Life and Its Mysteries

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Chapter 2



Hermione stared out the window staring at the sky. She was riding in an airplane, which was no ordinary plane. It was a magical plane which also belonged to the Ministry. On the outside, it looked like a regular private jet, but the inside was a different story. It was far more spacious than Air Force One itself, grander, and had a few bedrooms in it as well. To sum it all up, it really was like a flying home. And, it also flew faster than any muggle commercial plane.



It was her, her teammates, and Eric that was on the plane. Dean had flown in a day earlier to meet with Lucius. Paper work had to be cleared between both ministers since the Biff case had become an international problem.



“Is that from Snape?” Bill asked as he stared at the sealed envelope that Hermione held tightly folded in her hand. He had noticed that she had it in her hand for the past hour, just holding it. Sometimes she stared at it if she wasn’t looking out the window.



“It was forwarded to me from London three years ago,” Hermione replied. She let all her mail be forwarded to New York after she left. Never did she get any mail from anyone in London directly which made her suspect that no one looked for her, which she was very much thankful for. There was no one that she kept in contact with, nor did she want to. She left London suddenly, mad and angry at everyone. Her friends had hurt her feelings, and Severus himself broke her heart. “I never opened it and refuse to read it.”



“Why keep it then?” Bill frowned.



Hermione shrugged. “I just did.” She herself didn’t know the answer to why she kept it. Though she hated the man that broke her heart, he was still part of her past. And, he was still the father of Tobi even if she tried to forget it.



Bill reached over for her hand and squeezed in his. “You still have me and us,” he said with a soft smile.



“I know that,” Hermione said as she placed her head on his shoulder, letting a sigh escape her lips. She couldn’t ask for not just a good team, but a group of very good friends. It was similar to what she once had in Britain, but different. They weren’t immature like Harry and Ron were.



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“Mummy!” Tobi cried into Hermione’s neck. He was being carried in his mother’s arms. “No leave pweese!”



“I’m sorry Tobi, but Mummy does have to leave again for work,” Hermione said. Her heart was breaking. She didn’t like going on long trips not being able to see her son.



“No work! No work!” he cried louder. His arms even tightened around her neck.



“Hush Tobi… Hush now,” Hermione whispered in her ear as she started to slowly bounce him in her arms as she walked around the living room. She saw Bill standing near the door, waiting for her, with her suitcases.



“Hey Tobs,” Bill said with a smile as he approached both him and Hermione.



Tobi slowly turned his head on his mother’s shoulder as he looked at his Uncle Bill. His eyes were all swollen, as his nose and cheeks were all red.



“What about if Uncle Bill and Mummy buy you something special in Britain while were there?” Bill asked.



Hermione eyed Bill. He and the others always bribed Tobi a lot. In the end, it did work most of the time. Not surprisingly, Tobi did have his father’s look, personality and with that, even a few Slytherin traits.



“Me want Mummy,” Tobi said as he placed his head back into Hermione’s neck and continued to cry.



“I promise to see you as soon as possible, and then we can play all you want,” Hermione said. She then spotted Beth and nodded to her, asking her to take Tobi.



“No!” Tobi cried, as Hermione tried to hand him to his nanny.



“Come on Tobias, be a good boy now,” Hermione said as she pried his little fingers and arms out and off from her neck. “I love you,” she told him before she kissed his cheek.



“Mumeeee!” he cried as he watched his Mummy walk away and walk towards the door. His little arms stretched out, as he tried to wiggle free from Beth’s strong gasp.



With tears flowing down her cheeks, Hermione turned her head to see Tobi one more time before Bill had closed the door behind her. It was never easy, nor did she ever get used to the idea of leaving Tobi for long periods of time. She hated it, but she had to do it.



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The cold wind bit into Hermione’s cheeks as she stepped out onto the top of the stairs as she exited the plane. Her hair even started to get blown in one direction, messing it up somewhat. She groaned to herself, and hated it whenever it happened.



She reached into the pocket of pocket of her jeans and pulled out her blue Yankees baseball cap. It was always in her pocket or on her when she needed it on days such as this. Plus, she could hide her identity somewhat beneath the cap. Merlin knows the press would have a field day if they knew why she came back. After she had placed the cap on her head, she slightly hobbled down the steps following after everyone else.



“Good afternoon everyone,” Alastor Moody greeted the small group as they stepped into the private airport lounge. “I am-“ he stopped midsentence when he saw a familiar face. “Hermione?”



Hermione looked at him with a nod. “Hi Moody. Long time.”



“My Lord, it is you!” he gasped in disbelief as he walked towards her.



“It’s good to be back,” Hermione said as he shook his hand. It was a lie though. It sure as hell was not good to be back. “Head of the auror division now? What happened to Kingsley?”



“His been on sabbatical for awhile now, and I think is in South Africa now. I’m in charge till he gets back. What are you doing here?” he asked as he eyed Hermione and the other people that stood behind her. He knew who they were, but didn’t know the reasons as to why Hermione was with them.



“I’m with them actually,” Hermione replied cocking her head to the side. “I’m an auror over in America, based in the the Big Apple.”



“We’re here about the incident at Hogwarts,” Eric stated firmly. “I am the auror director in the States.”



“Of course sir, of course,” Moody nodded. He knew that everyone wanted to get on with business right away. “Headmaster Dumbledore has left his floo open for us. The fireplace is on the other end of the building. Shall we?” he asked.



Soon enough, everyone followed Moody, as Hermione remained by his side.



“What happened to your leg?” Moody asked for he was curious was to why Hermione was limping more than he was. He noticed that she was wearing a brace on her knee, right on top of her pants. Unlike her though, his leg was prosthetic and he was using a walking staff.



“Knee injury two years ago,” she replied. “Was chasing after one of the many evil bastards that live in the same world we do. So anyways, what the bloody hell happened?”



“There was a fifth year boy found by Hagrid out in the Quidditch pitch late at night. He was bleeding out. If he was found any later he would have died. Albus is all mad and worried, while Severus is furious,” he informed her. “Lucius and the others are actually with Albus at the moment. All of them waiting for you guys.”



“Why the hell was Severus so furious?” Hermione asked. Then she wondered who exactly was ‘them’ at Hogwarts.



“It was one of his Slytherins that was out in the pitch,” Moody replied.



Hermione sighed and shook her head. “Damn!” she muttered. She had to face Severus no matter what. There was no escaping it.



“I’m sure that he’ll be surprised to see you,” he said with a small smile.



Hermione and Severus’s relationship wasn’t a secret to everyone. Everyone in the Order knew of it, as well as the staff members at Hogwarts. In Hermione’s sixth year, the two of them had worked together with potions to possibly defeat Voldemort and his army. A relationship grew between them, and blossomed later on onwards in her seventh year.



“Yeah he would be surprised,” Hermione said as they turned down the corner. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing anyone at all. She didn’t know if they would be happy or not to see her. For her though, she surely wouldn’t be happy. She didn’t want to see them ever again if possible, but then again, he she was, mere minutes away from seeing more familiar faces from her past.



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AN – Hope you guys enjoyed, liked, or loved this chap. I’m sure you can just all imagine what will happen next. Review!