August | Hermione Granger x OFC

Chapter Forty: Goblet of Fire

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Father met Robyn and her siblings at the train station, which was a surprise. He spoke briefly to Lucius Malfoy, Thaddeus Nott, and the like, then gave a condescending smile to Sirius Black who was greeting the Gryffindor trio. Her father wasn't the only one looking at the man; everyone was. No surprise, really.

Black held intense eye contact with her father before glancing to her. He gave her a subtle nod which she appreciated but was too paranoid to return. Then, she looked to Granger, who met her eyes. They stared at each other (that seemed to happen a lot) but her father placed his hand on her shoulder to side-along Apparate and she looked away.

They disappeared with a pop.

"Sirius Black, eh?" Father said casually to the three of them when they arrived home.

They stayed silent.

"Well? What do you think of him, then?" he continued with raised brows. "Lloyd?"

Lloyd stood taller before he spoke, "He's a blood traitor fool and a disgrace to the Black family."

"Of course," their father nodded. "Wouldn't you agree, Girls?"

"Yes, Father," they both said immediately.

"Knew him in school, I did," he said while frowning thoughtfully. "Sorted into the wrong House, friends with Mudbloods and blood traitors alike, abandoned his family..." Robyn could've sworn Dylan inched closer to her. "No wonder he's ended up the way he has. Pity that such an esteemed family has been diminished to...that. Well, go and see your mother."

They took advantage of the dismissal and hurried to see her.

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The weeks passed by as they usually did. Learning Ladies Auxiliary business, playing Quidditch, summer homework, blah blah blah. Every time Draco came over, he would try to ditch Lloyd and the other boys to talk to Robyn. As a result, Robyn got into the habit of hiding out in the woods surrounding her family's property to avoid him. She really wasn't sure where her aversion to Draco had come from. Sure, she had never been crazy about him. But for a while she was at least amenable to spending some time with him. But these days he just drove her mad; he was always trying to touch her. No, not inappropriately. Innocent things, like an arm over her shoulders, or his fingers touching hers. And she hated it.

Couldn't stand it.

Plus, every time Draco flirted with her, Lloyd would get all grumpy and rude. And she didn't need that negativity in her life.

There was one tree in particular that she loved to sit by. It was on the furthest edge of the wood from her house and from that spot she could glimpse the rolling hills in the distance. There was also a small stream nearby which provided nice background noise. She'd spend hours there, reading. And she'd read anything: schoolbooks, magazines, fiction, non-fiction, anything. Not to mention she'd re-read the various books and comics that had been given to her by the Ravenclaw girls. And letters, too.

Yes, she decided she wouldn't ignore their letters this time. Father had seemed all right to her; perhaps he had realised being sorted into Ravenclaw wasn't as much of a slight as he first thought. Plus, the chances of him intercepting her letters were next to none, since the owls flew directly to her in the woods. So, she'd sit at the tree writing to her friends, and Winnie would join her when she had the chance. Robyn had convinced her to take breaks, since the elf was technically hers. Not her father's, not her mother's, hers (although she preferred to think of the elf as a friend rather than something to be owned, particularly after Granger's influence). The only issue was that her parents could still free the elf if they wanted to, since she worked and lived in their house, so they had to be discreet about it.