Hermione stood crying. She could hardly see through her tears, could hardly stand still from her body being wracked by sobs. She could hear the hysteria in her weeping, but she couldn't make herself stop. Her face was wet. She could feel the cold wind's sting on her wet cheeks, but made no move to wipe the tears away.
She could vaguely tell that she was looking out from a mountaintop of some kind. Could feel her legs trembling, almost wouldn't support her weight. Barely felt a hand on her shoulder.
Harry.
But it wasn't the hand she wanted right then, wasn't the hand she needed.
The hand she needed might never find her again. The hand she needed had stormed out and they had been forced to apparate away. And now he was gone.
Ron.
The name shot through her with that same familiar emotion in between her lungs that she refused to acknowledge, only now it was laced with pain, regret, longing... But most of all, pain.
She might never see him again. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.
Harry's hand eventually left her as he started setting up camp. He had known her long enough to know when to leave her alone, and she was grateful for it. What she needed right now was... Was...
Pain.
Yes, pain would help. Physical pain could take away the emotional pain. Would make her focus on the here and now, and help her forget about a certain ginger, if only temporarily. Pain was release. Pain. Where could she find it?
She held her wrists before here, exposed to the cold wind. She eyed the faint blue lines beneath her pale skin, seriously considering for a moment...
No. She couldn't bring herself to relieve the pain. She couldn't do it herself... Harry woudn't do it, she already knew. Who would?
Suddenly, she knew. She knew what she needed, where she needed to be, who could give her what she needed...
Bellatrix Lestrange.
The name itself sent wonderful shivers of fear up her spine, and an admittedly unhealthy surge of desire coursed through her. It scared her, but she was too distraught to let it stop her. She lifted her hard, wet, determined eyes from her wrists and set her jaw. She knew what she needed, knew how to get it... And she was going to get it.
The way Hermione figured it, no protective charms would be set on the Lestrange estate. Why would there be? There was nothing within to be kept safe. Everything and everyone important was at the Malfoy manor.
To be honest, she was surprised Harry let her just apparate away with the excuse of "needing space." Either she was a good liar or Harry really was as pitifully thick as she thought him to be. Either way, she was grateful for it, in a kind of sick, twisted way. The hunger that was twisting in the pit of her stomach was getting worse and she needed a release.
The faint pop that resounded through the large marble-floored room when she apparated into the empty dining hall of the Lestrange manor rose gooseflesh on her arms.
Hermione looked around through tears at the large empty room, unsure of where she was or if there was anyone around.
"Homunum revelio," she whispered. Then, an image of Bellatrix Lestrange lazily flipping through a large book in a dusty chair appeared on a closed door to Hermione's left. Her toes curled. The image faded.
Shaking legs carried her slowly towards the door. She felt her pulse in the hollow of her throat, and a cold sweat made her flesh glisten in the dimly lit hall. She swallowed dryly as she approached the door. She stopped with the tips of her toes, breasts, and nose almost touching the door.
She looked down at the intricate, brassy doorknob... But the muffled sound of a book slamming closed within the room halted her quivering hand. She raised her eyes and seemed rooted to the spot, her trainers stuck to the marble, as her ears were greeted with the quiet sound of footsteps approaching the other side of the door. Her abdomen muscles contracted uneasily and she was feeling slightly lightheaded. What was she doing here?
Just then, the large oak door swung open, revealing a very confused Bellatrix Lestrange.
The words "oh, God..." formed on Hermione's trembling lips in a whisper.
