Black, White, and Grey

Easter Troubles

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

We heard the story later that day. Her heritage is a blend of pure-blood wizarding families, Veela and werewolf lines. And apparently well suited to Remus, since he married her a few years later. She isn't with us - she's with Sephone and them, God knows where.

I do hope they escaped the country, since they don't have anyone to hold them back, like we have Tom and Elizabeth. Neither of whom we would leave behind. Remus would be with them, but he had distracted the Ministry Aurors when they had to run from their last hiding spot, and couldn't follow them, and possibly lead the Aurors right to them. Easier to lose them headed for us. No one expects a fugitive to head deeper into enemy territory. And h's worrying about Alysta again...

But there's nothing we can do except wait, and run again when we must. Reminds me of the time between Christmas and Easter of my sixth year, almost. All I could do was keep up with classes, and wait for Draco to pull whatever he was going to that day. He followed me when he could, interrogated my dorm-mates - in general made a nuisance of himself.

Easter. Oh, Easter was no more fun than Christmas. I began to regret ever overhearing that bloody conversation when Easter came around, almost more than I regretted making that bet. It's amazing how much teenage boys and old women have in common - at the time, I couldn't decide which was more irritating.

~~~ ~~~

"Good morning, Granger." Draco's silky purr in my ear made me jump, and others at the Gryffindor table glared at him as he sat beside me. I had gotten used to referring to him as Draco in my mind, though we were still not on a first-name basis. Though who knew, at this rate, we'd be friends before the year was out.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" I was snappish - combination of the time of the month, and his uncharacteristic behavior. He had never been so bold as to sit at the Gryffindor table, and the fact he would made me nervous. I only had to make it through two more months without him winning the bet, and I wouldn't have to deal with him for a whole year.

He spread his hands in a concillitory gesture, assuming an air of injured innocence. Very amusing, but difficult to believe. "Must everything I do have dome devious purpose? I'm hurt you cannot believe I might not have a nefarious plot in mind."

"When you always have some under-handed reason for your actions, it is next to impossible to believe you would not, even just once."

He shrugged, a smirk replacing his earlier expression. "There might be some merit in that statement, Granger. But if I must tell you...."

I glared when he trailed off, raising one eyebrow expectantly at him. "Well, Malfoy?"

"Are you really certain you want to discuss it here? After all, I don't think Potter or Weasley are too pleased to see me here." He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Of course, if you care to have your weak..."

"Not here, Malfoy!" I snapped. Dear Lord, I hoped her was not going on about what I thought he was. He could not have discovered anything that would win that bloody bet.

His smirk widened in triumph, and he leaned in close, whispering into my ear, "Tonight, meet me in the prefect's bathroom." He was gone before I could reply, and I glared at his back as he sauntered over to the Slytherin table. Arrogant, stuck-up, damned irritating, disturbingly sexy bastard... wait a minute! Sexy? How, in the name of all that's holy, did that creep in my thoughts?

I turned my attention back to my food, pushing it around as I thought. All right. I wasn't as shocked and irritated as I would have been six months earlier. He was sexy, and handsome, I had to give him that. The problem was, he was very much aware of his own good looks, and willing to flaunt them to get what he wanted.

Hmm. Though why had he come over to the Gryffindor table? It was very uncharacteristic of him, even though he was a complete and utter prat - displaying his complete lack of anything resembling decency or good manners, as usual. Oh, I'd probably find out why later...

"Hermione, what was Malfoy saying to you?" Ginny had sat hersefl across from me, her hazel eyes fizing me with a penetrating stare. "You went very red a moment ago - did he say something very rude?"

I'd give her full marks for concern, and worry about the why later. She was the only one of my old friends still willing to talk to me. Scratch that. She's the only Gryffindor still willing to talk me. After I arrived on Platform 9&3/4 with the Malfoys after Christmas holiday, they'd avoided me like the plague.

"Something like that. Not something to repeat in mixed company, certainly." I shuddered for effect, something I'd perfected over the Christmas holiday. Had that really only been three months before? I wished it had been longer. By at least two months.

Ginny frowned, concern still in her eyes. "Be careful, Hermione. I don't trust how he's been acting around you recently." She paused, leaning forward suddenly, grabbing my hand. "Promise me you won't go off alone with him, Hermione."

"What?" I was startled, to say the least, and pulled my hand away.

"Promise me you won't go off somewhere alone with him. I know, you're old enough to take care of yourself, but still, please, be careful. Malfoy's dangerous." She shot a glare at the blond sitting at Slytherin table. "I don't trust him further than I could throw him without magic."

You're speaking to someone who has had to deal with him more than her own house-mates for the last three months, Ginny. Do you think I don't know that?

"I know, Ginny. I'll be careful, I promise." I smiled at her, hopefully reassuringly. "I don't trust him much, either." Though I could garuntee I probably trusted him more than she did. A great deal more than she did.

She sat back in her seat again, the frown of concern not yet wiped off her face. Hmph. My personal life shouldn't be her concern anyway. Nosy little brat.

"So long as you're careful, I guess." She returned her attention to her food in time to miss my baleful stare. I wondered how quickly I could leave without raising anyone's concern. Of course, considering that none of my house-mates would care if I ceased to exist...

Ginny looked up with a question in her eyes as I stood to leave. "I just remembered I left my Transfiguration homework in my dorm, and I should fetch it before class." I smiled brightly, turning to go.

"I'll come with you."

