Someone I Once Knew

Short chapters, but I rather like it. Please review!

Chapter One

The concert was over: the loud guitars, crashing drums, and thunderous applause slowly died down to a low hum and finally silence as the last wailing note wavered in the air. After a few tense moments, the stage went dark and the breathless audience exploded. Hermione Granger, not to be swept up in the turmoil, clapped her hands over her ears and shouted to her friend, Katharina, who, of course, was clapping wildly and screaming her pretty blonde head off. To Hermione, standing right next to her, it seemed that Katharina was making as much noise as the rest of the audience combined. “Come on!” she yelled to the other girl, dragging her out into the aisle. “We’ve got to get backstage!”

The two of them rushed up the stairs at the back end of the stage. Katharina, who knew The Shades’ lead guitarist from their shared days as Hogwarts Ravenclaws, had managed to get her greedy little hands on backstage passes and front row seats. Hermione had never heard of The Shades, but they were Katharina’s absolute favorite band. “I know you’ll love them,” she had eagerly told Hermione before the concert. And she’d been right. Much to Hermione’s surprise, she had thoroughly enjoyed the performance, noisy and confusing as it had been. She’d almost forgotten about what day it was. February 25th. She pushed the thought out of her mind. Enjoy yourself, Hermione!

They managed to get backstage after a few moments of struggling against the surging crowd, where the band was mingling with a few other early fans. Katharina spotted Reese, her fellow Ravenclaw alumni and newest crush, and grinned hopelessly at Hermione. “Go, on, go on…” she said, waving at her friend, who rushed off, a broad smile on her face. “Hello, Reese!” she heard moments later. “How’ve you BEEN?”

Hermione smiled, shaking her head. Katharina was so lighthearted, so free. It was almost as if she hadn’t remembered, and Hermione wasn’t about to spoil her fun by reminding the other girl. She leaned against the wall, lost in thought once more. The mindless sense of fun brought on by the concert had dissipated, and now, she had time to think.

It had been four years ago today that he’d gone missing. 3 years since they’d stopped searching. All the magical charms and spells and tracking devices in the wizard world hadn’t been able to find Ron Weasley after he disappeared. He was presumed dead, killed by some straggling, vengeful Death Eater, perhaps the same one who’d made attempts on the lives of both Harry and Hermione a few weeks earlier. Ron’s family had been inconsolable. His little sister still had nightmares.

Hermione sighed and wiped a single tear from her eye. No use crying about it now; he was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. If only she’d been more supportive… if only she’d have let him know how she really felt…

“Excuse me- are you… alright?”

For an instant, despite everything, she thought it was him. The voice had that same uncertain tone characteristic of Ron all those years. But it was a little too refined, a little too deep, to truly be her long-lost friend. She turned around, half-hoping to see the familiar freckled face and red hair. Instead, her eyes met those of an extremely handsome young man, bronze-skinned, dark-haired, with the bright green eyes she thought she knew from somewhere. Surprised, she took a step back. But… no, he really wasn’t anything like Ron. She was just imagining things because she missed him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you- I just- you looked like you were crying.”

“Oh- err… just my allergies,” she lied, sniffling convincingly.

“Ah…” He smiled, but didn’t appear as though he truly believed her. “I know what you mean, though. Mine’ve been acting up a bit, lately. I’m Gryffen, by the way.”

Hermione smiled back, shyly. “Hermione Granger,” she added crisply, after a moment. Realizing that she’d been staring, she stuttered, “I’m sorry- you just remind me of someone I know- someone I once knew, really.”

Before Gryffen could respond, Reese and Katharina walked by. Kat was hanging on Reese’s arm; he was smiling down at her. Hermione thought she saw something like recognition flicker over Gryffen’s face as he spotted Katharina, but whatever it was, it disappeared as quickly as it came. “I’m heading out, Gryff,” called Reese. “I’ll be back in time for the radio gig.” Kat winked at Hermione as they left, then turned her attention back to the issue at hand- winning over a rockstar.

“No problem.” He turned back to Hermione, whose mouth was now open.

“Oh, gosh,” she said, embarrassed. “I just realized-“

Gryffen smiled. “You’re not really a fan, are you?”

“Oh, no- I mean- I really enjoyed the concert… it’s just that I’d never heard of you before tonight.”

“Well, that’s something I haven’t heard in a while,” he answered with a laugh. “It’s kinda refreshing, actually. I’ve finally me someone who actually doesn’t know who I am and every single detail of my personal life.” There was a momentarily odd look in his eyes, but it also passed quickly. “Listen, d’you wanna grab a bite to eat? There’s a little café down the street I want to try.”

Flustered, Hermione almost blushed. “Okay,” she managed to say. Could this impossibly handsome rockstar really be… romantically interested in her, Hermione Granger? “Yes,” she said more firmly, almost answering her unspoken question as much as his verbal one. “That sounds nice.”