By: Blue Eyed Headhunter
"Malfoy!" she whispered, but the hall had fallen deadly silent, so that he heard her. With a similar shocked face Draco Malfoy, son of the, by now, dead deatheaters Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, stood up and nodded. A bit louder he replied: "Nice to meet you again Granger."
~*~
By now, the two former enemies sat quietly next to each other, obviously in great discomfort. The students however didn't seem to notice or care that their starring didn't help either.
To Hermione it felt like hours until Dumbledore finally announced that dinner was over and the students should head to their own houses. In reality though, it had only been about half an hour, she had tried to ignore the man beside her and failed miserably, always aware of the fact who sat next to her: Draco Malfoy!
It hadn't help to watch the students, nor had it help to watch the bewitched ceiling, showing a beautiful dark sky with lots of stars, so that sometime she just gave up.
As she saw the children leave, as well as some of the professors, Hermione saw her chance of getting out, away from Draco Malfoy, away from that strange eerie feeling she had always gotten when being near him. He frightened her.
Just as she slipped from her chair and stood up however, Dumbledore cleared his throat, smiling kindly at her when she looked up. His aura hadn't changed over the years, perhaps his hair, framing the face with the small glasses, had turned even whiter and his beard would reach the floor in some time, but other than that he didn't look any else.
Hermione realised this as she looked at her old head-master, with a questioning look on her face that he would notice.
"Mrs. Granger, do you want to leave already? You must be tired by today's events but I can't allow you to go right now." Dumbledore told her.
"There are some people who would like to meet you, you know?". A look of happiness flashed over the young woman's face.
"Who is it?" she asked excited.
Mysteriously, as if he told her a great secret, the wise wizard leaned down to her ear.
"Just look behind you!" he told a startled Hermione Granger who almost in an instant turned around to find three persons standing at the other end of the wall, waiting for her to see them. Smiling the pretty witch ran, not caring about the strange looks the professors, who where still here, gave her, right into the arms of a giant man.
"Hagrid!" she exclaimed, almost crushed within his bear-hug.
"'Ermione, it's good to see ya. I've missed ya, as 'ave all the others." Rubeus Hagrid whispered, tears wetting his face, as he pulled away and sat her down again.
"I've missed you, too." She answered, tears also in her eyes.
"You've ta meet someone." Hagrid suddenly told her, while still holding her by the shoulders. Then he shoved her around, where she was greeted with the smiling faces of Minerva McGonagall and… Snape?
"Hermione! Oh my dear…" said the older woman before pulling her into her arms.
~*~
At the same time, up in the owlery, sat a young boy, mere fourteen years old, on a window-sill, staring at the moon, almost red. The depressing silence around him, didn't help his mood. He had been lost in his thoughts since he came up here in the afternoon. Nobody had come here since then, nobody had interrupted him as well as nobody had seen the look in his eyes as he thought about past events. His life so short, already was a journey that had took him through a cruel and hard world. In the orphanage he'd lived in since he was six, he always had been excluded from the games the other children played. They didn't even want to speak to him because they had been afraid of him. Strange things had always seem to happen around him.
At Hogwarts he hadn't told anyone about the fact that he had no parents. He was afraid to do so because he knew how they would look at him. They would pity him or laugh at him. It was all the same. They were all the same. Not even that Dumbledore, who had been the one to take him in, was any else. They wouldn't understand how he felt, he didn't even want them to. All he wanted… what did he want?
Hermes gaze was so full of hate right now, of pure fright and the knowledge that the truth often was mistaken with a sweeter lie. His soul was tormented and to be able to shut those painful thoughts out, he closed his eyes, darkened with emotions. He concentrated on the light wind, ruffling his black hair, on the uneven wood of the window-sill rough beneath his fingers. The sudden peace calmed him.
Minutes later Hermes was on his way back down, he had realized how late it had gotten. Curfew was already over and his stomach grumbled loudly in protest as he hadn't eaten the whole day. Tomorrow, early in the morning, he would have quidditch-practice and he had to be fit in order to catch the snitch. He was the Gryffindor seeker since the beginning of his third year and until now, at least one year and a half later, no one else had caught the snitch before he did and he once had sworn to himself that he would drink one of Amelia's potions if anyone ever would.
Hermes chuckled slightly, he knew that drinking a potion, normally harmless, could be deadly when made by Amelia. And he sure as hell didn't want to die.
'No! I won't die! Before I don't get my revenge, I will not die.' He thought grimly as he reached the portrait of the fat, pink lady, who sat snoring in her picture.
It was then that he heard somebody cough, behind him.
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Caroline – Thanks! Yeah, the end's funny, aien't it? Just think about the face Mione must've made…
Dreaming One – Thank you! That's so cool, potential… Nobody's ever told me that. Thanks so much! Your review was one of those who just made me want to write more and more! I'm sorry though that the new chapter isn't that long, hadn't much time!
Krmalfoy – Well, I will, I promise!
Indigo Violet – Thanks, I'm quite happy with it, too. I thought it would turn out another way than it did and I'm so happy that it didn't.
nc-kat2002 – I did! As you see…
Felicity – Thanks, I hope it will be good, I really hope so.
Elentari – Well, here is the next chapter. I hope you like it.
Spazy-Sange – Hey, that's so cute! Thank you! I'm glad you like it. However, the Hermes being son of Harry part… I dunno! We will see, the only thing I tell you is that in the end Hermes will solve everything. He's the key to everything that has happened. Of course it is possible that he's Harry's son. Same eyes, same hair, he's in Gryffindor, loves to play quidditch… hmmm but still he does like potions, too, you know!
AiR&FiRe – Thanks, I will continue! I promise to.
Aerion – hi! Well you certainly are observant... I like that! Anyways, first question: You could say that she still holds a grudge but I think she was shocked, surprised, baffled, you know… And she feels strange around him. As you can read in this chapter. Second question: The kiddos… well, at least Hermes will play an important part in this story. As I already told Spazy-Sange, he's the key to everything that has happened. Amelia, well she's just a 'friend' of Hermes. Third question: Perhaps McGonagall is too old, but I can't remember that in the books her real age is mentioned. If it is I'm sorry, but I absolutely LOVE her and Severus together. That's just so much fun! Her place took professor Fergus Odell, he'll be mentioned in the next chapter and he'll play a part in this story, too. Go and look up what his name means, it has a meaning and that'll play a role in the story, also. Fourth thing: Hermione was a great auror in during the month of war. After Harry and Ron left she did some pretty though things that'll be mentioned later in the story. Okay, hope you'll review again.
Cassandra – Alright! But I only do it for the love of god, kay? ;)
angel-kisses – And now you GOT more. Hope you like it!
A/N: Alright, this is the next chapter, nothing's happened until now, but be aware, next chapter the REAL story will start. And there will be nothing much left of the happiness and joy the two first chapters were full of. Things will darken as we look into the pasts of several persons. The question is, what has happened to McGonagall for her to become so unlike her former self? Most importantly what did Hermione do during the months of war to become THAT famous? It's one of her less dark secrets because she's done even more than people think she did. Still, the most important revelation will follow at the end, when it will be revealed who Hermes really is… And yes, he IS important, very important. In the end he's the key to the whole riddle!
Please R/R, I would appreciate it.