An: I know I said last Friday but that was before I was told that I had to go to a workshop last Friday. I've made this chapter longer than it originally was in hopes of making up for last week Friday.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 1
Hermione Granger sat on the balcony of Granger Estate and watched sourly as her father's carriage headed into town. Granger Estate was one of the many houses that was situated on what was once part of the Gryffindor Manor grounds. She cast a quick glance over to her left where she saw the Manor standing proud on the hill.
The Gryffindor Manor was one of four great Manors that stood in the town of Hogwarts. For easy navigation through Hogwarts, each manor was situated on a cardinal point, Gryffindor occupied the north point and the Slytherin Manor was directly opposite it on the south point. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff mansions occupied the East and West points respectively. The mansions were each named after the family that built it and these four families were also the founders of the town of Hogwarts.
It was thought that the Gryffindors had mysteriously died off centuries ago but since nobody actually knew what happened, there were many theories involving all sorts of gruesome creatures and conspiracy plots involving the other founders. At the time of the supposed deaths there was quite an uproar over who the Manor would belong to. Salazar Slytherin argued that the Manor was rightfully his but both Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff indicated that Godric Gryffindor, the youngest of all the Gryffindors, had once stated that should anything happen to them he would like to see his servants inherit the land surrounding the Manor. Slytherin didn't agree with that notion arguing that servants mustn't be allowed to upset the status quo in Hogwarts and decided to take the Manor by force.
There were heavy causalities and many servants perished in the fight to keep Slytherin out of their beloved Manor. Rowena Ravenclaw's journal revealed that it caused her great pain and she believed that the servants had died for nothing as Godric himself had cast a powerful curse on the Manor to ensure that no one but those he intended would be able to enter the Manor. As soon as Salazar had placed his hand on the great door a powerful force through him backwards and a bright light shone from the inside of the Manor causing all observers to hide their eyes. When the light diminished all entrances and exits were sealed and Salazar Slytherin lay before the steps on the Manor sprawled in a twisted Manor with his face frozen in horror, but there was a greater tragedy than Slytherin's death as there were servants inside the Manor who were unable to leave and it was presumed they died locked inside.
There were many attempts to break the powerful seal but nobody has been successful in claiming the Manor for their own. The lands surrounding the Manor however were quickly occupied and claimed by the surviving servants without protest from the Slytherin's but every few generations a Slytherin would always remind the descendents of the servants that who ever can lay claim to the manor can theoretically, according to Hogwarts' law, claim the lands that once belonged to the ancient manor. Quite a few seers had prophesized the return of the Gryffindors to the Manor but they mysteriously disappeared and hadn't been hear from since.
Hermione watched her father's carriage near the end of the long winding driveway and as soon as the carriage disappeared from her sight, she ran down staircase and out the door to the stables. She loved to go riding with her favourite horse, Comet. Her father disapproved of her riding without supervision but she figured what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. She may look like her mother but she was not her mother.
When Hermione was 3 years old her mother died in a riding accident, which had devastated her father. Ever since then, her father has been very apprehensive about Hermione and horses. Unfortunately for Mr. Granger, she inherited her mother's love of horses, and after much begging on Hermione's part, he eventually agreed to let her ride but only under strict supervision and his watchful eye.
Today was a beautiful day though as there were no clouds in the sky, just a picturesque blue! Hermione decided to ride out to her favourite spot on the lake and return before her father would even realized she had disappeared. It was difficult spot to ride to and only an experienced rider could get there. The path would take her through the forest and then down through a narrow passageway past some awkward rocks and out onto a grassy patch by the lake. One tree stood on this patch with a rock below it. Hermione always thought the rock was the perfect size for two people to sit comfortably on but she used it to sit and read. If her father were away on business she would also walk with a small picnic but she wouldn't have that luxury today.
It had been ten years ago when she first discovered that spot, well in all fairness it was actually Comet who discovered it. Comet was just a foal when Hermione had taken her for a short walk to introduce her to the forest. What had started out as a beautiful day had turned dreary when storm clouds rolled in. There was a loud clap of lightning and Comet easily broke lose from her. Hermione ran after her and followed her deeper into the forest. It started to pour rain and she could barely keep sight of the foal in front of her.
She barely managed to keep up and was thankful when Comet stopped under a tree by the lake. She held on to her firmly and stroked her mane to calm her down. Once the storm cleared she realized that they were on a grassy patch by the lake under a big oak tree. The scenery was beautiful and Hermione enjoyed the smell of the air after a rainstorm.