~~~ ~~~

I crept out of the Gryffindor dorms, leaving Ginny sleeping off a draught of potion. She'd followed me all day, except into my classes, and made a serious nuisence of herself. A pity she didn't follow me into Potions. Knowing Draco does have some advantages.

Ron had left earlier, grumbling about rounds, so I didn't have to worry about him deciding to shadow my every move again. I still hadnot forgiven him those weeks between the detention with Draco and the Christmas holiday. And professors would be no worry, since I was a prefect. I hurried to the bathroom, wanting to know what Draco had been going on about that morning.

He was waiting when I came in, leaning casually against the wall. "You're late, Granger." He was watching me, the expression on his face unusually intense. It was disconcerting, and I suppressed a shiver.

"What did you want to talk about, Malfoy?" I crossed my arms, unconciously mimicing his stance, narrowing my eyes as I waited for an answer.

He didn't say anything, just stalked towards me, backing me up until I was pressed against the wall before putting a hand to either side of me.

"Malfoy..."

"Draco." He interrupted me, his face twisting in an odd expression. "Call me Draco."

I regarded him with shock, and no little amount of wary surprise a moment before I spoke again. "Draco, what did you want..."

His lips cut off the rest of my question, rough and demanding against my own. I squeaked in surprise, my eyes widening as I brought my hands up to shove him away. He didn't budge, except to being one hand up to cradle the back of my head, preventing me from pulling away. What did he think he was doing?

"I thought we were here to talk, Draco," I managed to get out when he finally lifted his head to look at me lazily.

"Oh?" His tone was one of affected surprise, and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion once more. "Did I give you that impression?"

"You began a discussion this morning, one that I would not care to have made public. When you indicated you would meet me here this evening, I was under the impression it would be to continue that discussion in a more discreet venue then the Great Hall at breakfast." I glared at him as he looked thoughtful a moment.

"I suppose you would think that pretext had more substance than it actually did." He shook his head, leaning in towards me again. "Call it a little added incentive for you to come here tonight." He was angling for another kiss, one hand coming to rest on my waist. The utter gall of him!

My hand came up sharply, the crack of flesh hitting flesh echoing throughout the room. Draco pulled back, shock briefly showing on his face as an ominous silence descended. Then his eyes went cold, and he took a step back to put some distance between us. I watched him, warily fingering my wand as I waited for him to do something.

