Chapter 2.
With her hair spread out over the pillow Hermione lay sleeping. It was morning and the sun was peeking through the shutters of the tower window. Two birds could be heard chirping from the sill. The only disturbance to the peaceful scene was the small sound of scurrying footsteps climbing the stairs nearing the door.
"Hermione!" Ginny burst into the room. Seeing the girl still asleep she leapt onto the bed her frilly nightgown poofing around her. Immediately dust rose from the mattress. "Hermione, please get up! We simply must go into town again!" The princess continued through bursts of coughs.
Sleepily rolling over, Hermione grunted out "Its too early, the town will be empty." After this being said Ginny once again leaped up and skipped over to he window. Wrenching the shutters open sunlight flooded the room.
"No silly it's almost nine!" The breeze coming though the small window was cool on her soft face. Ginny breathed in deeply, thinking about the amazing day she had spent in town yesterday, and the boy that she had met. Harry…
Disturbing her thoughts with a loud shriek Hermione began throwing on her uniform white and blue dress. Startled Ginny asked, "What's the rush?"
"I'm late!" The servant blurted hopping around trying to slip on a shoe.
Ginny stood by the window awkwardly waiting for her friend to dress. "You know it took me forever to find this place. I went through the wrong door and ended up in the gardens!" Her friend who was still buzzing around the room like a mad woman did not share her laugh.
After a moment of confusion in which Hermione had fallen on the floor discovering she had been trying to put the wrong shoe on the wrong foot the two girls ran out of the room and down the stairs. Trailing behind Ginny tentatively said, "So I take it we're not going into town?" She hoped the answer was no.
"Yes. I need to do all of the work I missed yesterday going into town with you." Hermione picked up her skirts and began weaving quickly through the busy hallways. Ginny tripped a little in her long gown trying to keep up. Passing servants gawked openly at the princess's nightgown. It was entirely improper for her to be wondering the corridors in that state.
"So there's no chance at all – "
"Princess!" Suddenly the high piercing voice of Jaques the butler called out from the end of the hall, stopping both girls on the spot. Looking frantic waving his arms in the air he came closer. "Your parents! Your parents wish to talk to you! Now, in the throne room! Right away!" He took a deep breath. "Please come right away."
"I'm sorry Jaques but I was just about to…"
"No!" The angry French man interrupted. "You must come and make your self presentable!" The butler grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her down the hallway. Looking sympathetically back at the Princess, Hermione ran off to the kitchens. She was so late. She would be lucky if she wasn't whipped.
Ovens were blazing, kettles were hissing and hot smells were billowing through the room. Hermione rushed into the kitchens and joined the bustle of servants moving around the great room. Mrs. Pearce, the head cook, was standing at the end of the long wooden table bellowing orders out to everyone. She was an unusually large human being with wide shoulders and long fat legs that made it easy for her too loom over everyone's work. And she was never without her long handled wooden spatula. She used it like a wand, waving it around giving orders. When she was in a certain temperament she would thump it loudly on the counter and the sound would reverberate through the whole kitchen.
"Bertha stir that faster, Marta make sure the bread is golden brown not black for lands sake girl!" Pointing a pudgy finger at Hermione who was trying her hardest to blend in with the hullabaloo, "Hermione! You're late! Take that tray there to the throne room! Spit spot!"
Despite her fierceness Mrs. Pearce was like a mother to Hermione. Hermione had been living at the castle for as long as she could remember. Being taught under Mrs. Pearce's chubby wing. All she knew was that her parents had passed away in a carriage accident outside the grounds of the castle leaving her all alone. The servants took her in and Mrs. Pearce thinking no one else fit enough to raise a baby took to looking after her.
"Hurry up girl! Take that tray on the double!" Mrs. Pearce's voice bellowed across the room to Hermione. Her bark was always worse then her bite.
After slipping on her white gloves Hermione picked up the delicate silver tray laden with neatly set tea things and headed quickly for the throne room. Maybe she would see what the King and Queen were speaking to Ginny about.
