...And blinking, step into the sun.
Hermione Granger is in a cafeteria within the Kashtta. She is surrounded by books, papers, and quills. Despite the fact that the sheer volume of books and paperwork combined more than outweighs/outsize her by three times, everything appears to be fairly organized. She is taking notes quickly and efficiently, and she's occasionally pushing her
( Read more... )
She truly is grateful that Hermione helped her out when she first arrived in the Rift. If it weren't for her, Lily probably would have been wandering around the streets looking more lost than ever.
Lily smiles at Hermione once she reaches Hermione's table, "Hello."
Gesturing at the chair across from her, Lily asks, "Mind if I sit with you?"
Reply
"Of course, please do." She smiles and marks the page in the book she was taking notes from with a ribbon, then pushes it a bit to the left.
It's still a bit baffling, really, to know that this is Harry's mother. She finds that she rather likes her, too, and her smile is absolutely genuine.
"How have you been? Settling in well, I hope?"
Reply
"Yeah, things have been going pretty smoothly." Well, other than the fact that she cried herself to sleep thinking about her loved ones. "The people here are very friendly."
Lily takes a bite out of her apple and swallows it before speaking, "I met your friend Harry." She shakes her head and chuckles lightly. "I can't believe that he's James Potter's son. James was the last person I saw before I came here."
"Oh." Lily gestures to her cheek, "You have some ink there."
Reply
At the mention of Harry, Hermione warms further. "He's rather remarkable," she says softly. "He's been my best friend since first year. There's no one more loyal." It tugs at her heart, knowing that James was the last person Lily saw. She imagines he must be worried.
She's smiling still as she scrunches her nose and wipes at her face. "That's fairly typical of me," she admits a bit sheepishly. "There were some who wondered at me going to Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw. I'm almost always reading a book or covered in ink." There's no displeasure at the mention of either house, only fondness.
Reply
Ever since Harry told her about his parents' deaths, she wondered how it happened. She just never asked him because she didn't want to press on the subject. She puts her apple down and straightens up her posture. "Hermione... just out of curiosity, how did his parents, you know.. pass away?"
Lily's not entirely sure why it's bugging her so much. Something inside her just wants to know. Maybe it was Harry's eyes. They looked so familiar that it frightens her so much.
Reply
Her face loses what color it had gained, and she bites down on her lip.
Her heart feels entirely broken, and she's unsure how to tell her this or even if she should. She's so uncertain, and that's entirely strange to her. In the end, she's as honest as she can be.
She looks up at Lily, forcing herself to take a breath. It occurs to her that she has books detailing what happened on that night so many years ago, and she winces internally. "They were murdered," she says hoarsely, "by a dark wizard called Voldemort." Tears break free and she moves hastily to wipe them away. More move to replace them and she breathes out heavily. She simply cannot help it. "They protected Harry...they saved him."
"I'm sorry," she whispers. She can only hope Lily will assume she's sorry for her tears.
Reply
"Murdered?" she whispers the word. It comes out as a question but she doesn't even realize that she said it. A hand comes up to her mouth as a tear drops down her cheek. She feels like a horrible person for treating James like she did. He truly is an honorable person if he sacrificed his life for his son.
It isn't until her tears dampen her hand when she realizes that she's crying. Embarassed, Lily looks away and wipes them off her face.
With a shake of her head she says, "No, you don't need to be sorry. That's what I get for being nosey. It's none of my bussiness anyway."
Reply
For so many she knows, it's been simply a story. For Hermione, it's been a part of her best friend's life, and thus, a part of hers. She's seen what happened affect Harry for as long as she's known him.
She doesn't doubt that it always will.
Now, she's ...telling this girl a part of a future she'll likely never live now, not since coming here. It's all so baffling and strange. It's a relief to know that won't be Lily's fate now, and it's utterly confusing, as well.
