Chapter 2. No More Lies
The sound of a plate crashing into the kitchen wall downstairs and splintering into a million pieces woke Hermione with a start. As she sat up and wiped the sleep form her eyes she listened to the shouting below. It was nothing new really, her mom and dad were always fighting, well at least they had been fighting ever since she'd been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All the fights were about her and magic.
Her father hated the wizarding world. He put on an act each year they went to Diagon Alley to buy her school supplies and he let her communicate with Ginny and receive the newspaper but he never wanted to know anything about it. He just considered her learning it useful to him. Like she would be able to tell him the new winning lottery numbers.
Her mother on the other hand secretly loved the wizarding world. The one time they'd gone to Diagon Alley without her father she had caught her mother reading a book on memory charms and she had sworn she had seen her mother stop and talk to Mr. Ollivander as if she knew him from somewhere before.
Hermione put on her soft black flip-flops and shook the thoughts from her mind, she'd better go and see what they were arguing about this time. Quietly she slipped down the stairs and headed toward the kitchen where the angry voices were coming from. She could hear her parents' voices clearly even before she had reached the bottom of the staircase.
"I don't know what you're taking about."
"I'm talking about these COINS being in your purse! She hasn't needed to buy anything in the wizarding world for weeks and I told you that I'm not paying for her to go back to that school! If her father has come back then by god let him pay for it!"
"Please don't be like that. She needs to go to Hogwarts. And he doesn't even know she's still alive. I didn't even think he was alive. She knows you as her father! Why are you being this way?"
"Because my dear. I swore when I took you in I would accept the child as my own as long as you would break your wand and leave the wizarding world. But now I find this wand and these books and coins, don't you dare dream of passing them off as belonging to that abomination of yours. She's told me plenty of times that she's not interested in the art of divination or memory charms. So here's the deal. She leaves and you forget about the wizarding world completely. The end. We have no daughter. That man Tom… what was his surname dear…Riddle or whatever his name is can take care of her from now on. I'm through with it!"
"Fine," came the defeated voice of her mother echoing down the hallway to where her daughter stood slightly behind the door to the library.
Hermione's hand tightened on the doorframe, as she stood still, her mind racing so fast in an attempt to comprehend everything that had been said that she almost missed her mother's agreement. As footsteps neared where she stood she flattened herself against the wall while the two adults passed by on their way to bed.
She stood there, her thoughts jumbled for at least an hour until she ran up the stairs to the attic room and tore a piece of parchment to letter size, scribbled something on it and attached it to the leg of the owl that had brought her the post earlier that day. Finally two hours later when no reply had come Hermione gave up and decided to do something that was technically a bit drastic for her. Actually it was almost unknown of her. She was going to go get drunk.
Throwing on a pair of jeans and a tank top Hermione pulled her hair into a loose ponytail at the back of her head before grabbing her wallet and leaving. Ginny had told her about a club in the heart of London once, she'd go there. Once outside the club she charmed her wand into a simple chain necklace with a small diamond on the end and fastened it around her neck as she made her way to the bar.
Unfortunately for her ears it was amateur night at the club and she had a few two many drinks so that when a couple of guys she knew from the library, where they had been doing community service the summer before, asked her to sing a song with their band for fun she agreed. Up on stage she had a moment or two where her mind argued with the reckless nature the alcohol had created. And for once that reckless nature prevailed and Hermione opened her mouth and let the words flow out of her with all the beauty of her voice and power in her. She infused the song with her magic and let the memories and images flow from her soul into the song and into the people listening. At the end of the song as the crowd cheered loudly declaring them the winner of the night Hermione knew what it felt like to be free. She had broken her very first law.
Subliminal messages were illegal in the wizarding world no matter what shape, way or form someone delivered them in. It was a wand breaking offense. But, then again, once her bloodline came out her wand would be broken anyways. They would fear her after all. Voldemort's daughter. They would shun her. Fine then; she didn't care. Before they could harm her in any way she would lay all their secrets bare. It was her right. It was only fair.
