Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter THREE- a new beginning
Hermione stood in the middle of the Ministry of Magic, Floo Network department. She had just arrived a few minutes ago, after having said goodbye to her parents. It was difficult leaving them like she just did, and if she wasn't holding her emotions in check, she would have been sobbing as if she were leaving home the first time.
After going home after Ron's wedding, Hermione ran all the way up to her room, closed the door, and stayed inside the entire night. Even though she still needed to pack, she didn't want to. She sat in her bed, staring at the night sky through her window, thinking of Harry's heart-broken face in her head. It hurt that she had to break her best friend's heart. She tried to ignore the twinge in her heart, but it still wouldn't go away. For the longest time, she kept telling herself, that yes, this was indeed for the best. Harry would get over the silly idea of being in love with her after a while.
Her mum had tried to talk about the entire Harry thing, as she had come to call it, but Hermione had brushed it off, saying that things were going to be just as they were, that they were still best friends. Jane Granger knew better than to push things, and after prodding her daughter to finish her packing, she retired to her own room.
After Hermione finally got around to packing, it was time for her to meet Professor McGonagall in Kingsport, Prince Edward Island. She quickly hugged her parents, promising to write, and after a kiss each, she Disapparated for the Ministry of Magic.
The Floo department was flooded today. Hermione waited impatiently for her turn at the Floo. She was Floo number 430, which meant that she would be stuck here for another hour or so. Finally overcome with boredom, she fished through her purse for her writing folder, and with a Muggle ball-point pen (one that she kept in her bag when quills and ink wells were not convenient). She grinned peevishly at Crookshanks, her cat, who was sitting on top of her trunks. With a book propped on her lap to write on, she began working on her newest epic, The Musician's Quest.
Time passed by rather quickly as she wrote and wrote. Even though her concentration was mostly on her writing, she still paid heed to the numbers that were being called. "250, 251." She sighed helplessly. Still a ways to go. Hopefully Professor McGonagall would figure out that the Floo network was trafficked.
Another hour had passed. Hermione was now entirely focused on her writing. When she paused to think about Elizabeth Perkins, entranced by the strings of sound from Robert Graves' violin, she suddenly heard her number being called. "430, 431." She quickly closed her folder and stuffed it and the book back into her bag. Pushing the trolley in front of her, she scurried to the fireplace.
Crash!!!
Crookshanks was shrieking in anger, and her trunks were tossed all over the floor, mixed in between those of another person's. Hermione's knee was bruised from the jolt, and her ears were hurting as a man was yelling at her.
"What do you think you're doing, lady? Are you trying to kill me and my owl?" the tall man scolded while picking up his trunks. "I'm actually in a rush to get out of here for more important matters!!"
Hermione stiffly raised herself up as she stared cold straight into the man's eyes. "What do I think I'm doing? My number has just been called and I was just trying to make my way to my Floo room, so I can get out of here. And you should have been more careful! What right do you have to start yelling at me in the middle of the Ministry of Magic, just because oh, you of all people are in a rush." She heaved her two heavy trunks back on top of the trolley. Lifting up Crookshanks' cage, she purred softly at him, trying to calm him after the shock of being overturned from a crash.
The man's angry face suddenly changed to a more amused look. "Let me help you with that. After all, I was being rude and selfish." The man began to push Hermione's trolley.
She snorted and slapped his hands off. "I'm perfectly capable of pushing my own trolley. Good day, sir." Lifting her chin high in the air, she limped slowly as she pushed the trolley to the first room, unwary of a brown folder that had slid under the man's trolley
The man stared at her back for a few minutes. As he began pushing his trolley, he noticed the wheels running over something other than tile. He bent over and found a brown folder. The lady must have dropped this during the accident. As Floo numbers were being called off, he decided that it was too late to give it back. Opening the file, he read the by-line, Hermione Granger. With a smirk on his face, he tucked the folder into his briefcase and exited the room.
*******************************************
Harry sat in the Grangers' living room, head resting on his hands, as Jane Granger set a cup of tea in front of him, on the coffee table. He had just barely missed her; he berated himself for not coming to see her after she left the Burrow. His tears were forcing to fall, but he did not want to cry in front of Hermione's parents, but when Jane handed him a box of tissues, one look at her kind face that reminded him so much of Hermione's own, and he broke down into sobs.
Jane sat down next to him, and glanced at her husband, Robert, who was sitting on the easy chair on the other side of the coffee table. He shrugged as he watched his wife hold the young man in her arms, allowing him to cry on her shoulder.
After releasing his pent-up emotions, he thanked the Grangers for tea, and decided to go home. Before leaving, he handed Jane a small black box. Without saying a word, Jane nodded in understanding. A look of relief washed over Harry's face, and he picked up his invisibility cloak and walked to the garden, where his Firebolt was lying.
"Harry! Wait a second!" Jane called out to him. She hurried over to the mantel over the fireplace and picked up a framed picture. It was one of Hermione, holding onto her most favorite book in the world, Hogwarts, a History, and Harry, whose arm was around her shoulder, as he pressed his head close to hers while they smiled at the camera. "Here. Take this with you."
Harry took the frame with shaking hands, not knowing what to say. His eyes spoke volumes for him, as Jane gave him a quick hug. "Take care of yourself, Harry, and don't make yourself scarce, all right?"
