Terror In The Halls

Sending off and crying mums

Chapter 2

Hermione wakes up to the decadent smell of Black Forest ham baking in the kitchen. Hermione's mouth salivates as she opens up her eyes and thinks about her sending off breakfast. Each year since they first started sending Hermione to Hogwarts, she gets her favorite breakfast foods at her sending off. Each year her mother makes Black Forest ham, she has her favorite fruits (kiwis and strawberries), freshly squeezed orange juice, sunny side up eggs, baked trout (from her family's personal little lake), her favorite American cereal (Cocoa Puffs), scones and jam, and Earl Grey tea.

Hermione cautiously gets out of bed, due to years of having Voldemort as a constant threat breathing down her neck, leaves her room, and trods down the hallway heading for the beige carpet laid stairs. As Hermione starts walking down them slowly she hears someone crying. As she goes farther down the stairs she comes to the astonishing conclusion that it is her mother who is crying.

Hermione turns at the bottom of the stairs gingerly making her way towards the sound of her mother crying. She lets her ears carry her until she comes to the sitting room. Where she spots her mother...crying over a picture frame.

As Hermione slowly creeps up behind the forest green satin lazy-boy, in the middle of the room, she notices movement in the picture frame her mother is holding. Hermione comes right up to where her slouched over mother's elbow lies.

Hermione looks closer and notices her mother holds a framed newspaper article...a framed wizard newspaper article. Upon closer inspection she finds out that the article is about her and Harry during year four. The picture was of her and Harry clinging to each other during the tri-wizard tournament.

Hermione is perplexed as to why her mother is crying over this particular article... Before she could even say anything her mother begins to speak softly to the picture in the article.

"My dear sweet baby girl...my how you have grown...I was around your age when I met your father...and started thinking of having a family...and with Harry and Ron always around you...I fear that you are thinking of the next step...and then I will loose you..." Mrs. Granger trailed off with a sigh

"You won't loose me Mum..." Hermione whispered softly

Hermione's mother looked up into the very face she had spoken to but moments before. Mrs. Granger studied Hermione and sighed as she noticed quite a few new changes.

"How long have you been there Hermione?" asked Mrs. Granger sighing as she looks at Hermione sharply. Since Hermione was a 4th year at Hogwarts only untimely death scared her, not even her mother's glares scared her anymore.

"Since I smelled the Black Forest ham cooking and I followed the smell. But, then I heard you crying Mum...so I had to find out what was wrong...the ham could wait...what's wrong Mum?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Nothing is wrong Hermione...I was just thinking." Mrs. Granger says as she swipes her hands across her face, wiping away her tears.

"Come on Mum...I know something is wrong...please tell me." implores Hermione

"Nothing is wrong Hermione." As Mrs. Granger wipes away a tear that was trailing down her cheek, as she got irritated at Hermione's incessant questions, "Now if you will excuse me, I have to go and make sure that you packed everything that you need..." Mrs. Granger trailed off as she slowly got up

Hermione started to help her mother up when she realized what her mother would find in her trunk...and the questions that would most likely ensue about particular items that Hermione should not have...let alone bring to Hogwarts. 'What should I do! I can not let my mother see what is in my trunk...what to do...!' Hermione mentally screamed. 'Wait a moment...that could work! Now to convince my mum of it...this will not be an easy feat...' continued Hermione in her head.

Before her mother could take even one arm an inch off the lazy-boy Hermione thought of her plan again in seconds and then she pounced.

"Mum...I am 17 now...I am a responsible adult now...and as such I personally packed everything I might and possibly might not need." Hermione said with a self-satisfied grin

Mrs. Granger looked rather leery as she looked from her only daughter to the hallway as if begging with her eyes for an escape so she could do what mums do best; which is helping their kids whether they liked it or not. Mrs. Granger finally settled her gaze on Hermione and regrettably noticed her daughter had indeed grown up and she was an adult in wizarding standards. Plus Hermione had always been overly responsible, even when she was a little girl. Her room was never dirty, she always took a bath every day, and by age 3 she was dressing herself with dare she say style? So after one last look at her daughter, she decided something that she thought was a small decision. Unbeknownst to her, her little decision would change Hogwarts forever...

"Fine Hermione..." Mrs. Granger said with a sigh before she continued. "You are responsible and god knows you have been as such since practically birth...I know you are an adult by wizarding standards...and that you go against some Dark Lord named Voldemort every bloody year..." at this Hermione beamed with pride after the initial shock of her mother saying "bloody". "who sounds like all he needs is a good mother to take care of him..." Hermione tried her hardest not to bust out laughing at what her mother had just said. "but that is my opinion and I stand by it." Mrs. Granger said as she lifted her hands in surrender

"Ok mum...well I am off to the loo..." Hermione said with a smile

"Ok, I will meet you in the car. I am going to grab your trunk and place it in the car, ok?" Mrs. Granger asks as a sly smile starts to creep onto her face

"Ok, mum...if you are sure you can carry it...I know dad normally carries it...but ok..." Hermione trails off as she bounds for the loo at record speed after she picks up "The Daily Prophet"

As soon as Hermione is out of sight Mrs. Granger begins her mission. She leaves the sitting room and heads for the stairs. She reaches the beige carpet laid stairs and walks up the stairs as quietly as she can. She reaches Hermione's door and pushes it open slowly as it squeaks quietly. She looks all over the room until she spots Hermione's burgundy trunk with leather straps. She strides over to it and gets down on her knees and slowly opens the trunk as Hermione steps into the room and stops at the door in shock.

Mrs. Granger turns around to face her shell-shocked daughter and asks, "Hermione...what's this?"

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A/N: 

Sorry for the cliffhanger! And sorry it is so short, if it was not please tell me! If it is, the same; the ending for this chapter was cut off for the next one.