A/N: This story is after the Halfblood Prince. I created my own future for them. Hope you like it. The first two chapters are kind of introductions of the characters and their pasts. It's an After Hogwarts story. Kindly bear the story coz I am sure you'll like it later. Have a nice read!;)
CHAPTER 1: HER NIGHTMARE
She was walking down the street full of wizards and witches who stood on the either sides of the street . Her bushy hair flared as she walked through the street like an article on display . Her two best friends were walking besides her on the left and right sides with their wands out and steady in their hands. But all this could not stop her from hearing the faint murmurs that could be heard very clearly "Traitor " "mudblood" "Bitch" " Killed her own types too" "traitor"
"How could they still like her?" . The last one , she was sure was directed to her two best friends.
Suddenly a middle aged witch came running towards them with her wand drawn. She was crying out," I'm going to kill you, you bitch! You are not worthy of all this. You are a traitor . You defied your own people. You deserve to be killed. I'm gonna kill you."
But then her best friend with jet black unruly hair stepped in front of her and said to the older witch, " If you want to kill her, then you would have to kill me too."
"No, Harry its alright. Let her say that. Its fine.", said the girl.
"No, they can't say that. They don't know the truth. They don't believe it !" her other best friend from the other side said.
Then all the wizards and witches started surrounding them. Her best friends took their positions around her.
They were shouting and cursing her.
"YOU ARE A TRAITOR!"
"YOU MUDBLOOD BITCH, YOU SHALL DIE!"
She could hear their yells of dislike and disgust. She could not stop tears that were forming in her eyes. She felt as if her whole world had collapsed. Those voices were taking their toll on her. Making her feel dirty, unwanted and hated. She thought only if they really accepted the truth then things could have been a lot better.
Amidst all these thoughts she could hear her best friends defending her.
" She was under the Imperious. Don't you get it.", said one of them.
" If you want to kill her then before you do that face us first", said the second one with red hair.
The crowd encircling them stopped but their shouts got louder.
"TRAITOR"
"TRAITOR"
"TRAITOR"
That was she could hear from all the sides. She couldn't take it anymore. She just couldn't.
That was it, she could not control the tears in her eyes, when she screamed, " I AM NOT A TRAITOR. I DID NOT DO ANYTHING ON PURPOSE "
Five years later, Hermione Granger woke up in her bedroom, soaked in cold sweat. She was having the same dream, or one should say nightmare every damned night since she, in reality had experienced that dreading day. It was the last day of the War when she was rescued by her two friends from the clutches of Lord Voldemort. When she and her friends had left for the Horcrux Quest, she had been captured by the Death Eaters just before they were going to destroy the last Horcrux and later face the Dark lord.
She was placed under the Imperious Curse and used as a pawn to kill people. She, though aware of her condition was not able to do anything but follow the orders given to her. She killed people fighting for the Light Side. She was found in the battle field by her two best friends who immediately understood that she was under the curse.
They rescued her and brought her back. But this was not the end for her but it was the beginning of her torture of being in the Wizarding World. Though she was declared clear of all the charges because of the lack of evidence for the charges of murders. Her friends tried to convince the Wizengamot about the curse but they did not accept it, calling it a foolish theory from their part to save Hermione.
Only she, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were the three people that mostly knew about the Imperious. Even the Order, her Gryffindor friends including her best girlfriend Ginny too turned their backs on her. Hermione knew that nobody except Harry and Ron believed that she was not guilty. She was an outcaste from the Wizarding World. She had accepted Harry's offer to live with them and their wives in a large mansion. They wanted to be sure about her security.
She smiled at the memory of her two best friends and how they had stuck to her in all ways, caring and protecting her. Harry Potter, 23, an Auror was Married to Ginevra Weasley who worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation and her other best friend, Ron Weasley worked as a Keeper for The Shooting Stars and was married to Parvati Patil who was a journalist in the Daily Prophet. Their wives found Hermione guilty too no matter how much they tried to explain the situation to them.
Hermione, then glanced over to her bed-side alarm clock. It was almost seven. She got up and went to her bathroom and after a refreshing shower came out and dressed in black trousers and a pastel green button down shirt giving her a business like look. She left her hair down which fell to her waist in untamed but graceful waves. She put up some basic makeup of mascara and slight blush and eyeliner and her favorite perfume of vanilla and peaches.
Hermione, after her regular morning routine left her sleeping chambers to head down to meet her best friends and their wives at breakfast.
The place, where they lived was an old fashioned small size two storey mansion in the English countryside. It was a house with almost 12 bedrooms but 2 of them were turned into a study and a library, by Hermione's request.
She went from her bedroom to the large Mediterranean style kitchen cum dining which had large couches and fireplaces with large bay windows showing the extensive English countryside. The kitchen was on the right side with the dining table in the center and the sofas and fireplace on the left. The bay windows behind the dining table.
As she reached the kitchen, she saw her best friends already sitting on the table waiting for the breakfast to be placed for them by their wives who were cooking in the kitchen.
"Good Morning, Harry, Ron", Hermione greeted.
"Good Morning, 'Mione", they replied in unison.
At this the three of them burst laughing. Lost in themselves they couldn't see the frowning faces of the guys' wives.
"So how was the morning?", asked Harry.
"The same dream again. I just can't stop it.", replied Hermione tears were forming in her eyes as she recalled the memory.
"Tis alright, 'Mione. Just hope for the better", said Ron.
"Things didn't change then and they aren't gonna change now.", she countered back.
This statement of hers did quieten her friends. They got up and Harry said, "We gotta go, they called us early."
They went and kissed their wives and then came and gave a peck on Hermione's cheek. They went towards the fireplace, threw some Floo Powder in and stepped into the fire saying, "Ministry Of Magic, Atrium" and vanished into the green flames.
