Yankee Accents

1Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is in this story, except the plot, and any characters that you do not recognize. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling! The song belongs to Vertical Horizon and is called Grey Sky Mornings.

Yankee Accents

Chapter One: Grey Sky Mornings

Written by: Auburn Lily

Hermione trudged up the damp, soggy staircase to her apartment on the third floor. Her flat-soled shoes kissed the planks of wood that were drenched and rotting from sea mist that was carried in from the ocean. It was early in the morning, six-thirty to be exact, and as she reached the third floor she brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

Her room number was 322 and the mailbox that hung under the burnt-out door light had a few letters in it from ghosts of the past. Her key squeaked nosily in the rusty hole and she entered the one-person apartment that she had lived in for almost ten-years, forgetting to grab the mail out of the box.

She set her keys on the wooden table that stood defiantly in her small, beaten kitchen and dropped her purse on the ground before lowering herself in the chair and covering her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook as her heart heaved dry sobs out and her brown hair came loose from its small pins.

No tears leaked from her eyes, because she had none left to spill.

She lifted her head out of her hands and her eyes touched upon the dismal state of disrepair that had been wrought upon her home.

The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes that hadn't been washed in days. The icebox that she had left out the night before had long since melted and condensation pooled on the vinyl flooring. Dirty, stucco wallpaper curled away from the walls and the ceiling was cracked. The flooring seemed to be caving in some places and the upholstery on the armchair was ripped.

She woke later in her bed, entangled in pristine white sheets. It seemed she had slept all day, for the light that was cast in her room was a grayish-purple. The large, bay windows were open as they always were, and Hermione could see out over the sand dunes the ocean that never slept. She curled into a fetal position and moped for a few moments more before getting up and walking over to the bathroom door. The cracked sink that hung beneath the cracked mirror was dry and she washed her hands before looking at her appearance in the mirror.

Her eyes were a misty, muddled brown, the toffee glow that had once resided and twinkled beneath long lashes gone ages ago. Her skin was pasty and pale from a troublesome sleep that had held no dreams except those of him. Deep bags hung low under her eyes, accentuated with the black make-up that had smudged under them and her lips were all but the full raspberries they had been in her prime youth. Hair that used to be honey-brown and radiant, full and rolling with waves, now hung limply almost to her waist. It held none of the vigor that it had held back in England. It was dark, almost the color of her eyes, and heavy.

She sighed lightly before undressing and taking a quick shower. The hot water pelted her back with its massaging fingers and she pretended that she didn't hear the mouth that whispered to her. She quickly dried her hair

and dressed for work before walking out to the kitchen to retrieve an apple from her nearly empty refrigerator. She hadn't gone shopping in days. She grabbed her purse from the ground where it had been left that morning and snatched her keys before leaving her house, locking the doors behind her.

She padded down the stairs once more until she finally reached the ground level. She walked to her car, a faded, charcoal-gray Honda that had slowly been dragged into her depression. Inside it smelt musty and she quickly rolled down the windows before starting the car and turning on the music that was in the player.

So you sailed away

Into a gray sky morning

Now I'm here to stay

Love can be so boring

She pulled some small hairpins out of her purse and commenced to pulling her long, thick hair up out of her face.

Nothings quite the same now

I just say your name now

After all but a few tendrils of baby hair were pulled up she opened the visor and slid open the mirror. Her face was still pale and her cheeks still pessimistic.

But it's not so bad

You're only the best I ever had

You don't want me back

You're just the best I ever had

She pulled out of the apartment garage and drove down the road that was lined with quaint cottages and beach houses. The road she lived on was close to the ocean and so most of the houses owned were only lived in during the summer months. It was the peak of fall in Delaware so few cars filled the driveways of sporadic houses down the lane.

So you stole my world

Now I'm just a phony

Remembering the girl

Leaves me down and lonely

The drive to the hospital she worked at was fairly short and soon she pulled into the employee's parking garage. She turned the car off and the melancholy music stopped playing. As she stepped out she straightened her nurses' uniform and placed her hat on her head.

She signed in and than took the lift to the seventh floor, where she worked with pediatric oncology.

"Hermione," a female's voice called out of nowhere.

Hermione swiveled to see her friend Jessamine Sanchez walking up the long white corridors towards her. Jessamine was a tall, curvy Hispanic woman in her mid-twenties with a swagger to her hips Hermione had lost ages ago.

"Hey Jessa," Hermione replied back.

"When do you get off for break?" she asked right away, clicking the gum that resided in her mouth loudly.

"I was thinking 1:30 tonight," Hermione answered, turning back towards the medicine cabinet she was headed to down the immaculate hallway.

"Oh good, that's when I get off. Do you want to meet anywhere?"

