MAGIANIMA // Hermione Granger

Journal And Page

One of the things Atlas had noticed since being back in Hogsmeade on the regular was that the people there didn't treat her as horribly as they had done many months prior. Well, they didn't to begin with, rather they treated her as if she were a plague, with no particular feeling besides wariness and that had been due to her 'serial killer' father being on the loose. If only they knew the truth. Soon, Atlas had kept telling herself, soon her father's name would be cleared and she could visit him, could live with him on occasion and the people would find themselves swallowing their words.

Well, they might already be because as Atlas mosied her way through the village, the only attention she got was favourable, the odd compliment there, a congratulation from across the street and a cheer from somewhere behind or forward. Of course, there were still a few that treated her as they had last year, no doubt having read the articles Skeeter had published, Atlas, however, didn't care. Didn't have it in her to care. 

Instead, she walked right by them, throwing waves and responses to those who treated her kindly as she hoisted her backpack higher on her shoulder and continued up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the very edge of the village. Right by Minerva's old cottage, her original cottage that she'd had to move out of when Atlas was five, near the stile that led into the trees. It was where she'd found Fobbo, in fact, curled up in a sack used for transporting Defensive equipment when she was little. That very tree line.

She marched past the old house, casting it a sideways glance with a reminiscent smile that quickly turned sour. Those walls may hold some of her happiest memories but they were overruled by the bad that came with them and as she caught the carnage of what her past self had left behind, she couldn't help the shudder that wracked her, her thoughts drifting back to the day Bella had almost lost her leg. She could still feel her magic wafting from its ruin, see faint pockets of black mist that lingered, she was only young when she'd caused it but the presence it gave was as if from something ancient and sacred, not to be messed with. So she steered clear, taking a longer route to arrive at the bottom of the mountain she'd been intending to find.

Then she started her ascent, climbing up and over the boulders and rocks that littered the path, all jagged or blunt and very much capable of some serious damage should she fall. The walk itself was alright and if her legs had been up to their usual standard she would have made short work of the path, no doubt. But Atlas just wasn't so lucky, even with Poppy's help, her wounds were just slow to fully heal. That was probably her fault, however, considering how careless she was during recovery periods.

For nearly twenty minutes she heaved herself up that mountain face, unbuttoning the top few buttons of her shirt at some point to allow the cool air to hit the topmost part of her neck and rolling up her pant legs for the very same reason. She wiped the sweat from her brow on her shirt sleeve, adjusting her bag for the nth time that climb as she shifted a gear, now jogging up the rest of the way. 

Though she did stop a moment, turning to enjoy the view and to catch her breath while her heart thundered in her ears from her short run. Noon's high and beaming sun gleaming across the village, further brushing across the glade that hid magical creatures beneath its tall grass. Atlas honestly would never set foot in that field and figured it was isolated on its own island in the middle of the Black Lake for a reason. A reason she didn't care to know.

Finally, the top came in view and with it, a familiar face, Hermione Granger was stood just outside the narrow fissure she knew to lead into a larger cave beyond, her arms crossed with a foot tapping the floor impatiently. Atlas grinned and snuck quietly over to her, arms raised and when she got close enough she grabbed Hermione around the waist and hauled her into the air, spinning around.