Vienna
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
AN: Thank you so much everyone who reviewed, I replied to everyone who did, it means so much to me that you took the time to leave a comment, they made my day. And to those who left an anonymous review and all my silent readers, thank you too. I'll try to update as much as I possibly can.
This will be a past chapter, and I'll be sticking a few of those in every now and then before somebody (I won't say who) comes back into the story.
So after an annoyingly long author's note, I apologize, the chapter…
Six years ago
Hermione Granger
I leaned my cheek up against the cool glass of the car window. In the front seat, my father reached out to grab my mother's hand that was resting on the arm piece. They stole a secret smile with each other, each peaking out of the corners of their eyes. Even twenty years of marriage their love for each other had never waivered. It was something I admired, something I envied, and something I wanted for myself.
The war was finally over and done with, Voldemort dead and Harry victorious. The wizarding world was finally able to breath and return to the way things were before the war, before all hell had broken lose, though there were some who still harbored resentment towards the death eaters for destroying their families and their lives. It was a strange feeling, comforting though, to know that we were safe now. The remaining death eaters that had escaped from the battle at Hogwarts were locked up safely in prison, the others dead. Harry was able to exonerate the innocent, including the Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, and Snape, although he had died in the shrieking shack, his name was no longer tainted. He could be remembered nobly. Lucius Malfoy had been locked up in Azkaban along with all the other death eaters, he was just a dirty piece of scum like the rest of them, according to Harry and the rest of the Order, it was only Draco and Narcissa who wanted out.
With the war and constant threat of danger over, I was able to bring my parents back from Australia. Luckily for me, they didn't remember a thing and were able to return to their normal lives like nothing had happened.
Since I had never been home a whole summer in quite a few years, they've decided to take a family vacation. Just the three of us, on the beach, no magic, and no friends. So here we where, traveling through England for our 'family vacation'.
The car glided silently down the road, we had gone about 20 kilometers so far, and I must have dozed off because the next thing I know I'm waking up to my mother's gentle touch, telling me that we're here. The bed was comfortable, and I fell quickly into a deep sleep.
.:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:. .:XXX:.
When I woke up, I had to take a few moments to get my bearings about me. I had completely forgotten that we were on vacation. I looked around the room. The walls were painted white, they had a rustic feeling about them, parts of the paint were fading and wearing off, and the floor was a light wood color. Off to the side were French doors leading to a small balcony. I pulled myself off the bed to go stand out on the balcony. I grabbed a bathrobe that was hanging on a hook behind the door. A small desk sat next to it. I pulled open the French doors and sunlight poured through the room, casting an eerie glow on everything. The balcony faced the back of the house and the stretch of beach that was behind it. Looking down the beach you could make out other cottages along the shore.
I found my parents, my mother Jean and my father Robert, sitting in the kitchen, nursing cups of tea in their hands. "Good morning, honey," my mum greeted me, "sleep well?"
"Excellent." I grabbed a muffin and sat down. "So, are we doing anything special today?"
"Well, we figured today you could just relax. Maybe go down to the beach for a while. Your mother and I wanted to go look around the town today, see what there is today." I nodded my acceptance. "Hermione, you should see if there is anybody your age on the beach, try to make a friend."
"I thought this was a no friends vacation? That's why we left London."
"Well we can't expect you to be around us all day, now can we?" my mother answered, smiling over her tea at me. "A local friend might be nice for you, get out and meet some new people." There was no doubt that she wanted me to make some more friends, other then Harry and Ron. Probably someone more 'normal'.
"I think I'll just take a book down to the beach and relax." Her smile wavered for a few seconds but covered it up quickly. I loved my parents, I truly did, but there were some things that I just couldn't tell them about the world I live in. They wouldn't understand what it is that Harry, Ron and I were always doing when we ran off together. Some of it would probably break their hearts, knowing their little girl was always doing something dangerous, putting her life on the line practically every day. They just wanted what was best for me, and I knew they only wanted me to be safe.
"Okay. Well, you know where to find us. Have fun sweetheart."
"Thanks mum, thanks dad. See you later." I took a quick last bite of my toast and ran back to my room. I rummaged around in my bags and pulled out a bathing suit and a book and a pair of sunglasses. Since I hadn't had time to go shopping myself, my mother had picked out all my bathing suites. Why she would buy something so revealing, I have no idea. I grabbed a thin cover-up and threw it on myself.
The sun was high in the sky by the time I got out to the beach, and it warmed my skin through my sheer cover-up. The sand got in between my sandals and burned my feet, but I took them off my and dug my feet into the sand, relishing in the warmth it provided. I looked around for a lounge chair, and spotted one a little ways off. I couldn't tell which house it belonged to, but I dragged it down to the water anyway.
I laid across the chair, half in the water, book open on my lap. The coolness of the water was refreshing against the harshness of the sun. Further down the beach some kids were playing in the water while their parents watched them from the shore. In the other direction, a couple was walking aimlessly through the water. Hands clasped and swinging between them. Everything was peaceful, nobody had to worry about being captured or cursed. They were happily oblivious to the suffering that had just racked my world, stuck in the perpetual battle of good vs. evil, light vs. dark.
As I read my book, I couldn't help but wonder how it was that everyone seemed to have a happy ending. Through all the misfortune and grief that was dumped on them, they never seemed to give up. Or even if they did, they ended up having some miraculous epiphany and riding off into the sunset with their prince charming. One big cliché after another.
Something moved in front of my chair, cutting off my sun and casting a shadow over me. A dreaded voice that I would recognize anywhere spoke, "Oi, Granger, you're sitting in my chair."
Slowly, I lowered my sunglasses down my nose, looking up at none other than a smirking Draco Malfoy. You had got to be kidding me.
This was going to be a very long summer.
AN: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I felt I just had to end it there and get it out. I had planed on having it out over the weekend, but I had gotten a new computer, and I wasn't able to use it. Next chapter will be in Draco's POV.