Title: Estranged Memories

Author: xXCrackRomanticXx

Pairing: Tom Riddle / Hermione Granger

Rating: PG-13

Summary: "Nothing is left of the world I once lived in. No one I know and love is there, because the war is over and the dark side won. But I'm not there to view the results. Because I'm stuck in a time fifty years earlier, trying to stop it before it all occurs." - TR/HG

Chapter: I. The Final Battle

Words: 4054

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Smoke billowed about all around us, my eyes were stinging as I tried futilely to ward off the stinging clouds of it but as I was brutally dragged onward, I only succeeded in waving it toward myself to breathe in the poisonous air. Great gulps of it were inhaled with each hacking cough that wracked my weak and broken body and I knew that this was the end. How as it that so many horrid things could happen in the space of five hours? That my life and so many others around me could come to a screeching halt due to the hands of a man that had taken life after life mercilessly and without a second thought when he himself was not even performing the deeds? The question, even to my intelligent mind, was one that was unanswerable at that moment as my thoughts were much too clouded by the continuous burning that resided within my chest. Tears stung my now rapidly blinking and dust invaded eyes and my throat was raw and felt as if it were constricted harshly by something that I was unsure of. Cries of pain and for help left my lips but none were heard as the words came out barely even a whisper, the tone that said them raspy and so pathetic that no even those that drug me so harshly along heard them and glanced back to sneer in malicious glee at the pain that they were inflicting upon my already battered body. Another series of coughs escaped from my lips and finally the tears that had for so long merely stung my eyes rolled down soot and ash covered cheeks, merely smearing the grime that already clung to my once alabaster skin, only to fall onto dirt lightened robes where on the right breast there was a singed hole; the only proof that, once upon a time, I was a proud Gryffindor.

But now, my entire sanctuary, the only thing that had kept me sane, was destroyed because of their violation into my daily life. At a young age of seventeen, most people would think that I would lead a simple life, one where there were no dangers such as the ones that in this world lurk about every corner. They would believe me to be like any other teenager out in the Muggle world but yet there are so many differences in me that none are seen clearly right from the start unless explained. For, you see, I'm a witch. A seventeen-year-old, strikingly intelligent, wand-yielding witch that is of Muggle descent and I attended none other then one of the most prestigious wizarding schools of all the Magical world – Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For seven years now, the school where so many famous witches and wizards emerged from has been my home but yet now, it's gone, nothing more then a pile of rubble lying at the base of a mountain range and soon it is to be forgotten for the world that was once so majestic, unique, intriguing, and above all wonderful, is going to change drastically. The final battle has come and gone and the fate of it has been decided just by the death of one male that was the last hope any of us had left.

Harry Potter was dead and the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort were declaring their victory.

Screams rang sharply in my sensitive ears and the muscles of my face ached as my features contorted into a cringe. Those screams, the cries, yells, all of them were filled with one emotion, a raw and absolute terror that was reflected in every face that I could spy through the darkness and flying embers. The veil of smoke that for so long had cloaked us was thinning and I felt the terror within me building with each rock that dug sharply into my back, with each step that caused my body to vibrate. Somewhere close by, when I twisted by neck in some attempt to see ahead of us, where they might be taking me, I found myself staring in abstract horror at the sight of at least three men ravaging a young woman. One was before her doing god knows what with guttural, satisfied grunts while she sobbed in pain. The woman had to have been no older then fourteen and as she turned her face to stare straight at me, I felt nausea rising within me. Another was pushing himself against her from behind at a rapid pace. The pain that was reflected deeply within those eyes was enough for my thoughts to briefly turn away from my own horror and to realize that her fate was much more cruel then mine. The third and final one was busy marring the skin that once had been unmarred, untouched by that of a cruel hand but yet now she bled profusely from the deep scratches and various wounds that ran along it. Her cries were more pitched then the rest and then her head had twisted away but in that brief split second the reality of what had happened crashed down upon me and even when they had disappeared from my line of vision I continued to stare back into the distance where I knew she was being tortured in the last few moments of her life. The pain and absolute, utter acknowledgment of the fact that she was going to die that had lingered in those depths was so striking.

