Hero of the Story || James Potter x Hermione Granger Fanfiction

14 | no doubt in my mind where you belong

xiv.

no doubt in my mind where you belong

(Make You Feel My Love by Sleeping at Last)

__________

August 20, 1976

"Oh, Hermione, a letter arrived for you this morning."

The brunette quizzically looked at her mother, who was busy bustling around the kitchen to prepare for their supper that night. She met Peter's eyes, who merely shrugged and then slipped inside his bedroom.

Both she and Peter had just come back from Diagon Alley after shopping for their new books and school supplies. Peter had to order new robes because he'd grown taller yet again - his previous school robes were already hanging in the middle of his shins. It was mighty unfair how boys his age shot up like bamboo; even his friends were already towering over her, when Hermione's growth spurt seemed to be taking a really long time. It unnerved her a bit, because she and Harry were almost always the same height every time they come back for the next school-year. Ron was just a delightful anomaly in their group, all arms and legs and basically towering over everyone in school.

"Whose it from?" Hermione asked, absentmindedly depositing her new things on top of the table and glancing at the letter.

"I didn't really read the name," Anya said, "but I think it's from one of your friends."

Worry instantly bloomed in the pit of her stomach. Lily rarely wrote to her during the summer because her Muggle family restricted her owl post. They were living in a Muggle neighbourhood after all. Severus was never much of a writer, opting to dump everything that had happened to him during the break, once they met up on September 1st.

Deciding to quell her curiosity, she grabbed onto the letter and recognised Lily's neat handwriting. She slowly flipped the parchment open, her eyes quickly roving through the letter. By the time she was finished, her face was very pale.

"Did something happen to your friends, sweetheart?" Anya said, noticing her daughter's face.

"It's Sev," she murmured. "His mother died."

__________

August 21, 1976

Hermione fidgeted with the itchy collar of the black robes she was wearing. She never really had anything formal and black for a wizarding funeral. The dress she had worn during her father's funeral was too small for her already.

So, Anya rummaged through her cabinet and pulled out the dress Hermione was currently wearing. It was something her mother used to own when she was a teenager, and the way Anya's eyes appreciatively glittered when she went down and showed her the dress brought Hermione some discomfort. It was a stuffy dress, admittedly elegant though and screamed Pureblood aristocracy, but it was itchy and Hermione was uncomfortable wearing it.

"Hermione, stay still, Merlin," Anya tutted, reaching forward to brush some of her hair away and to clip it neatly to keep from falling over her eyes.

Anya held both of Hermione's hands and fondly smiled, beholding her daughter with sparkling eyes. "I'd forgotten why I wanted a daughter in the first place," she said with a chuckle. "Your father only wanted one child, and don't get me wrong, I love Peter more than the stars above, but I always imagined myself taking care of a daughter too."

"Mum," Hermione complained. "I'm attending a funeral, not some bloody fashion show."

"Language," she clucked, and smoothed down her dress robes. She then looped her arm around Hermione's and sadly smiled. "Send Severus my love. I'm sorry for his loss."