A/N: Was really happy to get some feedback from your guys about the Prologue! It really meant a lot :') I'm going to update as often as possible, I promise! I'd love to hear more from you guys as the story progresses, so don't forget to keep reviewing! This one's kind of short, but I promise there will be longer ones on their way J
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. Harry Potter belongs to the genius that is J.K. Rowling x]
Hermione's POV
Three more days until I'm home, I thought to myself as Ginny, Harry, Ron, and I wandered the streets of Diagon Alley searching for school supplies. After Harry and Ron had initially decided not to return to Hogwarts for their final year, the deaths of my Mum and Dad had convinced them that they needed to stay with me. I'd object at first, arguing that they had to do what was right for their future and that I would have Ginny. But when they pointed out that I would have to deal with the Golden Trio fantasia by myself as well as my deceased parents if they didn't come, I agreed. And at that moment, walking down Diagon Alley with the three of them, I realised how glad I was that I wouldn't be spending my last year at Hogwarts without my two best friends.
Diagon Alley still hadn't fully recovered from Voldemort's terror. Madam Malkin, being the stubborn witch she was, kept her shop open throughout the war and refused to close it. Seeing as she was an expert in magical fabrics she managed to disguise her shop to make it look run down and worthless. Eeylops opened a few days previously when they had a sufficient stock of owls and a shop that was in the correct conditions for them. Ollivander had reopened his shop immediately after he had been discharged from St Mungo's following the war, determined to resume is love of wandlore and presenting young wizards and witches with their constant magical companion.
"The wand chooses the wizard, Miss Granger."
I smiled at the memory of receiving my wand. The feeling that rushed through me the second I gripped the handle of the wand.
"Ten and three quarter inches long, vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core. I trust you are a smart witch; a dragon's heart is known for choosing the intelligent and great witch or wizard."
"So, Flourish & Blotts first?" Harry suggested, snapping me out of my longing for Hogwarts. I kept my eyes on the ground though. Previous years in Diagon Alley I had relished walking through the shop in question, testing the quills and breathing in the scent of new parchment eagerly waiting to words spilled on it.
"Yea sure, but afterwards can we stop at Fortescue's? I'm so hungry!" Ron exclaimed, scanning the rows of shops to find the famous ice cream parlour.
"You're always hungry," Ginny said, making Harry and I laugh.
"Did 'Mione and I tell you that the first thing he asked us last year when we were looking for the Horcruxes was where the nearest chip van was?" Harry asked Ginny, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Things worked out between them, and now the two couldn't be happier. I smiled and them and laughed at the memory. Ron rolled his eyes but couldn't help to join in.
As we entered Flourish & Blotts, I regained a part of me that I had lost over the past year. Scanning the shelves, I began to collect the books on my list.
As I searched, I noticed that there were many copies of Jemima Liskwing's book. Pulling it down off the shelf, I realised it was the same edition that I bought all those years ago in 1991. Inside the front cover there was a message:
"Dearest Rhoda, you have dreams, and that's what makes your future. Don't listen to the world if they tell you you'll never make it, and especially not that sister of yours. They're wrong. Don't give up. Yours forever, Jem xx"
I smiled at my dreams of being written about. Deep down, I still had those dreams. But I had matured since then, and I knew that it only truly matters that I know my achievements. With a sigh I put it back and resumed my search.
All of the books on my list were easy to find, except for the last one.
Advanced Runes
By Pemerthus Gremlyn
"Hermione, you ready?" Harry asked. I looked around at him from where I was standing.
"Not yet, but go on ahead to Fortescue's. I'll just get this book and some quills, parchment and ink and I'll meet you there," I said, smiling. He nodded and turned to leave. Just before I heard him shut the door, an unmistakable scoff emerged from him. Too preoccupied with the Runes book, I kept my eyes on the countless books. After several minutes of searching, I found it, but as I placed my hand over the binding, another did the same. Startled, I gripped tighter, pulled the book from the shelf and turned to face the other person.
"Malfoy?" I said, shocked to find him in this shop of all places.
"You were always one for pointing out the obvious, Granger," he replied sourly. I rolled my eyes.
"I didn't know they were allowing ferrets to repeat their last year," I said defensively. Then it hit me. "You're doing Runes? But you didn't do Runes as one of your O.W.L.s!" He took my moment of confusion as an advantage to take the book from me. He smirked and walked up to the counter, throwing the book down onto it along with the other books he was buying and several galleons and knuts.
"Really Granger I thought you were meant to be smart," he said to me. I narrowed my eyes. He was always impossible. After he had paid, he picked up his bag and strode confidently out the door. "And, yes, I am repeating. Although you can't really talk; ferrets are much more like magic folk than mudbloods." That hit me hard. Harder than it usually did. It was the first time that I'd been called that since the war, and therefore since my parents died. He laughed to himself and walk out the door with his head held high. Too stunned to ask about the book, I turned around, picked up a few quills, pieces of parchment and a new ink pot, and paid at the counter. I walked out the door, and without even thinking walked towards Gringotts, before turning off into one of the narrow alleyways. Once I was sure I was out of sight, I closed my eyes and thought of my parents; the times we laughed, our trips to Shaftsbury Avenue and to the theatre in London, the creaking swing. Then I raised my wand.
"Expecto Patronum," I whispered. As my otter came into view, I gave it a message for Ginny telling her that I went back to the Burrow. I opened my eyes just as it swam out of sight. The tears began to fall, and I knew I had to be truly alone to let them fall freely. I faced the dark end of the alleyway and walked towards it, spinning on the spot when I was almost there and leaving Diagon Alley.
What I failed to notice in my haste to leave was the hooded figure hiding in the shadows near me, their cloak billowing behind them in the wind as they swept off to their destination.