A/N: Hi, Thank you for reading my story. I recently read one of my old stories New Beginnings and absolutely hated it! This story is my reworked version of that but it bears no resemblance really, just the same premise. I hope you enjoy Please review- Kayleigh x

Chapter One

The Burrow

Insane cackles rang through the air, Bellatrix's snarling face leered over her ,an evil smile and hollow black eyes. In them Hermione saw such hate, it made the witch look even more menacing. She was shouting at her again. 'Tell me' she roared as she threw back her arm, preparing to curse. Hermione felt her body go limp as it flailed about uncontrollably. Pain like no other pierced every inch of her body. With a thud the evil witch threw her back down to the hard, cold, marble tile floor. 'Tell me' she roared again. Hermione attempted to fight 'No I will not!' She tried to scream in reply, but the words wouldn't come, all she could manage was a few feeble, dry coughs. She collapsed back onto the floor, she did not have the energy to fight anymore. 'Where did you get the sword, mudblood' Bellatrix said, the last word was punctuated with venom. Hermione could not reply even if she had wanted to. Her body and mind had been drained of all it energy and fight. Lying as still as she could, Hermione eagerly awaited death. Distorted faces came into view, peering over her, laughing. One expressionless face stood out from the crowd. He stood in the corner staring intently at the floor. His white-blonde hair was unmistakable. 'Help me' she sobbed barely making a sound, 'please help me.' She cried again, this time managing to speak above a whisper. His familiar grey eyes met her own blue ones, just for a second. She pleaded with him but he averted his gaze and turned his back on her. A lone tear rolled down her cheek. Bellatrix came back into view just as she set another curse upon her. The flash of green light went speeding through the air and then the pain took over once more. The room began spinning out of sight and everything went black.

Hermione woke with a start. She felt the beads of cold sweat as they ran down her face but she was unable to wipe them away, still frozen in fear. Confusedly she she looked around the room trying to get her bearings. The familiar gold and lilac surroundings calmed her slightly. I'm in Ginny's room, I am safe, she repeated to herself still panting. Hermione sat up and glanced out of the window behind her for an indication of time; it was pitch black. Feeling wide awake she punched her pillows in frustration as she rearranged them. Hermione turned to look at Ginny. Her friend looked asleep but she could be pretending, as Hermione had suspected her of doing so many times before. In an attempt to distract her mind from the lingering bad dream, Hermione recited what she could remember of Hogwarts; A History, to herself. Slowly she drifted back off to a troubled sleep.

Even though war had ended, the healing had not yet begun. The days that followed Voldemorts downfall had flown by in a haze as Hermione had struggled to hold herself together, as she joined in with the efforts at Hogwarts. With a team of one hundred wizards , the castle and its grounds had been tidied up within two days. Minor repairs had been undertaken though much of the damage remained. Once the castle was presentable Hermione had helped with the planning of the memorial.

It had been a beautiful but emotional affair. Songbirds had sang a mournful tune overhèad as the mourners were seated. A white marble cenotaph bearing the names of the deceased,had been erected on the front lawn, on it it read 'we fight for freedom'. Professor McGonagall presided over the service. She gave a short speech thanking the victims for their bravery and sacrifice and then handed the podium over to various grieving relatives. Harry had spoken lovingly of lupin, unable to stop tears from flowing as he read his speech from a scrap of parchment. Arthur Weasley had taken the podium to speak about his son, Fred, but as he looked to the crowd and saw his devastatèd wife Arthur couldn't find the words. Emotion overcame him and he couldn't control himself. Arthur stood sobbing hysterically in front of family, friends and complete strangers, embarrassed but unable to stop. Ginny rose from her seat and joined her father at the front of the procession. Summoning strength she did not know she had, Ginny gave an impassioned eulogy for her brother. She spoke lovingly about his mischievous nature and wonderful sense of humor and of how he would remind us to keep on laughing, if he were here.