She eventually made her way back out with Comet, but needless to say her father was in a tantrum and she was grounded from riding for a whole month. That was one miserable month, the only bright spot being she met Luna Lovegood, one of her best friends now.
She eagerly prepared Comet for the ride and in no time she was on her way towards her spot. She rode quickly as she had to ensure that she returned before her father. She was definitely not in the mood for one of his lectures. Once she cleared the forest and headed down towards the tree she realised that there were two people sitting on the rock in a very intimate embrace. Hermione stopped Comet immediately and tried to silently return to the forest but before she could even turn around the man seemed to sense her presence and broke from the kiss to stare at her.
Hermione felt her face flush under his intense gaze. His beautiful emerald eyes were very captivating and she felt herself getting lost in them.
"Harry," the girl wined oblivious to Hermione's presence as she tried to pull him back to her.
Hermione suddenly broke out of her trance, "Sorry I didn't realise anyone was here." She said as she turned Comet around to leave.
"Wait," he cried out. The man had no idea why he stopped her, just that he had a strong urge to talk to her.
Hermione stopped Comet and gave her the subtle command to turn around so she could face the gentleman that addressed her. She had no idea why on Earth he would want to talk to her after what she just interrupted.
"You rode out here by yourself on that horse?" He asked in disbelief ignoring the angry look that the young lady with him was giving him.
"Why, is there something wrong with me or my horse?" She questioned slightly offended that he doubted her capabilities as well as Comet's.
"Yes, a true lady doesn't ride like that. You should be side saddle." The lady with him informed her. She was tall and slim with an aristocratic air. She sat up straight on the rock and had pulled a fan out of nowhere to fan herself. That action alone told Hermione that she had had years of etiquette training.
"A lady who is true to herself will never put herself in that uncomfortable position." Hermione replied without a bat of an eyelid. Hermione truly hated riding a horse in that position. It made it easier for her to fall off, especially with the way Hermione rode a horse!
"And what is that supposed to mean?" The lady queried meanly as she poked her head in the air to look down her nose at Hermione. That was quite a ridiculous site as Hermione was at least 3 feet higher than her on Comet and she had to use a great deal of self-control not to laugh at her.
"It means what you want it to mean, after all words are words, it matters not what the words say but how you interpret their meaning. I am truly sorry for the interruption please excuse me as I take my leave." Hermione responded as she quickly turned Comet around and left leaving the couple on the rock.
Hermione was sorely disappointed that she wouldn't be able to spend some time reading but decided it was probably for the best and she decided to return home.
-*-
The young man stared at the spot that the female rider had occupied before he was broken out of his trance by her voice.
"Harry, I have never met anyone so rude!" She said crinkling her nose in disgust.
"Relax Cho, shall we continue what we were doing?" Harry said to her seductively
"As much as I would like to, I am too upset. The nerve of that girl. Really Harry, I thought you said you were the only person who knew this spot or is she some other girl that you brought out here?" Cho asked him angrily
"Cho, I swear, you are the first person that I brought out here. I have never met her before." Harry insisted.
"Neither have I. I don't think she has been to any of the town balls. She must be that Granger girl that keeps to herself. With an ugly face like that I can understand why!" Cho said as she began to laugh.
"Actually, she wasn't that bad." Harry said without thinking.
Cho scowled at him.
"Uhh, you know nothing can compare to your beauty Cho!" He said as he tried to kiss her again but instead of reaching her lips he got air.
Cho jumped off the rock and demanded that he take her back.
"Decorum dictates you take me back now" Cho said superiorly
"If decorum dictated anything you wouldn't have come out here with me in the first place" He muttered under his breath
"What was that dear?" Cho asked angrily.
"I was just saying what a pleasure it has been spending this time with you." Harry said as he helped her on to his horse, Firebolt. Harry mounted behind her and took the reigns in his hand.
"Can I please?" Cho said gesturing to the reigns
"Firebolt is a spirited horse, she is very fussy over who rides her." Harry expalined
"I have been riding all my life. I am sure I can handle her! And besides you are right here with me, nothing can happen to me when I am with you" She said with a seductive smile.
Harry was a sucker for her smile and handed the reigns to Cho. She eagerly accepted and tugged on the reigns and instructing Firebolt to move forward. The horse slowly started trot when Cho dug her heels into the horse's side and yelled "Faster, faster!"
"Cho don't go too fast. It is a dangerous passageway." Harry said with a slight panicked tone.
"I know what I am doing Harry, now be quiet unless you want my father to know that you carried me out here without a chaperone!" Cho threatened.