The other members of the band circled around her and offered her a spot in the group. Hermione smirked and agreed about two minutes before she used her abilities once more to get a major British label to sign the band and give them a monetary advance on the album they were to record in the next few weeks.
She checked into a nearby motel a few hours later after apparating back at her 'parents' house to get her school items. As her head hit the pillow she decided to find an apartment the next day. But not in London. Never again in London.
After finding a small apartment, the next morning around noon, to lease for the next two months in Edinburgh, Hermione finally let herself relax. She'd been too caught up in being perfect her entire life to realize exactly how tense she was all the time. She realized it two days later when she woke to the phone ringing off the hook. Hermione laughed as she realized how long she had slept. In the past six years she had never had more than four hours of sleep a night and here she was having just slept for two days straight. She honestly felt like she could go back to sleep again for at least two more days. But first the phone did have to be answered.
"Hello?"
"Hermione is that you? We've been trying to reach you for days!"
Hermione let out the breath she didn't even know she had been holding. It was just Matthew. Nothing to worry about.
"Sorry. I've been asleep."
"For two days! Whatever. Look, they want us in the studio tomorrow for at least one song so I am going to go ahead and email you some of our songs so you can memorize them and figure out how you want to sing them. That okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine Matt. See you tomorrow." Hermione smiled as she hung up the phone and walked over to the computer she had purchased the day before when she had been awake and turned it on. While she waited for the machine to go through all it's virus scans she went into the kitchen and started to boil some water for some tea. Humming an empty melody she pulled her hair back into a braid and went into the small pantry to find a tea bag.
Staring blankly at the empty shelves Hermione had a moment of pure confusion until she remembered that when she had laid down she had only meant to nap for a few hours and then go grocery shopping. Biting her lip Hermione went and turned the burner off under the water and sat down at the tiny little table she had bought. No groceries. She had to go get food.
Frustrated, hours later, Hermione arrived back at her tiny apartment with two bags of various foodstuffs and the resolution to eat out as much as possible. Quickly she put up the few perishable items she had bought and left the rest on the counter and went over to the computer to see how much stuff the base player, Joss, had sent her.
Hermione stared at the page the computer was displaying and rolled the words around in her head. Finally, when she was certain she had the lyrics that Joss had written permanently engrained in her memory she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair sifting for the perfect match. Finally it came to her. Smiling softly she began to weave the images together in her mind until the entire song was accompanied by something almost like a video infused with all the other senses.
Smiling once again to herself she sat back up in the chair and read the second song that Joss had sent her. Once she read the first four lines she knew the perfect combination again. For the rest of the day she sat at the computer weaving the magic to all twelve of the songs that Joss had sent to her. By the time she was done it was once again completely pitch black outside and her eyes felt as if someone had thrown an entire beach full of sand into them. Settling down into her bed her heart raced even as her mind stilled. What she was thinking about doing; what she was doing, was not just breaking a school rule. It was betraying a culture. It was stabbing people that she had come to know and respect in the back. Hermione smiled as the moon peaked out from behind a dark heavy cloud and lit up the smug expression on her beautiful face framed by her dark curls. She couldn't wait to get started officially.
The next morning Hermione grabbed an apple off one of the many fruit stands as she made her way to the recording studio off one of the main cobblestone streets. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. The flowers were blooming. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day. Arriving at the square stucco building she felt a wave of apprehension flow over her and she glanced around her covertly until her eyes alighted on the figure of said nervousness.
At the edge of the main road and a small dark alley a woman in a brilliantly violet cloak stood nodding at something someone, or something, in the shadows, said. Hermione shook her head and started up the stairs to the front door. It was none of her business really that the woman was frightened at what she was being told to do. None at all. Hermione grabbed the handle of the door choosing to ignore the mind-numbing lance of blinding fear that shot through her system just before a loud "crack" was heard. It was none of her business. Refusing to turn her head and see if the other party would come out of their hiding place in the shadows Hermione straightened her back, lifted her chin, and walked through the doors to begin the end of the secrets and lies. It was time.