Heyy! in a better mood now and, seeing as the mood struck me, i decided to update this story. i kno, i kno, took me long enough! but it just doesnt seem all that popular but, hey, once im finished with When It's Over? all of my favorite stories will be completed, so i have to put something into this one. i havent read any really good post HBP stories, so maybe this could enter the category...? who knows, the story is still young! i do think that it's weird, after all, that i get all of these pleas for me to update WiO? more regularly and, when i do, i only get three reviews in like two days...care to explain this to me? what can i say, im a complainer. PS, sorry that it's been two months...just lost track of time!
Oh, and to Marmalade Fever about the numerous Author Alerts, I don't know. That happens to me sometimes with certain stories and authors, it's irritating. I don't quite understand why but maybe you accidentally put me on the list twice? It's weird how that happens and only with specific stories and authors.
Rays of golden sunlight touched her ivory skin as the sun rose over the distant mountains and into her bedroom. It was not the warmth on her face that awoke her, though.
Shouts of "Wake up! Wake up!" accompanied the series of loud bangs on her door before the 'wake up call' moved onto the next room, just as brashly. Hermione rolled her eyes and moaned at the unwanted interruption of her dreamless sleep. Ever since Ron had died she had never had a good dream...
Her life in Hartforshire had become tediously routine. Augusta would pound on her door, she would wash her face and hands, careful to get even the dirt out from beneath her bitten nails before pulling on a clean cotton dress that came to her calfs along with a pair of moth-eaten knee-highs. Being raised by two dentists had taught her to floss often though out of a weak attempt of rebellion, she only did so twice a week. They would be unhappy. But the simple imaginary interaction with her parents was welcome.
She felt a surge of emotion as she recalled them. The Grangers. The closest people to her before her arrival at Hogwarts. Her only family. She had not spoken to them in over a year, as well. She was not even sure of their safety, either. She knew that Harry would never tell her if they were harmed. He knew her to well to do so and was well aware that she would fly out of Hartforshire in the blink of an eye and rush to their aid.
She moaned as she stretched her legs, still sore and cringed as she thought of Harry and his overprotectiveness. He was unbelievably overbearing, treating her like a dimwitted child. Hide out for my own safety? He wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for Ron and I. She knew how conceited that sounded but after a year of oppression she felt entirely entitled to overreact.
Dumbledore was dead and he was not the only one. The Order's resistance was waning and Harry did not want her to be there when and if something were to go awry. After Ron's death she could barely get a breath of air and she could not help but resent Harry for it. She knew that he was suffering, but what about her? She had loved him, perhaps not more than Harry did but in an entirely different way, unless she was completely wrong about his orientation. He did not give her time to properly grieve.
Hermione found it odd that he sent her away in the blink of an eye while Ginny remained in the wizarding world. She was not sure whether to think that he cared less for Ginny than he did for her or whether he believed that she was incapable of handling herself.
Hermione gazed out the window and to the horizon, exhaling in awe of its beauty. She had lived in Hartfordshire for near a year but it's overwhelming beauty was still astounding.
The rest of the morning she kept a watchful eye out for an owl but was disappointed to find none. She felt a deep sense of unease in the pit of her stomach, as though she was being watching. She did not appreciate the feeling.
She had dismissed the maid that had been ripping of the tavern, though not without force. She attempted the innocent act, but Hermione's mathematical equations had never been incorrect.
"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Kellerman!" She said warmly as the couple prepared to exit. "I hope that you enjoyed your stay!" They waved at her genially, evidently not seeing past her joyous facade. It was becoming easier and easier to put on daily.
"You know," An arrogant voice spoke from behind her. "keep that up and your face could get stuck that way." Hermione froze feeling the hairs on the nape of her neck suddenly raise.
"Malfoy." Her voice was without a tremor though her eyes revealed her terror. It was quite fortunate that he could not see them.
"Yes, though I do not appreciate the informal greeting. Lord Draco Malfoy Junior will suffice, Granger." She hated how her last name sounded on his tongue, so dirty and unworthy.
She whirled around, surveying her surroundings. There was nothing that could possibly assist her in any way shape or form. Even so early many were already drunk off their rumps and those sober enough to assist her seemed as though they would not be inclined to do so.