Hermione felt the grief rapidly creeping up on her as she watched her friend. Ron had placed his arm around her shoulders as she sat sobbing barely able to focus on what was being said. As the service came to a close and the sun had begun its descent, dozens of pure white doves; one for every person killed, had been conjured as if out of thin air and released into the glowing orange sky. The crowd had stayed silent as they watched the majestic birds fly off into the distance. From the grounds a slow mournful tune could be heard, sung by the centaurs, in tribute to to their own loss. As the mourners started to leave Hermione wiped her tears. She turned to Ron and placed her hand in his; he too was struggling to regain composure.

As she turned her head something in the crowd caught Hermione's eye. A glint of familiar white-blonde hair. Suddenly it felt as if something was squeezing her chest, tightly. All of the air had been forced from her lungs. She gasped for air but she could not breathe. Hermione stared horror struck into the crowd, the man turned to face her but he was not who she had been expecting, just a stranger with a concerned expression. Unable to stop the panic from overcoming her, Hermione fell from her chàîr, crashing onto her knees, hyperventilating and sobbing uncontrollably. Every thing she had been holding back came crashing down, the grief, the terror. Her head was spinning, she felt Ron as he grabbed her arm. 'Come on' he shouted as he pulled her to her feet and away from the crowd. She did not know how he'd done it but Ron had taken her back to the burrow, as he tucked her up in bed, in his sister's room and then he kissed her lightly on the forehead. Hermione sobbed well into the night.

In the weeks following Hermione sunk into a deep depression. Imprisoned by her nightmares she barely had the energy to move. She didn't eat and barely drank, weight dropped off her rapidly. Her frame now looked skeletal, her greying skin appeared to hang from her bones. Her eyes were blank, empty and her face was expressionless. She spent her days lying in her bed; wearing the same pyjamas she had worn for a week or so, staring at the seeker who flew around the stadium on ginnys favorite Holyhead Harpies poster. The curtains were always drawn, she had not seen true daylight for weeks, much preferring to wallow in the dark. Untouched copies of The Daily Prophet lay strewn across the floor on Hermione's side of the room, so far she had been unable to summon the courage to read them.

In the days after her breakdown, Ron, Ginny and Harry had all tried to comfort her, talk to her, but she refused their company, just wanting to be left alone. Eventually their attempts stopped and she was left alone; even Ginny her roommate had begun creeping into bed late in the night and then rising again early in the morning, in an effort to avoid her.

After a few weeks had passed Mrs Weasley had decided she had stayed out of it for long enough, she was taking action. Late one night Molly climbed up the stairs and took a deep breath as she stood outside of her daughters bedroom. She received no reply as she knocked at the door. Pressing her ear closer to the door she said, 'Hermione dear, its Molly. Can I come in?' She waited but still received no reply. Undeterred Molly opened the door slowly,

'Hermione dear' she said again.

The elder witch walked in uninvited, and closed the door behind her. She sat on the bed beside hermione and placed a loving hand on the girl's arm. She looked so tired and lost. Her eyes unfocused but staring straight ahead. She looked so young. The sight scared Molly a little, nô one so young should suffer like this. Her motherly instincts kicked in and she smiled at Hermione warmly and said 'you have been something traumatic and I understand you are grieving, believe me i do.' Hermione still lay with her back to her breathing lightly. Molly gazed at her. And continued, worry creeping into to her voice,

'I can let you lock yourself away to deal with this pain but I cannot let you harm yourself this way anymore. You need to eat dear. You are fading away fast and its scaring me'. To Molly's surprise Hermione turned to look at her, her eyes wide, 'OK' she nodded. Hermione sat up at hugged Mrs Weasley, weakly. Molly returned it firmly, trying to convey unspoken emotion. Hermione sobbed on her shoulder, uncontrollably. 'Whatever is the matter dear'? Molly said, as she pulled Hermione from her embrace, to look at her.

'I'm so sorry', Hermione choked, she wanted to say more to the kindly woman but she could not vocalise her sentiment. Hermione felt extremely guilty for not coping when in light of losing someone so close, as the weasleys had; Hermiones suffering was miniscule. Mrs Weasley looked deep into her eyes, 'you have nothing to apologise for my dear' her blue eyes saddened as she spoke 'each and everyone of us has suffered greatly and we all just need to find a way to cope! I'll let you be now dear, but please know that if you ever need to talk, I am here.' Hermione sat, for most of the night, deep in thought.

