It wasn't like her not to pay attention, and it certainly wasn't like her to run off in fury when she didn't get what she wanted.

Still, she was doing precisely those things right now. She couldn't help it, really – Shacklebolt was obviously determined to make her life difficult. Smart as he might be, he didn't have an ounce of respect for 'lesser' beings.

'I'd be interested to know how he'd like to be enslaved and mistreated,' she fumed. 'I bet he'd be more open to my ideas then!'

She strode through the deserted hallways of the Ministry of Magic, neither knowing nor caring where she was headed.

'Wizards are such arrogant jerks!'

She slammed the door shut behind her, feeling a grim satisfaction at the resulting bang. Of course, it was only after the door had fallen shut that she looked up and realised where she was.

'Oh no,' she stammered, turning around so fast she lost her balance and nearly tripped. 'No, no, no, no, no.'

Even as she leapt for the door, the circular room began to spin. The walls were moving so fast that the light from the candles had become a blue blur. Then it stopped, and she found herself trapped inside the Department of Mysteries.

'Brilliant, absolutely brilliant,' she snapped at the empty room. 'A dozen doors and not a clue where to start. A perfect ending to a perfect day!'

She stamped across the room, trying the first door she reached. It was locked.

'Of course,' she muttered, whipping out her wand. 'Flagrate!'

A fiery red cross appeared on the door and the walls began to spin again. When they had finally stilled, she tried a second door.

This door opened into a dark, damp room. She couldn't see a thing, but she was positive she heard something ... crawl. She backed out of the room quickly and, after marking it with a second cross, slammed the door shut.

Once again the walls began moving, and once again she waited for them to still before trying the third door.

The door opened into a large, dimly lit room. Stone benches ran around the chamber, and the air felt oddly cool. Deep down, in a sunken pit, there was a dais with an archway and a black veil. Despite the absence of any breeze, the veil fluttered slightly.

She turned on her heel rapidly. This was not somewhere she wanted to stay. Just as she reached out for the doorknob, however, she heard a soft whisper from behind her.

'Hermione ...'

She spun around. The room was deserted.

'Hello?' Her voice echoed through the room, sending shivers down her spine. There came no answer.

She shook her head, deciding that the lack of sleep was finally catching up with her. She was just about to make for the door for the second time when she heard it again. A soft, cold whisper from below her.

'Hermione ...'

'Who is there?' she shouted down at the pit, not able to keep a hint of panic from her voice. 'What do you want?'

'Hermione, you have to help me ...'

Cold fear clawed at her heart. There didn't appear to be anyone down there, but the voice she'd heard had only been too clear. The only explanation was that whoever was calling out to her was lurking behind the veil.

'Who are you?' she repeated, staring at the veil. It continued to flutter.

'Please, Hermione ... You have to help me ... The pain is unbearable ...'

She swallowed thickly. She had battled Voldemort without feeling scared, yet this mysterious archway was making her blood run cold. Still, there was someone down there that required her help, and who was she to refuse it?

Slowly, she began to descend the stone steps, heading towards the dais with the archway. She came closer and closer to the dais, but still there was no sign of another person. She reached the last stone step and halted.

'Are you still there?' she inquired as bravely as possible.

'Please ... save me ...'

There was nothing for it. She took a deep breath and climbed up onto the dais.

When she straightened up again, she was level with the archway. The veil was still moving slightly, as though it had just been touched. She edged around the stone archway, but there was no one on the other side.

'Where are you?' The question was directed at the archway, and to her slight surprise, that was where the answer came from. The veil swayed slightly as the voice continued its whispering.

'In here ... Please ...'

'In there?' she asked, taking a tiny step towards the archway. 'Behind the veil?'

'Yes ... Behind the veil ... You must help me, you are my only chance ...'

She took another small step towards the fluttering veil. Every cell in her body was screaming at her to get out of the room, away from the archway, but somehow she felt herself strangely mesmerized by the quivering veil.

As she was inching towards the archway, she felt overcome with a strange urge to touch the veil. She tried to ignore it, the rational part of her brain certain that whatever she did, she should not touch the veil – but the desire to reach out for it was much stronger than the feeble warnings her common sense issued

She lifted her hand, reaching out for the veil, coming nearer and nearer. She was so close to touching it now ...

Her fingertips brushed against the light material of the veil. It felt smooth.

Then an icy hand seized her wrist and began pulling her towards an opening in the veil. She screamed and began struggling, but this only elicited a hollow laughter from the whisperer.

'Foolish girl.' The hand tugged at her arm, and despite her struggles, she found herself sliding towards the opening in the veil. 'Foolish, foolish girl. It is too late to escape now.'

She ceased moving for a second, and the whisperer used her momentarily distraction to yank her further into the veil. She failed to notice it.

For a moment, she had been sure she had recognized that voice. But it couldn't be ... could it?

'S-Sirius?' she stuttered, and the whisperer used her confusion to give the final pull at her arm that drew her fully into the grey mists behind the veil.

'Very good, you figured it out. But then you always were a rather bright girl.'

The whisperer, whoever he was, still hadn't relinquished his icy grip on her wrist. Rather, he continued to pull, even though she had already passed through the veil. She knew he was standing right next to her, but she didn't dare look up for fear of what she might see. The whisperer laughed again, and the sound caused goosebumps to appear on her arms.

'Manners, Hermione. It is polite to look at people when they're talking to you.'

She disregarded this last comment, certain that she had to avoid looking at this ... being at all costs.

The time for free will was over however, as she found out when a cold hand clenched around her jaw and forced her to look at its owner.

She was met by a terrifying sight. The thing that stood before her was neither human nor monster – rather, it seemed to be stuck at an awful inbetween stage. This being, though paler than she had ever seen the Sirius she had known look, still retained all of Sirius' looks. There was a cruelness to his expression, however, that gave her chills.

'Oh,' the creature spoke, and she noticed it hardly moved its mouth, 'poor little Hermione is scared ... How truly awful ...'

She attempted to yank her arm out of the being's cold clutches, but its grip did not falter.

'You are not real!' she spat at it, and in doing so noticed a horrifying emptiness in its eyes. 'The Sirius I knew is dead!'

The creature laughed again. 'Wrong, Hermione. I am the Sirius you knew.'

'You're lying!'

'Am I? How can you be sure that this is not what being dead is like, having never been dead yourself?'

'No! I will not fall for your manipulative whisperings!' She gave another faint pull at her arm, but still the thing did not budge.

'Manipulative whisperings? You are just scared of the truth, Hermione. You humans all are. Your whole life you search for the truth, and when you finally find it, you refuse to believe it. But I will show you ... oh yes ...'

And he began pulling her away from the archway, deeper into the mists that surrounded them.

'No!' She began struggling in earnest, kicking and biting at everything that came within her reach, but the creature's only reply was to tighten his hold on her arm and lean closer to her.

'I will show you wonderful things, Hermione,' it murmured into her ear. 'Wonderful, wonderful things. If only you knew how many people would kill to see what you are about to see ... Kill to see what is beyond ...'

'No!' she shrieked, terror immobilizing her limbs. 'No! You can't do this!'

'And you will be here forever ... Isn't that a wonderful prospect? To exist for all eternity, never fading away?'

'No! Let go of me! Let go!'

The creature's cold laughter echoed through the mists as he began dragging her down.