"If that is how you wish to play it, Miss Granger." When he spoke, his tones were glacial, and he turned, leaving without a backward glance. What, in God's name, went on in his head? Not that I honestly wanted to know. But sometimes I wondered.

I soon left myself, confused by Draco's behavior. Thank goodness I was leaving for the Easter holiday in the morning. One whole blessed week without Draco's odd antics, Ron's baleful glares, or Harry's stony silence. Or Ginny's constant questions.

The common room was unusually empty when I returned, and I paused at the door. It wasn't quite midnight, and there should have been at least a few people around. There were none, not that I could see. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and let my wand drop into my fingers.

"You won't need that." Ginny's voice came from one of the chairs turned so I couldn't see the occupant. "We just want to talk to you - as odd as that sounds."

"Who's 'we'?" I kept my grip on my wand, just in case. Draco had rubbed off on me some during the previous months.

Ginny stood, as did her companions, and I nearly groaned. No wonder she didn't have to follow me into any of my classes. Padma had most of the same classes I did, and Hannah was in the ones she wasn't. And she must have had one of them, or Luna, since she was there as well, follow me that night. I wondered if anyone knew we had an accomplished spy mistress in our midst.

"So you're watching me?" I tried to use the same non-chalant tone Draco always was using, and it still came out annoyingly matter-of-fact. "Do you have at least a halfway decent excuse for doing so?"

Ginny smiled, indicating the seat they'd apparently left open for me. When I didn't take it, Pavarti materialized from the shadows beside me, startling me, and took my elbow to guide me towards the chair. They were not going to let me wiggle out of whatever it was they had planned. Not easily. And what they had planned was what I had wanted to know before they could trap me - a moot point by then, to be sure.

"I wish we didn't have to do this like this, but you are bloody difficult to get a hold of outside of class or the library." Ginny seated herself once more, a subtle nod to Luna making the Ravenclaw put up silencing wards. At least they were wary of prying ears. One merely hoped no one could read lips. "We need to talk to you about Malfoy."

Devoutly hoped.

"What about Draco?" Oh, curse him! I made a mental note to hurt him later. Especially with the way Ginny and Luna exchanged looks. Easy to tell who her second in command was.

"Draco?" Padma raised an eyebrow. "You weren't on a first name basis this morning." Or perhaps I was wrong about her having a second in command.

"People change."

"Rarely do they change from tossing insults at each other to using first names in a single day."

"It can happen." I really didn't want to talk to them about Draco, or any other subject that would inevitably lead to.

A look from Ginny kept Padma silent when she opened her mouth to speak again.

"We just wanted to know why he's been interrogating everyone who knows you, Hermione." Ginny smiled, as if trying to soothe a fretful child. I could quite easily and cheerfully consign her to Azkaban at that moment.

"Do you still talk to your brother or Harry?" If she did, she wouldn't have to be asking me about...

"They refuse to speak about you."

Oh, bloody hell. I hadn't known that. Mm. She hadn't stopped speaking, blasted woman. I did mention I could wish her to hell right now, didn't I?

"Ron looks like he's about to have a fit if someone mentions your name, and stalks off in a snit whenever you enter the common room. Harry just stays silent, and constantly watches you, as if waiting for something." Ginny frowned. "Which is something else that puzzles me. What happened to make my brother dislike you so much?"

I straightened, my expression closing. "I do not presume to understand how your brother's mind works, and I am not going to permit this interrogation to continue. There are sometimes secrets better left untouched, Ginny Weasley, and if you continue to dig at this one, you will regret it." I meant it, too, though I at the time I didn't realize how far it would all go.

I stood, stalking towards the stairs. Pavarti tried to stop me, and I gave her the Death Glare, making her blanch, and step aside. I didn't want to deal with them at that point, though I wondered why I had let them start in the first place. Perhaps because someone in my own house was willing to speak to me, outside of being forced to in class.

