1Hermione dashed down the stairs, her cat by her side and the miniature trunk in her hands. She had just spoken to Dumbledore and though he had preferred her to stay until the start of school, he understood that she needed to leave to remain legally sane. It was all she could do to not skip out of the castle, screaming for joy. Never before did these steps seem to go on for so long. It was as if the castle was trying to discourage her from running out the front door.
She looked up as her feet met the last step and a look of horror washed over her face. Professor Snape was not standing more then two feet away, with a sneer across his face. Her momentum was too great and she was sure to crash into him. She shut her eyes, bracing herself for the impact she knew would come. Instead of running into him, she felt two strong hands grasping her shoulders, keeping her from moving forward. She opened her eyes and saw that the hands belonged to her still sneering potions master.
"You would think that someone who seems to so 'intelligent' would know better then to stampede down the stairs like some animal," he let go of her shoulders after he spat these words out.
She muttered an apology with downcast eyes as he stepped around her.
Without turning around he said in a cold, cynical voice, "I shouldn't expect much more from someone that looks so much like a rodent, however."
She gasped and spun around so that her eyes could meet his retreating back. She would have said something, but stunned from that verbal slap, she could only glare. How could he be so mean and inconsiderate? As he continued up the stairs, she remembered why she had been in such a hurry. In a few minutes she would be in coach provided by Professor Dumbledore driving away from this school and that awful man and that horrible feeling of eyes watching her where ever she went. Without further hesitation she began walking again, as fast as she could without it qualifying as a flat out run. With each step she felt she was getting a little freer, a little further away from the eyes.
Once she was out the front door, she felt like she could breathe easily again, like the block of cement that had been on her chest was gone. As she got into the coach, she was able to relax, and stop looking around for some spy. After they left the school gates and began down the road that would bring her to the train station, she almost felt like she could fly with the weight of worry being removed from her. It had been such a long, long time since she felt this at ease. Come to think of it, she hadn't felt this carefree since before she got her letter from Hogwarts.
All those years of worrying about being excepted, wondering if she'd wake up one morning and her magic would be gone, waiting for someone to ask her something that she didn't know the answer to and then them showing the world that she wasn't fit to be a witch. Add the worry of being killed by someone because of her parents or her friendship with Harry Potter and you've got yourself a true blue basket case.
She looked out the window and caught a glimpse of her reflection. What did he know anyway? Her teeth were normal now. Her hair was a bit bushy and seemed almost like it could pass for a squirrel's, but his hair looked like it belonged on a skunk. The only thing keeping it from being mistaken as such was the lack of a white stripe, which,-Hermione smiled as she reached for her wand- could be arranged. She frowned when she realized what she had been thinking. So what if he was pigheaded and mean and...and...and a greasy git? It didn't matter what he thought. Not at all. She was going to get on that train and she'd leave behind all this. She would travel to India, and then to China, and then to Japan, and the Americas. She'd just get up and go when she wanted. She'd just not worry about anything until the time for school to start began. And maybe not even then. She didn't have to come back. She had the money to just keep moving and the intelligence to get a job doing something she liked, like writing, or she could open her own book shop!
Hermione felt the coach jerk slightly and stepped out. She climbed onto the train, checking her ticket one last time to make sure. From here she'd go to the coast, and then board a ferry to France and then an air plane to Italy, and then one more to India where she'd stay for however long she liked. Crookshanks trotted in after her, meowing and pawing at her shoe strings. They got into an empty compartment and Hermione sat her tiny trunk down beside her after Crookshanks decided on which seat was best for sunning.
As soon as the train's whistle blew and they began to slowly leave the station, she felt all the worry about almost everything melt away. Now she became more aware of that sharp pain in her heart that was twice as distressing then her paranoia. The sadness that had been hiding underneath the coat of fret hit her with strong force. She was running away, wasn't she? It was too late to turn back now. The world outside was speeding past her in a blur and she'd taken the time to argue her way outside of the walls of the damn castle. Thoughts of her own book shop left her head. She promised her parents that she'd make them proud and so she would. She'd graduate, the top of her class like she had wanted to begin with. Hermione would be apart of the group that defeated the Voldermort and she'd begin a new family and she'd be at least as good as a mother as her own was. That was why she took everything wasn't it? So she could take it with her and begin a new life, right? She'd have a daughter with the man she loved and they'd lived happily ever after. Now who was the man she loved?
A/N: It's short, but I will get another chapter out to you soon. I promise. I just thought I liked where it ended, okay? And I added Snape in so be happy
To duj: I suppose you're right, but I had a scene in my mind that is going to be in an upcoming chapter which wouldn't work if she hadn't.
To Varcolaci (): I see where you're coming from. Is this chapter any better or do I need to take a new approach?
To my dear reviewers: thank you.