A/N: I'd like to say that I got a review saying that Hermione/Ginny being paired together in this story is "disgusting" but on the first chapter I said this is a femslash so...if you don't like it, don't read it. Anyway, this is short, but this is a build up of what's to come so enjoy and review(:
Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me, it's J.K. Rowling's.
"You're such a mudblood…"
It circled through her head and she cleared her throat slowly before wrapping her arms over her chest in a protective manner, trying to control the tears that were begging to come out. Her own daughter had called her the one thing that broke her every time she heard it, the one word that brought back the torture and the pain from the manor in her seventh year. The way Bellatrix had smirked down at her, the way her breathe had blown across her face, and the way the wand had dug into her wrist.
How could her kind be so hated? What was so wrong with being a muggle born? Her magic was still the same as everyone else's; she was still strong and steady. The witch couldn't figure out why everyone had been so rejecting of mudbloods, they were just like everyone; they had wands, they were magical, and they believed in spells and creatures. The brunette sighed heavily before turning onto Diagon Alley and making her way down the dark corridors.
"Well, lookie what we have here!"
Hermione felt her blood go cold as she heard the familiar voice behind her and slowly she turned to face Draco Malfoy standing with a bunch of his friends, all five of the men obviously drunk. Straightening her shoulders, the woman attempted to seem more put together as she looked at Malfoy with an air of disgust and superiorly.
"Hello Malfoy, I haven't seen you in a while." Hermione replied with a tight smile as she watched the man scoff before he removed his wand from his jacket pocket, twirling it playfully as his boots crunched the dark soil of the alley way while his blue eyes glowed with something that Hermione couldn't exactly place. "I was just on my way home, was there something you needed?"
The man was silent as he ran a single finger up and down the length of his black wand, his gaze flickering over the figure standing a few feet away from him; he wasn't going to lie, the years that had followed the war had been kind to Hermione Granger. She was still beautiful and her hazel eyes still shone with strength and knowledge, her caramel curls still bounced with each step she took, and her smile was still bright enough to cure a sickness.
And it made Malfoy hate her.
"Granger, walking all alone in an alley way, is that such a smart thing to do? You never know what kind of things could be…lurking about. Just because you, Potter, and Weasel destroyed you-know-who doesn't mean that everything is just perfect again." Malfoy snarled as he neared the small woman, watching as Hermione attempted to dismiss her anxiety to depart. "Tell me, Hermione, you still believe in the evils of this world, correct?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at the man, he was still the insecure arse from their years at Hogwarts together; she suddenly understand what Harry and Ron had meant when they said not everyone would change because of the good they had done, it was obvious Malfoy would always be bitter.
"Leave me be, Malfoy." Hermione ordered in a soft tone, turning away from the blonde man as he and his drunk friends gave laughs before advancing on her, the witch crying out as Malfoy latched his fingers around her small wrist and pulled her to a stop, spinning her around to face him. "I said leave me be, you vile ar…"
Hermione was stunned quiet as Malfoy's empty hand came barreling down to her cheek, her head slinging to the side from the force of the blow as she cowered and whimpered. The men gave chuckles of utter amusement, feeding off her fear as she backed herself against the alley wall and felt around for her wand, her fist curving around it as Malfoy appeared before her with a sinister look in his eyes; it was a look that matched Bellatrix Lestrange all too much.
Malfoy eyed the brunette with a look of disgust in his blue eyes, he had been waiting for this moment since the first time he ever laid eyes on Hermione Granger in their first year; she had been cocky and her nose was always buried in a book, Malfoy had been waiting to knock her off her high horse for years. He hated the way she knew everything, he hated the way she was always right, he hated the way she was always trailing after Potter and Weasley like a loyal puppy dog, but mostly he hated the way her life was so damn perfect.