Harry gulped. Mr. Chang was not a man to cross. He was a very wealthy businessman both shrewd and cunning. Rumour had it, that he didn't come by some of his fortune legally.
"Cho, you are going to fast now!" Harry said as Firebolt was at a fast run now. True his horse knew the way very well and he had once or twice sprinted up the passageway but though Cho was an experienced rider she had never rode this particular terrain before and she might not be able to handle some of the bends in the passageway.
Harry made to pull the reigns away from Cho as they were coming up to a sharp corner between two rock faces but she moved her hands away from his. " Relax Harry I can do this" Cho said confidently. As Cho rounded the corner she realised that the rude girl and her horse were directly in front of them.
"Move your horse!" Cho cried
Harry looked up and sure enough the girl was in front of them. The only problem was there was nowhere for her to go. She couldn't just move out of the way. The only way was to stop Firebolt.
"Cho hand me the reigns, I need to stop Firebolt," He said
Before Cho could respond Firebolt halted to a stop and sent Cho and Harry flying off of his back.
Fortunately for Cho, she went crashing into Hermione throwing them both off of Comet. Hermione landed with quite an impact on the ground and to make things worse, Cho landed on top of her with Harry landing roughly on the ground just behind Comet. It took him a few minutes to recover. He had a bruise on his head and a few bruises on his left side where he came in to contact with the ground. But other than that he was lucky that he didn't break anything.
He came up to the crumpled mess of the two women on the forest floor and offered a hand to both women. Cho gladly accepted and he pulled her up. She immediately brushed off her dress and fixed her hair.
"Thank you so much Harry." Cho said as she kissed his cheek in thanks.
Hermione was still face down on the ground in an awkward position. She felt a searing pain in her left hand and she concluded that she must have broken her wrist when she tried to brace her fall off of Comet.
Harry held out his hand for her to take but it was pushed away by an angry Comet. Comet bent her head down towards Hermione for her to grab a hold of her reigns. Harry watched in awe as Hermione grabed the reigns with her right hand and the horse pulled her up to her feet. He had to admit, it wasn't everyday you saw a horse care for its mistress so well. He could only conclude that she treated the horse very well and they had a close friendship much like him and Firebolt. Though he suspected Firebolt may not be too happy with him right now.
"That must happen often if he knows how to help you up." Harry joked.
"She!" Hermione corrected him angrily. "And how often this does or does not happen is none of your business Sir."
Harry was uncomfortable and didn't know how to apologize to the lady in front of him. Cho wasn't helping either as she wanted to get back to the Manor to fix her clothes.
Hermione was having difficulty trying to mount Comet with her broken wrist.
"What's wrong with your hand?" Harry asked as he noticed her cradling her left hand.
"Nothing." Hermione lied to him. She wasn't about to admit to a complete stranger that she was injured.
"Harry can you help me get back on to Firebolt so we can go?" Cho interrupted them.
Harry turned around and struggled the urge to shout at Cho. He lead her back to Firebolt who had many reservations about Cho riding him again and he had no fear in letting Harry know it.
"Whoa boy, calm down lets just get Lady Chang back to Ravenclaw Manor ok?" Harry pleaded to his horse. He then whispered in his ear "If we don't get her back before her father reaches home he will skin both of our hides!"
Firebolt relented and let Lady Chang mount him. Harry got on behind her but kept the reigns firmly in his hand. He looked around and noticed that the other rider was gone. It greatly disturbed him that she could have disappeared so easily.
_*_
Meanwhile in Town
Mr. Granger grudingly entered the dress store. He hated this part of being a parent. When Grace was alive she took care of all of Hermione's female needs, now that task fell to him and he hated dress stores. Unfortunately for him, he had promised his housekeeper, Ms. McGonagall, that he would buy Hermione a few new dresses as she kept ripping through her current ones. Ms. McGonagall had told Mr. Granger that she was tired of mending Hermione's dresses but that was far from the case. Mr. Granger knew his daughter was a bit wild but he never found it in his heart to try and tame her wild spirit. He loved her just the way she was. He knew that the rest of society would not appreciate his daughter's ways and beliefs and thus tried to shelter her from such attitudes.
"Edward, hello how are you?" a middle-aged woman with long red hair and green eyes greeted Mr. Granger
"Lilly, How nice to see you again!" Edward replied with a tense smile. He had gone out of the way to avoid his wife's best friend over the years.
"Did you bring Hermione with you? I haven't seen her in a very long time!" Lilly said as she looked around the store for Hermione.
