Let me start by saying J.K.Rowling is the Queen of all in the Potter Kingdom. I bow in humble awe to the genius of Rowling. Nothing belongs to me, save my made up plot regarding Hermione and Snape. Anything you recognize also does not belong to me. There are some quotes and phrases from the books. I have also cited concepts developed by other fan fiction authors. Please do read them.
All in the Potter world belongs to Rowling. I make no money. Ms. Rowling, please do not sue me. It would waste too much of your valuable time while I await your sixth book.
Write faster. Grin
This is an adult fan fic. There is a bit of sexual content toward the end and also references to sexual and physical violence which make this story only appropriate for adult readers. There are references to rape and torture, but quite a bit also on surviving it, at least from a magical point of view. One of the last chapters contains rated R content and that chapter will be headed by a reminder. If you wish to skip it, please do so, there will be a toned down summary of events in the last chapter.
The Burden of Sight
Chapter 1: The Premonition
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had been a place of refuge for hundreds of years. It's walls possessed some of the strongest shielding magic of almost any institution and housed some of the most promising students the wizarding world had to offer. War was not a new circumstance to the ancient monument, the halls were filled with memories and magic reflecting ages of both peace and discord. Frequently the school had been used in war as often as education. With Voldemort's recent resurgence, the pulse of the grounds coursed with energy and anticipation of the inevitable battle which lay ahead.
Dumbledore could feel time encroaching, calling out once again for the school to be used as a sanctuary, as one of his flock, a special child, recovered in a hospital bed. He sighed in a moment of sadness, his usually cheerful disposition replaced by slouching shoulders and a grim expression which reflected his concerns regarding a troubled young student. This will be a long year for her and perhaps for many. He could feel it.
Hermione woke up in Madame Pomfrey's Hospital Wing panting a bit, and sweating profusely.
"Nightmares again, Miss Granger?" Madame Pomfrey tutted. "This will not do, I will have Professor Snape bring us some sleeping potion if you keep that up."
"Keep this up? How long have I been here?" Hermione thought aloud, her thoughts searching quickly for her last memory.
She had been in Flourish and Blotts… and opened an interesting book on elemental magic and … then what?
Her mind was blank.
"You took a nasty fall, dear. You've been here two nights dozing most of the time, but always tossing and turning!" She shook her head again in worry and concern over the 16 year-old.
Hermione started to get up, "must find Harry…" she breathed with pain across her brow creating strange creases on such a young face. She winced and brought her fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose where a headache had been developing since her 2-day sleep.
"I told you, you'll have plenty of time to talk to friends once you've had more rest! Will you please talk some sense to her Albus?" the mediwitch pleaded, and Hermione turned to notice Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape quickly slipping through the infirmary door.
"No, no Madame Pomfrey…" he said with his confident and soothing voice. "Perhaps Miss Granger has something to share before she takes another long nap." Dumbledore always had a way of looking right through people, understanding unspoken language quite well, and extending an almost adult respect for even young students.
"Thank you professor," Hermione managed to say with a raspy voice she hadn't used in a while. She tried to glare at Madame Pomfrey who she always felt was a little too overprotective. She wondered sometimes if she kept students longer just to give her company in the lonely infirmary. "I really need to speak to Harry right away. Now." Her eyes were wide and kept complete eye contact with Dumbledore, attempting to convey a sense of seriousness that she hoped would inspire him to help her with the discretion she was seeking.
"Poppy, thank you for your kind attention to Hermione," he smiled. "Could you please give us a few minutes to chat? I promise I will not overly interrogate her." Madame Pomfrey humphed. She knew she was being dismissed, politely even, but it didn't mean she had to like it. She turned on her heel with a "very well" and quietly shut the door with a soft click behind her. Dumbledore quietly walked over to her bed and sat on the chair next to it, looking intently at the young woman, the pride of the school, and one of the most talented young witches he had seen in some time.
"I can't remember exactly what happened," she said in a rush of thoughts. " I just picked up the book, and I… I don't know exactly what I was looking for, I often just skim on impulse, and I remember I saw something…a shape…" She closed her eyes when speaking as if this would somehow help her she it… so elusive. She cursed to herself. "I ran my fingers over the ink, and then I saw a light, or something… I remember thinking it was a portkey, but not. And then, I think I must have blacked out."
"Hermione," Dumbledore said gently, "You fell down the flight of stairs at Flourish and Blotts and into a stack of books. Which, given your natural liking for literature, was quite poetic really… unfortunately, you were bruised pretty badly and broke your arm. Once the store owner contacted me, we of course brought you here immediately."
