Disclaimer: I own jack.
A/N I'm just keeping the bloody thing at PG-13 to be safe for future chapters. Things will probably get a little....heated....when a certain character comes into the picture. *Girlish Giggle*
"Well, it looks as if you're as good as new, Ms. Granger," Hermione's Healer said.
"Thank you so much Mr. Grigglenort," Hermione replied with a grin of joy.
She had been cooped up in her hospital room for almost a week now. The dull olive walls had practically become unbearable for her to look at. In muggle hospitals they always had TV to watch, but in the Wizarding World few had ever even seen a television set. So, she had spent all her days lying in bed staring at her ceiling or the overly relaxing shade of green on her walls. There had once been a window in her room, and every other room at that, but Fiona informed her that a few construction conjurers had come in a few days after the bombings had begun and replaced the windows with paintings. Normally this would have been great and Hermione would have had someone to talk to and swap stories with, but alas; her painting was simply dreadful.
Maleficent Mipps was Hermione's image and she was simply unbearable. The first day of Hermione's rehabilitation consisted of Maleficent ranting on about how she lived hundreds of years ago and could have single-handedly prevented every illness to ever infect a witch or wizard.
"I was the best nurse you would have ever had. I always looked after my patients as if they were my own pets. I had the most sterile patients you had ever seen. I changed their bedcovers every hour on the hour, uncontaminated all their clothes and food with my own wand, and made sure there was never a runny nose in the ward," she would harp, her crackly little shrill voice bouncing off the floor and ringing in Hermione's ears. Fiona had to continually bring Hermione new pillows because she was secretly pulling the cotton out of hers to stuff in her ears. Also, Maleficent always had a word of advise for poor Fiona.
"You're not fluffing her pillow right! You're going to give the poor child a hump on her back the size of Fudge's nose the way you're doing it! Fiona, sterilize poor Nene's wounds, she could be developing an infection as we speak," Maleficent would rant on. Nene had been the dreadful pet name Mipps had chosen for Hermione. Luckily, Fiona had noticed Maleficent's dedication to her work and had gotten her assigned as a portrait messenger, delivering messages to other rooms through the paintings, leaving Hermione to herself for a few hours everyday.
But now she was free! Her treatment was over and all her wounds were completely gone. Mr. Grigglenort had even gone so far as to vanish many of Hermione's faded freckles from previous summers. She hadn't been allowed outside during most of her time at home because of bombing raids, leaving her freckles blotchy and half-faded. Her skin was clean and smooth as the finest silk and her hair was much more manageable after hours and hours of endless brushing and combing out of sheer boredom.
Hermione piled the remainder of her things inside her trunk and retrieved a few remaining books scattered around the room.
"Looks much better, I'd say," Maleficent said, "This is a place of healing! The way you had it the room looked as is if a herd of hippogriffs stampeded through Flourish and Blotts!"
"Yes, I'll miss you too Mipps," Hermione said with a smile and she threw on her knapsack. The ward assistant came in and pulled her trunk out into the hall. Hermione sighed.
She was finally going back out into the world. The Wizarding World she had been adopted into and now was her home. She didn't know where she would go though. Maybe she could rent out a room at The Leaky Cauldron until school started in a few weeks. Snape had returned once for her to make a list of her most prized possessions so a member of CLAW could gather them for her. He revisited about two days later with her school trunk stuffed full of the books and supplies that were salvageable and informed her that a muggle relation specialist had successfully transferred all her parents savings into a vault at Gringott's. Also, a few of her personal things had been intact and were tucked neatly at the bottom. Her most favorite thing in the world was rescued, and miraculously not harmed at all.
It was a porcelain statuette along with a letter her mother and father had given her the summer before she started school at Hogwart's. Hermione smiled at the thought of that day. She reached inside her sack and pulled out the velvet case that held the sculpture. Tucked into the corner was the rolled up letter. She slowly pulled it out and unwound the roll.
"Our sweetest Holly,
We want you to always keep this where you can see it. Your father and I don't know much about this magic world of yours, but we want you to keep this piece of our mortal world with you. Understand that no matter where you are and who you're with, mortal or magic, there will always be love. Your father and I love you so much sweetie and we always will. Remember that no matter what happens someone will always love you and someday, you will find your dance partner."
A tear slid down Hermione's cheek as she read the letter.
