Disclaimer: JKR owns.
Lost Daughter
Chapter 3: Back to Hogwarts
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[AN] Thanks for the support! It really does help motivate me to update.
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Hugo ripped his hand out of his mother's grasp for what must've been the thousandth time that morning. Hermione shot her son a sheepish smile as he gave her yet another irritated look.
"Mum, stop! People are going to think I'm a first year," Hugo groaned, squaring his shoulders and giving his mother a defiant look. Despite the uncanny resemblance to Ron, he looked quite like Hermione doing so.
She raised her eyebrow, "Love, you are a first year."
Hugo glanced from side to side of the crowded platform, hoping that no one had heard her and trying to come up with a quick comeback. After a minute though, he gave her another frustrated look, "Don't say that word so loud!"
Hermione rolled her eyes calmly, and opted to put her hand on his shoulder while starting to push him forward again. She turned back to Rose standing beside her, thankful that she hadn't bothered to comment on her brother's impudence, and nodded her forward as well. Rose sent her a little smile in understanding, and started to push her way through the thick crowd of hugging parents and students. She was appreciative that they had already sent their trunks to be loaded onto the train. It would've been hell trying to push a trolley through the mass of bodies.
Despite the chaos around them, Hermione couldn't help but smile proudly at Rose, who had her new prefect's badge pinned to the front of her robes already. While her appointment may have gone overlooked by the rest of the Weasley's (Victoire had been named head girl this year, and James was now the youngest Gryffindor quidditch captain in over five decades), Hermione was the most proud of her daughter's achievement. No one deserved it more, in her opinion.
"I wonder if James and Al are here yet…" Hugo said once they reached the train, searching throughout the families to see if his cousins were somewhere about.
"I'm sure they're around here somewhere, Hugh," Ron told his son, looking around in a similar fashion.
Hermione chanced a look back to her husband, a bit annoyed that now he'd put in a few convincing words. She was up bright and early trying to make sure Rose and Hugo were all set and ready to go. Rose hadn't required much assistance, but between trying to get Hugo out of bed, packing his things, arguing with him over whether or not he could hide his broom in his trunk, making breakfast, and trying to shuffle Ron out of bed as well, it would've been nice to have had his help then. It was frustrating beyond belief to see that now he had found his energy.
With a short sigh, she turned back to her children, bending slightly so Hugo could hear her better, "Alright you two, be good on the train. Rosie, make sure your brother doesn't get lost or in trouble-"
"Come on, Hermione, let the kid have his fun," Ron interjected haughtily, sending Hugo an indiscrete wink. Hermione was in the middle of giving him an incredulous glare, when Ron cut her off as something further down the platform caught his eye, "Hey, I see Oliver. Be right back honey."
Hermione ignored him as she turned back to Hugo. "I'll be fine, Mum," he assured her, giving her an exasperated look.
Hermione nodded, knowing that if she said anything else on the matter, her son would probably lose his patience entirely. Instead, she straightened and turned to her daughter, "Rose, you have some money for the trolley?"
"Yep, we're all set."
"Why can't I hold on to the money?" Hugo protested, stomping his foot.
"Because," Hermione answered curtly.
"That's not an answer!"
Rose couldn't hold her tongue any longer. Her brother's whining was something she'd learned to ignore over the years, but she had trouble doing so when he was acting like a spoiled brat, "Hugo, you've either lost or swindled away all of the money you've ever been given. That's why."
"Shut up Rose!" he shouted angrily at her, his ears now a shining red.
"You shut up-"
"Okay, that's enough," Hermione interposed with a warning tone in her voice, "You better go get yourself a compartment before they're all taken up."
Hugo smirked, again looking at his sister, "Yeah Rosie. You better go save yourself an empty one since you have no friends to sit with."
Rose's irritated glare flattened over into a dejected expression. Hermione knew his comment had hurt her, and immediately she decided she'd had enough.
