Hermione Granger was losing a lot of blood. She was staggering through the Malfoy Manor with her hand clutched to her bleeding side as she strangled for a way out. She heard the footsteps echoing around her, but she couldn't place where they were coming from. The elegant grey castle walls seemed to close in on her as she fell face-first into the cold cement.
With a desperate look over her shoulder, her eyes met Bellatrix Lestrange as she gave her a evil smile. Hermione reached into her boot and pulled out her wand, she apparitiated to the only place her memory could stagger for.
Hermione woke up gasping, she was leaning against the cold wall of a alley. Her eyes traced around her and she let out a sigh of relief. She had escaped. And in her sights, she could see the burrow. She began to drag herself near the steps, and she mustered the energy to actually stand up and begin knocking.
In mid-knock, she staggered once more, and the door flew open, she looked up into the eyes of Molly Weasley.
"Hermione!" Molly shrieked, "Ginny! Go call your father! Tell him its a emergency!" Molly bent down and threw Hermione's arm over her shoulder and helped drag her into the house and quickly kicked the door shut.
Ginny didn't even look in the room as she passed by, she didn't know Hermione Granger had arrived. She was dialing and talking and hanging up the phone in milliseconds. And before they knew it, their fireplace was releasing Arthur Weasley, with medicine decorating and stringing from his arms as he raced over to Hermione.
Hermione was rasping, her eyes were watering.
"Dear, it'll be okay." Molly reassured, "Ginny, go tell the boys to stay in their rooms, and tell them not to come out. Same goes for you!" Molly shouted.
"Mum, what is even going on?" Ginny mused to herself as she clambered up the steps.
Molly shot a worried look and then whipped out her wand and shut the living room door, locking it.
Hermione's side was decorated with drops of medicine and bandages clinging to her side, and she felt like she could breathe again. Hermione could even stand up straight without feeling any pain, she was almost good as new.
"Hermione, how we've missed you." Molly said, throwing her arms around Hermione and hugging her tightly, "It's been so long." Tears prickled her eyes.
Hermione hugged her back, "I've missed you all. After the war, I thought everything would fall into place.. I never expected.. to be kidnapped by Bellatrix Lestrange and the death eaters." Hermione felt tears slide down her face.
"You're so strong, my dear." Molly said, pulling away from her and wiping the tears off her face with her thumb.
Hermione swallowed hard and gave her a worn smile, "I am a Gryffindor after all, aren't I?"
"Of course you are." Arthur said, finally giving up his tough-guy mask and hugging Hermione, "Everyone was so torn up when you went missing."
"What do I do now?" Hermione choked out, "I don't have anywhere to go."
Molly laughed, "Hun, did you really think you couldn't stay with us? How about I take you up to the guest room, or, your room now, and get you washed up for dinner? You must be starved."
Hermione nodded, sensing the absence of food in her stomach, "That sounds good."
Molly led Hermione up the staircase and took a sharp left and then they walked down a winding hallway full of pictures of Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George. Hermione's throat choked up at Fred's picture but she continued to walk after Ms. Weasley. She opened the door at the end of the winding hallway to reveal a room with white walls and a black rugged floor, with black and white pictures clinging to the wall. Hermione walked over to the bedside to see a picture on her bed stand, it was her, Ron, and Harry.
"Was this always here for me?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, they've been waiting quite a long time." Molly sighed, "But anyways, right through here is the wash room, and through this closet is your clothes. Whenever we had extra money we'd buy you clothes so that when you came back.. you'd be prepared."
Hermione nodded, "You've been so thoughtful.." Her throat clenched.
Molly smiled, "We never gave up hope on you Hermione."
Hermione glanced down, smiling, "I ought to take a shower now, I reckon I'm quite a mess.."
Molly nodded, "I better get out of your way then!" She stifled a laugh and left the room. Hermione walked into the bathroom that was painted a light purple and a light blue bathroom towel hung by the shower.
