Disclaimer: I own nothing. Warning Violence. This is also a song fic. Scream 2 soundtrack "Red Right Hand"

Rating: R

Summery: Something is going on at Hogwarts. Hermione is very uncomfortable and so is Draco. (A/N: This is a mystery and will stay R as long as I can keep it form-turning NC-17.)

Fanfic Death Total in first chapter: 2 +Unknown others +unknown birds

Unknown People: 2 shadowy figures.

Pain: Arm rubbing and uncomfortable shifting

Song interrupts (in red): 6 times

Desasters: 4 streams of blood, earthquakes, birds exploding. Trees aflame

Screams: 2 out loud

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Lost In Darkness

By Trippinwithcats

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Midnight at Hogwarts.

Blood soaked the ground, seeping into the freshly cutgrass. Gone is the fresh smell of cut grass, in its place the metallic scent of blood. The red liquid drenched the grass. Lavender lay on the ground with her arms crossed over her chest next to the body. The full force of a 2 by 4 having struck her skull had knocked her out. Her arms did not naturally fall like this: a shadowy figure arranged them as such.

Professor Trelawney's body lay next to Lavender's. The professor was on the ground, one eye completely out of its socket. Her arm bent back in such a manner that would not be natural for normal usage of the arm. Death did not come from any of this, though; rather, by a wooden stake that pierced her heart. Blood streamed down her chest.

The shadowy figure standing above them laughed. "I wonder if either of you would have predicted this!" The figure looked at the bodies for a little longer and left the seen of the crime.

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The next day.

Only the professors knew about the murders. The students were not to be informed until the families of the victims heard.

Draco sat in Prof. Snape's potion class looking down at his potion. Do I really have to stay here; bored to death the rest of the class gets a clue on how to mix this partial potion? He thought. He had finished it early, like he always did; his eyes began to wander around the room. It was easy to study for a class that is remotely interesting. Slytherin is the house favored by Prof. Snape, as Snape is headmaster of that house. To raise his grade point average, this year he had taken a second potions class. Snape taught both classes. Draco could count on understanding the lectures and any assignments. Snape made sure that students who were in Slytherin had excellent tutors. Most of the families could afford this, so Snape suggested to all the parents that tutoring was highly recommended.

Hermione also looked down at the potion she had just brewed. She had to take this class. It was not required, but if she wanted to get the highest score on the O.W.L. exams she would need to think about her potions in a more professional manner. She did not particularly like the fact that Prof. Snape was teaching the class, since he always favored Slytherin. Could someone else teach potions for once? she wondered to herself.. Her parents had heard about the favoritism but could not do much about it that she knew of, as they were only muggle dentists.

Draco looked up to see Hermione looking at her watch. This class must be boring for her. Why was she even here? His thoughts roamed to the look on Prof. Snape's face at the beginning of school year: he looked as though he were about to explode when he saw one particular sixth year in his class. The student wasn't supposed to be there, but the school had messed up his schedule. This person was none other then Neville and his potion was currently foaming onto the table. Unfortunately for Hermione and Draco, he had to stay in their class. The headmaster did not have time to fix such trivial errors.

Hermione gave a sigh of relief. Just 10 more minutes until the bell, then she would be out of here and free. She did not feel like herself lately, she felt depressed. Her life had changed in the last few months, never to be the same again. She immediately pushed the budding thoughts out of her mind and concentrated again on her potion.

Draco saw Snape look out the door and walk around once more, finally stopping at Draco's desk. He wondered what he would do this weekend at Hogsmeade. Without thinking, he looked over at Hermione again. Something attracted him to her. How could someone so beautiful and smart be in Gryffindor? Obviously, not having the best tutors doesn't affect her schoolwork. Now if only I could talk to her without fighting.

Snape drawled, "Perfect! I knew I could count on you for the perfect swift potion." Draco merely looked up and smiled.

Snape's next stop was Hermione's desk. "Well, well, well...what do we have here?" He looked the potion and lightly tapped the glass with his wand. Rather dejectedly, he muttered, "All seems to be well."

Draco, looking at Hermione, snarled, "Well, well, well."

Hermione snapped back. "Shut up, Ferret Boy."

"Make me."

"I wish I could."

"So what's stopping you, then?"

"Punching your lights out would mean physical contact, and if I did that I might contract some dreaded ferret disease from you and your miserable filth!"