Once to my dorm, I made sure my trunk was packed before changing, and climbing into bed. Crookshanks leapt up, curling into a ball of ginger fur on my stomach. He didn't purr loudly, as he normally would, but softly, as if trying to comfort me, I thought. And perhaps I neededd it, as tears rolled down my cheeks silently.

What was going on? Everything was still strange, still new and confusing. Voldemort had not asked that I come back to the Riddle mansion again, something that should have been a relief, but only served to make me more anxious. Draco hadn't showed any sign of... well, anything other than being his usual self until he had kissed me earlier in the bathroom, nearly twice. And Ginny. I didn't understand her actions that night, anymore than I understood my own. Or even what she was after with that interrogation. Oh, why wouldn't life make sense?

That night, once again, I cried myself to sleep.

~~~ ~~~

During the ride to King's Cross Station the next morning, I kept my gaze fixed out the window, ignoring the fact I had no one in the compartment with me. I didn't care at that point - all I wanted was to hide, especially since I'd seen Draco boarding the train.

Really, he was only a useless, manipulative prat who played with people like Ron played chess. Arrogant, self-centered, and altogether someone I could well do without, thank you. So why was he still invading my thoughts? And why couldn't I forget the way he kissed?

And for God's sake, what had he meant by that last, cryptic remark?

"Arrogant bastard," I muttered, watching London peek into sight over the horizon. "What do you mean 'If that is how you wish to play it'? Play what?"

"Talking to yourself?"

I jumped, turning to see Ginny in the seat across from me. I had been so sunk in my thoughts I hadn't noticed her enter.

"How long have you been here?"

Ginny shrugged. "Not very long. I didn't really hear what you said, though." She smiled, and I raised an eyebrow. "Honest, Hermione, I noticed you muttering, but I couldn't make out the words."

I let it go with a shrug. If she had heard me, she wouldn't let on, and I had other things to worry about. Like what Draco was up to, and why I called him by his first name in my thoughts, and what he meant by that remark. Or why, blast it, I couldn't get him out of my thoughts, for that matter.

"I'm looking forward to the holiday. What about you, Hermione?" Ginny was not going to let me remain silent, unfortunately.

I shrugged. "It will be nice to get away from the silent treatment, but I will miss the intellectual stimulation of classes." A nice, neutral, non-commital response.

"Mum and Dad are trying to convince Aunt Sammie to come for the week, without her girlfriend, preferably. Though Aunt Rini is really cool." Oh, would she let me be? I don't want to talk to her. Or anyone else, for that matter.

"You've been really quiet and withdrawn lately, Hermione. More than usual." Ginny's voice was full of concern. "I'm worried about you."

"And if you were treated like a carrier of plague by your house-mates simply for associating with one of their rivals, you would be withdrawn too!" I snapped, glaring at her. Honestly, perhaps she should look at the behavior of those around me, too. People do not thrive in a social vacumn.

She looked taken aback a moment. "Not all of them would have refused to talk if you'd tried striking up a conversation."

"Well, I apologize for not being the world's greatest conversation starter, but I prefer a discussion that does not involve a dissection of my personal life, and a verbal shredding of my taste in friends. At least Malfoy was always a prat, so it wasn't anything new!"

"Hermione, this isn't about Malfoy." Ginny was beginning to look worried for herself. I'm not normally that tempermental.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is it? You were awfully interested in him last night. Him, and what I was doing with him."

"Because I was worried about you, and I don't trust him. I don't understand what you see in him that you think he's safe to talk to."

"Perhaps I talk to him because he is the only person my age who does't act like I've grown a second head." No, he acted like I was a very odd new species all together, that intrigued him. And he continued being an annoying git - his usual self, unlike everyone else. What was wrong with being on speaking terms with a Slytherin? Professor McGonagall was.

Actually, she's on more than speaking terms with a Slytherin. Ew. Gross. Not an image I needed, thank you! I had seen her and Voldemort kissing under some mistletoe during the Christmas holiday, and I wished I hadn't.

Some of my discomfort must have shown on my face, because Ginny frowned, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Don'r say anything, Ginny. I don't want to talk about it." I glared at her until she subsided, then returned to watching the scenery. It made for an awkward silence until we got to King's Cross Station, but I was beyond caring.

Mum and dad were waiting for me as I got off the train, excited expressions on their faces that made a rock of dread settle in my stomach, as I wondered what was going on.

"Hermione, dear, you won't believe what happened last weekend! We have to hurry, or we'll be late." Mum was beaming as dad took my trunk, leaving me with Crocckshanks in his cage.

"Late for what?" I didn't like the sound of this.

"Ms. Grey came over last weekend, and she was so nice. She wanted to make sure you recieved her invitation to dinner tonight, and she decided to invite us as well. She is a very nice woman, Meri is. She even said she'd make sure someone came for us around four, so we were able to arrive there."

"Meri invited us for dinner?" I recieved an exasperated look and a nod from mum as they put my trunk in the car, and I slid into the back seat with Crookshanks on my lap. What did Meri have planned? I know she wouldn't wish harm on anyone, but Ri, and some of her other friends...

And why couldn't they let me enjoy a holiday with just my parents, anyway?