"I can't even remember what book I was reading!"
Snape rolled his eyes at that remark wondering how that is really crucial. You're in an infirmary, worried about a book? What about needing to speak to Harry? Hurry up girl!
Hermione seemed to notice his expression, and shrugged. "It just really seems important somehow. I don't remember tripping-- I really think it had to do with some symbol printed in that book. Professor, was I holding anything when they found me?" Her sleuthing nature took over as she began her search for clues.
"No I'm afraid not, though I'm sure you'd like to have another go at their book stacks after you have recovered, "Dumbledore surmised. And surmised accurately, she was already planning her escape… "However you mentioned something earlier about needing to see Harry urgently…" he lead.
She looked at him with hesitation, and then carefully said, "what I'm about to say, well, makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, but I won't feel right about my guess until I speak to Harry. I'd prefer to tell him first if you don't mind, it's just—" She searched for the correct words. "Odd. Sorry to be so cryptic," she apologized to a frustrated Snape, who was impatiently waiting for an explanation. They had been keeping close tabs on Harry and keeping him fully appraised of what was going on after he was kept of the loop last year—keeping Harry uninformed had almost turned out to be disastrous.
"Would that be ok? He's at the Weasley's for the last half of the summer—perhaps he could make a quick trip up to the school?"
"You bet I could!" Harry said quickly striding in the door quickly to Hermione's bed. He acknowledged the Professors with a nod on the way in and gave Hermione a great big hug. "What's up?" He said with an air of concern, "it's a little too early for you to be here before the school semester. I know you like school and all but this is a bit much," he chided.
She looked at him quite seriously, then at the Professors, who took the hint and left outside to give them a moment, but only after Dumbledore suggested they do so. Both a Harry and Hermione guessed they were likely listening at the door just as desperate at she, Ginny, Harry and Ron used the Extendable Ears to attempt to hear the goings on of Order of the Phoenix meetings held at 12 Grimmauld Place.
"I can't believe you're here, Harry," she said with a quiver and whisper in her voice. "But I'm so glad to be able to talk to you about this. I know I should've owled you, but you know how that is. This is just about as weird as when we found out you were a Parselmouth." Harry was a rapt attention and listened intently to his friend.
"I keep having dreams about you, strange ones, about you fighting Death Eaters. You are in a kind of marshy area surrounded by trees. Lots of Voldemort's followers were there, I think ten or more." She shuddered at the thought, and then continued," this wouldn't bother me except that I keep having the same dream over and over again but every night in greater detail. "Last night I dreamed I was there and some kind of force of wind or something knocked everyone to the ground. I felt really… powerful. I can't explain it, I know it sounds too bizarre and I tried to convince myself that it wasn't real but I just can't shake the feeling that this will come true somehow." Harry gave her a look. He was concerned but doubt clouded his face just as it had Hermione's the whole summer. "Please don't laugh, I know I dropped out of Divination, and you know I don't believe in that rubbish. I mean, I am a rational person. I like books, and empirical evidence based on facts not feelings. But I feel really strongly about this and I'm not going to quit until I figure this out!" She resolved, raising her voice and feeling more confident now with Harry here. "I couldn't just tell the teachers without you here, they'd think I'm as crazy as I thought I was two months ago."
"Two months ago? " he snapped. "Why didn't you owl me?"
"It was just too weird, and trust me if I really had any precog gifts do you think I'd risk an owl being intercepted? Geez Harry, I might as well paint a target on me that says, 'Victim Here!' And this isn't like some other Seers who like go into a trance or something and talk in a low cryptic voice like this," she imitated Professor Trelawney. And Harry stifled a chuckle. "I need your help."
"God, Hermione, what do you think I can do? Can't we just use a Pensieve? Y'know, take a look at your memory from an objective point of view?" Minerva silently agreed to herself as she listened with the other teachers through the door.
"A Pensieve would just show what I dreamed but not offer actual proof. I've had this feeling that if I concentrate and touch you, th-that you could see what I see and help me make sense of it. Don't laugh; I'm not trying to be funny. I'm serious. If this works then you could tell Dumbledore I'm not cracking mad."
"Don't even joke about that Hermione, none of the teachers would think that! You're the sanest, smartest person I know." The professors outside were in silent agreement hanging on every word, but Professors Snape and McGonagall looked at each other warily, and were every bit as skeptical about Hermione's new visions as she was.
