Out
From the Rubble
A/N:
I can't say much—It'd give the story away. Hermione Granger takes a trip to New
York—On September 11, 2001.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione Granger gazed up towards the top of
the Twin Towers, in New York City. Her, Harry, and Ron had decided as a gift to
them selves for graduating from Hogwarts with flying colors, to take a trip to
America. Hermione had decided to separate herself from Harry and Ron (Who had
gone to a restaurant downtown), and was going to look at the beauty of the Twin
Towers.
"Wow" Whispered Hermione, gazing skyward.
She eagerly took out her camera and snapped
three or four pictures. Then she hastily shoved her camera in her purse, and
walked inside the building. (A/N: I have never been inside the Twin Towers,
much to my regret, so I have to make a few things up)
"Hello!" Said a blonde haired lady, as
Hermione stepped inside.
"Hello" Hermione replied. It almost felt
awkward to talk to muggles (Other than her family). Hermione felt quite
superior to the lady.
"Did you know that the Twin Towers have 110
floors?" Asked the lady. Hermione's superior feeling drooped. Okay, that,
she didn't know.
"Why, no I didn't!" Said Hermione brightly
smiling.
"Aw! What a cute accent!"
"I get told that all the time"
"Oh really? I wish I didn't have this New
York accent. It sounds dumb [This is NOT my opinion, so don't be offended. I
think New York accents are cool] I wish I had your accent!" She gazed
longingly at Hermione's mouth.
"Well, I'll be on now! Goodbye!" Said
Hermione. This was a very dim-witted lady that she didn't feel like hanging
around with.
"You sound like Anne Robinson when you say G'bye
like that!" The idiotic lady shouted after Hermione's retreating back.
Hermione sighed. She was going to go up the
topmost floor, and felt it would be a long wait on the elevator. She couldn't
apparate, even though she did have her apparitioners license, as she was
in a highly muggle populated area. She trudged off towards a large set
of elevators.
There was a huge line for the elevators
heading for the top floors, so Hermione settled for midway, the 55th
floor. The line here was lesser still, but there was still a small crowd. Then
Hermione noticed a break in the line for the topmost floor, and dashed over to
it.
"Yes!" Hermione half yelled. People looked at
her. She felt a red blush coming up through her neckline.
"Sorry she mumbled. She then stepped on the
elevator, heading for the 55th floor, not wanted to face the people
that she had just been embarrassed from.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione had a rather vivid view of the
skyline, as she peered through the glass windows of the 55th floor.
She earlier found out that she was on the west side of the building. Hermione
looked down at her watch. It was 8:20 a.m., and Harry and Ron were eating
lunch. But then again, they had risen rather early that morning (Actually
around four a.m.) and gulped down a small breakfast of cold cereal and canned
tomatoes in the hotel they were staying at that morning. No wonder they were
hungry. Hermione stared out the window once again.
Suddenly Hermione felt a tingling fear-like
feeling in her stomach. She looked down at her watch again. It was 8:28 a.m.
The tense feeling filled her even more as she watched the seconds ticking off
her watch. Her watch now read 8:29, on the 10th second.
Then Hermione felt a horrible rumbling
beneath her. It was actually coming from above her, but she could feel it all
through her body. A second later there was a spate of screams from above her.
She felt the rumbling again. She decided that there must be an earthquake, and
she dived under an employee's desk to seek cover. More screams ensued, and then
the unimaginable happened. Hermione felt the floor falling, and she was falling
with it! Down, down, down, down—until there was a deafening crash, and no more.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was completely dark when Hermione opened
her eyes. She quickly shut them again, as much dust fell into them.
"Whaa- What hap-p-p-pend? Hermione asked,
choking on dust. Nobody responded. Hermione tried feebly to raise her arms, but
found them pinned to her sides by metal. She writhed her hands hopelessly.
"There must be some sort of opening in
here" Hermione thought, as she could breath quite easily. She tried to bend
her knees, but found them also pinned down by plaster, metal, and other rubble.
Then Hermione realized that she must still be under the desk—among other
things. She could feel a tremendous weight bearing down on what most likely was
the desk. She hoped and prayed that the desk was sturdy, and wouldn't break.
Hermiones hand found something—a fleshy sinewy something.
"Oh God, don't let it be a corpse" Thought
Hermione.
"H-hel-l-lo?" asked a feeble voice from
somewhere on her left side.
