Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter-related. I just own this plot.
Chapter 4
It was dark. I couldn't see anything around me. I could hear my heart beat loudly in my chest and my breathing became more and more rapid. There were footsteps, echoing around me, and I knew that they were not mine.
"Ahh, there you are, filthy little mudblood." Her voice caused chills to run down my spine. I quickly reached for my pocket and desperately searched for my wand.
She laughed. "You think you'd fight me? You'd dare raise your wand to me?" As her voice disappeared, silence greeted my ears. There was a short lapse of quiet, my breathing being the only audible sound in the room.
"'Mione." I heard his voice.
I spun around, only to come face to face with her.
"Crucio!" Bellatrix exclaimed. I immediately was filled with a gut-wrenching pain. A pain that I'd had the misfortune to have experienced before. It felt like white hot needles slamming into every pore of my body accompanied by a skull splitting headache. I screamed, feeling my body twist in all sorts of unnatural angles.
She laughed, "You're blood-traitor boyfriend in next, Mudblood. Crucio!"
The pain returned. "No!" I cried, trying desperately to ignore the pain. I screamed again.
"'Mione! Hermione!" His voice found my ears once more. It was much like last time, so much so that I wondered how I could have possibly dreamed that we'd beaten Voldemort. I begged that I'd be able to hold out longer, knowing that the sooner I let go, the sooner Ron's turn would come. I couldn't let her do this to him. I had to be strong.
Bellatrix continued to laugh as I writhed in pain and Ron called to me. I gave one last scream-
"Hermione!"
I shot up, gasping for breath, looking around wildly. Ron's hands were still on my shoulders and Ginny and Harry were watching me with worried expressions. A second later, Bill came crashing into the room, followed closely by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, then Fleur, George, and finally Percy.
"Hermione?" Ginny's voice seemed miles away. I felt Ron's hands slide off my shoulders but one placed itself over my shaking hand.
I looked down, seeing my body still trembling. It was so real. It felt so incredibly real.
"Hermione, dear?" Mrs. Weasley's tired form sat on the already crowded bed. She placed her hand over my forehead. "Are you alright?"
I nodded numbly, afraid to look at anyone in the eye. I couldn't remove that feeling of terror I'd felt. It was as if it had run so deep into my skin, I'd never be able to shake it off.
"I… I just had a night terror, that's all." I took in a long, shaky breath. "I'm sorry to have woken all of you." I tried to not think of how loud I must have been screaming to have woken everyone, especially through these stone walls.
She nodded, watching me a moment longer before standing up and turning to everyone at the door. "Back to bed, everyone."
Before they closed the door, I heard Bill mutter to someone, "It sounded like she was being tortured."
"I believe she was," Mr. Weasley agreed grimly, "at least in her dream."
The four of us who were left in the room sat in silence for a minute. Maybe it was longer, I wasn't entirely sure. Finally, Harry spoke.
"Were you… were you back…"
"At the Malfoy's, yes." I answered. I felt Ron stiffen at my side.
"The Malfoy's? Harry, what is she talking about?" Ginny turned to him. I felt immensely guilty by the tone of her voice, coated in worry.
"Later." Harry whispered. "Come on, let's just… let's go back to sleep."
Ginny shook her head. "Would you mind coming to the common room with me?"
Harry looked at her, then to me, then to Ron. He nodded, getting up and taking her hand. He gave me a small smile before shutting the door behind him.
"I'm sorry." Ron said after a while.
I looked up at him, feeling my eyebrows pulling together. "What?"
"I'm sorry. I… I'll never be able to forgive myself for what… she deserved worse than…" He sighed and squeezed my hand. "I hate that you went through that alone, 'Mione. I'd trade myself if I could-"
I shook my head. "No."
He didn't say anything. He just watched me.
I felt a tear make its way down my cheek. "I would rather go through that a thousand times than for you to ever have to experience it. I don't think I could bare it if you had to go through it."
He reached over and wiped away the tear with his thumb. "You're so brave."
I gave half a laugh. I didn't feel very brave. "I'm sorry I woke you up."
"I'm not." He told me seriously. "Listen, I'm just glad you woke up. I've never… not even Harry has ever been that difficult to wake up. I would have taken you to Madam Pomfrey if you hadn't been thrashing about so much."
Shivers ran down my spine again as I imagined what it must have been like for Ron. I'd known he'd begged to take my spot the first time. It must have been horrible for him. We fell silent again, either unsure of what to say or just not feeling the need to speak at all. The quiet lasted a little bit before I spoke again.
"It was you, you know. You're what kept me hanging on."
His eyebrows raised. "Really?"
I nodded. "I kept thinking that I heard your voice."
His face fell a little. "You probably did. I was… well, I was pretty loud, according to Harry, at least. I wasn't really focused on much other than getting you out of there."
I cuddled up next to him. "I can't even begin to imagine how that must have been like."
He cleared his throat. "Awful, to be honest. I've never felt more… useless… in my entire life. And that's saying something."
I laughed lightly. "You're not useless. You've never been useless, Ron."
He snorted.
"Seriously." I continued. "You might not see it but others do. Particularly me."
His arms tightened around me. "You're amazing, you know that?"
I chuckled. "You're amazing, did you know that?"
We continued to chat, mainly about little things. I told him how I loved his hair, which he countered back with how much he loved mine. We talked about Quidditch, which he promised to teach me how to play so I could get rid of my fear of heights. We discussed S.P.E.W and how I planned to take it all the way to the Minister of Magic, whenever we got a new one, that is, and how Ron promised to stand by my side. He even promised to not make fun of it anymore.
"As much." He corrected while laughing. "We might have to think up a new name or something."
I had to agree with him on that one. It probably would be taken more seriously with less humorous abbreviations.
When the moon had begun to near the tree tops of the forbidden forest, we both laid down, all too tired to talk anymore. Instead, we simply enjoyed each other's company until we fell into a light sleep. In a few short hours, Mrs. Weasley would be making the preparations to take us all home. For once, I actually dreaded going to the Burrow.
