Before the seventh years knew it, the week had flown by and graduation was in 24 hours. Everyone seemed to be in a ball of nerves, well everyone except Harry and Hermione.
With having no family to watch them graduate, it made things easier on Harry and Hermione. Hermione didn't feel the pressure of having to make her speech perfect or having to wonder about where her parents would fit in with her world. She wasn't glad that her parents were gone, far from it actually. Hermione had fallen into a dark place and it seemed like the only people she would let in were Harry and Apollo. No matter how hard Draco, Ginny, Pansy, or Blaise tried they couldn't get her to talk to them, and it was driving Draco insane.
Harry and Apollo had tried countless times to get her out of the dark place that held her prisoner, it seemed the more they tried the further she retreated.
The parents of the seventh year students had started to arrive, and everyone could see how the war affected some families more than others. Other students had no one for them, some only had one parent left (like Pansy and Blaise), and some were fortunate to have both of their parents.
As graduation drew closer Hermione still hadn't finished her speech. Who thought we would ever see a day where Hermione Granger didn't have an assignment done in time.
The group had just about run out of options on how to save Hermione when two of the most influential matriarchs walked in through Hermione's common room portrait. The group looked up to see Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy standing in the doorway. A smile found its way onto everyone's face, if they can't help Hermione then how would they ever get her back.
"Where is she?" Molly asked. The group pointed to Hermione's bedroom door.
As Molly and Narcissa walked to the door the two looked at each other and nodded that they were ready. Molly opened the door and Narcissa closed it behind them.
The group just stared at them in awe, watching the two women they had grown up with looking as if they were going into battle.
As Molly and Narcissa looked around the room to survey what they were working with they saw the small broken girl hidden within the shadows. They slowly approached her knowing that if they rushed at her she would retreat even further.
Molly sat down on one side of Hermione and Narcissa sat on the other side, they both took one of Hermione's hands in their own and they sat there with the shell of the girl. They noticed the tears that flowed freely from Hermione's eyes; they also noticed the healing slivers on Hermione's upper thighs.
The two women shared a look over the girl's head and realized this is worse than they thought. Narcissa then pulled out her medicine bag and began applying a salve that would heat the cuts without leaving a scar. As Narcissa worked Molly attempted to talk to Hermione.
"Hermione dear can you hear me?" she asked not knowing if Hermione was lucid.
Hermione twitched when she heard someone speaking to her. Molly took that as a good sign and proceeded.
"Hermione we know this is hard for you but we are just trying to help you" she said trying to make Hermione see that they were not going to attack her in any way.
Hermione flinched as Narcissa started to heal a deep cut.
"Hermione we need you to come back to us. Apollo needs you, your friends need you, and most of all Draco needs you. He has been a right mess since you shut him out" Narcissa said.
"Dear we will always be here for you as will your friends. They haven't left your side; they are in the common room as we speak worried to death about you." Molly added
Hermione let out a small squeak when Molly used the word 'death' but other than that she gave no inclination that she was listening.
The more Narcissa and Molly tried to pull her back to them the more it seemed like she would never return.
The hours would tick by but Hermione made no move to come back to life, she was quite contempt in her dark place. She couldn't feel the pain in her heart anymore. She could hear Molly and Narcissa but the words made no sense to her.
No matter what Molly and Narcissa decided that they would not give up, they would bring Hermione back if it was the last thing they did. The two women stayed with Hermione all through the night trying to coax her out of hiding. Minutes turned to hours and night slowly turned to day.
As the sun was coming up it seemed as if they had made a little break through, they had finally gotten Hermione to eat something and to take a shower without harming herself. Now Hermione lay on her bed sandwiched between the two mothers.
At about 7am Lucius came to check on Hermione. He found Harry, Pansy, Blaise, and Ginny spread out in the common room sleeping, he found Draco curled up with Apollo in Apollo's bed. Apollo seemed to be holding onto him for dear life.
He knocked on Hermione's door and went in, he looked at the two women on either side of the girl that seemed to bring light to her friends, and sighed. "Any progress?" he asked watching Hermione.
"Not much" Narcissa said sorrowfully.
"Do you mind if I try something?"
"There isn't much we haven't tried but go ahead" Molly said
Lucius sat down on the foot of the bed and started to concentrate. He slowly pushed himself past the broken barriers in Hermione's mind. He searched high and low to find where Hermione had hidden herself. He had almost searched her entire mind when he found a trap door. There was laughter coming from behind the door and then he heard a man's voice 'That's my little princess'. Lucius slowly opened the door trying not to alert Hermione that he had found her, and what he saw astounded him. Hermione had been living in the memories of her parents for so long that she created a holograph type image of them in her mind.
"Hermione" Lucius called out to her.
She jumped when she heard someone's voice other than her parents, she looked over to where the voice was.
"Lucius? What are you doing here? How did you find me?" she started to panic.
"I'm a skilled legilimens. Did you forget?"