"Holly," she said with a sniff. She reached up and rubbed the tears out of her eye, blurring her vision. She looked up at the empty hall. All she could make out was the restful green walls and the flutter of a black cape as someone turned down a connecting hall. She looked back down and smelled the paper. It still smelled like her father's spiced cologne and she could make out her mother's elegant cursive as she gently ran her fingers over the writing. Holly was the nickname her family had always used for her. For Christmas her brothers would always make wreaths out of ivy and flowers, but she had always made hers out of holly and little red holly berries. Thus, her nickname was born, although she had never told anyone at Hogwart's about it. The only people who ever called her Holly were her parents and brothers, but now no one would ever call her that again. She was the only one who knew what it meant.
She rolled the paper up and slid it back into the box. Pulling out the porcelain figurines made Hermione's eyes well with tears again, only this time with happiness. It was still intact, and so were her memories. She set the circular crystal base upon the floor and wound the key in the back. When she released it the tiny motor inside turned and the melody began. Time bells chimed in rhythm to the song as the two dancing figurines spun in a circle on the base.
To anyone it might seem a child's toy and simple fun, but to Hermione this was the most beautiful thing she had seen. From her perspective, the figures did not just spin; they waltzed in each other's arms in perfect beat to the music. The dress on the woman was chiseled so intricately it seemed as if the crimson folds of the dress might begin to sway as the tiny feet below stepped in sync with those of her partner's. The man led the dance, swinging his partner to the phrases of the song, but always holding her tightly so she would not slip.
"I will dance like that someday," Hermione thought with bliss. I don't care what world I'm in, I know I will find my partner someday, and we will dance through life together. The music slowly stopped and the waltz ended. Hermione placed the dancers back into the box and cautiously slipped it back into her pack.
She looked down the hall and saw no one. Most of the patients were probably napping after their lunches and the nurses were probably eating. Hermione trotted over to the lounge where the nurses took their breaks and peeked inside the doorway.
"Fiona?" she asked.
"Oh sorry babe," Fiona said, "I was working on some paperwork. You all set?"
"Yep, the aid already took my bag," Hermione said with a grin, "Wait, where am I going anyways? Is a car just going to drop me off? If so, just send me to Diagon Alley and I'll rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron till school begins, then I'll be set."
Fiona laughed, "No sweetie, we wouldn't abandon you like that. We look out for our own. I'm sorry no one has told you yet, but we do get a little backed up around here."
"I understand, you've got a lot on your plate," Hermione replied, gesturing to the pile of files and papers on the coffee table Fiona was stationed at.
"Yep, quite tedious, but it is all vital in the end," Fiona said as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"So where exactly am I going?" Hermione asked.
"Well, the member of CLAW that found and brought you volunteered his home. He's a youth member, but he got his dad to say it was all right. You can stay with him until term starts," Fiona answered.
"Fabulous!" Hermione exclaimed, "I can't believe I get to finally meet this rescuer of mine. I've wanted to tell him how thankful I am for a while and I'd love to learn more about CLAW."
"Yes, it's a great organization and I'm glad they are so good at what they do. They've almost saved every wizard and witch abandoned in the muggle world in just these past few months. Once they're finished, we can finally seal off our world," Fiona said happily.
"Yeah, seal it," Hermione said softly. She didn't know how to feel about this great divide Fiona always talked about. Whenever she read The Daily Prophet there was always an update about how wonderful CLAW was and how close they were to achieving their goal. But Hermione didn't want to think about that now.
"Well, that's very nice of him to open his home to me," Hermione said politely.
"Yep, well, I hope you have a great summer and a great year at Hogwart's. Next time you're missing a limb a curse backfires come and see me!" Fiona said with a smile.
"I certainly will!" Hermione said laughing. Fiona turned and walked Hermione to the elevator. Pressing the seek button the doors opened.
"He's waiting for you in the lobby I believe," Fiona said.
"Oh! What does he look like? I should know whom to look for," Hermione exclaimed as she stepped into the elevator.
"Well, he's about 5'11, blue eyes, probably wearing a black robe that'll have a CLAW emblem on it. He's got blonde hair and hoop in his left cartilage," Fiona said as the doors started shutting. Hermione had a smile on her face as she waved goodbye to Fiona.
"Oh! And his name is Draco, Draco Malfoy!" Fiona yelled just as the doors shut.
The smile on Hermione's face completely disappeared.
