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Tears
"Ah, Miss Granger! Come in come in. Lemon Drop?" Hermione looked at the smiling old mage that was seated at the desk before her. His face was a welcome site as were the endless amounts of gadgets that decorated his desk and much of the room. However, Hermione could have done without every head master in the history of Hogwarts staring at her.
"Umm… no thank you Professor. What did you want to see me about?"
Dumbledore sadly put down his candy dish and assumed a professional matter. "Ah, yes. I have received a visit from a Mr. Harry Potter, who seemed concerned about the amount of school you have missed this year. He said that the two of you thought it may be beneficial to set up a tutor for you. And I must agree that that seems the best idea. I have already found someone who was willing to take the job, and will start as soon as you are ready, today even if you'd like."
"I would like that a great deal, Head Master." It was an embarrassing ordeal for her, Hermione Granger, to be behind in any class, let alone all of them. She wanted to be caught up as soon as possible.
"Very good! I have arranged for the proper transportation, and after today's classes you should report to the front gates where you're carriage will await you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going! Busy busy busy you know." With that said Dumbledore turned to leave.
"But Professor,"
"Not now Ms. Granger, I really must be going."
And he turned and exited through a portrait leaving a rather confused Hermione sitting alone in his office. She took a look around, stood up and started to leave. But as a last impulse, she grabbed a lemon drop and popped it into her mouth. Then she turned and left the office.
The morning went by extremely slow and proved to be incredibly boring. In fact the only thing to be glad of was that the only class she had with Slytherin that day was care of magical creatures, and that wasn't until last. Right now she was on her way to lunch having just left Arithmancy.
"Mione!"
Hermione turned to find flashes of red bobbing in and out through the sea of students. It took a few moments for Ginny to make her way over to Hermione, but she was there soon enough and embracing the older girl in one of the tightest hugs that she had ever experienced. "Are you okay Mione? I missed you!"
Hermione studied the face of the young red head. "Yea I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it though." The memories were horrifying.
Ginny nodded and moved on to a happier topic as the girls carelessly made their way to the great hall. As the girls continued their conversation and only half watched where they were walking, Hermione found herself colliding with something hard which knocked her to the floor.
"Watch it Mudblood! I don't want your filth touching my nice clean robes."
Hermione looked up from the ground and hastily scrambled to her feet and fixed the tall blond boy with a look that was full of hurt and something incomprehensible to mere onlookers. Then the brunette proceeded to make Ginny's mouth hang open and a few passing girl that had stop to watch blush. In fact Draco himself seemed taken back by the comment.
In a state of shock he watched as Hermione began to walk quickly past him deliberately knocking into him with her shoulder. As he watched her disappear down the hall, he became aware of a pair of eyes watching him. He turned.
"What Weasel?!"
Ginny shook her head as she glared at him, before she followed Hermione down the hall also knocking Draco in the chest.
Draco turned around. Why did things have to be like this?
Ginny followed Hermione into the girls bathroom where she found the seventeen year old crying hysterically holding on to a sink to keep herself standing up.
"What was that?" asked the red head looking at Hermione's eyes in the mirror.
Hermione turned around and through her tears began mumbling words rapidly that made no sense to Ginny whatsoever. "We were fighting…his father saw us kiss….Cruciatrus Curse…so much like me…but Snape… we can't be together…I miss him….I can't stand it!"
The tears streamed even more profusely from Hermione's eyes and she sank to the floor. Ginny knelt in front of the girl and wrapped he into a hug letting Hermione cry for a moment with her head on Ginny's breast. When the brunette's sobs began to stifle, Ginny spoke.
"Now, do you want to tell me exactly what is going on?"
Hermione raised her head to look up into the blue eyes of her red haired friend, and she was suddenly over swept with want to confess every thing. Oh, how good it would feel to tell her secretes! The thought of hiding them from Ginny seemed laughable now, now after so much had happened. Her life had turned into a surreal picture that made naught sense nor reason.
A long breath entered into the young girl's lungs and was released before Hermione finally said, "It all started last year after my mother died…"
Lunch was coming to a close as was Hermione's story, yet neither girl felt remorse at missing their meal. There had been so much to tell, so much that was sickening and repulsive that neither could even fathom eating. Hermione managed to suppress her tears as she spoke, and her missing tears were found on the face of her young friend. Ginny sat silently listening to Hermione's horrors as her own tears fell noiselessly from her blue eyes.
Finally Hermione finished and looked down on the floor upon which they both sat. "And so now I must act like I still hate him, and him me; yet all the while, the mere sight of him breaks my heart for I do so desire to run to him and embrace him as I did once. That seems so long ago now; so long ago. And who knows when I will be able to hold him again." Now having told all tears found her again.
Ginny once again embraced her friend in as warm and comforting a hug as she could possibly give. Their tears mixed as both sat there without moving for the longest time. Finally, the bell rang that warned that classes would resume in five minutes and both girls straightened themselves up before parting with a final hug.
As Hermione was walking to her class, she was addressed by a familiar voice and she turned.
"Ron!"
"Oy! Mione! How worried I've been!" He embraced her and she snuggled up to her best friend.
"Oh Ron!" she sighed, "It's been ages!" The two proceeded to their next class and were shortly joined by a boy with raven hair and emerald eyes.
The rest of the day was tolerable, and Hermione found herself eating more than her usual share at dinner.