Walking down the hall she took a moment to appreciate her position. Sure she wasn't a noble lady but she was comfortable. The castle was home to her, she couldn't imagine being anywhere ells. She worked hard but had a place to stay. She was happy.
Somewhere along the wall behind a tapestry of a garden scene she slipped into a servents passage. There were hundreds of these all around the castle leading every which way. When she was little she loved exploring them and finding our where every single one went, this particular one lead straight to the throne room.
Her lonely footsteps echoed down the passage. She could see light streaming in through the end of the corridor and could hear raised voices. What was going on? She walked a little faster. She came to a stop right behind the secret door leading into the throne room. It opened up through one of the wooden panels by one of the grand windows facing the gardens. From here she could hear everything being said on the opposite side of the panel.
"This is a great responsibility that you must take on." It was the king talking. "You are of age now and must be married!"
What? Taking in a short breath she leaned in closer.
"But father I'm not ready! I don't love him! I don't even know him!" That was Ginny's voice.
The sun was beating down through the panel heating up the end of the passage. Before being cooked alive Hermione chose this moment to exit into the throne room.
Ginny was standing facing her parents who were sitting in their red thrones looking down on her. They were both quite large with fiery red hair. King Arthur had a fuzzy beard with a frown peaking through. Queen Molly was fanning herself vigorously. They were quite cheerful naturally but now both looked cross and flustered.
The queen spoke next, "Ginny that is no matter! You will over time." Hermione feeling out of place walked briskly to the small table between the two thrones.
"This kingdom will one day be yours, now that your brother has passed. Being a princess we need to find someone suitable for you to marry and to run this kingdom when we are gone."
"And we've found him." The queen was smiling now. "Prince Draco, from the Fourth Kingdom, and he's coming here today to meat you!"
What? In shock for her friend Hermione jumped, sending the tea tray flying right onto the Queen's lap.
Silence ensued.
The only sounds were the clattering of the tray to the floor and the soft dripping noise coming from the queen's heavy and now wet dress.
Hermione stood there in shock, terrified of what she had just done. She would be discharged for sure!
The king looked ready to explode, the color of his face matched that of his frizzy hair, maybe even darker. But to her surprise, Queen Molly looked up at her and smiled.
"Don't worry girl. Its not my favorite dress anyway." Laughing a little, "But please do go and fetch some towels for me."
Nodding and curtsying quickly Hermione rushed out of the room, all thoughts of Ginny marrying out of her mind. When she returned all she saw was the princess running out of the room with tears streaming down her face. What had happened to upset her even more?
"Girl, please come here." The Queen called out to Hermione. She had just been standing there staring at the door thinking to her self, holding the pile of fluffy white towels while the Queen sat uncomfortably in a puddle of tea. She blushed at her mistake. The servant girl walked over to the two thrones and began cleaning up the mess she had made. "What is your name child?" The Queen asked in a friendly tone.
"Hermione Granger ma'am." She stood at the front of the room alone with the Queen. The king had left when Ginny stormed out.
"Do you know my daughter well?"
Hermione thought carefully how to answer this question, not wanting to have to bring up the expedition the two girls shared yesterday. "Only a little ma'am."
Chuckling the Queen said, "I know about your little adventure yesterday Ms. Granger. Don't try and lie." The servant girl froze once again terrified.
"I'm sorry." Her voice shook even through those two timid words.
"Don't be so frightened. It was good for her to get out. Especially before the news we gave her this morning." It was silent for a moment as Hermione helped the Queen dry off. She didn't know what to say.
"I would like you to be her companion. She likes you and it will cheer her up to have a friend during this time." Hermione was shocked once again. Her companion? That's not possible, she was not noble and had no station or rank. This position was only given to those favored by the royal family. Timidly Hermione voiced her thoughts, "But your highness, I am not noble."