For Mrs Weasleys sake, Hermione began attending family mealtimes around the dining not feeling very social and lacking any real appetite, Hermione usually wished away the time as she stared down at her food as she moved it around plate and ignored the conversations around her. The attitude of her friends had become quite frosty towards her and they acted as if they were almost scared of her. Though they were too polite to say it to her, Hermione knew what her friends thought of her, she'd heard their not so discreet whispers after she had excused herself frôm the room. Weak, a coward, crazy.

Noting hermiones lack of enthusiasm for the food, Mrs Weasley had begun making a wide array of soups in an effort to coax her into eating something;much to the others dissatisfaction, Hermione had heard Ron complain about the lack substance (as he piled on six pieces of bread to his plate) many times. This had only served to make the atmosphere even more tense. Hermione longed for another friendly face at the table but Mr Weasley, charlie and Percy were very busy working for the ministry and frequently skipped mealtimes. Harry, Ron and Ginny remained distant and somewhat afraid, even as she became a regular at the dinner table; it was only Mrs Weasley who was truly happy to see her each day. Hermione put on a false, cheery smile but deep down inside she was in despair, every minute she felt as if she was fighting off a great black void that was threatening to engulf her. Feeling very alone Hermione sunk lower and lower though she tried to act normal in an effort to ease tensions with her friends. She threw herself deep into books, reading to forget her pain.

July flew by in a monotonous haze and Harry's birthday quickly came around. Mrs Weasley had organised a special tea and had everyone helping with preparations, even Hermione. When the tables had been placed and laid outside and the food prepared, Hermione went to take a shower. The water refreshed her, cleansed her, she had missed it. Bathing had not been high on her list of priorities just lately. She brushed her matted hair until it was free of knots and put on clean clothes. She tried to make herself look as normal as possible, for Harry's sake. He deserved to celebrate this birthday. The dinner was a sombre affair. The awkward silence enhanced by the empty spaces at the table.

'Arthur is stuck at work, he says he'll be home as soon as he can' Molly explained, with a strained expression barely hidden beneath her smile. George once again opted to stay alone at his flat. Only Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Mrs Weasley sat gathered to celebrate the occasion. Mrs Weasley had made all of harry's favorite food, she dished it out and everyone tucked in heartily in an attempt to cover the tense mood. As the sun began its descent, a great owl came soaring towards them, illuminated by its rays. The majestic golden brown bird landed elegantly beside hermiones plate, and held out his leg for her to untie his load. She quickly fumbled with the letter and the owl took off and flew into the distance. She stared down at the envelope in her hand, bemused. It was from Hogwarts. It had felt like years since she last thought about that castle, and school. Hermione quickly stashed the letter away but Ginny had already seen it. 'Is that from Hogwarts' she asked. Mrs Weasley smiled 'oh I wonder what they could want.'

'Arent you going to open it then?' Said Ron sneering at her.

Rons tone hurt. Hermione did not know what she had done to deserve his hostility but she could not let herself care, she didn't have the energy to deal with his melodrama right now.

Not wanting to share her private post Hermione lied. 'Professor McGonagall and I have been writing for a couple of weeks now, this is just her reply to my last letter'.

'Ah, that's nice dear' Molly said looking both pleased and slightly hurt. 'Its good to have someone to talk to'.

Later in the evening, after the party had fizzled out Hermione bade everyone a good night and went to bed. As she sat under the covers Hermione tore open the thick envelope bearing the Hogwarts crest. 'Lumos' she said with a flick of her wand, light spilled out illuminating the page.

Dear Hermione,

It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce that Hogwarts is almost fully operational and we will opens its doors to students on September the first. As you know from out previous discussions, I had planned to allow any former seventh year student to return for a final eighth year, should they so wish. Unfortunately at this time; due to spacing issues and time restrictions, I am only able to extend this invitation to a select few. I can think of no one more deserving than you and I would be delighted to see you back at Hogwarts. If you accept I shall require a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss arrangments. Please reply by way of owl.

Yours

Minerva McGonagall