Here's chapter 4

The summer between Hermione's first and second year.

Maintanence:

Thought

"Normal speaking"

"Spell"

Nonverbal Spell

Thanks to all my reviewers: Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, and Kymie29

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, although if I did they would certainly be locked in my basement.

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Hermione watched as her new friends left with their families; Harry had Sirius pick him up and Lupin would be back from Hogwarts in a week, Draco walked out of the station with his parents, Katie was busy sticking her tongue out at her little sister, and every other student had found their family.

Hermione sighed and forced back the self-pity that was rising in her. Crying won't change anything. For now I need to put on a smile and say goodbye to my friends.

Harry waved at her and she walked over to where he was standing with Sirius. "Hey Hermione, how was your first year?" Sirius asked. He looked at her as if he knew something and she looked over at Harry, who shrugged sheepishly. I guess he already told Sirius about our escapades this year. O well.

"I had a great year, thank you Sirius" She smiled back to let him know that what Harry had told him was true. Sirius nodded and winked at her. "So, are your parents coming soon? I don't want to leave you here alone."

Hermione went cold on the inside. She had no intentions of letting him stay with her; she knew her dad would never come to pick her up.

"Actually he's on his way. He's a Muggle, you know, and it's probably just taking him a little longer because he got lost or something. You don't have to stay with me." She said calmly, but inside her heart was racing.

"Are you sure he's almost here?" Sirius asked, loathe to leave her alone, but anxious to get Harry home and out of the crowded station.

Hermione picked up on his nervousness and said reassuringly, "Go on Sirius, my dad will be here soon. But I have a favor to ask" She said, thinking quickly.

"You see, my dad's not too keen on me being a witch, it kinda spooks him, if you know what I mean. Could you possibly take Lara for me?"

"Sure, Hermione. But is your father giving you any trouble?" Sirius asked her as he took Lara's cage from Hermione.

Hermione laughed, although she felt nauseous, and said, "Of course not. It will just take him a little while before he gets used to everything."

She waved goodbye as they left and saw that by now almost all of the other students had left the station as well. Better for me that they're gone. She walked outside and caught a bus to her neighborhood, where she walked as slowly as possible to her house.

I'm glad I got my homework for the year on the train. I doubt he'll let me do anything this summer and I can't do magic outside of school. She sighed and walked through the door resignedly.

"Welcome home, girl" Her father said mockingly. Hermione winced, I guess he hasn't forgotten what Ben did last year. She almost laughed inwardly as she remembered when Ben had stunned her father, but long years in his presence had taught her not to smile or laugh.

He had his belt in his hand and was walking towards her with a predatory look.

Later that night, Hermione was curled into a ball in the basement. At least he threw my trunk down here too. It wasn't much of a consolation, since he had thrown it on top of her, but at least she knew he hadn't destroyed anything inside of her trunk.

The next month was the slowest of Hermione's entire life. She spent the entire time in the basement, praying that her father forgot about her. Eventually, she became bored enough that she didn't care about the punishment, and carefully peeled the black fabric away from the window in order to read one of her textbooks.

When she heard footsteps, she smoothed the fabric over again and went back to her corner quickly. She continued to do this for the rest of the month, until the day came that changed her summer.

She heard a knock one morning in July; she wasn't sure what day it was, but had been diligently marking the days on a wall and would try to determine the date when the sun was high enough to get through her window.

Just as she wondered who could be at the door, the door to her basement was opened and her father walked down the stairs quickly. He pulled her up by her hair and said, "There is a man here to see you from that school of yours. If you say anything, I will kill him. Do something to make yourself look better."

Hermione knew that wandless magic didn't register with the Ministry, so she concentrated on a glamour charm and looked at her father, who looked back at her with a mixture of horror and disgust. She was silent as he led her upstairs, keeping a firm grip on her arm because she kept falling.

I don't think that using wandless magic was the best thing for me to do, but o well. I wonder who's here to see me.

Professor Snape looked around the house, while waiting for the Muggle to come back with Hermione. He noticed that there were no pictures of Hermione anywhere. The house was almost entirely blank of happy memories that usually defined a family. Snape wondered at this, since he had been to Grimmauld Place and the Burrow for the Order, and had seen the pictures that they had hung of the children.

It reminds me of my house. Was his first thought, and then he paused, looking stricken. Please don't let that be true. It would be too cruel. Although I have some suspicions. We'll have to see.

He turned as he felt the Muggle come back into the room with Hermione behind him. If she was surprised to see him, she didn't show it. She's too closed off from everyone. No eleven year old has that much control over their emotions.

"Miss Granger" he said. "How are you?" He looked her over with a critical eye and noticed that she was very pale and thin. She was also squinting a lot, as if she wasn't used to the sun.

"I'm fine, thank you. How are you, Professor" she replied with a straight face.

"You look terribly pale. Have you been well?" He asked her, ignoring her question.