"Um...sure. What about the coffee shop across the street? It's open all hours isn't it?"

"Yeah, remember we were just there last week? Good, I need some more advice on Jeroy."

"Yeah ok Jess. I'll meet you then," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes at the mention of Jeroy.

Jessamine turned around without another word and stalked down the corridor once again, sporadically clicking and popping her gum as she went.

As Hermione entered the small closet that had been nicknamed affectionately "The Medicine Cabinet" by the employees she noticed a note hanging off of one of the tall, gleaming white cabinets. It read:

'Hey Herm: I got off early tonight so I left Arlene with everything. I'm sure you know what to do, but just in case. I know you have off tomorrow night; would you like to go out? I thought I might treat you to something special. It was a year ago that we met, after all. I'll talk to you later tomorrow okay? Love, Jimmy'

Hermione smiled softly and threw the note in the trash bin before picking out select labeled bottles full of pills and liquids. She poured then all into medicine dispensers and placed them on a tray. Then she made her rounds for the next three hours depositing pills to the children.

"Hello Wren," Hermione said, her voice full of false cheer as she bustled into one of the rooms. The hospital did it's best to provide the sick children with bright, happy rooms to live in. The walls were decked in wallpaper of hot-air balloons, teddy bears, and lollipops and all the rooms held a bookcase and a toy chest as well as a television and video player.

"Hello Hermione," Wren replied. She was sitting on the floor, playing with the dolls her family had brought her. She turned her bright blue eyes Hermione's way and smiled before standing up and dusting off her night-clothes.

"You already had dinner?" Hermione asked, setting the tray down on a table.

"Yes, ma'am," Wren answered before sitting on the bed and pulling the covers over herself.

"Very good. And you ate it all?"

Wren nodded sleepily.

"I should probably give you this medicine now."

"Okay," Wren mumbled, taking the pills without argument as Hermione smoothed back the few wispy hairs that still clung to her scalp.

"Do you need anything else sweetheart?"

"Could you put in Sleeping Beauty for me?"

"Yes of course darling," Hermione replied before walking over to dig though the movie cabinet. She stuck the movie in the player and hurried out after giving Wren a goodnight kiss.

The rest of the night went about the same way and when Hermione took her break she walked across the street to the little café to meet Jessamine.

The shop was small and vacant at this hour but open due to the hospital that sat right across the street. It was warm, comfy and cozy. She ordered a drink right away, sitting in front of the crackling fire to wait for Jessa.

She bustled in a few minutes later, bringing with her a rush of chilly, iced night air. She strode over and plopped down into a seat right across from Hermione, all the while looking exhausted.

"Finally, I thought I would never get out. Carson kept me forever, I don't know why," she huffed, taking her hair out at the same time.

"Sounds like a night," Hermione replied. "Do you want me to grab you a drink?"

"Sure."

Hermione returned a few minutes later with another steaming mug of coffee clutched in her small hands.

"Did you get decaf?" Jessa asked as she shoved the pins in her handbag.

"Yeah," Hermione answered, placing the cup on the side table next to Jessamine and then placing herself in her vacated chair.

"Thanks."

"Sure."

"So anyways, I wanted to talk to you about Jeroy," Jessa said, only to be interrupted by Hermione's loud and annoyed sigh. "What?"

"JessaI told you from the start he was trouble. And you have gone through too much for him. I'm telling you he's not worth it."

"But Hermione, you don't know him like I do," she retorted to Hermione's out-burst, and masked her face with a dream-like expression.

"Oh please," Hermione spat, ticked. "Stop acting like you're a high-schooler with a crush. You need to find someone real and Jeroy is not it."

"How would you know Hermione? You most certainly have no room to talk about things like making good decisions. Don't be such a hypocrite."

Hermione's face fell at that remark and Jessa knew that she had hit a nerve.

"Hermione you need to go back. It's killing you inside, I can see it."

"No Jessa, I'm fine. I don't want to see him."

"But what about the other two?"

"They're fine. I'm sure their married by now and have children. As a matter of fact he's probably married as well. I wouldn't be surprised."

"Okay, whatever you say. I still think it would be worthwhile to go back for Christmas."

"Actually, I was thinking about visiting my parents over December. I have a month of leave at least, and I really miss them." Hermione replied.

"Yes yes, you should."

"I don't know what I would do if I saw him while I was there. I don't know what I would do if I saw any of them there to tell you the truth. Ron was so mad when I said that I was leaving. I wouldn't be surprised if he still was. He told me it was so uncharacteristic of me to run away from my problems. But he didn't understand. And Harry. Harry was a different thing all together. Ginny used to say it was because he was in love with me. I don't think that was the case though. When I left he was so... oh I don't... I don't know. When he found out that I was leaving it reminded me of when I had first met him. There was sadness behind his eyes I hadn't seen in a long time. I didn't know what to think of it then and I don't know what to think of it now." Hermione released.

