David Granger was on his way to Wiltshire when he discovered that he had no idea where he was going. "Philippe, do you know where we are? Because I don't." Suddenly he came to a fork in the path. Philippe was trying to pull David one way while he was pulling Philippe toward the other. "This must be a shortcut." They traveled through the path for a few moments with ease, but things seemed to be too quiet. Suddenly, as if by magic, the spring air turned into winter snow.
David pulled on the rope to stop Philippe as he tried to take in everything around him. David knew that it wasn't suppose to be obvious to muggles, however, that's exactly what this was. David saw something white and furry almost scratch his face. The forest was now flooded with wolves. Philippe ran as fast as he could, but the wolves only seemed to get closer.
David didn't even realize how far Philippe had taken him, but the wolves were finally out of sight. Suddenly a huge manor came into view. Dark wood covering the outside walls with tall towers at each of the four corners. There was a stone pathway with bushes along each side, stopping at the iron gate. David tied Philippe to the main gate, while he went to go step inside the manor. "Ahh, a chance to rest up. Philippe, you stay here, and I'll be back shortly." David inspected the manor grounds and saw that past the iron gate, was short stone walls all over the grounds, going in every direction. All of them seemed to have white roses. He got closer, and saw two parallel rounded staircases leading up to the balcony where the front doors were. David was about to knock, but right as his knuckles barely grazed the wood, the door opened. "Thank you", he said as he rubbed his cold hands together, but as he looked further inside he discovered there was no one there. "That's odd." The only thing behind the door was a fancy coat rack.
He searched through many objects of the manor, and even found a beautiful antique clock and candelabrum. David thought the inside of the manor was absolutely stunning. The outside was dark and mysterious, but the inside was filled with beautiful Victorian furniture. From a grand piano to dining room chairs, the manor seemed to have it all.
Things seemed to go downhill when David entered the dining room. Right as he grabbed the fork that was placed on the table, a teacup pushed itself next to the plate David was eating off of. "Thought you'd like some tea with your meal", the teacup said in a cheerful voice.
"Err.. thank you." David dropped his fork and knife, and ran as fast as he could. Hermione had once told him if there was ever a time where he saw something unusual, then he should get out immediately. "I might not always be there to protect you", were her exact words.
He ran back to his horse, and decided that it was best to head back to the village then continue traveling, but David froze when saw a rose garden in the middle of the stone pathways. He almost forgot about Hermione's request, so he stopped Philippe for a second before hopping off and taking a look at the roses. Amongst all the white roses was one crimson rose in the middle of the garden. It reminded David of his wife immediately. She always wanted the best for Hermione. David grabbed ahold of the stem, but before he could break it off the vine, something knocked him aside. Laying on the hard, cold, stone floor all David saw was a large shadow before everything went black.
***
Hermione absolutely hated how her life was going right now. She wanted to be an Auror at the Ministry. She missed all the excitement of saving Harry Potter every year. The professors said that the students would use most of the advanced spells later in life, but she was believing that all to be a lie. At this point she saw no reason for her wand at all, except to place a huge barrier between her and Cormac.
No Ministry would want to train the weird bookworm, but they want Harry, the one person who didn't know what he was doing half the time? Hermione didn't want to admit she was jealous, but she was. Maybe one of these days she'll find a place where she belongs.
Hermione was currently finishing up chapter two of Hogwarts; A History when she saw a familiar person pass from the corner of her eye. "Harry!", she said as she got up the her chair and rushed over to him. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me for lunch today? Maybe you could ask Ron to join? It'll be just like old times."
"Err.. I'm really busy, Hermione. Ginny has her first ultrasound appointment." Hermione's heart dropped when she heard this news.
"Wow..", she said with a forced smile. "That's wonderful news. When did you find out?"
"She surprised me on our wedding anniversary." Hermione had no idea that Harry and Ginny had gotten married. She tried to keep a straight face as she processed this information. "Maybe another time, Hermione", said Harry while scratching the back of his neck before heading off.
'I highly doubt it', Hermione thought to herself. The fact that neither Harry, nor Ginny told Hermione about the wedding made her quite angry. Of course she started to overthink the situation and started to daydream in the middle of Diagon Alley. It only proved to the people around her that the phrase 'cause her head's up on some cloud', was quite accurate. Hermione finally returned back to earth when she saw Philippe rushing into Diagon Alley alone. "Philippe?", she asked in worry. Where was her father? As she glanced down the pathway where her horse had just come from, she saw that it was completely empty. "Father's in trouble?", she asked even though she was very aware that she wouldn't get a detailed answer, but Philippe nodded his head at her question. "Take me to him."
During the whole trip, Philippe seemed to know exactly where he was going, since he never stopped and questioned which path to take, but he suddenly came to a halt in front of a set of large iron gates. Hermione's eyes widened at the large grounds, but she was determined to find her father and bring him to safety.
