Ai Shiteru

Ai Shiteru

Chapter One - Facing The Past

Hermione glanced up at the clock and gulped in fear. She had ten minutes of the exam left and she still hadn't finished. She briefly wondered if she was wondering away from the actual point of her essay and was now just blabbering and that's what was taking so long to get the goddamn thing finished. She adjusted herself in her seat and started to put bullet points of the paper of the points she would have made if not out of time before she quickly wrote her conclusion just as the examiner called from them to stop writing. She threw down her pen and sighed. A girl a few seats to her left caught her eye and smiled reassuringly. Hermione smiled back before returning her gaze to the front. She didn't just go through that exam to be caught out smiling at someone and have her paper ripped up. They filed out of the room and Hermione paused just outside the door until the girl came through too. She was grinning madly and she gave a loud whoop! Of happiness. That had been their final exam and now after three years of study and hard work it had all ended. There wasn't anything that they could do now, expect wait for their results which would be released in about a month. Them results would be the key to Hermione's future, she had been offered an apprenticeship at a local newspaper and she would only get it if she got good enough grades. So there was no pressure at all.

"You coming out tonight?" her friend finally calm down and asked.

"Where are you going?"

"It's our last chance to get into a Mercy Student Night for free, plus Jack thinks we all need a break."

"I agree."

"I know clubbing isn't your scene but just this once, please? You deserve to let your hair down for once."

Hermione snorted but she found herself agreeing. She didn't normally go out but she had nothing else to do. All her exams were over, she had no more need to revise and there was no homework to do. If she went home she would just be bored by herself, at least this way she would be bored with others.

"Great, we'll pick you up at half eight! We'll have a drink in the Lounge and met everyone else there before we go on. See you later."

Hermione waved her friend goodbye as they stepped out into the hot sun and her friend disappeared towards the student bar and Hermione started her walk to her flat. It was one of the hottest days of the year so far but it was always that way. When they had exams they had hot weather, soon as school let out in a few weeks it would go back to rain and wind. She was renting out a flat with Jack and another girl called Rosie. Since Jack was gay, the two girls had never really bothered with keeping their private things to themselves. Jack was more than happy to join with their talks at three in the morning over who was hot and who wasn't and who was good in bed. Stuff like that.

Hermione smiled to herself as she strolled down Earlham Road. She had changed a lot since Hogwarts. Although she hardly did magic any more the witch inside her forced her to do it every now and then. It was hard to explain why certain things happened but in lying about it, Hermione felt herself open up more. Here, in a small remote city called Norwich, she was no body. She wasn't a witch and she didn't have to watch what she said encase another witch or wizard didn't understand. Hermione had opened up to her friends and while a small part of her kept her studying and pushing her education forward, she wasn't one track minded any more and took pleasure in doing normal student stuff and by normal she meant going on dates, hanging with friends and taking exams and not fighting in a war to save all humankind and then taking exams.

Here, Hermione was happy and it felt wonderful. She didn't know that it was all going to change very shortly.

* * *

There wasn't many clothes that Hermione had that Jack would consider as the right look for "going out" in. He sat on her bed as she pulled out outfit after outfit but none of them in his opinion were right for her to wear that night.

"No," he shook his hair and Hermione sighed and threw the small black number down.

"Then what?"

"Where's that red skirt you wore for Rosie's birthday?"

Hermione made her way over to her chest of drawers and pulled out the skirt he wanted.

"Wear that with that blue halter neck top and I'll see if Rosie will lend you her blue boots."

"I'll look like a whore."

"Trust me."

"No. How about I wear my black skirt with the blue halter neck and my black sandals?"

"It'll do."

"I'm not going out looking like a tramp."

"You could never look like a tramp."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Now get out I want to change."

"Hey, I'm not interested in what you have."

"I don't care. I'm not changing in front of you. I'll come out and show you the results. Can you get me Rosie's hair straighteners?"

"Call me when you are ready."

