Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter world, J.K. Rowling does. If I did I could afford to buy my biochem book.
Oh, well. Enjoy!
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Hermione Granger sat in a window nook staring absentmindedly out at the black night. Her brownish blond hair had grown into soft waves, half of which were pinned up save for a few tendrils that framed her face. A sigh escaped her lips as she stared out onto the darkness.
The rain outside pounded furiously against the window as the wind howled, wrecking havoc on anything that interfered with its path. It was quite the contrast to the warmth cast on the young woman by the fire in the room where she sat, the back of her fingers barely grazing the glass. Lightning cut through the darkness followed immediately by an explosion of thunder.
Lightning.
She shut her eyes as if they would help prevent the flood of memories that threatened to overwhelm her. She let out a breath she had been holding and opened her eyes. Again lightning flashed.
Lightning.
Oh it's no use, she told herself, as she let the onslaught of his memory take her.
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She was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in the common room, glancing every once and awhile up at the door to the boys' rooms. He's going to do something stupid, I just know it, she thought. The day started out well with a wonderful trip to Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron, but as they headed back to Hogwarts, an overheard snippet of conversation between two witches changed the mood of the day. They had just been on the outskirts of town, passing by some houses when they happened upon a conversation between two neighbors talking to each other over their fences.
"I'm telling you, Gertrude, I just don't know what to do with Sammy" a short plump witch with short brown curly hair said to her neighbor. "I have repeatedly told him not to practice any more magic; he's only a child, not even ready for Hogwarts yet! But this morning as I am out in the garden, I find a rat! Poor thing must have escaped from his room because he had a silver paw! Another spell gone wrong, I don't know what he was trying to do to the poor thing. Anyway, I tried to catch the poor creature, but it just ran off. But I told him, I said Sammy, the next…"
The three of them kept on walking, suddenly silent, the conversation replaying in their heads. She knew what they were all thinking, through the courtesy of Fred and George's Extendable Ears, they had overheard Snape telling the Order that Voldemort had been displeased with Peter Pettigrew, and that Peter having heard this, had disappeared. Run away, fearful of the wrath of Voldemort, he was probably looking for some way to weasel his way back into his master's good graces. But Hermione knew that the wheels were turning in Harry's head, for he had been silent the entire way back to the castle, not responding to the conversation efforts made by both Ron and her. He was deep in thought even on the way to the common room and upstairs to his room, leaving Ron and her alone downstairs. She turned to Ron and gave him an exasperated look.
Ron sighed, "I'll go talk to him."
So this is where she is, pacing and pacing, wearing a path into the carpet. The door to the boys' dormitory opened, as Ron bounded down the stairs followed by Harry carrying a silvery bundle in one of his arms. The invisibility cloak, thought Hermione.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded as she stepped in front of the two.
"Where do you think?" Harry answered shortly. She gave Ron a desperate look but he didn't say anything as they both moved around her.
She ran around in front of them again, "No! Don't even think about it! Don't you even think about going after Pettigrew by yourself. Tell Dumbledore, he'll tell the Order. Let them take care of this. Besides, you don't even know if Pettigrew is still around."
"Oh he's around, and there's only one place he could possibly be."
"Please, please Harry stop and think about this--" she pleaded as she grabbed his hand but he cut her off.
"I have thought about it!" he snarled, "I've thought about since he got away last time! I've thought about it since Sirius…" he abruptly stopped unable to finish the sentence.
"I know, Harry, but let the Order take care of this."
"We don't have time to let the Order take care of this! Besides, this is personal."
"Stop it, Harry! Haven't you learned your lesson? Look what happened last time-" she shut her eyes immediately and cringed. Damn it, Hermione that was the wrong thing to say, she thought to herself. She bravely opened her eyes to look at the angry and hurt look Harry was giving her. He yanked his hand from hers.
"Are you coming with us to the shack or not?" Ron asked her rather angrily; he too, was giving her a withering look.
She and Harry just stared at each other; she didn't even bother to hide the desperate look on her face. She was desperate, desperate to do anything to keep Harry from marching into certain danger. Anything. She plunged into her robes, reaching for her wand, but Harry was faster.
"Expelliarmus!"
Her wand went flying out of her hand and landed somewhere in the common room. Harry dropped his invisibility cloak and lunged for her, clapping one hand over her mouth as one arm wrapped around her, trapping her back against his chest as she struggled against him.
"Have you gone mad?!" Ron was looking at him incredulously.
"Just open that door!"
She struggled against Harry, her protests muffled by his hand. Wow, when did Harry get so strong? She shook her mind of these thoughts, given her situation, now was not the time to admire his physique. As Ron opened the door to a broom closet, Harry unceremoniously threw her inside, then quickly shut and locked the door. She banged against the door as she began to cry.
"Harry! Harry, please open the door!" she cried. "Please, just think about what you're doing! Please don't go!" She banged on the door again. "Don't do this! Don't go!"
She slumped down on the floor, weakly banging on the closet door; tears were streaming down her face. I can't lose him, please don't let me lose him. Let him be safe, please, bring him back to me. I love him so much; give me the chance to tell him. She thought of his beautiful eyes, and his smile that made her go weak in the knees. His smell, the feel of his arms around her just a moment ago, his laugh, his messy hair. Just him. Harry. Her Harry. It felt as if a weight had settled in her stomach, and she couldn't breathe.
"Harry" she sobbed weakly.
"Hermione? Is that you?"
Hermione scrambled to her feet.
"Neville! Neville help me! I'm in here!" she banged on the door.