She bent, leaning towards Hugo with a dangerous glint in her eyes, "I can give you a detention Hugo. Or, I can tell the troll you're going to have to battle to be extra rough…"
Her threat worked instantly as her son's face drained of colour, "Mum-"
"Go say goodbye to your father," Hermione cut him off, pointing down the platform in Ron's direction while not breaking eye contact, "I'll see you two tonight at the feast."
"Fine," Hugo grumbled, clearly disappointed that he hadn't been given the chance to convince his mother to renounce her threat. Without another word to his mum or sister, Hugo hurried off in the direction Ron had went.
Straightening up, Hermione watched him go, wanting to make sure that he didn't make any detours. After a couple of moments, she sighed and turned back to Rose.
"I'm sure someone will already be in the prefect's cabin if you want to head straight there," she suggested gently. She didn't want Rose to think that she was being sympathetic towards her, but she also didn't like the idea of Rose sitting alone for six hours. Rose's reserved nature was another thing she had inherited from mother. And even though Hermione loved her daughter the way she was, she understood that other kids didn't take on as well to her bookish behaviour.
Rose sighed, "I'll be fine Mum."
Hermione nodded understandingly. She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind Rose's ear, "I'm proud of you, love. I'll see you tonight."
"Bye," Rose mumbled, heading off in the same direction as Hugo to say goodbye to her father.
Hermione watched her go, hoping that Ron wouldn't say anything to make it worse for her.
…
Harry let his waving hand drop to his side after the Hogwarts Express disappeared from view. He couldn't believe that his oldest son was already going into his O.W.L. year. Time really did seem to fly by once you got older. It seemed like it was only yesterday when he was introducing James to his first broom, and now look at him. Youngest quidditch captain in over fifty years. And Al, already heading into his third year…
Harry sighed to himself, letting the nostalgic smile slip off his face. Now that his boys were gone, it was back to reality. That sadly didn't hold any apparent happiness for him.
With his expression a bit more sullen, Harry turned, ready to find Ginny and head home. He needed to get back to the office so he could finish the paper work he offered to do while Belby was on holiday…
His thoughts were interrupted as angry voices broke into his reverie. He slowly turned to his right, realizing that they were coming from behind a stone pillar standing off in the deserted corner of the platform. He didn't bother to resist the lure that pulled him towards the fighting voices. Something about them sounded awfully familiar.
He made it to the blockade within a few strides. He wondered for a moment if he was intruding on someone's privacy, but then he brushed the thought off. His curiosity got the better of him, and as nonchalantly as possible, he moved to glance around the corner.
"Ron, I don't have time to discuss this right now-"
"I'm not letting you go until you let me explain!"
"You're not letting me go? You don't own me Ronald," Hermione spat, her face as vivid red as his hair, "And there's nothing for you to explain- I know what I saw."
Harry's breath caught in his throat as he realized what fight he was eavesdropping on. So she did know. Harry felt quite satisfied that he didn't have to worry about telling his once best friend about her husband's infidelity anymore. Even more, he felt quite… proud… that she was standing up to him. And despite this settling feeling of gratefulness and such, it didn't satiate his curiosity to hear more.
"Sweetheart, that wasn't what it looked like-"
"No, I'm sure both your trousers disappeared on accident and you two just fell into that position…"
"Stephanie jumped me! I was shocked and by the time I figured to do something about it, you-"
"That's the best excuse you could come up with?" Hermione cut him off, raising an amused eyebrow. Harry wondered what she found funny about this situation, but forgot about it as Ron shook his head.
"Hermione, I love you. This is just a small set back. I'm sure if you just decide to stay at home we can work on our relationship while the kids are at school."
This time, Hermione was the one shaking her head, "That's just it Ron, I'm sick of being the only one that tries. I refuse to keep ignoring our failing marriage."
