CHAPTER 4- CRUMBLING DOWN

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED, HARRY POTTER RIGHTS ARE J.K. ROWLING'S AND WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT.

THIS FANFICTION IS ABOUT HARRY AND HERMIONE DISCOVERING THE MIRROR OF ERISED IN THEIR SECOND YEAR.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS NOW! THIS CHAPTER SHOULD BE AWESOME!

Don't ask my opinion,

Don't ask me to lie

Then beg for forgiveness

For making you cry,

For making you cry

'Cause I'm only human after all,

I'm only human after all

Don't put your blame on me,

Don't put the blame on me

"Mr. Potter? Mr. Potter?" McGonagall was calling to the young student. Barely moments after seeing his girlfriend lying petrified on the Hospital Wing bed, he passed out. Thankfully, Madame Pomfrey was there to help out, he was merely unconscious, nothing she couldn't solve.

The damage, however, was done. Nothing could separate Harry and Hermione, Snape, Malfoy, and his goons, not even the school break, as Hermione's parents had asked her if Harry had wanted to stay the summer, instead of going back to his horrific excuse of a family. Harry had, expectedly, shown great interest.

Now, all of that was gone.

Harry, now waking up fully, looked over to Hermione, lying on the bed next to him.

"Mr. Potter are you okay?" McGonagall asked, with some concern in her voice. She had always been a no-nonsense woman, even coming off as emotionless at times, but she did care for the young boy, remembering the day he was dropped at his aunt and uncle's doorstep regularly.

Harry ignored her question, proceeding to walk slowly towards Hermione's bed, emotion wiped completely from his face. He dropped to his knees when he got close to the bed and observed his girlfriend.

If he didn't know better, you could assume her to be dead. All colour was drained from her face, her hair now looked dry, when it once had volume and added so much character. Now, she could've been anyone, just another girl.

Harry took Hermione's hand, which was frozen rigid. Her eyes were still open, and Harry could identify a look of shock on her face. Harry stared at her expectedly, as if waiting for her to awake. No avail.

Slowly, Harry lowered his head and began crying. Uncontrollably, he was hyperventilating. His best friend was gone, and she may never return. He felt a comforting palm rest on his shoulder, and he assumed it to be McGonagall's.

The elderly professor looked down at the young man in front of her and could only feel sorrow. After all he'd been through in life, even from infancy, only to have his best friend taken away from him by something that was destroying the livelihood of the school.

She tried her best to comfort the boy who was crying a river right in front of her, but nothing would console him. He was completely, from her observation, grief-stricken, regardless of the fact that Hermione was still alive. She tried to drag Harry out of the Hospital Wing, but he would constantly fight to get free and rush back to Hermione. It was becoming too much to bear.

"Madame Pomfrey!" McGonagall shouted, summoning the mediwitch. "A little assistance?"

In a combined effort, which took what felt like an eternity, Harry had stopped his frantic display and was now crying on the floor, seemingly isolated from the two witches who stood not even three feet away from him.

"NO! NO!" Harry screamed, over and over again. By the time that there were no tears left to fall, he just lay there, whispering to himself, repeating the same things again and again and again and again.

"Why Hermione? Why why why why why WHY? She doesn't deserve this!"

He was in the worst state of shock.

Eventually, Harry was able to control himself, stand up, and remove himself from the Hospital Wing. He walked a few paces, then just slid down the wall. He was around five meters away from the entrance to the Hospital Wing, where his dearest friend would now lie, a prisoner in her own body, potentially for months.

It was all over.

He had promised her.

Constantly.

He would look after her.

What was he now?

A liar.

Harry just sat there for what felt like hours, until the familiar voice of Hagrid raised his head which had been staring at the ground for ages.

"Harry?" Hagrid spoke, with confusion prevalent in his voice, "What's wrong?"

Harry didn't know what to say, he couldn't put it into words. Hagrid looked at the young boy who he had held when he was only a baby and then brought him back into the magical world. It saddened him to see Harry upset, as it wasn't like him at all. He already felt a great degree of sympathy, even though he didn't know what was wrong.

Harry couldn't do anything but stand up, walk back into the doorway of the Hospital Wing, and point at a bed.

Hagrid's jaw dropped. It was Hermione.

He got it now, why Harry looked distraught. He knew about Harry and Hermione's relationship, just like everyone at Hogwarts. He brought the young wizard into a hug, trying to prevent tears from forming in his eyes. He loved Harry and Hermione, and Ron could be a bit off-hand at times, but he still kind of liked the red-headed wizard.

"I'm sorry Harry," Hagrid said, as soothingly as possible. "It'll all be okay, the Mandrakes will be ready soon."

