Hello! I honestly don't know what's come over me but I recently reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and for some reason a weird idea started to form in my head. I don't know if I'll follow through because, I'm telling you right now, I'm pretty flaky. Anyhow, this chapter's pretty dry and I'll be uploading the second one quite soon. Enjoy!

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"Please. Please! I beg of you! Take me instead! Not her-". A flash of green light is the only response and, as a young girl crumples to the floor, her face frozen in an expression of horror, the man shouts in a panic, rushing over to kneel over her still warm body.

"Tell me what I want to know and you will go unharmed." Whispers the cold, high voice beneath the black hood. The man continues to sob, lifting a trembling hand to brush away a stray strand of hair that has fallen across the girl's pale face. He refuses to look at his addresser. With a flick of a pale hand the young man flies backwards, his body slamming into the cellar wall at full force.

"I have grown impatient," The voice is spoken softly, but with a hard malice. "Tell me where she is or I will make your death a very painful one." The man's eyes widen in fear and despair as he realizes the futility of his resistance.

"She-, she-." He stops speaking, entranced by the two red, snakelike eyes staring at him from underneath the hood. He feels his head start to ache, as if it is being probed, the memories sifted through.

"I have what I need now." The cold voice says and with another flick of his wand, the young man falls over, dead.

"Hermione!" Two strong hands shook her from her sleep. Her eyes opened to find Ron, gazing down at her, a concerned expression fixed on his face.

"I had a dream about You-Know-Who again." She said, putting a hand to her clammy forehead. "He killed this man and his child and he wanted to know, he wanted to know- ". She frowned. "He was looking for someone, a woman, I think."

Ron gazed at her silently before he said, "I'm worried, 'mione. Why do you keep having these dreams?" He stopped, taking her slender hand in his, before resuming. "It's been 5 years. You-Know-Who's gone and everything's alright."

"I know that, but then why are these dreams plaguing me?" She whispered, looking pleadingly at Ron.

"I'm not sure, but I know this can't be healthy. We'd better tell Harry and see if he knows anything about it." He brushed his hand against her cheek tenderly, before getting up to disappear into his room.

Hermione sighed, flopping back against her pillows to stare at the ceiling. There were so many things she wanted to know. Who was that man and his child? Their faces had seemed hauntingly familiar, yet she was certain that she had never met them in real life. She glanced back towards the door through which Ron had recently exited.

She sighed again, her thoughts turning to her life. She should be happy, she knew she should be happy. The war had been over for years, she and Ron now shared a flat near the Burrow, her job at the Ministry was one she enjoyed and her life was filled daily with friends and colleagues, all whom she admired and respected. Yet, despite all this, Hermione had recently started feeling an emptiness, a discontentment that could not be eradicated. Her life, although filled with purpose, did not inspire her to have purpose.

It was an uneasy thought, one which made her feel guilty whenever she was around Ron or Harry as she knew that they earnestly wanted everyone to feel, to be truly happy. And that, she wasn't.

Ok, I know this chapter's pretty lifeless but I'm still fleshing out details and stuff like that. Anyhoo- see you soon!