A/N I'm just keeping the bloody thing at PG-13 to be safe for future chapters. Things will probably get a little....heated....when a certain character comes into the picture. *Girlish Giggle*
"Well, it looks as if you're as good as new, Ms. Granger," Hermione's Healer said.
"Thank you so much Mr. Grigglenort," Hermione replied with a grin of joy.
She had been cooped up in her hospital room for almost a week now. The dull olive walls had practically become unbearable for her to look at. In muggle hospitals they always had TV to watch, but in the Wizarding World few had ever even seen a television set. So, she had spent all her days lying in bed staring at her ceiling or the overly relaxing shade of green on her walls. There had once been a window in her room, and every other room at that, but Fiona informed her that a few construction conjurers had come in a few days after the bombings had begun and replaced the windows with paintings. Normally this would have been great and Hermione would have had someone to talk to and swap stories with, but alas; her painting was simply dreadful.
Maleficent Mipps was Hermione's image and she was simply unbearable. The first day of Hermione's rehabilitation consisted of Maleficent ranting on about how she lived hundreds of years ago and could have single-handedly prevented every illness to ever infect a witch or wizard.
"I was the best nurse you would have ever had. I always looked after my patients as if they were my own pets. I had the most sterile patients you had ever seen. I changed their bedcovers every hour on the hour, uncontaminated all their clothes and food with my own wand, and made sure there was never a runny nose in the ward," she would harp, her crackly little shrill voice bouncing off the floor and ringing in Hermione's ears. Fiona had to continually bring Hermione new pillows because she was secretly pulling the cotton out of hers to stuff in her ears. Also, Maleficent always had a word of advise for poor Fiona.
"You're not fluffing her pillow right! You're going to give the poor child a hump on her back the size of Fudge's nose the way you're doing it! Fiona, sterilize poor Nene's wounds, she could be developing an infection as we speak," Maleficent would rant on. Nene had been the dreadful pet name Mipps had chosen for Hermione. Luckily, Fiona had noticed Maleficent's dedication to her work and had gotten her assigned as a portrait messenger, delivering messages to other rooms through the paintings, leaving Hermione to herself for a few hours everyday.
But now she was free! Her treatment was over and all her wounds were completely gone. Mr. Grigglenort had even gone so far as to vanish many of Hermione's faded freckles from previous summers. She hadn't been allowed outside during most of her time at home because of bombing raids, leaving her freckles blotchy and half-faded. Her skin was clean and smooth as the finest silk and her hair was much more manageable after hours and hours of endless brushing and combing out of sheer boredom.
Hermione piled the remainder of her things inside her trunk and retrieved a few remaining books scattered around the room.
"Looks much better, I'd say," Maleficent said, "This is a place of healing! The way you had it the room looked as is if a herd of hippogriffs stampeded through Flourish and Blotts!"
"Yes, I'll miss you too Mipps," Hermione said with a smile and she threw on her knapsack. The ward assistant came in and pulled her trunk out into the hall. Hermione sighed.
She was finally going back out into the world. The Wizarding World she had been adopted into and now was her home. She didn't know where she would go though. Maybe she could rent out a room at The Leaky Cauldron until school started in a few weeks. Snape had returned once for her to make a list of her most prized possessions so a member of CLAW could gather them for her. He revisited about two days later with her school trunk stuffed full of the books and supplies that were salvageable and informed her that a muggle relation specialist had successfully transferred all her parents savings into a vault at Gringott's. Also, a few of her personal things had been intact and were tucked neatly at the bottom. Her most favorite thing in the world was rescued, and miraculously not harmed at all.
It was a porcelain statuette along with a letter her mother and father had given her the summer before she started school at Hogwart's. Hermione smiled at the thought of that day. She reached inside her sack and pulled out the velvet case that held the sculpture. Tucked into the corner was the rolled up letter. She slowly pulled it out and unwound the roll.
"Our sweetest Holly,
We want you to always keep this where you can see it. Your father and I don't know much about this magic world of yours, but we want you to keep this piece of our mortal world with you. Understand that no matter where you are and who you're with, mortal or magic, there will always be love. Your father and I love you so much sweetie and we always will. Remember that no matter what happens someone will always love you and someday, you will find your dance partner."
A tear slid down Hermione's cheek as she read the letter.
