Chapter 5: Run while you can
...
The cake had been soft and moist, and the wine made it all the sweeter. Despite the joy of receiving Lady Malfoy's hug, smelling the fresh pages of her new book, recognizing Mom's secret smile when she saw her wearing the flower dress and enjoying Dad's perfectly tuned birthday song, Hermione could not fully savour the rest of her day.
Unable to fall asleep that night, Hermione sneaked outside the small cottage she shared with her parents and paced relentlessly against the cold ground.
Why bother to make a farm girl dream of another life?
Sadness was soon replaced by fury.
Draco Malfoy's words infuriated her.
Yes, she knew her place. Yes, she knew she was the daughter of humble Mr. and Mrs. Granger. She knew she was only a farm girl. But she was also a dreamer. Hermione had been brave enough to learn there was a world outside the Malfoy state, vast and exciting, full of adventures and dangers, ready for her to grasp.
How dare he. He might be rich and handsome, but she deserved dignity and respect. She might be poor and plain, but she had as much soul and heart as any wealthy Lord.
Fury turned to desolation.
Was she ungrateful? Was it wrong to want more in life? Mother and Father seemed happy with their lives, and Hermione wished for nothing but comfort for them.
But she wanted more. She needed more. Hermione craved adventure; she yearned for the unknown.
"You will need a strong recommendation letter to even be considered for an entry job position in London." Madame McGonagall would not sugarcoat things. "You could make a decent living working in an office, enough to pay for a small room in the city, but you would have to save every penny if you wanted to travel abroad."
Hermione nodded. She had read about this and familiarized herself with concepts like budgeting and financial goals. She was not scared of hardship.
"Lady Malfoy could help..." Madame McGonagall muttered, "But I am unsure if she will welcome your request."
Hermione thought that sounded silly, "Why would Lady Malfoy refuse to write a recommendation letter for me to get a job in London?"
"The Malfoys, dear, they are a peculiar lot..." Madame McGonagall cleared her throat. "I do not wish to speak ill of my employers, but it is known they are selfish and cruel. She might not want to see you go, my child."
Hermione refused to believe that.
...
It took her months to gather the courage to ask Lady Malfoy.
"Leaving? To London?" Hermione did not miss how Lady Malfoy's fingers twisted around one of the flowers she had brought her today.
"Yes, my Lady. I want to get a job in the city and save money. I want to go to Norway to see the northern lights."
The silence was oppressive.
"No."
Hermione felt a tightness in her chest.
"Why not, my Lady?" her eyes became blurry. "Have I displeased you? Do you think I am not fit for it?"
"No, little lion." Lady Malfoy soothed her, "Of course, you would be capable of holding any job. They would be fools not to take you, bright and hardworking as you are."
Hermione had seen sadness in Lady Narcissa's eyes before. But it was the first time Hermione felt herself the reason behind Lady Malfoy's sorrow.
"Why not then?"
"Because you are mine." Narcissa's Malfoy voice sounded foreign and sharp. "Would you leave me alone in this big house? Everyone leaves me... Dromeda, Draco, and now you..."
The air was thick with melancholy.
Hermione felt the tears leaving her eyes.
"I am being selfish, am I not? Please do not cry, little lion." Lady Malfoy returned the crumbled flower to the vase. "I am acting like my dear Lucius. He never lets me go far from his sight, and it drowns me..."
Hermione had suspected before. The way Narcissa Malfoy's shoulders tensed when Lord Malfoy was in the room, how he never let her leave the house without an escort and how she was not allowed many visitors in the house.
"I can't do the same to you. Do not let me, Hermione, fight back." Lady Malfoy gently caressed Hermione's cheek. "You will get to see it all and write me about all your adventures, yes?"
Hermione wondered how many places Narcissa Malfoy had dreamed of that she never got to see."Yes, of course, I would write you daily, my Lady."
"Will you wait? Give me until your twenty-first birthday; let me have you a little more..."
Hermione felt she had not much choice.
