Chapter 1 - Not in France
November, 1998
Hermione would never forget the day she met Harry Potter.
Ginny had asked her to come over that afternoon to have tea with her. Hermione had happily accepted the invitation. The Weasleys house elf, Winky, was a great cook and she always made a delicious lemon pie, Hermione's favourite.
"Bye mum," she said, kissing her mother in the cheek.
"Bye dear. Be careful," Mrs. Granger said.
"Be careful" was pretty good advice for a girl like Hermione in those days. Although Ginny just lived next door, she knew why her mother worried. In Paris, where she lived, people were starting to react to Slytherin's nonsense about muggle-borns. Though they hadn't reached the level of killing them or taking prisoners, as they did in England, some people feared that it would happen soon.
Hermione was a muggle-born, but she didn't care about it. She wasn't afraid at all. She knew that people would soon realize that it was stupid to worry about someone's birth and ancestors, when only skills and heart should be important.
The Weasley's home was two times bigger than hers. But then again, the Weaslyes were a wealthy family and the Grangers were far from that. She knocked on the door and Winky opened.
"Hello Winky," she greeted, giving her the old cloak she was wearing.
"Good afternoon, miss. Please come in. Miss Ginny is in the living room with the guests," replied Winky, before disappearing in the kitchen.
Guests? Ginny hadn't told her anything about guests. She stared at herself in the mirror that was in the entrance. She was wearing an old wool skirt and a blue sweater. Her brown hair was bushy - as always - and she wasn't wearing make up at all. She internally hoped that those 'guests' Winky had mentioned weren't guys.
Oh, how wrong she was.
When she entered in the living room, she saw Ginny chatting with two men. Her friend looked simply stunning. Her smooth and silky red hair was tied back, and she was wearing a black dress that looked great on her. Hermione was aware that Ginny was a beautiful girl, and next to her, she looked even plainer than she already was, but she had never cared about that... until now.
"Oh Hermione, dear, you finally arrived," said Ginny casually when she saw her standing there.
The two guys stood up immediately and turned to face her. The first thought that crossed Hermione's mind was how different they were from each other.
The first one was tall and thin. He had blond hair and grey eyes. He was grinning and looked very nice.
Right next to him, an even taller man was standing. He had black, messy hair and behind a pair of glasses, two sparkling green eyes that right now were piercing her. His face was serious.
It took her two seconds to realize who the green-eyed guy was. Harry Potter. She knew about him, of course. He was 'The Boy Who Lived', the one who had defeated the Dark Lord when he was just a year old. She knew more about him thanks to Ginny though. Ron, Ginny's brother, was Harry Potter's best friend, and Ginny had hung out with him a lot before coming to France. Hermione had heard her talking about Harry so many times, that she felt that she almost knew him.
But she hadn't expected that she would meet him for real.
Especially not when she was dressed with her ugly clothes.
"This is Hermione Granger, the one I told you about," Ginny announced.
"I'm Draco Malfoy," the blonde guy said, shaking her hand. Hermione smiled at him.
"Harry Potter," the other said, shaking her hand as well, but he didn't smile. He was still staring at her, and Hermione started to feel uncomfortable.
She sat on the couch next to Ginny. Why was he looking at her like that? It was rude. The fact that he was famous, rich and very handsome didn't give him the right to gaze at her that look. The two guys sat down too.
"Butterbeer, dear?" offered Ginny. Hermione shook her head. She didn't feel like drinking or eating anything anymore.
"You are different from what I thought you would be," commented Draco.
Hermione arched her eyebrows. "What has Ginny been telling you?" she asked, giving a look to her friend.
"Absolutely nothing, I swear," the redhead said, smiling. "Only good things, of course. How smart you are, a great friend, a brilliant witch, a little bossy and bookworm-"
"Hey!" Hermione said, faking anger. Draco laughed.
"You're a muggle-born," Harry stated.
Hermione turned to him. "I'm a witch," she said. Was he one of those idiots who cared about pureblood?
"Your parents are muggles," he insisted.
"So?" retorted Hermione, starting to get angry.
"Hermione, please don't be offended," Ginny said quickly. "Harry isn't asking that because of what you think."
"Then why does he ask?" she said. She didn't give a damn that he was Harry Potter. She wasn't going to allow him to question her witch rights.
"Because there's a war," Harry replied. "Because muggle-borns are being chased."
"Yeah, in England. And as far as I know, we're in France," she argued.
Harry shook his head. "Slytherin is reaching France as well."
Hermione was going to say something, but Ginny interrupted her.
"Harry, please… I haven't seen you in a long time, so let's not talk about serious stuff, alright? Tell me about my old friends in England."
