Don't worry, The Voice said. You'll have your turn. Just you wait. It's coming sooner than you think. It'd done this about Debbie as well. Always the same thing. Enjoy your time together. It had said when she'd come to visit last. She'll be gone soon. Enjoy her while you've got her. And now the Voice was back. Invading the fifteen-year-old's dreams. She didn't understand. She knew now that it was referring to death, but why her? Debbie had been killed by a wizard, obviously. But why would she die? She was just a boring, normal, average Mud-Blood. There was nothing extraordinary about her. She was just Hermione. Hermione. She was Hermione. This was a dream. She needed to wake up. Now. Just a dream…

Hermione woke with a start and stared at the ceiling, panting. She didn't understand why this was happening to her. Only Harry ever got the weird dreams and stuff. Just because he was, well, Harry. He was The Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. And she was just Hermione. Super-Brainy Mud-Blood. She rubbed her tired eyes and sat up, wishing for September to hurry up and get here already. But, no. Almost two whole months until school started up again and she would finally get to see her friends. She got up and brushed through her light curls, yawning. She did her makeup and got dressed before heading downstairs. She wanted to take a walk. To get away from here. Away from all the blame and hatred. So she grabbed a handful of cereal and walked out the front door without so much as a glance at her parents. They wouldn't care. She highly doubted they would, at least. She sighed and looked up at the sky, frowning. Although the rain had stopped, the sky was still grey and dreary, so she figured it wasn't entirely done. Great, just what she needed. More rain.

After walking for a while, Hermione decided to take a different walk route then she normally did. She felt like going through the forest, as it reflected how she felt right now. Sad. Unwanted. Neglected by so many. Just looking at it brought fresh tears to her eyes.

She didn't understand why she'd been crying so much lately, but it was driving her - and all those around her - mad. She needed to get a grip, and fast, because she got the feeling that something was getting ready to happen. Something that required a great leap of faith and bravery.

Hermione turned and walked into the forest, feeling more at peace than she probably should've in such a place. She walked further into the forest then she could ever remember walking before. But she really didn't care. She was actually slightly relieved to be so far from her house. As she watched squirrels run across the pathway, tackling each other for some reason, she laughed for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. Birds flew above her head and she could've sworn she saw a deer to her right, and it felt more like home than home had recently. She liked it in here. It was a great place for her to think things over, and though she there were many other living things in here, she felt alone. But in a good way.

Eventually, she came to a large lake in the middle of the forest. It looked deep enough for her to swim in if she wanted to. She found herself sighing in relief as she sat by the edge of the lake, wondering if her parents were looking for her yet. As she gazed over the water, she pictured Harry's bright smile. She got as close to the lake as she could without falling in, and looked at her reflection. The water was so still that she could've been looking into a mirror. As she watched herself in the water, she began to notice how different she looked. People say that everyone looks older with short hair, but her newly long locks made her look more like her fifteen-year-old self and less like that bushy haired, big-toothed, know-it-all girl they called Hermione, five years ago. The hair probably didn't have as much to do with it as the all-together mannerisms did, though. She seemed wiser, yet more hurt. She looked like she'd seen a great deal more in her life than most teenage witches and wizards had. Which, in a way, she had. And as she looked into her own chocolate-brown eyes, she realized just how much she'd been through recently. She'd lost her favorite aunt, been blamed for it, and was now having dreams about it. Something was going on, and it involved her somehow. And although she didn't understand what she'd done to deserve all this, she had a feeling it had something to do with Harry. It always came back to Harry.

Hermione leaned forward to observe herself further, but she leaned a little too far and fell right into the lake. Luckily, she realized what was happening in time to hold her breath. As she fell beneath the water, she practically laughed at herself. She swam back up to the surface, but decided not to get out. The water felt good in the hot summer air and she hadn't swam in who-knows-how-long. She took in a deep breath of air and willed herself to go underwater. She was glad she'd taken her shoes off when she'd first found the lake, or her walk home would've been quite uncomfortable. She swam around trying to get a good look at the underwater of the lake, and realized how deep it really was. She had been guessing about five or six feet, but it turned out to be more like fifteen or twenty! She came up to the surface to get some air, then went below once again.

After what she thought was about an hour, she decided to get out, since she hadn't meant to go swimming in the first place. She rung out her hair and adjusted her shirt, thankful that she hadn't worn white (That would be an awkward walk home!) She smiled to herself as she laid back in the grass, exhausted. After a few minutes of lying there in her very uncomfortable, wet, jean shorts, she drifted off to sleep.