"No, I left her home where she is safe" Edward stated firmly.
Lilly frowned at this.
"Edward she is old enough now and she needs to come out more. I don't even see her at any of the balls that Harry, William and Charles go to."
"Well how would you feel if you let little Anna go to those balls!"
"I would feel fine if Anna were old enough, but she is only 10, which is why she isn't allowed to attend any. Hermione is a big girl. I haven't seen her in years. You keep her locked up there in your house. Do you ever let her out!" Lilly huffed
"Lilly, I can assure you that I don't keep her locked up, she stays where she is because she wants to." Edward explained.
"Really Edward, can't you see you are the reason she stays home. You have never encouraged her to socialize." Lilly persisted.
"Hermione isn't like ordinary girls here." Edward said in defense of his daughter.
"No she isn't Edward, but Grace would have wanted her to meet people her own age. I understand that Hermione is all you have left but you need to let her go. You are not going to lose your daughter. What is she going to have left after you are gone?"
"Lilly, Hermione is quiet fine as she is. She has no wish to meet people her own age. As it is she socializes with all my guests that come to visit me." Edward says
"Oh like, James, Sirius and Remus!" Lilly responded.
"Yes" Edward said superiorly.
"Great influences on her. Now I understand why she doesn't leave the house. Good Lord if she thinks the rest of society is like them!" Lilly said exasperatedly as she flung her hands in the air.
"Actually, she quite enjoys their company. I think it is more the fact that the rest of society aren't like them, is why she chooses to remain where she is." Edward said proudly.
"Well as her Godmother I am putting my foot down. I am having a surprise party for Harry's Birthday tonight and I want my goddaughter there! No buts. I am not taking no for an answer. If I have to send Sirius and Remus to get her I will. Actually I think I will come myself. What time are you leaving town?" Lilly inquired fiercly.
"Lilly, thanks for the invitation but I can already tell you that she will not accept it. There is no need for you to come all the way out to Granger estate to be rejected." Edward stated quite calmly
"Rejected, I assure you Edward that I will be successful in this endeavor. And besides, I haven't seen my Goddaughter in years. I don't need an excuse to visit. In fact I should have done this years ago!" Lilly replied quite firmly refusing to back down.
A tall middle-aged man with raven coloured hair soon joined them.
"Ah James there you are. Can you talk some sense into your wife!" Edward appealed to Mr. Potter.
"Nope sorry Edward. You know Lilly. So what exactly is she going on about now?" James asked causing Lilly to pinch him on his arm and ask "What is that supposed to mean."
"Ow, nothing." James said rubbing his arm.
"She wants to bring Hermione to your son's party tonight. She is even going home with me to collect her!"
"Sounds like a fantastic idea! Hermione will enjoy herself very much. Oh I must tell Sirius and Remus they will definitely be looking forward to seeing her!"
"Not you too." Edward groaned.
"Look Edward, I too have a little girl and I understand the intense desire to protect them forever. But you can't. Little Anna is already asserting her independence and as much I want to tell her no, I can't. It would be wrong to hold her back. Mione needs this and it is time for her to find a husband too. She is getting along in the years!" James said
"Marriage most certainly not!" Edward said in outrage. The thought of some man imposing his will on his daughter was a most horrid thought for him.
"Relax it was just a joke Edward" James said through laughter.
"But you do have a point though James. What happens when she is ready to get married? To find someone special, it might be too late then. All the good ones would be taken." Lilly said thoughtfully.
"I would have you know that I married at 35!" Edward replied.
"Yes I am quite well aware of that but I married James at 17." Lilly replied
"Please Lilly stop reminding us of the day you took James away from us." Sirius said as he came into the shop with Remus.
Lilly and James soon filled them in on their discussion with Edward. After more debate Edward finally caved. It was difficult being outnumbered 4 to 1. He could only be so stubborn. Lilly browsed the shop looking to buy Hermione a lovely dress for the party that night. She was ecstatic. Not only would she be surprising Harry, she would have the company of her Goddaughter as well. Grace, Hermione's mother, had been Lilly's best friend. Though Grace was a few years older than Lilly that didn't affect their friendship. They had grown up together and Grace had always helped Lilly through difficult periods in her life particularly when Lilly's sister, Petunia, left. Grace's death had hit Lilly hard. Grace had finally found happiness when Hermione was born and it was sad to see her go after such a short time. Lilly eventually spotted a suitable dress and once she had paid for it, she accompanied Mr. Granger back to Granger Estate.
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