"Y-yes?" Answered Hermione, trying hard not
to choke on the settling dust. "C-can you tell m-me w-what happened?" Hermione
asked. She realized that she could turn her head then. She twisted her head
around to the left, where as it had been facing the right side, and looked at
the same blonde lady that had met her at the entrance of the building that was
no more.
"Y-yes, I can. An airplane hit the north side
of the building, and you and I are probably the only survivors" Hermione
screamed out loud, as well as inside her head. After she had finished
screaming, she asked the lady was time it was. The woman lifted her wrist with
much difficulty, and read that 12 minutes had gone by.
"So… What's your name?" The blonde lady
asked.
"Hermione"
"That's pretty. Mine's Corrine"
"Hello Corrine. I have a secret to tell you.
I haven't told anybody, and I figure I might as well tell you, as this may be
the last few minutes, or hours of our lives"
"Please don't say anything like you're a
lesbian or something like that" Corrine moaned.
"Oh no! The truth is—and Corrine, if we make
it out then you have to promise me that you'll never tell a soul, well, I'm a
witch" There. Hermione had broken a wizard law—She had told a muggle what she
really was.
"So am I!" Said Corrine. "I went to the
Academy for Witchcraft and Wizardry! Where did you go to school?" So, Corrine
wasn't an air headed blonde bimbo.
"I went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry, and I have a couple of friends here with me that are from Hodwarts
too!" Wispered Hermione excitedly. Then, suddenly again, there was a deafening
crash, and much rumbling.
"Oh my God!" Whispered Corrine. "That must be
the other tower!" Then there was a huge thud, and all went black again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione came to once again. She peeked over
at Corrine, who was staring blankly at her.
"Hey, Corrine, you alive over there?"
Hermione joked. Then she noticed that Corrine's eyes looked glassy and hollow.
Hermione gasped. Corrine was dead! Hermione tore her eyes from the
lifeless figure of her friend. She couldn't believe her friend was lying dead
next to her. She now had a vague feeling of how Harry had felt when he looked
at the dead Cedric in their fourth year. Hermione was terrified now, laying
next to a corpse, with what must be a ton overhead, ready to crush her at any
given time. Hermione tried hard not to look at Corrine. She had never actually seen
a dead person before. Of course she had been to funerals (many whenever
Lord Voldemort had taken over, before Dumbledore killed him), but seeing a dead
person that hasn't been inspected by coroners, and all that was much different,
much more frightening. And yet, Hermione somehow felt a peace next to Corrine's
empty body. Like her spirit, not her ghost, but her spirit was lying
there next to her, giving her confidence.
Hermione forced her knee up hard and—a hole
broke though the plaster! A small ray of sunlight burst through the hole, and
Hermione heard a voice yell "Over there, Dave! I just saw something move!"
Hermione forced her knee up through the hole again, making it a bit wider.
"HELP!" She screamed. She then grabbed onto
Corrine's wrist, and started kicking as hard as she could with her legs to
break through the plaster. A moment later she felt her legs be held by someone.
"Hermione!" Yelled that someone. At first,
startled, Hermione thought it might have been Corrine, but then realized that
it was Ron Weasleys voice.
"RON! HELP!" Screamed Hermione. Some of the
weight above her seemed to be subsiding. Hermione closed her eyes and waited.
Suddenly a bright shaft of light hit her full in the face, and she realized
that she could move her arms. She slowly opened her eyes, and blinked in the
bright sunshine. Then she looked over at Corrine. She was exactly as Hermione
had seen her last. Harry helped Hermione stumble out of her little lean-to. A
worker with a hard hat on picked Corrine up out of the rubble. To Hermione,
Ron, and Harry's horror, a large pole was stuck through her left shoulder
blade—right though her heart.
"Oh…" Hermione moaned. It must have been
slowly killing her, aver since she landed on it, and it took it's final toll
when they had been unconscious.
Harry and Ron each embraced her in a rib
breaking hug after they had said a goodbye to Corrine, who had since been
carried away in a black body bag. They stumbled out of the rubble, and into the
street, where Hermione could have a look at what had almost killed her.
Finally, she was out of the rubble.
Disclaimer:
I own Corrine and Dave, and J.K owns everything else that has to do with Harry
Potter.
Even though I did
not have family or friends in the Twin Towers, I am still grieving for those
that did. I am sincerely sorry for all of those that lost family and friends in
this terrible tragedy. And I am happy for those lucky people who have family
and friends that are finally out of the rubble.
This was written for
all of those lost
In the
terrorist attack on
The Twin
Towers
On
September 11,
2001