"Oh, don't fret about that. Am I not Queen? I have thought about it and where is the harm in bending the rules now and then?" She winked up at the girl. "From now on you will be known as Lady Hermione Granger, what do you think of that? My very distant cousins daughter!" Hermione's face glowed with excitement as the queen talked. "You mustn't let the King know though. I might have power over many things but not over him. That takes entirely too much work."
As the Queen laughed Hermione stood ready to leave. "Lady Granger before you leave and assume your new duties, please may I ask a favor of you?" Queen Molly extended her hand out to the girl. In it was a small tea stained handkerchief. Blushing again thinking of her clumsiness Hermione took it. "Please replace the ribbon. I'm quite fond of it." She looked lovingly at the pink ribbon. "The King gave it too me when we were married." Sighing she added, "Take it into town to Madame Bodine. She works wonders and will be able to get the stain out."
"Yes your majesty." Curtsying, the no longer servant girl left the thrown room. With thoughts of all the noble duties she would have to learn running through her head she headed nervously to town.
The street was bustling and busy with the talk of the new prince coming to the kingdom. Fine cloths were hanging from wooden cart to cart. Smells of flowers, perfume and soap mixed together in the air. Cart runners and noisy shoppers eyed Hermione as she walked by. Still dressed in her servants uniform Hermione pulled her cap close, nervously around her face not wanting to be questioned about the castles inside gossip.
Weaving her way through the familiar streets she slipped into the store the Queen had instructed her to go to. It was the same store Ginny had wandered into just yesterday. Unlike the main street outside, the small shop was quiet and empty. The lamps inside were lit despite the early hour of the day and incense were being burned giving off a strong scent of lavender. There were only two other people in the room and they stood talking at the counter.
A sweet old lady Madame Bodine owned the store, Beautiful Blooming Bodine. All the slippers, ribbons, hats and dresses were hand made by her. They were ordered from all over the Four Kingdoms, everyone knew they were the finest. Holding her basket tighter and walking over to the counter Hermione discovered that the boy Ginny had been talking to before was the one speaking with the owner.
"The white ones please, with the pink lace and flowers. They're perfect for her!" Harry was beaming. He was describing the shoes Ginny had seen him looking at yesterday. Hermione had heard of nothing ells out of the girl on the walk back from the town yesterday.
"Alright one moment monsieur." Mrs. Bodine disappeared through a pink curtain into the back of the store to retrieve the shoes Harry had described. Seeing the opportunity that harry was alone Hermione stepped forward. "Hello, fancy seeing you here again."
Harry's head spun abruptly in Hermione's direction. The moment he saw the uniform of the palace maids his face broke into a huge grin and he responded, "Hello, you are companions with Ms. Gwen! Is she with you today?" Chuckling at the goofy way he looked around the shop hopefully she said "No. She's, um, cleaning the Ball room today." Disappointment flashed across his eyes but the sight of Mrs. Bodine bringing in a soft blue box cleared that thought away. It was a pale blue color with a thin white ribbon tied at the top. Inside the small slippers were wrapped in soft satin strips.
"They're beautiful!" Hermione gasped. Mrs. Bodine smiled, showing tinny baby teeth. "Thank you Madame" Her accent was think. "Monsieur, I'm sure the lady will love them greatly." After paying the shop owner Harry beaming even brighter than before packed up the shoes. "And how may I help you Madame?" This question was directed at Hermione.
"Oh. I'm here to replace a ribbon." She handed her the Queens handkerchief. "Could you find one to match?"
"My this is a fine handkerchief!" She eyed the material closely with a monocle in her right eye. "Don't worry, there is no need to find a match, I can clean this spot out in no time!" She disappeared once again into the back of the store. Harry still stood there mesmerized, staring at the box. Hermione smiled to herself thinking of what Ginny had told her about his sister. As if on cue, Harry spoke.
"They're for my sister. She can't walk and has never had any slippers before. These will be her first. I wanted them to be the finest." He took a deep breath and kept talking, now with a knot at his brow and his bright smile gone. "My family has never been wealthy but my sister has always been fragile and sick, the doctor sees us out of charity."