"No… no… it won't be okay…" Harry's muffled voice said, not having the energy to sob or cry anymore.

Hagrid knew he had to take charge here and give Harry some much-needed advice.

"Harry, Hermione would not want you to have a breakdown about this now, would she? She knows that you're a strong wizard and that you'll get past this."

"I need her though…" Harry blurted, some fresh tears brimming.

"Well, if you need her so much," Hagrid began, then leaned into Harry's ear and whispered; "Get her back."

Hagrid wasn't stupid, he knew Harry and Hermione were going to take down what was in the Chamber of Secrets. If their first year was anything to go on, Harry would go into the Chamber himself.

Harry knew Hagrid was right. He had to act instead of feeling sorry for himself, and that was exactly his plan. He would bring Hermione back, kill whatever was causing so many problems, and close the Chamber of Secrets for good.

Plan set.

He wiped the tears from his eyes, then spoke. "You're right. I'm going to act now. I need to know anything about the Chamber of Secrets that you could tell me."

Hagrid looked nervous, then explained his story. He told Harry how he was framed by Tom Riddle, and what happened that day so many years ago. Harry was stunned. Everything he had heard, a lie.

"If you need any help at all…" Hagrid said, only to be interrupted by McGonagall.

"Potter, Hagrid, away with you. Mr. Potter, you can see Miss. Granger when she has been fully assessed, at that time I shall personally let you know. Now away with the pair of you."

"Follow the spiders." Hagrid whispered, before walking out of the Hospital Wing and back down to his home.

Harry was confused. Follow the spiders? What on earth does that mean?

He'd ponder it in the Common Room.

Harry climbed through the portrait hole, grabbed some parchment, sat in front of the fire, and started thinking. There had to be a connection somewhere, as Harry had recalled seeing spiders near the bodies of many who were petrified.

His thoughts didn't last long though, as two very angry voices could be heard descending the stairs.

"Well that's not my fault, is it?" A very familiar voice said with some forcible aggression.

"Well, yes, it is your fault, you and your bloody cheek!" Another lighter voice chirped angrily. It didn't take long to figure out who they were.

"You know I reckon you use me!" Ron shouted, coming into line of sight.

Lavender let out a sinister laugh, and fiercely spat back; "And you don't use me? You use me for your own personal gain, don't you? In twenty minutes, you'll come crawling back to me, wanting a kiss and a cuddle? Why do men always use me?"

"Because you let them."

Harry didn't quite realise he'd said that out loud until he could feel the piercing glares of Lavender and Ron focused on the back of his neck. He had turned around when he saw Ron and was hoping to be unnoticed for the duration of this argument. Now, he was a part of this seemingly heated discussion. He gulped, but he'd already committed to talking, so decided to continue.

"You just let them come to you for your gain, because you enjoy the attention. And when you've got use out of them, you drop them, destroying their self-esteem." He had little idea what 'self-esteem' meant, but he had heard people use it in a similar conversation. He was unaware of how accurate he was in his choice of vocabulary. "Just like you're about to do to Ron." He finished.

Ron stood there, stunned. He had been a git to Harry to for the past couple of months, and here Harry was, defending him. He would've responded, but he was distracted by the fact that Hermione wasn't sitting next to him. They were inseparable. However, it didn't take it long to figure out what must've happened. He felt horrible for everything that had happened the previous evening, and now that Hermione was gone, he didn't even have the chance to apologise.

And it hurt.

Ron was catapulted back into the conversation by Lavender's infuriating voice.

"Don't question me, Potter! Hermione may do that to you, the bitch she is!"

Harry had to resist the anger that boiled his blood. He was enraged, especially after what had just happened to Hermione. The vein in his forehead was close to popping, and his face had gone red. To say the least, he wasn't best pleased.

"Lav! Why did you say that? That's very disrespectful, how do you think– " Ron started, but was soon interrupted by the fast contact of Lavender's palm on his face, making a loud noise. Harry knew that it hurt, just by seeing it.

"Me being disrespectful? You've been more disrespectful!"

"No, you have!" Ron retaliated, holding his cheek.

"No, you have!"

Harry sighed. This was absolutely pathetic, they were both pricks.

"You're the most disrespectful person ever!" Lavender spat at him, childishly.

"No, I'm not! You're disrespectful. Not me!" Ron spat back.

Lavender, who was about to respond, was fiercely interrupted by an angry Harry.

"SHUT UP! Both of you! Please…" Harry started by shouting, then trailed off. "I'm busy, and you've both heard my side. Could you continue this somewhere else please? I have work to do."

Lavender let out a brief sigh, but she left the Common Room and shouted behind her; "You're a dick, Ron! I hate you and I hope you die!"

