THE PRESENT (Part 2)

No other road
No other way
No day but today - Rent

Violent tears shook her entire body as she sobbed, the salt tears mingeling with the heavy downpour of the rain. Far off in the distance, she could hear the talking and gossip from the party...but it was muted almost, as if traveling underwater, deep below the surface. It reached Hermione but she paid no attention to it.

Her thoughts were all over the place as she sobbed. Memories that she tried to bury deep inside her awakened, tumbeling through her defences as easily as air. They engulfed her, threatened to drown her.

She closed her eyes, dragging her body in on itself in the fetal possition.

Her fingers were digging deeply into her arm, leaving small bruises with the sheer force that she hugged herself in, trying to keep herself together. It was the worst kind of pain, a dreadful sence of departure, hatred and longing, without mercy, mixing together causing her more pain then ever imagined, more so then that curse in the department of mysteries, more so then countless times she had endured the crusiatus curse. Hermione would gladly endure the pains of a thousand crusiatus curses till it drove her to insanity now, if he was alive.

She could no longer feel the cold of the rain's downpoor, just the hollow coldness inside her.

She felt strong arms wrap around her securly. She leant her head on the hest of who ever it was holding her, hearing a beating heart, quick as if a frightened animal.

Hermione opened her eyes a margin, staring at the ground through her lashes, not caring about anything, just letting her entire body slump in the man's arms.

She wasn't listening to anything around her but voices suddenly seeped through.

"Ron, take her to the burrow and let her sleep. I'll come later with Ginny." Came the voice of Harry. It had been Harry who had carried her.

At that moment she felt a deep irritation to them both. Why had they not left her in the rain and cold? Left her to her mourning? Left her to die?

She felt her body being passed from Harry to Ron and then, the sqeezing, vomitous sensation of Aparation. But she could not feel it now, for her pain was too much.

Ron took her to his bedroom where her lay her down on his bed.

Hermione shut her eyes tighter, whispering to herself.

"He's dead..."

Hermione was in a nightmare.

She walked towards a mansion, the cold stepps beneith her bare feet. She looked around at the cloaked figures surrounding her. The jostled and shoved her, trying to make her walk quicker.

"This'll be a sight for yeh." One of them growled.

The death eaters walked foreward and got out their wands blasting the oak door of the mansion off. They ran in, laughing and shouting and screaming at each other. First, they ran to the servents quaters. With a wave of their wands, green shot out to the hous elves. The death eaters left the room, leaving the small bodies of the servants.

Hermione felt sick.

Then they split up, tearing the house apart. Tapasteries were ripped to shreds, the faces of the generations floating to the floor. A Death Eater pointed their wand at the main portrait in the house, above the fireplace. One of Laucious, Narcissa and their son, Draco. Hermione tried to move, but she was frozen with fear as the Death Eaters ran upstairs, pulling out their wands.

Too late, Hermione found her feet. The cloaked figures were pounding against a large door, fireing spells at the barricades until it swung open.

They rushed in, with Fenier on their trail. Green curses flew as blood soaked through the carpetted floor.

"Hermione," Draco called to her. "Please, Hermione!"

Hermione screamed.

"Hermione." Ron shook her. "Please, Hermione! Wake up."