A/N: Hello my lovely readers! This is a oneshot that has been floating around in my head for far too long. My beta reader has left me without a replacement *sob* so all these wonderful mistakes are mine! But I hope you enjoy this anyway and reviews are always welcome! It switches P.o.V. alot. It starts off as Hermione. Enjoy! Love Sparky!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the laptop that this was typed on. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Fire, that's what it felt like. It felt like instead of blood, I had fire coursing through my veins! The pain was excruciating. You never know what pain is until you feel this sort of pain. People describe it as thousands of needles piercing your skin. But oh no! It's a whole lot worse than that. To me, it's like a thousand red hot pokers burning through my skin to get to my blood. You lose all concept of time; it can feel like hours but be mere minutes. You never know how much longer you're going to last. I could feel my brain, my sanity unravelling. I used to pray that they would kill me soon, but then they'd stop.
That's what I wake up to every night, every night since that dreadful day we got taken to Malfoy Manor. Every night, I place silencing charms around my bed. I've tried dreamless potions, but I seem to be becoming immune to them. I wake up scrambling for my wand, even though I know I'm at the burrow. After these nightmares I end up downstairs with a cup of hot chocolate staring into the fire. I wish I could sleep, but they just come back worse.
Its quarter to 7, I should go back upstairs to bed because Harry will be down at 7. It's become a pattern, I hear him come down as I sit in my bed, then I come back down and pretend I've slept fine. I don't know whether he believes it or not, but he doesn't press it, and no-one else asks. Sometimes I wish he couldn't read me like a book, see everything I'm feeling just by looking at my eyes, but I'm glad if I choose to talk, he'd be there for me. Only Harry and Ron know about that day. Bill and Fleur didn't ask questions, and thankfully didn't check my arm. I know that I need to tell everyone, one day I will. I can feel my eyelids drooping; obviously exhaustion has caught up with me.
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the burrow at half 7 in the morning. There was a mad dash as every red head and a boy with black hair ran to the place where the scream echoed with their wands brandished like swords. At the scene of the scream was a brunette haired girl who was writhing and screaming out with tears streaming down her face in what appeared to be agony. The boy with the raven black hair was to first to react.
"Hermione, wake up. Hermione, wake up, it's not real!"
"Harry, what's going on?" The older women, with red hair asked. She was holding onto her daughter out of fright. Her daughter, Ginny, currently had tears streaming down her face and was having a hard time controlling them.
"Look mum, we can't explain, it's not our place to tell, but when Hermione wakes, you can ask her yourself." Ron, the second youngest Weasley replied. Ron then rushed round to Harry, to help him wake Hermione; all the while Harry was trying to shake her awake. All the other red-heads gathered round looking stricken with fear, for this was the strongest girl they knew. This was the brains behind the "Golden Trio". This was Hermione Granger – the brightest witch of her age. Harry and Ron were getting more frantic as she wouldn't wake.
"HERMIONE, WAKE UP! PLEASE! IT'S NOT REAL!" Ron started shouting, while Harry was just whispering.
"Please Hermione, wake up. Please. You can do this. It's not real!" For she was the closest thing Harry had to a sister, and he'd be damned if he couldn't help her.
Where the other red heads stood, the two who looked identical before a close encounter left one of them without an ear, and the other with a scar on the same side of his face near his ear. The one with one ear, George, was watching the one with the scar, Fred, closely, because what everyone didn't know was that Fred was smitten with this girl. This beautiful strong woman.
Fred felt like his heart was being ripped out, he couldn't hear anything other than the bloodcurdling scream that happened mere minutes ago. He was so close to losing it, so close to breaking down and crying. George could see this and so George wrapped Fred up in a hug, as a sign that he was not alone.
"She'll be alright Freddie, she's Hermione freakin' Granger!"
"I'm just so scared Georgie, I'm as scared as I was when you lost your ear" Fred choked out.
Ginny noticed that her twin brothers were having a hug and escaped from her mums grip and launched herself at the hug that was already taking place. Ginny was crying and she couldn't calm down. Fred and George wrapped her into a hug and whispered soothing things to her.
