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Lost Daughter

Chapter 10: Breaking Ground

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[AN] Thanks for the reviews, and sorry for the wait! Even though it might take me some time in between updates, always know that this story will be completed. I'm not abandoning under any circumstances.

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If you asked Amia Cooper how, after about twelve shots of tequila and three rum-and-coke's, she was able to manoeuvre her way around the scattered bodies passed out on the floor of Lindsey's beach front cottage, she probably wouldn't be able to tell you. As she got into the home stretch and stumbled past the last of the drunken teens, she clutched onto a pillar to regain her balance. Her head was starting to spin faster and faster. She didn't remember drinking this much.

She was barely able to will one eye open to look for the face of her best friend. Lindsey was over in the corner, slumped over on the couch with one of the Laguna boys that Mia couldn't remember the name of.

Amia screwed her eyes shut as she sighed. She had wanted to say goodbye to Linds but the journey seemed too much for her. And plus, if Mia were to wake Lindsey up, the blonde would probably make it even more difficult for her friend to leave. Mia knew she had waited too long to go back; she really hadn't intended on drinking so much…

With one last look in Lindsey's direction, Amia relinquished her grip on the pillar and started stumbling through the kitchen, heading in the direction of the door leading to the back courtyard. That's where she and Lindsey normally apparated from.

Apparating was just as unpleasant as she remembered it being while wasted. The squeezing sensation and hook behind her navel was magnified tenfold as she disappeared from a nook in the courtyard in Newport and reappeared at the loading station in Hogsmeade.

She keeled over, not knowing what to expect as soon as her feet touched the cold stone ground. If she was going to throw up, she wished it would just happen already. Waiting to get sick was one of her least favourite things to do.

Nothing completely disturbing happened as Amia stood there, hands on her knees breathing heavily. She could tell one or two passer-by's gave her odd looks, but she didn't pay them any mind. Her aching head, blurred vision, and the brisk chill was overwhelming her. The desire to get back to the castle weighed heavy in her chest. As she straightened and started sauntering towards the cast-iron gates, the only thought on her mind was the hope that no one was up this early in the castle to see her.

…

Hermione rolled onto her back in bed and sighed. She hadn't gotten any sleep that night and was helpless to any explanation why. Maybe it was because she hadn't seen Amia at all on Saturday, and not seeing her made her twice as anxious about the girl than she normally was. That, plus the constant pondering over Harry's behaviour, and the pressure on what to do concerning her's and Ron's inevitable divorce did add to her stress. Rest seemed nearly impossible when she had so much going on in her mind.

Because of that rationale, Hermione pushed the covers off her and sat up from the bed in her sleeping quarters. She looked out the half drawn window behind her bed and saw the sun just starting to peek its way over the north mountains. The windows were slightly frosted over, hinting at the pre-winter cold settling upon the grounds. It was too early in the morning for breakfast, and surely nobody else would be up at this time of day. With that thought in mind, Hermione stood from her old bed and walked over to her wardrobe. Maybe a nice quiet walk through the castle was what she needed to clear her mind of her many troubles.

…

The further Amia got stumbling through the abandoned and still dark halls of Hogwarts, the less confident she felt about her initial plan to sneak back in this way. The ground was becoming uneven and the windows were starting to blur together. If she was smart, she would've just flooed back to Tony's room. At least, getting seen by him was probably better than travelling alone through the vast corridors, vulnerable to whomever might be up at such an hour. She wouldn't exactly be embarrassed if someone saw or caught her; she just didn't want that reputation coming up at Hogwarts too. Believe it or not, she wasn't trying to get expelled again…

Mia tried to grip harder on the wall that she was using to support herself. At this point, she had no idea where she was, or if she was going in the right direction of the Gryffindor common room. She'd already taken a ride on the grand staircase and thought she got off at the seven floor. But to be honest, she couldn't know for sure. She'd collapsed on the stairs as soon as she'd secured herself a few steps up.