Hermione turned the water on hot before stripping off her clothes and climbing into the shower and washing all the dirt and muck off of her and out of her hair.
When she stepped out, she felt refreshed as she wrapped the towel around her.
She padded out of the bathroom and walked over to the closet, looking at all of the clothes they had kept for her. She glanced down at her skinny frame and then back at the clothes, they seemed as if they would fit.
She grabbed a gray shirt with the words, "live like you're dying" imprinted on them followed by a design behind the words. The shirt hung so that it almost fell off her shoulders with the long sleeves that nearly reached her elbows. She pulled on black skinny jeans and pinned her hair up in a bun.
She turned around to see herself face to face with..
Ronald Weasley.
"It's you, it's really you." Ron breathed, and Hermione was in shock as her mouth fell open.
"It's me." Hermione confirmed, feeling tears threaten to brim over.
The two flung at each other, Hermione crying madly and Ron trying to keep in sobs as the two embraced.
"Ron! What did I tell you about disturbing her?" Molly snapped as she entered the room.
"I'm sorry." Ron said, pulling away from Hermione, "I had to know she was real."
Molly rolled her eyes, "Of course she's real Ronald!"
Ron turned back to Hermione and Molly took this as her signal to leave.
"Are you okay?" Ron asked, stroking the side of her face.
It was the first time someone had even asked her that question, she swallowed hard.
"I'm trying to be okay, I really am." Hermione nodded to herself, "Seeing you makes it all better..easier."
A tear falls from his eye, and he quickly wipes it away, "Just..you're alive." He breathes, hugging her to him again, his breath on her neck.
Hermione nods, wrapping her arms around him too, "I can't believe you're still here."
"Me neither." Ron said, sniffling, "We all waited for you, we knew you'd come back."
Ron went down to dinner and left Hermione to herself for a few moments before she began to descend down the staircase.
"Is that?.." She heard gasps and the scrapping of chairs as they pushed back from the table.
"Hermione!" Harry Potter shouted, running over to her and throwing his arms around her, "You..you're alive!"
Ginny also joined the hug, hugging tightly, "Hermione!"
George Weasley got up from the table and hugged her also, "You're so brave."
"Oi!" Ron said, standing up from the table, "Let the girl breathe, will ya?" Ron said, pulling out a chair beside him, "Here you go Hermione."
Hermione escaped the hugs and sat by Ron, "Well, you know how to treat a girl don't you." She says to everyone at the table as they return to their seats.
"Tell us everything." Harry demands.
Hermione glanced over at him, "It began at the end of the battle..."
Hermione Granger was excitedly skipping through the now-empty halls of Hogwarts as everyone outside rejoiced, she had escaped to have a moment to herself. Everything was going perfectly, the world would now launch into peace. Nothing would go wrong.
That was, until there was a sack over her head and excited death eaters rejoiced as they apparated.
"HELP!" Hermione screamed, she screamed until her voice was raw, and she screamed harder.
"Shut her up, will you Bellatrix?" One of the men shouts.
"No problem." Bellatrix answers,taking the sack off Hermione's head, "Well lookie here, we got ourselves a mudblood boys." Bellatrix turns to laugh with the boys, and then, Hermione is backhanded.
Hermione cries out, her eyes stinging and red and flaming with hate as she stares at Bellatrix.
"Harry Potter's little mudblood." One of the men jeers.
Hermione cries.
Everyone is silent by the end of the story.
"I need to go." Hermione chokes up, standing up from the table and going upstairs to her room.
"Look what you've done Harry." Ginny snaps, slapping him on the arm, "You've gone and upset her!"
Hermione, curled up in her bed, tears welling up in her eyes.
She heard her door crack open, "Please go away." She croaks.
Then suddenly there is movement in her bed, and she finds herself face to face with Ronald Weasley once more.
A/N: The beginning of a long fic everyone! Fasten your seatbelts!