"Oh so this is all my fault?!" Ron shouted, suddenly angry. Harry's fist clenched instinctively, "You want to act like you don't keep secrets from me?"
Hermione glared, "I'm not the one who cheated, now am I?"
"You want to destroy our family over something as minor as that? The kids will never forgive you for it, you know."
Anger coursed through him as Ron finished his sentence. Harry couldn't listen anymore. The nerve of him to turn the situation on her and play the victim! The bastard should be on his hands and knees begging for Hermione to take him back!
Without thinking, Harry called out, "RON!"
Both Ron and Hermione turned around with startled and confused looks. Hermione instantly paled when she saw Harry staring at them.
The raven haired wizard panicked for a brief second. His impulse hadn't given way to a plan, but after a moment, he cleared his throat roughly, "Er, didn't you say you had to be getting to work at eleven? It's 11:10."
"I-I…" Ron spluttered, still staring in shock at Harry. Finally his shoulders sagged as he appeared to sigh, "Yeah. We'll talk about this later," he muttered, turning back to Hermione.
Harry was thankful that he didn't try to touch her. He didn't think he would've been able to keep his cool if he'd had to see that.
"Have fun at work," Hermione told him levelly, in a polite tone. Even though her voice was clear of it, Harry could see the sarcasm in her eyes. Ron shot her a look before turning. He didn't look at Harry as he walked away.
As soon as he was lost amongst the midst of the departing throngs of parents, Hermione nervously glanced back to Harry. She wasn't surprised to see him still giving her a penetrating stare.
Fortunately, Hermione wasn't forced to say anything to smooth over the awkward tension, because Ginny walked up to Harry a second later.
"Merlin, Lee can be way too talkative sometimes… Hermione, you're still here?" Ginny asked, giving the brunette a confused look.
It took a second for Hermione to tear her eyes away from Harry. She looked back to Ginny edgily, "Oh, yeah…"
Ginny smiled kindly, oblivious to the tension between her husband and sister-in-law, "Do you have time to join us for brunch or anything before you head off?"
Almost too quickly, Hermione shook her head, "Sorry Gin, but I need to be getting to school. I've got lessons to prepare and things…"
"Well, try and take an easy on the students this year, Professor," Ginny told her, giving her an impish grin. Harry refrained from rolling his eyes. Just last night, she was giving Hermione shit for going to Hogwarts.
Hermione gave her a half-hearted smile. "We'll see. Bye Ginny… Bye Harry," she added, her eyes timidly meeting his. Harry didn't give any impression that he heard her, only continued to bore his eyes into hers, hoping to see through the walls she'd built up over the years.
Hermione recognized his gaze, and immediately tore her eyes away from him. She knew he'd have questions, but she was in no way ready to answer them.
Ginny smiled and waved at her, while Harry only continued to stare. Itching to escape, Hermione moved past them and hurried off through the crowd as quickly as possible.
…
"James! Al!" Hugo exclaimed, pulling open the door to the compartment that his favourite cousins were sitting in. Rose waited nervously behind her brother, unsure whether she should wait to see if her cousins would want her to sit with them, or continue on in search for her own compartment.
James turned away from the pretty girl he was currently talking to, and smiled up at the pair of them, "Hey Hugo, hey Rosie."
"Hi guys," Rose replied, less exuberantly than her brother, but happy to see them all the same.
"Care to join us?"
Rose hesitated for a only a second before nodding, "Sure. Everywhere else is full."
Rose could feel the eyes of the two other girls in the compartment staring at her as James scooted aside so that she could sit down. This was the reason she'd been hesitant to enter. She didn't know if Karina Edgecombe and Harleen Watermouth purposefully tried to make her feel unwelcome, or if it was just their natural ability to. Whatever the case though, she always felt uncomfortable around them; like she was being placed under a microscope, waiting to be picked apart.
"You don't even know how excited I am to get there and learn all the secret passages…" Hugo said excitedly, plopping down next to Albus.