It was also what caused me to realize that could very well be the fate that awaited me at the end of this journey and the thought caused my already worn and weary body to pump with adrenaline as I struggled in panic. Violent sobs struck my body as my voice was suddenly revived and I was coughing and lashing outward with cries of, "NO! No! Let me go!" My struggles, I knew from the start, were mere futile attempts to try and avoid the fate that was destined for me to fulfill; but it was my belief that anyone who knew of the fate that awaited them would have reacted the same way in which I did. I fought against their hold with a vengeance that I had never known myself to feel, but, I suppose, that such actions are natural when you are on the brink of being dragged to your death. For a few brief moments, I managed to break from their grasps and it was in these moments I stumbled to my feet and began a hap hazard dash through the smoke. In the pits of my mind, I think that I knew there was no hope for my escape, especially since there were so many of the Death Eaters remaining about us. Which might have been why, I didn't bother to watch where I was going and why I stumbled straight into the arms of another pair of the degrading low lives that dared to call themselves a part of the human race.

From then on, I knew that there would be no escaping. There were too many of these people who dared to breathe even this poisonous air that still mingled about them. Dragged onward through the rubble of what had once been Hagrid's hut, I could not even find the strength to release the torrent of emotions that cascaded over me. Anger, fear, grief, agony, and all of it was punctuated by one particular one, a sense of loss so large that not even tears and screams could tell of it in all its demeaning glory. The rush of it all as it consumed me was almost even too great for me to handle, the one who could shadow her emotions behind a veil. But then again, who has ever been able to handle the knowledge that their death would soon be upon them with a calm and stead hand? As the reality that I would not be able to escape and that soon wholesome darkness would be the center of my world, I did not bother to fight them any longer. Instead I was limp, not even crying out in the sharp pains that constantly wracked my body when I was manhandled across the rough land. But suddenly I was tossed to the ground, my elbow striking against a rock as I fell and this time I could not withhold the cry of pain that passed my lips. How many times had I been so horridly treated during the night? After Harry Potter's death, I had lost count for the grief of my best friend's death had consumed and not only that, but it was the prevailing fact that the world that we had tried so desperately to save was falling into its predicted fate of a dark and desecrated future. And it had been at that exact moment in time as the green swirls of green left Voldemort's wand, reaching outward across the small space between the two, and striking Harry straight in the chest, that I had just known he was gone. There would be no second chance for the famous Golden One. When his body had flown backward, his chest arching majestically into the air, the stunned look forever more plastered upon his face, it had been then that I knew there would be no more chances to tell him the devastatingly, shocking truth about my emotions for him. And then as he had first struck the ground, I had known my life and my future would meet the same ends as is: Death.

Wrenched from my thoughts, I found myself being shoved forward, further into what I now recognized was not a thick cloud of the pitch black smoke that had surrounded Hogwarts but was actually the circle of Death Eaters who had finished with their tasks after the actual battle. My legs refused to hold the weight of my upper body and so I was on my knees near the end of the line, my arms outstretched before me with fingers curved and digging into the pits of the dirt. An arch of pain exploded upon my left side, right beneath my breasts as the foot of one of my guards dug into my ribs and a small hiss of air dared to trespass the threshold of my cracked and bleeding lips. Whatever strength that had been holding my arms up gave out as my body weight shifted to the left and I found myself stumbling to the ground just as I raised my head, my vision once again tearing up. It was due to this hindrance that I never truly spied the foot that planted itself upon my features. All I recognized was the cries of pain that left my lips as my body came alive in a frenzy, my nails reaching up to scratch in a panicked way at the leg of the perpetrator. But it was of no use as once more I was violently yanked to my feet and even though my sobs had been rekindled and I begged them, my voice cracking and raspy, to just let me be and to let me die, they shoved me further onward. The blows as I fell continuously onto bloodied and broken knees never failed to rain down upon my weary figure, which only caused my voice, pain, and grief to reach a new level as the distinctness of these peoples' sadistic humor fully sunk in. Tears and snot ran freely down my cheeks, muddying the grime that already lay plastered on my dry skin further until finally I was tossed to the ground at the end of the sea. This time there was no lashing out of limbs from random men in the mass of Death Eaters that stood there and I did not feel the expected rush of gratitude that I thought would come; instead, I felt grief. I wanted this torturous life to be over, to just end so that I could find solace in the dark, chilling embrace of death but yet it would not come without the help of these people as I adamantly refused, even whilst on the brink of death, to kill myself. The tears had turned to bitter ones and as they rolled down my cheeks, my lips pursing and pulling back to reveal blood stained cheeks, I felt a hand gripping the front of my robe and myself being dragged further upward into the air.

