I'm not JK, but you knew that already... Enjoy. Reviews are appreciated.
Harry woke early the next morning, hoping to be able to leave before anyone else at the Burrow was up. The sun was barely staring to rise and he thought the early time would help out the stalking of his friend. He dressed quickly, put his invisibility cloak in his pocket, and went down to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before leaving.
Mrs. Weasley walked into the kitchen just as Harry was about to walk out the door. "Where are you headed dear," she asked curiously.
"Oh, good morning, Mrs. Weasley." He wasn't really that surprised to see the Weasley matron this early, but was silently wishing she wouldn't hold him up too terribly long. "I'm just headed out to do some errands. I'll be back this afternoon sometime."
"Okay dear, be careful today. If you need anything, let me know."
"I will, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.
"Let's forgo the formalities Harry. Call me Molly or mum. You're part of this family now."
"Thanks Molly. See you later then." Harry headed out the door and walked the end of the garden to apparate to London.
Harry pulled his cloak out of his pocket and put it on before leaving the alley. The sun was barely rising so he was sure that Hermione wouldn't be awake just yet. He walked the couple of blocks to her house and quietly let himself inside.
Seeing clothes dropped along the floor and stairs, he knew she was home. He felt again that something was terribly wrong with his friend because she was never one to leave her belongings scattered around. He sat down on the couch in the living room and waited for her to wake up.
Hermione woke around 8 that morning. She sat up in her bed and stretched her back. Standing up and grabbing some clothes off the floor, she made her way into the bathroom. She got dressed and washed off her face at the sink. Glancing in the mirror, she saw the dark circles that had been making themselves an everyday presence under her eyes. She also noticed the lack of light that reflected in her eyes. This shell that she's become has not been very good to her.
She wandered back into her room and stood looking around. She was feeling empty again and needed something to feel better. She sat down on the edge of her bed and picked up her knife. Hermione pulled up the sleeve of her t-shirt, flicked the blade out, and drug the blade across her bicep. The blood instantly started oozing out and running down her arm. The pain of the cut felt comforting and she sat there staring at the trails making their way down to her fingers.
Hermione cleaned off the knife and put it in her bedside table. Not bothering to stop the bleeding or clean her arm, she made her way downstairs into the kitchen. She made herself a cup of coffee and a couple pieces of buttered toast.
Harry saw her walk through the living room and had followed her into the kitchen. He stood just inside the doorway, still covered with his invisibility cloak, and watched her make the coffee and toast. The sight of the blood on her arm immediately set an alarm off in his head.
Hermione leaned against the counter eating her toast. She was in her own little world when Harry decided to speak up.
"You know everyone is worried as hell about you Hermione. How long have you been back?"
"Bloody hell, Harry! You just scared the shit out of me! Show yourself." She was angry and scared. 'Crap,' she thought to herself, 'I didn't clean off my arm.'
Hermione turned around to the sink and grabbed the towel off the counter to wet it and clean off her arm before Harry could see anything. Harry pulled off his cloak and stuffed it into his pocket and took a seat at the island.
"You didn't answer me Hermione," he said. He watched her as she frantically cleaned off her arm. He guessed that she was trying to hide it from him.
"I was only gone a few days," she told him. 'God, why can't I lie to him' she thought to herself.
"Are you okay? Because you don't look okay. What happened to your arm," he asked her without slowing down.
"I'm fine Harry, honestly." Hermione turned back around to face him. "Why are you here?"
"I already told you, everyone's worried about you, especially Ginny."
"Well, you needn't hardly worry about me Harry. Look, I'm perfectly fine. I told you not to worry about me."
"Maybe so, but you also said that I needed to all the same. What happened in Australia?" Harry realized Hermione was trying to dissuade this conversation, but he was adamant to get the information from her. "You're back a lot sooner than you expected to be. I'm guessing the news isn't good."
Hermione lifted her arm and with a flick of her wrist, summoned the obituary copy from her bag. Harry looked at her with wide eyes. He had never seen her do wandless or wordless magic before, much less the two combined. She placed the obit on the island and stepped back, taking a sip of her coffee. Harry read what was presented to him and his eyes grew even wider.
"My god Hermione, are you okay?" He got up from the stool and walked around the island and scooped her up in a bear hug.
Tears started streaming down the older girls face. "I'm dealing Harry. Really, I'm okay."
Harry stepped back and held her at arm's length. "Would you be okay with Ginny coming to see you? She wanted to come with me, but I wouldn't let her. She's really worried about you." He searched her face trying to gain eye contact.
Hermione looked up and could see the worry spread across his face. "Yeah, sure, Harry. Give me time to pick up around here though."
"Excellent. I'll be back in an hour then."
He gave her another quick hug and walked into the living room. Hermione followed him to watch him leave and immediately started to panic when he disapparated. She picked up the clothes along the stairway and dropped them on the floor in her room.
With a panic attack feeling imminent, she opened her table drawer and pulled out the small box. Carefully opening it with shaky hands, she pulled out the joint, lit it with her wand, and took a few deep drags while holding each breath as long as she could and letting it out slowly. She snuffed the joint out again and put it up. Grabbing the knife off the table, she added to the lines already started on her arm. After adding five or so lines, she was starting to get a bit light headed. She managed to get the knife cleaned off and put away before passing out on her bed.