A/N: Thank you so much to all of my reviewers! I will respond to each new review at the end of the chapter.
As a warning, there is some mild swearing in this chapter. In case you're wondering, Ginny will serve as the substitute seeker while Harry is away. As you can probably tell from the title, Hermione says goodbye to her friends and "hello" to a certain someone. Hmmm... I wonder who it could be?
Chapter Five: Goodbye and HelloHermione walked with Harry and Ron to the Hogwarts Express, thinking that it was the longest walk of her life. For the first time in all her years at Hogwarts, she would be alone. She had other friends of course, but her bond with Harry and Ron was special and she would definitely miss that. Stop being so overdramatic. They'll be back before you know it. Finally, the two boys turned around to face Hermione, who wasn't crying at all much to their surprise. She was miserable, of course, but there was something odd about how she was acting that seemed a bit off.
"I'm going to miss you so much!" Hermione said as she wrapped her arms around the two boys, not wanting to let go.
"We'll miss you too, Hermione, but we'll be back for the Christmas holiday." The boys stared sadly at Hermione. Ron was already missing her nagging him about the importance of doing schoolwork.
After another hug, the two boys boarded the train and waved to Hermione. The train began moving down the tracks, leaving a teary-eyed Hermione behind. She waved back sadly at her departing friends, hoping that this wasn't really goodbye.
Back in the common room, Hermione attempted to write her essay on witch burning for Professor Binns, but she couldn't concentrate. All she could think about was how her parents were no longer with her and how she would be separated from her friends for an entire year. She slammed her textbook shut and decided to go for a walk to clear her head.
She turned a corner, trying to maintain her composure. Hermione began thinking about how much she missed her parents. She remembered how her father always called her his little princess, and how her mother's smile could brighten up any room.
Hermione would miss Ron's determination on eating his weight in food every morning and how he would always complain about Snape or Binns. She would miss Harry's comforting words and the various adventures she shared with him and Ron. Hermione couldn't help feeling anxious over her friends' safety in America since they had considerably less protection from Voldemort. She silently hoped that Harry knew enough spells to get him and Ron out of danger since Ron's magical talent revolved around making food disappear.
"Hey, Mudblood!"
Hermione snapped out of her thoughts when she heard that sneering voice, and turned around, glaring at the silver-blonde haired Slytherin standing before her with his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione snarled.
"I heard your boyfriends left for America to get away from your hideousness!" Malfoy replied, howling with laughter.
Hermione's bright brown eyes darkened dangerously and narrowed. "Actually, they left to get away from your lame insults, Ferret boy."
Malfoy's eyes flickered with anger. Hermione noticed this and gave him a very Malfoy-like smirk when she saw how angry he became. "Angry, Malfoy? I would've thought you'd be happy to see Harry and Ron leave," Hermione continued, trying not to cry at the mention of their names," I mean, now you won't need Crabbe and Goyle to babysit you and protect you from my friends. Who knows, maybe you'll even get the courage to go to the bathroom all by yourself."
Hermione turned on her heel and resumed her walk down the cold corridor, leaving a very angry and vengeful Malfoy behind. But as she walked away, she heard Malfoy shout," The real question Mudblood, is if you can get through the year without the other two-thirds of your Dream Team. You won't have those two clueless and moronic gits protecting you every second, and when you least expect it, I'll get my revenge! Do you hear me? I'll make you eat your words!"
Hermione stopped in her tracks, holding back tears. She felt crying again after Malfoy so "kindly" reminded her that her friends were gone, but her anger overpowered her misery. She was completely pissed at Malfoy for insulting her friends. Hermione tolerated a lot from Malfoy, but one thing she couldn't stand was when anyone insulted or harmed her Harry and Ron.
Malfoy could swear he saw steam rising from Hermione's brown hair. She turned around and pointed a wand at Malfoy's face. "Nobody... calls... my... friends... gits!" Hermione growled, each word dripping with venom. She muttered a spell and soon Malfoy was wearing a red and gold striped shirt that flashed the words in large black letters, "GRYFFINORS RULE! SLYTHERINS DROOL!" (A/N: I know this is lame, but I'm out of ideas)
She began walking away again, leaving Malfoy and his cronies to attempt to find a way to disarm the spell. Hermione managed to regain her composure until she ran into-
"Sorry, Hermione! I didn't see you there," Neville apologized, his face flushed from running.
Hermione brushed off her robes. "It's quite all right, Neville."
"Listen, I've been looking everywhere for you."
"Really? What do you need, Neville?"
"I was hoping you knew where Harry and Ron are. They borrowed a book of mine and I need it back," Neville replied.
