Title: Second Chances
Author name: karenkate_kitty
Author email: karenkate_kitty@yahoo.com
Category: Romance
Subcategory: General
Summary: Hermione Granger at 25 years old is a very accomplished witch. The youngest witch who ever taught at Hogwarts at the age of 18. She became Head of the Gryffindor house at the age of 19 and is the deputy headmistress at present. What she lacks is her love life having suffered four major heartbreaks too many. Will she be able to fall in love again? Written in Hermione's POV. Short one about 2 to 3 Chapters I guess… R/R
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
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Chapter 1: Foolish Heart
I'm back at Hogwarts once again. Well, I'm very much prepared to do my deputy head mistress duties once again. Head mistress McGonagall told me that we have a new defense against the dark arts teacher. After Bill Weasley had quite the job because his son would be studying at Hogwarts the new slot had been open. He and Fleur de la Cour got married in our fifth year and well none of us really expected it to happen.
As I await the coming of the first years that I would escort into the Great Hall to be sorted I fell reminiscent of my years in Hogwarts as a student. I was made a Gryffindor Prefect along with one of my best friend Harry Potter in our fifth year. I was at that time Viktor Krum's new girl among the many few and when Harry and Ron literally shook me to realize that I was being cheated by that Bulgarian Quidditch player I was so heart broken. It gave me more reason to study hard and spend most of my time in the library. It was the only way I could think of that would help me forget and besides I felt really ashamed after almost deserting my best friends for that Bulgarian. My studying paid off well, of course I topped the O.W.LS with a record breaking 19 O.W.LS and if it weren't for Potions I would have gotten the whole exams perfectly.
Then on my sixth year Ronald Weasley asked me out. He's my friend so I had to give him a chance. And with Harry's prodding I said yes. Ron and I were officially a couple and I have to say I was gradually falling for him back then even if we argued a little more than the usual. But he betrayed my trust when I caught him with Lavender Brown. He then told me that he couldn't stand our fights and that we were better of as friends. I had once again failed in the categories of the heart.
On my seventh and last year I was made Head Girl and the Head Boy was no less than Harry Potter my dear best friend. We got a lot closer than before. Having suffered from our own heart aches him getting dumped at Cho's graduation and I with Ron cheating on me we had each other as company although I made a pack with Ron to be friends again I just liked spending more time with Harry. I then realized that I was in love with him and well I thought he felt the same way. He even told me he really did love me. I was happy, ecstatic and I had never felt that much happiness in those past two relationships that I had. Harry Potter was my first and I hoped that he would be my only. Harry and I felt so right together. And I thought we really were but the odds were against us. Voldemort was in full power and he had to live and fight him alone. I wanted to help him share his battle but he said he couldn't let anything happen to me. It was so typical of Harry. I remembered that night when he left.
{FLASHBACK}
"Hermione, I know that what I'd be doing is so unfair and I'm really sorry that I have to leave you like this," he said and I saw his tears-stained cheeks and his green eyes staring right at me.
"Then let me come with you. I want to be with you Harry. I love you. We promised to be together always, remember?" I argued hoping to change his mind.
"Hermione, you know that I really want to be with you but I have to do this so you and the rest of the wizarding world would live in peace," he reasoned.
"I'd rather be dead Harry. I'd rather die than lose you. I can't go on without you Harry. I want you to live," I broke down in tears.
"Hermione, please don't say that. I love you and even if I die. I want you to live. I want you to be the successful witch that you should be. Don't waste away because of me Hermione. I can't bare the thought of you suffering because of me. Let me do this sacrifice Hermione. Let me do the saving now because I love you, like the way my parents saved my life because they loved me. Hermione, I will try to survive but if I don't come back please live your life for the both of us," those were the last things he told me before he disappeared at the dark corridors of Hogwarts. That was the last that I heard of Harry Potter.
{END OF FLASHBACK}
The Dark Lord was defeated but none ever heard of Harry Potter's where about or even if he's alive or dead. I prayed every night that he'd return to me. But he didn't It was a burden I carried for almost two years even as I started teaching at Hogwarts. Ron became Keeper for the Chudley Cannons and I have to say he has improved the team a lot.
On my second year of teaching, Snape got married to Professor Sinistra and had retired from teaching and we got Draco Malfoy as replacement. At first we fought a lot like in our school days but then we became friends and we started dating. I thought I found hope in the most unlikely person. I once again trusted my heart to be with my old enemy and I was so right for having doubts because when Ginny Weasley came to Hogwarts to teach Astronomy. I was once again betrayed and cheated on. I couldn't believe my luck. I had once again fallen victim to my very foolish heart. No wonder the brain was placed in our head so we'd choose it over our blood-pumping organ.
I then promised myself to never trust my heart again. And Merlin it served me well, I'm a very successful witch and was known for my Revised Edition of Hogwarts, A History. I've been teaching Transfiguration for six whole years now and I have to say it had always been very interesting every year. I've become friends with Lavender and Ron when they got married and even became Ginny's maid of Honor when she got married to Draco. I buried those heartaches deep down inside me and promised myself to never do the same mistakes again. Above all those heartaches one remained in the surface no matter how I wanted to keep it from coming up. Harry didn't intentionally hurt me but his leaving me made the biggest and most painful dent in my heart. I have to say I kept my part of the deal and I still wish that Harry would one day come back. But then again I would have to hate him for making me so miserable.
The first years got in the castle and I welcomed them in.
"Please fall in line. I'm Professor Hermione Granger I'm your deputy headmistress and you will soon join your classmates in the Great Hall but first you will be sorted into your houses. Come along now," I instructed them. They obediently followed me inside.
After the sorting hat song all the first years were sorted and I had to take my seat beside Professor McGonagall. The seat beside mine was still empty the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher hasn't arrived yet.
"Hermione, have you any idea who the new DADA professor is?" Draco asked as he looked at the empty seat between us.
"I have no idea. Professor McGonagall here wouldn't even tell me yet," I said as I got McGonagall's attention.
"I think Hermione you'd be very surprised who the new DADA teacher is. He's a little late though he took the afternoon flight from Los Angeles to London and he'll just apparate in Hogsmeade and be here probably by midnight," McGonagall said knowingly.
So the Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher is a he.
Professor McGonagall welcomed the students with her little speech and after that the feast had started.
"So who do you think is this American who'll be teaching DADA he should be very good since Bill had been quite a remarkable professor," Draco commented.
"I once thought I'd never live to see the day you would talk nicely about a Weasley but then again you married one so I assume you meant it. But kidding aside you're right he should be very good at it and probably a former Auror," I replied. "Though I have to say just because he's from the United States you assume he's American. What if he's from here and just lived there for a while," I reasoned. I guess I was wishing that by some miracle Harry would be the DADA teacher and he'd finally come back to me. Oh it's my heart again being all wishy-washy. `He left you Hermione and he isn't coming back so don't waste your time,' I scolded myself.
After the feast I went to my quarters to rest. It was a hidden room just like the Head Girl and Head boy common room that I used to share with Harry. After all these years I'm still thinking about Harry.
To be continued…
{Author's note: This is a very short fic… I just wanted to cut it into little pieces. I'd be working on the next chapter right away and well, it might be the last chapter or not. Well, you just need to keep posted to see…