Oh god, this pain was worse than my normal nightmares; this pain was where she was carving into the flesh of my arm. The cursed blade digging deeply into my flesh, slowly, excruciatingly slowly and I'm thrashing about trying to get her off my arm, trying to get free. It made me want to scream out, beg for her to kill me! It's been going on for what feels like days, and I can't hold it back any longer.
"Please, kill me!" She laughs a cruel malicious laugh, and it sets my skin on edge. Well more on edge than it currently is. She's done; she's looking down at me laughing. I know what should happen next; Harry and Ron will burst through those doors and save me. I wait. They're not there. They should have burst in; I only had a split second to wait. The tears are spilling out my eyes, and before I know what's happening she's saying the two words that mere moments ago I would have longed to hear. Her black eyes bore into mine and she sneers at me.
"Avada kedavra."
Hermione screams out again.
"Hermione wake up, it's not real!" Harry begs her. He knows what she's screaming about as she's thrashing against the sofa. He looks to Ron as if to say it's the part where we run in and save her.
"I know Harry; she'll be fine in a minute." Ron turns his attention to Hermione. "Come on Hermione. Wake up. Please!" His eyes are watering and he's determined not to let them fall. He and Harry have to remain strong for her and his family.
"Please! Kill me!" Hermione screams out. It's getting worse and Harry and Ron have no way to stop it. She calms down, but more tears spill out her eyes. The rooms tensely quiet, apart from the sobs escaping from Ginny and Mrs Weasley.
Hermione bolts up, as Harry and Ron topple backwards onto the floor. Hermione's panting, gasping for air.
I'm awake. However it looks like I may have forgotten the silencing charms, as all the Weasley's and Harry are stood round me. Harry wraps me into a tight hug and whispers soothing things to me. He loosens his hug and before I know what's happening Ginny has hurtled herself towards me, catching my arms in the process. I hiss out in obvious pain. Everyone picks up on this, Ginny lets go of me and sits next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, while I clutch my arm.
"Hermione, I'm sorry... I..I didn't mean to... to hurt you...I... I was just so... so scared" Ginny choked out.
"Ginny it's fine; I'm just on edge I guess. Nightmares and all." I give a weak attempt at a smile while I rub the sensitive skin on my arm trying to get it to calm down. Mrs Weasley notices this. She walks over and takes my wrists. Ginny tightened her hold across my shoulders and grabs the wrist of the hand that I was rubbing my arm with. They're trying to restrain me.
"What-"
"Hermione I'm going to look at your arm. I promise to try not to hurt you. Fred can you hold onto Hermione's waist please, George floo your dad home. Ron, I may need some supplies if I tell you get something will you get it please. Ginny, Fred, keep tight hold of her." Mrs Weasley instructed. Harry moved round behind me to whisper soothing things in my ear, while Fred came and sat on the other side of me, and wrapped an arm around my waist, giving me tingling feeling and a sense of security. George flood Mr Weasley and then sat on the floor in front of Ginny. Ron, was awaiting instructions. Mrs Weasley than cut my sleeve from the top of my arm off with her wand, vanishing the sleeve away. Fred was keeping eye contact with me; his ocean blue eyes bore into my watery brown eyes as if to say, I'm not leaving. I weakly smiled at him. The gasp, and the muttered curse words from Molly Weasley was enough to snap everyone's attention to my arm, and sure enough that it was. Carved in jagged letter. One word. Mudblood.
"What-? How-? Hermione, how did you get this?" Mrs Weasley's looking at me with eyes that make me want to break down, but I have to be strong, they need to know. I look at Harry and Ron and nod to them.
"Well you might want to take a seat, this could take a while." So we explain, Harry and Ron explained about us being captured and taken to the cellar. Then it's up to me to explain how it happened. So I explain, I don't skip any detail, and by the end they all look like they want to cry, and they're looking at me with such pity. I hate pity; it's one of the things I can't stand.
"Hermione, I'm so sor-"Mrs Weasley tries to choke out. I interrupt her.
