(A/N: This is my first Harry Potter Fanfiction, I hope you like it and please tell me what you think. If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes, please tell me)

Hermione's POV

I was lying on the floor, sobbing with the pain that was being inflicted on me. I clumsily got to my feet and tried to run just as Bellatrix threw another curse at me. I fell to the floor with a loud thud, writhing in agony as the searing pain enveloped my body. "How did you get into my vault?" she demanded once more, pinning me to the floor with the weight of her body.

"We didn't, I swear! We found the sword, it came to us!" I replied meekly, I was having trouble catching my breath.

"Liar!" She screamed at me. I cowered at the intensity of her voice.

"I'm telling the truth." I whispered.

"How dare you argue with me, you filthy little mudblood!" She raised her wand at me again this time using the Cruciatus curse. A strangled cry escaped my lips and a few tears leaked down my face. I heard Bellatrix laugh in satisfaction at my pain. "Aaaaaw, did that hurt the poor little mudblood?" She smirked at me as she drew a knife from her robes. I started struggling, trying to get away but she was too strong for me as she grabbed my arm and immediately started carving into it. My chest shook as I sobbed silently to myself. I turned my head to take in the room around me, trying to ignore the pain in my arm. My eyes wondered over the different faces in the room before they settled on the most amazing pair of grey eyes. The eyes had a glimmer of terror in them and as I took in the face I was shocked to see they belonged to Draco Malfoy. His eyes locked with my own and I realised that he was shaking. Neither of us broke the eye contact until one of Bellatrix's gouges cut particularly deep and I couldn't help but scream out. I turned my head to look at the markings on my arm and stiffened as I saw the words carved into my left forearm, branding me forever. MUDBLOOD. I could feel my head spinning and my breathing became more erratic and then I passed out.

I woke up panting, my cheeks stained with tears. I checked the clock on my bedside table to see it was only 2:15am. I hadn't had a full night's sleep since two months ago when the nightmares started. This dream in particular I was having about four times a week and this seemed to be the worst one so far. I groaned and rolled out of bed, knowing from experience that I wouldn't be getting back to sleep anytime soon. Today was my first day back at Hogwarts as well!

It had only been four months since the defeat of voldemort and Hogwarts had already been completely reconstructed. I had received an owl, little over a week ago, informing me that we were due to go and finish our last year. I wasn't looking forward to going back; all those memories of the war made bile rise in my throat, all the bodies everywhere, the people screaming , mourning their losses, and I would have to relieve that every day for the next year.

I crept down the stairs, being careful not to wake my parents, and put the kettle on; hoping that a strong cup of coffee will wake me up. I sat at the table in the kitchen, sipping the scolding hot liquid and stifling a yawn. Once I was fully awakened, I ventured back upstairs, stopping at the top of the stairs to scratch crookshanks behind the ear. She purred appreciatively and followed me to my bedroom, jumping onto my bed and curling herself into a ball. Chuckling, I went and ran myself a bath, hoping it would help kill some time.

After drying off and straightening my hair within an inch of its life, I changed into a light blue pair of skinny jeans, my favourite Rolling Stones T-shirt and a long sleeved cardigan to cover up the words engraved on forearm. Madame Pomfrey had said that it would definitely scar but there were different remedies that could reduce its appearance, but so far nothing had worked; the word was still angry and red, taunting me.

By now it was 4:00am, the train didn't get there until 11:00am and my bags were already packed. I decided that blitzing my room would keep me occupied, so I began by alphabetizing all off my 258 books, then I organised all the clothes in my wardrobe by colour then by season, I then organised all the perfumes and lotions on my vanity into height order and organised my shoes in accordance to how often they got worn. It didn't take me as long as expected so I got out my makeup and started applying a light pink eye shadow with black eyeliner and black mascara. Once My eyeliner was perfect and the little flicks at the corner of my eyes were even, it was finally a respectable time to be up so I went downstairs, put on my red vans and headed out to grab some breakfast.

I decided I would go to my favourite café in Diagon Alley, they did the best sandwiches and coffee. I ordered my usual cheese sandwich and double espresso before taking my usual spot in the window. I looked at the people doing their last minute shopping for the new term; scanning their faces to see if I recognised anyone, whenI saw them. The grey eyes. The ones in my nightmares. The ones that belonged to Draco Malfoy.