Howler

She was sitting at a table in the Great Hall completely out of the way. Ever since she quarreled with Harry and Ron over Firebolt, she felt very lonely. She didn't think that because of the stupid racing broom she would not only quarrel with her friends but would also be pushed away by other Gryffindor residents.

Surprised, she looked as a tear fell on the book she was reading. She rubbed her eyes with a quick move.

She didn't want to cry. Not now, not in public. She knew she would have had an easier time at school if she hadn't kept things hidden. But she wanted to be liked for who she was, not where she came from. She surreptitiously looked at the opposite end of the table. She saw the smiles on the faces of the boys who seemed to be close to her.

However, she knew that she would not be so stupid and wouldn't forgive them if a simple broom was enough to turn their back on her.

At that moment, in the Great Hall, as on every other morning, there was the sound of the wings of approaching owls. She hoped that she would get an answer to the letter she had sent to her parents the day before yesterday. She didn't want to be a Hogwarts student anymore. She didn't want to feel like an outsider. The experience she had gained in a Muggle school was enough for her.

She looked up to spot the one belonging to her father among the crowd of owls. It wasn't hard to spot him. Charon was huge. his wingspan was almost one hundred and eighty centimeters. No wonder it caught the attention of other students.

He sat down gracefully on the empty chair next to her and bent his head for her to stroke him. After a moment, he extended his leg towards her, to which a reduced envelope was attached. Or rather, two shrunk envelopes. Hermione untied the package and placed it on the table in front of her. There was a howler in one of the envelopes. She was lucky her dad didn't send howlers that open when the recipient has no privacy. In the second, to her surprise, wasn't only the answer she was waiting for, but also a letter to her Potions Master and a set of papers stating that she was no longer a Hogwarts student.

She smiled. She didn't think it would be so easy to fulfill this dream. She gave Charon a snack and prepared her answer for Dad. After a while, she watched as the owl flew away towards her house. When Charon was out of her sight, she got up and walked over to the table where her professors were sitting.

"Something wrong, Miss Granger?" - Minerva McGonagall asked the question as soon as Hermione stood in front of Professor Snape. - "How can I help you?"

"You can't help me". - She smiled seeing a slight surprise on her face - "Professor Snape can. It's for you. It's a letter from my father. I don't know what's inside. Father asked me to tell you that you are to read it under more intimate circumstances."

She bowed to the bewildered Potions master, turned and headed for the exit of the Great Hall. She smiled knowing that she was going this way for the last time.

With every step she took, she felt as if she had regained her freedom.

xxx

When she reached her dormitory, she allowed herself to activate the howler. She hoped that one day her father would patent this version.

"Darling... You don't even know how much I would like to hug you right now. I thought your experience at Hogwarts would be better than mine. Especially since you're not in Slytherin like most of our family. Perhaps it was a mistake to go to this school under your mother's name. I'm proud of you. You too, be proud to be my daughter, Hermione Black. I can't wait to see you. We miss you."

She smiled. She finished packing, shrunk her trunk, put it in the pocket of her robes, and headed for the school exit. She knew it was going to be a good day.

xxx

A few hours later, Severus Snape was sitting at his desk with a glass of firewhisky in his hand. That's how Lord Malfoy found him.

"Sevvy what happened? You never drink in the middle of the week."

The dark-haired man nodded to the parchment lying next to the nearly empty bottle. Lucius took the parchment in his hands and began to read. He said the last words of the letter aloud. - "I hope to see you again, old friend. Always yours Regulus Arcturus Black, Lord and Head of the Ancient and Noble House of the Black Family."

"Miss Granger is Regulus' daughter?" My wife's cousin's daughter? Where she is?"

"She's not here. The girl disappeared and documents confirming her resignation from school, signed by the Minister of Magic himself, appeared on Albus's desk."

xxx

Cheers and have a nice day - Katie Krum