Title: 24
Rated: M
Synopsis: In twenty-four hours, they'll be laying flowers on her life.
Author Notes: Keep in mind that this story's plot is generated from the song 24 by Jem. I believe it is a beautifully sad song and due to this, I came up with writing this story. This is also the first story that I have written and hopefully, you will all be kind enough to read and review. Anything will do, criticism is most welcome.

Chapter 1: Count Down Begins

BLACK. Pitch black. It was all that she could see. This completely frightened her. She so badly wanted to part her eyes and see the morning light. But something was preventing her from doing so. Why was it so dark? Why was it so cold? Where was she? A lump began to form in her throat. She tried to utter a sentence. A phrase. A word.

But nothing.

She attempted to move. An arm, then a leg. Once again, nothing happened. It was as though her whole body was frozen. Could she be petrified? The thought of it was scaring her. She could feel her heart beating. Faster and faster. Almost as if it was trying to escape her body. The lump in her throat was making it hard for her to breathe. She didn't want to remain this way. What was she going to do?

Please, someone help me.

Like an answer to her silent prayer, something or someone did come. She felt the presence of warmth. Was it a person? She heard the distant sound of a tray against a surface. Where was she? What was this person or thing doing? Could they see that she couldn't move? Are they going to help her? A warm hand wrapped around her upper arm. And so suddenly, something ran through her veins, in lightening speed like an electric shock. A scream escaped her parted lips.

A scream.

She was able to scream. Could this mean? Instantly, her eyes shot open to answer her question. Her eyes focused on three heads, then three bodies. She made out their faces and their clothes. It was her professors. What were they all doing here? Where was here? She glanced around her surroundings. Desks, shelves, a blackboard; was she in a classroom?

"Are you all right, Ms. Granger?" Albus Dumbledore asked. He was the one holding her arm firmly.

"Yes..." She was still puzzled. What in the world had happened? Why was she on the floor?

"Ms. Granger, I'm going to ask you to come with me to my office." Dumbledore continued. His voice was strained. He appeared to be stressed over something. Or maybe he was in distress because of her. A remark like that only meant that he had news for her.

Minerva McGonagall took her other arm to help her steady off the ground and handed her over a glass of water from a tray on a desk. They were being so gentle with her. Something was terribly wrong. She knew. She attempted to try and remember what she had been doing last, before this incident. Nothing came to mind. Had she lost her memory? But that could not be right. She knew who she was. She knew where she was. She knew the three people in the room with her. Had she lost a small amount of her memory? That could be a possibility...

"Are you listening, Hermione?" Dumbledore broke her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"It's quite all right. I was asking if you were able to walk by yourself." Dumbledore spoke softly to her. He was restraining himself from alarming her. She knew.

"Yes, I can. What happened to me?" She asked finally.

"You were knocked out by an extrication spell." Severus Snape spoke. His voice was no longer icy and prolonged. His simple statement was just the surface of their distress, wasn't it? She stared at him carefully, outlining his jaw movements and his eyes. They were not cold. He was not cold. He was simply...bare. He drew out no emotion whatsoever. That was very like him. If he couldn't be cold, he was nothing.

"How did that happen?" She further inquired.

"Ms. Granger, I'm going to ask you to sit down." Dumbledore intervened helping her to a desk chair. "What...what I'm going to tell you will be very shocking and very painful."

"Is someone dead?" She blurted. That had to be the only reason why they seemed so troubled. "Who is it?"

"No, no! No one is dead," McGonagall said briskly.

"At least not yet," Dumbledore shook his head solemnly. "Ten minutes ago, you were sitting here in your Defense Against the Dark Arts class when someone, who I shall not name, decided to play a nasty little trick on you. They cursed you with an extrication spell that sustains your life for twenty-four hours before you...well, uh...die."

Sustain my life for twenty-four hours?

The wheels of her brains began to turn. She was not stupid. She knew exactly what he was saying. Before she knew what she was doing, tears were flowing down her cheeks and her eyes became blurry. She could barely hold back the muffled sound of weeping. This was worse then a curse that killed you instantly. This was torment. Complete torture. Right before her eyes, she felt all the memories she stored in her head flashing before her eyes. Everything she had done and said was replaying in her mind.