~~~ ~~~

It was a picnic dinner, at a house just a few miles from Cynwyl Elfed - I found that out later - and there were already a number of people gathered on the lawn when we arrived. Meri greeted me as she had at Christmas, smiling at my parents.

"I am so glad you could make it, Eileen, Robert, and I do hope Remus and Alysta didn't frighten you too much. I know Muggles aren't accustomed to travelling like that, but it was the only way for you to arrive on time." She was referring to the spell Alysta had used to get us all here - it worked akin to Apparition, apparently, but was less well known, and it could be used on large groups of people if neccessary. Meri continued to chatter, leading my parents off towards the others. I would have followed, if I hadn't been ambushed by two girls, neither of whom could have been older than ten.

"Hello. I've heard about you. You're Hermione Granger, aren't you? My cousin's friend." The one with brightly red hair spoke first. "Sephone told me all about you in her letters, and she sent the pictures from Christmas holiday. You're very pretty, that's what Julian says."

I blinked, a bit surprised. She looked like a Weasley, and I'd thought she'd say her cousin was Ron. Or Ginny. The other girl, with serious black eyes, and black hair, piped up before I could reply.

"Emily was telling me about you, and Uncle Sev said you were an irritating show-off. Emily say Sephone didn't say that, so it couldn't be true, but I know my Uncle Sev wouldn't lie."

"So we decided to find out ourselve. Aristelle found out from Aunt Meri you were supposed to be here, and we waited for you to show up with cousin Remus and his girlfriend." Emily smiled, apparently quite pleased with herself.

I raised one eyebrow, looking between the two a moent before replying in the expectant silence the had fallen between us. "They're both right."

Emily frowned, her brow wrinkling in confusion, while Aristelle crowed in delight. "I told you Uncle wouldn't lie, Emily!"

"But how can they both be right? How can you be both what my cousin says you are, and what Aristelle's uncle says you are?" Emily looked up at me, still confused.

"Because Uncle Sev has to teach her, and she's my friend, Em." Sephone spoke behind me, making me jump, startled. "Sorry, Hermione, didn't mean to scare you." She grinned as I glared at her.

"Oy, Seph!" A boy was headed for us, a broom in hand. I thought I recognized him as a fourth year Ravenclaw, though I didn't know his name. "Are ye an' yer friend going' tae gab with thae babies, or will ye bring yer broom down tae race with thae rest o' us?"

"Hey! Don't you call me a baby, Julian Grey!" Emily swung a fist at him as he came up, and Julian caught it with a good-natured grin.

"It's all in fun, Em. Well, Seph? Ye comin'?" He tilted his head, looking almost like a bird.

