Granger Beloved

The Return

     "(y/n), get up, you have to pack," Hermione said as she stood over me lying in bed. The rest of the Christmas holidays had passed us by too quickly. I got up out of bed and started getting ready for the day. Hermione and I had made our relationship official, although only to ourselves. I'd agreed to keep us a secret- I didn't want to see what her parents would do if they found out their only daughter was dating a girl.

   We'd spent most of the break sneaking off when we could, just to be alone together. The Burrow had been calm, most of the inhabitants were just relaxing when they could. However, today was the day Hermione, Ron, Harry, the twins, Ginny, and I would return to Hogwarts, and Bill and Charlie would resume their everyday lives.

    After fixing my appearance and changing my clothes, I returned to Ginny's room, and looked down at my trunk, open on the floor with many of my belongings surrounding it. I sighed, feeling groggy from being woken up so early. Neither Hermione nor I had bothered to fix our chaotic sleep schedules. We knew that the only time we could really spend time alone together was at night when everyone else was asleep. Most of these nights, we'd go outside and do miscellaneous things.

    My personal favorite was throwing snowballs at Hermione until we'd get into full-blown snowball fights. Other times, we would just sit in the snow, and talk for hours on end. I never knew there was so much I could say to a person. I thought I knew Hermione well before I became her girlfriend, however, I'd just realized that there was much more to her than what met the eye.

   She wasn't just some 'blabbering know-it-all,' as most people saw her. She had beliefs, quirks, and ideologies I would've never envisioned her to have. Being with her like this made me fall deeper in love with her, and I only wish I could pluck up the courage to tell her this.

    I began throwing all of my things into my trunk, not caring about making it look nice. Ginny had already awoken and began packing her trunk, "I can't wait to see Michael again, he hasn't written me much lately," Ginny said. "What do you see in that bloke anyway?" Hermione asked her, her eyes still on her trunk. "Well- he's nice to me, and he gets on Ron's nerves," She said, ending her sentence with a laugh. 

   "I suppose that's a plus," I said, laughing. Ginny got up and left the room to get dressed. I turned my head to look at Hermione, to see she was already staring at me. I looked over to the door and shut it as quietly as I could. I walked over to her and pulled her into a kiss. She ran her fingers through my hair, and my arms were around her waist as my hands rubbed her back.

   Both of us instinctively jumped as a loud crash came from what I assumed was Fred and George's room. We pulled apart, but I left my hands around her waist. "I guess we should be more careful, then," She said, chuckling. "Oh- and make sure you get your toothbrush." I realized I'd almost forgotten my toothbrush, yet again. "What would I do without you, Granger?" I said, planting a kiss on her cheek before leaving the room. 

   After gathering my belongings from the bathroom, I swept through the already hectic home, seeing if I was missing anything else. I stopped by Ron's room, and I knocked on the door. "Come in," he said. I walked in a few inches and said, "Did I leave anything in here?" I examined the room, Harry was looking under his bed and Ron was fumbling through his trunk. Out of it, he pulled two socks. "Yea- your Falcons socks. I was going to bring them for you but seeing as you're here," he walked over and awkwardly handed me the deep blue socks.

   I gestured at them once they were in my hand and said, "Thanks," then left the room. Ron had been more awkward than usual, and I wasn't sure why. He hadn't so much as looked me in the eye lately.

   I entered Ginny's room, where she and Hermione were done packing. I threw the stuff I'd gathered into the trunk and zipped it shut. I'd made sure the locket Hermione had gotten me was safely tucked into my shirt when Molly yelled from downstairs, "You all need to hurry! We're going to be late!" Upon hearing this, the three of us bustled out of the small room and headed downstairs.

   As I walked out of The Burrow, I said goodbye in my head. It had been the place where Hermione and I confessed our feelings, and from the small break alone it harbored so many good memories. Leaving made me sad, but I knew I'd be back soon enough.

   Soon enough, we were at Platform 9 3/4, saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "All of you, please stay safe and out of trouble. Especially you two." Mrs. Weasley said, pointing a finger at Fred and George. We all said our farewells and boarded the train. I sat in a train car with Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Luna. "Were your holidays pleasant?" Luna asked us. We all said either "Pretty well" or "Good." "How was yours?" I asked her. 

   "I spent most of the time looking up to avoid the mistletoe. They're full of Nargles," She said in her usual dreamy voice. I nodded, utterly confused, as was everyone else. Eventually, I place my head against the window and began to fall asleep.

   "(y/n), we've arrived. Wake up," Said the voice I'd come to enjoy the most. I opened my eyes, and Hermione was once again standing over me, gesturing for me to get up. I grabbed my trunk, and we made our way to the school.

   Arriving at the entrance of the Great Hall, I was greeted with the warm feeling from the floating candles. Even though I was sad to be leaving The Burrow, Hogwarts was truly one of my favorite places.

   "Watch it! Now I have to wash these. They've been touched by Mudblood filth," I heard a familiar voice say. I looked behind me, and it turns out that Hermione had bumped into Malfoy. Hearing him call her that filthy name made my blood boil. "You wanna say that again, Malfoy?" I walked up to him, and put my wand to his throat. He backed into the wall behind him and started to whimper slightly.

   The impression I'd made upon him sent a great feeling of power through my body. "I see cowardice runs in the family, then," I said, sneering at him. "(y/n), let it go! He's not worth it," I heard Ron say behind me. I lowered my wand from his neck, and said, "If I ever hear you say that nasty word again, I won't go so easy on you," I said, turning to walk away.

   "You didn't have to do that, (y/n). You could've gotten detention again," Hermione said as we sat down. "Someone had to put him in his place. It didn't look like anyone else would've done it," I said, shrugging. I turned around to look at the Slytherin table, and Draco was staring right at me, scowling. In turn, I sneered at him before turning around.

   We finished eating, having talked about Malfoy, and making assumptions as to what the next rule Umbridge was going to make. The four of us walked up to the Gryffindor common room, and all agreed that we should go unpack. I entered the room I'd begun to miss, with my warm bed and scarlet decorations.

   As soon as the door shut behind me, Hermione pulled me into a tight hug. "I've been waiting to do this all day. Thank you for standing up for me like that," She said quietly. I hugged her back, and said, "You read my mind, Granger. I'd never let Malfoy get away with that." The urge to tell her I loved her was strong, but I knew it was far too early, we'd only been together a week. I shoved this thought into the back of my head, and stood in the middle of our room, hugging the girl I felt so strongly for.

(a/n): Hello to anyone reading this. I've been thinking about how to continue this story, making it interesting while keeping the plot in mind. If you have any suggestions or just something you'd like to see, let me know! I'm open to hearing any recommendations. If you've read this far into the story, thank you so much for sticking around!