Chapter 5
Leaving It All Behind
"I feel so unsure,
Trembling, you open your door,
Your eyes, glistening,
It's telling me, I'm already missing you,
And this is all I have,
All I have to give,
All I have to give,
This one last kiss,
I know it's not enough,
Thought love would never end,
One more touch is all I have,
All I have,
You said, that we would forever be in love,
And you'd show me a life like I never knew,
Things I could'nt ever of even dreamed of,
But your smile just don't seem the same,
And when you tell me you feel it too,
I'm not sure who's to blame, 'cause I gave everything,
I can't believe this love is leaving me,
Love is leaving me,
And I can't believe what we've come to be,
And I wish I could make it like it used to be,
Can't believe I'm through loving you,
And you're through loving me,
And in the battle of my final tears,
You call out my name, my name,
But it can never be the same."
Amerie "All I Have"
Hermione was crying. She was sitting in a nice big comfortable chair in Dumbledore's office, bawling her eyes out. Her mother was there beside her, patting her hand, as Hermione howled in misery. It had already been arranged that, that day Hermione would be getting on the train and going to France and then to Beauxbatons, her new school. Hermione hadn't realized that her mother had already decided the matter. It had made her very upset to know her life had already been planned out for her. Dumbledore just sat there, not really knowing what to do.
Hermione finally stood up and ran out of the room and on to the Gryffindor common room. She was so upset as she fled back to her room, that she tripped and fell head long into Seamus Finnigan. Seamus helped Hermione upright herself again. When he saw that her face was bright red, soaked with tears, and her eyes where all puffy from crying he put a comforting arm around her.
"What's the matter, Moine", Seamus asked in his thick accent.
"I am going away to attend school at Beauxbatons", Hermione said bluntly, sniffling a bit.
"Oh, and why is that", Seamus said cluelessly.
"I'm sorry, Seamus, but it's for a very personal reason", Hermione squinted her eyes and with the bottom of her cloak began wiping the tears away.
"Oh", Seamus said.
"Bye, Seamus, I will miss you", Hermione said breaking into tears again as she realized this was the last time she was going to see him.
She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly. Seamus hugged her back.
"You know you could write me, Moine", Seamus said softly as she again wiped the tears away.
"Okay I will", Hermione said and with that she turned and hurried down the hallway once again.
"She's what", Draco declared loudly.
"She's leaving today, Draco, you're finally rid of that stupid mudblood", Pansy declared happily.
"And how did you hear this, Pansy", Draco asked.
"Oh, well you know I have my sources, why do you ask", Pansy said flopping onto one of the overstuffed sofas in front of the fire in the Slytherin common room.
"Who, Pansy. The reason I want to know is that I need to know who told you, so I know whether to believe it or not", Draco said quickly.
"I heard it from Polly Warbell, and she heard it from Lavender Brown and she heard it from Seamus Finnigan, who heard it from Hermione herself", Pansy said triumphantly.
"Oh, so it's true", Draco said shrugging.
"Duh, what do you think I am some kind of lair", Pansy asked sadistically.
"Umm, well actually, Pansy, you are", Draco said pointedly.
"So I bend the truth. There is nothing wrong with that", Pansy said trying to sound innocent.
"Okay. Well I am going to the library, homework you know", Draco said pointedly.
"Ewww, have fun", Pansy said watching as Draco got up and hurried out the portait hole.
Hermione was sitting on her bed in the fifth year girl's dorm. Her eyes where still a little red from all the crying she had done earlier. No one was around and Hermione was feeling a little lonely. Not that she wanted to go into the noisy common room. Where she would get bombarded with questions. It had went around that she was leaving. She had heard the whispers and had endured the stares.
Harry and Ron both stayed away from her. Harry actaully wasn't avoiding Hermione, he was in the library studying , because he was very close to failing Transfiguration. He hadn't heard about her leaving yet. Hermione just thought that he didn't care.
She got up and walked slowly to her window. She was trying not to break down into tears again. It was all so painful. She could hardly look around without having a memory rush to her of some event that had happened in that spot. She looked out her window onto the grounds. She looked quickly at the Quidditch Pitch and choked back a sob. She scrunched up her face and then opened her eyes really wide trying to not let a tear spill. She turned away from her window and looked instead at her half packed trunk. 'Where was she going to stuff all her extra books?' She thought, trying to keep her mind off of more unpleasant things.