There seemed to be a corridor coming up intersecting the path she was currently on. The hallway still proved unfamiliar to her, so she braced herself on the wall, preparing to take a left and move her body around the corner. It was definitely easier said than done.

Right as she moved her leg around the corner and stepped down, and ear-splitting screech filled the dim corridor. Amia jumped back in surprise, but not before the bottlebrush tail of an old cat caught her eye. The cat zipped back around the corner in the direction Mia came, leaving only the echo of its cry in the corridor.

Mia leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily and cursing that stupid cat for startling her. Now that her heart was racing a million miles a minute, her head only seemed to start spinning worse. She was content on resting there for a few moments, maybe let the sun fill up more of the corridor so she could start recognizing where she was, before starting to walk again. Walking seemed so difficult right now.

But then, out of the silence of the early morning, Amia heard something that made her eyes go wide in alert. Foot steps. Loud, hobbling footsteps, and they were coming her way.

Now, with adrenaline pumping through her, Mia straightened up and gripped the wall once more. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to focus on where she could run and hide until the footsteps disappeared. A couple feet ahead of her she spotted another hall running through this one. Taking a deep breath, she hurried for it.

Amia knew that running would be difficult but she underestimated how bad her knees wanted to buckle. She didn't think she could support herself for very long. Hopefully there'd be an inlet or maybe one of those tapestry things that Rose's cousin James talked about once beyond the turn.

The footsteps were definitely getting louder, but Mia could see the turn in sight. Only a few more steps. She could hear a voice now speaking lowly just down the corridor. She fastened her step just as she was rounding the corner-

CRASH!

This time, the loud sound of metal scraping and clanging against the stone ground filled the hall, and quite possibly the entire floor. Stars flashed before her eyes as Mia tripped over the pile of metal and slammed her head into the hard ground.

Amia groaned as quietly as possible and turned on her back to clutch at her throbbing head. It was one of Hogwarts' famous suits of armour that had caused the collision. Mia figured she had knocked the magicked metal man unconscious too, seeing as it was lying completely still on the floor of the hall.

Mia coughed a few times as she tried to stand from the rubble. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and it felt like a jackhammer was going off inside her head. Despite her pain though, she knew that someone was still coming after her, and if she didn't want to get kicked out of another school she better run for it.

Yes, someone was definitely yelling after her as she took her first step away from the armour pile. At first the voice seemed distant, but within a matter of seconds, it was surprising close.

"You there!"

`Shit…' Amia thought to herself, glancing bleary eyed around the abandoned hall to see if there was anywhere to hide. Just as she was starting to walk towards a broom cupboard down at the end of the hall, a cold, shabby hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Have no mind for the rules, do we now?" growled the low greasy voice of the old caretaker, Argus Filch. Mia flinched away from his touch, but the old man proved stronger than he looked. With one swift pull, he pulled Amia around so that their noses were nearly touching. Amia swayed greatly from the force of his pull and then jerked back suddenly at their closeness. With both her head still pounding and her eyes dancing, Filch's added effects were almost lost on her.

"I-I-"

"Bite your tongue girl. There's no use trying to squirm your way out of punishment. I bet Denham will let me use the ol' shackles for your insubordination…"

Mia's face twisted into a look of pain as she reached up to grab her aching forehead, "No…"

"Mr. Filch!"

The glaring caretaker dropped his hold on Amia and turned around to address the clear, alarmed voice that had called out to him. His eyes narrowed angrily when he saw who had interrupted him.

"Granger," he growled through his beady black eyes.

Hermione's eyes also narrowed as she came to a stop in front of the two. However, she glanced past him to focus on Amia. She looked unwell by the way she was rubbing at her forehead, and nervous too. There was something else that Hermione couldn't quite place.

"Amia, are you alright?" she asked, taking a small step toward her.

As usual, Mia didn't look up to meet her eyes. She just nodded quietly, staring down at the broken suit of armour on the ground.