The red-haired Potter tossed aside the comic he had been reading, and shared a conspiratorial grin with him, "James nicked the Marauder's Map from Dad's office a couple weeks ago."
Hugo's eyes bugged out, "Really?!"
"Yeah," James nodded with a debonair grin, "I couldn't find his invisibility cloak though."
"That's so cool," Hugo whispered, now practically foaming at the mouth.
"I hope you guys aren't planning on using that after hours," Rose quipped warningly, "I mean, with Mum there now-"
"Wouldn't that be more of a reason for them to break rules?" asked the blonde Karina Edgecombe that had been talking with James previously. She stared blatantly at Rose, appraising her with a condescending sneer, "Your Mum will be able to just get them out of it."
"But she won't," Rose answered her with a frown.
"What kind of mum wouldn't-"
"It's just that my aunt Hermione isn't like that," James mediated. He shrugged tolerably, "She believes in rules."
Harleen smirked, "Just as much as perfect prefect Weasley does."
Rose's expression flattened over again as everyone in the compartment turned to stare down at the small badge pinned to the front of her robes.
"Probably shouldn't have said anything in front of her," Hugo said to James, looking indignantly over his sister, "Knowing her, she'll go to Mum and tattle."
"Nah, Rose wouldn't do that, would you Rosie?" James asked her, gently nudging her side. Out of all of their other cousins, James was really the only one that seemed to be okay with Rose's appetite for following the rules.
"I'm going to the bathroom," Rose mumbled.
Without saying anything else, she picked up the book bag she had dropped by her feet, and stood up. She opened the compartment door and exited, knowing that their gossiping whispers would undoubtedly follow.
Her head was lowered as she made her way down the familiar path leading to the girl's loos. She was taken by surprise as a body collided with hers a couple of seconds later. Instantly, she looked up preparing to make a hasty apology when she met the steely eyes of Scorpius Malfoy.
"S-Sorry," she muttered after what seemed like hours of staring at him.
"Get out of the way, Weasley," snarled Jerome Parkinson, a sixth year Slytherin, and Scorpius's best mate.
"Sorry," she muttered again, still looking up at Scorpius.
"Sorry," mocked Jerome, before laughing uproariously and brushing past Rose. He turned and waited for his friend to follow. Scorpius paused for a moment before blinking, and following his mate up the corridor.
Rose stood stock still for a couple of minutes, completely oblivious to the roaring of the train, or the loud voices of the students hanging outside of their compartments. She didn't know why, but she never could seem to function right after coming into contact with Scorpius Malfoy. It had always been like that, ever since she had first seen him in her first year. She blamed it on the eyes. There was something about them, like they could read her mind at any chosen moment…
She blushed red at the thought of what he would find there.
After another couple of minutes passed, Rose took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart beat. She glanced behind her, but saw that the boy sure to invade her thoughts for the rest of the train ride was gone.
…
Deputy Headmaster Canteford Denham led the first years into Great Hall. Hugo's head of bright red hair stood out in the group of nervous new students. Hermione grinned to herself as she watched him stare fretfully amongst the rest of the students once Professor Denham had stopped them at the front of the hall. As he pulled out the scroll of parchment, and motioned behind him towards the sorting hat, Hermione let her gaze drift from her son towards the other new students. Not to her immediate surprise, they all looked quite small and young. She couldn't detect any sign of the intended transfer student that was supposed to be sorted in with them. Maybe the student was actually a first year…
"When I call your name," Professor Denham's stern voice called out, "you will come up and sit on the stool. I will place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."
Hermione grinned, thoughts of the transfer student forgotten, as she watched her son's shoulders sag in relief over the fact that there would be no troll to battle.
"Ptolemy Abernathy…"
She watched on respectfully as Professor Denham went through the list of names. Hermione applauded cordially after every sorting, but a wistful smile came over her face after each Gryffindor first-year was sorted.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Hugo was called.
