A/N I realized that there aren't really stories that deal with right after the war. I am writing this because it had little things that I was missing from other stories. I am taking a bit from the movies and a bit from the books. The nightmare is paraphrased from the last book, British edition, and when I do "…" that means I skipped along. And I had some people live that originally died because I can. Ha!
Thank you to my Beta Xennon for helping me out. :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's all the brilliant J.K. Rowling's.
Six months after the final battle and Hogwarts was being rebuilt. For those that have been working on the rebuilding full time, they stayed in the areas of the castle that didn't see the fight. Mainly the dungeons. The majority of people who helped when they could find the time to help; traveled in and out of Hogwarts by apparating. The people staying in the castle were only a select few. They were Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Professor Snape. Severus Snape was saved when Harry went to the forbidden forest to face Lord Voldemort and Hermione fed him a bezoar and blood replenishing potion at the boat house, then apparated him to the great hall where they re-stationed the hospital wing due to the battle. There, Madame Pomfrey continued to extract the poison that Nagini delivered. After a month he was back to normal. The memories stored in the pensieve from Professor Dumbledore cleared him from any wrongdoing at court.
Professor McGonagall took over as headmaster and took control of the reconstruction. Old professors, people that survived the battle, and other people who heard about the fight all wanted to help.
Everyone was eating dinner in the Great Hall which was the first place that got reconstructed. It was exhausting work and all the Weasleys stayed for dinner made by the house elves, so that way Molly wasn't having to cook as well as help. When desert was served Hermione looked around and leaned over to Harry and Ron.
"I think I'm gonna go to my room." The boys looked at each other then back at Hermione.
"Are you sure? Cause we can come with you."
"No thanks Harry. I am just gonna go to bed." She hugged the two of them and waved a farewell to everyone. As she walked down to the dungeons she kept looking behind her to make sure she wasn't being followed. She finally reached the room she was staying in, ran in and shut the door. Leaning on it, she caught her breath.
"There's no one following you Hermione. You're safe in Hogwarts. It's over. You-Kn- Voldemort lost." She kept repeating that as she stripped herself of her jeans and shirt. When she walked over to the mirror she took a deep breath. Looking back at her was a healthy 19 year old. She closed her eyes took a deep breath and with a wave of her wand, took off all the glamours she used. She opened her eyes and looked back at the REAL Hermione Granger. She was malnourished and sleep-depraved from their year on the run and could see her bones sticking out from places where you shouldn't. She had circles under her eyes that were so dark that they looked like crescent-shaped black holes. She looked at all the scars, bumps and bruises that she had obtained from the battle along her torso. Which brought her eyes over to her worst scar. On her arm. Mudblood. She told everyone else it didn't bother her. After about 3 weeks after the battle, it was as healed as much as it could be so she stopped going to St Mungos for it and wore long sleeves in all temperatures. But alone in her room, when she saw it, it was a reminder that she didn't belong in the wizarding world. Nor did she fit in with the muggle world. It was also a reminder of the time she was tortured, when she wished so much to give up and left her an empty shell of The Hermione That Was. It haunts her. She fell to the floor and she let the silent tears stream down her cheeks and her emotional walls fall. She sobbed long and hard until she was paralyzed with sadness. After she sobbed her last and sat dejectedly, she wiped her eyes and slowly stood. She put up the silencing and privacy charms, just like she did while they were on the run. But now she does it to keep her nightmares to herself. Once she was washed up and was dressed in her pajamas, she went to bed. A couple hours after she fell asleep, her nightmares found her.
...
The gates swung open. "Come on!" said Greyback to his men, and the prisoners were shunted through the gates and up the drive, between high hedges and onto trimmed but full grass that muffled their footsteps. Harry saw a ghostly white shape above him, and realised it was an albino peacock. He stumbled and dragged on to his feet by Greyback; now he was staggering along sideways, tied back to back to the four other prisoners into the entrance hall of the Malfoy Manor.
Yaxley greeted them. "More prisoners? Just take 'em pure n 'alf ones down below w'th the rest."
"What about the Mudblood then?" growled Greyback. Just then, the Malfoy family came in to see what the commotion was about. Harry was nearly thrown off his feet as the Snatchers forced the prisoners to swivel around again, before realizing who else was in the room. So be it that the light fell on Hermione and her features.