"That's all the more reason to go. You have so many lose-ties in England."

"I don't know I'd have to check with Jimmy first."

"Oh he won't mind. He knows you've never missed a day of work. Actually he would probably want to come with you. You know how jealous he gets sometimes." Jessa commented.

"I guess you're right. I could use a break. But I can't have him tagging along. He wouldn't like it anyways."

Jessa excused herself for a moment to get a pastry from the counter, and Hermione was left time to contemplate.

'Should I go back?" Hermione asked herself. 'If I saw him I wouldn't know what to do or what to think. I would probably just stare at him like a bleeding idiot.'

"So, Hermione," Jessa returned, her mouth full of flakey-croissant dough. "What should I do about Jeroy?"

---

Hermione got off work at five a.m. and as soon as she turned the ignition in her car, that song started right back up where it had left off.

Send it in a letter

Make yourself feel better

But it's not so bad

You're only the best I ever had

---

"Hermione!" someone called down the halls of Hogwarts. "Hermione come here!"

Hermione whipped around to see Draco standing at the end of the vacated hallway, smiling at her in earnest. She grinned back and made her way towards him. Her heavy bag full of tomes dug into her shoulder and finally she shed it, along with the books she held in her arms. Then Hermione ran full-fledged down the hallway, to leap into Draco's arms and to be spun around, laughing.

Finally he set her down and she brushed stray pieces of hair out of her face before capturing his lips in a kiss so full of passion and love that someone standing from afar might have thought that he had just returned from a war.

"How were your holiday's?" she demanded.

"Boring and full of stupid political party's father insisted on hosting. How was yours?"

"Simply perfect."

Draco captured her lips again in a kiss, this time ending it with a lust-full gleam shining in his eyes. Hermione smiled seductively back at his and turned away from him to retrieve her bag at the end of the hallway.

"Let's go tiger," Hermione called down the hallway at Draco, who was still standing there staring at her as if she may be a mirage.

---

Hermione shook herself abruptly, ending the short time travel and drove out of the parking lot.

You don't need me back

You're just the best I ever had

She made certain to grab the mail on her way in this time. She set it on the table and cleaned the entire kitchen before calling the 24-hour Chinese food restaurant and ordering buckets of shrimp-fried rice and sweet-n- sour chicken. She showered once again, got dressed, and then walked slowly back to the kitchen to read her mail.

"Bill, magazine, another magazine, another bill, advertisement, magazine, more bills..." her voice tapered off as she read her mail that consisted of no letters from past times.

She sighed heavily and walked over to the window that looked out over the ocean. It was just sunrise and the grey skies were lighting up with pale lavender and minty green. She turned away from the sky and grabbed her sandals before digging out her old, musty, grey cloak that hung in the back of her armoire.

She padded down the stairs of the apartment building and soon found herself making the heavy walk across the dunes thick sand and itchy grass. The sand was cool and the wind barely blew her cloak out from under her or her hair in her face, and she sat down just from the break of the water. She combed her fingers through the sand, fishing for broken shells and sea glass.

The ocean was steely grey and the waves were large as they broke on jagged rocks that lay just below the surface of the water. The ocean's mouth foamed white sea mist that clung to the sand, and placed a garland of salty-rose buds around her head. The sky slowly metamorphoses from dull grey to splendid orange and gold with a red ball at its center, riding the oceans horizon like Zeus directing his chariot of palominos across the morning sky. Hermione smiled sadly and laid back, letting her hair fan all around her and the sand stuck to her like iron to a magnet.

Her eyes spotted something white silhouetted against the morning sky, slowly making its way towards her. She squinted her eyes as it flew closer and closer, circling overhead like a vulture or an owl, searching for prey of some kind.

It landed next to her and blinked its large, amber eyes at her slowly. It looked oddly familiar.

"Hedwig?" Hermione whispered after a few moments of contemplation.

The owl hooted indignantly before sticking out its leg, which had a roll of parchment tied to it with a white ribbon. Hermione untied it with shaky fingers and then stuck it in the pocket if her cloak before taking Hedwig on her fingers and setting her atop her shoulder.

"Come on I'm assuming you would like a rest and something to eat before I send you back on you're way, hmm?" Hermione questioned, before adding, "As well as some kind of answer to whatever this says. I'm sure Harry insisted that you not leave until I sent something."

Hedwig didn't answer, just kept her eyes on Hermione the whole time.

