Hello! I'm currently trying to get myself a beta to help me revise and correct this story. In the meantime, I've written two more chapters and I'm currently working on chapter 20.

This is a small chapter but it's meant to be that way.

Hope you are all doing well. Thank-you for all the support and patience.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


Year 1994, August

The Burrow

She was having trouble believing it. The image kept rewinding and playing itself in her head, the terrifying skull hovering over her eyelids. The screams of people still filled her ears, the desperation and fear on the crowd's face. They had all joined together to celebrate and experience Quidditch and ended up fleeing for their lives, trying to desperately stay alive and breathing. Entire families with children having to go through the horror of having their lives threatened without ever doing anything to deserve it. Husbands and wives losing themselves in the confusion, the terror of not knowing if they would ever see each other again. The players, who were the big stars everyone wanted to see that night, reduced to escape next to people who admired them. And the Death Eaters, those hooded figures that revelled in chaos...

All that chaos, so much chaos.

And then that ugly mark, the mark that no one had seen for nearly thirteen years. The mark that reeked of death and destruction. That mark, the Dark Mark. She could still see it, filling the sky. She could still taste the ashes in her mouth, how her throat had dried up. Did that really happen? Hadn't it been just some nightmare? A simple bad dream? Did this mean… they were back? Voldemort was truly back. Was it true?

"I guess my scar was right. He's back, isn't he?"

Hermione didn't reply, too many questions in her head for her to focus on a new one.

The four of them, Harry, Ron, Ginny and herself, were hurdled up in Harry and Ron's room, each of them holding a mug of hot chocolate. They were at the peak of summer, but the night was cold. Hermione guessed hot chocolate had comforting abilities some other beverages lacked and they needed some serious cosiness right now. The rest of the Weasley household had already gone to sleep but after trying to do the same, Hermione went up to boy's room, finding Ginny already up there with four mugs, as if she already knew Hermione would be joining them soon enough.

"We still don't know that for sure, Harry." Ron said, currently sitting up on his bed, wrapped around a blanket.

"This wasn't a mere coincidence." Harry countered from the window ledge.

"Do you think he'll show up soon?" Ginny asked, as if she were talking about an old friend that was just visiting.

"Probably. He was close. I could… feel him." The Boy-Who-Lived scrunched his eyes, touching his scar with his fingertips.

Hermione was still having trouble believing it. Voldemort was back. And the message he delivered was pretty clear: no one was safe, especially muggleborns… And Harry.

"You need to go back to Hogwarts as soon as possible, Harry. You are safe there." Hermione said from his bed.

"Right, I'm safe." He scoffed "And meanwhile other innocent people get hurt."

"That's not your fault." Ginny told him softly.

"Isn't it? I mean, all of this is because of me. If I had just – "

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Harry James Potter!" Hermione scowled, her petite finger pointing at him accusingly "You are not to blame yourself for this. And you don't get to say such atrocities. You-Know-Who was stopped back then because of you, because of your mother's sacrifice and we can stop him again."

"Yeah, mate. We can do it! I mean she's not called the brightest witch of our generation for nothing!" Ron chirped in.

"Besides, Dumbledore won't let anything like this happen again. Everyone knows Death Eaters are back now, so I bet he is working on it." Ginny smiled hopefully.

Harry released a conceding sigh, grateful for the optimism. Sometimes he wondered what he would ever do without them. He had discovered this whole new world four years ago, but more than the magic itself, he was glad for the people that had surrounded him. Ron, Hermione, Lupin, Sirius, Dumbledore, Ginny… All of them made him feel so damn lucky. If it weren't for them, all this gloom and darkness would have probably taken its toll on him. They were his anchor, his safe harbour. And today was a day he just wanted to sink away with the ship… Good thing he had them in his life.

After the Death Eater's attack and the riot during the Quidditch World Cup's final, they came back here to regroup and recuperate. Mr. Weasley suggested they stayed put for a few days, especially with Harry walking around with a bullseye on his head. Hogwarts was of course the safest of all options but Harry didn't want to leave his friends, especially when they were the other main targets.

He cringed, his gaze travelling through the window into the night sky. What those Death Eaters did to that Muggleborn couple was just the beginning. He hated to admit it but Draco Malfoy was right… to some extent. The crude words he had said to them after the muggles had been attacked, implying Hermione might be next were disturbingly right:

"Have it your own way, Potter... If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

Hermione was in danger, real danger. They all were, but… Voldemort despised Muggleborns just as much as he despised Harry. He blamed them for everything wrong in the world. What would he do with Harry Potter's best friend who happened to be Muggleborn? Merlin…

Coincidentally, the witch in his thoughts was having similar thoughts to his own. Hermione held on tight to her now cold hot-chocolate, replaying her brief encounter with Malfoy during the riot.

