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The Game

Chapter 1: The Pain

Pain. That was what she felt. Not physical pain. No. That kind of pain she could handle. But it was the mental, emotional pain that she couldn't deal with. Physical pain could be given or taken away as quickly as a wave of her wand. The mental pain stayed with you though, no matter what, but she found that she could numb it with the physical pain.

She tried to be strong. She had to be strong. She was always the strong one. She kept it all inside never letting anyone see her cry. She hadn't cried once. Not at all. And this worried her friends. They thought, maybe it just hadn't sunk in yet. But it had. She remembered the day as clear as Professor Trelawney's damn crystal ball. The day the universe fell from its loosely tied strings and into the black abyss of nothing.

She sat in Transfiguration, next to Harry, just before lunch. They were taking notes and she was listening intently to Professor McGonagall. A voice from the teacher's office interrupted the lesson. She was the only one who waited quietly for their instructor's return. The rest of the class was just glad to have a break from the lecturing. McGonagall returned a moment later and walked directly towards Hermoine.

"Miss Granger," She said, bending to speak quietly to her student. "The Headmaster wishes to see you in his office. The password is 'butterscotch.' I believe you know where his office is?"

Hermoine nodded and gathered her things wondering what could be so important as to pull her out of class when there were still more notes to write. She could hear Ron mumble, 'Lucky' as she left.

The whole walk there she tried to figure out what it was the Headmaster wanted to see her for. She was almost positive she hadn't done anything wrong. What if she was failing a class? But she knew that couldn't be possible. It was the longest walk of her life and when she finally reached the stone gargoyle she felt as if she had been walking for years.

In the Headmaster's office, Hermoine found Albus Dumbledore sitting at his desk, his fingertips placed together and his chin resting on top of them. Something was wrong, she could tell, for the sparkling twinkle of his eyes was missing. She felt something squeeze her heart and it skipped a beat.

"Headmaster?" She asked, hesitantly. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes, Miss Granger, please have a seat." He motioned to the chair before his desk. "I'm afraid what I have to say isn't good news."

Hermoine sat down and waited for what was to come.

"This morning," Dumbledore started off slowly. "Your parents were found dead in their house." Hermoine's breath caught in her throat. "The green mark of the Dark Lord was floating above the house."

"Oh, God." Hermoine breathed. "No."

"I am deeply sorry, Miss Granger." He said, and was quiet for a moment. "A team of Aurors are there now fixing everything so the Muggles won't be frightened."

"Can- can I go there?" She asked.

"Of course, a portkey has already been prepared for you. The Aurors are expecting you." The wizard handed her an empty bottle of what used to contain butterbeer.

Hermoine took hold of it and soon felt a tug from behind her naval and she was gone from the Headmaster's office. She stumbled as she landed. She stood up and took in her surroundings. There were wizards running in and out of her house. Although it was noon, the sky was cloudy and gray. The smell of death was so strong it filled her lungs so she couldn't breath. She choked on the air and began coughing.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw that it was Tonks.

"Hermoine?" Hermoine nodded. "I am so sorry." Tonks whispered to her.

Hermoine looked down and nodded her head again. "Do you… know what happened?" She asked, softly.

"We have an idea." Tonks replied, putting her hand on Hermoine's back and leading her closer to the house. "Would you like to see them?"

Hermoine shuddered and took a deep breath. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to see them for this to be real. "Yes." She whispered.

Tonks nodded and changed their direction slightly. "Here you go. We'll leave you alone for a bit, alright?" Tonks motioned to the people standing around them to give Hermoine some space.

Hermoine breathed in again and then looked up at her dead parents. "Oh, God." They were so pale and cold. Her mother's eyes were closed, but the expression on her face was not a pleasant one. Her father's eyes were still open though, and his face still held a look of pain.

She began to choke on the air she was breathing in. She was gasping for air but found that none would reach her lungs. She tried to breath, wildly taking in gulps of air.

"I-I can't breath!" She choked out. "Help!"

Faintly, she heard the sound of running footsteps. She felt a pair of hands grab her by the shoulders and sat her down. The mummer of a spell was said, and a wave of calmness swept over her. She took in a deep breath. And suddenly she was very tired. Her body was drained of its energy and she let her eyes closed.

"I want to go back to Hogwarts please." She faintly remembered saying.

Then everything went black and when she woke up she was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts, Harry and Ron by her bedside.