"If you drop that fake accent, Julian, Hermione and I will come race. Let me grab my broom from the car first, though." Sephone grinned at Julian, grabbing my hand, and dragging me towards a sleek little Ferrarri. "It's good to see Aunt Meri invited you to the picnic. Did your parents come with you this time? I'm sure Aunt Molly and Uncle Arthur will be glad if they have - they don't exactly get along with some of Aunt Meri's guests." She continued to chatter, overriding every attempt on my part to get a word in edgewise, and her fingers were as difficult to pry off as an iron manacle.

I dug in my heels as she headed down towards the others, a Nimbus 2001 in her free hand, jerking her to a halt only when I found a sturdily planted rock to brace against. She turned, falling silent a moment. Long enough for me to get a word in.

"I am not racing, Sephone. And I don't see why I have to come watch you, and whoever else is down there waiting for you race." Not to mention I suspected Ginny would be down there, and there was no way I was going to be forced to deal with her.

"Because everyone our age will be down there. And later we'll probably convince the adults to play Quidditch. At least come watch, Hermione. Only the babies and Jason aren't racing, and you, of course. Please?"

I shook my head. "No. I would rather not watch people racing when there is potential for conversation, even if those with whom I talk are not in my age group." I pulled my wrist from her now relaxed grip, rubbing my wrist as I turned and stalked back towards the adults. I heard Julian and Lisette yell for Sephone to join them, and a moment later there was a sigh behind me as she went down to join them.

I scanned the gathered adults as I crested the hill again, recognizing a number of them. My parents were talking with the Weasleys and a couple I didn't recognize, apparently doing fine on their own. Which meant they didn't need me, and I couldn't use that as an excuse to stay near them until we could find a convenient point to leave.

Sirius was deep in conversation with a black-haired women, the two seated on the porch of the house, and ignored by virtually everyone. I thought perhaps she was related to the Merdeux family, as she did have a certain resemblance in facial structure. No help from that corner, even had he been willing to lend it. Something about the Christmas holiday had not sat well with Sirius, and he'd been ignoring me ever since. And he had no way of contacting Harry, not with Ri keeping him cooped up in her house.

And that woman was ensconced in a lawn chair, holding court with Meri, Remus, Alysta, and a couple I didn't recognize. Though considering the gathering, there had to be some family ties in there. Most of the people on the lawn were related, if I remembered the family trees I'd seen correctly. It is a bit mind-boggling when you look at pure-blood family trees. I don't think there is one pure-blood wizard in all of Britain - or Europe, for that matter - that isn't related to every other pure-blooded wizard. With the connection within the last four generations.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard my name called by a most unlikely person.

"Miss Granger." I turned to face Professor Snape, and the small group he was with. The woman beside him was watching me curiosly, her black eyes scanning me from head to toe as if examining me for some flaw. It was quite unnerving, and I shifted uneasily as I came to a stop near the group.

"Let me introduce you to my sister, Maris Lord." He had a bland, unreadable expression on his face, though I received the distinct impression this wasn't his idea, and he'd be perfectly happy to have let me wander between the groups looking lost.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger." The woman, Mrs. Lord, smiled at me, reaching out to shake my hand. "I was curious about you, since my sister-in-law was commenting on Madame Grey's latest project. Severus is not nearly as generous in his opinion of you, but those who teach us rarely are."

That was new. People saw me as Meri's project? I mentally shook my head in confusion. What kind of project did they see me as? And for Merlin's sake, what did she have in mind for me? And could I get out of this before I was dragged any deeper?

"Likewise meeting you, Mrs. Lord." I had to keep up my end of the conversation, and not allow my thoughts to show in my expression. I was already getting the hang of surviving in this part of wizarding society. I hoped. "I hope you haven't heard too many horror stories from the Professor."