Draco, without even pausing, grabbed his wand, pointed it at Hermione, and whispered, "Droppus Wandus!" Hermoine's wand promptly fell to the floor.

Hermione's voice rose slightly. "Stop that, or else I'll..." she paused to pick up her wand and gave him a look that suggested he go away.

"You'll do what?" He made her drop her wand again.

Prof. Snape hurried over, his cape billowing behind him. "I have had enough of this! Tomorrow I am fixing this problem once and for all. Within two days, I will have a special little punishment for both of you. Furthermore, I will notify your parents AND the Ministry--by first class owl! Oh, and before I forget: 15 points from Gryffindor." He then turned around and stomped up to his desk. He simply wouldn't stand this nonsense any longer. After all, this was no time for schoolyard fights. With a criminal on the loose, he needed to keep his students from fighting, since there was no telling who the criminal could be. Any fighting could place blame on new suspects. He wasn't sure if any of his students did it; he had been cooped up in his quarters, trying to sleep throughout the whole debacle. All he knew was that he couldn't sleep; every time he tried, he would wake up to the searing pain of the brand on his arm. He eventually underwent a sleeping spell just to get some uneasy rest.

Both students were momentarily astonished. What would their "special little punishment" be? This had never happened before.

Hermione smiled grimly at Snape's retreating figure. Snape's back was turned. She was sure that somewhere deep down inside he was a good person. She had not seen any sign of a good side, but she continued to wait for it to show itself. That hope was the only thing keeping her sanity intact! Draco WILL be punished.

Suddenly she could not stop wriggling uncomfortably at her stool. She kept shifting her weight from one butt cheek to the other. Finally, she stood up. She looked directly at Draco, who was rubbing his arm.

Snape, who had busy rubbing his own arm, noticed her shooting up like a firecracker in the back of the class. He dropped his hands to his side and sneered, "Well, Granger?"

Hermione looked up at him, slighly intimidated, her face flushed. She stammered out a weak, "I forgot."

"Then sit down."

As all this occurred in Snape's moldy dungeon classroom, another interesting scene was taking place far away from Hogwarts. A wizard was coming to them, slowly but surely drawing nearer.

Take a little walk to the edge of town

This wizard destroyed all that was in his path--every town he passed through was destroyed in his wake..

Go across the tracks

Back in the classroom, Draco looked up at the clock, wondering why he was going to be punished and what the mysterious punishment would be. He pictured himself having to scrub hallways with Ms. Frizz Head--he momentarily spied Hermione out of the corner of his eye--right alongside him. Or, perhaps even worse, having detention with her for the rest of the school year.

His attention was drawn away from her figure, not to mention her hair, when Snape began to speak from the front of the class. He rapped his wand impatiently on the rim of his cauldron to get everybody's attention. "Since this is an advanced class, I am assigning a paper. You will make and take the Swift Potion, which," at this, he paused and gave Neville Longbottom a withering stare," you supposedly created today. However, for this paper you must make the potion on your own time. After all, if you take it now you and I will know it was made correctly because I checked your potion first. I am assuming now that if you paid attention to my lecture you will be able to recreate what has been done here on your own. That is what making potions is all about; you won't always have someone correcting your work. So I expect a written explication of the effects of the Swift Potion." At this, he paused again and glanced over at Hermione, who's hand, not surprisingly, was raised. "And I do not need to tell you how long the paper needs to be as I expect every one of you will know that if your paper is not long enough I will make you do it over." Hermione's hand immediately lowered. "Write about your experience with the potion--from start to finish! As well as what was supposed to happen." He gave a slight snicker before continuing. "You may include the experiences of others, if you see them. But don't even think of making them up; I will know if you are lying."

Where the viaduct looms,

The dark wizard was closer now, deciding with a cruel and calculating air who should live and who should die.

-

The searing sensation had suddenly returned to Snape's arm. With a gasp, he instantly realized what this meant. Trying to retain his composure, he looked at his class. "See you all next class, when your paper is due." He quickly left.

Hermione gratefully stood up and took her books and placed them in her bag. She placed a clear vial in its plastic case; it was a gift from her mother, given as a just-in-case measure. Hermione carried it for luck; it represented her mother's high hopes, and she didn't want to be a disappointment. She noticed some students rifling through Snape's desk, then bolting from the room. Good thing it's the end of the day, she sighed. She decided to do her homework outside that day; it was nice weather. Maybe some of the air and sunshine would keep her from reviving her depressing thoughts.

