Behind the Eyes of the Hero
Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter and never will. The idea of this story came to me when I was reading a story on Portkey. I thought it might be fun to write it when I have some time between my other stories. It probably won't be updated quickly and it won't be that long. It's just something I thought would be good to write. Oh, and don't forget to review!
Summery- It has been three years since Hogwarts has ended and Hermione Granger is living her life alone. With her self-written book and her cat Crookshanks, everything seems to be fine. Until news reaches her of a stranger in town. A stranger with extraordinary emerald eyes...
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Finding Answers to Unknown Questions
Hermione Granger sighed as she stepped out from the bookstore, wrapping her long cloak tighter around her slim body. The icy wind whipped down the street, cutting into her exposed skin. There was no sun shining down to melt the snow coating the small town, only clouds covered the sky, threatening to let drop the rain and hail.
She had lived in Scotland for over two years and those years had been spent in solitude. Of course her book had promoted publicity, but she hadn't done it for that. She had done it so the truth could be finally revealed. So the lies could be uncovered for what they truly were. She had done it for him.
She mentally hit herself for thinking such things and continued down the street, ignoring the wind and cold buffeting down on her. The village looked like something from a fairy tale. With small, snow covered houses and cobbled streets, it was the symbol of beauty. That was the main reason she had come here.
It had the feel and look of a small, country town. Everybody knew everyone else and news traveled fast around here. So if a stranger turned up one day, she would know about it only a few hours after his arrival. The way she wanted it. Plus, her book was high news in the town. It had been for the last few weeks since she had it published.
Labeled Behind the Eyes of the Hero, it followed her trials and tribulations through Hogwarts and her friendship with Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived. It said everything about what had happened behind the walls of Hogwarts; from her first year on the train, to her seventh year saying goodbye to her two best friends on the Platform of Nine and Three Quarters.
That had been the last day she had laid eyes on Harry Potter. She had watched him give her a last smile and embrace her one last time, whispering, "I will always love you," into her ear before Disapparating away with a sad look in his emerald eyes. That had been the day her heart had been lost. It felt like a part of her soul had been taken with Harry when he went and it was still missing to this day. She occasionally received a letter from Ron Weasley or Ginny, or she heard of the latest win by the Chudley Cannon's and Ron Weasley's greatest save yet.
She was glad that Ron was able to move on from their Hogwarts days yet envious that he could forget so easily. Every night she revisited the worst days of her life and each morning she awoke in tears, wishing everything would go back to normal. She wished that she was back in her first year, laughing with her two best friends, trying to figure out the mystery surrounding the trap door in the third corridor.
Life had been so much simpler back then. There was no worrying over Voldemort or the safety of your friends and parents. There was no war threatening to break out. There was only the nervousness of minor exams and the excitement of an upcoming Quidditch match. Harry, Hermione and Ron had been inseparable, rarely seen without the company of the others.
But as they got older and the darkness surrounding the world grew thicker, their friendship stayed strong as ever. Hermione and Ron helped Harry when the weight of the world grew too strong for him to bear alone and they shared the great burden between them. After Sirius Black was killed, Harry sank into a deep depression that threatened to consume him. It was Hermione and Ron that drew him out and convinced him to keep fighting. Once they had learnt of the prophecy, the three of them worked the hardest they could ever work and trained in the silence of the night for the last two years of their schooling.
They learnt things people of their age should never have to learn and they witnessed visions that should only be seen in nightmares. In their last two years, they had grown the most out of any student at Hogwarts. They became powerful, Harry more than anything. His magical energy was that of Dumbledore by the end of his seventh year and his skills at every subject were much more than any could achieve. He had become what he was born to become. He had grown into a powerful wizard at only the age of seventeen. He had the horrors of the world pressed down upon him and only a little bit of hope that drove him on. The times that he laughed were those of great remembrance, as a smile was hardly ever seen on his face after the death of his godfather.
Hermione remembered her last years at Hogwarts with much pain and sadness. Her seventh year was the one she would never forget, not that she wished to. It had been the year when the Second War broke out, causing much turmoil and death in both worlds. It had been the year when Harry defeated Voldemort on the grounds of Hogwarts, giving away the last of his innocence but gaining the freedom he so much longed for. And it had been the year when Hermione finally realized she was in love with Harry Potter.
Hermione on the streets of a small Scottish town, groaned in sudden awareness. She had done it again. Every time she let her mind wander, it went to him. Him with his scruffy black hair and exotic green eyes. Him with his sweet smile that melted her heart. Him that had taken her soul. She couldn't afford to think of him or the place she left behind. She had come here to be alone and free of her past life. But like it always did, her past had found her and was taunting her in painful memories and dreams. They felt so real, it was if she was reliving the days when they had been the best of friends, laughing and smiling over trivial things.
They were the worst dreams to have. They reminded her of times she could never have back and feelings she would never feel again. They made her want to scream, cry and swear all at once. And they made her heart shatter and repair itself, only to repeat the process once more.