She didn't wake until late afternoon, but she really didn't care. The Voice hadn't bothered her until the end of her nap, which she was thankful for. But she was still scared, thinking back on it. It had said to get ready. Just get ready. Over and over again. Get ready. Ready for what? She soon found out.

As Hermione walked in the door, her hair still in damp waves, she yelled, "I'm home!" to no response. She frowned and walked into the kitchen. There was a piece of paper taped to the refrigerator door with her father's handwriting on it. She raised her eyebrows and read.

Hermione,

I went out to look for you earlier but couldn't find you.

Meet us at the hospital as soon as possible.

Love you,

Dad

Hermione nearly fell over after reading this. What happened? Hopefully not another death. She thought for a moment. What had the Voice said? Get ready. She dropped the note on the kitchen floor and ran as fast as she could. Luckily, they lived fairly close to the hospital, since it was attached to the dentists' office that her parents worked at.

Hermione reached the hospital and dashed inside. "Oh, hello, dear," said the receptionist, Betty. "Your parents told me you would be coming. Your father's in there." She said pointing to the waiting area.

"Thanks." Hermione said. She hurried into the small room filled with chairs. She looked around and spotted her dad in the corner, reading a magazine. "Dad!" She said running over to hug him.

"Hermione!" He said. "I take it you got my note." She nodded.

"What happened?" She asked, worried. "Well, your mother had a little…" He cleared his throat.

"…accident. She broke her leg." He explained. Hermione let her jaw drop.

"What? How?" He held a hand up to silence her.

"I'll explain everything later. Now," He said. "What happened to you?" Hermione bit her lip.

"I went on a walk," She said nodding. He raised an eyebrow.

"How did you get wet, though?" She didn't want to tell her father about the lake, though she didn't know why.

"Sprinklers," She said, finally. "I was walking past a house as their sprinklers turned on and I got soaked." He raised his eyebrows.

"How did you get so wet though? They were just sprinklers." He said.

"Well don't ask me," She responded. "I didn't want it to happen." Her dad shook his head.

"All right, all right. Sit down. Your mother shouldn't be too much longer." He said, still not looking her in the eyes.

Over the next week, Hermione's mother was almost used to her crutches. But Hermione was still not used to being ignored this much. She'd offered many times to help her dad take care of her mum, but he denied her every time. So she spent countless hours in the forest instead. Usually by (or in) the lake. She'd grown to love the woods, though she couldn't understand why. On this particular warm afternoon, she sat at the edge of the water, legs in the shallow part. She stood up, deciding she wanted to swim. She'd worn her swim suit under her clothes for the past week, just in case. As she pulled her shorts and tank top off, she thought she saw something in the sky. It wasn't a plane… It didn't look like a bird…. She shrugged and got into the water. As soon as she got in deep enough, she dove under the water. As soon as she ran out of breath, she surfaced. As she wiped the water from her eyes, she noticed that the thing in the sky appeared to be getting closer. She frowned and looked hard at it. She gasped as she realized what it was. It was an owl. A small brown owl named Pigwidegon that belonged to Ron. Pigwidegon was holding a letter. Hermione quickly got out of the water and held her arm out for Pig. He gave her the letter before flying around like mad, as usual. She was delighted see Ginny's handwriting on the envelope. She opened it and read.

Hermione,

I haven't heard from you in so long and I miss you! I wanted to know if you would like to spend the rest of break at my house. Write back as soon as possible!

Love,

Ginny

Hermione smiled and quickly grabbed Pig, pulled her jean shorts on and ran home, pulling her tank top over her bikini along the way. She dashed inside and upstairs, still soaking wet. She grabbed a quill, ink, and some parchment and hurriedly wrote her reply.

Ginny,

I would love to stay with you! To tell the truth, I've been really lonely and bored lately. I am sooo glad you wrote to me. When would you like me? I can come any time.

She thought about what the chances were of walking to the Weasleys'. She shook her head and continued writing.

Is there any chance you could meet me somewhere? I don't think I could easily find your house. (: Thanks again for inviting me.

Lots of love,

Hermione

Hermione looked over this and smiled to herself. She handed the letter to Pigwidegon and opened her window to let him out. He hooted happily and flew off. Hermione laid back on her bed, smiling. She'd finally be able to get away from all of this and get back to the wizarding world. And for once in a long time, she found herself grinning.