Skyscraper

Ch. 1

Hermione Granger sat on her bed, her back against the headboard and her knees tucked into her chest. The war was over, and she had returned home to try to make her parents remember her. It took a long time, but after countless photo albums, family videos, and stories, Jean Granger looked up at her, blinking away the tears in her eyes. She remembered, and was so relieved to have her daughter back, knowing she was out of harm's way. Her father, not so much.

Dan Granger hadn't taken the news of his daughter wiping away the memories of he and his wife. He remembered the questions and confused looks they received when they had to remind their friends and family that no, they did not, in fact, have a daughter. But now this 18 year old girl was telling them otherwise, and not just that, but she did so to keep them safe from some evil wizard? She was a witch? He looked at her like a freak, and Hermione know that her loving relationship with her dad was lost forever.

She closed her eyes and squeezed her arms around her legs as she heard the front door slam downstairs. Her father was home. She looked at her alarm clock; 1:30 AM. He was home early tonight. He spent most of his nights out at the pub, coming home drunk every time and never before 2. He lost his job at the dentist office due to his excessive drinking, but blamed it on Hermione. She tried not to let him get to her, but it wasn't easy. Her mother was working twice as much to make enough money to keep their house and feed her husband's addiction. Hermione hated how much her mother worked for him. The sound of heavy boots clunking up the stairs got louder and louder, and Hermione tried to figure out where he was headed, although she already knew. Her heard sank into her stomach when she heard the steps stop. She knew where he was. She opened her eyes to see the doorknob turn and the door flew open.

The silhouette of a tall man stood in her doorway, a bottle of some alcohol Hermione was becoming unfortunately familiar with clenched in his fist. "I need to have a little talk with you," he bellowed, and she knew they wouldn't really be talking.

Hermione closed her eyes, and braced herself. She felt a strong hand grab her arm making the already visible bruised even worse. Her father yanked her up from her bed, put the bottle on her bedside table, and threw her to the ground. She let out a little scream when his foot made contact with her leg. "Be quiet!" Another smack across her face. She could hear him light a cigarette, and she rolled onto her back. She knew what was coming next.

He grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her onto the bed. She lay face down, tears running down her cheeks. He pulled her shirt up, took a drag of his cigarette, and pressed it to her lower back. He covered her mouth as she let out a scream. The hot little ember pressed into her lower back, burning a small spot next to the rest of her scars. "There, you want to do your little magic tricks so bad? Maybe this will teach you otherwise." He pushed himself off of her and picked up his bottle. "Now go to sleep, you little bitch."

Hermione lay crying on her bed, still on her stomach as her dad left the room, slamming the door. How did this happen? She asked herself. We used to be so close, and now...now I'm his worst enemy. His biggest mistake.

She got up and walked over to her mirror, making sure to be as silent as possible. She pulled up her shirt and looked at the word burned onto her back. HAG. The word was a reminder that she wasn't normal. She wasn't the daughter that he wanted. She was different, and he would never except someone like her into his family. She had tried to remove the scars with magic, but nothing she tried worked. She couldn't understand it. She laid down on her bed, pulled the covers over her, and drifted to sleep, her cheeks stained by her tears.

The next morning Hermione woke early to the sound of tapping on her window. She jumped out of bed and opened it to let the brown barn owl fly into her room. It dropped a copy of The Daily Prophet and three letters onto her bed. She fed it an owl treat and told it to be quiet. She stood silent for a moment, listening. No noise. Good, that meant that her dad was still asleep. It was 8:45, so her mom had already left for work. She sat down on her bed and picked up the letters. One was written in sloppy scribbles, obviously from Ron and Harry. The other, neatly addressed to her from her best friend Ginny. Hermione smiled at thought of her friends. Even though things hadn't worked out with Ron after the war, she still loved him like a brother. That was all they were meant to be, and he knew it too. She set the two letters aside and picked up her ever familiar Hogwarts letter.

She had decided to go back and finish her education, as she wasn't sure yet what she wanted to do. Harry and Ron had been offered jobs at the Ministry of Magic in the Auror Department. Ginny was entering her seventh year, though, so at lease she would have someone to hang out with. She opened the letter and read the first few lines without really reading them, since she already knew them. Then, something new. She had to read it four times before she understood it. "As the new Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I am pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as this year's Head Girl." She couldn't believe it, Head Girl! Harry and Ron always teased her about her studying all the time, saying that there wouldn't be a competition for the position, but she still couldn't believe it.

She opened up Ginny's and the boys' letters and quickly replied to them, making sure to emphasize that she was Head Girl. She addressed the letters to the Burrow, since Harry was living with the Weasleys now. The brown owl took them and left.

Hermione sat on her bed, reading her letter again when she heard movement in the hallway. She quickly threw all signs of the wizarding world under her bed, got under the covers, and closed her eyes. She heard him head down the stairs and out the door. She didn't know where he was going, but she didn't care. She was leaving. Today.

She pulled her trunk out of her closet, which was already packed with everything she needed. She got dressed quickly, put her iPod, laptop, books, and the bottle of water on her nightstand into a bag and walked out the door. She made sure she grabbed the picture of her and her mom on her first day of kindergarten and tucked it into her pocket. She looked around the house, knowing she wasn't coming back for a long time. She had left a letter for her mother on her pillow, knowing that she would understand her reason for leaving. She promised to write or call as much as possible. And with that, she apparated.