Previously on Crossing Over
“Granger.” His voice was hoarse, filled with confusion and sadness. I turned around to meet his gaze, and shook my head. It was just unfathomable. Here I was, standing at close proximity to Draco Malfoy, and Voldemort had just Disapparated from my apartment. I fell on my knees, shaking uncontrollably.
“Why me?” My voice cracked as the tears began to fall.
“I don’t know. Who knows how his mind works?” he replied. He crouched down, his eyes meeting mine. “All I know is… you saved me.” A hand started to lift my chin up, its thumb wiping away tears. I closed my eyes, nestling my face into his touch.
“It’s not for me… Harry and Ron, they”” I stopped when his lips captured mine in a short kiss. Something inside of me leapt into my throat, both happiness and sadness overcoming every emotion held inside my body. He pulled away slowly, and I opened my eyes in time to see him moving away from me. At the door, he stopped.
“Think about it,” he had said, before disappearing, “just think about it.”
Chapter 7
I actually didn’t know what do anymore. I mean, an offer from Voldemort himself to join the Death Eaters? Not that he had said that in so many words, but it was probably what he wanted. And what was with Draco Malfoy kissing Hermione Granger? See, the world was definitely ending!
When Draco had left, I felt rather lost and empty, as if his kiss had filled me with a warmth I hadn’t felt before. My mind was still reeling from the past few hours’ events. If I did do as Voldemort asked, what would happen? Would I just go back to Harry and Ron and pretend that nothing had happened, pretend that I might not be on the light side anymore? At the moment, it was all too much to handle. I got up from the floor, and was about to sit down on my armchair when a tawny brown owl tapping on the window stopped me. Tied to its leg was a small piece of parchment.
Dear Miss Granger,
I must firstly pass on my deepest regrets. The passing of your parents has affected us all, and one can only imagine what you are going through.
I invite you now to 12 Grimmauld Place for the rest of the summer, having felt that enough time has elapsed for your grieving process. Please arrive as soon as you receive this letter.
Minerva McGonagall
Well, there was no way out of this offer either. Both Harry and Ron would come looking for me, Mrs Weasley would fret and fret some more, and Ginny, well, I couldn’t leave her surrounded by boys all summer. That would just be breaking the rules of our friendship “ us girls stuck together through thick and thin. I slowly started to pack my things into my trunk, thinking about the current situation.
How could I face Harry and Ron again after what I told them, or rather, what I didn’t? But I did, somehow. After gathering my belongings together, I had Apparated to the screaming of Mrs Black at 12 Grimmauld Place. I wish I could say that it was nice being back, but I didn’t feel any sort of happiness as I looked around the House of Black. The screaming in my ear had yet to cease, and I couldn’t think with it resounding in the background.
“FILTHY TRAITORS! MUDBLOODS! IT’S DIRT, HOW DARE YOU ENTER””
“SHUT THE HELL UP WOMAN!” Obviously her incessant screaming had pushed me too far, and I hadn’t even been in the house for ten seconds. A short silence followed, in which Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and Mrs Black looked at me with shocked expressions.
“HOW DARE A MUDBLODD TALK TO ME LIKE THAT?! GET OUT! OUT!”
“Oh, just do what Hermione told you to, you old hag!” ordered Remus, coming in from the kitchen. He whipped out his wand and proceeded to force the curtains over the portrait.
“Wow, Hermione.” I raised an eyebrow at Ron.
“’Mione!” I inhaled sharply as a small redhead came flying towards me, squeezing me into a hug. I smiled at Harry and Fred over Ginny’s shoulder.
“Hey, everyone,” I whispered into the silence. I didn’t really want to talk to anyone at the moment. The day’s events had fazed me enough. I was pushed backwards and held at arm’s length from Ginny, who looked worriedly into my eyes.
“Are. You. All. Right?” she asked, like I was a five-year-old. The way she said it was hilarious, and I couldn’t help but crack up. Unfortunately, the process had given Mrs. Black’s portrait a chance to do some more screaming.
“Oops.”
The next few days at Grimmauld Place were quite peaceful. No one had yet to disturb me, or drag me into a room to ask me if anything was wrong. I woke up one day feeling as thought this would be the day that I finally got confronted. It wasn’t a bad feeling “ I just hoped that I was prepared for whatever was coming my way. Unfortunately, or fortunately “ whichever way one looked at it “ I was right. My trek down to the kitchen for breakfast was disturbed spectacularly by three pairs of hands pulling me into the twins’ room.
“Hermione dear””
“”we’re worried””
“”about you””
“”so if you’d kindly tell us””
“”if anything’s wrong””
“”we’d be more than happy to help!” I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes to the bright colours in the room, then focused them on the three redheads in front of me.
“How very well rehearsed,” I said lightly, smiling at them.
