Author's Note: From this chapter onwards, I'm going to start referring to her as Hermione. There will be mentions of Leah in the story, it still is the same person. Hope you guys won't get too confused!
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Hermione was lying on her bed, her head resting on her golden retriever who was curled up next to her. Her arms wrapped firmly yet gently around his neck, both laid there un-moving for a long time. The room was silent except for the sounds of their breathing and the occasional muffled rumbles of thunder and sounds of pouring rain outside.
The turn of a doorknob. Footsteps. A familiar voice calling her name. The silence that reigned in the room before broke. Maia stepped into the room and took in the scene. Her charge was on the bed with Asher. By the wall was a trunk with a duffel bag on the window seat next to it. She walked over to the bed to sit by her charge. She looked at the brown hair that flowed behind her and fell over her face, her pink lips that were slightly apart, her small nose that was perfectly shaped, her eyes that were closed at the moment, framed by neat eyebrows. Maia reached out a hand to brush some hair off her face. At her touch, Hermione opened her eyes. Brown eyes met blue ones. Unspoken words and emotions remained unexpressed but both of them understood anyway. Hermione closed her eyes again and moved her head closer to her touch as Maia stroked her hair fondly for a while.
"Ready?" Maia's soft voice broke the peace between them.
Hermione took a deep breath before opening her eyes once again as she pulled herself closer to the dog for a quick moment then pulling away and sitting up on the bed, her legs curling up behind her. Her eyes looked at Maia, before turning back to the dog which had also sat up and now resting on his fours. His eyes were sad as he gazed back at Hermione silently. Hermione moved forward to wrap her arms around him again, burying her head in his long golden hair.
Maia watched as they stayed that way for a while before breaking apart. She knew how difficult it was for Hermione; they had never separated before. There was an unspeakable bond between the dog and her. They protected and understood each other like no one else could. When Hermione was first left in her care, the child responded to no one else but her dog. Asher was her protector and one of her few friends. Hermione was a reserved person after all the years of training, her gentle side was revealed to a select few - Asher her dog, herself as her nanny who brought her up and Draco who grew up along with her.
As they pulled apart, Asher licked the side of face and nuzzled her with his nose. Hermione nodded and gave a small smile. She stroked the back of his head before getting off the bed to face Maia who was holding back tears. Wordlessly, she stepped forward to embrace her, closing her eyes. Maia let out a sob and pulled her in tighter. As they broke apart, she blinked back tears and gave a watery smile to Hermione.
"You take care now." The tremble in her voice was unmistakable. They stood like that for a moment before her face screwed up again as she launched herself at Hermione with a cry.
"You've never been so far from home before for such a long time." Maia said in between her crying. "I'll miss you." Her voice cracked.
Another small smile from Hermione said it all.
"Are Mother and Father around?" Hermione turned around to sling her duffel bag and slide her hand into the handle of the trunk.
Maia said nothing. Hermione turned back around, the smile no longer visible. She shook her head slightly, her hair moving along in gentle waves.
"I'm used to it."
Hermione was not close to her parents. It was not in the family tradition to be very expressive with their feelings. Neither hugs nor kisses, it was always about being prim and proper. Thus, her parents seemed cold and unloving, distant and reserved especially towards Hermione. Hermione had not even seen them since before Voldemort had given her the mission and she was not even sure if they knew the full details of her mission at all. However, it did not matter as they were not involved in any part of the plan. Even Hermione's transfer application was sent by Maia and herself. Hermione could not afford be linked to the Malfoy family or her cover would be blown and the plan will fail.
Her eyes swept across the room, lingering on Asher and Maia. For a moment, her eyes revealed sadness and utmost reluctance before masking up again. Her signature small smile flashed again one more time before she spun on her feet and disapparated with a loud `POP'.
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The cabin door slid open to reveal the person he had been avoiding the whole day. He braced himself for what was about to happen. He had rehearsed this in his head a million times, he had to do it. He was fighting for their safety, and to do that he had to get them out of harm's way… his way.
"Harry! Where have you been all summer? And what are you doing here all alone, mate? Our cabin is further down!" Ron Weasley's loud voice boomed throughout the small train compartment… and in Harry's head. God, this was going to be difficult.
Without looking at him, for he knew he couldn't bring himself to do it if he did, he said nonchalantly, "I'm here to be alone, Ron. Just leave me be." To emphasize his point, Harry shifted in his seat to turn his back to face the doorway.
