As the days crept slowly on towards Christmas there was a distinct air of
romance in the atmosphere. The pupils had gone romance crazy and many of
them could be found cuddling together in corners during the cold winter
nights. Even Layla had found a boyfriend. In the past few weeks she had
become extremely friendly with a boy she would describe only as Krag. She
claimed she didn't know his surname and didn't really care. Draco had asked
Erik many times to find out for him but Erik either refused or told Draco
that he was too busy. Too busy doing what? Draco wondered. That was another
thing that Erik would tell him about. The whole world was filled with
secrets these days. McGonagall knew something but she adamantly refused to
inform any of the teachers. Instead she stalked around the school with a
smarmy grin on her face. She wouldn't even enlighten Hermione, much to the
annoyance of Professor Thomas. In the few months that Draco had been
teaching at Hogwarts, Hermione had never once chosen to be anything more
that quietly hostile to Draco. She spent most of her days glaring at him
and being basically civil to him when in the presence of others. Ron
Weasley, however, was much friendlier. It had taken him a few weeks but
once he was sure of Draco's integrity he talked away as though they had
always been friends. He was always willing to help Draco with anything he
needed and it was through Ron that Draco finally discovered Hermione's big
secret.
"Draco, I noticed that you are wearing the wrong colour of robes again. You are not the head of any house therefore you wear black robes along with the rest of the students," Hermione snapped, whilst glaring at his robes which had magically been tinted slightly green. To most people they were slightly off colour but to Hermione they must have looked lime, judging by the way she reacted.
"I'll change them later." He grumbled.
"Make sure that you do." She barked before flouncing out of the room in a huff. Gradually Hermione's bad moods had become more and more frequent until she automatically started sulking when Draco entered the room. She was constantly trying to find fault with him and the slightest thing would do for picking on. Such as the robes, or the fact that his classroom wasn't tidy or that he hadn't leant all the student's names yet. She was becoming more and more fussy as the term went by and Draco began to doubt the stability of Hermione's mind. They had never had an open fight but if they carried on in that way, it was bound to happen.
"Ron, what is Hermione's problem? I mean she never yells at anyone else like that - it's always me."
"She hates you." Ron answered simply.
"But if you can forgive me for what went on when we were students then why can't she? No offence, but she was always the reasonable tempered one before."
"You did a lot of nasty things to her, plus she isn't rational anymore with anyone."
"Why not?" Draco was beginning to get impatient. He was sick of Hermione's behaviour and just wanted an explanation for it.
"Her daughter died during the war. Amelia was eleven and was the most gorgeous little girl in the world. She was so pretty and smart and she was really friendly and nice as well. She was friendly with my daughter so we always saw a lot of her. Amelia was walking home once time when she walked into a duel between three wizards. She was killed instantly and Hermione has never been the same since," Ron concluded, looking sadly at the ground.
"That's terrible but what about her other kids? Does she take care of them?" Draco asked.
"They're not hers. Dean was married to an Irish woman before Hermione and got the children after the divorce. Hermione doesn't care in the slightest about Jeanie and Patrick. She doesn't hate them either, she just pretend that they don't exist most of the time." Ron stopped talking suddenly and looked over at the door with him mouth gaping open. Draco turned slowly, dreading what he would see when he caught sight of Hermione standing at the door with the most horrible look on her face. There was a picture of pure anger seething through her eyes and mouth and she looked furious enough to strike one of them. Draco suspected it would be him that was slapped while quietly comparing her to a raging bull.
"Go ahead, tell him everything Ron. Tell him how my daughter was killed and how it's your fault." A drop of water leaked from Hermione's left eye and she turned and fled. Ron rose to go after her but, realising that it would be dangerous at this point, reluctantly sank back into his seat. He held his head in his hands and began to speak.