She heard Neville run over to the door and unlock it. She flew out of the door, nearly knocking Neville over.
"Hermione what were you doing in there?"
"Have you seen my wand?" She was frantically searching the common room.
"Yeah, I have it"
He held her wand out to her as she snatched it and ran out of the room. She had to tell Dumbledore, she had to get help. She ran as fast as she could through corridor after corridor, not caring if she ran into Filch or Mrs. Norris. She had to help Harry. She had to get to Dumbledore's office.
She was nearly there, and had just turned a corner when she collided with someone, her wand clattering on the floor. She was nearly knocked to the ground, but a pair of hands wrapped around her, stopping her fall. She turned…
"Malfoy!" she gasped. "Listen, I don't have time to stand here and listen to your insults! Let go of me!"
"Shut up and listen, Granger" he too sounded out of breath. "Where's Potter?"
She stopped struggling against him, and looked at him disbelieving.
"Why the hell would I tell you?" She was wasting precious time.
"We can make this easy or we can make this difficult. Where the fuck is Potter?"
"Go fuck yourself Malfoy."
He looked at her calculatingly; she could see him having an internal debate with himself, chewing on his lower lip. She had to leave, she had to help Harry, and she was wasting precious time standing here. She had just started to struggle when a determined look came over Malfoy's face (This can't be good), as he popped what looked like candy into his mouth. She had barely enough time to process this odd gesture before Malfoy's lips came crashing down on hers.
She couldn't move. This unexpected action had rendered her paralyzed. She weakly struggled against him, but his grip on her was too strong, his hands bruising her arms. She couldn't believe this, this couldn't be happening. But as soon as she tasted something sweet on his lips, all thoughts and worries seemed to slip from her mind. The grip on her arms relaxed, and she felt his tongue press lightly on her lips, asking to be invited. She complied and parted her lips as his hands left her arms and cradled her face, holding her closer to him. Something in the back of her mind told her that something was wrong. She felt dizzy, her mind blissfully content, too content. She felt like she was in a trance. He drugged me. No, no, no. Stop! I had to do something important. Focus, focus, focus. It was no use; the task she had set out to do was fading, slipping helplessly through her mind.
Malfoy broke the kiss, but his face was still centimeters away from hers, his hands still cradling her face.
"Now, Hermione," he spoke softly, "where can I find Potter?"
"The Shrieking Shack." Her voice was detached and had no emotion in it.
"Good girl. Now, I know you know a shortcut. Where is it?"
"The Whomping Willow. Prod the knot with a stick, then go down the hole."
Malfoy still didn't move, he just looked down at her. His head leaned forward, just a fraction, as if for another kiss before he stopped himself. He let out a breath, dropped his hands, and took off running. Dizziness overtook her and she sank to the floor. She heard footsteps running away from her, then more footsteps running toward her. She was too confused.
"Hermione!"
Neville had dropped to the floor with her.
"Hermione, I've been looking all over for you. Are you alright?"
She looked up at him, gazing stupidly, trying to focus. "Neville, I think." She started. "I think I did something stupid."
"Let's take you to Madam Pomfrey. Come on. Up you go. I've got your wand."
He helped her up off the floor, but she swayed and she was unsteady. Neville picked her up and carried her toward the hospital.
"No, Neville. Take me to the common room, I just need to lie down and think." Her speech was slurred and slow.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I was about to do something. Something…" she was losing her concentration again.
~~~~~~~~~
She heard voices above her.
"What happened to her?" exclaimed Ginny.
"I don't know, I think she's been drugged or something" Neville put Hermione on the couch.
"Lavender, go get her some water!" Ginny ordered. "Hermione? Hermione are you okay?"
"Malfoy drugged me" she slurred.
"That slimy git! Hermione!" Ginny shook her lightly "Hermione stay with me, don't fall asleep!"
"Here. Try some of this" she heard Seamus say behind her.
"Wait! Isn't this your hang over potion?" Neville asked.
"It's worth a try. After all, it's just a really strong pepper-up potion" said Ginny. "Here you go Hermione."
As soon as the drops hit her tongue, she felt as if a fog had been lifted of her brain. She felt herself coming back to reality, regaining her focus.
"Here you go, Hermione, drink some water." Lavender had returned.
"Thanks." She gulped it down, "How long have I been here?"
"You passed out on the way here. It was a good twenty minutes before Ginny could wake you up" said Neville. "What's going on? You took off like a bat out of hell. Where are Harry and Ron?"
Hermione froze. "Harry." Realization struck "Oh my God, Harry!" She quickly stood up, a little too quickly because she got dizzy and fell back on the couch.
"Whoa! Take it easy there. Now, what about Harry?" Neville asked her.
She opened her mouth to respond, but a loud commotion outside the portrait hole got everyone's attention. The portrait swung open…
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Knock, knock, knock.
Hermione was yanked back out of her memory. "Come in."
The door opened as Neville poked his head inside. "Sorry to bother you, but everyone's here."
"I'll be down in a second."
"You alright?"
"Yeah, just watching the storm" she smiled at him.
He looked unconvinced but let it go. "Don't be too late" he said as he shut the door.
Hermione turned back to the storm outside, her breath had fogged up some of the window. She suddenly realized that her finger was on the glass, she had been absentmindedly etching into the foggy glass. She looked down at the pattern.
It was a lightning bolt.
She had drawn a lightning bolt, but it wasn't just a lightning bolt, it was the image of a scar. His scar. A feeling of anger swelled within her as she stared at it. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. She smeared the drawing with her fingertips.
"Screw you, Harry Potter."
And with that, she left the room.