woooo 3rd chapter is up :) dont forget to review :P
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Hermione found herself lying on something cold , wet and surprisingly soft. She stirred a little , trying to isolate her thoughts from the pounding pain in her head. She sat up unsteadily , white spots appearing in her vision as she attempted to focus. She realized she was sitting on grass , damp with dew. She was in the dead of night
and it felt like a thick haze of darkness was surrounding her , engulfing her. Hermione closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe.
She had to find Snape.
She snapped her eyes open , fierce determination overshadowing the fear within . But not completely. She was terrified , her heart was thumping in her chest. She could barely see anything around her , the only light available was being cast out in feeble shadows by the half moon and the stars strewn across the night sky. She could tell that she was in a wide open space and the glimmers of household light could be seen in the distance , many windows twinkling against a inky backdrop. Then something else hit Hermione and her body felt nauseous with fear of a unanswered question.
Where was Voldemort?
For a second Hermione wanted to lie down again, crouch into a ball and forget everything that had just happened. She shook with terror but shook off the childhood notion to curl up and wish it was just a bad dream. It was real. One man was in serious danger. Grasping her wand , Hermione whispered, " Lumos Maxima". Her heart stopped as she found herself face to face with a gravestone. She bit her lip and shuddered at the stone , willing herself not to scream. It was just a gravestone , it wasn't going to hurt her. 1st November 1967 - 13 June 1970 Forever loved , Forever Remembered.
Amanda Williams
She had been three years old , only a small child. She was dead. Hermione pushed herself up away from the stone , standing up, her body shaking. She raised her wand alittle and gasped , everywhere she could see was gravestones. Something stifled in her memory and Hermione knew immediately where she was : Godric's Hollow. The last time she had been here Harry had almost been murdered by Lord Voldemort himself, barely escaping from the hideous snake. She had a feeling she wouldn't be so lucky this time. Hermione swallowed and started navigating her way through the stones towards the civilisation sitting on the outskirts of the graveyard.
The air around her felt statically charged , full of ominous tension , oppressive and sinister. She broke into a breathless run , as she exhaled a silver mist swirled in the midnight sky before it was absorbed. Hermione reached the edge of the graveyard , her hands clenching on the rails of the fence and she gasped for breath. Then
she took in her surroundings . Godric's Hollow was not as calm as it looked like from the distance. Occupants of the house nearest to her, a man and a woman holding a child were standing outside of their front door , staring with shock. Hermione followed their gaze and felt her stomach drop. The house was on fire.
Harry's house.
The house was almost destroyed , crimson flames licking at the remains , dancing wildly. The devastation was reflected in Hermione's swimming eyes . Harry was there , a baby lying in the remnants of destruction , not knowing of his future.
Just a baby.
That was when Hermione started to run , running towards the blazing inferno of a house, her hair whipping about her face. She dug her heals into the ground , forcing herself forwards.
Almost there.
In her peripheral vision , Hermione saw something that stopped her heart. She came to a grinding halt , her breath hitched in her chest as she veered around to face behind her. Time seemed to slow down as she watched one man steadily make his way to her destination, the fire radiating in his eyes. He walked briskly, on the edge of running , his black robes billowing behind him , much like his former self. His face was pulled into the familiar scowl but it was unaged as of yet and a
boyish air still remained. Hermione was rooted on the spot, unaware of anything except for this one man. It was like being in a nightmare , one where you couldn't move, run or scream in terror. He was on the other side of the street , weaving unnoticed through the awestruck bystanders gazing at the blazing house in front of them. Somewhere , very near Voldemort was waiting , waiting for Snape.
Hermione dashed across the road , tearing into the crowd of people , desperately pushing her way through them. Snape's head was just visible among the cluster of people , just a few metres from Hermione.
"Snape!" she screamed, her voice tearing at her throat. He didn't hear her. Hermione squeezed frantically behind two people , panic rising rapidly.
"SEVERUS SNAPE!" she yelled again.
He stopped and turned his head alittle , wondering who had called his name. Hermione broke through the crowd, covering the metres space between them in milliseconds. He had just turned to face her as she slammed into him , at full force. She knocked him backwards and he collided with the ground. Hermione smashed down landing on top of him, her breath escaping her chest. Snape looked up at her , ebony eyes absolutely furious.
"What the hell are you doing on me?" he asked. His voice lacked the confidence and authority of a teacher , but still contained the same dangerous venom. He looked significantly younger from up close , he had none of the harsh lines that scored the forehead of his future self. Hermione studied his face , drinking in his appearance in wonder.
" I'll ask you again" He said, his voice shaking with rage as his wand made its way to Hermione's neck , pressing in sharply , "What are you doing on me?"
A ripple of fear flowed through Hermione's veins for a moment at Snape's words. She hadn't expected him to be...be so mean. She hesitated before she whispered,"Professor?"
Snape's brow knotted in confusion for a second before his hands roughly pushed against her shoulders.
"I am not a professor!" he growled. He looked at the girl lying on him with slight curiosity, hidden beneath his other raging emotions. He needed to get to the house , maybe the Dark Lord spared them...her.
It was a lie.
Lily was surely...
"You are in danger." The girl said , looking breathless and terrified, her cinnamon eyes fierce. Snape huffed in irritation and pushed the girl off him , backwards, she hit the ground in front of him and pushed herself into a sitting position. Snape went to stand up before something grabbed his sleeve.
"What do you want!" he snarled, brushing her off. She stood up and hastily clenched his robe.
"Please," she whispered , "We have to leave."
"Why!" he hissed back. The girl swallowed and tensed tightly so the tendons in her neck stood out like a branching tree.
"Voldemort , he is going to kill you. We have to get out of here."
A stab of pain went through Snape's forearm at the mention of Voldemort, adding to his increased frustration.
"He is dead." Snape spat.
The girl's eyes widened and she spoke , almost hysterical, "No , I'll explain later , please , we have to move." She began to tug on his arm, frantically trying to pull him away. Snape grasped her arm and yanked her towards him. Her body hit his chest roughly and with his free hand he held her around the neck , just below her jaw. He constricted his grip , her pupils growed wider with fear.
"You better not be lying to me."
She struggled in his grip , tears forming in her eyes. "I'm not." she choked out. He studied her, looking into her mind , searching for the answer himself.
She wasn't lying.
"Hey!" yelled a voice close by, "Let go of her!" A middle age man was watching them and other members of the crowd turned to look too. Snape released his grip on Hermione , whipping his hand away from her throat. She gasped for air.
"Let's go."
She composed herself immediately and he let go of her arm. Their eyes met for a second and then they began to race through the crowd.
"Where are we going?" shrieked Hermione.
"There is a portkey , just on the outskirts of town , I think we can make it in time if we hurry!" replied Snape. They reached the end of the crowd and pelted down the street , their shoes scraping against the sidewalk.
"Why don't we just apparate?" screamed Hermione as she trailed behind Snape.
"Not close enough!" Snape yelled back. Hogwarts would be the only safe place for them at the moment. The portkey would take them to edge of Hogsmeade , close to the Shieking Shack, a hideout for newly recruited death eaters. From there they could make their way to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore.
The portkey was a teacup , lying in the overgrown grass of an unkempt nature strip. It was getting closer , 300m , 200m , 100m. Snape pushed himself on. Then he heard a scream and a sickening thud as a body landed against the concrete of the sidewalk. He flung himself around and found the girl on the ground , hunched over in pain. Her wounded , terrified expression reached his eyes and panic rised inside him.
"W-what hap-" He stuttered before raising his gaze , and felt his blood run cold with terror.
Voldemort.
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Cilffhanger :P