"I just caught the little foreigner causing havoc in these here halls. Obviously, she's up to no good," snarled Filch, again glaring accusingly at the girl.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and she looked suddenly fierce, "Filch I understand it is hard for you to give respect to any of the students here, but the fact that Miss Cooper is from a different country shouldn't be used against her in any way, shape, or form. I would appreciate it if you didn't stigmatize her with such a label in front of me."

The caretaker jerked his head back, clearly affronted, while Mia stared at Hermione curiously. Had the professor just defended her, even after Filch said she'd done something wrong?

"She's been breaking rules, she has!"

"What rules has she broken?" Hermione asked, her voice just as level as before. If Amia really had broken a rule or two, then fine. She'd accept that and give her a punishment. But Hermione, more than just about anyone, knew how bad Filch could overreact. More importantly, she knew of Filch's love for torturing the students. If anyone here would be giving Amia a punishment, it would be her.

"She's out of bed after hours! Obviously she's sneaking back in after having gone out! Just look at her- she's all shades of guilty!" screamed the dwindling man, pointing frantically at Mia. She started to glare at him as he began hoping up and down, yelling about how she destroyed the suit of armour on purpose.

"Whatever the case," Hermione cut him off rather sharply, "I can handle it from here." Amia wanted to shoot a triumphant grin at the shocked caretaker, but she knew that would do the opposite of good, and she didn't think she could call upon her facial muscles to smile right now. The dizziness was starting to get worse than ever- surely Hermione had to see that something was wrong with her.

However, if she did or didn't, she didn't lead on to it. Instead, she kept her gaze focused astutely on Filch, "Your services are no longer required Mr. Filch. Have a pleasant morning."

"But-"

"Mia," she said, once more cutting the old man off, "my office, please."

Amia's eyes turned back to the floor as she nodded and started walking back the way she came. She didn't know if this was the right way or not, but she figured Hermione would be close behind her anyway.

Hermione watched her walk away, holding onto the wall for support, with a concerned look on her face. The concern drained and was replaced with a frown as she looked back to Filch, who was starting to have a hissy fit. Quietly, she rolled her eyes and reached into her robes for her wand. With a strong flick in the direction of the mangled armour, the metal pieces started to twitch and clang together. Within a matter of moments, the suit was reassembled and in its right place.

Hermione didn't spare Filch with another glance, and instead followed Amia down the corridor.

…

Amia sat down in a hard chair facing Professor Granger's desk. Hermione was going around, opening some of the curtains so that the room could be somewhat lighted.

While a part of her wanted to pull herself together so that she could look orderly in front of her teacher, another part of her was screaming that it was all useless. She'd already messed up when she had tried to get on the moving staircase. Honestly, she hadn't any idea where she was trying to go, but Professor Granger had to remind her that they were already on the floor where her classroom and office were.

Mia had tried to laugh it off and mumble a few incoherent words, but that only made her professor look more worried. She had to know something was up, and because of that, Amia didn't hesitate from leaning forward in her chair and putting her head in her hands. The dizziness wasn't just in her now, it seemed like it was all around her too.

"Amia, are you okay?" Hermione asked anxiously, walking away from the windows. She had only glanced back when she heard the girl moan, but when she saw her she got increasingly worried. Mia had her face in her open hands, but Hermione could still tell she looked considerably paler. She put her hand on her arm and started to rub it, hoping that would ease her into talking.

"I think I'm gonna puke…" she mumbled, starting to sway.

Hermione instantly straightened and waved her wand at the rubbish bin sitting at the corner of her desk. It made it over just in time for Mia to grab it and empty the contents of her stomach. Hermione rubbed her back softly as Mia held on to the bin for a few extra seconds.

She spit one last time before sitting up and wiping her mouth, "I feel better."

Hermione raised her eyebrow, confused, "Are you sure? You're not going to get sick again?"

She shook her head, "One time does the trick."

