loyalotter | 1st New Gryffindor Note

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1st New Gryffindor Note

[ down, down, they're hurtling down into gringotts. hermione tries not to show the fear she's feeling. she has to be strong; they have to make it into the vault before they're caught. the horcrux is there, everything they've worked on for months is resting on this one action-

-and then it's all over. water rushes over her, dousing the polyjuice potion, eliminating her disguise-

next thing hermione knows is that she's waking up in a very, very familiar place... or so it seems at first. she blinks and slowly sits up. well, honestly, it could be just about any forest, but she can hear and see things through the trees. no, it can't be...

but the open book next to her, the sundress she's wearing, and the black clothes folded next to her solidify her suspicions and so she cries out with the first thing to come to her mind: ]

You have got to be joking.

[ but, no... getting up, she grabs the clothes and her journal, making her way to the edge of the forest. the trees give way to that altogether too familiar village square and she shakes her head. opening up the journal again, she turns to it for clarification. ]

It would seem I've returned. Who else is still here? Harry, Ron? Draco? Are you all here? What month is it? I'm guessing I've arrived in winter or at the end of it, judging from the snow. And what year? How long have I missed?

[ with that, she begins to walk in the direction of house 26, not realizing that it's now empty. she's free to be intercepted at any point, either in the forest or somewhere in the village. ]

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[He's got his wand, and he's good enough with charms he might be able to produce them himself but he's currently busy making up some coffee. Someone's got a new addition. But when she asks that question, he's silent and almost a bit somber, pausing in his motions of grabbing some coffee mugs from the cabinet.]

...yes. We are.

[ she sighs and moves further into the room. if there's a chair, she's going to take it now. she's so tired after the stress of gringotts... ]

Yes, it's the dress you think it is. Did Harry ever tell you anything about when we broke into Gringotts?

[ she's got questions for him, namely about caroline and who this vampire hisoka doesn't like is, but those take a back seat to this problem. ]

Not quite. Potter never really elaborated much beyond that you broke into Gringotts. Details aren't exactly his forte, remember? Let's get to the part why you're wearing my aunt's dress. You're not going to tell me that she was holding a Horcrux, are you?

Polyjuice Potion. The Horcrux is supposed to be in her vault.

[ she sounds tired, very tired. glad to see draco undoubtably, but she's exhausted from the trauma lately. ]

We got halfway there... and now I'm here.

...just means you'll go right back where you came from, returning mid-fall or jump or whatever it was you were doing. [He smirks slightly, if only because he still has a hard time believing that himself. He sets out the two mugs of coffee and joins her at the table, taking a seat and just looking at her.]

In the span of time, how long has it been since you were last here and being here now? The last thing you told me you were doing...[He trails off. He still hates knowing about what happened at the Manor.] Did you break it right after that?

I know. [ she rubs at her face. ] Believe me, I'm not exactly looking forward to it. [ she takes the mug and sips on it, letting the warmth fill her. ]

A month or so, no longer. We went somewhere safe after the Manor and we stayed there for a while and then we went to Gringotts. [ and that's all she knows. ] Nine months in the span of one. It's strange to think about.

[Another solemn nod as he lets his finger trace around the rim of his mug for the time being.] And that's all we know. Nobody else was further along...[He shakes his head.]

A lot has happened in those nine months. More than I wanted to think about or admit, but...you've a lot of catching up to do.

It's frustrating to think that no one knows any more than that. But maybe it's for the better...

[ she sighs. ] I thought as much. [ pause. ] Can I ask you something?

I don't know about it being for the better, considering now all we can do is wonder.

[He raises an eyebrow.] You just did. [But the lopsided smirk on his face says enough. Sure, go ahead.]

I know, but... Thinking about what they might be going through. [ she has a good idea, considering the trouble they'd gone through to get there in the first place. ] It's a mess now, everything's a mess.

[ okay, that gets a small smile out of her. ] I was wondering... what's with this vampire you're hanging 'round with? [ yes, hermione, pry into his life already. you haven't even been here for an hour yet. ]

They've gone through worse things than this, I reckon. They'll be fine and besides, remember that time freezes. You've time to figure out how to fix such a mess.

[However when she asks that question, he's just going to give her a freaked out look. Definitely deer-in-the-headlights.] ...who told you? [Because he knows better than to try and lie to her.]

I hope so. It's hard enough trying to figure out what to do when I'm there, let alone after I've been here again. [ give her a little time and she'll bounce back to her normal optimistic self. right now is just a little much for her. ]

Hisoka. [ she rolls her eyes, showing just how she feels about that. don't worry, draco. if it's just hisoka, she's not putting much stock by it. ] He seemed to think you were in some sort of danger. [ but she trusts him enough to think he'd know better than to put himself in some sort of trouble like that. ]

You're overanalyzing. Focus on finding your wand first and then you can figure everything out. [It's the most hypocritical advice ever, but it's something to offer.]

[And the look on his face says he'd clearly love to strangle his best mate right now.] He always seems to think I'm in some sort of danger. He won't let up on the subject, though I would have preferred he not mention it to anyone else. Don't listen to him; I'm fine.

[ she raises an eyebrow at him. ] I can't help it. I just walked out of that.

[ oh please do. she won't stop him, certainly. ] He probably thought he was giving me fair warning. I know you are. If I was worried, honestly, I would have asked you about it sooner. [ or just come out and lectured.

pause pause pause. ] I spoke to someone named Caroline, too.

...I know. I'm not exactly good with optimism, you know that.

[A shrug.] Ignore him. I'll handle him. I know he's worried I'm going to die, but that's...an entirely different story. [He'll get to the whole "btw I was vampire snackage" later.] Thanks for trusting me, at least.

