Broken Quill

Chapter 1: Delivery

Special thanks to HeartofAspen for the alpha/beta work.
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/7597393/HeartOfAspen

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Hermione unlocked the door of her parents' empty house. The Dark Lord had been defeated, but they were still far away as it was still not safe to bring them back just yet. After traveling so long with Ron and Harry, and the exhausting Battle of Hogwarts, she just needed to be somewhere untouched and private. The door swung open and she stepped inside, inhaling the familiar scent of her childhood home. It brought her to her knees.

Ready to shake off everything that had happened, all she could think about was showering and sleeping in her bed. She knew that soon, it would be time to attend funerals, and many of them. As she sank down in the entryway, she glanced outside to see people walking by and quickly kicked the door closed. She leaned against the wall, letting her head fall back onto it as she scanned her home.

A clunk against the outside of her front door made her jump. She stood quickly and grabbed her wand, pausing to listen closer as her mind swarmed with a series of threats that could have followed her there.

She looked out of the peephole, to find nothing unusual... at least it appeared that way. Hermione Granger knew better than to assume that a Death Eater would follow the rules around Muggle neighborhoods, or any for that matter. Her heart was racing, and she exhaled. Get it together Hermione, it's probably just the newspaper.

Wand in hand, she reached for the handle of the front door and creaked it open just slightly, ready for anything. Peeking outside, all appeared normal. As she began to close the door, a small square brown package on the front doormat caught her eye. On top of it was a short black feather and she concluded that it must been delivered by a messenger owl.

She leaned down to pick it up but stopped herself. Wait, this could be cursed.

She stepped back into the house to grab her purse from the ground. "Accio sneakoscope."

A small hand-held spinning top popped up out of her purse and she caught it. Stepping outside again, she placed it next to the package and waited. The sneakoscope remained still.

Okay, Hermione, just take it, it's probably just a delivery from... She walked around the package to read the label and gasped, "Draco Malfoy?"

She picked up the sneakoscope, shook it, then placed it back down near the package again. Nothing. She exhaled and just as she gained the courage to pick up the package, she heard something drop down beside her from the sky, causing her to jump back with a short yelp.

She looked around to see another delivery: an envelope on the ground just behind her right shoe with the Ministry of Magic seal on it. Glancing up, she noticed a gray owl already fading into the distance. Cautiously, she picked up the Ministry envelope, then hesitantly picked up the package from the front mat, studying them as she stepped back into her house. After one last glance for security, she turned to close the door.

She sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall as before, staring at the items. Which to open first...?

She knew she really should open the Ministry envelope, but Malfoy's package had her more curious, and she was not in the mood for following any type of etiquette... not now, not after everything.

Her fingers glided across the twine knotted around the brown paper package, then flicked her finger between it to tug it open. After peeling a strip of brown paper off, she squinted suspiciously, A book? She slipped off the rest of the packaging, turned the book over once to inspect it, then brought it to her nose to smell it.

There wasn't anything too strange about it, besides the person who had sent it. It was a simple leather-bound book but it was worn and scratched, and had seen better days. She opened the front leather cover, and then pressed the pad of her thumb across the edges, to see each page flicker with writing. His writing.

She paused when she saw her last name, so she opened it more slowly. Her heart raced as she quickly turned to one page and then to another, every other page containing: Dear Granger. She lowered her eyebrows to assume that this was some type of trick. He's trying to mess with me.

She scanned around her house as if someone were watching, completely self-aware that she was ultimately going to read it, trick or not. She closed her eyes to meditate for a second, and then opened the first page to read what Draco Malfoy had written.

She furiously scanned every word, every inkblot, quickly growing angry. What a prat! We saved his arse! How dare he send this rude book to me?! She thought it might be better to stop, but her curiosity always got the better of her.

Halfway through, the book appeared to change. He changed.

She started to feel sad, and tears welled up in her eyes at the words written on the pages. It began to grow dark outside, making it difficult to read, so without taking her eye off of the pages, she got up to sit on her parents' living room couch and turned on a lamp to continue.

After the final page, she slowly closed the book and stared at the couch cushion next to her. It's not possible...

The living room clock read 2 am. The day had completely passed her by. She felt even more worn than before, if that were possible. Laying the book gingerly down on the coffee table in front of her, she stared at it and tried to think.

Hermione stood up and began to walk away, but then stepped back to pick up the book again. Gripping it tightly as she walked over to her room, flipping her lights on and into her bathroom.

She set the book down on the edge of the sink, then leaned in to turn on her shower. After undressing she stepped in, letting the heat of the water cascade down her skin. Standing there in a trance, she attempted to recollect everything she had just read, to piece it together. Then she remembered the Ministry letter, oh shit, fuck fuck fuck! She awkwardly turned off her shower, grabbed a towel to wrap around her and ran to her front door. She slipped on the entry tiles and fell. "OW!"

Ignoring the pain, she desperately reached to grab the letter and ripped it open:

Dear Ms. Granger,

The Ministry has requested your attendance at the trials of the Death Eaters listed below. Schedules are listed for time and location.

Thank you,

Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic

Hermione sat there with her bruised bum and her hair dripping on the letter before her. The only trial that stood out to her was the second one listed, which took place in less than six hours. She looked back toward her bathroom where the book, filled with Draco Malfoy's writing, sat waiting on the edge of her sink.