"Hugo Weasley."
Hermione watched as a disgruntled look came over Hugo's face as Professor Denham set the hat upon his head. It didn't take too long though,
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione couldn't help but beam along with her son as he jumped off the stool with an eager smile on his face and ran towards the Gryffindor table. She noticed Rose scoot over to make a spot for him, and was happy to see Hugo take it.
It only took a few more minutes for Denham to finish up the sorting. After Headmistress McGonagall made her beginning of the year speech, Hermione turned to Neville, the Herbology professor, with a curious look.
"Do you know if the transfer student was sorted?"
Neville set down his goblet and shook his head, "I'm pretty sure all of the names called were on the Hogwarts' registry."
"Huh…" Hermione sounded, turning back towards the students.
"Maybe the student had trouble getting on the train or something," Neville shrugged.
She shrugged too, "Yeah, maybe."
Neville gave her a little smile before turning his attention back to Professor McGonagall.
Hermione spent an extra second staring at her old friend. She wondered how he managed to keep so comfortable sitting up here, with all those kids staring curiously up at them. To be fair, he had been at this longer than she had, but still. She envied his collectedness.
Hermione was just reaching for her own goblet when the Headmistress turned to look at her.
"We have a new professor joining our staff this year. Please join me in welcoming Professor Hermione Granger, our new transfiguration teacher."
The hall clapped politely while a few kids from the Gryffindor table- undoubtedly members of the Weasley clan- whistled for her.
A courteous smile spread over her face as she waved down at the hall. She knew she was acting cowardly, but her
bravado refused to let her look down to her two kids. If she had, she would've seen their confused, frowning faces,
staring up in shock at her from what she was introduced as.
…
Not even two seconds after Professor McGonagall had dismissed them, the hall was a jumble of students, all eager to get to their houses.
One student in particular though, was heading in the opposite direction that the general mass was moving in. After minutes of politely trying to push her way through the crowds, Rose finally broke free of the barrier and headed straight for her mother.
"Mum?" she called out to Hermione, who was making her way with the rest of the professors toward the door that led off to the teacher's lounge.
Hermione tried to repress her sigh when she saw her daughter, "Yeah?"
"What…" Rose started, stopping a few feet away from her and shaking her head awkwardly. Hermione bit her lip, before slowly closing the distance between them. She knew what that disorderly expression meant.
"W-Why are you going by your maiden name?" Rose finally managed to ask.
Hermione put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "There's a lot of Weasley's here, Rose. I just
didn't want other students to get distracted because of my last name, you know?"
"But they already know your my mum…" Rose refuted, again shaking her head.
Hermione tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, hoping that the gesture would relax her worries, "It's just
for appearances sake, Rose. Professor McGonagall was actually the one to recommend I do it."
"Oh…" Rose muttered, starting to calm down. "So like, everything's really okay with you and
Dad?"
"Yep."
Rose raised an eyebrow in perfect imitation of her, "Mum-"
"Shouldn't you be heading off with the first year Gryffindors?" Hermione cut her off, pointing off
towards the entrance of the hall where she recognized a group of younger students standing with an older boy dressed in
Gryffindor robes, obviously searching around for the other Gryffindor prefect.
"Oh, right!" Rose muttered in a sudden air of panic, snapping her head around to the front of the hall.
She turned back quickly to her mother, "Well, night Mum."
"Night Rose," Hermione said, pecking her on the forehead before she could start running away,
"I'll see you in the morning. Tell your brother I love him when you see him."
"Okay. Love you!"
Hermione bit her lip as she watched her turn and hurry back towards the bewildered group of Gryffindors. She knew her daughter was too perceptive for her own good… and she did understand that she'd have to tell her eventually. But term was just starting. Rose, and Hugo, didn't need distractions. Whatever honest conversation Hermione may want to have with her kids… It'd have to wait.
"I love you too, Rosie."
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