"What? Harry, you can't be serious. We've been seating together to Hogwarts since first year, even in our second year on the Ford!" Ron frowned. "Come `on mate, let's go to the cabin. Ginny, Neville, Luna and Cho are there too."
The confusion in Ron's voice was painful to listen to. He closed his eyes and turned his head further away from the doorway. "I mean it, Weasley."
"Weasley? Is that what we are on now? Last name basis?" Ron's voice upped a notch; Harry could tell he was getting agitated. Good, that meant he was getting the hint.
"Since when have you ever called me that? Look mate, if this is about the incident, it's over. You need to snap back to reality and forget about the past." He said with impatience and anger tingeing his voice.
There, it was the opening he was waiting for. He stood up abruptly to face Ron with his eyes blazing.
"Yes mate," he emphasized the word `mate', "this is about the incident, it's about what the hell is happening right now. You want me to forget about the past? Forget what exactly? That I almost got killed by Voldemort?" Ron winced at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, which served to fuel Harry's anger.
"Forget that Sirius di-" The words died on his lips. Harry could not complete the sentence. Damn it. After so long, he still could not bring himself to say it.
Ron looked weakly at his best friend as he faltered on his words. "Harry, I didn't mean it that way, but you have to stop dwelling in the past. Come back to reality, to the present, to your friends."
Harry's green eyes hardened. "I have come back to reality, Ron. But not back to you nor Neville, Cho, Ginny or Luna. I am living in the present, it is you who isn't." He jabbed his finger into Ron's shoulder before gesturing around them.
"Look around you, Ron. War is on its way, and you're still telling me all this bullshit about friends and other useless things. I've been thinking about it. The whole summer, in fact. You, all of you…you are just dragging me down." Harry turned away from him to face the window. The look on Ron's face was unbearable after what he had just said.
"I do not need to be distracted by you and the rest. What I need to do is to concentrate and fight."
"Wha… What do you mean?" Ron's eyes looked at Harry in confusion. "What exactly are you-"
"That you are just a burden that I can do without." Harry injected coldly without looking back. It was a lie, a downright lie. But it was a lie that had to be said.
Ron stood speechless at the doorway for a while. Slowly his ears turned red as he comprehended Harry's statement. He grabbed Harry's shoulder and turned him around roughly, looking at Harry straight in the eyes. Harry could no longer see confusion and uncertainty. It was anger, anger at him, anger at what he said.
"So we're burdens to you now, huh? You don't need us huh?" Ron shouted at Harry in the face. "You should have said that last year! Wait, you should have said that six years ago! You think you're the great and powerful Harry Potter, don't you? You don't need us to save your ass anymore huh?" He shoved Harry in the shoulder. Hard.
"You know, we don't need you either. We're sick of being your sidekicks. I'm sick of having to go through all the stupid life-threatening things when I've got a normal life waiting for me." Harry inwardly winced. Yes Ron, a normal life. A life without him putting him and everyone else in danger all the time.
"Go ahead without us then on your oh-so-noble journey of yours. I just thought that we, at least, deserved a thank you." He looked at his ex-best friend in disgust before storming out of the cabin, leaving Harry standing alone in it.
Harry watched his best friend walk away from him and disappear down the corridor. A strange empty feeling erupted within him and the entire cabin. He sunk heavily back into his seat, his mind in a whirl. He did the right thing, he told himself repeatedly. It had to be done. To be strong, he had to do it. There was no other way…was there? Why, then, did it feel so wrong? He examined that empty feeling that was consuming him. He knew it now……it was the feeling of being all alone. It was not loneliness, it was worse. It was as though he was in a vacuum, and there was no one else but him and him alone. He felt it before in the past; when Uncle Vernon would lock him in the broom cupboard under the stairs. He hadn't felt it in such a long time…for six years to be exact; ever since Ron became his first friend…
He had no parents, no Sirius, no Ron…so the feeling came back.
Thinking all these, Harry leaned his head against the window, looking blankly outside. A stray tear leaked out and trickled down his face, unnoticed by him. He was alone again, and he would remain so for a long time until this bloody war ended… or all his life if he did not survive it.
He did not know.
