Anyone But Me

Chapter Sixty-One

A deep purr vibrated the large warm body curled up in her lap, Crookshanks was fast asleep as she absentmindedly stroked from the top of his head to the tip of his ginger tail in long slow caresses. If she tried to stop he would wake up and nip at her fingers until she started again. Hermione was supposed to be enjoying the newest episode of her mother's favorite drama but couldn't concentrate on the figures moving on the screen, much less keep up with the twisted plot.

Her father was doing a crossword by the light of a single lamp. Lounging in his favorite chair, he would lose focus on occasion and get caught up in a particularly tense scene that played out onscreen. The wrinkles around his dark russet eyes deepened whenever he found a reaction far-fetched. Which was often, but after more than twenty-five years of marriage he knew not to poke holes in his wife's guilty pleasure.

Every time she caught the ordinary familial dynamic her thoughts would start spinning in an obsessive cycle... Starting with how cute her parents were and somehow always ending on if Draco was still alright. It felt like an eternity since his letter had arrived, offering flamboyant but ultimately hollow reassurances that meant nothing when everything could change in the blink of an eye.

She felt the all too familiar tug of guilt for being relieved that they would be returning to the safety of the castle in two days time. And yet, she longed to feel like she could breathe again. The heavy weight of worry that had settled on her chest as the hours ticked by had turned into unbearable mass that wouldn't relent... No matter how many times she cast a Muffliato Charm and screamed herself hoarse. Only to repair the damage done to her vocal cords with a cup of magically-infused lemon tea...

The sudden gasp from Hermione's right had her pulling her wand from where she had tucked it under the blanket she shared with her mother. In automatic response, her eyes wildly scanned the room for the danger. The tip of her wand followed closely behind, a body-binding hex ready on her lips.

"Oh! Oh dear!" Her mother stammered, alarmed by the unanticipated reaction. "...Sarah... isn't going to forgive Geraldine after that..."

Both of her parents stared at her as if she had grown a second head and she quickly lowered her wand with a shaky hand, attempting to sell a light-hearted chuckle that sounded more like a choked off whimper than anything. "Right... Sarah... Geraldine..."

Crookshanks gave a giant annoyed huff before he jumped down, making sure to dig his back claws into her thighs for good measure, and sauntered from the dimly lit room. Heading off to find a quiet nook to continue his rudely interrupted nap before his nightly prowling began.

His distraction gave her time to slide her wand back into its hiding place and look preoccupied with the preformed hysteria taking place on the television. She could feel when both sets of her parents' eyes moved back to her, assessing her outburst and current frame of mind.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Her mother asked, her eyes still wide in shock.

"Of course, just a tad bit jumpy is all." Hermione gave a reluctant smile as she confessed. "Bad dreams last night."

"I thought those potions were supposed to help with that..." Her father inquired, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

She turned towards him, looking him in the eye as she lied. "They do! I just forgot to take it."

They both seemed lost in thought for a moment. Undoubtedly, thinking back to how bad she had gotten last summer, before the summons to the Burrow had come in the mail. The only reason they had been permitted the visit was they knew she would be at a place where she was forced to function. None of the Weasleys would allow her to wallow in her melancholia day after day, there was too much to be done for any of that nonsense...