Hermione was sure she was dead. Darkness enveloped her and she couldn't move her body, let alone feel it. Neither could she hear anything. Fear of failing was no longer Hermione's greatest fear. This place was it. Or at least, it was a tie now. This couldn't be the afterlife…was it purgatory? How long had she been here? Where was she? How long would she be trapped here? Her heart began pacing and she could feel herself hyperventilating more and more.
Calm down, take a deep breath.
But then I'll finish all the oxygen before I can find a way to escape! Her panicked-side exclaimed.
If you're dead then you don't need oxygen, remember? And you're stuck here you might as well remain composed and not lose your head, she replied to herself.
What Hermione didn't know was that it had only been less than a minute since she had entered this strange place. She had finally regained composure and was recalling everything she knew about being trapped in a state of nothingness when she heard a grunt beside her.
Draco.
She had forgotten about him for the last thirty seconds. She had no idea how but she had and before she could worry about him, suddenly, it hit her. She was in the Vanishing Cabinet.
"Arghh, what the hell? You mudblood Granger…" Draco clearly sounded angry. "Arghh, I...I can't move! Hearing Draco in distress actually seemed to clear Hermione's head.
"Malfoy, where are we?" she asked him coolly.
"I…ugh, I need to get out of here. Where's my bloody wand?!" Malfoy roared.
"I didn't take it. I couldn't have, I'm stuck too remember? And even if I had…there's nothing you could do about it."
Hermione knew provoking Malfoy wasn't going to make anything better, but she couldn't help herself.
"This is all your bloody fault Granger. If you hadn't come poking your ugly, mudblood nose into this room, we wouldn't be here. And maybe you would've also lived a little longer…"
Hermione sensed a smirk on Malfoy's face as he threatened her in his last line.
"And how are you going to kill me Malfoy, when you're stuck in pitch darkness without a wand? I don't really care actually.
"I'll find a way mudblood, don't worry about that"
Hermione could hear Malfoy groan and grunt as if he was trying his best to move but he couldn't.
"You broke the freaking thing by blasting it! It's bloody broken and that's why we're stuck here. I spent a year fixing it!"
Malfoy then muttered a collection of swear words, half of which Hermione had never heard before so she couldn't care less.
"Why the heck were you fixing it in the first place?"
"Why should I tell you anything Granger? Ah yes, of course…I'm going to reveal my entire plan to you now that we're stuck here, right? I know how miserably you, Weasley and Potter have been tracking me, and now you think you can turn me into a Potter fan and sleep happily knowing that you turned a villain into a goody little idiot like yourself. The whole lot of you is pathetic!" Malfoy seethed.
He took a deep breath and Hermione was sure he was done being cranky and immature. If he wanted to waste his time being an imbecile, it was up to him. She focused on breathing slowly. Graham Montague had appareted out of the cupboard, hadn't he? She could do it too.
Destination, Determination and Deliberation.
Malfoy must've heard her breathing loudly because he laughed mockingly. His voice echoed in Hermione's head and she lost her concentration…and her composure.
"You're stuck in a body-bind curse, remember?" Malfoy sneered. "That means...in case your tiny little head hasn't understood yet, that you can't apparate out of here, mudblood."
No, Hermione reassured herself. She could leave, she would leave. She couldn't stay in this place any longer, especially with Malfoy. All of a sudden, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from far away.
Someone was out there. Or in there…but Hermione didn't care. As long as someone, apart from Malfoy was nearby. Or far away…
"HELP!" she shouted.
"No, no, no, ah…" Draco again began cussing but Hermione didn't care.
"SOMEONE, HELP!"
"Oh shut up Granger! You're barking mad," Draco groaned. And then, after a pause: "This is not happening, oh damn it!"
Draco sounded as though he was having some sort of a fit of convulsions.
Hermione couldn't even feel her body.
Until now…
"Ow! Malfoy get away!" Hermione screamed.
"I'm not touching you Granger, what's the matter with you?"
"I'm...I'm floating…"
Judging by Malfoy's sharp inhale, he was too. Except, Hermione felt she was moving downwards, or bobbing up and down.
She saw a light ahead of her, the tiny gleam made her heart race with happiness. She forgot all about Malfoy and as she floated closer to the light, she realized that the light was entering the cupboard from a crack in a door. A door to what, though? She caught sight of something outside, it was a painting. It looked familiar, but Hermione couldn't remember where she'd seen it. She then realized that Draco was nowhere to be seen.