Hermione looked at Harry who was seated at the end of the bed. She closed her eyed and focused on the vision, the ground and her feelings of powerfulness. Feeling centered on the memory she said, "Ready?" she said in a rather deep voice, and took Harry's hand in hers.
After a whirlwind of dizziness, Harry opened his eyes (he hadn't realized he closed them actually) and saw a courtyard with trees and spongy grass under his feet. He saw a barefoot Hermione in her nightdress from the infirmary and approached her. She remained silent, and at first he wondered if she could even see him, like he was walking around a memory in a Pensieve. Then she spoke. "That's different, there's no one here now. I don't understand that…you were standing over there," she pointed. "And I was over here," she said farther away as Harry also assumed his rightful spot. There was a fine mist or fog that grayed the image of Hermione and Harry's outlines. Then they heard the pops, the sounds of all of the apparating Death Eaters who were now present between them.
Harry already had his wand in his hand and instinctively shouted a deafening "Expelliarmus!" with a wide swish that sent 5 wands flying into the air toward him at his feet. His heart was pounding and he breathed heavily, searching for Hermione as he tried to figure out in the next split second what to do.
Suddenly everything went dark, dementors from every direction came in to encircle the gathering. The masked gang stood fast and Harry slowly felt everything get blacker and sad, as every happy memory was sucked from him. With all of the inward strength he could muster, and remembering he was inside a memory, that this wasn't real… "Expecto Patronum!" The memory of his father, long dead, Harry saw the form of the giant white stag erupt from the tip of his wand and trample the dementors, chasing them off into the dark forest.
Hermione's feet sank into the soggy ground as her dream made real came into view. She felt a wave of confidence come over her as her hypothesis about sharing this vision with Harry was confirmed, and also still felt a sense of danger and foreboding as the Death Eaters arose between them. She stared intently. When dementors came, she was so focused, she felt unusually unshaken by their presence, powerful. Connected to the earth and all magic things. When she saw the 5 remaining Death Eaters with their wands pointed at Harry. She became angry? No. Protective? She tried to identify the feeling. She felt calm, still. She gathered all energy from her solar plexus and pushed out through her hands as if to push the very atmosphere away from her toward the threat before her. A huge wave of wind, marsh, and fog utterly flattened them to the ground, but left Harry harmless as he stood before her.
They were shocked, and before opening her eyes with Harry to find herself once again in the infirmary. She remembered being wandless. Harry looked at his friend and was speechless.
Dumbfounded, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Professor Snape surrounded them now.
"Explain yourselves!" demanded Snape. Snape who had been responsible for attempting to teach the stubborn boy Occlumency was still concerned about his vulnerability in opening his mind to the Dark Lord. Anything out of the ordinary quickly brought him to a point of suspicion and alarm. Already the theories were beginning to form in his mind. Maybe someone poisoned the girl and is using her to get to Harry… She's been cursed and this is the fallout… Granger's attention seeking… no, she hit her head.
"Miss Granger, now that you've had an opportunity to meet with Harry, can you explain to us what happened?" asked Dumbledore rationally.
Hesitantly, but with conviction she said slowly, "I believe I've discovered some clairvoyant abilities over the summer. I've been having visions in my dreams, and now I can share them with someone else without a Pensieve." Harry and Hermione noticed that their white hands were still tightly clasped. Her now sweaty fingers relaxed and let go. "It's about at strange and bizarre a statement as I can make," she looked straight at the disbelieving looks McGonagall and Snape gave her. "I know, I know…" she shook her head and raised her hands a bit to stop an interruption. "You know I dropped Divination. It's sounds absurd. But I have to face this." She stifled a yawn.
Worse than absurd. Foolish girl, I thought you were smarter than this frivolous garbage. Clairvoyance indeed. The expression Professor Snape wore could curdle milk.
"Miss Granger, please get dressed and come to my office please. Harry, please speak of this to no one. Especially any fellow students or others you might feel need to know", he added with severity in his voice. "If this is indeed true, Hermione could be in danger. We are at war, and still the Order must be very cautious in whom we trust about such matters." Albus Dumbledore's eyes gave Harry a piercing look of authority, but yet they always managed to convey to Harry a sense of confidence, love and respect. He was dismissed. Harry gave Hermione a supportive look, clearly wanting to stay and talk about what they had just seen, but rose to leave. McGonagall told Harry the new password to the Gryffindor common room in a whisper, and Harry left quietly outside to wait for Hermione.
Snape and McGonagall left with Albus toward the Headmaster's chambers.
Author's Notes:
Please read and review! Hermione is about to take a turn as the bookworm didn't expect to acquire these soft gifts.