"Not now, Hermione," she murmured to herself angrily, swiping away the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. The clouds had finally released their hold on the water and rain was falling like tiny crystals from the stormy sky. She pulled her cloak closer and pulled her hat down a little harder, her hair whipping back from her head in the icy wind. She turned left at the corner convenience store and walked briskly down the road, passing small cottages and stores.
She finally reached number two Rosebud Lane, pushed open the squeaky gate, and entered a neat little yard. She hurried up the thin stone path and onto the front porch, thankful she was out of the pouring rain. Hermione reached into her pocket and fumbled with the keys. Sliding one into the lock. With a slight click, the door unlocked and Hermione stumbled inside, shivering with cold. She placed her bag on the floor near the door and kicked off her smart, brown shoes placing them on a Welcome mat sitting beside her wall.
She pulled off her wet cloak, hung it on a coat hook with her hat, and shook her head to free it of tiny water droplets. Once that was done she quickly entered the Lounge Room, pulling out her wand and lighting the fire. Sighing in content, she went to the kitchen and fixed herself a up of steaming tea. She returned to the now warm Lounge Room and sank down into a comfortable, blue armchair, sipping at her hot drink.
There she sat for a long while, just staring into the flickering flames, her mind back on Harry with his enchanting emerald eyes.
Oh how she missed him. She missed seeing his smile that warmed her entire body. She missed feeling his arms around her, that made her feel like there was nothing in the world that could hurt her. And she missed his company. Even though, at times he was broody and had unexpected mood swings, she enjoyed his calming nature and soothing voice. Just listening to him talk was enough to make her knees weak and make her feel like floating away.
And his power was incredible. There was a reason why the Dark Lord had wanted him dead. Voldemort had sensed the power in a one-year old Harry and tried to kill him before he could grow up and fully develop the power within him. But that had backfired and it had cost him his own life. Harry had been marked for a reason and had a prophecy spoken about him for a reason. And the reason was that Harry was special. He had special powers and a special appearance. He led a special life. But mostly, he made those around him feel special.
If it wasn't for Harry, she would be a nobody; disliked and unnoticed. But Harry had made her feel something and accepted in the world. He made her want to live life to the fullest and take every chance that she could to make a better life for herself. He had made her what she was now. And after he had done that and, unnoticeably, made her fall in love with him, he had left her with five words that had haunted and annoyed her for over three years.
"I will always love you."
Seriously, who says that then just leaves, without saying where they were going or when they would be back. Harry had told her, one night in the Common Room at Hogwarts, that he would escape for a while when he finished Hogwarts: if he finished Hogwarts. Back then, in the days when Voldemort was a rising monster in the dark, the chance of Harry surviving in the final battle was very slim indeed. And the small ounce of hope that resided in each of Harry, Hermione and Ron's hearts that they would all graduate and live for many years, was enough to power a thousand Patroni.
When Harry entered the battle field that day, with his wand held tight and his thoughts on defeating Voldemort once and for all; she had been scared. Firstly at the prospect of her best friend heading off to defeat the most powerful Dark Wizard of their age. And secondly, she had been scared of him. Harry had showed what he was capable of. He wasn't a small, skinny eleven year old wizard-in-training. He was a fully powered, extremely strong wizard, with his mind set on killing Lord Voldemort for good.
And Hermione had followed him into the grounds of death, with Ron on his other side; all three of them prepared and trained for what was to come. They had trained for two hard years for that day when everything would change, for the good or the bad. Either Harry or Voldemort would die that die, or both. And they had talked about it and came to an understanding; that Harry would do what he had to in order to defeat Voldemort. It didn't mean Hermione had to accept it.
"Why do you always haunt me?" she said sadly, tearing her eyes away from the dying fire to stare at the cold cup of tea in her hands. Her delicate fingers were shaking against the white porcelain of her cup and the piece of metal curled around one of them sparkled in the light. She placed the cold tea down and took the ring off, moving it around in her fingers. There was an inscription on the inside of the ban: Friends Forever and Always.
She had gotten three of these rings in their seventh year and had each engraved with the same phrase. She had given one to each Ron and Harry, saying it would protect them in times of need. And Hermione had kept hers, after these few years, never taking it off in fear of losing the connection between her and her boys.
If she lost it, she would lose them too. And she wasn't ready to be left alone without her hero and brother. They were her life.
But she was alone. Ron was off playing professional Quidditch while Harry was gone, with no one knowing where he had vanished. And here she was, living in a Wizarding village in the middle of Scotland; she was an author and bookshop owner, where she could explore the many worlds through the pages in her books without having to leave the safety of her chair. Yet, something was missing. A piece of her soul and all her heart.
Hermione sighed as she placed the ring in her palm and squeezed tight, wishing her boys back home.
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Hey everyone! How was that? I hope it came out all right, please review, and tell me what you think! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, probably when I have written a few chapters for my other stories!
Thank you!
DW
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