Chapter 6

Hermione watched Malfoy get up. She sighed, he is hopeless. Bloody fool! I covered for him! I know what whiskey smells like and he was on. Oh well.. Its over with. Now back to work. Hermione turned her attention to the books that she had placed all over her section of the sitting room. She was normally very neat with such things, had them flung and book-marked anywhere she could find space.

She looked over to see Ron sitting still on one of the chairs. She jumped slightly. She could have sworn that she saw him go with Snape. But she scooted over a little making just enough space for him to sit on the floor next to her.

"There you are. What are you still doing up? I thought you would follow Snape or Malfoy to sleep. You're not much of a night person after all." She started to open one of the books, and look at one of the marked pages.

"Yea, I just wanted to see if you're okay," Ron said simply.

Hermione looked up, "What do you mean by 'okay?'"

"You've been throwing yourself into your books a lot more, recently. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Ron, yes!" she said angrily.

He ran his fingers down one of the book's binding, "Why do you try so hard in things. Must you be so perfect?"

Hermione scratched her ink filled quill along the paper and automatically said, "Someone has to be," she didn't know what he was trying to get at.

He must have thought that as well since he then got up and said, "Look, just take care of yourself. Okay 'Mione? Is it about Harry? I know your worried about him and all, so am I, but this is too much."

"Ron, I'm fine, and so is Harry. Reading this is just something I have to do."

He picked up the book again, "Why? Why must you read-what is this? - History of American Adoption?"

"Light reading."

"What ever you say, just remember that I'm here if you need me, to talk or anything. I'm one of your best mates, right?"

"Of course you are Ron!" and she meant it.

"Okay, just making sure 'Mione. Good night. And please go to bed soon. I noticed that you didn't go to sleep at all for the past few nights."

Hermione smiled, "Okay. Please, don't worry about me."

She saw him walk to his room of the apartment and into the darkness. She spun around toward her books and found herself sitting there for hours, reading everything that she could intake on the culture's schools and landforms, until she checked the ugly kitten clock that Ron picked out, when they had to find some from of way to now the American muggle time in the apartment like place. She sighed, it was five in the morning, and she was still up flipping threw maps, the sun was going to rise any moment now. What difference would it make? All these maps and nonsense! Why do you care so much? You never meet her, would she care if she ever sees me? You don't even know what you're doing!

She goggled at all the books she had placed around her. Her flames rose and she with out thinking, she started to kick them, and throw them against the wall. Ripping out a few pages in some also. A large, leather-bound book fell to the floor with a crash after she flung it across the room. And she let out a scream, that she wasn't even sure it she could say was her's. She didn't care, after all Snape, Malfoy and Ron were heavy sleepers. No one came running to see if she was okay. No one ever did.

Hermione broke down and cried. I hate myself for this! She continually thought. How silly of me to hold on to a dream that just wouldn't come true. What's the point of looking for my sister? I came here on this mission not just to help Harry, even if that was the main cause. Jane is somewhere here in America with a foster family!

Hermione shivered as she thought of her sister. It wasn't until two years ago that she knew she had a twin. Her parents had explained to her, that when Hermione was born, she had also had a twin sister, but her Mum and Dad couldn't offered to keep the two beautiful twin girls that Mrs. Granger had given birth to. They claim it was the hardest thing that they would ever have to do, but it was because they cared so much about the girls that they had to put one up for adoption. Hermione had always felt like something was missing, and being one of two twins, seemed to be that. Once her parents told her, she would spend countless hours trying to find and contact, who her parent's named, Jane. All her hard work paid off . In 5th year, when a muggle orphanage said that Jane Granger was found a home at age two. The last that they ever heard of her, was that she was living in America under a different first name. The people at the orphanage wouldn't tell her who was taking care of her, due to secrecy reasons.

She had hoped that if she did her research correctly that she could she would find Jane, after all she was suppose to be in this country. But Hermione had soon learned that there were over fifty schools in the American State that they were in, alone. How would she ever find her sister? Hermione had sent many owls to wizards in the area that were willing to help, but no one ever hard of a girl named Jane. It didn't seem to be a common name anymore, it went out off style, according to the wizards that responded to her. Hermione had been determined to find her though. How? She wasn't sure.

I'm being silly! I'll never find her. She looked at the cat-clock again. It didn't seem as though a big deal, but according to Ron it was. He told her, when Malfoy was fancying the dragon flamed one, that the cat one would remind him of 2nd and 3rd year. That would only make things more at home, to have a reminder of a silly thing that happened those years. He won. Well then maybe there is some odd chance of something out of the ordinary happening. After all, Ron somehow convinced Snape to get that dreadful cloak. In fact I'm surprised even bought it. I shudder to think of why Ron would want it. I can't believe I even thought that I liked him in 4th year! But with out even knowing it he does seem to give me some faith.

She picked up all the books and papers that were one the floor. She found the map that pinpointed all the High Schools in America. There were over 4000. The secretary that Hermione talked to said, that the girl who was once Jane Granger was now living on the East Coast. That only narrowed it down by 2587.

Hermione couldn't help it. She studied the map for what seemed like a long time. Looking at all the pinpoints that showed where this person could be. But that's it, she's only a person. What difference would it make once she found her? Would Jane even care? Just look at her and say 'So what? I have a life, I don't need another thing to worry about?' Hermione didn't want to take the risk, not any more. She took the map, with it's labs and tacks, she ripped it in half. No more searching for her! Or thinking about her! I'm never going to find her, so I might as well be her for the right reason, which is to help Harry. That's all that really matters, isn't it? In my own reality, Jane Granger has never excised.

Hermione got up to go to bed, afraid that she would once again have bags under her eyes from lose of sleep. She left the shredded reminds of the map still on the floor, were they were greeted with the sounds of the cat clock for the rest of the night.