"Granger, they're after Muggles. Do you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

It shouldn't really surprise her how much of a vile person Draco Malfoy could be. He had proved it countless of times before but to hear him actually support this act of pure xenophobic violence blew her mind. Is this what the new Wizard generation consisted of? Was this what they were teaching other children, to hate others just because they weren't similar to them?

She had learned early on how much of a backwards society the wizarding one could be but to actually hear it and experience it from a fellow peer, even though he was a foul, evil bully with an even fouler, eviller man for a father… it was horrifically mind-blowing. So young and yet so twisted up in his head… Was this how Voldemort thought as well, when he was their age? Is Malfoy doomed like him? Having a laugh at the expense of another person's pain and shame? What has the world come to?

And what would be so funny about her knickers!? Hermione flushed furiously at the thought, taking a sip of her cold hot-chocolate. She had nice knickers… or so she liked to think.

"I just couldn't believe he would say something like that."

Hermione strained her ears, looking up from her mug.

"Oh come on, Gin! He's a bloody prick. Of course he will say that!" Ron argued.

"Who?" Hermione inquired, not picking up the conversation from the start.

"Malfoy… What he said, you know… About Muggleborns and you." Harry answered.

"Oh."

A tense silence enveloped them, the topic of last night's events still hard to talk about. Remembering it and talking about it made it all too real.

"You should've punched him again, Hermione."

Harry chuckled at Ron's statement and Hermione couldn't suppress a smile herself. Yeah, she should have. Punching Malfoy had been one of the highlights of her previous year. The sensation of feeling his nose cracking against her knuckles… she knew she shouldn't feel happy about using violence, but Malfoy had it coming. He bloody well deserved it!

"It's a shame… someone so handsome and yet so mean."

The Golden Trio all turned their heads towards the youngest Weasley, a look of dread on each of their faces.

"Gin!" Hermione gasped.

"Ginny, what the actual fuck?" Ron cursed incredulously.

"Ronald!" Hermione's harsh scowl came right after.

Harry was staring curiously at Ginny who was looking back at them, a defiant look on her face.

"What? Don't tell me you haven't thought the same, Hermione. I mean, come on, the bloke has a nice face!" Ginny seemed to be asking Hermione for some girl support.

The other two males in the room turned their stares towards the oldest witch, waiting her reply. Hermione felt herself turning pink.

"Uhm, well I… I… I haven't really thought about it, Gin." She stammered.

Had she? Hermione couldn't tell. She doesn't waste much of her time thinking about boys in general, much less Malfoy. Sure she had heard some of the girls in her dorm talk about how handsome he was and how his silver eyes would draw them in and how his smirk made him such a bad boy. She even caught one of the Patil sisters sending him a love letter once. But to actually acknowledge Draco Malfoy as a handsome fellow… Well…

Hermione would admit he did have a nice face… when it wasn't covered up with that annoying smirk – which was all the time. And he was tall, very tall. And his eyes, well, his eyes were… pretty?

"Liar! Every girl has. Come on, just admit it, he's handsome!" Ginny pressed on.

"Why are we even discussing this?" Ron interrupted, still obviously shocked at his sister's topic of choice. "What does it even matter?"

"It matters because you are all looking at me like I've grown three heads when I'm just stating the obvious truth."

"The obvious truth?" Ron continued "The obvious truth is that he's a bloody bastard and deserves every punch he can get!"

"Are you deaf, Ron? That is exactly what I said! I said he's stupid and mean, but that doesn't mean he's physical appearance isn't appealing."

"How in the name of Merlin can you even think of Malfoy as appealing!? Hermione, help me on this!"

Hermione could only stare at the siblings who were currently arguing over Malfoy's looks. She was shocked that Ginny would even think about Malfoy in that sense, but she could understand where she was coming from. Hermione, during the very rare occasions she would think about boys, had had indeed thought about Malfoy but, as she previously stated in her head, as much as Malfoy had the looks he ruined it all with his loathsome self. He could look pretty but his personality, his moral beliefs, his very being took the icing out of the cake immediately and, unfortunately, it seemed it would remain that way considering last night's statement.

"I really don't have an opinion on the matter…" Hermione didn't want to be dragged into this. She looked at Harry, hoping he would chirp in any-time soon but he was concentrated on looking out the window.