"I had nothing to do with it. She thinks it was my fault because I know who it was that killed Amelia. And I won't... can't tell anyone. She knows that one of the wizards was Gregory Goyle but only I know who the others were. You could probably work it out but she hasn't so far." He stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm going back to my room. If I told, I would destroy the wizarding world as we know it." He said dully before leaving the room. Draco sat perfectly still wondering who on earth it could have been. Of course Crabbe had to be one of the wizards, Goyle was never anywhere without Crabbe, their minds seemed to stop functioning when they were apart. But the other wizard...who could it have been? Draco wondered for the rest of the day and well into the night, trying out different theories and people. Eventually he came to a conclusion. He was the only wizard that fitted the puzzle that Ron had left. But could Harry Potter really have killed Hermione's daughter?
"Draco, I noticed that you are wearing the wrong colour of robes again. You are not the head of any house therefore you wear black robes along with the rest of the students," Hermione snapped, whilst glaring at his robes which had magically been tinted slightly green. To most people they were slightly off colour but to Hermione they must have looked lime, judging by the way she reacted.
"I'll change them later." He grumbled.
"Make sure that you do." She barked before flouncing out of the room in a huff. Gradually Hermione's bad moods had become more and more frequent until she automatically started sulking when Draco entered the room. She was constantly trying to find fault with him and the slightest thing would do for picking on. Such as the robes, or the fact that his classroom wasn't tidy or that he hadn't leant all the student's names yet. She was becoming more and more fussy as the term went by and Draco began to doubt the stability of Hermione's mind. They had never had an open fight but if they carried on in that way, it was bound to happen.
"Ron, what is Hermione's problem? I mean she never yells at anyone else like that - it's always me."
"She hates you." Ron answered simply.
"But if you can forgive me for what went on when we were students then why can't she? No offence, but she was always the reasonable tempered one before."
"You did a lot of nasty things to her, plus she isn't rational anymore with anyone."
"Why not?" Draco was beginning to get impatient. He was sick of Hermione's behaviour and just wanted an explanation for it.
"Her daughter died during the war. Amelia was eleven and was the most gorgeous little girl in the world. She was so pretty and smart and she was really friendly and nice as well. She was friendly with my daughter so we always saw a lot of her. Amelia was walking home once time when she walked into a duel between three wizards. She was killed instantly and Hermione has never been the same since," Ron concluded, looking sadly at the ground.
"That's terrible but what about her other kids? Does she take care of them?" Draco asked.
"They're not hers. Dean was married to an Irish woman before Hermione and got the children after the divorce. Hermione doesn't care in the slightest about Jeanie and Patrick. She doesn't hate them either, she just pretend that they don't exist most of the time." Ron stopped talking suddenly and looked over at the door with him mouth gaping open. Draco turned slowly, dreading what he would see when he caught sight of Hermione standing at the door with the most horrible look on her face. There was a picture of pure anger seething through her eyes and mouth and she looked furious enough to strike one of them. Draco suspected it would be him that was slapped while quietly comparing her to a raging bull.
"Go ahead, tell him everything Ron. Tell him how my daughter was killed and how it's your fault." A drop of water leaked from Hermione's left eye and she turned and fled. Ron rose to go after her but, realising that it would be dangerous at this point, reluctantly sank back into his seat. He held his head in his hands and began to speak.
"I had nothing to do with it. She thinks it was my fault because I know who it was that killed Amelia. And I won't... can't tell anyone. She knows that one of the wizards was Gregory Goyle but only I know who the others were. You could probably work it out but she hasn't so far." He stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm going back to my room. If I told, I would destroy the wizarding world as we know it." He said dully before leaving the room. Draco sat perfectly still wondering who on earth it could have been. Of course Crabbe had to be one of the wizards, Goyle was never anywhere without Crabbe, their minds seemed to stop functioning when they were apart. But the other wizard...who could it have been? Draco wondered for the rest of the day and well into the night, trying out different theories and people. Eventually he came to a conclusion. He was the only wizard that fitted the puzzle that Ron had left. But could Harry Potter really have killed Hermione's daughter?