Sabrina Clarke

The Ministry is in chaos- danger, death, & doomed romance all ensue with the advent of Voldemort. What will happen next to the``unfortunate students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy? There's lots of angst and drama in the later chapters. Written before OotP.

When the shopkeeper reentered his shop from the storeroom he was disappointed to find that his two customers had left. Few people came to linger and enjoy the simple beauty, epitomized by his array of knick-knacks. Especially during the holiday season. He had been watching that redhead for quite some time. She never bought anything, but somehow, incomprehensibly, she belonged there as much as the little music box or the emerald toad.`` On top of the register, was a little pile of Knuts and a couple of Sickles. Next to it, written on an old receipt were the words, “For the butterfly.”`` Somehow, he understood.

The Yule Ball came and went. Small talk smattered with triumphant looks from her 'fellow' schoolmates. She could hear their unhushed whispers. Viktor Krum, Quidditch player extraordinaire came queuing up to be her partner. So when the next ball came, people expected an equally dramatic entrance. So it was only to assume that the sideways glances were those of pity from her friends and amusement from her enemies. To Hermione, it was a tedious affair, but for one moment- a moment where the minutes were like hours, and the hours seemed endless… she leaned back and began to remember a night filled with laughing secrecy- a hidden tryst, secrets whispered in the dark, and kisses disguised. And she would smile wistfully...