"Oh, grow a pair, Hermione!"

"Ginny!"

"I'm serious. You just don't want to upset my stupid brother is all."

"This conversation is ridiculous!

"See, Gin? Hermione thinks the same." Ron said proudly.

"What does Malfoy being handsome got to do with anything?" Hermione knew, as soon as she heard Ron's outraged gag that that had been the wrong thing to say.

"Ha-ha! So, you do admit he's good looking!" Ginny's satisfaction was evident in her smile.

"I – I … I didn't say that!" Hermione was blushing again.

"Yes, you did and you proved I'm not the only one thinking it."

"Hermione, you… I think I'm going to be sick." Ron muttered.

"At least you won't throw up slimes this time!" Ginny mocked, laughing harder at her brother's irritated stare.

"Ok, enough!" Hermione's scowl seemed to wake up the two siblings who immediately fell shut. "That is it, from both of you! This discussion is completely pointless and it interests no one. People got injured last night, alright? Things are getting serious and here we are discussing Malfoy, of all people!"

"If you people weren't so damn prudish this wouldn't even be a discussion." Ginny mumbled.

"Me? A prude? Yeah, right."

"Oh because you clearly know a lot about women, don't you, Ron?" His sister teased.

"Well… Ahem." Ron's ears were turning all shades of red as he cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the topic "I know some things, yeah."

"Enlighten me, I'm curious!"

"Will you both, please stop?" Hermione was trying to be the voice of reason. "Harry? A little help?"

The dark haired boy was still staring out the window, not engaging in the conversation. Hermione let out a soft sigh as she got up from the bed and came to stand beside her brooding friend. The two Weasleys kept going at each other, their voices in the background but Harry seemed completely out of focus. His gaze was elsewhere, as well as his mind. She knew he was still thinking about the game, about what happened at the game, what they saw… And she knew that he was still be blaming himself.

Hermione couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like to be Harry Potter. She wanted so badly to lighten his burden, to share it with him and she tried so hard to be there for him, for her boys, for Ginny, for everyone… But she was scared. She was so scared.

A tear was threatening to escape and she tried to suppress a sob. The almost imperceptible sound made Harry quickly turn to her.

"Hermione?"

The other two friends stopped bickering at the sound of Harry's concerned voice.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" Hermione stuttered, hastily wiping the single tear on her left eye. She gave him a teary smile "I'm fine."

She immediately felt Ron at her side, awkwardly looking at her while putting a warm hand on the small of her back.

"Hey…" he said, not used to seeing his best-friend like this "Sorry. Didn't mean to make you upset."

"It's not… It wasn't you, Ron. Or you, Gin." She added to the red-head witch "It's just…"

"Everything." Harry finished, reaching for her hand and standing up. Harry was growing so much, both of her boys. They were getting to so tall.

"Yes, everything." She agreed, squeezing his hand back.

Merlin, all of them were getting so tall, so… grown up. This was it wasn't it? This was the last summer wasn't it? The last summer as "children". Everything was going to change now. How would the next summer be like?

"We will handle it, Hermione. You'll see." Ginny, the youngest and so, so brave.

Hermione smiled warmly at her friends, her best friends, the friends she never wanted to lose; the friends she couldn't live without. The friends whom she would never leave. Yes, her friends, her second family, her world.

"You have to promise me."

Harry gave her an inquisitive look "Promise you what?"

"That you'll never leave, ever. No matter the time and place, no matter the consequences and reasons. You have to promise me… You'll never leave me." Hermione's tone was serious.

"But, of course 'Mione! I mean, leaving you? What the hell are you on about?" Ron asked confused.

"Just promise me, Ron!" Hermione insisted, looking at the red-head still holding her back "Please, just promise."

"Sure, yeah, I promise."

Hermione nodded at him before turning to the other male in the room "Harry?"

"I promise, Hermione. I'll never leave you." He said softly.

"Gin?"

The other girl in the room gave her a smile that could brighten up an entire village "Who else is going to teach you anything about boys, Hermione?"

Both of them giggled, Hermione slightly embarrassed with it all as Ron and Harry rolled their eyes in fake annoyance.

Yes. Her friends, her whole world. They would stay with her, always. And it was always going to be like this, no matter the time and space, and consequences and reasons. The four of them, together, is where they belonged.

And Voldemort be damned if he was going to fucking mess with that!


Thank-you for reading :)

Hope you are having a wonderful day/evening/night wherever you are in the world!