Hermione's' POV
We're running as fast as we can. Turning around from time to time, to see where they are or to shoot a spell, to get rid of them. But up till now, our attempts were useless. I can hear Harrys' footsteps behind me; his breathing is heavy, probably from running so fast for so long. I try to focus on the fact that for now, we're alive. The pillar a bit further doesn't seem that far away anymore. It's still intact, we could hide… No Hermione, no, are you stupid, they will see you and Harry, and then you'll both be dead. I take a quick glance over my shoulder to check how things are going. But when I don't spot a red-headed boy, I panic. Without realizing it myself, the wall next to me, erupts. Glass shatters and culets fly through the air, like feathers of a bird. In a distance, I hear a high-pitched voice, laughing out loud and yet again another explosion of bricks falling apart. Only after all goes silent, I feel it, the agonizing pain taking over my body. It goes through by chest; it finds its way to my spine, my muscles. After merely two minutes my entire body is boiling. The pain is excruciating. I want to scream, but no sounds are possible to be produced. I hear a voice call my name. At the same moment the pain hits my brain, is it actually possible to explode? Right here, right now? I hope not. It would be terrible to breathe your last breath here, on the ice cold floor, in one of the corridors of a place I used to call safe. My legs give in; I fight against the falling down. My hands grab the wall as fast as they can. Holding on to it as a lifebelt. But before I know it, strong hands grad me and gently lays me on the hard ground.
"Hermione, Hermione, can you hear me? Please Hermione, stay awake, it's going to be okay!"
I recognize Harrys' voice while he's pleading me to stay. He falls on his knees; I decide to nod, because it seems appropriate. But decide not to do it again. It hurts too much. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Harry sob quietly next to me. I know what's going to happen, he knows it too, I know for sure. So with the last piece of energy I have left, biting through the pain in the process, I open my mouth and try to produce the words I have been longing to say ever since he got out of sight. It hurts so much, Hermione, get yourself together, it's only one word, and Harry will know what to do after you said it. My hand searches Harrys' and finds it. He sees this and squeezes mine very gently, he looks me straight in the eyes, and his tell me he knows what I am trying. He moves his head closer to mine and then I whisper, barely audible; "Ron."
When I open my eyes, he nods. I know he knows what I want and what he has to do, but I also know he doesn't want to leave me here alone. But in order to get me what I most desire, he will have to trust faith for a while, and get it. Because right now, I need him, I want him. I want his hands holding me tight, making sure I'm not cold. I want his soothing words comforting me, telling all will be fine.
I'm cold, the floor is freezing, the windows, or what's left of them, lie on the ground, shattered into pieces, broken. Just like Harry is. He's still holding my hand; the other one is stroking my hair. His face looks grim; his eyes are sad, full with pain. The wrinkles on his forehead reveal he's thinking of something he can't decide on. Probably deliberating whether to go and find the person I most want right now, but in order to do so leave me alone in the meantime. Or to stay here, and make sure I'm okay. Hoping someone will pass by and search that one special person for him. To help him out of this horrible dilemma, I decide to once more push my boundaries.
"Harry" I whisper, "please go find him. I beg you."
He looks down at me, face blank, a hint of sudden anger, he seems to try and find the right words to show his disagreement with my plan.
"And leave you all alone, in the open, the way you are? Are you insane" He hisses
In my head I'm screaming, I need him, find him, I want him, now!
Harry immediately realizes how mean he had sounded to me and apologizes. I try giving him a small smile, but it's too much for my body to handle.
"I know 'Mione, I'll go, for you." These last words our hardly spoken, they more seem like soft whistles of the wind. One last stroke of his hand through my hair, one last smile, then he stands up, ready to leave. It's at that moment we hear a familiar voice coming out of nowhere.
"Harry?" She asks, "What's goin…" She stops mid-sentence, when her eyes find me and my fragile body lying on the crumbled floor, decorated in dust.
The voice talks with urgency, I'm trying to guess who it may be. It's hard to know, I am practically deaf.
"Luna, I, I, I need to find someone, as soon as possible!" His voice sounds desperate, I want to go and give him a hug, telling him to calm down, and it's all going to be fine. Hermione stop thinking so optimistic, your days our counted, accept it. Brain stop thinking like that, I hate it. But I can't, I am stuck to the ground. So he just keeps babbling on about what happened and how we ended up here.
"It's Ron, I need to find him, he needs to know." That's how he ends the waterfall of words.
Luna's face, who is now visible to me, reads pity, she has it all written over her face. She turns very slowly, towards me. Yes, I'm still freezing and lying on the ground. The numbed my body, it stopped moving all the way around and back. It has settled down in a comfortable position, at least, for him. I look her straight in the eyes. Her reaction tells me she wants to look away, but it's Luna we're talking about, so she doesn't. We stair at each other for a bit, when she turns around to face Harry again. Who still hasn't left. Little steps close the already little space that was left between them.
"Harry, Ron's never going to be in time." I hear her say, while she says these words, Harrys' face becomes so hard it makes me scared.
"I have to finds him, they're my best friends, and they need one another right now. Even though there is only a small chance we'll make it back in time, I need to do this for her and him too. He deserves to have a chance, how small that even is." He says with furiosity.
"I'm telling you, it won't make a difference, she'll, well you know…" She stops talking. Now I am mad. I start screaming without feeling it coming.
"No, nooooo, I want Ron, I need him, get him, please!" The hysterical sobbing follows. I hate myself for getting so dramatic. At the words, 'I need him', I can see Harry flinch. Because he, and only he, knows the true meaning of those word, the weight hanging on them. Within seconds he runs over to me, squeezes my hand one very last time.
"I love you 'Mione, I'll be back as soon as possible, I promise.' He looks very serious, trying to focus. I don't react, just a tiny nod. "Luna take care of her." He continues, after those words, he sprints out of the corridor, into the deep. Luna falls down on her knees, the same spot Harry had sat. She sights softly. Her attempts to calm me down aren't really working. The corridor is yet again noiseless. We are alone.