Hermione changed quickly pulling on her skirt and top before wondering back to her cupboard. She knelt down to pick up her shoes when her hand brushed against a shoebox. She stared at it for a minute before she sat back on her heels and pulled it out. She opened it to gaze at the bits of paper that lined the insides. She ruffled through them not really knowing what she was searching for until her hand touched something shiny. She pulled out the picture and stared at it, it was the only muggle one she had. It had been taken the summer before seventh year while they had been on holiday with Hermione's parents in Spain.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

Hermione gasped and looked round to see Rosie standing there.

"Sorry to disturb you, Jack asked me if you could borrow things."

"Thank you."

"What's that?" she pointed to the photo in Hermione's hand.

"My high school friends."

"You're never shown me this before."

"I forgot it was in here. I went to get my shoes and discovered this."

Rosie took the offered picture as Hermione replaced the shoebox and grabbed her black sandals.

"Who were they?"

"The red head is Ron and the other is Harry."

"Both very cute."

"I dated Ron for a bit."

"So, what happened to them?"

"We all went our own way. I just lost contacted with them."

"Oh, these are the boys from that article you wrote a few weeks back? To support your dissertation?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Ever thought of looking them up?"

"No. I don't need to. This is my life now. You and Jack bossing me about. Put that down and help me with my hair."

"Yes Miss."

* * *

"Don't you love it in here?" Rosie asked. "No men groping you, none slobbering over your neck."

"Rose, you love that," Hermione pointed out to her friend. Hermione hadn't changed much since Hogwarts, her eyes were the same hazel colour and every now and then she would hide them behind glasses. Her hair was tamer now and that was mainly due to Rosie and her annoyance at the state of Hermione's hair when they first met. Her figure was filler now and was no longer hidden behind unisex robes. She felt freer than she ever had and she actually felt that she was pretty. Although, when compared with Rosie she felt dull. Her roommate had short blonde hair layered down to her shoulders and sprinkling blue eyes with perfect skin, a skinny figure with a small waist, perfect arse and large breasts.

"I'll get the drinks in," Jack offered and the girls gave their orders before they made their way through the crowd to get to their friends that were grouped together at the back of the small bar.

"MIONE!" one of the lads greeted them as he dashed forward, clasping them both in hugs.

"When did you get back?" Rosie asked the tall boy.

"My plane got in this afternoon. I'm still on American Time so I'll be going to sleep around nine tomorrow morning."

Hermione laughed. "How was the trip, Si?"

Si, short for Simon was one of Jack's best mates and was straight. Hermione had fancied him since she first met him but since he had a girlfriend at the time never got to ask him out and now he was single again? She felt he was too far into the friend zone it would be odd to date him.

"Fucking great. You should have come with me."

"I had exams or I would have done."

Simon had been in the year above Hermione but had stayed living in Norwich having found himself a fulltime job that was perfect for him. He had just returned from a company trip in the States.

"They went ok?"

"Hopefully I'll pull off a 2:1."

"You'll get a first."

Rosie rolled her eyes and went to greet the others.

The night went by quickly and soon the barman was ringing the bell, signalling the last call.

"Come on," Rosie ordered. "On to Mercy," and the group of eleven staggered out of the Lounge and began the walk to the nightclub. By now they were all slightly drunk and Hermione found herself holding onto Simon's arm as they giggled their way down the road. Inside the club, Simon and Rosie dragged Hermione onto the dance floor. There never was much space on the dance floor and she found herself squeezed between Simon and some nameless body. The others joined them. After about an hour of dancing, Hermione excused herself and pushed her way to the smaller of the bars that lay behind the dj stand. She was unaware that Simon followed her until his hands touched her waist at the bar. She jumped at the contact and turned to smile.

"I'll get you a drink," he yelled in her ear and she nodded her thanks. Just then a drunk man pushed into them. Hermione gave a small squeak and stepped backwards onto someone's foot that in return gave a very manly squeak of his own. She turned to apologise but found herself frozen as she stared into the familiar face. He didn't notice her as he bent down to rub at his sore foot and Hermione smirked, well really, if he were wearing sensible shoes she wouldn't have hurt him.

As he straightened up, she heard him swearing softly under his breath and finally he looked up probably.

"Problem?" she spoke, although the music was far too loud for him to hear her. He gazed at her in shock and then her surname fell off his lips.

"Granger."

She smirked in greeting and replied.

"Malfoy."

Tbc...