Early Autumn. The house of Lestrange family, Prague, 1994.
Monday, 19th September…Hermione found herself alone in the house she hated for it was like a cage for her all those years. She wanted until pain to go to Hogwarts: to walk through castle's corridors, to have meals in the Great Hall, to read in the Common Room. However more than anything she wanted to meet Draco again. She didn't even know how he was looking, as during those 3 years she had no chance to meet him. In her last letter sent to London she asked the boy to send her a photo of him.
"I want to have you beside me! Send me your smile in a photo and I won't be lonely anymore!" – were the words.
Lately Hermione was feeling strange as she couldn't focus on learning, because her head was full of thoughts about Draco. The girl didn't know how to name that phenomenon. She consulted books, but didn't find something to define her state. What is more, she had a reapiting dream almost every night. She could see herself in a long dress and Draco in an elegant suit holding her hand. They were dancing during the whole dream and Hermione had many different feelings: from happiness to deep sorrow; from vigor to killing pain; from breaths of life to palsy of death. But what she liked the most of the dream was that Draco didn't leave her, didn't let her hand off even when she felt sorrow or pain, even when she was dying. So that Monday, on her 15th anniversary Hermione woke up with the shadows of that dream in her mind too.
Although she didn't expect to be left home alone on her birthday , she discovered that her parents had found something more important than their daughter that day. As she went in the kitchen she saw a little box on the table and a small piece of parchment near it. Hermione read :
"Happy Birthday, Hermione!
Daddy."
She opened the box and found a bracelet of a rare beauty. As a smart witch, Hermione understood that the piece of jewelry was endowed with inexhaustible protective charms, as soon as she put it on her hand. There appeared a cute smile on her face as she was happy that her father was though caring about her.
Hermione heared someone was knocking on the door of their house, so she hurried to open it. It was Mrs Chapek, the pretty, old woman, neighbour of Lestrange family. She remembered about Hermione's birthday and came to her with a cake. The girl was so happy to see her muggle friend there as it seemed her loneliness finished that day.
Thanks to Mrs Chapek, Hermione had a real birthday celebration and the only thing she missed was a letter full of lovely words from Draco.
**Some hours earlier.
Rodolphus Lestrange was looking at his sleeping daughter with a kind of smile. He liked to watch her sleeping more than to talk with her:"My Own, oh, I don't have the right to call you so, as I am not a father you deserve! I avoid speaking with you in order not to see her glance, your mother's beautiful eyes looking at me from your face, what parent am I ?! Oh, if only she were here…Happy Birthday!". He kissed Hermione on the forehead and left.