Hangin' By A Thread
When I cry I close my eyes
And every tear falls down inside
- Hangin' By A Thread, Jann Arden
CHAPTER ONE: The Eighth Year
The train wobbled under Hermione's feet as she hauled her trunk along the corridor in search of a compartment. She felt dizzy with deja vu, the rhythmic duh-dum, duh-dum, duh-dum lulling her with memories of her childhood and yet reminding her with every jolt that that time of innocence had passed. Around her, faces of curious students peeked at her from around doors. Wanting to catch a look at the famous Hermione Granger, she thought drily. She bowed her head a little and quickened her awkward shuffle along the corridor. She was tired of the looks.
It had been a long summer, full of interviews and photography sessions for all the wizarding world media. The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, and dozens of other newspapers, magazines, and radio shows had been breathing down her, Ron's, and Harry's necks since the Battle of Hogwarts. This was the first day in months that she hadn't been asked about her role in defeating Voldemort; Merlin, she hoped it would stay that way.
"Ms. Granger - Hermione, may I call you that? - were you there when Harry killed You-Know-Who?"
"How do you feel now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone, Hermione?"
"Hermione - "
"Hermione!"
She jerked out of her reverie and realized she'd halted in the middle of the corridor. There was disgruntled mumbling from students behind her, but they weren't the ones who had called her name. Blinking in embarrassment, she noticed Neville Longbottom waving at her. "Sorry," she muttered to the students behind her. She yanked her trunk towards Neville with a sigh. "Hi."
"You alright, Hermione?" Neville asked. His brows were lowered with concern.
"I'm fine." She felt her cheeks heat and turned away so he wouldn't notice. "Here, help me with this, will you?" Belatedly, she realized that she could have simply levitated it into the storage area, but Neville didn't question her. Together they lifted the trunk and slid it onto the shelf before sitting down.
There were a few moments of awkward silence during which Hermione stared out of the window at the countryside. Neville was the first to break it when he said, "Busy summer?"
"Very." She could feel Neville's eyes boring into her, pleading for a better response. She sighed again. "Yours?"
"Busy also. Never imagined it would be quite so exhausting to be a celebrity." A pause. "Don't know how Harry did it."
"Mm."
After another minute of silence from her, Neville seemed to decide that conversation was futile and retrieved a botany book from his trunk. Hermione was okay with this; she'd talked enough these last few months to last her a year. She settled back into the seat and let her mind wander as the English landscape flashed outside of the window.
The room was dimly lit, but Hermione knew that others were there watching. Bellatrix's face filled her vision, twisted with an insane panic. "You're lying, filthy mudblood, and I know it! You've been inside my..."
"No," Hermione moaned softly, more in protest to the curse she knew was coming than to Bellatrix's statement. Her body trembled.
"Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife! What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!"
Her back was breaking, every atom in her body exploding in excruciating agony, every fiber of her being tearing apart. She could hear screams; somewhere in the back of her mind she knew they were hers. A distant bellow - "Hermione!" It was Ron. She wanted to answer, but couldn't.
"Hermione!"
Bellatrix lowered her wand, releasing the curse and leaving Hermione writhing blindly from the shock.
"Hermione!"
Hermione awoke, still shuddering. She was on the floor. Neville was kneeling beside her, his eyes huge. "Hermione."
She closed her eyes and tried to control her ragged breathing. "How did I get on the floor?"
"You were screaming and twitching and fell off in your sleep." Neville still looked scared. "It was like you were possessed."
I was. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Just a nightmare," Hermione said, opening her eyes. She attempted a smile and settled for a grimace. "I have them sometimes. Don't worry." Her back was stiff from spasms and her limbs shook from tension, but she managed to haul herself back onto her seat. Her heart was still threatening to beat its way out of her ribcage.
"'Mione..." Neville said, looking troubled. "You should see someone about that."
"Don't be silly," Hermione said sharply. When Neville flinched, she softened her tone. "I'm okay. I am."
Neville didn't say anything. It was his turn to stare out of the window.
Hermione fetched English Laws in the Magical and Muggle Worlds from her trunk and settled down to read. She didn't find the book to be particularly interesting, but it was long, and it absorbed her attention well enough to distract her from her trembling hands.
About an hour later Hermione heard a thump from the corridor and looked up. Neville was sound asleep, his forehead pressed against the window and wand dangling loosely from his hand. He obviously hadn't heard anything. She was about to dismiss it as some first years messing around when she once again heard a thump, this time followed by some snickering.
Hermione set the book down, picked up her wand, and opened the compartment door. Glancing to the right, she saw nothing, but upon turning to her left, she noticed a group of younger students surrounding a prone figure in the corridor. Mustering as much authority as she could, she strode down the hall towards the students who scattered upon sight of her. Some of them were still laughing.
"Damn students. Not even at Hogwarts yet," she muttered. She glared at a third year who was still lurking nearby with a grin, and the kid scuttled away. "No sense of decency."
But when Hermione saw who it was they had attacked, her knees nearly gave way. As it was, she had to put a hand on the wall to steady herself.
Lying frozen on the ground, face ashen except for a freshly bruising jaw, was Draco Malfoy.
Just a concept I'm exploring. I'm in school so no promises on daily updates, but I'll try to at least do one a week. Deal?(: Comments/suggestions/constructive criticism welcome at all times! Hope you enjoy!
- honesthyperbole