To the End of the Earth and Back [[Hr/D romance]]

Chapter Twenty

Hermione beamed up at her parents. Her mother was crying. Her father was too busy watching all of the commotion that he couldn't cry. She thought that her father was just as excited as she was. Her mother gripped her into a tight hug. When she let go, Hermione was swooped into a bear hug by her father. He wasn't that large of a man. He was about average in every way possible but she loved the way he could hold onto her. He had kept her safe from the moment she was born until now. Now, he was saying goodbye to his little girl.

Hermione was being sent off to a prestigious boarding school. But this school was different than any they had ever heard of. This school was for witches and wizards. At first they thought that it was a practical joke but they thought they would try to check out Diagon Alley. Sure enough, it was not a joke at all. She was the most excited she had ever been.

Finally, she bid farewell to her parents. She was about to start the journey of a lifetime. She found an empty compartment and was soon joined by a nice yet forgetful boy who was in her year. There, they made a promise to one another that they were going to make their time at this school the best.

Memories passed through her mind as she stared out the window. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't even heard him enter the compartment. She looked up and the widest smile came to her lips.

"How was your break?" he asked.

"It was lovely, Neville. How was yours?" she replied, pleasantly surprised to see a good friend of hers.

"You need to work harder," Narcissa told Draco. "Get your head together, stop worrying about whoever she is, and do what you're supposed to." She clicked her tongue at him in aggravation. He let her yell at him. It wasn't like he was listening to her anyway. This was how his entire break went, why would he care if his mother could care less that she wasn't going to get to see her only son for at least another six months? At this point, he was sure she didn't care about anything besides her husband, who was in jail, and the indiscretions that caused this family to be in extreme trouble with the most powerful dark wizard.

Draco rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand how his mother was acting, and in public no less! But he stopped caring the moment that he saw her. THERE SHE IS! His mind wouldn't stop yelling at him. He turned his attention back to his mother and he grabbed onto the handle of his trunk. "I'll see you in June," he replied bitterly and he got on the train.

Draco let out a sigh as he sat in the compartment with his friends. Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy had all gone home for the break. He wanted to sneak off and see her but he was sure that someone she had known, maybe Potter and Weasley, had found her and was keeping her occupied. It wasn't a secret to his friends that he was talking to someone. After the letter from 'Juliet', they haven't stopped bothering him. He couldn't just tell them that it was really Hermione Granger, the biggest mud-blood of Gryffindor (of course, he never said that word anymore).

So he let his friends drone on about how wonderful their breaks were. He just remained quiet. He wasn't in the mood for their conversations.

Walking through the halls again was like taking a deep breath of air after holding it while swimming. No matter what was going on, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry always welcomed her home. She could tell that Neville, Ginny, and Dean all felt the same as she did. Ginny had been nice enough to refrain from speaking about Ron much. She did tell Hermione about the atrocious necklace that Lavender got Ron so if Hermione ever wanted to make fun of him she could. It did make Hermione feel a little bit better that Ron's holidays were spoiled by his girlfriend.