He nodded, and after whispering, "Thank you," he mounted his Firebolt, covered himself with the cloak, and flew out into the night sky.
Jane closed the door after Harry. With box in hand, she went to sit on the armchair of Robert's easy chair. They both gasped in surprise when she opened the box, only to reveal a twenty-five karat white diamond sitting on a platinum ring.
"What do you think he wanted when he gave you the ring?" Robert asked, still dazed at the ring.
"He was going to propose to her," Jane mumbled.
"But Hermione's not here."
"And she had already turned him down once. He's letting her go. He loves her so much that he's willing to let her search for the love that had been staring at her face this whole time."
Robert's face dawned with understanding. "She's lucky to have such a man love her. I'll keep this in the safe until she returns."
"You do that, honey." Jane handed the box to her husband and planted a kiss on his forehead. "For her own good, I hope Hermione will understand one day."
"I do too. Harry would be wonderful to have for a son, wouldn't he?"
******************************************
Hermione was irritated. She hated traveling by Floo, especially the nauseating feeling experienced when engulfed by the green flames and then being twirled into the next fireplace. After dusting herself off, she looked up to see her former Transfigurations teacher eyeing her amusingly.
"Professor McGonagall!" Hermione exclaimed as Minerva McGonagall helped Hermione up to her feet.
Minerva smiled fondly at her former student. "I'm glad you've made it here fine, though a little tardy, Miss Granger." She spread her arms out. "Welcome to Kingsport College for Witches."
Hermione glanced around her surroundings. Unlike Hogwarts, which she had thought was a little dark and gloomy, Kingsport College for Witches was colorful, with bright freshly painted walls, and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling gave the room a much brighter look. "It's lovely here, Professor."
Minerva nodded stiffly. "I believe you have earned the right to call me Minerva, Hermione." Hermione's face lit up with a bright smile. "Come; let's get you settled in your quarters. The maid will have someone deliver your trunks to your room."
Hermione followed Minerva out of the headmistress' office, taking the staircase down. She took in the interior decorating of the room, admiring every bit of architecture along the way.
"This is such a lovely place, Minerva."
"Oh yes, it is. Also quite a maintenance job, I must say."
"I'm sure it is." Hermione stared at the wall paintings in the hallways. She gasped in surprise when she recognized one of them. "Monet? Minerva, that's a…."
Minerva let out a small chuckle. "Yes, it is, Hermione. As you'll come to understand, the school is financed by many Muggle-born families, who send their daughters to our school. The prejudices you've faced at Hogwarts is nearly inexistent here. Well, at least you don't have to worry too much about pure-blood and Muggle-born disputes here."
"It'd be nice for a change. What could be much worse than facing the Malfoys and their grubby bunch of Death-eater fiends?"
Minerva laughed nervously. "Perhaps you wouldn't be so quick to judge, Hermione, until you've been properly introduced to your students." She took out a key from her pocket and handed it to Hermione. "This is your quarters. I'm sure you'll find it suitable. One of the housekeepers will bring a tray for you around dinnertime, so you can stay in and rest before classes begin tomorrow."
Hermione nodded. "Now that you mentioned it, I am a little tired. Thanks, Minerva. It's going to be a great year for me."
"I'm glad you think so. Anyhow, I'll leave you alone now." Minerva gave Hermione a small hug and
turned back into the corridor.
Hermione unlocked the door to her rooms, and she gasped in delight. She could hardly imagine a place more beautiful than the site before her. The room was round-shaped, with a dome for a ceiling and tall French windows covering most of the walls. The windows were adorned with lace curtains. In the middle of the circular wall was a four-poster bed, on each side night tables in which Hermione could imagine stacking her favorite bedtime readings. To the left side of the bed, an Italian desk carved from oak stood in front of a brick wall next to one of the magnificent windows. She opened the cover and smiled inwardly how each drawer was filled with fresh parchment and the inkwell was full to the rim. Already, she could envision herself planning her lessons and writing her stories. She moved over to the closet, which released the smell of fresh pine wood when she opened the doors. Her lips curled with a pleased smile that her clothes had already been organized and put away. And her private bathroom, with its marble tiles and gilded wall trimmings, it was no wonder this town was reputed to be one of the most affluent places in the entire Prince Edward Island.
She took off her robe and hung it over the armoire. After removing the clips to her hair, she collapsed into the bed, and fell asleep.
Author's Notes:
Thank you so much for the reviews! It has been very encouraging to read through them. Now to clarify a few things.
First of all, the works of fiction that Hermione has been working on, The Maiden's Bequest and The Musician's Quest, these are actually titles of books written by the Scottish writer George McDonald. They're actually very good books, especially The Maiden's Bequest, which is known as one of his most famous books.
Second, yes, the story is based on the Anne of Green Gables stories. Even though it's not an H/Hr ship in the beginning, it WILL end that way. Actually, Hermione will figure things out somewhere in the middle of the story. I want to have a little fun with this, so, I'll just stop talking about this here.
Third, I almost forgot. The title, By Searching, was taken from Isobel Kuhn's autobiography, By Searching. Though my story has nothing to do with religion itself, I thought the title itself spoke many volumes and had decided to use it.
Lastly, I wanted to write more for this chapter, but I've decided this was the best spot to end this chapter.
Hope you enjoyed Chapter 3 as well. Again, thank you for reading, and please don't forget to review.