She had the perfect job, off working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and finding a way to make the lives of the house elves better. She had the perfect wife, when the war had begun he watched from the sidelines as Ginny and Hermione made love eyes at one another and Ginny cried every time the mudblood's name was mentioned. They even had the perfect kids, a precious little boy who was smart and funny and that stupid little girl…she was just like her mother, full of herself.
"I've wanted to do this for years, Granger." Malfoy admitted as he gave her a small smirk, swallowing hard against the lump that was rising in his throat as he raised his wand and watched Hermione stare at him with large, doe eyes. "Every time you raised your hand, every smile you wasted on a Weasley, every assistance you gave to Potter…I've been counting the reasons to kill you. And now, I have you right where I want you."
"Expelliarmus…"
Malfoy watched in horror as his wand was ripped from his palm and landed a few feet away, without another thought he raised his hand and allowed it to come down twice as hard on the woman's face, Hermione crying out loudly as she panted and narrowed her eyes at the man. She wasn't going down without a fight; she had too much to live for.
"You're not going to control me anymore, Draco. You and your horrid family aren't going to make my life so damn miserable anymore, your aunt is dead and I'm so glad. In fact, my mother-in-law killed her! And if that wasn't enough, my brother-in-law and my best friend went and killed your father as well, so why shouldn't I be the one to kill you?" Hermione hissed as she glared up at the man, watching as his chin quivered fearfully.
She had never felt in so control before, the way he was becoming a quivering mess to her and the way his blue eyes no longer held that superior glaze to them. Hermione knew she had him in the palm of her hand, but she had forgotten the two were alone and when the feeling of an unbearable pain slammed into her side the witch dropped and curled her knees up to her chest in an attempt to make it fade.
Everything around her blurred together as the words of the torturing curse were spoken over and over, each green jet of force slamming into her and bringing her into another round of twitches and curses as her back arched off the dirt alley way while her fists curled. Blood rushed through her ears, her chest heaving as she finally found a sense of release in the darkness that surrounded her in that moment.
"It's been nearly three hours, Ron, and her hand hasn't moved!" Ginny snapped as she pointed her finger towards the clock hanging on the living room wall, Hermione's face still planted on the lost portion of the clock; her wife had been gone for three hours and Ginny had been pacing for three hours, she knew she wouldn't be able to rest until Hermione was back in her arms. "Please, you guys have to go look for her. I'll stay here with the kids."
"Gin, maybe she doesn't want to be found." Harry offered the woman as he stood from the arm of the chair he had been perched on; Luna snuggled into the maroon colored furniture as she flickered her gaze from her husband to her best friend. "This is Hermione, whenever she needs to get away from her thoughts she walks away. She needs time to cool down, time to think about all of what happened."
"I've given her three hours, Harry. Now, either you get out there and find my wife or I'll do it." The tall red-head hissed as she glared at the man standing a few inches away from her.
"She's right, mate. Hermione likes to take her time and be by herself, but this is a bit ridiculous. We should get going, Diagon Alley will be getting dark soon." Ron sighed as he moved towards Harry, the man nodding before he grabbed a hold of Ron and the two spun out of sight; dropping into the middle of the streets of Diagon Alley, the two looked around and swallowed hard at the silence.
This place had brought back so many good memories, good times that they would never forget and the silence that surrounded them made them sick to their stomach because they knew out there was a large piece of each good memory they had. Harry nodded his head to the left and Ron nodded in agreement before they split up and searched out Hermione.
Harry frowned as he called for his friend again, the name echoing off the bricks of the alley walls as he frowned before leaning against the Flourish & Blotts, he smiled softly to himself as he remembered catching Ginny and Hermione in this store.
Flashback
"And the twain go toot-toot and the pwane go zoom-zoom while the cwar go voom-voom!" A mini version of Harry Potter sat strapped in his stroller as he looked around the area of Diagon Alley, Harry smiling fondly at his three-year-old son as he babbled away about the muggle book Hermione had bought him a few days earlier. "Dada, Auntie Mione says that the wight way to the bwook store is wight over there! She wikes to go there lots and lots!"