Reluctantly, Harry's eyes shifted from Hermione to Ginny. They started talking about a bunch of people Hermione had never heard about. Draco nodded politely every once in a while, but she got the feeling he wasn't very aware of whom they were talking about either.
Hermione took this chance to study Harry better. She knew he was about the same age as her, 18, but with his serious face he looked older. Ginny had told her that Harry had gone to Hogwarts School and he had graduated top of his class, same as Hermione, only from Beauxbatons. Her eyes shifted to the lightening shaped scar on his forehead that was barely visible among his hair.
Ginny had told her that Harry had a lot of success among women. Of course, he was a hero. And he was rich. She heard that he had an enormous fortune saved in Gringotts... Besides, he administrated "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes", the biggest and most successful joke-shop, which belonged to Ginny's older brothers, Fred and George. But it wasn't just that. Harry Potter was the most handsome man Hermione had ever seen, and just being in the same room that him made her nervous. That's stupid, she thought. I don't even know this guy.
"Hermione!! Are you listening? I'm talking to you," Ginny said, with an annoyed voice.
"Uhm? Oh!" she realized she must have had a pretty dumb face, thinking about all that nonsense. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking," she apologized, blushing slightly.
Ginny frowned. "Well, Harry and I were talking about my brothers, and I told him that you met them last summer."
Harry's eyes were on her again.
Hermione nodded absent-mindly. She remembered when Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ron had come to France the previous summer. They were all very nice, especially Ron, with whom she had developed some sort of friendship.
Harry opened his mouth to say something when Winky came in.
"Excuse me," she said, walking towards Harry. "An owl came with this, directed to Mr. Harry Potter, sir. It says it's urgent." She gave Harry a piece of parchment.
Harry thanked her and read it quickly.
"I'm sorry, Ginny, but I must go," he said, standing up quickly. "I'll see you later." He turned to Hermione. "It was nice to meet you, Hermione." He was about to leave, but he turned to face her again. "What I told you is true," he said. "You should leave France."
"Leave France? But I... "
"The war is coming closer," he cut her off.
"Thanks for the advice," said Hermione a little coldly.
Harry gave her another piercing stare, then put his cloak on and walked towards the door.
"I should go too," said Draco, standing up as well. Hermione had almost forgot he was there. "It was great to meet such lovely ladies," he said, winking and following Harry.
Ginny followed them and returned a couple of minutes later. "That's typical of Harry," she commented sighing when she came back. "Just when things are getting fun, he always has something else to do."
Hermione was still thinking about Harry's warning, but she didn't want to look like a worrywart, so she chose not to mention anything to Ginny about it.
"So?" said the redhead, offering her a cup of tea. Hermione knew she was asking her for her opinion on the guys.
"Did you know they were coming when you asked me to come over?" she asked, frowning slightly.
"Well, I had no idea about Draco Malfoy's existence until now," Ginny said, waving her hand.
"And Harry?" Ginny shrugged. "Well, thank you very much for telling me. At least I was able to come with my best outfit," Hermione said sarcastically.
"Dear," said Ginny seriously. "You don't need to wear fancy clothes or any make up to look gorgeous. You have a natural beauty that lights up the room wherever you are."
Hermione made a face. "What?" she laughed. "Ginny, where did you come up with such a... description?"
"I didn't come up with it, it was my mum," Ginny said. "And I think that Draco Malfoy agrees," she added casually.
"Whatever," said Hermione rolling her eyes.
"I told Harry he shouldn't have been so rude with you," said Ginny, taking a sip of her tea. Hermione got the feeling she was apologizing for him.
"Well, what does he care about where I live?" snapped Hermione, surprising herself with her reaction.
"That's what I told him. But that's him… he's always trying to save everyone in this world."
* * *
Hermione worked in a muggle store. She wanted to go to college, but her parents were having serious economic problems and she wanted to help. She had sent her resume to the Ministry of Magic in France, but she hadn't received any replies. She had the feeling it had something to do with the fact of being a muggle-born, but she tried to dismiss the idea. It had been only a couple of months since she had left school anyway, so why worry so much?
She was closing the store when she saw Ginny coming towards her, wrapped in her purple cloak to warm herself. It was a very cold day, indeed.
"Hi, Gin," greeted Hermione. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in the neighborhood," replied Ginny with a smile. "I was visiting Harry. He's staying at the Pyramide Hotel."
They started walking towards Daguerre, talking about different things. Ginny's favorite subject seemed to be Harry Potter, and Hermione started teasing her.
"He's like a brother to me," Ginny argued.
When they reached Hermione's house, an old lady was waiting outside. They recognized her as Mrs. Figg, a woman that lived a few houses from the Grangers. She was very fond of Hermione.