"Wait," said Narcissa sharply."Are these the prisoners?"
"Yes, Missurs Malfoy, I just told Greyback to take 'em down to the dungeon to wait for d'Ministry to get 'ere." Yaxley chimed in.
"You will do no such thing, I recognise this girl; she's the mug-Mudblood that's friends with Potter! Yes- yes,she was in Madam Malkin's with him, I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco isn't it the Granger girl?"
"I… maybe… yeah."
"But then, that's the Weasley boy!" shouted Lucius, striding around the bound prisoners face Ron."It's them, Potter's friends- Draco look at him, isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's his name-?"
"Yeah, Ro-Roland." said Draco again, his back the prisoners. "It could be"
The drawing-room door opened behind Harry. A woman spoke, and the sound of the voice wound Harry's fear and fury to an even higher scale.
"What is this? What's happened, Cissy?"
Bellatrix Lestrange walked slowly around the prisoners, and stopped on Harry's right, staring at Hermione through her heavily lidded eyes.
"But surely," she said quietly, "this is the Mudblood girl? This is Granger?"
"Yes, yes, it's Granger!" cried Lucius. "And beside her, we think Potter! Potter and his friends, caught at last!"
"Potter?" shrieked Bellatrix, and she back away, the better to take in Harry. "Are you sure? Well, then, the Dark Lord must be informed at once!"
…
"STOP!" shrieked Bellatrix. "Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now! We aren't certain if these prisoners are without doubt Potter and his... pets. As well as... information on what exactly has been taken from me"
Yaxley and Lucius both froze, their index fingers hovering over their Marks. Bellatrix strode out of Harry's limited line of vision.
"What is that?" he heard her say.
"Sword," grunted an out-of-sight Snatcher.
"Give it to me."
"Where did you get this sword?" she whispered to Greyback as she she waved his wand out of his grip and spelled him immobile, kneeling in front of her on the floor.
"How dare you?" he snarled, his mouth the only thing that could move as he was forced to gaze up at her. He bared his pointed teeth. "Release me, woman!"
" Where did you find this sword?" she repeated, brandishing it in his face. "Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts!"
" It was in their tent," rasped Greyback. "Release me, I say!"
…
Narcissa hesitated for a moment, then addressed the werewolf.
"Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback, Yaxley. Make sure they can't escape."
"Wait," said Bellatrix sharply. "All except… except for the Mudblood."
"After all," Bellatrix cackled as she laid her eyes on a terrified Hermione, "we do need to find out why a certain... precious belonging of mine was laying in the scum's nest."
…
Hermione screamed again from overhead, and they could hear Bellatrix screaming back too, in enjoyment at the pain of those below her. While Ron couldn't get back to her; he still called out for her. "HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"
From upstairs they heard Bellatrix's voice.
"I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?"
"We found it- we found it- PLEASE!" Hermione screamed again; Ron struggled harder than ever and the rusty nail slipped on to Harry's wrist.
…
From above came Bellatrix's voice.
"You are lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell me the truth, tell me the truth!"
Another terrible scream-
' HERMIONE!"
" What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I will do much worse than what I am doing right now, and by Merlin, at the end of it, you will pray for death!"
…
Hermione was screaming again, the echoes bounced off the walls. Somehow, whether by design or coincidence, the screams echoed through the dungeon twice as loud than it was up above. The sound of their best friend in pain went through the pair like knives.
…
" What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!"
…
Upstairs Hermione was screaming worse then ever.
" How did you get into my vault?" they heard Bellatrix scream. "DId that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"
" We only met him tonight!" Hermione sobbed. "We've never been inside your vault… it isn't the real sword! It's a copy, just a copy!"
…
An awful scream drowned out Harry's words: Hermione was being tortured again.
Hermione bolted up in the middle of a scream. Her hands went up to her mouth to try and stifle the sobbing. She was sweating and shaking. Every night. That's what invades her mind. She can still feel the Cruciatus Curse and the knife on her skin. She looked at the time and saw it was 1 in the morning. Getting barely two hours of sleep could hardly be good for her. Shaking her head she got out of bed and took a shower. She sat in the tub and sat emotionlessly. How will she move on?
And once again, for the Merlin-knows-what-numbered-time, she stayed up with no intention to sleep for the rest of the night.