"Yes she does and that's because your Auntie Mione likes to read her books, she reads lots and lots because she's extra smart. You like it when she reads to you, right James?" Harry questioned with a raised eyebrow, watching brunette locks flop up and down as James nodded his head happily causing the man to chuckle as he shook his head. "Yeah, she used to read to me and Uncle Ron all the time…even when we didn't want to hear it."
Harry continued to push the stroller along the path in Diagon Alley, Luna was working late at the Quibbler so Harry had agreed to meet with Hermione and Ron at the Leaky Cauldron for some drinks and some catching up. Originally, he hadn't even planned to bring James with him but his son hadn't been feeling completely well so instead of sticking a sick three-year-old with Molly Weasley, Harry had dressed his son in warm clothes and had apparated himself to Diagon Alley.
As he wheeled past Flourish & Blotts he caught sight of Hermione's hair from the display window and he smiled, she had started working there a little bit after Ginny had started playing for the Holyhead Harpies, she had gotten it to keep her mind off Ginny so she wasn't constantly wondering if her girlfriend was being pelted with large, hard Quaffles or Bludgers. Harry pushed the door open to the book store and furrowed his brow at the quiet area, it was seemingly empty.
But a giggle alerted Harry of her presence and quickly he put the brake of James's stroller and moved around the book cases, looking for his best friend and coming up empty. Just as he was about to give up, he caught sight of caramel curls and whirled around, his jaw dropping as he gaped openly at the scene playing out before him. Ginny had pinned Hermione to a wall, the older witch's legs wrapped tightly around her waist as their lips moved in a frenzy pattern together.
"W-wait, Gin, is th-that James?" Hermione panted as her girlfriend moved her mouth to her neck, diving into the skin and sucking furiously as she worked her hands over Hermione's bum, her hands buried in the brunette's back pockets. "Gin, ba-baby, stop. If James is…oh God, if James is he-here that me-means Harry is t-too."
Harry blushed madly as he realized he hadn't made his presence known and with an awkward clear of his throat, a pair of hazel and brown eyes fell to him as Hermione squeaked and Ginny set her girlfriend back down their faces both biting red as they shifted around nervously and attempted to fix their wild clothes and hair. Ginny was the first to finish and she looked to Hermione who was tugging at her blouse, the red-head smirking as she reached up to smooth the screwed up hair that belonged to her girlfriend.
"Harry, this isn't what it looks like! Well, I mean it is, but we didn't think anyone was going to show up and Ginny just got back from her weekend trip with the Harpies and we haven't seen each other in a while, I missed her, you see. I just wanted to show my affections and I…I'm really sorry, I didn't think anyone was going to show up." Hermione blushed as she ran a hand through her hair before glancing over to James who was gurgling away. "Ooh look, it's my handsome little godson."
Hermione rushed off and took the three-year-old out of the stroller, James squealing out her name as he clung to her and Harry chuckled lightly at the sight before burying his hands in his jean pockets and wondering over to Ginny, the red-headed woman watching Hermione with a half-smile on her face and a twinkle in her brown eyes that made Harry bite his lip and shake his head, he knew that look at to well, that was the look he gave Luna right before he proposed.
"So, when do you plan to do it?" Harry questioned in a low voice and when Ginny snapped from her thoughts she turned to stare at Harry with a furrowed brow as she cocked her head to the side in question before he smiled. "Propose to my best friend, when do you plan to do it?"
"Wh-what? How did you…how did you know I was planning on proposing to her?" Ginny demanded as she grabbed the wizard by his elbow and dragged him a few feet away from Hermione's sight, staring into his green eyes and seeing a spark in them that made her crack a light grin. "Seriously, I've been keeping it a secret for two months and if you know then that probably means she knows, so how the hell did you figure it out? Did Ron squeal?"
