Listen to me!

Harry! Ron!

I am here! Right here! Look you fools, look!

She stared in horror as they turned away from her. Her grave. Stared as they walked out of the Forbidden Forest, again, tears streaming down her face. Stared at the flowers they always left at the grave. Lilies this time. Sometimes it was orchids. Sometimes pansies. Sometimes tulips. They knew she liked flowers but had never been able to decide which ones she liked best. So it was always something different.

But she hated them now. Hated looking at them. Hated watching as they rotted away as if a constant reminder that she was rotting away too just a few feet below them. At least her body was. It felt like the universe was making a mockery out of her. Mocking her inability to do something. Anything. Anything to pull herself out of this infinite loop of being stuck between life and whatever came after. The irony wasn't lost on her. Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age reduced to a shadow in death. The girl destined to change the world, stuck in a limbo, unable to change her own state of existence, if you could even call it that.

She had died in a lab explosion. One of her more dangerous experiments. She had been working on a potion that would have been able to reverse the effect that the Cruciatus Curse had on the victim's mind. The contents of the potion were extremely volatile and she hadn't slept in Merlin knew how long. She wasn't really sure what had happened exactly but the last thing she remembered was a blinding flash of red followed by a deafening sound and she had blacked out. The next thing she knew, she was here, watching as they lowered her casket into the ground in the Forbidden Forest, near a pond. She remembered telling about it to Harry once when they had been on the run. How much she loved that place. How at ease she felt in the peace and quiet that the place offered. How she would love to spend all her time there, reading.

She hated this place now too. Hated that it was always so quiet. The silence felt like nails scratching against a board to her now. It drove her crazy. She wondered if it went on long enough she would turn into one of those vengeful spirits that muggles talked about. That thought made her scared more than anything else.

She hated that she hated everything now. It was like her own mind was turning against her. She hated the flowers for mocking her, the silence for deafening her, for trying to drive her crazy, the water in the pond for always being so fucking still, like a metaphor of her own existence. Hated Harry for remembering this place and making her hate it. Hated the fact that she couldn't do anything.

Couldn't leave this fucking clearing.

She really was stuck here. In this small circle in the middle of the forest. She had tried everything. She had screamed for help . She had tried to touch anyone who visited her grave but her hand always fell right through them. She had tried to cross the edge of the clearing but as soon as crossed it she would appear right back inside as if she had never crossed it in the first place. She really was stuck here. Seemingly forever.

She wondered if she had been cursed. She tried to recall ever having wronged someone to the point that they would curse her with this existence but couldn't. She didn't think she had.

She was distracted from her thoughts as she heard footsteps heading in her direction.

Luna.

She smiled as she watched the blonde put a crown made of a wide array of flowers against the tombstone. She had most likely made it herself. Oh, how she missed her friends.

"Hello Hermione"

The first time she heard her say it Hermione had thought Luna could see her. It wouldn't have been that weird. If anyone could sense spirits it would probably be Luna. But she been wrong. The girl could see her as well as any other person. But the way she talked to her always made her feel lime she was actually talking to her, listening to her, seeing her. The thought made her eyes well up again. What she wouldn't give to been seen again, heard again.

She listened in silence as Luna told her about everything that was going on in her friends' lives. She was the only one who did that. Harry, Ron or Ginny could barely stand to look at her grave let alone talk to it. They always left as quickly as they came, never staying for longer than a few minutes. She understood really. She could hardly look at it herself and it was her.

"So I saw Draco Malfoy the other day. He actually came to see me at the Quibbler's office, if you can believe that."

Well, this was certainly knew, Hermione thought, as she leaned back against a tree.

"He wanted to know where your resting place was. Said he wanted to visit you. To apologize, I think. I told him. I hope its alright with you. He seemed like he really meant it. He's changed ,Hermione. You can tell if you look close enough. Maybe he finally found a way to get rid of that Wrackspurt nest in his ears like I told him to once. Anyways, I really should be going now. I am leaving for Egypt tomorrow. I heard there's a rare species of Nargles that is only found in the tombs of the Pharaohs there. I will see you when I get back."

She waved absentmindedly as Luna left.

Draco Malfoy? Apologizing? Well, it should be an interesting visit if nothing else. Its not like she had anything better to do.