At that, Hermione narrowed her eyes. Suddenly this all started to make more sense. She shook her head as she grabbed the rubbish bin off Mia's lap and whispered a quick `evanesco'. Next, she conjured a glass full of water and gave it to her.

"Here, drink this."

Amia took it quietly and sipped a good amount. Hermione sat back against her desk, her arms folded, and watched her with a careful eye.

"I'd like to think that either the headmistress or Professor Denham has already gone over the rules with you."

Amia squinted her eyes, pretending to be in thought, "Is that what the long list of "don'ts" where supposed to be?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the sarcasm, "Besides the don'ts, I'm sure you've heard that there's a strict curfew here. Being a new student doesn't give you leeway to go wandering the halls in the early morning."

Mia wiped her mouth again, "Oh."

"I'm also sure you're aware that you're not permitted to leave the castle without specific permission to do so."

"Must of slipped my mind," she shrugged, still not meeting her eyes.

Hermione sighed. Obviously acting like the authority figure wasn't going to bring her any answers, and she had a burning curiosity right now. Hermione already knew that Mia was a lot like her, therefore the vomiting once and the sarcastic attitude that followed was explained. Amia had been drinking, but Hermione needed to know why.

"Where've you been?" she asked calmly, testing her new approach.

Again, Amia shrugged, "Just went out exploring. Thought I'd knock over a few armoured men while I was at it."

"Does alcohol usually accompany your explorations?"

Mia's eyes suddenly shot up to meet Hermione's. A moment of panic flashed before her green orbs before they went back to the frosty calm front, "Depends if it's cold or not."

"Do your parents know you drink?" Hermione asked next.

"I'm sure they do," Amia sighed, almost like she was preparing herself for a speech she'd heard a thousand times over.

Though, Hermione wasn't concerned with getting her in trouble. Maybe this was her chance to really get a peak inside Mia's mysterious life, "Are you saying they let you?"

Mia seemed short, "My mom doesn't care what I do. As long as I don't embarrass her."

"And your dad?"

"He can't control me from home when he's thousands of miles away," she answered, now glaring.

Hermione felt like she'd been slapped. The sharpness of Amia's words tore through her heart like butter. Mia couldn`t have meant what she thought she was saying… "Your parents are separated?" she asked, the shock evident on her face.

"Yep."

"Oh. I-I'm sorry." Words couldn't describe how Hermione was feeling. They were supposed to have given their baby to loving and stable parents. But really, they were giving her up to just as torn of a family as they would've kept her in! Anger coursed through her as the younger faces of Ben and Kirsten Cooper cropped up in her mind.

Mia was confused by the play of emotions she'd thought she'd seen run across Hermione's face. In the end though, she just shrugged. A stranger really wouldn`t care about her family issues that much. "I don't care," she muttered stoically.

"Still it must be hard," Hermione mumbled, trying to focus on the girl in front of her and not the people responsible for hurting her daughter so bad.

Mia shook her head, "It was when I was little. But I'm not little anymore."

"How old were you?"

"Ten."

"Why would they do that to a ten year old?" Hermione asked, though the question wasn't directed towards anyone. Mia either didn't pick up on that or didn't care to be cordial. Her collected front was starting to collapse and for the first time Hermione could see the anger behind Amia's eyes.

"She only loved him for his money, so when his money ran out, so did she. Me and my sister were never an issue."

Hermione was in the middle of silently cursing Kirsten Cooper to all corner's of hell when something caught her attention. Her eyes jerked up to Amia's, "You have a sister?" she asked in complete surprise. Kirsten Cooper wasn't supposed to be able to have kids… that was the whole reason they were looking to adopt in the first place!

Mia looked like she wanted to roll her eyes, "Yep. She's 15."

Hermione had to stop for a moment to take everything in. The idea that Amia had a sister that was biologically her parents had more implications then she could even grasp. She wouldn't put it past a woman like Kristen, who obviously found Amia's ability to do magic a "freakish" thing, to favour her biological daughter over Mia. So much was explained from that…

"You must find it hard, being the only magical one in your family…" Hermione whispered, not even realizing she was speaking.