When Lily says it's none of her business, Hermione closes her eyes. It's just a moment, just a split second in the dark, and there's an ache in her chest and stomach that's only growing stronger. "You can ask me anything," Hermione says quietly. "Anything at all."
Reply
She sighs again. She doesn't even want to start knowing who Harry's mother was. His eyes look so familiar that Lily is very certain that she must have been one of her closest friends. It's painful knowing what happened to James. If his mother truly was one of Lily's friends, she will be even more devastated.
Reply
She's never been one to shy away from things that are difficult, and she never will be, but she's glad all the same.
"Harry..." Hermione blinks rapidly and looks down, just in time for a drop to fall down onto her arm. Resolutely, she holds back any others. "He's strong. He's brave and kind, and it's been so hard for him." She presses her lips together, then looks away for a moment. "They would be very proud of who he is. I know it."
Hermione takes a very long, very deep breath and looks back at Lily. "Are you all right? I know it's so much to process." It is, particularly since Lily's just arrived and...it's a lot.
Reply
"Yeah, I'm alright."
Really, she's not entirely sure if she's alright. First, she gets thrown into a world that she never knew existed only to learn that can never return back home. She can never see her family and friends ever again. She learns that the boy who had a crush on her for years has a son that's here. And now, that same boy who annoyed her so was murdered by a Dark Lord.
Alright wouldn't exactly be the right word to describe Lily right now. Of course, she's not going to admit that to Hermione. Lily doesn't want to make things more difficult for Hermione.
Reply
'Yeah, I'm alright.'
It's at that moment, Hermione realizes what an utterly absurd question it was to ask, and the fact that Lily answered it as such tells her a lot about Lily.
It's obvious that she's a very thoughtful person. Hermione smiles at her a bit. "I was thinking," she says abruptly, "that perhaps you'd like to go to the library with me tomorrow. Feel free to say no, of course, as I'm certain there's no one as obsessed as I am with books, but if you'd like to join me... I'd love the company."
Reply
"Weasley?" she feels comforted by the familiar last name. "Is he the son of Molly and Arthur? Last I heard, she was pregnant with twins."
She quite likes the Weasley family. She knows what kind of trouble other pure blood families give them by calling them Blood Traitors and she knows they don't deserve it. During her first time shopping for school supplies, she lost Severus in Diagon Alley. If it weren't for Molly helping her find him, she probably would have been lost there for hours.
"Of course," Lily grins at Hermione, "I don't think see why not."
Lily's grown very fond of Hermione. She glad that Harry has such a good friend to be by his side.
Reply
She nods, pleased, at the mention of Ron's parents. "She had them," she says with a soft smile. "Fred and George." There's a pang there, an ache, but she keeps it away from the right now. For Lily's sake. There's simply no need to inflict all of what happens on her right now.
When Lily agrees to go, Hermione's smile doubles. "Oh, that's wonderful." She's fond of Lily, as well.
"I meant to ask. Have you found your journal, yet? When someone comes here, they'll find a journal...or rather, their journal will find them. It's a way to communicate with others. Harry and I both have journals, so if any of us write in them, you'll see it and so forth. They're actually very handy."
Reply
"That's good to hear." Lily hope that when she's older, she has a happy family like the Weasleys.
"Yes, I have actually. I found it this morning by my bed." Actually, she almost tripped over it. It startled her of course, how it was just there even though she had never seen it before.
"I haven't gotten to writing in it just yet." She was much too paranoid that it might be under some sort of enchantment. Now that she knows that Hermione and Harry have one as well, she's relieved that it's safe. "I'll write in it tonight though."
Reply
When Lily says she's found her journal, Hermione smiles. "Oh good!"
She nods when she says she'll write in it tonight. "It took me a while," she admits. "I was worried it was enchanted by dark magic until someone explained it to me. I must have done a dozen charms on it. At least a dozen." She laughs, shaking her head at the memory. "The corner still looks a bit singed, I think."
Reply
Leave a comment