A beginning in the end

Prologue

November 1998

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you have been brought here in front of the Council of Magical Law to answer charges related to: being a Death Eater, participating in hate crimes against muggleborns, helping Him -Who-Must-Not-Be-Named enter Hogwarts, attempting to murder Dumbledore, housing with your parents the Azkaban fugitive, Bellatrix Lestrange and the worst of them all planning with others to restore He-Must-Not-Be-Named to power. We may now pass judgement on you for all these atrocious crimes." said the man standing up on the bench his voice echoing in the room.

Two silver eyes looked up at the man speaking and for the second time in their life they showed fear. Fear of the unknown, of what awaits in Azkaban and most importantly of their own selves. His faith laid at the hands of the judge, members and jury. For the first time in his life he had no one to run to to shield him from his own mistakes and the consequences that followed them for his very own pillar was about to be judged as well. What has become of the Malfoy legacy he wondered, now sitting there being judged like commoners. He dared to look around. None of the wizards and witches in jury showed any kind of compassion. In the far left corner the press was waiting for his sentence eagerer than ever to see him punished. He could already picture the tomorrow newspaper's titles The Youngest Death Eater Gets His Sentence: Lifetime in Azkaban.

"I now ask the jury to raise their hands if they believe Draco Lucius Malfoy for the crimes aforementioned deserves 1 year in Azkaban!" shouted the man. Unanimously, those present all raised their hands, even the press. Their faces looked tired and a bit bothered. Draco was sure that most of them would have given him lifetime not only a mere year.

The room got colder and somewhat darker now and Draco could feel the little bit of hope he had left being sucked out of him as 2 dementors were taking him out.

It was late and cold-the kind of cold that enters your bones and doesn't leave you even when you've had a hot cup of cocoa- but above it all, it was lonely. What was left of the once beautiful library were some books. Almost the entire forbidden section got destroyed and years of knowledge and teachings erased like they never existed. Hogwarts has been repaired- you couldn't call it restored as it didn't come back to its former glory, with the proud towers and grandeur. The smell of burnt, fear and despair seemed imprinted on the walls, remaining tapestry and air. So many lives lost between all these walls Yet Hogwarts stood still and tall, the proof of bravery, the kind of bravery one needs to give their life fighting for a cause. Hogwarts was now the proof of the bravery of so many witches and wizards, of their cause, of their unwillingness to be defeated, of their fight for equality amongst the wizarding world.

Looking around, Hermione knew it would take years to bring back all the knowledge Hogwarts once held between its walls or maybe it would never happen. She felt lucky to be here, to have the possibility to finish her education and still be alive, others didn't have her chance.

She didn't know where to even begin and she found herself missing the troublemaking nature of Ron and Harry and she felt even more alone. Hermione wished they'd have joined her too but she couldn't blame them. Being an Auror was far more interesting than spending another year asking her to do their homework again. She sat down on one of the smoke darkened chairs and every now and then she would pick up the quail, dip it in ink and then stop above the parchment paper. What could she write to Ron? That she missed him? Ask him about his new job? Hermione looked down at the empty parchment somewhat confused as to why is it so hard to write to the person you care about? She felt such things should come naturally, just as naturally as it comes to love them but apparently it was not her case. Perhaps it was the distance between them-both the physical and emotional one- that made her so reluctant to open herself up on a piece of paper.

Her own parents didn't remember her and she was yet to find a way to undo what she did, especially now with so little knowledge left within these walls. Or maybe she was afraid to open up in the letter because of how much more Ron meant now– along with Harry and Ginny and George and Bill and the rest. He was the only person left -other than Harry of course - that was the closest thing to what she could call a family. And yet, he'd barely write to her. He did sometimes and his letters sounded excited and she was -truly- happy for him but there was something lacking from them and she couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

Slowly and with a creak the library door opened letting in a concerned looking Ginny. The light of the lamp accentuated Hermione's hollow cheeks, the result of months of worrying, nightmares, insomnia and longing. Longing for her family, for them to remember her and for how once things were. With light steps, Ginny walked towards Hermione and neither of them spoke for a while. Ginny sighed looking older and more mature than she ever did, but then again, they all seemed older and more mature now.