“Oh no, completely spontaneous,” George replied. “We were just discussing the next prank to play on””
“”Ron, when you saw me walking past. Yeah, I know.” Again, they looked surprised. What's with everyone looking surprised around me? “Hey, I can do F'n'G sentences too!” Still they said nothing. “I'm fine, okay? Yes, my parents are dead, but I think I'm dealing with it; I'm coping. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. Now can I please get my breakfast?” The twins seemed to be contemplating whether or not to accept my explanation. Ginny, on the other hand, looked completely sceptical and unconvinced.
“That good enough for you, Gred?”
“I don't know, Forge. Gin?”
“Codswallopy balderknickle-dash.”
“Come again?”
“Codswallopy balderknickle-dash. Something's happened and she's not telling, I can tell.” Sometimes I hate how Ginny knows me so well. It's annoying.
“I'm telling you, Gin, I'm fine, nothing happened. How about we go down and eat?” I smiled sweetly at the twins, knowing that their resistance to food was about as small as a needle point. Both the boys nodded and headed out of the room, leaving me and Ginny alone. There was never any use hiding anything from her, but...
“I'll tell you later, Gin, okay? Breakfast calls!” Of course I wouldn't lie to her when I did tell her; I'd just... not tell her everything.
“Ha! You sound like Ron!” she laughed, whilst shoving me down the stairs.
Breakfast was an enjoyable affair for once. Ginny's and the twins' attempts to get me to talk finally worked, and I was able to engage Remus in a conversation about the side-effects of the Wolfsbane Potion if not brewed properly. It was nice to be around everyone again, but I just couldn’t get Voldemort or his offer out of my head. If I did accept, I would be betraying everything that Harry stood for. Sure, I wanted Voldemort dead almost as much as Harry did, but I wanted Lucius dead more, and the only way the latter would happen was to do what Voldemort wanted.
“Hermione?” I snapped my head up at the sound of a voice. Harry was looking at me with an anxious expression from across the table. “You all right?” I smiled at him, thankful that at least he, if not Ron, had noticed that something was wrong. He relaxed at my nod, and went back to talking with Ron and Charlie, undoubtedly about Quidditch.
I decided to abandon the kitchen and go back to one of my favourite past-times “ reading. The library here was just magnificent “ rows upon rows of shelves were filled with books unimaginable “ perfect for a little bit of light reading.
What was there to read though? I’d already read all my school books “ that is, if we were even going back… the Horcruxes! Of course! Harry had already given us as much information as he could, from what he had learnt with Dumbledore. Professor Slughorn’s memory had also served as useful, and since we had finished school early after Dumbledore’s funeral, there had been no time for research. Ah, research “ a wonderful thing.
It wasn’t easy “ if the subject was banned at Hogwarts, who knew what I would “ or wouldn’t “ find here? Yes, this was the House of Black, a family of Dark pure-blooded wizards, but we had cleared out many of the Dark things during our previous summer stays. See, it’s not really that useful to get rid of something you might need in the future.
At least three hours had passed “ by which time I had read only three books “ when I heard footsteps, the owner of which cast a shadow over the 437th page of ‘The Devil’s Sacrifice of Omens’.
“Having fun there, Hermione?” Harry’s voice sounded from above me. It was happy and optimistic, in a somewhat forced way. Why he was being so happy confused me “ did he not have to grieve for Dumbledore? After all, he was the closest thing he had to a grandfather.
I looked up at him, curiosity burning in my eyes. He smiled, as if knowing my thoughts. “No use crying, is there? If you’re not going to cry over your parents, I’m not going to cry for Dumbledore.” It was difficult not to pity him, but I didn’t want to. It was, after all, his choice. I motioned for him to sit down.
“Wish Voldemort had chosen something different from Horcruxes. I’ve never had a harder time researching something that there’s so little information on.” I flicked meekly through the pages of the old textbook.
“True. I’ve done it a lot already “ spend half my time in here now. Ron and Gin think I’ve gone mad,” he chuckled.
“You, in the library? Meh, always a first for something!”
“Hey! I went to the library to research Nicholas Flamel!”
“Harry, that was in first year. Anyway, shouldn’t we do some more reading?” He sighed, defeated in his attempt to strike up a conversation. “Have you thought about searching for the other Horcruxes?” I asked, whilst sliding the book back onto its shelf.
“Yeah, McGonagall says I should start soon. It’s why I’ve been doing all this research.”
“Oh. Mind if I come along?” I fingered the dust off ‘Being(s) Immortal’, the gold ‘s’ lettering fading to black.
“Not at all, not at all. Mind leaving Ron behind?” Hr cracked a grin. It turned quickly into a frown as the door shot open. There, in the doorway, stood an irate-looking Ron.
A/N: Hi again! Maybe the ending was a bit… off, but please please let me know! :D