...
On the summer before her eighteenth birthday, Seamus tried to kiss her.
It was a rare morning; the soil had been prepared for the summer crops, and all was ready for the new seeds.
The boys had proposed hanging out by the river under the shadow of a giant oak tree. Hermione's mind was far away; she had brought one of her favourite books, a gift she had received on her thirteenth birthday. She did not notice how close Seamus had gotten until she felt his breath next to her cheek.
Luna was far away on the river, deep on her legs, and Colin and Dennis were nowhere to be seen.
"You are so pretty, Hermione."
When his lips touched the skin close to the corner of her mouth, Hermione screamed. She did not mean to be rude, but she did not want this, and she jumped from the grass and ran toward Luna faster than a herding dog.
What on earth had been that? Seamus must be having a heat stroke, she thought.
Luna welcomed her with a splash of water; Hermione was grateful for the coolness of it and submerged herself deep down.
By the time she emerged back, Seamus was gone.
"He fancies you, but you don't fancy him back."
Apparently, Luna knew about this, and Hermione did not. She felt terrible.
"I did not know."
"He will be all right. He's been kissing Lavender, too. Do not feel bad about it."
Hermione did not feel better after knowing that.
"I will head back now; you probably should stay a little longer until you dry."
Hermione looked down and noticed the dress sticking wet and almost see-through to her body.
"You are right; I will see you later."
...
She did not want to touch her book with wet hands, so Hermione waited under the tree, resting her back against the thick trunk, hoping she would dry soon. She kept thinking about how unpleasant it had felt having Seamus' lips so close to hers, and yet, how dreadfully excited her heart had galloped inside her chest.
Unfortunately, her solitude did not last long.
She heard the horse before she saw it coming.
Draco Malfoy spotted her and approached fast. She had not seen him in months.
"Little lion, did someone try to drown you?" Only Lady Malfoy called her that. It felt wrong.
"No sir, I've decided to catch a cold." His smirk somehow made him more beautiful.
He dismounted the gigantic black beast, looking even more imposing with riding clothes.
"Haven't seen you in a while; I heard you are leaving for London."
"That is the plan, sir."
"Not if Mother can help it."
Hermione's stomach knotted, "She promised I could go after my twenty-first birthday, sir."
His eyes roamed her body. The dress had not finished drying.
"Did she? I am surprised. Father had to drag me to Hogwarts; otherwise, I would have been homeschooled if up to her."
She could not help smiling, "She cares deeply that's all..."
He took a step forward.
"And you? Do you care deeply for her as well?."
The question was so obvious she did not hesitate, "Of course I do."
"Then why leave her? Why leave here? Aren't you happy?"
She was no longer able to look him in the eye. The piercing gray felt like arrows to her soul.
"I am happy, sir; I am very grateful for everything and everyone here. But I want to see the world. To discover what is out there."
"The world is cruel, Hermione; you should be careful what you wish for."
And just as Seamus, he started to feel very close.
Hermione could smell him now.
"I am not a child; I will be all right," she muttered while focusing her gaze on the bushes next to the tree.
And then there it was, his hand gently holding her jaw.
"You are right. You don't look like a child anymore," He whispered. "With how you look, though, you won't remain safe in London for long."
What was that supposed to mean?
"I will be all right," she stated proudly, "Father is teaching me how to defend myself and..."
He laughed and forced her to look him in the eye.
"Innocent little lion. Learning how to defend yourself, huh?"
His eyes were deep pools of silver and light. "Show me then; show me how you are going to defend yourself."
Hermione's eyes flashed with terror. She could feel his breath on her skin. Was he going to...?
She pushed him. Hard.
She would not let them toy with her—first Seamus and then this. She was sick of it.
He didn't fight back, letting her pass through him. Hermione had barely been able to move him; his shoulders were too broad and thick with muscle. She ran as fast as she could.
"Run while you can."
She wasn't sure if it was him who said it or if it was a premonition in her mind.