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Hermione sat down on the compartment seat, looking around at her surroundings. She never really thought that she could ever board the Hogwarts Express, sit in the train compartment, never mind about sitting alone, and watch the view roll by the small window as they moved towards Hogwarts.
She felt apprehension yet excitement. She had always wanted to go to Hogwarts, to see how the teachers taught, what the teachers taught. Although her knowledge and skills should have already surpassed the curriculum, there were things that she did not learn like magical history, arithmancy, astronomy. However, she remained apprehensive about the environment there. On the train station earlier, she was surprised by the amount of students who attended Hogwarts, about how they interacted with each other, about the general atmosphere. She was uncomfortable in the mix of commotion and life. Not fitting in amongst the students never really bothered her, but in the here and now, she was truly feeling a bit tense. Not that she would show it in any way, she would never show her weakness so openly. It was instinct drilled into her from a young age.
She shook her head slightly. She was forgetting the main point! She was sent here for a mission, she should not be distracted by trivial matters like fitting in and school work when there were much bigger matters at hand. Her eyes closed as she recalled one of her meetings with her master recently.
"Leah, you realise the importance of your role in my plan?" Lord Voldemort fixed his red-eyed gaze on her.
"Yes, Master. I do." Hermione knelt in front him, her head bowed down in respect.
"That night at the Ministry, Potter used the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix."
Hermione looked up. Voldemort had a reminiscent look in his eyes.
"He did not succeed, of course, for he was in righteous anger." Voldemort had a sly expression on his face. "But this shows that our golden Potter is not all that pure. He can be turned to the Dark Side… with the appropriate…" His red eyes moved down to gaze at Hermione. "…persuasion."
The brilliance of his plan finally dawned upon her… Her mission could result in two outcomes; she could either be the reason why he joins the Dark Side, or the reason to his death.
"You will be my weapon. Be his key to his heart and you shall be my key to his weakness. If he refuses to join us, then he shall perish," Voldemort said softly, his face twisting into an evil smile and his eyes taking on a crazed glint. "We will injure him where it hurts the most - his pathetic heart."
"…and we shall destroy him."
She had a very big task ahead of her indeed. How would she go about getting Harry Potter to fall in love with her? She has never had real experience with people her age, asides from Draco, much less in the dating department. If she had been asked to kill him, she would have done it without a blink. But seducing him was a completely different matter. Hermione shook her head again. Seduce wasn't the right word. Charm, yes charm the Potter boy was more appropriate. But how the hell could she go about `charming' him when she barely had any experience, and with no information to work with? It was tough but Hermione was not one to back down from a challenge. If anything, it made her even more determined to succeed, to prove herself to her master.
Her head jerked slightly towards the door when her sensitive ears picked up voices in the cabin next to hers.
"Harry! Where have you been all summer? And what are you doing here all alone, mate? Our cabin is further down!"
So Harry Potter had been in the cabin next to hers the whole time? It was god sent. It meant that she didn't have to go looking for him throughout the train ride. A small smile appeared on her face. Her eyes remained closed as she tuned out the low rumbles of the train and focused on the conversation in the next cabin.
"Weasley? Is that what we are on now? Last name basis?"
So Weasley was here. She knew about him, Draco had mentioned him loads of times. Potter's sidekick. It didn't sound like he was going to keep that title any longer though.
"Forget what exactly? That I almost got killed by Voldemort?" Hermione's eyes opened at the mention of her master's name. He dared speak her master's name… he wasn't even fit to think of it. Hermione took a deep breath to keep her emotions in check; she would make him pay for it another time.
"…what I need to do is to concentrate and fight." Hermione let out that breath, a breath of disbelief. He spoke as if he actually believed he stood a chance against her master. She doubted he could even hold a minute against her.
"…so we're burdens to you now, huh? You don't need us huh?" Hermione's eyes closed again, this time in annoyance, the shouting disturbing her sensitive hearing. Potter finally smartened and realised that the losers he called friends were utterly useless.
"…go ahead without us then on your oh-so-noble journey of yours. I just thought that we at least deserved a thank you." Weasley was really quite full of himself, just like what Draco had told her. Hermione shook her head. And not to mention, overly dramatic. She listened to his loud stomps fade away as it got further and further.
She waited for it to disappear completely. Hermione's eyes reopened with a determined glint in her eyes. Gracefully, she rose from her seat and silently slid open her cabin door…
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