Meanwhile, Draco picked up his books, placed his potion in his own vial and case and left the room. He headed outside so as not to be bothered by anyone. Getting his assignment done for Prof. Snape was the only thing on his mind. It really wasn't that big of a deal, though; even if he were late, Snape could be counted on to give him extra time.

Hermione sat herself down on the east lawn of Hogwarts. She absentmindedly thumbed through the pages of her book, keeping an eye out for whatever she thought might be expected of the Swift Potion. Naturally she had read it all once before, but since she was actually taking a second potion class, she felt it had to be taken more seriously.

Draco plopped down on the west lawn on a blanket on the grass. He took his book out of his bag. He did this mostly to look occupied while he replayed the events in Potions class again in his mind. Why did Prof. Snape punish me too? That was so out of character for him. What was the punishment going to be? He shook his head free of the thought and went back to his studies.

like a bird of doom

Birds began to suddenly drop dead from the sky and the trees, onto the ground. They lay dead all around.

A bird hit Hermione's book, knocking it out of her hand. Another one bonked Draco on the head.

Hermione screamed. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Draco leaped back in surprise with a sudden "Ah!" He then heard a scream from the other side of the building. Running toward the sound to see what was going on, he saw a girl screaming hysterically. It was then that he noticed more dead birds lying around. A feeling of dread crept over his heart.

Another ear-piercing scream jolted him out of his contemplation. Can't that girl just be quiet?

Hermione screamed again and again. She shook as she looked at the dead bird. If a bird could just die in mid-flight, could she be next? What in Hell was going on?

Before she could launch another scream, the ground began to shake. Draco looked up her, annoyed that she had disturbed his studying with dead birds. Even his father would not kill all the birds in the air in the daytime.

As it shifts and cracks

Hermione looked as though she were in shock; she could not take her eyes off of the dead bird. She wanted to scream again but was knocked to the ground by the shaking of the ground beneath her. Without crying out any longer, all she could do was shake.

Draco approached her. Why, it's Hermoine! What happened and why would she get so hysterical? He thought. It then dawned on him: her potion must have gone totally awry. "Hermione, get over yourself already. So your potion did not work. Big deal; now you know what it feels like to be imperfect like everyone else. Aw, boo hoo. I'm just so sorry. " Actually, he wasn't sorry at all. He was actually pleased that she had messed up. "I wonder what the others would say if they saw what you've done. Or, more like what was NOT DONE." She's a real piece of work, he thought to himself with a smirk. He was definitely going to tell everyone about this.

The wizard now entered Hogsmeade. With a flick of his wrist and a few carefully chosen, yet unintelligible words (to the naked ear, anyway), he set a curse on the town as well as the surrounding area to kill all the birds, shake the ground and light trees aflame. The birds were already dead before he could do anything to them.

Where secrets lie in the border fires,

The trees lit up in flames, yet the branches and leaves did not burn up. The ground opened up to reveal a crack that could swallow both Hermione and Draco. Blood poured out of the ground, forming a stream that oozed into the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione did not notice anything else; she just continued to look at the bird in front of her. Who could have done such a thing? Did Draco do this? Could Draco be out to kill her? Move, she yelled at herself inwardly. He is going to kill you! Run! She screamed at herself. Her legs could not move. Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

Draco started towards Hermione, slightly irked that she hadn't responded to his insults. "You know, I'm not talking to myself here!" He hesitantly reached out his arms and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Hermione!" he barked, looking deep into her eyes. The carcasses of birds which lay all around them exploded the moment his hands touched her skin.

Hermione tried to respond, but could do nothing but let out a faint, barely audible scream. Dead birds surrounded her. She noticed Draco staring at her. What is Draco doing here? She thought. And what in God's name are his hands doing on my shoulders? But she could not push him away; she could not fling insults back in his face for she could not move or speak. So there he stood, trying to get her attention, as she attempted to say, "L-Let go." The words did not leave her lips. Sensing her thoughts, he resolutely put his arms to his side. He backed away only when he saw a stream of blood that flowed down the left side of the nearest Hogwart's window.

To be continued