Hermione was left alone with only Ginny and Parvati for company. Not that Hermione did not like the two but it was quite the opposite. Ginny and Parvati were not really fond of Hermione after the War, but did manage to be civil to her for their husbands' sakes.
Hermione, now headed towards the cooking area to make her breakfast. When she saw Ginny and Parvati there she thought that a simple conversation wouldn't be bad. But, Oh Boy! She was so wrong that a simple conversation could lead to letting go of pent-up feelings.
"Good Morning to you, Ginny and you too, Parvati.", said Hermione cheerfully, looking forward for their replies.
But she didn't get any greetings, only some grumbling. Frowning at what she heard, she tried again to strike a conversation.
"Is everything fine?", Hermione queried in the most subtle way she could manage.
"Oh My! Hermione! You 're askin' us whether everything is fine! Well, Shouldn't you be already aware of the cause due to which nothing's fine?", Ginny replied in a mocking tone.
"Nothing's fine, Hermione. And you 're the one sole reason responsible for that!", Parvati snapped.
"You 're the bloody fucking reason why our husbands hardly look at us.", Ginny spat with venomous tone.
"All they care about is HERMIONE. ' 'Mione this, 'Mione that ' is all I hear from Ron's mouth.", Parvati rambled on.
" 'Such a bad dream. How could they say all that about our Hermione' is all that Harry talks about. All that Harry discusses with me is your fucking nightmares & dilemmas.", Ginny continued with her taunting.
Hermione watched in shock and an open mouth hearing how the two other women went on and on cursing her presence in the house. All Hermione could do now was to stop the tears of unhappiness falling from her eyes.
"I ..don't …understa-", Hermione mumbled.
"She says she doesn't understand and they call you the smartest witch after Ravenclaw. Ha! What is there to understand? Uh? Hermione.", Ginny cut through.
"Let me put it straight for you. YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE, HERMIONE. You are a traitor, a person who killed innocent people. WE HATE YOU !", Parvati spat at her.
"I ..didn't …kill ..anybody. I was ….under the …Imperious Cur-", Hermione choked out between the tears that now streaked her cheeks, before she was interrupted again.
"Yeah! Yeah! Don't give us that shit! We don't believe that crappy story of yours that you fed our husbands.", Parvati said , cutting through Hermione's sentence.
" Coz of you, we don't have the privacy that we want. All you have to do is to think up some bloody dramatic nightmare and start screaming to get our husbands out at night and all we can do is to wait till they come back after bloody calming you down.", Ginny accused her.
"I never meant to hurt you.", Hermione quietly replied.
"Drop that 'holier-than thou' act, Hermione. You can get all the sympathy you want from Harry and Ron but not from me or Parvati.", Ginny spat back at her.
"Why don't you just get lost from here, uh? Things would be so much better for us and our families if you weren't here.", Parvati said, bluntly.
"I don't get you. Why are you still here after so much humiliation?", Ginny asked her.
Hermione gaped in shock and surprise at the words that met her ears. She could not believe that these words were coming out from the people she loved. Did Ginny and Parvati, just say that they want me to leave, thought Hermione.
She understood that her presence was bothering Harry's and Ron's married lives. She never wanted to be the third wheel, but the recent revelations told her otherwise.
Her best friends may have never mentioned this but their wives' views did make her start thinking again 'bout her place there. She wanted to leave so that at least her friends could have their 'happily-ever-after" endings.
She ran back to her bedroom, in tears after hearing Ginny's words that were filled with loathe and distrust. She slammed the door shut, before slipping down to the floor in emotional pain. She cried and cried, her eyes pained, her throat choked, her nose clammed up, her head was spinning but even more her heart was burning with the pain and realization that had taken over her.
Hermione contemplated over the things that she had heard. Those words were true, she thought. How could I never see that coming? Why didn't I realize that before so that I could have made their lives better earlier?
She kept thinking of what to do and, finally, after a lot of reasoning she made the difficult decision.
It was almost 7:30 PM, when Harry headed towards Hermione's bedroom to call hr for dinner downstairs.
He first knocked, " 'Mione, you in there? Come on, you 're late for dinner.", he said, thinking how his friend was never late for anything be it homework or dinner.
No response.
"Come on, Hermione. I know you are in there coz library is empty. Come on, dinner's getting cold", he said, only to be met with more silence,
"Ron! Come up fast and ask Hermione to come down.", Harry shouted downstairs to call his red-head friend.
Ron came running up and banged at Hermione's bedroom door.
"Hermione, come down fast. I'm dying of hunger." (BANG)(BANG) "Oi! Minniekins'. Tis' not funny.", Ron hollered at the wood, expecting his friend to open the door on hearing her ridiculous nickname.
Still no response. Harry and Ron exchanged a worried glance.
"We 're comin' in, 'Mione. Alohomora.", Harry said as he cast the spell at the lock.
As the two men entered the room, they expected to find their female friend to either be sleeping or be in the bathroom but all they found was an empty room.
The bathroom door was open and it was empty while the bed was neatly made up.
A sole letter was placed on the light blue covers of the four-poster bed, addressed to Harry and Ron in neat hand writing. Ron saw it first, he picked it up and asked Harry to come close so they could read it.
Dear Harry and Ron,
All these years you have cared for me and protected me from all that was bad. But now I thought, it was time that I let you lead your individual lives and I live mine too.
I need to face the truth and accept it. I need time for myself. I want you guys to understand that I will not hurt myself in any way.
I'm leaving only for the better of you two, and myself. Please, guys, don't try to look for me because I need time and I promise to return when I'll be able to face the problems.
Hope you live your lives to the fullest.
Love to Ginny and Parvati.
Goodbye.
Yours,
Hermione.