"Holly," she said with a sniff. She reached up and rubbed the tears out of her eye, blurring her vision. She looked up at the empty hall. All she could make out was the restful green walls and the flutter of a black cape as someone turned down a connecting hall. She looked back down and smelled the paper. It still smelled like her father's spiced cologne and she could make out her mother's elegant cursive as she gently ran her fingers over the writing. Holly was the nickname her family had always used for her. For Christmas her brothers would always make wreaths out of ivy and flowers, but she had always made hers out of holly and little red holly berries. Thus, her nickname was born, although she had never told anyone at Hogwart's about it. The only people who ever called her Holly were her parents and brothers, but now no one would ever call her that again. She was the only one who knew what it meant.
She rolled the paper up and slid it back into the box. Pulling out the porcelain figurines made Hermione's eyes well with tears again, only this time with happiness. It was still intact, and so were her memories. She set the circular crystal base upon the floor and wound the key in the back. When she released it the tiny motor inside turned and the melody began. Time bells chimed in rhythm to the song as the two dancing figurines spun in a circle on the base.
To anyone it might seem a child's toy and simple fun, but to Hermione this was the most beautiful thing she had seen. From her perspective, the figures did not just spin; they waltzed in each other's arms in perfect beat to the music. The dress on the woman was chiseled so intricately it seemed as if the crimson folds of the dress might begin to sway as the tiny feet below stepped in sync with those of her partner's. The man led the dance, swinging his partner to the phrases of the song, but always holding her tightly so she would not slip.
"I will dance like that someday," Hermione thought with bliss. I don't care what world I'm in, I know I will find my partner someday, and we will dance through life together. The music slowly stopped and the waltz ended. Hermione placed the dancers back into the box and cautiously slipped it back into her pack.
She looked down the hall and saw no one. Most of the patients were probably napping after their lunches and the nurses were probably eating. Hermione trotted over to the lounge where the nurses took their breaks and peeked inside the doorway.
"Fiona?" she asked.
"Oh sorry babe," Fiona said, "I was working on some paperwork. You all set?"
"Yep, the aid already took my bag," Hermione said with a grin, "Wait, where am I going anyways? Is a car just going to drop me off? If so, just send me to Diagon Alley and I'll rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron till school begins, then I'll be set."
Fiona laughed, "No sweetie, we wouldn't abandon you like that. We look out for our own. I'm sorry no one has told you yet, but we do get a little backed up around here."
"I understand, you've got a lot on your plate," Hermione replied, gesturing to the pile of files and papers on the coffee table Fiona was stationed at.
"Yep, quite tedious, but it is all vital in the end," Fiona said as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"So where exactly am I going?" Hermione asked.
"Well, the member of CLAW that found and brought you volunteered his home. He's a youth member, but he got his dad to say it was all right. You can stay with him until term starts," Fiona answered.
"Fabulous!" Hermione exclaimed, "I can't believe I get to finally meet this rescuer of mine. I've wanted to tell him how thankful I am for a while and I'd love to learn more about CLAW."
"Yes, it's a great organization and I'm glad they are so good at what they do. They've almost saved every wizard and witch abandoned in the muggle world in just these past few months. Once they're finished, we can finally seal off our world," Fiona said happily.
"Yeah, seal it," Hermione said softly. She didn't know how to feel about this great divide Fiona always talked about. Whenever she read The Daily Prophet there was always an update about how wonderful CLAW was and how close they were to achieving their goal. But Hermione didn't want to think about that now.
"Well, that's very nice of him to open his home to me," Hermione said politely.
"Yep, well, I hope you have a great summer and a great year at Hogwart's. Next time you're missing a limb a curse backfires come and see me!" Fiona said with a smile.
"I certainly will!" Hermione said laughing. Fiona turned and walked Hermione to the elevator. Pressing the seek button the doors opened.
"He's waiting for you in the lobby I believe," Fiona said.
"Oh! What does he look like? I should know whom to look for," Hermione exclaimed as she stepped into the elevator.
"Well, he's about 5'11, blue eyes, probably wearing a black robe that'll have a CLAW emblem on it. He's got blonde hair and hoop in his left cartilage," Fiona said as the doors started shutting. Hermione had a smile on her face as she waved goodbye to Fiona.
"Oh! And his name is Draco, Draco Malfoy!" Fiona yelled just as the doors shut.
The smile on Hermione's face completely disappeared.
