking with the Professor or that she was just feeling absolvent, but she did forgive him.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes, they only stood looking at each other in an awkward yet strangely relieving silence, and after taking a breath, she decided to take her leave. The walk back to Gryffindor Tower stretched on and on as she replayed Snape's story in her mind. It was touching to know that not everything her parents had done had hurt people. They had been teenagers just like she was once.
While she couldn't forget what they had done to her, she was starting to understand why they did it a bit more. It had been a horrible reason but everyone makes stupid decisions sometimes. Some were just a little bit stupider than others.
She crossed her arms over her stomach and shivered in the cold. Soon the snow would come and they would have a beautiful white holiday season.
'And that,' she thought, 'is always something to look forward to.'
She smiled to herself once more and arrived at the portrait hole.
-=-=-=-
I know it's short. But there was not much that had to be accomplished in this chapter. However, the next one will defiantly be long. I only have two more chapters, three if I decide to do an epilogue. Gosh that makes me sad. I've been working on this for over two months now. It feels so weird that it's almost over.
I have, however, already begun my new story. It's called The Snake Charmer if you want to read it.
REVIEW!