Now, it was just after dawn on September 1st. Over the summer she had stayed at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. She was currently sitting on her bed in the room that she had to herself. Her trunk was packed and ready to go. She was waiting for Professor Dumbledore. In her hands, she held a knife she had found in one of the rooms she had been cleaning at the beginning of the summer. Rotating it, she took in its beauty. The hilt was a silver dragon, sitting, with its tail curled around itself and its wings extended up. The tips of the wings held a large emerald stone between them. The dragon's eyes were sapphires. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"I tried to kill the pain…" Hermoine whispered. "But only brought more…"

She brought the sharpened point to the tip of her left pointer finger and pricked it. A small pool of blood instantly surfaced. She made no move to clean it. She just sat and stared at it. Suddenly, she knew why blood turned red when it surfaced and joined the oxygen in the air. Blue just wasn't as frightening or beautiful as the dark red was. She smiled.

A knock on the door brought her back to reality. She quickly stuffed the knife under her pillow and wiped the blood off her finger under the covers of the bed.

"Yes?" She called out.

The door opened and Molly Weasley stuck her head in. "Oh, good, you're up. Just making sure. Would you like me to make you something to eat, dear?"

"No thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I'm not hungry right now. I'll get something later."

Mrs. Weasley gave her a concerned look. "Alright. Please promise me that you will eat something. I'm worried about you. You haven't eaten very well over the summer."

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. You don't have to worry about me. I promise I'll eat something." Hermoine said, feeling guilty because she knew that she wouldn't get hungry so therefore she wouldn't be eating anything later.

She hadn't really eaten all that much that summer. Only when her friends made her, but she just was never hungry. The food she did eat tasted like ash in her mouth and that made her lose her appetite even more.

"Okay, dear. I'll come get you when Professor Dumbledore arrives."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." Hermoine said, as the older woman turned to leave.

Molly turned back to the teen before closing the door. "You're welcome, dear."

Hermoine retrieved the knife and, cleaning it off quickly, gently wrapped it and placed it in a small wooden box. She packed it in her trunk and checked to make sure she had gotten everything. Then she dressed in her school robes, brushed her teeth, and pulled her long hair into a ponytail. Last year her hair had finally started behaving and now it fell in beautiful curly waves, no longer frizzy or bushy. But she didn't care about it anymore. She didn't care much about anything anymore.

About thirty minutes later there was another knock on the door. It was Mrs. Weasley again. "Hermoine, dear, Professor Dumbledore is waiting downstairs for you. Whenever you're ready."

"Okay." Hermoine gathered her belongings and followed the older woman downstairs. Dumbledore turned to greet her.

"Are you ready, Ms. Granger?" He asked, looking down at her through half-moon spectacles. The sparkle that was usually present was dimmed greatly.

She just nodded her head; the life in her eyes had long since gone.

"Alright, off we go then." He said, and she stepped closer to him.

Together they apparated to the front of Hermoine's house. She didn't move for a minute, just stared at the house. She hadn't been here since the end of April when she had learned that Death Eaters had murdered her parents.

Dumbledore laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at his solemn face and they walked inside.

Inside was dark and quiet. Hermoine tried hard not to cry as she walked through the house, touching broken pictures of her family. She left them where they were though, not planning on taking anything that would remind her too much of her parents.

Hermoine made her way upstairs to her room to gather the things she would need for the school year. On her way back downstairs she paused by her parent's bedroom, and looked in through the door. Just like the downstairs it was a mess. Pictures lay broken on the floor, along with her Mother's favorite lamp and everything else that had been knocked over. Hermoine actually stopped to think why no one had bothered to clean up.

She took out her wand and with a wave began to clean up the mess. And just like that, her Mother's lamp was like new, the bed was made and the glass from broken pictures went back in place. Then with one last look she made her way back downstairs, where Professor Dumbledore was waiting for her.

She set her things down and looked up at the old wizard. "Do you mind if I clean everything up?" She asked.

"Not at all. Go ahead." He replied. "Would you like some help?"

"Yes, thank you." She nodded her head and began to return her house to normal.

When they were finished they apparated together to the train station, where Dumbledore left Hermoine to wait for her friends to arrive. She was left alone, with only her things and her thoughts.

Harry was the first one Hermoine saw come through the barrier. She ran towards him.

"Hermoine!" Harry cried out, holding out his arms to her. She accepted the hug, holding on to him as if her life depended on it. He whispered comforting words in her ear as she tried hard not to cry.

"Hey 'Moine." She heard Ron say, from behind her. She turned to him and really did start to cry as she hugged him too. Both boys held onto her as she cried, not saying or doing anything but hold her. This was the first time she had cried for the loss of her parents.

And there's the 1st chapter! What do you think? Good? No good? Please tell me! Whatever you have to say I would like to know! Thank you so much!