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Chapter Three
A Thousand Miles (Hermione)
"It's always times like these
When I think of you
And I wonder
If you ever
Think of me
'cause everything's so wrong
And I don't belong
Living in your
Precious memories"
-Vanessa Carlton
A Thousand Miles
It was hot. There was no other way to describe it. I really should be inside, sitting in the air conditioning, but I wasn't about to go inside. If I went inside, Mum would make me help with the unpacking. I wasn't about to do that because that would mean somehow that I accepted all of this. I hadn't. I was still waiting to wake up from this nightmare or for my mother to tell me it was all a hoax and we'd be leaving for London tomorrow.
That hadn't happened yet. We'd been in Atlanta for nearly three weeks now. My parents had found a house pretty quickly. They'd dragged me a long to meet with realtors and tour houses. My mother fell absolutely head over heels in love with this house that we were now moving into in the Buckhead community. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely house. It has four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a nice sitting room, a great kitchen and a fabulous dining room. There's even a swimming pool in the backyard. The house was great, it just wasn't my home. They could put the same furniture in the rooms and hang the same art and it still wouldn't be my home.
The newfound animosity between my parents and me had been hard to stomach for all of us. I'd never been a problem child for them. I'd always been responsible, obedient, little Hermione. For the first time that I could remember, I didn't agree with them and it was taking its toll on us all.
To escape from the sounds of the movers and my mother, I'd taken a seat out by the pool on one of the lounge chairs. I had my favorite book, Hogwarts: A History, on my lap. I knew my mother wouldn't leave me alone for too long. Sure enough, within seconds she was walking out to the pool, calling out my name. I didn't answer her. I stubbornly sat there, silently, reading my book.
"So, how long is this silent treatment going to go on?" my mother said.
"I'm not giving you the silent treatment," I said, turning a page.
"Really? I would swear that's the first sentence you said to me all day," she said, taking a seat at the end of the lounge chair. She put a hand on my leg.
"Sweetheart," she continued. "You could begin unpacking your room. The movers just unloaded the last box up there."
I continued to sit there, pretending to be very interested in the book.
"I wish your dad would get home soon so we can start unpacking all this stuff," my mother said, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.
"Where did Daddy go?" I asked.
"He went to scout out some office buildings in the downtown area," my mother said. "Hermione, it's awfully hot out here, are you sure you don't want to come inside?"
"No," I said. "I'm fine."
She looked at me as if she wanted to say something further, but thought better of it. There was a loud crash and the sounds of glass breaking filled the air.
"Oh, no!" my mother exclaimed. "I hope that wasn't the crystal vase! I'll be right back!"
I watched as she rushed back into the house to investigate the source of the crash. Couldn't she see how unhappy this was all making me? What more did I have to do?
"Uggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I exclaimed loudly.
"That didn't sound too good," said an unfamiliar voice from behind the bushes.
"What?" I said, startled.
A girl, who looked to be about my age, came out from behind the bushes. She was pretty and had a warm smile. She was about 5'4 with brown, shoulder-length hair that was stick-straight. She had an athletic build and was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a red t-shirt. She wore no shoes.
"You must be my new neighbor," she said, coming closer.
"Yeah," I said. "Hermione Granger."
"Hi," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Kit Reilly."
"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking her hand.
"How old are you?" she asked, taking a seat on the lounge chair directly beside mine.
"I'll turn 16 in September," I said. "How about you?"
"I turned 16 two weeks ago," she said. "I'm supposed to go and get my drivers license in a couple
of days. My mother is dragging her heels about the whole thing. I think she's worried."
"About something happening to you?" I asked.
"No, well, I'm sure that's part of it, but she's probably a little more concerned about her Cadillac," Kit said, giggling. "So where did you move here from. You are definitely not from around here."
"No, I'm not," I said. "We moved here from London, actually."
"Wow!" Kit said, excitedly. "I've always wanted to go there. What brings you here to Georgia, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't mind you asking," I said. "My mother and father wanted to move here."
"But you didn't," Kit said.
"No, is it that obvious?" I asked.
"Just a little bit," she said. "You miss your friends?"
I nodded. "Yeah. The thing is that they didn't even know I was going to be leaving, neither did I for that matter. So, I never got the chance to say a proper goodbye."
"Why not?" she asked.
"It's complicated," I said. "But to make a long story short, they didn't like the direction my life was taking and they decided to do something about it. Of course, they didn't ask me about it."
"Bummer," she said.
"Yeah," I said.
We were quiet for a couple of seconds after that until Kit asked me what school I'd be going to.
"Well, I was supposed to start East High School, but my father heard from the realtor about some prep school called Ramsey Preparatory Academy and he enrolled me in that."
"Oh, you poor thing," Kit said. "Ramsey?"
"Is it that bad?" I asked.
"Not if you're planning on taking over a third world country or attempting a leverage buyout of a major company," Kit said, smirking. "That school is so snooty. It's a bunch of people with old money who are very selective about who they will let in and who they won't. You know what I'm talking about?"
I nodded. "We had a couple of people like that at my old school."
"My parents had wanted me to get in there, too," Kit said. "But, thankfully, they looked down on my family because we weren't 'old' money. My parents won the lottery a couple of years ago. Before that, we got by, but never had anything like this. It still takes a little getting used to. I go to East High School. It's a shame you won't be going there."
"Well, if I had my way, I wouldn't be going to school here, period. I'd be back at my old one," I said sadly.
"Did you leave a boyfriend behind?" she asked.
"No, not really," I said. "I did have a boy that I was writing to, but he lived far away and it was never really anything beyond a friendship. There was someone that I kind of liked, but I don't think he ever picked up on it, though."
