~ This is strictly a HG/SS pairing... If you don't like that - its simple, don't read. It takes place four years after Hogwarts and Voldemort's destruction and, well, enjoy....
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.... Bet you never would have guessed. But incase you thought maybe I did, your wrong. The original story, characters, ECT belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Startling, I know.
*****
Sensible
Blue Drgnfly
*****
Prologue
Wind whipped through the stale room, the smell of old, burnt candles stirring with the breeze. A lone candle stood spent and burnt, thickly surrounded by the sweet glaze of frosting engulfing a tiny cake - long forgotten. Next to the modest cake, the table it laid upon was empty save a small serving dish neglected along with the morsel.
Roused by the tickle of curls against cheek, a young woman looked up from a large volume to the table causing her eyes to settle on the forsaken cake. She sighed, twenty-three... Her rich eyes darkened to chocolate as she glanced at her nimble fingers as they grasped the leather binding of the book. They seemed the same hands she had know at seventeen, eighteen, twenty... Her eyes narrowed, as if to accuse her fingers of lying. She certainly did not feel the same. She felt - well, old. Her lips twisted cruelly. Certainly a ridiculous thought! Twenty-three was hardly old, she was hardly an old hag; it was illogical to feel ancient. She sighed again, allowing the book to fall to her lap as her head fell back into the chair. She stared at the ceiling, blowing a strand of untamed hair from her eyes as she scrutinized the plaster, suddenly wishing for Butterbeer and OWLs and... Hogwarts. Her eyes closed out the tiny room and the forgotten cake and thought of simpler times - when things were far from simple, but had so much more direction, purpose. But there was no use in dwelling. It made no sense. And Hermione Granger was always sensible.
As if to break the silence of monotony, a tiny thing whizzed through the window, making sporadic circles in the room, before coming to a halt at the table and upsetting the cake. The candle flew, landing somewhere on the bare oak floor, as icing splattered the tablecloth and the tiny owl. Hermione laughed, full and rich, and for the first time in what seemed like ages, the smile reached her eyes.
"Pigwigdeon!" she laughed, rising to pet the petite bird.
"Have a letter for me?" She mused as she grasped the scrolls attached to the owl's leg.
"Two?" The bird chirped in response.
She smiled again, recognizing the handwriting, as she fed the bird some snacks. The owl crooned in response, ruffling his feathers as he tried to throw the icing from his back. Amused, Hermione wiped the gob off and looked down at the owl.
"You should get back, you silly thing. Thank your master for me, won't you? And Harry too." The owl hooted in response as it flew from the table, circled the room once more, before bolting from the room. In the corner, a large ginger cat looked up at the flying intruder murderously before lowering his head. Hermione looked down at the cat and watched as animal seemed to shrug as if to say 'it wasn't worth his time'. Hermione shook her head, smiling and muttering about strange animals and stupid cats as she glanced down at the letters. Casually, she settled back down on the chair, tracing her hand over the parchment as her body sank into the comfort of leather, before opening the first letter:
**
Hermione:
Happy Birthday! Harry and I are awfully sorry we couldn't be there and all. But I guess that can't be helped. Twenty-three huh? How does it feel? Same as twenty-two? I have a present for you, but it'll have to wait. Stupid, useless thing that calls itself an owl is too small to carry it. Too bad Hedwig is off sending stuff to the Order. Oh well.
Harry and I are somewhere in Cornwall, but who knows where we'll be when you get this. We're finishing off a small group of Death Eaters who just won't see to bloody disband. Stupid buggers, guess we'll have to teach them a thing or two! Funny how we all thought that this would all end when Voldemort was gone? Anyway, I got to make this short, Lupin just got back... looks ruddy mad too. Things must still be going bad with the Ministry. Guess having Fudge gone didn't solve much either. Life is too bloody complicated.
Ron
PS: Just fond out we're headed to France next week. I'm going to miss the Quidditch playoffs. Again.
