The Beginning of the End
Hermione opened her heavy eyelids as quickly as she could feel her limp limbs. Every bone and every muscle ached as she tried to fetch the memory from deep within her complex mind of what had occurred. She lay, as though been literally thrown into the room that was unable to be described for it was in an almost hypnotising darkness.
The memories that finally started to return didn't help at all in relieving her confusion. She searched for her wand, but as suspected, it was taken. She surprised herself though, because in fact, she was not at all afraid. But still, why was she there? And more importantly, where was 'there'? Why did she ache? What happened during her unconscious moments? Hermione brought an arm up closer to her eyes to examine it after attempting and failing to sit up properly. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the impossible darkness, she made out faint – well at least to her eyes – lines on her usually flawless skin. She leaned back against what probably was a wall in order to lift her other arm and touch the lines with the hand she was half holding herself up with.
"Ouch!" she winced as her fingers made contact with the line on her skin. She felt liquid and of course they were cuts. But how did she get them? A sectumsempra spell? But that could have killed her, and yet there were so many of those scars. She couldn't imagine Death Eaters to use muggle forms of torture and weapons. Was she even hurt by the Death Eaters? Did they throw her here? Why didn't they kill her? Why did they do it when she was unconscious or was it just because they obliviated her memory? But then she should have a blank in the midst of everything. Maybe they used her unconsciousness before and after it to hide it?
Her confusion was interrupted by a ray of eye-piercing light that streamed through some doorway – at least she supposed it was a doorway – as two silhouetted figures emerged. Instinctively, Hermione backed away into the solidness – something that made her feel a little better, strangely.
"The Dark Lord would like to see you before he finishes you. Both." A mysterious dark man informed, emphasising the word 'both'. It was only then Hermione realised it wasn't only her who had been captured, but Harry too. Hermione didn't move. Finish her? How? Why? Shouldn't Voldemort have done that long ago?
"Get a move on!" The other figure bellowed, making Hermione jump. Feeling a hand firmly grip her sore arm, she tried to suppress a wince but again failed. The small sound of sharply breathed in air was responded with a dark, triumphant laugh. At that, Hermione gathered herself together and tried to pull herself away, ignoring the pain travelling through her petite body at the contact.
"I can walk myself." She managed to force out in a fierce manner, though she dearly hoped it was as fierce as she meant it to be. The grip loosened enough for her to free her arm from it. She had no intention of going with them and with a quick backwards step deliberately fell onto the cold, hard floor, attempting to imitate a faint. It hurt, but there was no time to wince or regret her actions as muttering from the two men grew softer, Hermione found herself drifting away. It was then she realised she was touching something. The hand against the wall was connected to something of a portal, and as she groped at it silently in the darkness, blinding light erupted from the unknown source, pulling her into it. As the light reduced, she found herself in McGonagall's office, watching herself receiving the time turner in third year.
This had to be the most confusing day in her entire life. First, somehow she and Harry had been captured by Voldemort, then she found herself within a magically dark room, and just when she was about to leave, she was somehow pulled into some magical portal and now she was watching the past as though in a penseive. Somehow she was brought to another time and place she didn't recognise as the picture of her in McGonagall's office slowly vanished and another materialized. It appeared to be some kind of forest, perhaps it could be the Forbidden Forest? But she didn't need to contemplate anything, as she scanned the lushness, found something gold and shining amidst the green next to her wand. Her wand! She snatched it up and relished the familiar feeling of carved wood on skin. The spark of magical connection. She then proceeded to pick up the shining object by its gold chain and lifted the pendant to eye-level. It was the same time-turner she had in third year. Without warning, the hourglass pendant began turning, spinning faster and faster so that it was impossible for Hermione to count the times it spun.
Sometime later, as Hermione got sick of watching the spinning which made her slightly dizzy, she noticed her surroundings. The plants withered, bloomed, sprouted, then withered again. Everything went backwards as though in one of those muggle films, where you pressed the rewind button continuously. It all looked like a watery mess of mostly green and brown and blue and green above. Just as Hermione couldn't stand the dizzying whirling, it came to a sudden halt. After she closed her eyes for a while, trying to shake out the nauseous feeling, she surveyed her surroundings once again, and for once, it wasn't moving.
All the plants were fruiting, and some were beginning to shed their leaves. Hermione guessed it was probably around September, just when the new schooling year at Hogwarts began. Now that she had a rough guess at what time of the year it was, she wondered exactly what year it was and because that was impossible to work out from looking at trees, Hermione decided to try and manoeuvre out of the forest.