A/N: Boom, new chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Nothing. At. All.
Warnings: I grammer good.
The place was high - the highest room Hermione had been in so far. It was full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty orbs. The glimmered dully ing the light issuing from more candle brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Their flames burned blue, just like those in the circular room. The room was very cold. Hermione could not hear or see the slightest sign of movement.
With a quick intake of breath, the witch stepped towards the shelves. Her shoes clicked on the floor as she passed row after row - each identical to the next. The force pulling her closer only intensified once she reached the middle of the room. And to be completely honest, Hermione was deathly curious as to what layed waiting at the end.
Raking a hand through his unruly hair, Dr. Riddle mulled over his next course of action. He watched Alecto and Amycus scan through the security footage and saw how Hermione managed to escape every time the staff sedated and locked her inside a room. The girl had conviction, the man had to give her that.
"Alecto, do you think you can find where the girl currently is?"
The woman in question nodded. A few clicks and uttered curses filled the silence. "Sir, I don't know how she got in there, but the girl's in the records room."
"She must've had to at least bypass some secured areas," chimed Amycus.
The doctor's eyes opened in alarm. That's the one place where all the files of patients were located. Those files were confidential, if they got into the wrong hands, there would be no telling what would happen. Dr. Riddle fleetingly thought about calling the police - something he should have done when everything started. He had all the reasons to do so, but some of the measures they took to treat the patients were somewhat… unethical. If word were to get out… No, Tom couldn't fathom the idea. Lawsuits would ensue from enraged families and the facility would ultimately shut down.
It wasn't as if the treatments were illegal per say. It's just that what was considered acceptable back then were not as welcomed today. Besides, they were beneficial to the patients' healing and recovery.
Dr. Riddle shook his head, the girl, despite her hallucinations, was brilliant - and that was what made her so dangerous. She was both insane and unpredictable. He was under no delusions that the girl wouldn't find a way to expose him and the mental ward. The doctor had to find the girl, and fast, before she could do anything rash.
"Um, Sir? You may want to come up with a plan - now. The group in the lobby is getting a bit… restless."
Dark eyes flickered to the monitor. Bellatrix appeared to be screeching while flailing her arms around, while Rodolphus was attempting the shy away from the manic woman. The other occupants in the room seemed to have looks of amusement on their faces. Narcissa, however, had an eyebrow lifted while an air of indifference surrounded her.
Amycus rolled his chair over to the monitor and guaffed at the scene "Sir, Black's gonna tear him a new one if you don't hurry."
The doctor nodded and ordered, "I want you to watch the girl and to look for anything out of the ordinary. Notify me as soon as you see anything." The two guards grunted in understanding and, with that, Tom Riddle stepped out of the room.
Hermione crept forward, glancing behind herself as she went down the long alleys of shelves, the farther ends of which were in near-total darkness. Hermione glanced up, she had just passed row eighty-six. It was taking all of her willpower not to sprint down the length of the room. She had to be cautious - anything could happen at any moment.
Some of the orbs looked as if they were encasing silvery liquid, while others were dark as blown light bulbs.
Hermione finally reached the last row of orbs. The witch was straining to hear even the slightest of pin drops. After slight hesitation, she strode into the aisle and examined the orbs. Each had a small, yellowing label beneath it. Hermione had to squint to read the spidery writing on the labels. A date and name adorned each one.
She gravitated towards the middle of the aisle. She looked at a glass sphere; it glowed with a dull inner light, though it was very dusty ad appeared not to have been touched for many years. She read the peeling label, it read :
S.P.T to T.M.R
Hermione Granger
Hermione stared at it. What was it? What was her name doing down here? The witch felt unnerved at the sight. Against her better judgement, she stretched out her hand.
"Bella, enough."
The dark haired nurse turned towards the voice with a snarl. Narcissa merely crossed her arms together and stared. Bellatrix's face softened into a pout, "He started it."
"Really Bella?" Narcissa drawled. "How old are you? Did you forget why we are here? Besides, Rodolphus isn't worth it."
"Hey!"
"You're absolutely right, Narcissa. I did not mean you, Lestrange." Dr. Riddle strode into the room looking more weary than ever. "So," the doctor began, "we now know where the girl is heading towards - the records room." A few murmurs and whispers immediately erupted in the lobby. "As you can see, the situation is more dire than we originally thought."
"What do you suggest we do?" Lucius stepped forward. "We-"
Suddenly, a crackle sounded and the doctor reached into his belt and retrieved a walkie talkie. He turned a few dials and Amycus's voice poured out. "Sir, I think the girl's goin' through some… files now."
Dr. Riddle raised the device to his lips and said, "Thank you. Continue watching her." He turned towards the hospital staff, "It is only a matter of time until the girl finds the file about herself. We must stop her before anything else happens. She absolutely cannot read that file. Everything we have worked for will be shut down in a matter of days."
He gestured towards the corridor leading down to where the lifts were located. "I want all of you to move into the room at once and surround the girl. She will not be able to escape then. Stop her, but do not harm her. She is already in a bad enough state as it is."
The occupants in the room nodded and, in groups of more than one, dispersed off towards their target. The doctor stayed behind to collect his thoughts before following not long after.
Hermione's hand stopped at the last possible moment before her hand could touch the sphere. She glanced at the other ables underneath their paired orbs just to see nothing. She didn't recognize any other name - only hers.
"I shouldn't touch this," muttered the witch. "But it's something to do with me… what do I do? It could be a trap." She grinned sardonically. "It most likely is one." Her mind raced, this was probably the only chance she would get to learn any inkling of what was going on.
Feeling reckless, Hermione closed her fingers around the dusty ball's surface. Unexpectedly it felt warm, like it had been lying in the sun for hours - almost as though the glow of the light within was warming it. Expecting, even slightly hoping, that something dramatic was going to happen, anything that might make her long and dangerous journey worthwhile after all, Hermione lifted the glass ball down from its shelf and stared at it.
Nothing whatsoever happened. It was rather anticlimactic Hermione thought. She brushed the dust off with her shirt's sleeve.
And then, from right behind her, a drawling voice spoke.
"Very good Granger. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."
A/N: A new chapter… a lot longer than I had originally promised. I'm terribly sorry… Anyways, I hope this rather short chapter would tide you guys over until the next time update. Haha thanks for reading and sticking it out with me.