Hermione decided to see if she could let Snape know that something was wrong without saying anything. Before answering, she bit her lip and looked to her father, as if asking him what she should say.

Snape caught the look and wondered what was going on. Maybe I was right; her father might be abusing her. But I can't do anything until I have proof, or Albus will have a fit.

The Muggle looked furiously at Hermione, then turned to Snape and sneered, "She's been ill recently, a nasty stomach bug and has been in her room for almost a week."

Snape looked at the man, clearly wanting to hex him, but instead turned to Hermione and said, "Is there somewhere we could talk about Ben in private?"

Hermione stiffened and nodded. She walked out from behind her father and led Snape out to the patio. She knew she would pay dearly for this later, but she needed to hear what Snape had to say about Ben.

"Professor Dumbledore sent me here because of Ben's will" he pulled out a piece of parchment from his robes. "Ben left everything to you, and Professor Dumbledore thought that you might need some help going through everything. There's a specific list of books that he wanted you to have, and since I'm assuming you won't need a second house, you will need to sell it."

Severus handed Hermione the list of items that Ben wanted Hermione to recover from his house and they walked over and entered the house.

Hermione went to the study and began neatly piling the items from the list in the center of the room. She turned to Snape and said, "Professor, I only wish to keep the items that Ben listed for me. I'm assuming that there are things here that would be vital to the Order, so you can take anything useful you see. And since I don't know anything about real estate would you mind helping me sell the house?"

Severus looked at Hermione while she spoke. She hadn't stopped collecting books and other trinkets from the room, but she spoke with a firm voice and Severus marveled at her insight. She just saved me from having to explain the other reason Albus sent me to help go through the house.

Of course Dumbledore had realized that there were things in Ben's house that the Order would need and would be devastating if the Death Eaters found, so he had sent Snape to recover them. Severus sighed; his job had just been made a lot easier since Hermione had consented to him taking the items out of the house.

Snape turned to look at Hermione, about to ask her about her father, when she said, "Please, Professor, I know that you suspect something. Please just leave it alone for now. Nothing good will come of it" she turned to look at him. "Could you shrink these so I don't have to carry them all?"

He complied, and Hermione put the books and other items in her jacket pocket. She turned to leave and said, "See you in September, Professor."

He nodded and watched her walk away. Now I know something is wrong. He decided to honor her wishes and not confront her about her father yet. He finished gathering all the items he found and apparated back to Hogwarts.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Snape apparate, she crawled out from under the bushes and then back into the house. There were a couple items that she needed to recover that she didn't want Snape to see. Before she left she checked the newspapers that had piled up in Ben's driveway.

She walked to her house, bracing herself for her father's anger. As she had suspected, her father was less than pleased that she had disobeyed him.

When she woke the next morning she couldn't move without aggravating her many welts and bruises, so she contented herself to lay there for the rest of the day. She got up the next morning and marked July 25, yesterday's date from the newspaper, on the wall.

She recovered slowly over the next week and eventually was able to get up and keep track of the days she had marked on the wall. She smiled, now at least, she would know how long she had and when she could leave to go to Diagon Alley.

The next month passed as slowly as the first month had for Hermione. Although she did have the books from Ben's house to read, she could only read during certain times of the day. The rest of the day she spent in darkness, trying to maintain the physical training she had begun at Hogwarts.

On August 29, Hermione had decided that she couldn't spend another minute in the house and began to gather her books and her courage. She walked up to the door and timidly knocked on it, feeling stupid despite the circumstances.

Her father opened the door and she blinked as the light hit her eyes. "What do you want?" he asked roughly.

"School starts in three days and I need to go to buy my books. I need to leave toady to get them" she swallowed and wondered what he would do.

He looked down at her and said "Fine, get out of my sight" she paused, looking at him uncertainly, "NOW!" he yelled.

She ran down the stairs and grabbed her trunk, then pulled it up the stairs and walked out of the house without looking back.

When she had walked to the point where she couldn't see her house anymore, she pulled out her wand and stuck it out in front of her, as she had seen Ben do.

The Knight Bus pulled up as it had before, and Hermione pulled some money out of her trunk and paid Stan Shunpike.

She counted the money she had in her trunk; Hogwarts had a fund for Muggle born students who didn't have any money. Hopefully Ben's house will sell soon so I don't have to take charity anymore.

She got off at the Leaky Cauldron and walked up to Tom, asking him if she could show her how to get into Diagon Alley, since she didn't remember how.

Tom gave a small smile and taught her the correct combination that would open to gateway to Diagon Alley. As her turned to go she called after him, "Is there a cheap room I could rent for the next two days?" He turned around and said, "You're a Hogwarts student, right?" she nodded. "There's no need to pay, I have a room that will do quite nicely for you." "Thank you Tom" she said, and then walked into Diagon Alley.

