A/N: Was able to get away to a place with Wi-Fi for a brief period so, sooner than expected, here is the next installment. I hope you are all enjoying this and if you have any comments or criticisms, please feel free to let me know.

As always, I own nothing with any kind of $ value.

A week after Hermione's arrival at Grimmauld Place had left her in much better shape than when she had first arrived. Her bruises and cuts had all but disappeared and she smiled and interacted with the other occupants. But Fleur continued to watch her.

Mrs. Weasley persisted in fussing over the brunette, adding heaping helpings to the girl's plate, which she hardly touched. She shooed off the boys if she felt they were getting too rowdy around the brunette, and would push Hermione to go to bed if she felt it got too late. All this led to Hermione trying desperately to avoid the Weasley matriarch, although she knew she had only the best of intentions. She even began staying in her room for long hours at a time, much to the consternation of the other residents.

"Hermione!" Harry called to her one morning. "Breakfast is ready. C'mon down!"

"Oh, don't you bother her," stated the redheaded matron. "I'll bring something up for her."

"Non. I will get 'er," volunteered the Veela. She didn't want Hermione shutting herself off any more than she had already begun to.

She reached the young woman's door and knocked.

The door opened, revealing Hermione standing warily. "Yes?"

"Come down for breakfast. We are all waiting for you." When Hermione hesitated, she added, "You need to come down, 'ermione. Madame Weasley is just worried about you. We all are, cherie. But once she sees 'ow well you are doing, she will calm 'erself and not smozzer you wiz so much care. "

"Fleur-"

"Please, 'ermione. Come downstairs." As she spoke, Fleur reached forward and gently took the younger woman's hand in her own. Hermione allowed herself to be pulled out of her room and led down to the kitchen.

The others looked up from their places at the table - Ron predictably had too much food stuffed into his open mouth – when the women walked in hand in hand. Hermione hesitated at the doorway, not liking being the focus of attention but Fleur pulled gently on her hand again, guiding her to a place at the table. The Veela proceeded to sit in the seat next to her, only letting go of the brunette's hand when she finally sat down herself.

Tonks had gone off on some hush-hush mission with Mad-Eye Moody and Ginny and Professor McGonagall were both still at Hogwarts, as school was in session. Thus, the only ones currently at Grimmauld were the Weasley parents, Bill, Remus, Fleur, and the Trio. Bill and the elder werewolf were set to leave shortly after breakfast. Their assignment had been the subject of debate many evenings, but it had finally been decided the two men would take over the hunt for the remaining horcruxes. Harry had opposed this, of course, stating that the mission had been entrusted to him by Dumbledore himself. But, after the fiasco at Malfoy Manor, the rest of Order would not allow it. Mrs. Weasley had been especially adamant about it.

Hermione - and she suspected Ron, as well - was secretly relieved by this. The thought of going off again, the thought of possibly encountering Bellatrix again, put her into a blind panic from which she did not easily recover. She had nightmares every night about what had happened to her at the insane woman's hands and had begun to avoid sleeping for as long as possible. She knew she would not be able to handle another foray into the woods but she also knew she would never let the boys go off without her.

After an awkward breakfast of forced and stilted conversation with everyone, Hermione managed to sneak back upstairs to her room. It had been nearly three days since she had gotten more than hour's sleep and she just didn't have the energy to pretend for everyone that all was well. She had her own room for the time being and she was glad for it. Between the nightmares, the role playing she felt she needed to perform for everyone and the permanent lumos maxima she had illuminating every corner of her room, it was just easier this way. And so, for the first time in her life, Hermione Granger found that she preferred to be alone.

Knowing that everyone downstairs would be busy for a while, she settled onto her bed with a book. It was an interesting text, full of complex magical theory that wouldn't allow her mind to wander to… other things. She had been reading for a while, engrossed in the words on the page, when suddenly, her lumos maxima went dark. Immediately she shot up, reaching for the nightstand where she had left her wand earlier. It was gone!

She had begun to frantically search nearby on the floor, against the wall, the bed, when she heard it: maniacal laughter. She began to shake, knowing that laugh could only belong to one person. How did she find her? How did she get in without tripping the wards? The panic overran all other thoughts and Hermione ran for the door only to find it wouldn't open. She tugged and pulled before scratching at the wood with her finger nails, blind terror telling her only to run and not how to accomplish it.

"What's this?" came a voice directly into her ear, the hot breath on her neck nearly pushing her over the edge. "Muddy can't even open the door." More insane laughter as she felt a hand ghost around her waist. The door suddenly opened and Hermione bolted out into the hallway with the mad witch wildly shooting spells all around her.

The dimly lit corridor seemed to stretch on forever, the far end swallowed in darkness. Hermione continued to run, shouting warnings for the other house members to get out. There was no sound, save Bellatrix's jeers and the sound of spells breaking objects.

She finally reached the landing when Harry and Ron appeared calmly before her.

"Hermione," questioned Ron. "Watcha doin' up here? Making an awful lot of noise, whatever it is."

"Ron! Harry!" she screamed, trying desperately to get past them, to drag them downstairs with her. "We have to get out of here! She's- Don't let her near me! She's coming!"

"Aww, but 'Mione," countered the redhead. "You can't go downstairs. That's where we stay."

Bellatrix was getting closer now; she could feel it. "Harry! Please-"

"Hermione," interrupted Harry. "I thought you wanted to help but I guess you're just like everyone else."

"No, it's not like-" Suddenly Bellatrix had a hold of her and was pulling her back to the room. The young witch reached out to her friends, trying to grab onto them, only to watch as they turned and walked back down the stairs as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"NOOOOOOO!" she wailed, struggling with all her might to get away.

Her eyes shot open only to find herself staring into the concerned blue eyes of Fleur. She was laying on her bed, gasping and covered in sweat, the book from earlier on the floor. She sat up and reached for her wand. Feeling her fingers wrap around it, she began to calm, if only a little. A nightmare, it had just been another nightmare.

"Is zis why you 'ave not been sleeping?" a gentle voice asked, but the brunette did not acknowledge it. Fleur tried again.

"'ermione?" The Veela reached out to cup the younger woman's face, pausing when she felt her flinch. When she did not move away, however, Fleur pulled her softly into her embrace and held her while she recovered from her terror.

When Hermione moved away to sit up, Fleur questioned her again. "'ermione, it is obvious to us all zat you 'ave not been sleeping very well since you got back. I was starting to wonder whezzer you were sleeping at all. Why did you not tell us about zis?"

Hermione gave no response.

"'ermione." The blonde pulled the brunette's chin so she faced her and continued. "If you are 'aving problems, please tell someone. We know you must 'ave gone zrough somezing awful but you refuse to tell us. Zat is fine, for now. But zis," she gestured vaguely around the room, "zis is not fine."

"Fleur, I am fine." Hermione pulled her head away and looked down.

"Non. Mon chaton, you are not fine. Not right now, not like zis, but you will be. I am 'ere to 'elp you, if you would let me. If you would let us," she amended.

A/N: I figured Hermione might feel, if not exactly resentful, abandoned and about being left to Bellatrix while the others went down to the (relative) safety of the basement. Logically, she knows that they didn't have a choice but in traumatic instances, emotions run high and overpower what we logically know to have happened. So I would think Hermione would feel hurt and abandoned, literally, at the Manor, but also guilt for those feelings as she knows that's not what really happened. And even though she hasn't really told anyone what happened, I think she would feel some sort of emotional abandonment by their (unintentional) ignorance of what she went through during their capture. Just some creative license, really. Hope you enjoyed. :3