"Merlin's beard, Gin, no one told me! I've just seen that look before, I've worn that look." Harry reminded the witch as he nudged her lightly and watched her rock slightly before heaving a heavy sigh and dragging both hands through her hair and then he noticed the look of anxiety swimming through her normally calm coffee colored eyes. "You say you've been keeping it a secret for two months, right? Well, what's kept you from popping the question?"
"She's way too good for me, Harry."
"Well, of course she is. She's Hermione!" Harry reminded the woman before he frowned at the horrid look she gave him and quickly he covered his tracks. "She's my best friend, Gin. In my eyes no one is good enough for her, no one could ever understand the multiple levels of Hermione Granger. Hell, I've known her since I was eleven and I don't know all of her…but, you do. So what if you don't feel like your enough for her? She thinks you are!"
"Yeah, I guess your right." Ginny sighed, nibbling her lower lip as she spared a glance to Hermione, her eyes soaking in the older witch as she playfully threw James in the air and laughed along with the squealing boy as she hugged him close and showered him with kisses. "I love her so much, and watching her with James right now…I can see her doing that with kids that have red-hear or big hazel eyes, I can see her with our kids."
"Me too, she's gonna be a great mum one day." Harry agreed as he watched his best friend with a proud glint to his eye, after all the things Hermione had been through he was so glad to see her end up with everything she had now. "And she's going to be an even better wife once you finally ask her. When do you plan to do it anyway?"
"Tonight," Ginny answered without a single hesitation.
End of Flashback
Harry ran both his hands through his hair and chuckled at the memory of that night, because that next day at two in the afternoon Hermione had shown up with an excited squeal, thrusting her diamond ring into his face as Ginny stood a few feet back watching with an adoring look on her face. He had even endured the dreadful talk of their wedding that went on for almost two hours, Luna encouraging it as they planned ways to dress up James for the ring bear.
Shaking his head, Harry focused back on the task he was on; his best friend was out here somewhere and had a wife pacing the floor at home. He needed to find Hermione, hug her, scold her for running away like that, and take her back to the woman who loved her more than anyone.
"Hermione!"
"Mione, where are you?"
"Hermione, come on, where are you?"
Shivering in the corner of the alley, Hermione could make out the soft glow of a wand as the sound of rocks crunching under feet became louder. She could barely make out the figure that was walking closer, her head to focus on the pain that whirled around it and her body attempting to warm itself as she cowered away beside a dumpster. She didn't know how long she had been there, she really didn't care, all she knew was she was in pain and it wasn't going away.
The brunette witch winced as her t-shirt peeled itself away from the cut it had been stuck to, the dry blood caking itself to the skin as fresh blood slowly made its way out to wash the maroon away. Tears stung as they fed themselves to the cuts along her face, the salt seemingly laughing at her as it caused a single sting and a fresh burn.
"Hermione?"
The witch winced and whimpered as a face came into her view, two hands reaching out to cup her arms as she pulled away from her safe zone and for a moment she attempted to fight the hold; fear shook her as she thought of Malfoy returning to finish what he started, returning to cause her more pain then she already felt with each breathe she breathed. But these hands were warm, gentle and the voice was urgent and seemed to be chocking on tears.
"Oh God, Mione, what in the bloody hell happened to you?" Ron hissed as he held his best friend in his embrace, caressing her caramel locks as he felt her settle into his lap and twist a fist into his jacket as if to keep him close and he frowned slightly before chocking over the tears that were building up inside of his throat. "Harry, get your arse over here now and call Ginny! We're going to have to take her to St. Mungo's."
"What? Wh…Mione?" Harry gasped as he rushed toward the two on the alley floor, he dropped to his knees and stared in horror at the bloody sight of his best friend, the girl who had always been his rock and had always been the one to save him when he gave into the darkness. "Hermione? Hermione, can you hear us?"
"M'not mudblood, m'not…" Hermione whispered against the softness of Ron's jacket.