"Boys are like that," Kit said. "Granted, I don't have that much experience where boys are concerned, but I know enough to know that they are as clueless as can be when it comes to girls."
"Yeah," I said. "Well, he's had a lot of things on his mind lately. He just lost someone he really cared about, his godfather. He didn't take the news too well. I wish that I could just call him and make sure he's okay."
"Why can't you?" Kit asked confused.
"It's a little complicated," I said. "Where he's at now, they don't really have a telephone."
"Well, what about a letter?" she asked.
"That's complicated, too," I said.
"Oh," Kit said. Luckily, she didn't go any further on the correspondence issue.
"So what's this guy's name? Mr. Clueless?"
I laughed. "Harry."
"Have you known him a long time?" she asked me. "I hope you don't think I'm too nosy or anything."
"No, I don't," I said genuinely. I liked this girl. "You're not prying. I've known Harry since we were 11 years old. We met on the train on the way to school. At first, I don't think he or Ron liked me too much to begin with. I was a bit of an old bossy boots know-it-all."
"Who's Ron?" she asked.
"Ron's my other best friend. He and Harry actually became friends first and then they had to save me from---," my voice trailed off. I very well couldn't tell this girl that the two of them had saved me from a mountain troll could I? She'd think I was a nutter or something like that.
"Well they saved me from a bad situation," I said. "Ever since that happened, we were friends. We've been through so much together. I can't even remember what life was like before they were a part of it, you know?"
Kit nodded. "So when did you start to like this Harry?"
"Well, I don't really know when it began," I said. "All I know is that I'm worried about him all the time. I get this feeling in my stomach whenever he's around, kind of like butterflies, you know? It's weird, because I'm the least boy-crazy person you'd ever meet, but with him, sometimes I just get all goo-goo eyed and I feel like I can't think. It's crazy."
"No, it's not," she said. "You're eyes light up when you talk about him."
"They do?" I asked, surprised.
She nodded. "And he has no idea how you feel?"
"Not that I'm aware of," I said. "All last year, he had this crush on this other girl. It didn't really work out between them, though, partly because of me."
"You?" she asked me. "What did you do?"
"She thought that he and I were more than friends," I said. "Nothing Harry said to convince her otherwise would sink in. I can't say as I was all brokenhearted for him when it didn't work out. I never really thought she was right for him."
"Well, it doesn't sound as if she was all that clueless," Kit said.
"No," I said. "She wasn't the only one. A lot of people have asked us about it. That guy I told you that I was writing to, he picked up on it to. That's part of the reason why it didn't work out with him. He said he knew he couldn't keep writing to me when my heart so obviously belonged to another. That was when I finally had to admit to myself that there was something there. That I wanted more than to be his friend. It seems pretty hopeless and desperate now, doesn't it?"
She put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't think so. Call me a helpless romantic, but if it's meant to be, it'll happen. If two people are meant to be together, a little thing like an entire Atlantic Ocean and a couple of disapproving parents wouldn't be able to keep them apart. I say, have faith, sister."
I laughed. "Thanks, I needed to hear that."
"No problem," she said.
"KATHERINE MICHELLE REILLY!" a voice exclaimed from behind the bushes. "GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND CLEAN UP THIS MESS. HONESTLY!"
Kit looked at me and grinned sheepishly. "Uh-oh. She used my full name. I am definitely in trouble."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Tried to cook spaghetti," she said. "I don't think it turned out well."
She and I giggled and I watched as she got up from the chair. "Well, I'm just over there if you need to talk or anything. It was nice to meet you, Hermione."
"Thanks," I said, smiling back at her. "It's nice to meet you, too, Kit."
When the heat began to be too much to bear, I finally gave in and went inside. My mother was busy unpacking some of the books in the sitting room. When I walked in, she told me that she'd made a pitcher of lemonade and I was welcome to a glass if I wanted one. I thanked her and proceeded to walk into the kitchen to pour myself a glass. She followed me into the kitchen and sat down at the table beside me.
"How is it?" she asked hopefully. "It's sugar-free."
"I know," I said. "It's pretty good."
"Good," she said. "I saw you talking with a girl outside."
"Kit," I said. "She lives next door."
"See, you're already making friends," she said hopefully.
"A friend," I said sarcastically. "Not friends, but a friend. Besides, I have a bunch of friends back home that you pulled me away from."
"Sweetheart," she said. "This is really for the best. Your safety is our top priority. You might not like how we are going about this, but I hope that in time you'll---"
"I know, I know," I said. "You hope that in time I will understand why you did what you did, but you know what? I don't see that happening anytime soon. I was perfectly happy and content where I was. I had friends who I loved, who need me now more than they ever have before. You don't understand because you don't live in the world we've lived in, but this isn't the time for you to do this. This was the wrong time."
"Sweetie," she said.
"No! I understand that you have me here and there's nothing I can do about it, but don't think for a second that I'm going to ever feel good about this or I'm ever going to get use to it, because it's not going to happen."
I got up from the table and walked away from my mother and walked up the stairs to my bedroom. All around me were boxes. Tears were streaming down my face.
I didn't like this person I'd become. What's more, I didn't like the way I was treating my parents, but I had no choice. They had done this to me. I hated to be cross with them. Part of me did understand where they were coming from. I was all that they had. I knew that my mother and father tried for years to have a child, and when they'd nearly given up hope, my mother got the news that she was pregnant with me. The pregnancy had been a difficult one and due to that, she was unable to conceive anymore children.
If something happened to me, they would only have each other. Truth be told, I didn't want to die. No one did. It was a chance though that I was willing to take. The battle was on in the wizarding world. It was time for us all to stand together and fight as one. Yet, here I was, a thousand miles away, powerless to do anything to help.
There had to be something I could do, but what?