"Some one is certainly rather hungry," Harry teased his friend who's appetite tended to be on the smaller side usually.
"Well I missed lunch."
"Well, we've missed having you here!" Ron piped in, "Now you are simply not allowed to get sick anymore! It is far far better having you here!" His arm encircled her shoulders in a momentary half hug, and possibly for the first time that year, she felt very connected to the two boys who she had loved dearly for seven years.
"So Mione," Harry began, "We were down at Hagrid's the other day, and he was asking about you. So we told him, that we would bring you down once you were better. How about it then?"
"You mean now?"
"Well, when we finish dinner yes."
"I can't now; I have to go see a tutor," her voice dropped to a whisper on that word, but she continued, "Why not tomorrow during lunch?"
"Alright then!" Harry smiled. As did Ron who was busily pushing the last scraps of food into his mouth.
A change came over Harry's face but Hermione barely had time to register this before a pair of tiny cold hands were covering her eyes. Reaching up she covered the hands with her own. "Ginny!"
The red head released Hermione smiling, "I'd say you look better!"
"Mmm, yea for now any ways."
"I'm here if you need me!"
"I know," the two girls kissed of the cheek before Ginny left kissing also her brother and glancing toward Harry who immediately looked away.
As the small red haired figure receded down the hall, Hermione turned to look at her green eyed friend, "Give her time Harry, give her time."
"I'll see you guys after my session, I don't want to hang around my common room, and it should still be early, so I'm gonna usurp yours." Hermione laughed. Her two friends walked her out to her carriage; she hadn't realized before how much she missed them. Giving each of them a quick kiss on the cheek, she stepped into her carriage.
It wasn't long before the carriage came to a stop outside a small house in what appeared to be the outskirts of Hogsmede. It was a rather dingy house, and Hermione caught herself wondering who would live in there. She found that not knowing what to expect was more nerve wrecking than she had expected. Nervously she made her way to the door, and knocked three times before waiting apprehensively.
After what seemed an hour but in reality was closer to forty-five seconds, the door began to swing slowly open. At first all she could see was a black figure silhouetted in the dim light from inside the cabin. Hermione held her breath as her eyes began to focus, and when they did, she let it go in a sigh of relief.
"Professor Lupin!"
The study session was a great success and Hermione found it quite enjoyable as Professor Lupin had long since been her favorite teacher even if she hadn't had him since third year. He had such a passion for knowledge that he was most like herself. In one lesson they had covered almost half of the information Hermione had missed.
Hermione smiled as she was getting back into her carriage. "Good bye Professor!" she called.
"Good bye Hermione!"
When she got back up to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione excitedly told Harry and Ron about Professor Lupin.
"Professor Lupin? Really? I had no idea he lived so close." It was Ron; he had liked the Professor every bit as much as Hermione. Harry seemed to be lost in though.
Hermione answered Ron, "Yes, he apparently moved out here to be close on hand incase Dumbledore needs him to do stuff for the Order. And as things are unnaturally quiet right now, well they decided its best to have him there.
Harry knew that this aberrant clam was due to the preparations for the Halloween induction, but he was thinking of something else at the time.
"Harry!" Hermione started, "Don't you even care that Lupin is so close?"
"What?" he said startled out of his thoughts at the sound of his name. "Oh, yes, of course I care! Actually I was just thinking, well it must be terribly lonely for him out there all by himself. We ought to go spend time with him."
"Harry, you are absolutely right!" Hermione felt sympathy for Lupin as being a werewolf, he hardly ever got company.
"We should go when he'd be especially lonely too."
"Halloween!" Hermione suggested. "Holidays are a lonely time if you have no one, and well we'll be here for that one. We should go; we'll have a small party!"
"Great idea!" Harry said smiling. His spur of the moment plan had worked.
A couple hours later Hermione tiredly staggered up to her bed room. As she was tired, finding her room occupied caused her quite a start. "Dobby!"
"Hello Miss! I hopes I haven't frightened you Miss."
"No, no Dobby I'm fine. How are you?"
"Dobby is good Miss, very good!"
"And how are Winky and little Robby?"
"Both is good too Miss! But Dobby must be going soon. Dobby has work to do Miss. But Dobby had a strange visit today from one Dobby once knew Miss. He asked Dobby to give Miss this."
Dobby lifted his hands up and presented Hermione with a chalice. "Thank you Dobby!"
"Miss is welcome! Now good bye Miss!"
"Bye Dobby!"
After Dobby left, she sat on her bed and looked at the note attached to the chalice. In a very familiar hand, it said:
Sleep well my fair angel!
No name was attached, but Hermione knew from whom it came, and it brought tears to her eyes. She drank the potion inside which was the Draught for Dreamless sleep. Then she laid down on her pillow wishing that she could see a certain blond Slytherin before she nodded off.
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So, how was it? Not one of my personal favorites, however I think next chapter will be exciting! Im talking starting the action! Yes!
Now IMPORTANT THINGS!!! There are two! Thing the first: should Pansy be evil or good? I got two separate plots and I cant decide which I like, so u guys pick, I'll go with whatever comes up more. Thing the second: I need ideas for evil curses! I know how im doing that part, but I don't know what curses to use so if u have an idea, let me know.
Other than that, I just wanted to say THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU to all of my reviewers!! It is you who keep this story going! Love u guys!
This one took a lil longer to post as I have been increasingly busy but more is coming as soon as possible!! promise!
Okay, byez for now!
~Atiannala