That's when she heard a tap-tapping at her window. She turned around and saw Draco Malfoy's owl hovering outside her window. Hermione rushed to the window and opened it wide, ushering the Eagle owl in. Hoffer sat on her bed and stared at her with his big brown eyes, she smiled at him and got an owl treat out of her bedside table. She fed the owl treat to Hoffer, and he took it greedily, while she slipped the peice of parchment off his leg. She sat on her bed and unfolded the letter, it read:
Dear Hermie (Hahaha, sorry couldn't resist calling you that at least once),
Hello. I know you haven't even answered my owl back, so I look like some eager loser, but don't be fooled! I am still the cold heartless Slytherin you always knew. What is this about you leaving Hogwarts? Is this your mum's solution? I'm sure you can't be to happy about this. When are you leaving? And where are you going now? If you say Durmstrang I will laugh at you. Anways, please owl me back before you leave,
Draco
Hermione finished reading and refolded the letter. She dug in her trunk and grabbed out her favorite quill and some gold ink. She sat back down on her bed and using her bedside table as a hard surface, wrote:
Dear Dracie (Hey you call me names; I will have to do the same),
Hi! Well, as I am not remembering what was in your other letter, here's what I have to say. Hahaha you cold and heartless? Why would you be writing if you where? Anyways, yes, I am leaving Hogwarts to attend Beaxbatons (Yes, the snob school). My mum is making me go. I really don't want to leave all my friends behind. Get this; I am leaving TODAY! I was so mad when I heard. Are you in the library? If not meet me there after dinner, please. It will be the last time I see you. I am leaving at ten o'clock tonight. My mum doesn't care if she is ruining my life. I have to go pack my things,
Your Owl-Pal (I guess),
Hermione
P.S. You have to keep writing to me after I leave. You will be the only one who is.
Hermione wiped another tear. She hadn't expected to miss Draco, but he had kind of been a constant in her life. Even if it was a bad constant.
Hermione gave Hoffer her letter for Draco and turned back to her half packed trunk with sad eyes.
Draco was sitting at the dinner table and was half-listening to Pansy ramble on and on about her father's money.
He had gotten Hermione's letter and was quietly waiting for dinner to be over. He had, had enough of Pansy's sniveling voice echoing around the hall. Hermione wasn't there. Draco had noticed this right away, and he knew she must be upstairs in her dorm packing. Draco had thought it was strange that she still wanted him to write to her. But for some reason he did enjoy exchanging letters with the Gryffindore prefect. Somethings in life really can't be explained was his reasoning.
He had also gotten a letter from his father. Draco had burned it before he read it. Whatever his father had to say couldn't be good. So he just got rid of it. He had gotten a letter from his mother a few days earlier warning him that Lucius was very mad at his last grade in Arithmancy. It was just the heads up Draco needed, to be able to know whether or not to read his letters from his father. His mother had always been the mediater between Lucius and Draco.
When Lucuis wanted to beat Draco for something he had done wrong his mother tried to get in the way, until Lucuis hit her, then Draco would be spitting mad and would attack his father. Later in Draco's room he would nurse his and his mother's wounds. That's how it had always been. During his childhood, his father had sometimes had him locked away in the dungoens of his own mansion, or him and his mother would hide away in some tiny cupboard riding out the fury that was Lucius.
Draco was brought back to reality by someone kicking his leg. He looked over at Pansy who was smiling sickeningly sweet at him. Draco looked around lots of people where getting up and heading off to wherever they had to go. He took this as his cue.
"I'll see you all later, I have homework still", Draco said turning away from a pouting Pansy and a confused Crabbe and Goyle.
He ran out of the great hall and up two flights of stairs till he got to the library. He stopped outside and caught his breathe, before pushing the door open and walking inside. He almost ran head long into Potter. Harry looked very startled and dropped all the books he had in his arms.
"Out of my way Potter", Draco said angrily.
Harry opened his mouth as if to say something, then thinking better on it, closed his mouth again. Harry gathered up his books and went back to the Gryffindor common room.
Draco headed over to his favorite table. It was almost in the back of the library and was right next to the restricted section. No one dared to even glance that way. Draco sat down and pulled a book, that he had left there earlier, towards himself. By the time Hermione arrived in the library Draco was throughly engrossed in his book and didn't even look up as she took the seat across from him.
"Umm hello, Draco," Hermione said nervously wringing her hands in front of her.
"Hi, Granger, I mean, Hermione", Draco said finally looking up.
"What are you reading", Hermione said disgustedly as she looked at the book in Draco's hands. It was totally covered in blood, except a tiny spot on the front where she could barely see some black type.
"Oh, this? It's just a book on the twelve uses of dragon's blood. Did you know it was written by Dumbledore," Draco said very much doubting that she would.
"Oh that book", Hermione said her face lighting up, " I didn't recognize it, with all that blood all over it. My mum bought me that book for Christmas last year".
Draco groaned.
"I should have known," Draco said rather darkly.
"Draco, I really don't want to go to Beauxbatons", Hermione said suddenly clutching at the table for support.
Draco looked down at Hermione's hands, her knuckles where going white, and her whole body was shaking. When he looked back up at her face, there where tears in her eyes.
"It will be all right, Moine", Draco said, trying to sound reasurring, as he patted her hand.
"Why'd you call me that", Hermione said suddenly looking into Draco's eyes.
Draco looked away, he couldn't bear watching her like this.
"I don't know. I heard a few people call you that before", Draco said shrugging.
Hermione nodded, even though she knew Draco didn't see it. She suddenly stood up and walked around the table to where Draco was sitting looking at the floor.
She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek, right before she burst into tears and ran out of the room.