"No I just didn't expect someone to come looking for me"
Lucius stared at her in astonishment
"Everyone is looking for you! Trying to bring you back to us! No one has left you rooms in days, they have all camped out in your common room and poor Apollo you are all he has left!" Lucius yelled exasperated.
A scene started to play behind him. It was Hermione and Apollo wrapped in a fierce embrace in the great hall, Apollo started to speak: "Don't ever leave me" and Hermione replied "I won't I promise" and the scene ended
"You left him Hermione. He doesn't think you are coming back! You broke your promise! You were the only person he had left and now look at him!" Lucius stressed as he showed Hermione the mental image of Apollo hanging onto Draco for dear life as they were sleeping and Draco holding back with just as much force.
"Draco needs you too. If you feel like you can't live anymore for yourself then live for them. Hermione they need you more than you will ever know….we all do." Lucius said about to give up.
He then heard covered sobs coming from her direction. He went over to her and wrapped her in a fatherly embrace and whispered to her as he tried to calm her down.
"Please come back to us"
Molly and Narcissa watched as the time passed while Lucius was in Hermione's mind. Thirty minutes had passed and he still hadn't come back. His body had started to shake and his temperature had started to rise. Narcissa noticed that he had tears coming from his eyes as she started to bring him out of Hermione's mind. She was starting to fear that Hermione's mind had claimed another victim when he started to regain his composure.
As he came to Molly excused herself from the room to give them a little space. Narcissa launched herself onto Lucius when he was fully out of Hermione's mind.
"I thought I had lost you too" she said as sobs wracked her body.
"You can't get rid of me that easily" he said with a grim chuckle.
"Please tell me you have good news, I don't know if I can handle anymore bad."
"I did all I could now it is up to her" he said
Back in Hermione's mind she was beginning to see the light again, all the good memories she had with those around her came flooding back to her. Her senses were starting to come back; she could hear Lucius tell Narcissa it was all up to her. She could then feel a wet feeling on her face, tears, she was crying. The next thing she knew is that she was looking at her bedroom at Hogwarts and not the holographic figures of her parents. She gasped at the overwhelming feeling of grief she had for her parents, happiness to be back, and regret from how she had left everyone.
Her Gasp alerted Lucius and Narcissa that she was back and she was immediately wrapped in an embrace from Narcissa. Once she finally let go she scolded Hermione and told her that if she ever retreats into her mind again to take someone with her. At this Hermione and Lucius laughed.
Hermione then looked at the clock on her desk and noted the time, 10am. Then something just didn't feel right so she asked "What day is it?"
"It's Saturday May 25, Graduation day!" Narcissa answered
"Shit!" Hermione exclaimed as she started to run around her room worriedly because she hadn't finished her speech.
Lucius walked up to her grabbed her by the shoulders and said "Hermione you are brilliant, you can wing your speech. There are some very worried people in your common room waiting on you. I think they matter more than a speech don't you?" he said with a wink.
"You're right I almost forgot thanks Uncle Lucy" She said knowing that he hated that name and ran out of her bed room door.
As soon as her door opened everyone's head snapped to the door. Hermione stood there in the doorway with her arms held open wide and screamed "I'm back!"
It was like watching the room in slow motion the way everyone got up and ran to hug Hermione. She was scolded many times not to do that again and you scared me half to death, but the worst of all was Apollo.
"You said you would never leave me" he said standing away from her with tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I know babe and I'm sorry. I never meant to leave you alone" Hermione said dropping to her knees to be eye level with him, tears falling from her eyes too.
"Mimi you promised and then you left" he screamed while his body shook with sobs.
Hermione moved closer to him and pulled him to her "I know I promised and then I left but Mimi is back now and I'm not going anywhere, you couldn't pay me enough to leave you again"
They sat there for a few minutes with the only sound in the room were sniffling noses and covered sobs; there wasn't a dry eye in the room.
Hermione finally lifted Apollo's chin so he was looking into her eyes and said "Will you forgive Mimi? I pinky promise that I will never leave you again."
"I guess I forgive you" Apollo said as he hugged her tighter.
She looked u from her embrace with Apollo and saw Draco leaning against the sofa whipping a stray tear from his eye. She untangled herself from Apollo with a little difficulty, but after she told him where she was going he let her go, and she walked up to Draco. As soon as she got in front of him she threw her arms around him and he did the same.
As they embraced Draco whispered into Hermione's ear "Don't you ever do that to me again…I'm not ready to become a single dad."
Hermione looked up at him in shock.
"What you didn't think you could get rid of me that easy did you?" he replied with a smirk and a wink.
"Why would I ever want to get rid of you? I wouldn't have anyone to make fun of" Hermione said teasingly.
"Just shut up and kiss him already!" someone shouted, they couldn't tell if it was Pansy, Ginny, or both.
After their lip lock, it was already 11 and they had to be ready for graduation by 2. The girls swiftly kicked out the boys and Narcissa and Lucius volunteered to take Apollo so they could get ready. Once the portrait closed the chaos of getting ready ensued.Her