"HELP!" she called out. No one answered her.
One thing Hermione figured out was that she was floating upside down. Her blood had somehow not accumulating all inside her head but she was definitely upside down.
"No one's going to hear you," Malfoy's voice came from far behind. Hermione was floating backwards now, against her will."You're going to be stuck here until the jinx wears off, and that might take some time", Malfoy hissed.
She was back with him now. Great. All of a sudden it hit her that she did know where the door way led. It led to Borgin and Burkes. Hermione's heart raced.
"Malfoy, what are you doing?"
"Getting out of here."
Hermione could feel the static in the air as Malfoy attempted to apparate. But she could tell he was having trouble because, apart from the fact that he will still here after many failed attempts, the flickering light showed that his hand was trembling. He also lacked determination because he kept opening his eyes and writhing around in search of his wand. He couldn't focus properly being stuck in a dark non-existential place. Or maybe what he was planning to do scared him…
"No, Malfoy. I mean, what are you going to do when you get out?" Hermione snapped.
"Well mudblood, if you stay out of my way, you'll find out" Draco spat. "Actually no, I've changed my mind. I think I'm going to kill you after all. You've caused far too much trouble."
Hermione wasn't interested in Malfoy's threats. Especially not when he was stuck in limbo.
"At least I'm not the one having trouble with simple apparition" Hermione remarked. She was having trouble with it but that was only because of the jinx.
"Shut the hell up mudblood. I need my wand, I can't leave without it."
"Have you tried summoning it?"
"Oh right, of course. How could I forget that? Wow, you're a genius Granger!"
Hermione closed her eyes and concentrated hard on controlling her body. Even if she could just feel something…her hand, her fingers…she just wanted to know if she had her wand. Maybe she could free herself from the jinx and disapparate from the cupboard. But if Malfoy had tried to summon his wand, shouldn't her wand have flown towards him if it was nearby? Did that mean both their wands were lost? Hermione's hopes fell. Malfoy was onto something really horrible and if he got out before her, something bad would happen in Hogwarts.
"Oh screw it," Malfoy muttered. His breathing slowed down again.
He was going to disapparate.
Hermione thought hard and fast.
She closed her eyes again. She felt as though she was floating again, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that she was moving towards the light again. Malfoy grunted and she could feel him moving further away. It looked like he was stuck here for a little longer until he would stop floating around as well. As Hermione approached the door of the cabinet in Borgin and Burkes, she tried glancing at her hand and with the help of the tiny beam of light, she saw her wand. So she did have it. If only she could use the anti-jinx and free herself…
"Ouch!" she cried suddenly. "Malfoy shove off!"
"I can't…I-" he stopped in mid sentence. He saw her hand clutching her wand. Upside down, Hermione could see the shine in his eyes. Hermione scrunched up her face and begged her body to move the other way, instead she floated towards him and they collided. They're hands touched and in a split second, Malfoy had grabbed her wand. She couldn't feel it being snatched away, Malfoy hadn't even used his fingers, and it seemed to Hermione that her wand had just floated into his hand when his fingers touched it. Hermione couldn't help feeling angry at her wand's disloyalty.
"Malfoy just think about this. Whatever you're planning on doing…is it worth it? You could talk to Dumbledore and he could fix things..." Hermione felt more and more desperate. She couldn't let Malfoy escape, not when he was going to do something bad.
"Dumbledore, huh? The only thing he can fix-" Draco stopped in mid sentence. There was high pitched cackle outside and it sent shivers down Hermione's spine.
The laugh belonged to the one and only Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Draco will summon us soon, wait a moment Bellatrix." Someone else spoke. The voice was deep and hollow.
"Ahh, damn it!" Malfoy grimaced."Not him…"
"Not who Malfoy? What have you done?!" Hermione badgered.
"SHUT UP GRANGER!" Malfoy bellowed. He was breathing hard and fast. He was definitely scared. If Bellatrix Lestrange and her death eater friends entered the cabinet, Hermione was definitely dead. This day just kept getting worse.
Suddenly, there was a loud 'crack' sound and Draco had disappeared.
"Oh, no, no, no…" Hermione whispered to herself.
Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest and she felt increasingly claustrophobic.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Destination, Determination and Deliberation.
She felt a light shine on her face… a small, thin beam of light. It wasn't coming from Borgin and Burkes, though. Hermione heard a low voice come from far behind her, it muttered something but Hermione couldn't hear. The light disappeared.
Suddenly, Hermione felt her body loosen up. She still couldn't move but slowly her head started floating upwards. She was probably floating upright finally. Her head felt clearer and she could breathe more easily. She was getting out of here.
After a few deep breaths, Hermione concentrated on apparting out of there. There was a loud 'crack' sound and she felt as though she was being suffocated. Every inch of her body felt as though it was being compressed into a ball until she felt as though she might explode.
Suddenly it was over.
Hermione woke up behind a library shelf. It contained books on magical creatures. She remembered borrowing a few books from it. The library was empty so no one saw her sprawled on the floor. Hermione sat up and rubbed her head.
Malfoy.
The Vanishing Cabinet and Hermione's findings in there all came rushing back to her. She had to find Dumbledore. She stood up shakily and immediately broke into a sprint. How long have I been unconscious? Has Malfoy already performed his task? What if I'm too late?
In the corridor, she almost crashed into a confused Ron.
"Oh, Ron! Oh Ron, you have to help me! What's Malfoy done?" she wheezed.
"Malfoy..? What...I don't know! Where've you been? The Order's here."
Ron paused for a while.
"Ron…" Hermione squeaked.
"The Dark Mark….it's here."
A perplexed Ron and Hermione ran across the halls, bumping into terrified students as they went. The entire school was in pandemonium. At a turning in the hall, Ron crashed into Lupin.
"What's happened?" Hermione cried.
Lupin and Ron rubbed their heads for a moment and Lupin replied "No one's here. I don't understand, no one's inside the castle except us. No Death Eaters."
Normally that would have eased Hermione's fretfulness but the Dark Mark had appeared above the school for a reason.
"The Room of Requirement!" Hermione shrieked."They might be inside!"
No one argued with her and they all darted towards it. The met Tonks on the way and she joined them and after running across it thrice, they entered. Lupin and Tonks made sure Ron and her stayed behind them.
The room was empty. The cabinet looked untouched. With a little explanation from Hermione, Lupin cautiously opened the door of the cabinet.
"There's no one inside. It's empty Hermione."
"Then they can't be inside." She confirmed. "They must've apparted out of the cabinet then. Or they never entered inside"
"Hermione how do you they would come from here, what's going-" Ron began.
"We'll talk about this later," Lupin interrupted.
They had just come out of the room when they heard a scream. They turned around to see a girl staring outside a window, several others joined her.
"Someone just fell from top of the Astronomy tower!"
Then there was another scream.
"It's Dumbledore!"
Half an hour later, Harry, Ron and Hermione, along with a few teachers, members of the DA and the Order sat sullenly in the Hospital wing. Dumbledore was dead. Harry told them how Malfoy had arrived at the tower just after Snape had killed Dumbledore. Malfoy looked confused and had said something about it being "his task" but when Snape said he was too late, Malfoy didn't argue. They had both escaped out of the castle, along with Crabbe and Goyle. Ginny had spotted them in the grounds right in front of the Astronomy tower and since Malfoy was nowhere to be found, she and Neville had gone to investigate while Ron looked for Hermione. However, Crabbe and Goyle saw them coming and Crabbe hit Ginny with a 'Reducto' spell and she had hit the wall and fallen unconscious. Neville had done his best but Crabbe started a magical fire that burned Hagrid's hut and Neville was hit by a body-bind jinx from Snape when he came out from the tower behind him. Lying in the hospital bed, Ginny still felt angry at herself for losing to the two Slytherin imbeciles.
Hermione explained her side of the story to the group feeling hollow and numb.
She glanced at Harry, who despite looking like he had been through hell and back (he basically had after all) returned her glance with a weak half-smile. That was when Hermione made a silent vow to herself that she was going to stick with Harry till the very end.
Wow, okay I hope guys enjoyed that. Now I'm gonna take a little break because I have a busy week ahead (and I'm dead tired) but I'll keep writing this week. I also have a bit of thinking to do about my next chapter and where I take the story from after this (yeah, I should've thought about that earlier, hehe). So stick around and please review! Have a great week!