She decided to wander around for today, and get a good meal. She was too pale for her taste, so she stayed outside for the rest of the day, reading and enjoying the sunlight.

She returned to the Leaky Cauldron and Tom showed her to her room, insisting that she didn't need to pay.

The next day she resolved to get her school supplies, starting with Flourish and Blotts, since that was where she needed most of her items. On her way out she saw Draco and waved to him. He smiled and pointed to a deserted aisle. She nodded and walked in that direction. He met her there and gave her a hug, then quickly stepped back. "How was your summer?" he asked. "You look really pale."

Hermione smiled, it was good to see Draco again. She was about to answer when a shadow loomed over them. She turned around to see a wizard that looked almost exactly like Draco staring down at her.

"Draco, it's not good to wander off. But I see that it was to meet a friend. This must be Miss Granger. How do you do?" he addressed her with his question.

She smiled at his charm and said, "Hermione please, sir. And I am well."

"Hermione" he said with a smile. "Please excuse us, we have a lot to accomplish today."

"Of course, sir. I'll see you in two days, Draco. It was nice to meet you Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius watched as Hermione walked up to the counter to pay for her schoolbooks. So that is the child of the prophecy. I will need to keep an eye on her.

She stopped at the Apothecary next for her Potions ingredients, and then went to Madame Malkin's to see if she could get another set of robes. She also went to Eeylops Owl Emporium to get owl treats for Lara. Finally, she went to Honeydukes to get something for Harry and Sirius as a thank you for taking Lara for the summer. She went back to the Leaky Cauldron with her schoolbooks and other things, and spent the rest of the night reading.

She spent her last day of summer outside, trying to undo the damage that two months of being beaten and kept in the basement had done. When she returned to her room, she packed everything in her trunk and fell asleep instantly.

Hermione woke the next day at nine o'clock. Perfect, I have plenty of time to eat and get to the train station. The Knight Bus leaves from the Leaky Cauldron at ten, so I need to get downstairs and eat.

At ten o'clock she bid Tom farewell and thanked him, then boarded the Knight Bus with several other students. She looked at the other students, and, not recognizing any of them, took a seat in the back, alone.

The Knight Bus pulled up to the train station at ten thirty and Hermione and the other students got off with their trunks. They walked to Platform 9 ¾ and walked through the barrier.

She loaded her trunk into a compartment and locked the door with a charm, in order to save the compartment for when her friends came. Then she walked off the train to wait for Harry and Draco.

She saw Katie Kirby first and talked with her until Draco showed up. She walked over and greeted Draco and his father. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry and Sirius walk through the barrier. She told Draco which compartment she saved and how to undo the charm, and then walked over to greet Harry. She knew that until they were at school, it wouldn't be a good idea for the three of them to be seen together.

"Hey Harry, Sirius. Where's Professor Lupin?" Hermione greeted them.

"He went back to Hogwarts last week to get his classes ready" Harry answered. "So, how's your summer been?"

"O, it's been ok. I'm looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, though" Hermione said, determined to steer her friend away from the topic.

Sirius noticed her evasiveness, but decided not to say anything. "Well, come on you two, the train's going to leave in a couple of minutes" Sirius picked up Lara's cage and walked over to the train.

"O, I almost forgot!" Hermione said, and pulled two bars of Honeydukes Chocolate out of her jacket. "Sorry that it isn't much, but it's all I could think of" she said as she handed one bar to Harry and the other to Sirius. "What's this for?" Harry eyed the chocolate suspiciously.

Hermione laughed at his expression, "It's for watching Lara for the summer. It meant a lot to me, so thanks."

"We'll be here any time you need help Hermione. You can always come to us" Sirius told her.

Hermione sensed the deeper meaning behind his words and just nodded. She said her goodbye to Sirius and left them alone so they could say goodbye. Harry came on the train a minute later and followed Hermione to the compartment that Draco was in.

The train pulled out and Hermione looked out the window, ecstatic to be back. To be home. This is where I really belong.

She listened as Harry and Draco talked about Quidditch and what positions they would try out for this year. Harry wanted to be Seeker, but Draco thought it was stupid since he needed to wear glasses to see.

"You know, Harry, Madame Pomfrey could probably fix your eyesight so you don't need to wear glasses" Hermione informed him from behind her book.

"That's a great idea Hermione. I'll ask her about it after the Feast. Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team?" Harry asked her.

Hermione chuckled and said, "Most likely not, but I'll give it a try. Can't hurt anything."

Draco nodded to her and said, "If Harry's going to be Seeker then I guess I'll have to be a Chaser. Care to join me, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded, and they talked about Quidditch and their new classes until the train pulled in at Hogwarts.

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Ok, I know that was short compared to the other ones, but it's getting there. The summer chapters will be shorter than the chapters during the school year.

Next is the first half of Hermione and co's second year and I have something big planned. grins evilly

Always,
Sinkme