"Hello, Mrs.Figg," Hermione said.
"Oh dear, thank God you're here!" the old woman exclaimed. "Your mother... They took her!"
"What? Who?"
"I don't know! Two men, dressed with weird clothes... Some sort of robes," Hermione and Ginny exchanged a worried look.
"Where did they take her?" Hermione asked, with anxiety.
"They said something about a Ministry... I'm not sure. I told your father as well and it seems he went there, but he hasn't come back."
There was only one 'Ministry' with people who wore robes. Hermione thanked Mrs. Figg and started running in the opposite direction. Ginny followed her.
"You're not planning on going there, are you?" she asked.
"Of course I am! I don't understand, Gin. Why would the Ministry of Magic come to my house and take my mother there?"
"Who knows? Maybe they just wanted to ask her... ummm, something."
"But what? Wizards don't relate with common muggles, do they?" Hermione reasoned.
"But Hermione, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go there. Let's go back home. I'll call my dad and he'll do something."
Ginny's idea sounded pretty reasonable, but Hermione was too worried to pay any attention to it. Her mind was aching with questions and Harry's words kept coming into her head. What if this has something to do with the blood cleaning stuff?
"OK," said Ginny, stopping her. "If we're going there, at least we could apparate to save time, don't you think?"
* * *
The wizard who received her was the scariest man Hermione had ever seen. He had told Ginny that she was to wait outside.
"Your name is Granger?" he asked, checking her identification.
"Yes," Hermione replied, trying to keep her voice steady. "I was told that my mother was here."
The wizard didn't say anything. He studied the girl with his cold eyes and after a while he smirked.
"Give me your wand," he said.
"My wand? What for?" Hermione said, grabbing protectively her wand, which was in her pocket.
"Internal security," the wizard said. Hermione hesitated. "Look, girl, if you want to see your parents, you have to follow my instructions."
She gave him her wand. The wizard stood up and for a moment Hermione thought he was going to lead her to where her mother was. But instead the man took her wand and broke it in a half, just in front of her eyes.
"Why did you do that?!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked and furious.
"Muggles shouldn't have something that belongs to wizards."
"I'm a witch!"
"You're a mudblood. Now get out of here if you don't want to be put behind bars."
Hermione could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"You bastard," she muttered. "Where's my mother?"
"Not here, obviously. Muggles have nothing to do in this place." The wizard glared at her menacingly. "Get out."
* * *
Ginny was shocked when she heard what had happened to her friend. She started insulting the 'filthy pigs' and threatening to tell her father. But Hermione was too worried to discuss the event. When she arrived home, her parents still weren't back. In fact, they didn't show up until the next morning.
"Mum! Dad! What happened?!" she yelled when they appeared in the front door. She had spent the whole night sitting in the living room, staring at the door.
"We're fine, honey," her dad said. He was a little pale, but he seemed unharmed.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked. Her parents exchanged a look. "I know some wizards from the Ministry came here."
"Oh, they just wanted to interrogate me," Mrs. Granger said, casually. "Nothing serious."
"Nothing serious? Mum, they had you there all night! Besides, why should wizards want to interrogate you?"
"They're doing it with all the muggle-born... Is that how you call them? Well, with every muggle-born's parents. We took a lot of time because there were a lot of people being interrogated."
Hermione felt a pang of fear.
"Why?" she asked with a tiny voice.
"Routine, they said. Security, who knows? The important thing is that we're fine, nothing happened. Now hurry up dear, you're going to be late for work."
Hermione would have preferred to stay home and kept asking questions, but it was obvious that her parents didn't want to talk. She avoided mentioning what had happened in the Ministry. Now that she didn't have her wand, she felt completely defenseless. She would have to buy another one.
Before going to work, she decided to go to the Weasley's to inform them that her parents had arrived. They had worried a lot and Mr. Weasley had promised he would do whatever he could to find them. He hadn't commented anything when Ginny told him about Hermione's wand, but she had the feeling that the news had disturbed him a lot.
Nobody answered to the door. That's strange, she thought. Even if they were all out, Winky should be there. She knocked a few more times, but no one came. It was getting late, so she ran to the store, thinking that maybe they had had something to do and Winky had taken the day off.
But when she came back that afternoon and found out that the house was still empty, she started worrying. She spoke to her parents about it, but they told her that she was making a fuss about something unimportant. "Maybe they went on vacation or something," said Mr. Granger, in an indifferent way, which was completely out of character.
But Hermione knew Ginny would never leave without letting her know. No, something had happened to the Weasleys. Her intuition told her so. She had to do something.
Harry. He was an important wizard and very close to the Weasleys. Maybe he would know something. She would have to go to the Hotel where he was staying and ask him.