Mia narrowed her eyes, "How did you know that?"

"Um… I- I read your file," Hermione stumbled, thinking of the fist thing that came to mind. She had to watch herself; she couldn't afford to let too many comments like that go.

"Oh."

"I'm a muggle-born too, and an only child. Life got kind of lonely when I was away from school," she offered after seeing the look on Mia's face. She didn't want Mia to lock up again, especially after she'd said what she had said. More importantly though, she wanted to give her and Mia some sort of connection, hopefully one that would make Amia feel more comfortable about talking to her.

Luckily for Hermione, it seemed to work. Mia looked up unsurely, "Did they care that you were a witch?"

Hermione shook her head, "Even though my parents didn't understand magic, they supported me."

"My dad doesn't even know I'm magical," Mia whispered after setting the glass of water down and leaning back in her chair. Her eyes didn't look up to meet Hermione's this time.

Hermione's mouth fell open, "What?"

Amia shrugged and started playing with the end of her flannel's sleeve as she spoke, "My mum never thought he needed to know the extent of it. Just that I was going to a special school."

That was it, Hermione thought to herself. That was the reason she'd been looking for. Amia had grown up hearing that magic was for loonies, and was a waste of time. She could only imagine the backlash that happened when Amia got notification of her extraordinary capabilities. At that point, the Coopers were probably already divorced. The one connection that Mia had to magic possibly being accepted was long gone, and she was left with a mother who was privy to believe that she couldn't have a daughter with such freakish and unfavourable traits. Amia was out-casted by her own family at an age where she didn't even know how to deal with herself. Her situation was beginning to sound more like Harry's by the day. The mere thought that Kirsten turned her back on Amia at the age of ten brought tears to her eyes.

"You shouldn't hate yourself for being different Amia," Hermione whispered, willing herself to pull it together for the girl's sake, but unable to let go of the idea of how badly she must've been treated by her own family. "Magic isn't a curse."

Mia slowly turned to look up at her professor, "I don't hate myself."

"Good," Hermione said, her voice taking on a fierce tone, "You're brilliant- it's not your fault that they don't realize that."

Amia bit her lip as Hermione finished talking. No one had ever really complimented her like that before. She was a bit unsure what to say. "Thanks," she muttered after a few seconds, forcing it to sound more confident than a question.

"You're welcome."

A silence engulfed the two. Mia went back to staring at the ground while Hermione began to get transfixed with her like she normally did when she was this close. She'd come to the conclusion that she was always so fixated on her because she was making up for all the lost time that she should've been able to see her.

After a minute or two passed, Amia started to fidget. "So… You're not going to like, write me up?" she asked quietly, glancing up to see Hermione's reaction.

Hermione looked into her unsure eyes for a moment before giving her a gentle smile, "I think you know not to do this again. Alcohol is never a good means for anything. Especially when you're only sixteen."

Amia nodded gratefully, but couldn't fight off the urge to defend herself. She didn't know why, but she didn't want Hermione to think badly of her, "It's not like I'm an alcoholic. I was just trying to have a little fun…"

"I know you're a good kid Amia. And I also know you have a lot of potential. I don't want to see you get in trouble for something as stupid as a `fun night out'. Next time I might not get there in time to save you from Filch or one of the other professors."

Amia looked up into her professor's kind eyes. She didn't know what was compelling Hermione to be so understanding. Usually professors would jump at the first opportunity to suppress an unruly student…

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked after a few seconds of thinking.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Would you rather me act like all of the other adults you've ever been around in your life?"

Mia shrugged, "I'd be used to it."

A couple of seconds passed before Hermione imitated Amia and shrugged, "Everyone deserves a break here and there…"

"I guess…"

Hermione stood up from her desk, hoping that would be the end of Amia's worries. She grabbed the glass of water on the floor and put it on her desk before turning back to her.

