Forever Gone

The Book

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Author's Note: Hullo! I find "back in time" fanfic fascinating so I decided to write one myself. So, each chapter is written in someone else's point of view. R & R!

Disclaimer: Do Not Own. All Characters Belong To JKR However Much I Wish They Belonged To Me It Will Never Happen.

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I grimaced as I flipped through the heavy pages. A flurry of dust sprang up and danced around me, making me cough. I let out a noise of frustrated and slammed it shut. It was useless, really. I stood up and turned to examine the books behind me. Most of them were so old the titles had been worn out. I reached out and pulled a fat, navy blue on off the shelf and a smaller one fell out behind it and landed on the floor with a thud.

Curiously, I picked it up. It was by far older than any book I have ever seen. I turned it in my hands, inspecting the gold pages. A small clasp bolted the front and back cover together. Glancing around, I pocketed it.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron's voiced floated out from the other side of the shelf. I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"Nothing," I answered quickly, poking my head around the corner so he could see me. "Just looking."

"I reckon you know where every book is in this place," he said, running a hand through his startling red hair. "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing," I repeated. He frowned, but turned back to the shelf. He glanced back at me.

"Are you done?" he asked.

"I suppose," I lied. In fact, I hadn't even started, but I could tell he was getting rather bored.

"Brilliant," he said loudly. "Where's Harry?"

"He left a while ago to go back to the common room," I responded, picking up my books and stuffing them in my bag. Ron's face pinched up and I could tell that he thought that Harry and Ginny were "going at it" in his words, somewhere. I touched his hand.

"Come on, let's go back," I said softly. His face softened as he looked down at me and together we walked back to the tower.

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As Ron and I walked through the portrait hole, I noticed the common room was unusually dark. The flames were dying in the fireplace, but Harry was sitting on the floor in front of it, starting deeply into it. Ginny was sitting cross-legged on the couch behind him, scratching out something with her quill. Only she looked up when we came in.

"OY! What's going on in here?" Ron yelled.

"Ron!" I hissed.

"What makes you think we're doing anything? We're five feet apart!" Ginny answered smartly. Harry still stared into the dying flames.

"But you could've been doing something!" Ron retorted.

"How do you reckon? I've been doing my homework for the last three hours! Harry only just got here an hour ago!" Ginny fired back.

I let them go at it while I walked over to Harry.

"Harry?" I asked. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said flatly. The same thing I had told Ron only minutes ago. He looked at me.

"What's in your pocket?" he asked in a different voice.

"A book," I replied, pulling it out. "I couldn't open it though, there's a lock."

"What lock?" Harry asked, opening the book.

Immediately, there was loud bang and flash of white light. I knew nothing more.