**
She smirked, reading the postscript, as she thought of her red haired friend. No matter how old they got, Quidditch was something he would never grow out of. Her fingers lingered on the parchment, dancing over the ink, as she tried to pictured Harry and Ron. She hadn't seen them in months. They seemed so far away... She sighed as she reached for the other letter; it started in a similar fashion:
**
Hermione:
Hullo, and Happy Birthday! You're twenty-three - no, wait, I suppose you'd be twenty-four if you count the time with the Time Tuner. Doesn't that seem like ages ago? How is your research going? I always knew there was a reason for all that studying. Turned out useful in the end, huh? Anyway, Ron probably told you that were headed for France in a week - he's still grumbling about the playoffs. It's a shame we can't go. I really do miss Quidditch. I miss a lot of things really.
But enough about that. Dumbledore is having difficulties with the Ministry still and Snape's gone and lost his job because of it. Don't really know where he is now... but I think Dumbledore knows. I suppose that he knows most anything, really. The situation reminds me a bit of Sirius, having to run and all. But I promised I wouldn't write about the past. We'll get everything straightened out - this all has to end sooner or later right? Well, I'm going to talk to Remus now. I don't quite think I've ever seen that man pissed. Frightening really.
Love,
Harry
**
Hermione's eyes examined the paper once more, trying to ignore the sad, regretful tone of the letter. She sighed, audibly distressed as she set the parchment down and thought back to the information revealed in the paper. Snape on the run? What was the world coming to? She sighed, bloody shame really, he was an awfully good Potions professor - the students weren't going to learn a thing without him. Her fingers drummed against her thigh, he'd always been difficult, but really - he taught you things and, well, she'd come to respect him over those seven years. Glancing out the window, her eyes scanned the landscape wondering idly where he was. Biting the inside of her lip she looked back into the room, books crammed on desks and scrolls discarded everywhere, as she let all thought of the Potions Master slip from her mind. Why did it matter where he was anyway? He could take care of himself and she had things to do, research to do... after all it was the sensible thing to do. And Hermione was always sensible.
*****
Author's Notes:
Well here it is my first Harry Potter fic. And it is HG/SS - a pairing I've found becoming quite an obsession of mine. This was short, but it's the Prologue and its supposed to be! Please, please review... for someone who's been writing for quite sometime, I'm feeling very insecure about this particular piece of fiction.... Anyway, more to come!! (I'm afraid whether you like it or not!!) ;)
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.... Bet you never would have guessed. But incase you thought maybe I did, your wrong. The original story, characters, ECT belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Startling, I know.
*****
Sensible
Blue Drgnfly
*****
Prologue
Wind whipped through the stale room, the smell of old, burnt candles stirring with the breeze. A lone candle stood spent and burnt, thickly surrounded by the sweet glaze of frosting engulfing a tiny cake - long forgotten. Next to the modest cake, the table it laid upon was empty save a small serving dish neglected along with the morsel.
Roused by the tickle of curls against cheek, a young woman looked up from a large volume to the table causing her eyes to settle on the forsaken cake. She sighed, twenty-three... Her rich eyes darkened to chocolate as she glanced at her nimble fingers as they grasped the leather binding of the book. They seemed the same hands she had know at seventeen, eighteen, twenty... Her eyes narrowed, as if to accuse her fingers of lying. She certainly did not feel the same. She felt - well, old. Her lips twisted cruelly. Certainly a ridiculous thought! Twenty-three was hardly old, she was hardly an old hag; it was illogical to feel ancient. She sighed again, allowing the book to fall to her lap as her head fell back into the chair. She stared at the ceiling, blowing a strand of untamed hair from her eyes as she scrutinized the plaster, suddenly wishing for Butterbeer and OWLs and... Hogwarts. Her eyes closed out the tiny room and the forgotten cake and thought of simpler times - when things were far from simple, but had so much more direction, purpose. But there was no use in dwelling. It made no sense. And Hermione Granger was always sensible.
As if to break the silence of monotony, a tiny thing whizzed through the window, making sporadic circles in the room, before coming to a halt at the table and upsetting the cake. The candle flew, landing somewhere on the bare oak floor, as icing splattered the tablecloth and the tiny owl. Hermione laughed, full and rich, and for the first time in what seemed like ages, the smile reached her eyes.
"Pigwigdeon!" she laughed, rising to pet the petite bird.
"Have a letter for me?" She mused as she grasped the scrolls attached to the owl's leg.