"You look tired."

"I am," Mia mumbled, suddenly seeming to remember the pounding still going off in her head and the dizziness that was finally starting to subside. "I just apparated back from Los Angeles."

For the second time that night, Hermione's mouth fell open, "Amia- that's like, over 5,000 miles!"

"Should've found a floo…" Mia trailed off, closing her eyes and reaching for her head again.

"How long have you been able to apparate? Fully trained wizards can't even go that far!"

"I got my license on my birthday, but people don't really do it where I'm from. Too many muggles around. What's wrong?" Mia asked after opening her eyes and finding her professor giving her a shocked and awed appraisal.

It took a moment, but Hermione finally snapped out of her daze and shook her head, "Nothing… it's just a shock to hear that a sixteen year old girl is that… that powerful…"

Amia shrugged it off, "It's just concentration."

"Right. Um, well I should probably take you back to Gryffindor tower now so you can get some rest. Do you think you can make it up there, or do you want to stay here?" Hermione then offered, feeling like she was probably safer for now sleeping in Hermione's quarters.

"I can make it," Mia opted. She grabbed onto the chair's arms and heaved herself up. For a second Hermione thought she might fall back down, so she came forward to grab Amia if she needed to. However, the girl surprised her and stood stable on her own two legs. Hermione was glad to see the colour starting to return to Amia's face.

"Alright. Oh, here- let me get you a dreamless sleep potion…"

Amia tried to smile at her as she took off behind her desk and started rummaging through a drawer, "Thanks."

"Take it before you lay down," Hermione told her, coming back with a glowing blue vile. "It'll help," she promise, placing it in her palm and then giving her hand a little squeeze.

"Thanks."

The walk back to Gryffindor tower took less time than Amia had expected, or surprisingly wanted. Turns out the conversation flowed easily between herself and Professor Granger. In no time at all, Amia found herself liking the conversations she and Hermione were having. She had never thought she'd feel so easy and comfortable talking to a professor like this… especially one who had just caught her breaking a major school rule.

Maybe Professor Granger wasn't as mad as Amia had initially thought. She was nice. Really nice, and to her no less!

"It really wasn't any trouble stopping Filch from punishing a student. That man thrives on catching kids to subject to his medieval punishments. I actually took a little pleasure out of it," Hermione said as they got off the staircase and started down the seventh floor corridor. She shot Amia a little grin as she finished.

Mia laughed, "I believe it. That guy is creepy. I don't know how I'm going to deal with him now that he's probably going to be constantly breathing down my neck."

Hermione nudged her, "Perhaps try not breaking any more rules?"

"That's easier said than done for me," she replied with a modest look.

Hermione smiled, thinking of someone else that had a little trouble following the rules back when he was in Hogwarts, "It is a little tricky, especially at this school."

"Are you speaking from experience, Professor?"

Hermione shrugged impassively as Amia looked on with a grin, "I never broke the rules, per se. My friends and I instead got in a habit of… bending them…"

Hermione smiled happily as Amia started laughing. A twinge of pride struck her heart as she looked at her grown up baby, carefree and hopefully happy at the current moment.

Before either of them knew it, or had wanted their walk to come to an end, the Fat Lady was right before them, looking down at them curiously.

Hermione turned to look at Mia and gave her hand another squeeze, "Look, I know being in a new place and having no one is hard. But, if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here for you."

Hermione was happy to see Amia look her straight in the eye and nod, "Thanks Professor."

"Call me Hermione. I feel old enough as it is."

"Thanks Hermione."

"Get some sleep, Amia," she smiled one last time as the young girl turned and gave the impatient Fat Lady the password and then disappeared inside the portrait hole.

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I hope you guys have enjoyed the beginning of Hermione and Amia's relationship. They're only going to get more and more face time from here.

Next chapter, Hermione goes to see Harry.

Please review!

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