Upon instinct, my eyes opened and the next think I knew, I felt the stabbing of someone trying to invade the inner walls of my mind as I became entranced by the piercing, red gaze that my cinnamon colored eyes had become locked upon. Memories of my life were spinning through my mind, each being pulled from the depths of the subconscious that I had struggled so hard to lock away. Images of my parents, my childhood life, first meeting Ron and Harry, first year, the Sorcerer's Stone, the Whomping Willow, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the news of Voldemort's return, the Department of Mysteries, Ron with Lavender, Harry and Ginny, Dumbledore's death, and then this battle. All of it merely caused the choked sobs to punctuate the tumult of emotions that slammed into me further as I dropped my head away from the gaze. The spider-like, white fingers that gripped my robes twisted further, a cackle passing from thin and non existent lips as he took pleasure in my pain. Once more I was thrown into a frenzy, blindly striking out as my voice returned to whisper continuously, "Bastard, you killed him...you killed them..." It was of no use from the beginning and was probably what sparked the violence that came next as he grimaced as if just from touching me, I had filthied his hands. I was handed off to two of his cronies and carted off to where, I have no idea. Long since had I lost track of my surroundings and now as I sobbed, my entire body broken – soul, spirit, and mind – I no longer felt the need to protect myself for the harsh reality had finally sunken fully inward. There was no hope, there was no bright light, there was just destruction and a destroyed word that awaited us ahead.

Those were my exact thoughts as I was dragged onward, my eyes briefly opening to find themselves staring upward into the gnarled branches of the trees that could only be of the Forbidden Forest. What reason we were there, was beyond me as it had been on the grounds of Hogwarts itself that we had fought our, what would be called in future generations, glorious battle of doom. Just the thought caused my brief sarcastic sense of humor to return and I snorted but immediately wished I had not for the fist that descended into my cheekbone ended with an audible crack and I no longer had the ability to talk as I merely moaned out my pain. What else more was I supposed to do when the voice that had once so loudly spoken my thoughts and my opinions was ruined, nothing more then a rasping rattle of what it once was? The tears had long since stopped, ever since my mind had basically been raped by the disgusting mind touch of none other then the Dark Lord himself. But then again, that would continue to happen until, I knew, they grew bored of me and then I would be nothing more then something that was cast aside and killed like every other person they grew bored of. There was one thing that I did know, though, was that I would be far more entertaining to them just merely based on the fact that I was the Saint Potter's female best friend next to Ginevra Weasley and currently, she was lying somewhere, bleeding to death from a curse that she had gotten in the way of to protect her lover, Blaise Zabini, from having his entrails splayed over the ground. The fact that he had not gone to her in her time of need even though, with as much power as she could, she had cried out for him was what disgusted me further. He had smiled tightly and walked away almost as if he knew that there was nothing left he could do but when Ron had happened upon the scene it had turned for the worst and the man that I had desperately loved for the last two years, had come to hate me with the deepest loathing in less then five minutes without any thought to let me explain. Just the thought of it all brought the emotions of grief and agony, of such an indescribable loss, that I could not help but choke on the sobs that passed my lips.

Suddenly, though, I was left no time to think as screams erupted all about me but these screams...these screams were much different then the pain ridden ones that I had heard as I was being dragged to what I had thought would be my death. These screams held an unearthly pitch to them, the type of unearthly pitch that caused the airs upon the back of your neck to stand on end and your eyes to shut as a tumult of emotions rushes over you, the prime one being that of deja vu. The hairs on my back stood on end, raising up so high that I, even now, believe that they trembled while my eyes shut as a tremble touched my figure. Gusts of winds surrounded us and instantly I felt the familiar prickling of fear along my spine as I awaited what was to come next, for, you see, for the first time ever, I had no idea as to what was happening around me. My entire figure had tensed as I opened my eyes only to squeeze them shut once more upon feeling the lashing of the wind against the sensitive orbs. At some point, the guards had relinquished their grip on me to protect themselves from the monstrously powerful blasts of leaves and various other debris that had taken to attacking us. Too weak to protect myself, the sharpened tips of the leaves – sharp due to the fact that they were of the Forbidden Forest, after all – cut deep into my skin, marring what was already tainted with blemishes and disgust. The only sign that the wounds being inflicted affected me were the gasps of air that I took in with each lash but then as sudden as they had began, they stopped and the forest became silent and still. Much too silent for my liking as I hoisted myself, struggling the entire time, into that of an upright sitting position. It would be only later, that I would wish that I had not done so.