Why was he telling her all this? Hermione shifted at the counter awkwardly.
"He says she doesn't have very long and I want her to be as happy as possible in the small amount of time she has left. I would do anything." He glanced back down at the box. "I sold our cow, to pay for these."
Hermione was silent, sad and happy over his story, not knowing how to respond. At that moment Mrs. Bodine stepped back into the room. "Here you go Madame, it's as good as new." She handed back the hankie to Hermione. Amazing! The cloth looked as though nothing had ever happened to it. Its pink ribbon woven in along the side shone brightly as though brand new. How had she managed to get the stains out? Like magic!
"Thank you so much, its perfect." The queen would be so pleased. As Mrs. Bodine ducked underneath the counter to retrieve a box for the hankie Harry spoke again. "Please say hello to Ms. Gwen for me. And tell her I would like to see her again. Please. And give her this." Out of his pocket he took out a folded peace of paper and handed it to Hermione.
"I'll be sure to give her your message." Smiling she took it from him and he left the store. Mrs. Bodine appeared from underneath the counter holding a tinny pink box to match the ribbon woven into the white cloth. The handkerchief fit perfectly inside.
As Hermione was happily packing away the box safely into her basket she heard loud screams coming from the street outside. Both Mrs. Bodine and Hermione ran to the door to the see what had happened. A crowd was gathering in a circle around a large black horse kicking its legs up in the air. There was a tall man ridding it wearing a fine green cape. His bright blond hair moved loosely across his forehead as he tried to calm his steed. Women were still screaming and children were pointing to a figure huddled on the ground. Hermione's eyes locked on the shaking figure.
The tall man was yelling now and cracking his whip. "Watch where you're going scum. Clear the street! No one gets in my way." He threw his head back and laughed a deep hateful laugh. More horses appeared carrying guards and other gentleman dressed in the same deep green as the man's cape. They all joined in his dark laugh.
Harry lay there helplessly in the mud clutching his leg and side. Panicking Hermione ran forward pushing through the crowd to crouch down between the dark horse and Harry, examining his leg. It was broken! She could feel rage boiling up higher and higher inside her. Standing up she shouted to the on looking crowed. "Someone fetch the doctor! Quickly!"
Her eyes then scanned the street searching for the precious blue box. She spotted it, crushed beneath the horse's foot. Trampled in the mud. A harsh cracking noise echoed through the air. Hermione turned around abruptly to face the tall man on the horse. His whip cracked through the air and an angry voice snapped at Hermione. "You, peasant, get out of my way!"
She could feel her anger boil over as her mouth opened and she yelled, "How Dare You!"
The crowed around them gasped. The man's evil grey eyes sparked with hate as he glared down at her.
"Do you know what you've done?" Her voice shook with a combination of anger and fear.
"He crossed a nobles path. Should have known better the filthy commoner." His harsh voice responded angrily, dripping with malice.
"Yes he is filthy thanks to you! And hurt!" She shook as she yelled. What was she doing? This is not her place. She thought nervously, but she stood tall.
"Do you have any idea what you've done? He might be nothing to you but to someone who he sold his only cow for to pay for those shoes, which you soiled," She pointed at the flattened box. "He's Everything! You are nothing but a filthy wicked man!"
Furious now the man spoke in a sharp fierce tone. "Watch what you say peasant! I could have you hanged!"
Ignoring him Hermione didn't stop. "She's dyeing and now he's hurt! They are both lost and all you can do is laugh and spit on them!" Taking another breath she stepped forward and yelled, "You are more common! You Rat!"
At that moment the whip cracked loudly again but this time across Hermione's shoulder and cheek. The pain finally silenced her causing her to fall to the ground with a gasp.
"That's Enough!" The man bellowed fiercely. "You have no right to speak to me that way filth!" He spurred his horse and began to turn. "Commoner." He spat after his last word galloping away down the street with the rest of his party following behind, leaving both Hermione and Harry lying in the street.