"You should know better than to accost me in the same public place twice. Well, you always were a slow learner." He leered at the insult, reveling in her ill concealed fear.
"False happiness and hospitality is not simply a mask that you can put on and take off all the time. Eventually you become what you pretend and that would be so much less interesting than the disagreeable Mudblood I have come to know." He commented.
"I will never be dull, if that is what you are suggesting. And I am a rather good actress. Fear that I shall always be insufferable, despite Harry's attempts to housebreak me." He recognized the fire that he had seen in her the day before and could not help but smirk.
"I never make a promise that I cannot keep." He said suggestively.
Hermione mimicked his smirk perfectly. "With the exception of killing Dumbledore, or course. Snape had to swoop in and save your cowardly arse." It was unlike Hermione to curse. She reserved such cretin speak for the ill-educated, but the situation seemed to call for it.
She was pleased to see that a tint of pink rose to his pale cheeks at her words, though he ignored them. "I said that I would come back, and I decided to do so before Harry added extra security measures." She paled at his recitation, knowing full well what he was implying. Reading her expression, he elaborated. "Relax, Granger. We just intercepted it, though we were not quite so lucky to catch your owl."
She brought herself to her full height and made her expression as severe as she could manage. "Leave, Malfoy. We were never friends and we did not exchange words on many occasions but you know of my reputation well enough to know better than to doubt my nobility." She bragged slightly, her mouth twisted into a smile that resembled a grimace greatly.
"Yes, though I assumed that your reputation proceeded itself." He said in a bored way. She could not help but be irritated.
"Well you assumed incorrectly. I won't simply put my hands up and assist Voldemort." She felt a swell of power as he cringed at the name of his master. "Nothing you have could possibly tempt me in any way, shape or form." She added slyly.
He seemed to think otherwise. "You would not go entirely unrewarded for changing your loyalties. The Dark Lord rewards his followers greatly. You will be appreciated, unlike now. You could be so helpful to Potter, but he hides you away in a snug little location, away from your friends and the battle. It seems to me as though he does not find you capable of protecting yourself." He attempted to sound sympathetic.
Hermione had to refrain from sniggering. "Oh, I'm quite sorry. Is this the part in your monologue where I'm supposed to become defensive and, in retrospect, prove your point? You forget that I was the 'cleverest witch of our year'." She recited the line she had heard multiple times before
Malfoy, opposed to seeming flustered by this, smiled. No, you did not misread this. He smiled, did not smirk or grimace or scowl. "You were the cleverest witch of the century, not our year."
She quirked one eyebrow up, though she did not let her guard down. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Malfoy. You despise me and the feeling is mutual. Seeing as you attacked me yesterday and now you are trying to inflate my ego I somehow get the feeling that your sentiments are not quite sincere." He was reluctant to agree.
"It seems that the Dark Lord's attempts at levity were not as ingenious as we had previously assumed." He said after a moment's silence.
She nodded tersely. "You will find it impossible to win me over without enchantments. Mere compliments will be ineffective." She informed him formally.
"I agree, but to bicker with the Dark Lord is to beg for death." He responded, almost agreeably.
"You will find it in your best interest to leave, Malfoy. You know me well enough to realize that I will not hesitate in cursing your buttocks into oblivion if you attempt to win my favor any longer." Hermione informed him, almost sweetly. He cast her a dark look.
"I'd like to keep my two cheeks firmly in place, if you do not mind." He replied with a sneer.
"I thought that you would. You are perfectly aware that my hexing ability renders me capable of doing so. Perhaps, if that is ineffective, I could curse a certain appendage that would make you much less of a man without it..." She reveled in his expression of pure terror as she spoke.
"We could have done this the easy...er way. But you choose the path that I would rather avoid, Granger." He snarled, turning his back to her and walking away, evidently irritated that his attempt at 'reasoning' with her had failed.
Before he could make it out the door, she called after him. "There is no easy way, Malfoy!"
REVIEW MY BELOVED READERS! just take like three seconds from your busy schedule to do so! i promise it wont hurt! i dont kno whether to update quickly or not if i dont get REVIEWS