"No offense, but don't finish that sentence. I'm telling you this because you heard me screaming. I don't want your pity. After all I'm not the only one that has a scar. So don't pity me. If this is what I needed to do to help Harry then so be it. So don't pity me. I can't stand pity." And with that I abruptly leave to go to Percy's old room which is currently mine.
How could that evil woman do that to Hermione? I swear if she wasn't dead I'd hunt her down. That's the most amazing girl I've ever had the pleasure of meeting! I needed to talk to her. George looked at me, and I could tell that he was telling me to go. I nodded at my twin and ran up the stairs taking them 2 at a time. I knock on the door of Percy's old room.
"Come in." I open the door, and step in the room, closing it swiftly behind me.
"Hey..."
"Look if you're here to give me sympathy, then you're wasting your time because I don't want it, so you might as well leave." I move to sit on the bed next to her
"I'm not here to give sympathy; I know how much you hate it, just as much as George and I hate it. I'm actually here to offer you a hug, because honestly that seems the best thing to offer at the moment. As no amount of I'm sorry's could ever make it better and you hate sympathy." She eyed me up, more than likely checking to see if I was being genuine. And then she threw her arms around my neck and burst out crying into the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist, and rubbed soothing circle on her back. Being an older brother has advantages when it comes down to soothing girls. I whispered in her ear, just letting I know that it was alright, and I was still here, and I wouldn't leave. After about 10 minutes of crying she seems to have stopped. She leaned out of the crook of my neck, and I reached across to the tissue box on her bedside table and hand her a tissue.
"Oh god. Fred I'm so sorry, I've got your shirt all wet. God I'm so pathetic no wonder I can't attract anyone-"
"Hush up. My shirt will dry, and you are not pathetic, you are Hermione Granger. And you could get any guy you want!"
"I can't anymore, no-one will want me cause of this ugly thing" She states pointing at her scar. "I'm not even pretty enough for someone to look past it, I'm just-
"No. You are Hermione Granger. The smartest, strongest, most beautiful person I know. And the guy who gets you will be lucky! If they ever hurt you I will hurt them. You're amazing. Honestly, you stick up for all your friends; you look after them even if that means breaking rules or laws. You stuck with Harry through the whole of that and didn't lose faith in him once. You saved my life at the battle and I'm so grateful. So don't let anyone tell you differently or you can bet that I'll sort them out." I say, winking at her. She looks up at me with those beautiful chocolate eyes, and I notice they have gold flecks in them.
"Well there's one guy who I really like. I don't how I fell for him"
"Love is strange, love. So who's this lucky guy, do I know him?"
"Yeah, you do know him. Quite well I think."
"Is it Ron?"
"Ugh no. Ron and I kissed in the heat of the battle at the chamber of secrets but felt nothing. So we've agreed it wasn't meant to be so we're better off as friends. Plus he's like a brother to me. But he does have red hair."
"Bill? Charlie? Percy? Georgie? Me?" I'm trying my luck, I know I am, I'm kidding myself that she may actually like me.
"Woah! Slow down! Bill is married and Fleur would kill me. Charlie is lovely, but I barely know him. Percy? What sort of idiot do you take me for? He loves the ministry way too much, plus he's too stuck up for my liking. George, no, he's like a brother, ya know. He thanked me so much for saving your life while we were in St. Mungo's all being checked out, said if there was anything I needed, just say the word and he'd help if he could. That leaves one person."
"Me?"
"Yes"
"What?"
"I said yes, as in yes the guy I like with red hair is you-" I couldn't help myself I was so overjoyed I had to kiss her. Merlin is she a fantastic kisser! I feel like I do when I'm pranking Filch or Snape or Umbitch. We break apart and I rest my forehead on hers.
"Wow, you're an amazing kisser, did you know that love?" She giggles in response to that, and I wink at her.
"You're not so bad yourself." She winks at me.
"So now that we've established that you like me, and I'm so god damn crazy about you. Hermione Jean Granger, will you go out with me?"
"Why yes, Fredrick Gideon Weasley I will go out with you." And she sealed it with a kiss.
She's not ashamed of her scar anymore, Infact she's pretty proud of it. And I'm proud of her.
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