The second her foot made contact with the cold snow, chills ran down her spine. "This place seems oddly familiar", she said to herself.
She took every step with caution. When she placed her hand on the iron gate, and attempted to yank it open, she was surprised to discover that it was unlocked. Suddenly it was as if she had awakened from a dream to see a better view of the grounds. The beautiful stone walls with many roses on each one reminded her of her mother so much it almost brought tears to her eyes, and she suddenly realized why her father had come here. "Dad, no", she whispered to herself as she brushed one of the petals of the rose and moved down to the stem. She felt a slight sting on her finger, and glanced down to see a bit of blood rushing down her finger. Wiping the blood on her robe, she stepped away from the forbidden roses, and started to head toward the stairs.
When the large Victorian doors came into view, Hermione pulled out her wand for precaution. The monster who trapped her father could possibly be on the other side of the door that she stood in front of. She pushed the door open with her left hand, and held her wand at the ready in her right. She took a few glances before stepping inside. The entrance hall was completely deserted. "Look, Theo! It's a girl!", Blaise whispered to Theo
"Not just any girl, it's Granger." Hermione became very aware when she heard her last name.
"Who said that?", she shouted as she tried to hide her fear, but the only things that filled her vision was a candelabrum, and an antique Victorian table clock. As she turned around, Hermione could see a glimpse of the dining room. The chandelier stood out the most and was clear as day. It was as if she'd been here before, but the memories didn't exist.
A loud coughing noise came from a staircase at the other end of the dining room. She rushed through the large room and down the stairs to see her path blocked by a locked gate. There on the other side was her father looking beat up and exhausted. "Dad!", Hermione shouted. Hermione expected her father to be excited that she was here, however, he was anything but that.
"Hermione, you need to get out of here now!"
"I'm here to save you. Alohomora", she said and pointed her wand at the door, but nothing happened. "Stand back! Bomba.."
"Expelliarmus", Hermione heard from above her. She stepped back a few steps and looked straight up to see someone looking down at her while leaning over the back railing of the staircase.
"Who are you?", Hermione shouted with annoyance even though he could kill her at any moment.
"That information does not concern you, but your father is a thief. He stays where he is." His voice sounded cold with a hint of a growl. Hermione couldn't tell if he was angry or sick.
"Liar! My father never stole anything!"
"He stole a rose."
Hermione frowned. She had indeed asked for a rose in memory of her mother, and he must have went after the beautiful forbidden roses. She didn't want her father to suffer because of her selfishness. "Punish me. I asked for the rose. Take me, not him."
"No! Hermione, he means forever", her father said.
"A life sentence for a rose?" Hermione scoffed quietly, but the monster who captured her father seemed to catch it. He was furious at her remark. He threw his body over the railing and jumped down in front of her. Hermione couldn't help but let out a slight squeal of fear from the sight of his actions, but all he did was look down at her. She expected him to hit her, hex her, or even kill her, but even though she couldn't see his face, he looked hesitant.
"I made my decision by imprisoning your father, but I'm willing to negotiate if you wish to take his place."
"Come into the light." It was silent for a moment, before he took a small step and moved away from the shadow. A huge beast stood in front of her. He had medium brown fur, a hunched back, and misty grey eyes. Hermione started to think about her options. Her father was the most caring person alive. He didn't deserve to be locked away in this place to rot all alone till death, but Hermione already felt alone. Her friends didn't care about her anymore, and pushed her out of their lives, however, she was well aware that her father wouldn't make the switch without a fight, but Hermione already had an idea. She was the brightest witch of her age for a reason.
"Alright, I'll leave, but at least let me say goodbye." The beast growled at her words, but she didn't back down. "Are you so cold hearted that you won't let a daughter wish her father goodbye? It is forever, after all." The beast stared at her for a moment, but she was rather surprised to watch him open the cell gate.
"Once this gate closes, it will not open again."
She rushed over to her father and gave him a huge hug. "Dad, I'm so sorry this happened. I was too busy getting rid of Cormac when I should have come with you." Draco was fascinated to hear that Hermione was irritated with McLaggen.
"It's alright, Hermione. I love you so much. You are you mother inside and out. Now go, get away from here. Live your life." She sighed as she realized that she had to make her choice now. She embraced her father in a hug once again.
"I promise I will escape...", Hermione whispered very quickly and quietly before pushing him far away from the cell gate, and closing it behind her. Draco was surprised by her actions. He stared at her before glancing back at her father, then back at her once again.
"You took his place?", Draco asked in surprise, but his beastly voice still made him sound cruel.
"He's my father. He's all I have left."
"He's a fool, and so are you.", Draco said as he started to drag David up the stairs.
"Don't hurt him!", was the last thing David heard before he saw the cold snow of the Manor grounds.