Hermione's POV
In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past but you will find yourself. It will be a permanent self, rooted in awareness and creativity. Once you have captures this, you have captured the world. - Deepak Chopra
Clutching the letter tightly in my grip, I made my way back towards the common room. I was sure my face looked like I'd seen Voldemort being reborn again or something similar but I couldn't control the troubling emotions that were wreaking havoc in my mind.
"..everyone and specially you people would like nothing more than to bury the gruesome thoughts of the war deep somewhere..."
"...achieve full peace of mind..."
"...face this last demon..."
Deep down, somewhere in the dark recesses of my soul, untouched and ignored since the war, I could feel the need of a catharsis. Ever since the war had been over, specifically, the moment Voldemort had dropped dead, it had seemed like a heavy bulk had been lifted off my chest.
There were times during the battle, when I just wanted to give up. There were also times, when seeing the things Harry had to go through made me want to break down- I was a girl after all. But there was that determination in his eyes, in his actions, that gave me the strength, to hold on, to be there for my friends even when the world was tearing apart right before my eyes.
I'd buried it all, the memories, the feelings, the thoughts. In a way, I'd consider myself almost greedy for mental serenity. I craved it.
"Watch out young lady!" A shrill voice yelled, just before I walked right into the portrait of the Fat Lady.
" Ow!" rubbing my nose, I looked up sheepishly and uttered the password. Muttering about "insolent fools" and whatnot, the portrait swung open and I climbed in to find Harry and Ron by the fire side playing chess.
" Hey there! What happened?" Ron asked, around a mouthful of creme cakes.
" Hi. I..well.." Both of them stared at me, but I couldn't exactly phrase my thoughts. That sure was a historic moment, and I for one could bet my Latest edition of 'Hogwarts : A History' that if a slytherin would've seen me in this state, might have died of shock.
" Out with it already 'mione!" Ron groaned. Taking a deep breathe, I relayed all that had happened in McGonagall's office earlier.
" Blimey!"
" Holy Pants of Merlin!"
Harry went quiet after the little exclamation and for some reason, and which totally surprised me, Ron too. We all sat in complete silence for some time, each lost in their own arduous thoughts.
What was it that was worrying me? I couldn't pin point one reason. Maybe it was the fact that I'd have another tiring task crammed into my already hectic schedule? Or maybe that the future of the coming generations in regards of their knowledge about the truth now rested solely on my shoulders? Or perhaps that working with Malfoy would be difficult. In any case, I still had to do it, by the looks of it. Whether it be easy or drive me insane.
" I think I'm just going to sign it and go hand it over to Mcgonagall now," I broke the heavy silence. I turned to look at my two best friends, crime partners and life savors, and they stared right back at me, each with understanding and support in their eyes.
" I'll be off then." With that, I signed the document, making a copy of it- just in case and set off for McGonagall's office.
There were still twenty minutes till curfew, but I couldn't possibly stand outside the office, or Filch might catch me and throw some merry detention my way, so I knocked on her door and walked in.
Professor looked up from the parchment she was marking and it looked to be a first year's, from all the crossing out and ink blots- really says the one whose best friends practically dump the whole parchment in ink even now, in their last year! I thought to myself as I sat down.
Soon Malfoy joined us too. It was a demanding task, that was for sure. But after analyzing about it to bits, I had decided I'd give my best. No matter what it took, after all I wouldn't want the future generations to hear fabricated lies and live with distorted half truths.
It wasn't long before we both got dismissed and made our way outside. Something had been nagging me all this time. Everything was going to work out one way or another I knew, but the fact that Malfoy and I were like two sides of a coin, created a huge obstacle and frankly I was too much too tired of the bickering, so gathering all my pride and confidence, I called him out, as he was leaving,
" I-I just wanted to say that.." I trailed off, as his grey eyes stared right into mine. If I hadn't known better, I might have had believed that his eyes held some kind of magical powers, for every time I made eye contact with him, I felt a buzzing run through my entire being, like a beckoning call of a veela to its mate.
" You might fancy spending the whole night standing in this corridor Granger, but I'd rather be somewhere else right now." He spoke through his teeth sounding bored, and I jumped slightly, coming out of my reverie. Once again, I pulled myself together- albeit a bit dazedly and began,
" I just.. Look, I know we've had too much bad blood between us to even try this, but I think in order to work as a team, we'll have to call a truce. I would try my best to not let the past incidents get the best of me as long as you keep your tongue and actions in check. Well that's all." I rushed through my words and waited for him to respond. He just stared at me for a minute, as if I was a Grindylow on display, which was making me quite uncomfortable. But then, he nodded and by God, I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. And with that, he left.
********
A week passed and I was still anxiously waiting for any word from the Ministry. The Late November winds were getting colder and it rained almost continuously. On one hand, the delayed response from Ministry made me feel relieved. Perhaps, I wouldn't have to shoulder such a big responsibility after all, but on the other hand, I couldn't help but get all jittery. I swear I was going berserk!