Hermione's lips began to tremble. Damn it! Why does everyone keep reminding me at how lonely and miserable I am? I can't take it anymore! "I- I can't help you," Hermione choked out as she ran through the corridors, blinded by her tears. Stop crying! Be strong for once! Suddenly she collided into something hard and fell on the cold floor.
"Sorry," she mumbled as she brushed off her robes for the second time that day and got on her feet.
"Hermione, is that you?"
Hermione sniffled and wiped away a stray tear as she began to wonder why she kept running into everyone. She looked up and saw a tall boy with expressive brown eyes and soft brown hair. He looked so familiar...
"Yes. How do you know my name?" Hermione asked curiously.
"You don't know me? I'm Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. You're Potter's friend, right?"
Hermione nodded. Fighting back tears. Once again she was reminded of the fact that she wasn't going to have Harry or Ron by her side. She bit her lip, hoping that her friends would not come to any danger.
Concern shined through Oliver's eyes. "Hermione, are you okay?"
Hermione shook her head, lowering her gaze to the stony floor. "No," she said quietly.
"Come on. Let's talk," Oliver said as he placed a guiding hand on Hermione's back and led her to the Quidditch Pitch. They sat down on a bench while Oliver handed Hermione his scarf to keep her warm.
"Thanks," Hermione said as she sniffled.
"No problem. Now, I know we don't know each other very well, but if you feel like talking, I'm here. Whatever you say will remain between us. I promise I won't tell a soul."Hermione wiped away her tears quickly and smiled weakly. "Thanks, Oliver for the offer, but I really don't feel like talking about this right now."
Oliver nodded. "I understand. Talking to a complete stranger about your problems is probably uncomfortable. So how about we get to know each other better and then you can decide if you want to tell me what's bothering you?"
Hermione smiled. "I would like that Oliver." Oliver flashed her his heart-stopping grin that made Hermione suddenly feel weak in the knees. She frowned for a moment trying to figure out the reason behind this strange reaction.
"Something wrong?" Oliver asked, noticing Hermione's frown.
Hermione shook her head. "No. Nothing at all."
"So, Hermione, how are your classes going?" Oliver asked, trying to steer Hermione's mind towards something more pleasant.
Hermione simply replied, "Fine." Unfortunately, Oliver's intention had the opposite effect. Her mind drifted to a memory of when she, Harry and Ron were sitting in Charms class back in third year. Much to Harry and Ron's surprise, Hermione had forgotten to read about the Crushing Charm which she was supposed to do in preparation for the practical lesson. Harry and Ron both came to her rescue when Professor Flitwick asked her to perform the charm. They had told him that she couldn't perform the charm since they had begged her to help them with their Potions essays, which took all night, so Hermione didn't have time to do the required reading. They willingly took the blame so Hermione wouldn't receive a bad mark. She sighed as she thought about how she had such wonderful, selfless friends who were always looking out for her.
She needed them more than ever; her parents were both dead and Hermione really didn't know how she would survive the year without someone to help her through her grief. She felt utterly alone and there was nothing she could do to chase away the loneliness she felt. Her parents were gone, her friends were gone, and her joy was gone. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't restrain her grief any longer. A torrent of tears rushed down her face, as she let her emotions run loose. Her body shook violently as she sobbed miserably. Hermione tried desperately to hide her tears, but Oliver clearly saw the pain she was in.
Without saying a word, Oliver took one of his arms out of his bulky jacket and wrapped part of the jacket around Hermione, while wearing the other half (A/N: Basically Oliver's coat was wrapped around both of them). He pulled her in close and she laid her head against Oliver's chest. He just held her close, letting her sob all through the night.
A/N: Sorry about Oliver's brief entrance, but there'll be plenty of him in future chapters. Anyway, thank you so much to all of my lovely reviewers:
Arianne: I'm glad you love it! Thanks for noticing the R/H/H/ friendship I worked hard to develop in this fic. It means a lot. :)
Strawberry Bloom: Thanks for your review and question! Harry and Ron left Hogwarts in chapter five during the first few weeks of the Hogwarts academic year. However, classes at the American Academy of Magic haven't started yet so they haven't missed any schoolwork much to Ron's disappointment. You haven't seen the last of them though....
Lia06: There will be A LOT more Oliver in the future. I hope there was enough Oliver in this chapter to keep you satisfied for now. Thanks for reviewing!
CrazyVoices22: There's more Oliver to come...I love your penname by the way.
ReviewerThanks for reviewing!
And last but not least...
Prongsette: I am VERY sorry for not thanking you earlier for your review and thanks for saying that my story is the opposite of "this sucks."