"Two?" The bird chirped in response.
She smiled again, recognizing the handwriting, as she fed the bird some snacks. The owl crooned in response, ruffling his feathers as he tried to throw the icing from his back. Amused, Hermione wiped the gob off and looked down at the owl.
"You should get back, you silly thing. Thank your master for me, won't you? And Harry too." The owl hooted in response as it flew from the table, circled the room once more, before bolting from the room. In the corner, a large ginger cat looked up at the flying intruder murderously before lowering his head. Hermione looked down at the cat and watched as animal seemed to shrug as if to say 'it wasn't worth his time'. Hermione shook her head, smiling and muttering about strange animals and stupid cats as she glanced down at the letters. Casually, she settled back down on the chair, tracing her hand over the parchment as her body sank into the comfort of leather, before opening the first letter:
**
Hermione:
Happy Birthday! Harry and I are awfully sorry we couldn't be there and all. But I guess that can't be helped. Twenty-three huh? How does it feel? Same as twenty-two? I have a present for you, but it'll have to wait. Stupid, useless thing that calls itself an owl is too small to carry it. Too bad Hedwig is off sending stuff to the Order. Oh well.
Harry and I are somewhere in Cornwall, but who knows where we'll be when you get this. We're finishing off a small group of Death Eaters who just won't see to bloody disband. Stupid buggers, guess we'll have to teach them a thing or two! Funny how we all thought that this would all end when Voldemort was gone? Anyway, I got to make this short, Lupin just got back... looks ruddy mad too. Things must still be going bad with the Ministry. Guess having Fudge gone didn't solve much either. Life is too bloody complicated.
Ron
PS: Just fond out we're headed to France next week. I'm going to miss the Quidditch playoffs. Again.
**
She smirked, reading the postscript, as she thought of her red haired friend. No matter how old they got, Quidditch was something he would never grow out of. Her fingers lingered on the parchment, dancing over the ink, as she tried to pictured Harry and Ron. She hadn't seen them in months. They seemed so far away... She sighed as she reached for the other letter; it started in a similar fashion:
**
Hermione:
Hullo, and Happy Birthday! You're twenty-three - no, wait, I suppose you'd be twenty-four if you count the time with the Time Tuner. Doesn't that seem like ages ago? How is your research going? I always knew there was a reason for all that studying. Turned out useful in the end, huh? Anyway, Ron probably told you that were headed for France in a week - he's still grumbling about the playoffs. It's a shame we can't go. I really do miss Quidditch. I miss a lot of things really.
But enough about that. Dumbledore is having difficulties with the Ministry still and Snape's gone and lost his job because of it. Don't really know where he is now... but I think Dumbledore knows. I suppose that he knows most anything, really. The situation reminds me a bit of Sirius, having to run and all. But I promised I wouldn't write about the past. We'll get everything straightened out - this all has to end sooner or later right? Well, I'm going to talk to Remus now. I don't quite think I've ever seen that man pissed. Frightening really.
Love,
Harry
**
Hermione's eyes examined the paper once more, trying to ignore the sad, regretful tone of the letter. She sighed, audibly distressed as she set the parchment down and thought back to the information revealed in the paper. Snape on the run? What was the world coming to? She sighed, bloody shame really, he was an awfully good Potions professor - the students weren't going to learn a thing without him. Her fingers drummed against her thigh, he'd always been difficult, but really - he taught you things and, well, she'd come to respect him over those seven years. Glancing out the window, her eyes scanned the landscape wondering idly where he was. Biting the inside of her lip she looked back into the room, books crammed on desks and scrolls discarded everywhere, as she let all thought of the Potions Master slip from her mind. Why did it matter where he was anyway? He could take care of himself and she had things to do, research to do... after all it was the sensible thing to do. And Hermione was always sensible.
*****
Author's Notes:
Well here it is my first Harry Potter fic. And it is HG/SS - a pairing I've found becoming quite an obsession of mine. This was short, but it's the Prologue and its supposed to be! Please, please review... for someone who's been writing for quite sometime, I'm feeling very insecure about this particular piece of fiction.... Anyway, more to come!! (I'm afraid whether you like it or not!!) ;)