Chapter 1: The Dream
Hermione was weeping. She found herself in front of her old vanity back at the old house of the Grangers. She looked at her reflection. The Hermione she saw looked so tired, so worn. More tears made their way down her face and this time, the tears were red. She caught some of it with her hands and realized they were blood.
Frightened, she drove her fist into the mirror and punched it twice, thrice, until it cracked.
'Ahhhhh' she wailed. She could not understand what was happening to her but she felt inexplicably sad. Worse than what she imagined a Dementor's Kiss would feel like, she felt as if all the joy had been sucked out of her and in its place, only despair and hopelessness were left.
She was still crying but then she felt someone's warm embrace around her. It felt too familiar- the person's warmth and scent, even the way the person held her. Hermione immediately felt peace. Like all the horrors and pain in her life left her in that moment.
'Mom?' she looked deep into her mother's beautiful hazel eyes.
'Hermione, I love you. Know that I will always be with you. Things will get better from now on honey, trust me, I love you…' said Mrs. Granger with a voice that was soothing but sounded so so far away.
Hermione was speechless. She could only nod in response. Still she looked deep into her mother's familiar eyes and watched as hazel turned into cold grey.
The person before her was no longer her mother. It was a man. Before she could even realize who it was…
She woke up. The thunderstorm was getting stronger. She could feel it reverberating throughout the house.
'Another dream' Hermione mumbled.
Things changed after the war. The Light won but Hermione felt like she was at the losing end of that battle. Her peers lost possessions, homes, Hogwarts, friends, mentors and a loved one or two but Hermione lost her whole family to a battle they should never have been a part of if it weren't for her.
To say that she blamed herself for her parents' deaths would be an understatement. She remembered them every day. She dreamt of them each night. Though in her dreams, her parents would always remind her how much they loved her, she still blamed herself.
Yes she took all the measures to keep them safe. She even went as far as obliviating them to remove all traces of her existence from their lives but her efforts were just not enough.
But what really hurt Hermione the most was remembering the news she received seven months prior to the final battle. She received a letter from Jacobson, the auror who was assigned to discreetly check in on the Grangers in Australia.
Her mother was pregnant. Hermione was to become an older sister to a baby girl. A baby girl who never got the chance to experience life.
None of that matters now, because they're all gone.
The war took everything from her Hermione. But what none of her friends realized, the war took the old Hermione Granger with it too.
There was a knock on her door. 'Madame, it is time for dinner. Master wishes for your presence at once" called the butler.
'Tell him I'm coming Sandro.' She wiped her tears and put on a happy face. Her husband hated seeing her cry.
Checking herself once more in the mirror, she decided to put on a glamour charm to further conceal how she looked minutes ago. Her husband wanted her to always look perfect.
She went down the long marble staircase but before she made it to the last step, she heard a loud explosion from the dining hall.
'Viktor!' she shouted.
She ran past the west wing and the main hall where she saw a lifeless Sandro. As she got nearer, she heard more sounds of explosion from where Viktor was.
Reaching for the tiny, blue stone she kept within her ring, she stroked it three times and uttered the spell 'Aiutami, io sono in pericolo'.
Hermione hurriedly ran into the dining hall. She came face to face with two death eaters. Viktor was lying on the floor, blood pooled around him. Hermione's blood turned cold. Flashbacks from her encounters with death eaters during the battle plagued her mind.
'Well, well if it isn't Potter's mudblood whore!' jeered Rabastan.
'We've been looking everywhere for you, never thought you'd be in hiding with this traitor' said Rodolphus.
Rabastan cornered Hermione into the nearest wall.
'I never thought I'd have the chance to taste this little mudblood scum'. He let his fingers touch Hermione's cheek, roam down her exposed neck. Before he could go even further, Hermione spit on his face. Angered, Rabastan slapped her hard. She fell to the ground.
'Still a fiery one, I see' said Rodolphus.
'Not after I'm through with her'
Hermione took her chance. She snatched her wand from its place within her right boot.
'Stupefy' she fired at Rabastan. Stiff as a plank, he fell but Rodolphus was quick.
'Crucio' he shot at Hermione.
Hermione wasn't able to shield herself from the curse. Immediately she felt like she was being skinned alive, like her body was being licked by a thousand flames. Blood was coming out of her nose and she was coughing it out too. Memories of Bellatrix's attack on her invaded her mind. It further weakened her resolve. The pain was too much for her. She was starting to lose consciousness. Her wand was just a few inches away from her but she couldn't move a muscle.
'You like that huh? You just wait 'til you see what I do with your husband here' roared Rodolphus.
Hermione suddenly felt a cool sensation on her ring finger. It quickly spread throughout her body and she realized that the effect of the unforgivable had been countered.
'They're coming' she thought to herself.
She lay motionless on the dining hall floor. Slowly she reached for her wand and mustered the remaining strength she had.
Rodolphus rounded on Viktor. He was about to strike.
Hermione knew what she had to do. She had to maim Rodolphus before he got to Viktor. But she just stared at the two men. She clutched her wand tightly. She had the strength to do it. What was stopping her?
'No more, no more pain' thought Hermione. She closed her eyes, clutched her wand tight and then…
'Avada Kedavra' shouted Rodolphus. His maniacal laugh echoed through the halls.
Viktor was gone.
With a loud bang, members of the Order and a handful of aurors arrived at the scene.
'Stupefy' shouted Arthur.
Aurors seized the two stunned death eaters. Ron went to Viktor.
'It's Krum. He's dead' Ron looked at the former Quidditch star with a heaviness in his heart. He disapparated and called for Harry.
The Weasley patriarch led the search for other casualties and other rogue death eaters.
The head auror approached the woman lying face down on the floor behind the double doors of the hall. Gently, he turned the woman around.
'Granger?!'
He quickly checked to see if she was breathing.
'Adrian, call in Molly immediately' said Draco to one of the Order members.
Four years and this is where they find her- an old mansion in Slovenia and married to Krum as indicated by the wedding portrait that was hung on the opposite wall. She disappeared right after the final battle with only a short letter of goodbye.
This is for the best. I'm going to star my life anew.
I'll be safe
Love,
Hermione
It was highly uncharacteristic of Hermione to just leave without facing them but they checked the letter thrice and found that it really was from her.
But how could she just go after fighting so hard for their cause? The Weasleys and Harry searched relentlessly for her but after three years, they gave up and learned that it was best to trust her decision.
The head auror checked from anymore injuries on the girl but found none. She was alive but very much in shock. He could only stare at her brown, lifeless orbs while Hermione stared back into his cold grey ones.
This wasn't the Hermione Granger he knew. She was breathing but she looked positively dead. Gone was the girl who had so much life in her eyes.
'What happened to you Granger?' said Draco softly.
The girl just closed her eyes in response and within seconds, passed out.
A/N: Wow. I still can't believe I finally had the courage to write (*cries). I really hope you guys could take the time to review! Any review or comment would be very helpful to me! 'til the next chapter lovelies.
XO
-Gracielle