Ron tensed, and looked like he wanted to snap back, but didn't respond. He looked back over at Harry and tried to initiate a conversation.

"Hey, uh- thanks for- "

"Ron, I'm busy, and I don't want to hear it. Just because I stuck up for you, it doesn't mean we're friends."

Ron looked upset, having snapped out of whatever illusion that Lavender permeates around her.

"I just- I just- I- "

"I'll give you fifteen seconds Ron."

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean what I said last night."

Harry took a deep breath.

"I don't believe you." He replied, blankly. Ron had to resist crying. They'd been friends since the beginning of their time at Hogwarts, and now it was all over. He wasn't going to waste his time trying to change Harry's mind.

"Did- um… Hermione get- "

"Yes. Yes she did. And I don't want to talk about it." Harry responded quickly. He didn't want to break down again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Bloody hell, Ron, would you leave me alone?" Harry said, forcefully.

Ron looked at his feet and followed them all the way up to the dormitories.

Harry pondered his actions for a moment. Should he have said that? Had he done the right thing?

Yes, he had. He didn't have time for people like Ron anymore. He was always slowing him down, upsetting Hermione and being a general embarrassment in conversation. All he ever did was play chess and talk about Quidditch.

Harry turned his thoughts to the more urgent task at hand – the Chamber of Secrets. Harry stayed up for hours, constantly thinking about the connection between the petrified and spiders. He had used endless amounts of parchment, it looked like Hermione had done her homework on this table.

Harry paused and sighed.

Hermione.

He thought about her for a moment, her laugh, her smile…

He had to get on.

He continued his brainstorming, Hermione had taught him well.

It must've been the early hours of the morning when Harry felt a presence behind him, and he looked to see who it was.

It was Neville.

"He- hey Harry…" Neville said nervously. He was sweating profusely and looked incredibly nervous.

"What are you doing Neville? It must be like one in the morning!" Harry asked, wanting to get Neville in and out as quickly as possible. He was slightly preoccupied with his brainstorming.

"I- uh… needed to speak to you… about… um… He- He- Hermione…"

Neville flinched as he saw Harry physically tense. He closed his eyes and prayed that Harry wouldn't yell at him. He felt like he was good friends with Harry, and he didn't want to lose him, especially as he had so few friends to start with.

Harry calmed slightly, but he was still inwardly tense. He didn't quite grasp why Hermione's name made him feel like that, but he wasn't about to question it. He was in the midst of deep thought and would prefer it if Neville didn't stay long.

"What about her?" Harry said through gritted teeth, which seemed to unnerve Neville, but it was better than Harry going ape on him.

"Well I- uh- would- like to start by saying sorry…"

"Get to the point Neville. I'm working."

"I was the one who found her." Neville blurted out, rather quickly, much to his and Harry's surprise. But mainly Harry's, who had leapt out of his seat and immediately hit Neville with a thousand and one questions.

"When? What happened? Did you see her collapse? Where was she? Where was she going? Was she with anyone? Was she upset? Did you see who did it?"

Neville was ultimately overwhelmed and began to freak out.

"HARRY! PLEASE STOP! I'm sorry I brought it up okay!"

Neville made a beeline for the stairs, but Harry was faster than him. He felt bad for bombarding Neville, but he needed to know whatever Neville could tell him. He got to the entrance of the stairway and blocked it, so Neville couldn't get past.

"I'm sorry Neville, but I need answers. I just need to know what you can tell me."

Neville, whilst looking uneasy, gulped, and began to tell his story.

"Well, I was walking through the corridors, I was going to and see Professor Sprout. I was getting close to the library, when I heard a sharp gasp, then the sound of something colliding with the floor. I turned around, to see that it was Hermione."

Harry closed his eyes, turned his head away from Neville, and took several deep breaths. He didn't want to have that image in his mind, but it was crucial to the story, and practically unavoidable. Neville waited for him to turn back his way before continuing.

"I ran over to her," he continued, "and around the corner, all I could see was a shadow of something huge, with a slimy trail behind it."

Harry immediately ran back in the general direction of the sofa, jumped over it, grabbed the parchment, and copied Neville's description word for word.

"Anything else?" Harry asked, seemingly supercharged with energy, as he now had sufficient information to go and investigate.

"Yes," Neville began, whilst Harry looked at him tentatively. "She was carrying a mirror, and it looked like it shattered on the floor when she fell. I don't think anyone actually cleared it up."

Harry noted that as well, before tearing a bit of parchment off, and writing a bit more.

"Thank you Neville. Seriously. I owe you one."

