The Missing Link

Her Choice

Hermione was completely preoccupied with breakfast the next morning. Even though her parents had made her favorite breakfast and did not talk about what she found out last night, she felt as if she’d swallowed a large helping of porridge that refused to digest. The awkward silence was difficult, and the tension as thick as fog. Her father decided to risk breaking the ice.

“How did you sleep?” he asked, although it was quite obvious from Hermione’s glassy eyes that she didn’t sleep well.

“Fine,” she lied easily.

“We made you your favorite breakfast,” he pressed on with, again, quite an obvious fact. “Why are you not eating? Did we do something wrong with it?”

Hermione slowly shook her head.

Mr. Granger was at a loss and so the awkward silence fell back once again.

“Come on John,” Mrs. Granger sighed suddenly, making her husband jump. “Let’s not play pretend. We know she’s going through something difficult right now. We can’t pretend that everything’s fine.”

A few minutes after her outburst, there was a loud knock on the door. Hermione’s father stood up to see what was happening.

“Good morning, Maybelle,” he said when he saw his snooty older sister at their front door. Behind her, he could see several bulky men about twice his size.

“Good morning, John,” Maybelle Granger said in a grating voice. “I trust you know what date it is today?”

John mentally slapped his forehead. Because of the sudden news about Hermione being asked to fulfill her duty as princess, he’d forgotten that today was the deadline of his loan payment.

“Y-you see, M-Maybelle, I-I forgot to call you yesterday,” he stammered. He cleared his throat and continued. “We are experiencing a family crisis right now and I was hoping you can come back next month instead?”

Maybelle shook her head mockingly and tsk’ed. Hermione observed that she was quite like Madam Pince when faced with students trying to get off the hook in the library.

“That loan’s been overdue for a month now, John,” she said. “What makes you think I can extend it again?” She motioned to the bulky men and they entered the Granger household. John and Hermione’s mother tried to hold them off, but they knew they would break their grip soon.

“Hermione!” her mum called. “Go!”

But Hermione wasn’t about to leave them. She ran upstairs to grab her wand, unsure of what to do. She wasn’t allowed to do magic in front of Muggles! Her parents were screaming in protest.

In the nick of time she saw the Floo in her bedroom activate, and soon, two tall men wearing black robes and the Black coat of arms walked into her bedroom.

“Miss Granger, we are guards of the royal wizarding family,” one of them said. “The Queen Mother would like to meet with you today.”

“However, if you do not accept this marriage, we can go back and tell her,” the other one said.

This is it, a voice in the back of her head said. This is your chance to change your life. Your only chance. A life like this or a better life with a couple of circumstances?  What will it be?

She listened to the emerald flames roaring behind her, whispering what lies ahead, should she accept the honor. A marriage to one of the few people on this earth that she loathes, and a life in a castle forever, unable to live freely and be normal. At the same time, her parents would have an easier life, no more need to desperately get by: they can have whatever they want.