Fight With Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 2)

01 - Summer Memories

It was August 31st, 1995.

Ellie sat at the dinner table, aimlessly stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork. Her brown waves had grown to just past her shoulders this summer, and her skin was tanned to golden perfection from the days soaking in the sun. Like every growing teenager, Ellie's face altered with maturity, and Cedric's death only developed her emotional capability.

Ellie's mother reached her hand across the small table to rest it on top of her daughter's, her eyebrows furrowed with clear signs of worry.

"Honey, what's wrong? You haven't touched your dinner," Ellie's mother, Amelia, questioned with a frown, noticing that her daughter was acting just as she did when she first came home from Hogwarts.

Ellie looked up from the table, dropping her fork as she let out a loud exhale. Amelia had made her daughter's favorite dish, spinach and chicken pasta, as her last home-cooked meal before the start of the fall term.

"It's nothing, really," Ellie lied as she leaned back in her chair, staring at the food in front of her.

"But aren't you excited to go back to school tomorrow?"

"I mean, sure, if that's what you want me to feel," Ellie muttered.

"Be honest with me, Ellie," Amelia warned gently, squeezing her daughter's hand in reassurance.

Ellie let out another loud sigh as she finally looked at her mother's eyes, sitting up straight to explain herself.

"Don't get me wrong, Mom, I love Hogwarts. And this summer has been a fantastic break—a really good distraction from all things magic. It's just that... when I go back, all I'll be reminded of is him."

Amelia sighed knowingly as she scooted her chair backwards to stand up. She outstretched her arms towards her daughter, gesturing for an embrace as Ellie sank into her arms.

When Ellie first arrived home in July, her mother had immediately noticed the change in her daughter's attitude. At first, Amelia believed Ellie's sorrow was the workings of her bullies, but the girl declined that proposition.

It took nearly a month for Ellie to finally open up about Cedric to her mother. Ellie had sat Amelia down for three hours that day, and she ranted to her seamlessly. She told her mother everything about Cedric, from his looks, to his kindness, to his actions. Ellie had described in painfully vivid details about the moments they shared, from twirling in the rain, to going dress shopping, to dancing at the ball. The family of two shared similar emotions of happiness, sadness, and pain, all from the stories of Ellie's time at Hogwarts.

Ellie had always admired her mother, especially for her empathy. Amelia was understanding, caring, and selfless, her traits having been passed down to her daughter. Ever since Amelia's husband, Steven Evans, passed away almost two decades ago, she vowed to step up to the vacant position in Ellie's life. Although times were hard as a single mother, Amelia always found a way to make the best out of their situation. The Evans family wasn't the most fortunate, but Amelia worked twice as hard to give her daughter the best life she could afford. Though she tried to conceal her struggles, Ellie knew of their situation, and she helped around the house in every way she could.

Ellie's mother finally drew back from the embrace, rubbing her daughter's back in a comforting manner.

"Oh, Ellie... I know it's going to be hard, but life goes on," Amelia spoke softly. "I know it's the hard truth, but Hogwarts isn't going to wait for you to finish mourning over him. You're going to have face the year without him."

"I know," Ellie mumbled.

"And plus, Hermione will be there. I've noticed how much happier you are when you're around her."

Ellie gave a small smile, remembering the events that had occurred that summer. For two months, Ellie and Hermione had been inseparable. Ellie had even taken the Gryffindor to meet her mother, resulting in an instant connection between the two. Ellie hadn't told Amelia about her relationship, and she intended to keep it that way until she was ready. As far as Amelia knew, Hermione was simply Ellie's best friend. Nonetheless, Ellie's mother loved Hermione as her own. Amelia would often ask when Hermione would be coming over, excited to be talking about intellectual material Ellie could never understand. Hermione never hesitated as she spent time in the Evans's home every chance she could.

Ellie snapped back into reality, a slight blush forming in her cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah. Hermione's great. Always there for me."

"You'll be okay, Ellie," Amelia smiled warmly. "If anything, write back to me when you need to talk. I'll see if I can rent an owl this year."

"I will, Mom. Don't worry about me too much," Ellie finalized as she picked up her plate and made her way to the kitchen, wrapping it before tucking it into the fridge. "Anyway, I'm going to head to my room now. I wasn't really hungry anyway."

Ellie left her mother at the table with a slight nod as she headed to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Ellie took in the bare room for the last time before her departure the next morning. The room didn't contain much decoration. The floor was partially covered by a shaggy rug with her already-packed trunk sitting atop. Her bed was twin-sized but astonishingly comfy because of the plethora of pillows and oversized blankets.

The walls were plain white, except for the handprints of Hermione and Ellie stamped just above her headboard from the time they were painting together. Ellie smiled at the memory of them laughing like hyenas from trying to smear each other with paint.

Ellie's mind wandered to another memory as she glanced down at her trunk, remembering her time with Hermione at Diagon Alley. When Hermione invited her girlfriend to purchase their supplies together, Ellie nearly declined. With her financial situation, Ellie only had enough money to purchase a fraction of her needed supplies, and she even considered going to school without them. Though the Hufflepuff didn't want to be seen with such low funds, Hermione convicted her to come along anyway. It didn't take long for Hermione to figure out Ellie's situation as she connected the pieces she had observed over the summer. In result, Hermione purchased all of Ellie's books in advance and gifted them to her, claiming they were her own spares from her personal library.

Ellie finally plopped down onto her bed, burying herself in the sea of pillows. She shut off the lamp beside her and stared into the darkness. In attempt to ease her mind, she thought about Hermione coaxing her to sleep, imagining that her girlfriend laid next to her. Ellie smiled to herself as she closed her eyes peacefully, forgetting about the worries of returning to Hogwarts altogether.