Since it was a Sunday, I'd decided to sleep in. But turned out, I was way too anxious for that, and that is why I was up at Dawn, wrapped up in my thick woolen jacket walking down the towards Hagrid's. It had been ages since I'd had a proper talk with him, and I did miss his exceptional cooking skills, I thought to myself with a smile.
His little hut looked as it always did, warm and cozy and kind of homey. I walked up to the front door and knocked, but surprisingly, no one answered. I waited for a minute and then decided to head back, and come later in the evening with Harry and Ron most probably.
"'mione!" I heard him call out as I was leaving. I turned around with a smile, to find his half giant self leading a panting Fangs towards the hut. He opened the door and we all filed in. After starting the fire and putting the water for boiling he sat down and smiled at me. His black eyes, filled with an innocence had always made his appearance look less scary. Whatever may the Slytherins say, Hagrid was truly one of the best people around Hogwarts.
" How have you been? Its been such a long time!" I asked him.
" Yeah, long time no see, I thought ya guys had 'orgotten 'bout me." he chuckled,
" Of course not! You know how it was after the..." I trailed off and a heavy silence hung over, as we both thought of all those people we'd lost. I heard him sigh heavily and I knew who he missed the most. Standing up from my place, I walked to him and put a consoling hand on his shoulder.
" I'm sorry Hagrid, she didn't deserve it." I whispered, he sniffed into a huge handkerchief and nodded.
" I dint think that vile bastard 'ould do that to her, she was so nice.." he mumbled. I stared at him sadly, recalling that time.
Dismissing the flashbacks, I busied myself by pouring the tea into large cups and handed one over to him.
" So whatcha been doin'?" He asked with a smile.
" Oh you know how studies are, We have been busy trying to get used to this school routine. Its been so long, seems like ages to me, " I told him with a sigh, he nodded his head, a sparkle shining in his eyes.
" Hagrid, I just wanted to say..."
" Yeah?"
" You know we are always here for you, Harry and Ron love you as much and I don't think they'd want you to be upset, yea?"
" I know I know.." He dismissed me with a huge smile,
" Anyways, its almost time for me to get back to the castle. I'll see you around." With that, I left, walking briskly towards the castle. Climbing the stairs slowly, I almost didn't notice as I ran into someone,
" Watch out!" the petite figure hissed.
" Sor-" I almost froze looking into Ginny's blazing eyes. There was a tense pause in which I was trying to figure how to act. I mean, I couldn't just outright confront her for the little scene I'd witnessed, more like eavesdropped on the other day.
" You need to watch out 'Mione." I was stunned into silence as I saw her features switch from hostile to fake pleasant in a blink of an eye as she walked past. Shrugging my shoulders, I ascended the rest of the stairs and made my way to wake up the two sleepy heads. If it were a Quidditch match today, they'd have had been at the crack of dawn, up and about, Why couldn't they be as enthusiastic about life in general?
I entered their dormitory, banging the door on purpose. But as expected, the loud snores of Neville and Ron didn't cease. Conjuring ice cold buckets of water, I readied myself for some action. With a breathy count of 3, I dumped it over the boys simultaneously.
" HOLY MOTHER OF MERLIN"
" WHAT THE-"
" ARRRGGHHHH"
" DAMN YOU PEEVES! I SWEAR- Oh 'Mione"
I just smirked at the boys, (which might just give Malfoy a run for his money if I might add) as they stared back at me soaked right through their pajamas.
" What was that for?" Ron growled, with a scowl.
" I'll be waiting for you both downstairs, you have exactly ten minutes." With that I turned around to leave but before closing the door, I poked my head through the door,
" And Neville, Professor Sprout was looking for you and Seamus, Parvati is really pissed off, I believe you had an early breakfast date with her?"
" Shit!" Both boys exclaimed scrambling out of their sheets. With a smile I descended down. As I came down, everyone turned to look at me. Any other time I wouldn't have noticed, but this time the way they looked as if hell had frozen over was quite frankly a bit creepy.
" Something the matter?" I politely inquired from a fourth year. After the initial shock of getting addressed directly was over, she nodded her head and stuttered,
" Mr. M-M-Malfoy is asking f-for you. H-he's outside in the corridor." Okay, so their freaked out expressions were justified, after all how often do you see a slytherin, and not just any but the Prince of Slytherin step into Gryffindor territory on purpose?
" Tell Harry and Ron, I'll meet them in the Great Hall," I told Parvati and made my way out of the portrait hole.
A/N : Hope you're enjoying the plot so far! There's loads more to come. Keep voting/commenting/sharing!
Special thanks to @_heyorhi for making this beautiful book cover! I might use it later on! That being said, I would love to see any sort of fan art for this story. If you do make anything! PM me (:
Until the next time. . .