"Sleepless night again?" asked Ginny in a whisper. "I heard you screaming again but I thought I should give you some space to calm down by yourself first"

"Yes, I had another nightmare, sorry for waking you up"

"You didn't. I couldn't sleep. It just feels so wrong sometimes to sleep, to be here and even come to school when.. when.. so many of them.. aren't... here." broke down Ginny.

Hermione stood up and hugged her. She understood precisely what Ginny meant. She had her own share of guilt for simply being alive when others weren't but most of the times she was able to suppress it with other thoughts, other worries, other fears.

"I know, I miss them too, but there's nothing we can do, nothing will bring them back. All we can do it be humbled by their sacrifice to making a better world and respect their memories for they will always live in our hearts"

Slowly, Ginny wiped her tears, sniffed her nose and tried to calm down. She missed Fred so much.

"Let's try to get some sleep, maybe it'll get easier tomorrow" and here it was, every evening's lie. Truth was, it never got easier and it never will. Grabbing Hermione's hand Ginny walked her towards their room in the Griffindor tower hoping that all this is only a bad dream.

But morning came and sun was up and the fire in the chimney has died hours ago leaving a nice cold reality to wake up to. Mornings were the worst, Hermione had to wake up from a nightmare into what seemed to be yet another nightmare.

Hermione looked outside the window as walked down corridors into the great hall for breakfast. Almost everyone was already there, enjoying their breakfast and chatting mindlessly with one another. The smell of eggs and tea was almost overpowering. As she sat down next to Ginny who was reading a letter from Mrs Weasley, Hermione received her very own letter from Ron. She missed him so much and was grateful for the opportunity of just replying to his letter and not have to worry about being clingy and send him yet another letter.

Hermione,

I have received your last letter but I have been so caught up with training I forgot to respond. I trust everything is alright with you at Hogwarts. I cannot understand till this very day why would you want to return there. How's 7th year going? How's being in the same year as my little sister? I know you told me you haven't made any progress with finding a way to undo the spell in your last letter but I am hoping from the bottom of my heart that maybe by the time my letter gets to you, you have found something, at least a clue. How's sharing the bedroom with Ginny? Do you guys get along well?

Mum's excited about us spending the Christmas together with them, she already made plans. To be honest, planning for things is what keeps her going, sometimes she still asks where's Fred when he doesn't sit for dinners. She still doesn't accept. It's hard for me too sometimes.. I just look at George and I just miss him so much. He has it worst though. He still avoids mirrors and starts crying whenever he sees himself. Last week I heard him calling Fred and getting mad about him not responding.

Being an Auror is truly an awesome thing everything is so new and exciting, exactly what I needed right now! I think you'd love being one as well! Harry and I got ourselves in an actual nice team and everyone is being so so helpful! It can be a bit overwhelming at first but I can feel I was made for this! We haven't actually caught anyone yet because we're not allowed on the field yet. Apparently rookies don't just go out hunting so that's a boomer. They made us learn new spells! Can you believe this?! Apparently our knowledge isn't enough! I actually thought that if I start working I can stop studying.. And guess what! I have fans! I actually had 3 people last week only asking to take pictures with me and sign them! I get recognised everywhere I go and I even had a kid point at me as tell his mom who I was. I actually really like this part. Two weeks ago Harry and I actually went into a pub with the team for the first time and I had not one but 2 different witches buy me drinks! How crazy is this? After that it kept happening whenever we went out and I was thinking about something. I'm famous now! I hope you won't take what I am about to say the wrong way, I care about you very much but it's something that I have been thinking about for quite some time. You know I hate this distance between us and I would have loved it if you wouldn't have returned to Hogwarts and just stayed with me. I can't help but feel very lonely sometimes and I hate not having you here with me which is why I think you can understand where i'm coming from when I say I think we should have an open relationship.

Hermione couldn't read it anymore. It was just another 3 paragraphs of Ron just giving arguments for his.. proposal. She didn't know how to respond to this. Was she supposed to be understanding? All she could feel was anger and before she knew it her eyes got watery. She stood up and headed towards the hall. Too many witnesses for a broken heart that should be mended in silence and private. The whole letter was shocking. So casual and cheerful and yet there it was, she couldn't understand what has happened? Where was all that coming from she thought everything was fine between them but as she thought that she realized that was a lie. She felt they drifted apart too and for some reason it was hard talking to him now as open as she used to. The solution was actually simpler than what he proposed it was just that none of them wanted to admit it.