She laughed lightly, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. "Oh no. Not that I would entirely believe any stories Severus told me. He is prone to exaggeration at times." There was a sadness in her eyes as she spoke, for only a brief moment, and I wondered as it vanished if I had perhaps only imagined it. "But I'm sure we will have the chance to talk later, and you probably wish to join the other teenagers down by the racing strip, so I will not pester you with questions now."

"Actually, I'm not much for watching sports - unless you count Quidditch games at school, when Gryffindor is playing." I had been offered a gracious bow out, and I declined to take it. Perhaps that was a mistake. "I prefer an intelligent conversation, and I'm afraid I don't have the chance for such very often at Hogwarts."

"Really? Oh, I suppose you wouldn't have much chance to talk with Severus's godson - Draco, isn't it? - all that often, with you being in rival houses and all. Lucius and Narcissa's son, if I'm not much mistaken. A pity, really. That you haven't the chance to speak with him much. I hear he is the top student in his house, and second in the school. Quite a pride to Slytherin, and a credit to his breeding, that."

"Yes, of course," I murmured, trying not to grind my teeth. I really was beginning to detest hearing about Draco-bloody-Malfoy. I didn't care how good-looking he was, and I had to admit, he was quite sexy... No. When did the word sexy become part of my description of Draco? Nor did I care that he was intelligent. He was an irritating, arrogant prat!

I spent the next hour trying to keep a smile pasted on my face while enduring small talk with a variety of people I didn't know, wishing I had bowed out earlier, and gone to watch the racing with Sephone.

"Mama, papa!" Speak of the devil. I was standing where I could watch them come up, and blanched as two very familiar faces came over the crest of the hill. Harry and Ron were on either side of Julian, the trio arguing about something. I didn't want to know what, and swiftly turned to the nearest person, hoping to engage them in conversation.

Unfortunately, the return of everyone else under eighteen appeared to be a signal to adjourn to a field that bore a strong resemblance to a Quidditch pitch, and had some fairly strong Muggle-repelling charms on it - to judge by how much effort it took to get my parents to where picnic blankets were laid out with baskets. I slipped over to them as the teams were choosen, hoping to sit with them and the Weasleys.

"Hermione! Come, your parents simply must sit over with us!" Meri smiled at me, and I sighed, following her to a blanket where Narcissa and Ri waited, the two women doing an admirable job of not showing thier distaste - I should say disgust, to be honest - for Muggles. I shot a glance across the field, where the Weasleys - those not in the air playing - had settled around their picnic basket, along with Remus and Sirius, and the two women they'd been with. And another woman I didn't know. I wished I could be over there, eating with them.

"Sit, Hermione. The game is about to start." Meri sat me next to Narcissa, with my parents on the other side of me, her between Ri and them. I gave one last look across the field before turning my attention to the game, unable to summon up an appetite for the feast that was pulled from the basket.

~~~ ~~~

I collapsed into my bed at nearly dawn, exhausted. The Quidditch game had lasted until nearly two in the morning, when Meris snatched the snitch from just ahead of Harry's fingertips. Narcissa had regaled us with stories of the younger Snape sibling, and her exploits on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Six years she'd played for them as seeker, and she'd only ever lost a game to Charlie Weasley, which Narcissa claimed was luck. Personally, I think Meris had some luck that night. Her broom was a modified version of the Firebolt, and it was faster and more responsive than Harry's standard Firebolt.

At that point, I only hoped they'd let me have the rest of my holiday to myself. With my parents, and no one else. I didn't even want to see Harry or Ron at that point. Yes, it was nice that Harry got to find out Sirius was alive and well, and Ron too. And for them to find a new friend in Julian Grey. But I wanted none of it. None of the wizarding world and it's cut-throat politics and scheming and violence.

Especially after a Bludger was 'accidentally' helped in my direction - or perhaps Narcissa's - by Ron. He was pulled from the game, but it didn't change the fact that the incident hurt. I felt tears creep down my cheeks, hot tears of anger and frustration. What did life have against me?