Chapter 1
Hermione Granger sat at the end of year feast, not thoroughly concentrating on the students around her. Her best friends, Ron and Harry, sat on her right,happily making small talk like every else around them. It was the end of their seventh year and life couldn't have been better. All three of them had been accepted as Aurors and were going to work at the Ministry as soon as their summer vacation was over.
They had been chosen as Aurors for the obvious reasons. They made exceptionally well grades in DADA which partly was owed to the continuous DA lessons. They had gotten a decent teacher for the class, but no one wanted to stop the extra lessons. The years had been beyond busy and DA members had to hold meetings at night. Hermione smiled to herself as she thought of all those nights of sneaking around. Of the seven years that the three of them had spent at Hogwarts, the last had been the most memorable.
During Christmas break, Harry had wandered unknowingly into Voldemort's mist. It was a short duel, as they had caught each other by surprise. Voldemort's powers had once more rebounded upon himself. Though, he still had the same protection that Harry had from his mother, Voldemort didn't have her blood. He was finished off at last. The wizarding world had never felt safer. During the last semester of school, even with the worries of NEWTS weighing on the students, everyone felt they could relax with the same reassuring thought replaying in the back of their minds: Voldemort was gone.
It had definetely been a wonderful year. Harry was able to go on without his scar burning his forehead. Seeing Harry so relaxed brightened Ron and Hermione's last semester. Hermione thought of the whole year. It hadn't just been Voldemort's downfall that made the year so great though everything had been centered around it. It was their last year and everyone had been determined to make it their best. Hermione thought of the whole year at once. She could do that, that was the way her mind worked. Right then Hermione's mind hadn't been thinking about what everyone else had. Nor had it for the entire year. Yes, she was thinking that this was her final year, but she hadn't been waiting for it to be over. She had been waiting all year for something to happen, never actually believing it would.
Hermione's mind flashed back to the past, and she became unaware of the quiet happy chattering of her friends.
She was sitting in a big drawing room. There was family all around her. Her aunts and uncles were standing against the walls talking merrily. She was on the floor with all her cousins. Most of them were many years older than her and almost in their teens. She was around five. The only other five year old was her favorite cousin. He was sitting right next to her and was singing a nursery rhyme he made up.
"The witch and the warlock were
on two sides in war
They walked off together
and the fighting they ignored
The went and got some firewhiskies
They sat down and talked the night away
about old memories"
She listened quietly and was becoming sleepy. The family reunion was to last late into the night. Just as she was about to doze off, she heard a loud yell from the grown ups. A tall cloaked man in his later years had appeared in the room. His face was so full of fury that she and her cousin crawled underneath a table and listened to the commotion from under the table cloth.
"You are still frolicking around with these muggles?!" the man demanded in a loud gruff voice. She heard one of her aunts say.
"They aren't muggles, they are family, Father!"
"They are no family of mine, you won't be either if you consider them to be our blood!"
"They are our blood!!" There was a tense silence. Hermione was sure that the bad man had pulled out his wand. Then she heard the voice of her own mother.
"Please don't do anything to her, Father. I'm sorry I was born in this family. Don't take it out on her!"
"I will not have you calling me Father. I've told you since you were a nasty little child that you are not my daughter. How dare you consider yourself as a part of this pureblood family?!" Hermione's aunt spoke up again.
"How dare you!! She hasn't done you any wrong!! It isn't her fault she had to be born into this family! It's yours and Mother's!"
"Crucio!!" There was the loud scream of her aunt. She felt her cousin trembling next to her.
The bad man said to the room.
"If I ever catch you with these muggles again, I will not show mercy. That goes for all of you." There was a silence with only the sound of her aunt's sobbing. Hermione took a peek from under the table cloth. The bad man had left.
Hermione Granger sat at the end of year feast, not thoroughly concentrating on the students around her. Her best friends, Ron and Harry, sat on her right,happily making small talk like every else around them. It was the end of their seventh year and life couldn't have been better. All three of them had been accepted as Aurors and were going to work at the Ministry as soon as their summer vacation was over.
They had been chosen as Aurors for the obvious reasons. They made exceptionally well grades in DADA which partly was owed to the continuous DA lessons. They had gotten a decent teacher for the class, but no one wanted to stop the extra lessons. The years had been beyond busy and DA members had to hold meetings at night. Hermione smiled to herself as she thought of all those nights of sneaking around. Of the seven years that the three of them had spent at Hogwarts, the last had been the most memorable.
During Christmas break, Harry had wandered unknowingly into Voldemort's mist. It was a short duel, as they had caught each other by surprise. Voldemort's powers had once more rebounded upon himself. Though, he still had the same protection that Harry had from his mother, Voldemort didn't have her blood. He was finished off at last. The wizarding world had never felt safer. During the last semester of school, even with the worries of NEWTS weighing on the students, everyone felt they could relax with the same reassuring thought replaying in the back of their minds: Voldemort was gone.
It had definetely been a wonderful year. Harry was able to go on without his scar burning his forehead. Seeing Harry so relaxed brightened Ron and Hermione's last semester. Hermione thought of the whole year. It hadn't just been Voldemort's downfall that made the year so great though everything had been centered around it. It was their last year and everyone had been determined to make it their best. Hermione thought of the whole year at once. She could do that, that was the way her mind worked. Right then Hermione's mind hadn't been thinking about what everyone else had. Nor had it for the entire year. Yes, she was thinking that this was her final year, but she hadn't been waiting for it to be over. She had been waiting all year for something to happen, never actually believing it would.
Hermione's mind flashed back to the past, and she became unaware of the quiet happy chattering of her friends.
She was sitting in a big drawing room. There was family all around her. Her aunts and uncles were standing against the walls talking merrily. She was on the floor with all her cousins. Most of them were many years older than her and almost in their teens. She was around five. The only other five year old was her favorite cousin. He was sitting right next to her and was singing a nursery rhyme he made up.
"The witch and the warlock were
on two sides in war
They walked off together
and the fighting they ignored
The went and got some firewhiskies
They sat down and talked the night away
about old memories"
She listened quietly and was becoming sleepy. The family reunion was to last late into the night. Just as she was about to doze off, she heard a loud yell from the grown ups. A tall cloaked man in his later years had appeared in the room. His face was so full of fury that she and her cousin crawled underneath a table and listened to the commotion from under the table cloth.
"You are still frolicking around with these muggles?!" the man demanded in a loud gruff voice. She heard one of her aunts say.
"They aren't muggles, they are family, Father!"
"They are no family of mine, you won't be either if you consider them to be our blood!"
"They are our blood!!" There was a tense silence. Hermione was sure that the bad man had pulled out his wand. Then she heard the voice of her own mother.
"Please don't do anything to her, Father. I'm sorry I was born in this family. Don't take it out on her!"
"I will not have you calling me Father. I've told you since you were a nasty little child that you are not my daughter. How dare you consider yourself as a part of this pureblood family?!" Hermione's aunt spoke up again.
"How dare you!! She hasn't done you any wrong!! It isn't her fault she had to be born into this family! It's yours and Mother's!"
"Crucio!!" There was the loud scream of her aunt. She felt her cousin trembling next to her.
The bad man said to the room.
"If I ever catch you with these muggles again, I will not show mercy. That goes for all of you." There was a silence with only the sound of her aunt's sobbing. Hermione took a peek from under the table cloth. The bad man had left.