As soon as I had placed my raw skinned hands beneath me, the winds began but this time they were solely about the two figures that were pressed back to back before me. The guards were at this point screaming as what I could only believe to be some unknown epiphany before them rose up to slaughter them for I surely know that it could not have been me to have done the disgusting and revolting things that occurred next. As if on their own, the robes that they wore of rick silk were slashed and shredded to pieces, razor thin scratches appearing along their skin where the slices along the robes had been. The blood from within that had sustained them for the years of their life spilled out and over the rough surface of their chests and further down to disappear somewhere into their clothes. More slashes appeared and then guts were being drug from the holes that had appeared in their stomachs and that was when, upon seeing one of the men's intestines slowly becoming unraveled from his body, I turned away to wretch. Fear was stabbing through me and spurring me on to movement which was why I stumbled to my feet to end up stumbling along some random path of the Forbidden Forest. I could hear their agonizing screams behind me but I had to force myself to not look back and go to their aid. Even though I was disgusted with them and wished that they would burn in hell for all eternity, the caring side of me, the part of me that had made Madame Pomfrey wonder why I would not become a Medi-Witch, would wish to help them. As their screams suddenly came to a halt, I froze. I knew I shouldn't have looked, I knew I should have kept on running because then maybe I wouldn't be where I am now.

But I did turn around, I did twist my head back to find myself staring at an ethereal green and silver hued figure that stood where the guards now lay fallen. The figure merely stood there before vanishing when I blinked and when I blinked again, my feet now keeping me in place due to the absolute terror that had struck me, the figure was closer then before. Even in my terrified state of mind, the know it all bookworm came out and I was trying my hardest to depict futures of the enigma before me. A sharply pointed nose that screamed of a sophisticated upbringing. Blink and once again closer. Eyes that hold an intelligence far beyond anything I've seen before. Blink and once again closer, too close for my comfort but yet my feet refused to allow my movement. An aristocratically chiseled mouth and jawbone, the features more defined and chiseled then I originally thought. Blink, this time it was walking toward me. Pointed ears and flowing hair that seemed to glide behind it. Only a few more feet. But yet the figure halted. My eyes flew over the features and the skin, noting the fact that patches of skin were missing, leaving to show muscle and skeleton. The eyes were glowing a strikingly bright green and as they remained fixated upon me, I felt myself shiver at the fact that I would meet the same end as the guards. This time I refused to blink though and when I refused to, I felt the wind, stirring at my feet. It was beginning to rise and that was when the next set of events happened that was what got me to where I was.

The wind began to stir at my ankles, the leaves blowing lightly, rustling the underbrush of the dead forest and still the figure remained where they were. I didn't bother to even try willing myself to move on at that point due to the fact that besides my eyes, I couldn't move, not when that stare was constantly pinned on me. The wind had become stronger, gusting my pant legs and whipping bout my ankles now. Our gazes met and I felt some sort of connection, a chill as if I knew who this person – or rather once person – was. I was wincing at how powerful the wind had become. They had begun to reach out to me, their fingers outstretching and I merely gazed at the hand there, not really seeing it or comprehending the fact that they wanted me to take hold of it. The wind was gusting about us now as powerful as it had earlier. It was my next action, I don't know what spurred me to do it, that I believe, shocked me more deeply then I ever truly let on when I would later recount my tale. I guess I didn't really truly understand the consequences that may come with me doing so but at that point in time, with no one left, I didn't bother to think of them. I didn't want to think of them because I was willing to go anywhere with anyone if I was able to escape the torment of what would have surely befallen me. So I did the only thing I could think of to do at the time.

I reached out and took hold of his hand.

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Teaser: Recognition burned deep within me as I stared at this man before me through one eye, the other one too bloody and swelled to really offer much to me in way of sight. Hatred and disgust welled within me as I tried in some futile manner to lash out. It was of no use though. He was there and I couldn't do a damned thing about it, no matter how much I wanted to beat him alive.

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A/N: Whoo! First chapter finished. And in two days time too. I was so glad when I finished this because I was so miserable when I was writing it. It's such a horrid thing to present at the beginning of a story but it was the only way to truly depict the essence that this story is going to have.

Anyways, I really do hope you enjoyed it and that you'll give me some revies.

Hope to have the next one out soon, as soon as time permits.

3

Tawnie