Neville nodded, he was confused beyond belief. Harry seemed… energised, like he was excited. Neville wasn't capable of giving a verbal response. Why did the weirdest stuff always happen to him? He decided to not give that too much thought, as the more he thought about it, the more it messed with his head, and the only place his head wanted to be now was a pillow.

It goes without saying that he headed back up to the dormitories.

Harry placed the note in his pocket, before joining Neville in the dormitories. His note read:

Library

Mirror

Big slimy thing

Seemed like enough to go on.

Harry rested his head, he'd been thinking for hours now. He needed some rest, because tomorrow was going to be a big day.

He was sure of it.

Harry woke up the next morning and jumped right into action. He got dressed quicker than he'd ever done before in his life, checked to see if that bit of parchment was still in his pocket, and made a sprint for where Neville had claimed Hermione was. He didn't exactly know what he would do when he got there, but it was a starting point. He also had to narrow down something that was 'big' and 'slimy'.

Big and slimy. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt as if he must've been missing the obvious.

Harry was so caught up in his thoughts, he was only taken out of them when he felt and heard something cracking underneath his foot. Harry looked down to see broken shards of mirror. He could see himself reflected in the dozen or so pieces that lay scattered on the floor just outside the library. It was strange, seeing your own face staring back at you, especially multiple times.

It just brought him back to how he and Hermione first got together. In the mirror.

Harry bent down and picked up one of the shards and observed the young man he saw looking back at him. He was a right state, big black bags under his eyes, his hair the unruliest it had ever been, his nose had three very large whiteheads, with another two on his right cheek. He sighed. If Hermione could see him right now, she would freak out, and force him into the shower.

"Don't touch that Potter." Snape said, slowly, causing Harry to snap his head up to look at him. Snape turned his nose up when he looked at the young wizard's face, before his expression became a smirk. Another excuse to take points from Gryffindor. "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor Mr. Potter, for your unseemly appearance. I would recommend you take a shower, and then put on your robe the correct way around."

Harry winced slightly, why did it have to be Snape who found him? He stood up and turned around to go back up to the Common Room, before Snape began speaking again.

"Before you leave, Potter," Snape began, and Harry turned around again. "Professor McGonagall wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience. I would advise you to not keep her waiting very long."

"Yes Professor." Harry said, his thoughts taking over again. He had to stop letting his brain do that.

Harry made his way back up to the Common Room, his thoughts processing everything again. Snape, the 'large snake thing', the mirror.

The mirror.

Harry hit himself so hard in the head he disoriented himself for a moment.

The Mirror of Erised shows your most wanted desire, and right now he wanted nothing more than to find out what was in the Chamber of Secrets, because that in turn would save Hermione.

Harry's plan for the day was made: clean up, talk to McGonagall, see Hermione and go back to the Mirror of Erised.

Ron sat in his room, bored beyond belief. He had no one now, no Harry, no Hermione, no Lavender. He felt sad, he felt lonely, he felt powerless. He felt something else, too. Anger.

He was furious Lavender had played him. He was furious Hermione had gone out with Harry. Harry, well, he was the last person Ron wanted to see. Ron wanted to hurt him, more than he was already hurt. Harry had disregarded his attempts to make good on their situation. Not to mention that Harry had yelled at him and Lavender the previous evening, which hurt Lavender.

Wait, but did he still care? No he couldn't. Did he? Yes? No? Maybe?

He was confused. But he didn't care. He wanted revenge on 'the-boy-who-lived', once and for all. He hated having to live in his shadow for all of first year and a significant chunk of second year.

He was going to make sure Harry paid for making him feel like crap for ages.

It was only a matter of time.

TO BE CONTINUED

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

SEE! I DO STICK TO MY PROMISES AND UPDATE MY STORIES! I WOULD AGAIN LIKE TO APOLOGISE IF THIS CHAPTER WASN'T 10/10, I'M STILL SLIGHTLY RUSTY, AND SCHOOL HAS KEPT ME ON MY TOES FOR THE PAST WEEK OR SO. THIS STORY WILL HOPEFULLY BE OVER BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER, NOT THAT I'M NOT ENJOYING WRITING IT, BUT I HAVE SOME OTHER BIG IDEAS THAT I'M EXCITED FOR, AND I WILL ADMIT TO LOSING SOME PASSION FOR THIS STORY, ESPECIALLY AS I'M FOUR CHAPTERS IN AND I STARTED IT 8 MONTHS AGO. IT'S GETTING HEATED! CRAZY STUFF WILL HAPPEN!

PLEASE DON'T BE SHY, LEAVE A REVIEW! IT REALLY HELPS ME OUT AS A WRITER!

NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON!

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