She saw the first time she fell off a bike and scraped her knees. Her mother came running to her, holding her closely to her chest; comforting her. She remembered the first school grade report she brought home. How happy and excited her parents were. She remembered all her birthdays, her Christmases, all her family reunions. She remembered the first time she entered Hogwarts, and how differently the students treated her. The first time she cried in a bathroom stall. She remembered how she met her two best friends and all the adventures they've gone through.

As the images floated away, she was now feeling strong arms around her. Holding her and caressing her hair back. It was Dumbledore, her Headmaster. The man she grew to respect, look up to and love.

"We are very sorry," he said to her over and over. His attempt to console her was there but it did not help ease her. It only made the pain inside of her grow. In twenty-four hours she will not see his face. Or the faces of the other two professors.

"I don't want to die!" She stuttered between breaths.

"We will do everything in our power to find a way." But still his comfort was not enough. What will she do if they did not find a way? She closed her eyes, and an eerie silence fell across the room. In her thoughts, she could hear an evil laugh. It brought chills down her spine. It sounded like someone was celebrating her news already. She could feel it.

"Who did this to me?" She asked as she opened her eyes, anger taking place of her tears and moved away from Dumbledore's embrace. "Whoever did this to me shall be murdered with my very hands."

"That is why I decided not to inform you. But rest assured a proper punishment will be placed. They will be expelled and sent to Azkaban."

"Are you absolutely sure? Then let me know who it is, I deserve this much after...after hearing all of this."

"I'm sorry."

"But-"

"Do not be angry with me, I'm doing this for you."

"I will find out eventually. The student's expulsion will be talked about in the hallways and in the classrooms."

"No, that won't happen. I have wiped out the memories of every student in your class from any recollection of this incident. Including the very student who has done this. And until I believe it is the right time, no one but us three will know who did it."

"How long are you going to keep it from me? Until I'm dead?" She spoke bitterly. It was McGonagall that took Hermione in her arms this time and held her like a protective mother would.

"Listen to me, Hermione. We will all do our utmost best to break this spell. You will not die, you hear me? We won't allow it!"

"Yes, Minerva is right. We won't allow it." Dumbledore piped in.

"Stop it, the both of you! Do not give this girl hope and set her up to fall miserably." Snape said angrily, it was the first raw emotion he had shown since she woke up. "I cannot stand here listening to this. Never, in the thousands of years, had this spell ever been broken. We can certainly try but there is absolutely no guarantee." He faced her and took a hold of her shoulders. "Do you understand me, Ms. Granger? You have 24 hours from now to do everything you have not done with your life. Tie up loose ends and make amends. Do not sit around assuming that we will have a cure for you."

It was worse then a slap to the face; it was the truth. He spoke realistically and as much as she wanted to hear the truth, it felt horrible. She couldn't meet his eyes. She wanted to cry again. She didn't want him watching her fall apart all over again in the span of five minutes.

"That is enough, Severus. The girl is in much pain, leave her be." Dumbledore spoke in a collective voice. "Hermione, please, go and speak with your friends. They are worried, no doubt. They need to hear this from you. Then please, return to my office. I will make arrangements so that you meet your parents and speak with them too. The rest of the staff here will work together to find a counter curse." He turned to face his two staff members. "Please inform the student body that there will be no classes for the rest of the day." Snape and McGonagall both nodded their heads and left the room. "You may leave too." He told her.

She walked with her head down. She left as silently as she could. This was a nightmare come true. Her life was at the border of life and death. Some students were walking about but she noticed that she was not like them no more. She could not busy her life away as a student. She had no life. Twenty-four hours might as well be an hour.

As she walked past a group of Slytherins, she tensed up. They made her aware that any one of them could have placed that spell on her. She was sure that it was a Slytherin who had done this to her. No other house had the vice and no other house hated muggleborns. Oh, how she longed to know who did this to her and why. Why? Why would they do this besides the obvious? Was it silent hatred? Was it revenge? Was it because she wasn't pure enough for them? She wanted to just scream and punch the walls until she broke her knuckles. She wanted to live or die, not be suspended in between for twenty-four hours.

Her eyes began to fog as she passed the last of the Slytherins. It wasn't fair at all. All of this wasn't fair. She was a good person; kind and considerate of others. She was smart and foolishly brave when it came to Harry Potter's life. Oh Merlin...

How was she going to explain to Ron and Harry about this situation?