[Annnnd that look is back. Of course she did. Why wouldn't she?] Did you now...and what did she have to say?

Well, someone needs to be. [ and she will be soon enough. ]

If you did, at least you'd come back afterwards. Unless that's changed, too. [ she nods and gives him a gentle smile. ] I once told you I trusted you. That hasn't changed, no matter how much time has passed.

[ she looks down at her mug and takes a sip. everything's all muddling around in her mind and she hates it. ] She said she was your girlfriend and that my asking for how long was none of my business. [ and it may not have been, but she does sound a tad bit amused by caroline's defensiveness. ] I just wanted to know how much I had to catch up on.

I'll leave it up to you. I figure so long as I'm not completely miserable, I'm in good shape.

Apparently that still doesn't make it much better. That hasn't changed though. [He hums in thought.] Even if I mess up completely, I'll still have that? Reassuring.

[...urge. To hit head into table. Rising.] ...well, she's not lying, though I wouldn't take offense to her defensiveness. How much do you want to be caught up on, exactly?

I'll make sure you aren't, then.

Well, you'd have to do something pretty stupid to ruin it by now.

[ her smile fades and she gives him a serious look. ] As much as you can tell me.

Surprisingly...you've been fairly good at that. [He gnaws on his lower lip though.] I've done some stupid things, so we'll see if it changes anything.

...let's start with something simple. We'll start with the basics of the village first, and then I can elaborate on me and everyone who's left since you've left. [He glances back toward his bedroom.] I have something for you. [And he's going to just get up and head that way.

When he returns, he has a certain book in his hand, and as he sits down he pushes it across the table toward her. Yeah. It's her notebook, and there's a green scrap of paper bookmarking the section from where she left off and where he picked up. Should she choose to open it, she'll find details of past experiments and announcements from the Malnosso that he's written up.]

Possibly not as detailed as your original notes, but I thought this might make explanations easier...I like keeping everything in one place. They've integrated a lot...a lot has changed in the last nine months, rarely for the better, but there has been some good from it. I don't expect you to read it all right now, of course, but knowing you you will anyway.

[ there's something in his expression that makes her stop mid-breath and fall silent. she nods at the basics, wondering what he has for her. ]

All right. [ she remains where she is, sipping the drink until he's back. when she glances up at him, her eyes widen in shock as she recognizes that notebook. ] Is that... it can't be. I didn't think it would stay here... [ but it was made and expanded upon here. it had no reason to return home with her...

she takes it in awe and slowly flips through it. he actually kept it going. she's flattered... surprised and oddly touched by this. ]

You kept it up... You've written in it. [ the information is a little overwhelming, but she's so going to study it all when she can. ] I can see that. Keeping this notebook always helped me organize what I was going through. I'm glad you did the same thing. [ and she lets a grateful smile crawl across her face. it means a lot to her that he would want to keep this thing going.

and of course she does read it right then and there, just skimming, but it counts! ] So much has happened...

[As she flips through it, he can't help but feel rather pleased with himself.] I found it in House 26 after everyone left, so I transferred my notes to it and continued keeping up with it from there. I wanted to be prepared for if you ever returned. You know how it is.

So much has happened, and so much continues to happen. The Malnosso continue offering us opportunities that I'm not sure should be taken, considering they also continue to ruin our lives. The basic format of life is the same. Experiments one day, offers of a better chance the next.

Either way, I hope it's clear enough.

[ she nods thoughtfully as he mentions everything. ] That place is empty now, isn't it? [ it hurts to think about harry and ron being gone and what trouble they could be up to without her, what awaits them both... of course, this also brings up the question of where she's going to be staying after this. rydia did make an offer and she might have to take it, weird as that will be. ]

I did hear a little about that. I can't believe they would do something so barbaric to us...

Yes, it is. It's wonderful. Thank you for keeping it up.

...yeah. Everything important that was left I took out and brought over here. You could probably light the place on fire and nobody would even notice. [It didn't necessarily hurt him as much as it hurt her, but he still didn't like the idea that everyone was gone and back to the terrors at home. Even Weasley didn't deserve it, and Draco still hated him for everything.] I don't expect you to stay in that house alone, you realize.

It's...all very complex, the more I study it. You can never truly tell if they're on our side or not, and that's what I hate. I hate that there isn't a clear black and white like there should be. But maybe we don't deserve to know yet, who knows? The only thing that matters is keeping everyone alive and sane at this point. That's enough of an issue as is.

Sure. [An awkward pause as he's busy fiddling with his mug again.] The last time you were here, you almost seemed too distracted to care to keep track of it.

I would notice. [ her voice is soft, pained... she'd notice. that house still holds memories for her, both good and bad, and she can't abide the idea that something might happen to it, even if she's not living there anymore. ] I don't know where else I can stay. I've lived there for so long...

[ she shakes her head. ] I don't know. But nothing's ever really just black and white. There's always some shade of gray somewhere. [ look at the two of them. perfectly good friends here but at home? things are very different. loads of gray there. ] You're right, though. We do have to make sure everyone here is safe and as all right as possible.

[ she looks down at hers and then back at him with a frown. hearing about things she did when she can't remember doing them is so very, very weird. she'll never get used to it. ] I was? What was I doing?

Hence why I'm not going to test that theory...[He doesn't like how she sounds, nor how she looks. It's almost..sad, really.] You'll stay here, of course. How is that even a question?

I know. Believe me, I'm very aware. We'll work it out later, right now I'd rather focus on making sure we're in a good place instead.

[He's still frowning as well.] To be honest? Not much. I rarely saw you, you were always with the two of them...or in the library, and at one point you were kidnapped. You came back for a bit after that, but then they booted you right back out of Luceti. Granted, you made a few friends from what I can tell, but...I don't know about the rest.

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