Hermione entered her apartment once more and Hedwig flew off to perch herself on top of the television set. Hermione removed the cloak from her shoulders and laid it on the floor before looking out the bay window in her living window, watching the sun raise higher and higher in the sky.

"Hedwig," Hermione muttered, turning to the owl and stroking her snow white and ashy grey plumage. "Why does he have to send me a letter now? Especially when debating whether to go back or not."

Hedwig hooted consolingly and affectionately nipped Hermione's bare finger before tucking her head under her wing, clearly indicating it was nap-time.

Hermione glanced at the scroll of parchment lying on the wooden table, a foreboding feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

"I will not let anything that he says to me affect my decision," she thought aloud. She shook herself mentally and turned away from the letter to take a nap on the couch. She covered herself in a thick, woolen blanket and quickly fell into an uneasy sleep.

---

"Harry... Harry..." Hermione yelled gleefully, laughing as Ron tickled her unmercifully on the front lawn of Hogwarts. "Harry, help me!" she begged as Ron loomed over her. Tears of laughter slid down her cheeks and she struggled unsuccessfully to get away.

"No, I don't think I will," Harry retorted. "You deserve to be tickled like this. After all the last-minute studying you forced us to do you most definitely deserve this cruel and unusual punishment."

"Ronald Weasley, 'geroff me!" Hermione ordered, before whipping out her wand, and yelling, "Rictusempra!."

Ron collapsed in a fit of giggles, bent over in mirth. He fell to the ground, curling up in a tight ball.

"You did it to yourself you know," Hermione said. "You shouldn't have attacked me like that. And you," she added, turning her wand on Harry.

Harry's eyes grew large in mock-surprise and terror before he put his arms up in front of him.

"Oh, what could the terrible Hermione Granger have in store for me?" he asked rhetorically.

She narrowed her eye, and spat "Tarantallegra" which hit him squarely in the chest, forcing him into a hilarious attempt at riverdance.

"Now, you can both wallow in the effects of those spells while I go up to the castle and study some more. See you at supper."

"Hermione," Ron managed in between peals of fresh laughter. "N.E.W.T.'s are over," he gasped.

Hermione's back got smaller and smaller as she strode across the grounds, waving a small hand above her head back at them.

"Hermione," Harry yelled. "Do us right! Hermione... Hermione... Hermione..."

Harry's voice turned from mediocre and quick-paced to a slow and sluggish drawl.

"Hermione... Hermione... Hermione, come back," the voice demanded. A face claimed the voice, pale and pointed with steel-grey eyes sneering at her. Faded blond hair hung across his brow and wrinkled crows feet dug into the corners of his face.

"No," Hermione whispered into her empty apartment. "No, I can't."

"Yes Hermione, you must. I know how you still feel."

"No. No you don't. You can't know," she whispered. "I still hate you."

"No. You don't." he whispered. "And you know how I feel, don't you? Don't you? Don't you? Don't you...?."

Hermione jerked awake, sweating profusely and panting. Her mumbling must have woken Hedwig, for she was looking at her with a peculiar gleam residing in her amber-gold eyes. She shoved the thick blanket off of her body and wiped the stray strands of hair that stuck to her head away. She searched for the time, and saw from the digital video player that it was after three.

"Jeez Hedwig, how can I sleep this long?" Hermione asked. Hedwig merely hooted in response.

She stood on unsteady feet and made her way over to the letter that lay on the table. She stared at it for a couple of moments and then walked to the fridge to retrieve the Chinese food that she had ordered earlier that morning. She checked the messages on her machine. Jimmy had called while she had been sleeping and left a message. He requested she meet him at The Dock in Midtown, which was twenty minutes away. Hermione blinked her eyes and heated the food up in the microwave before turning to the letter finally.

She picked it up in trembling fingers and slid the ribbon off from around its midsection. She unfurled it and saw that it was fairly short. Harry had always been one prefer talking in person.

12/10/07

Dear Hermione,

I know you asked me not to write you unless it was extremely important, but I think this is warranted. Mrs. Weasley is very sick. She is currently in St. Mungo's in London. I think you need to come and see her. She has been asking for you the last month. This is not some ploy to get you to come back; the doctors suspect that she could very well die in the next few days. I'm begging you to come back. There are no hard feelings, I promise. From anyone. I don't know how far away you are from Britain so I'm giving you a week to receive this and come back. If you could meet me in the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley on the seventeenth at noon, it would be wonderful. If you can't come send it back with Hedwig. I promise Draco won't be there or Ron or Ginny, or anyone else for that matter. I promise. Please come.

Harry

'Wow,' Hermione thought to herself. 'Well that does it doesn't it? Now I have to go back,' she thought miserably.

She forgot about the food that sat in the microwave and walked into her bedroom to get dressed for her and Jimmy's date.