"I have grown to care for every bit of him. But, he hasn't seen me, for I know he only considers me an impending wall. I tried my best to be near him but he shuns me with an immense force." Hermione Granger was staring at a distance, casting a Profe...
The wind was coming up again and the branches of the trees were dancing carelessly. She hid her face into the pillow, wanting to sleep and hoping that the familiar face which kept on visiting her would eventually stop. The more she spent time with him, the more heart ached to be with him. Things had been a mess this week ever since she tried to avoid him. She was thinking of wrong thoughts again. She should be well and optimistic, yet she found herself dwelling into the dark.
She got up and tried to fix her hair. If she just kept herself locked away in this place she will lose her sanity. Sunday was the day of the week in which she doesn't have to go and see him. She needed to find time to relax and pamper herself. She wore her sweater, the one Mrs. Weasley had given her for Christmas and set off to a simple Hogsmeade trip.
Hogsmeade was full of cosy, compact places with small, fancy cottages and dusty-bricked shops. The village was open to the warmth of the of the sun and the iciness of the fading winter air which made the place fitting for enthusiastic youngsters like her to wander around.
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The smell of jasmine and wild roses mingled through the pavements of the magical community. She loved the place for it seemed like it was an enchanting portion of the famous Christmas villages in England that were exposed during the Yuletide season, but it was depressing to know that only a few people in the world can witness such unforgettable beauty.
She was too busy surveying the shops that she didn't had the time to detect the presence of man taking over her mind at a distance.
He was there on Hogwarts business for he wasn't the type of person who would prioritize leisure in this time of impending danger.
He came to a halt when a familiar scent hit his nostrils. The smell was even more powerful than the newly-bloomed spring flowers. He would recognize that smell anywhere. He searched where the fragrance reeks until he finally saw his little apprentice.
He was quite sure that he missed her during these days for he had no reason to be with her. It would call an unwanted and inappropriate attention to the both of them.
It never came to him that he feels something special about her, unlike Hermione who knew that there was something inside her about him that wasn't there before. He just felt that he needed to help her from all she had gone through because of him. All of those torments, insults and unfair treatments made him feel like he was to blame. He wanted to protect the beautiful silent girl who has a vast intellect same as his.
It wasn't a feeling of love nor pity, it was more like a responsibility and an obligation. He himself would sometimes feel weird whenever she's near him, but he simply thinks that he reminded her of his lost true love.
It didn't take long before Hermione spotted him watching her from afar. She quickly hid her face away for she tried to control herself from blushing.
"Not today, not today. Any day but today," a voice in her head repeatedly reprimanded her. When he saw him approaching her, she felt disappointed and thrilled at the same time.
"Good day, Professor," she managed to pronounce the words properly and she praised herself for it. She doesn't want to sound like the old, poor, stuttering ex-Professor Quirrell.
He nodded stiffly towards her and she just gave him a warm smile.
"What brings you here, Ms. Granger?"
His voice was in its calm state and how she missed hearing it. Wait, she just heard it yesterday after her Potions special class, what was wrong with her?
"I was just going out for a stroll, Sir" she answered.
"At noon? How odd. I thought I thought you are fond of roaming around at midnight."
His sarcastic tone returned but she just ignored it. Being able to hear for 5 years straight made her immune to it.
"Can you come with me?"
She knew it wasn't just a question. It was an invitation. Perhaps, a date... Oh no! Absolutely not. Maybe he wanted to discuss a few things to her concerning her enrichment classes. That was it. Nothing more.
It was her turn to nod stiffly and she followed his quick strides. She concealed any feelings that were showing off her face for if she did, a grain of suspicion might enter her Professor's mind.
After 20 minutes of walking, she found herself being dragged by him into the forest. His silence was incurable but she was fine with it. She didn't even tried to ask him for she didn't want to annoy him or make him leave.
She just stood there, waiting what to do next. He motioned her to sit beside him and he watched her carefully same as she did. It was unusually sedate and cold yet it was soothing and consoling.
"You must know that I am bad at nurturing a conversation but still I want to give it a try."
These words was extremely foreign to Hermione but she gladly accepted his trial. She smiled hoping she would encourage him to continue and so he did.
"You mentioned before that you have a heart for reading. I feel the same way. Books were my only refuge during the times I wanted to escape reality."
Oh yes. She remembered him saying that he had a dark past and most of his childhood days were too painful to reminisce.
"When I was young, most people think I'm different. They even believed I wasn't normal. I wasn't accepted anywhere and the only thing I knew would never judge me were my books. I could say I also found refuge in them."
It was only minutes that they were talking but she felt shy being so close to him. She can see him now properly. She was so near to him that she can already examine his features. But she wouldn't do that, would she? That's nonsense.
After a while of sharing insights and stories together, Hermione asked a rather strange query.
"What is your motto in life, Sir? The thing or the quote you prizes the most?"
He gave her a gentle look, there was no trace of anger or loathing in his eyes. She wasn't sure if he smiled, but his mouth curled up slightly and his eyes soften as he glanced at her. The only thing she can guarantee is that it wasn't a contemptuous expression.
"Esto Dignus," he began. "It's Latin and it means... Be worthy. You must be worthy as a person for it is an honor and privilege to be given a chance to live in this world. You should see it as gift. The gift of life."
She nodded quietly as she replayed the Latin words he said into her mind. Esto Dignus... Be worthy.
"And you, Ms. Granger?"
Before he would ask her this question, which she was sure he will, she already prepared her answer for that.
"Mine would be... Spero Spera. It's also Latin you see... which means 'As long as you're alive, there's hope'."
She reiterated his words only to her mind but she was shocked when he articulated the words she told him.
"Spero Spera..."
The wind blew softly around them and the branches started to move with its sway but it didn't matter to them. It didn't matter that her real reason of going to Hogsmeade was to forget this man in front of her. It didn't matter that he only came here to on Professor Dumbledore's account.
Well, accidents happen. And sometimes those accidents can be start of something new... Wait! Maybe someone new... Can it?
Hey, it could happen! ____________________________________________
Hey, Readers.
I am so into Ai images today and it sort of helps me visualize the story I wrote and it's too enjoyable. You can go back to the earlier chapters to catch some images related to the chapter.
