A/N: I'm back again, twice in the space of 24 hours, gosh I'm so proud of myself! I'm watching James Bond, Die Another Day at the moment and it has given me a brilliant idea for my other piece of work, Bring Me To Life. It turns out that although I had started out faking that I was ill today to get out of school, through lack of sleep writing this, I actually do feel really really ill. It's strange, but oh well. Thank you's are at the end of this chapter to all those that have reviewed.

Title: Whisper in the Dark

Rating: PG13

Author: Gothic Princess

Disclaimer: Me = extremely broke 15 year old ill girl. J.K.Rowling = very wealthy, 30 something healthy and extremely popular woman. Me + J.K.Rowling's property = the below 3,302 word chapter. Does this explain anything? 

Summary: 7th year. He has to make a decision that he thought he knew. She has to betray and lie to her friends to protect what means most to her. And both have to deal with each other, and face more than they wish to know.

Chapter Two

Running out of time, among other things

Every time I breath

I feel you next to me

It's driving me insane

But still, it's better than the pain

I try so hard to gain control

But these feelings they just leave numb

Can you help me, give me warmth

Bring me back to the light

It had all been arranged the following evening after dinner; Hermione's mother had spent nearly half an hour on the phone. She'd picked up a brochure on bed and breakfast's in the area of Marlborough and had given the honour to her daughter to choose were they would stay. Hermione didn't waste the opportunity; she scanned each page for the best value place to stay, looking for one that was cheap yet comfortable and good value for money.

"I've found the perfect place to stay, mum. It's just right." She thrust the brochure excitedly under her mums nose, pointing eagerly at the picture of the old fashioned country hotel she had found. In fact, she was actually telling a half truth, the place did look amazing, and the fact that it wasn't terribly expensive helped along the way.

"I'm not sure dear, I mean how about we stay in a more – more modern place," she replied, wrinkling her nose slightly in disgust at the bed and breakfast Hermione had suggested. "How about this-" she began, flicking through the pages and then stopped when her eyes rested on one of the most expensive places in the book.

Hermione chewed self-consciously on her lower lip, not knowing how she could weave herself out of this one. A small thought, deep back inside her mind told her to tell her mother that the place was perfect, after all if their money problems were really that bad then why would her mother even suggest the offer? Hermione had always known her mother as a well organised woman, who had her family's interests best at heart and was unwilling to do anything that would even put them within a breath of danger. 'If only you knew,' Hermione thought, as memories of all the amazing and lucky accomplishes she, Harry and Ron had managed to pull off during their 6 years at Hogwarts.

But there was another voice calling to her in her mind, that little nagging voice that represents all that is good in a person and tells them to do things that although they may never want to do, they know that they should for the better of others. It told her that if she accepted her mothers offer then she wouldn't be acting selfishly and could be putting the whole of her family at risk.

"I dunno mum," Hermione sighed as she took a particular interest in plaiting a stray lock of hair, refusing to look into her mothers penetrating eyes. "I thought that it would be nice to do the whole experience, you know? I mean who really needs to stay in a modern, ultra hip expensive hotel when we could stay in a quaint bed and breakfast in the countryside, that way the experience would be so much more. . .more – special. It would just be the two of us; we don't need five star luxuries to have a good time. Money isn't everything." She cut herself short, noticing that she was babbling and hitting hard onto the subject that she had been trying to avoid. She noticed the flash of emotion swipe across her mothers face, but as soon as she looked again, it was gone.

"You're right," she agreed, nodding her head. "I'll give them a call now shall I?" She hurried over the telephone, leaving Hermione with the chance to let out a huge sigh of relief.

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Two days later, mother and daughter arrived outside of a rather small, ancient bed and breakfast that Hermione had chosen. She was actually rather glad that she had chosen this place in the end, it looked better in real life than it did in the brochure. The cobbled stone path that led up to the small wooden front door looked well worn, but the early morning played across it in such an enchanted way that Hermione could imagine people in the past trudging up it, laughing excitedly. Sounds of early morning birds were carried along by the gentle breeze that brought a definite chill to the morning, they were truly out in the countryside.

"Wow," Hermione gasped as they stepped inside. It was rather small that she had imagined it to be, but homely all the same. All the curtains were drawn, letting the brilliant morning sunshine swim into the room, whilst the breeze kept the air clean and refreshing as it snuck in through the open windows.

"Good morning," Mrs Granger said politely as she approached the lady sitting silently at the front desk. "We have a room booked for Granger, for three nights." The young woman sat at the desk flicked through a few pages on her clipboard.

"Ah yes," she replied, reaching for something underneath her desk. "In here," she continued as she produced a Chinese style small box, "You'll find two sets of keys to your room, an information booklet and a menu. There area also some leaflets of attractions around the local area that are a few minutes down the road." The receptionist smiled politely as Hermione's mother took the box. "You're room is just through the door to your left, down the end of the corridor. Enjoy your stay."

Hermione grabbed her bag and the box from her mother before darting through the door and down the passage way. She soon came upon room number 7, which was the number on her key. Balancing her bag carefully under her left arm, she used her right hand to push the key into the lock and opened the door.

"Mum, come and have a look as this," she squealed in excitement as she ran around the room. It was absolutely perfect. It wasn't terribly big, but there was enough room for the both of them comfortably. Two squishy twin beds lined one wall, with a bedside table in between them. A couch and an armchair were seated snugly around the fireplace, and a small table with two chairs were located along the other free wall. But that wasn't the best bit. French doors opened out onto a small wooden patio that looked out onto the forest and a small river flowing nearby. Hermione also got a pretty good view of a rather large house that looked remarkably old.

"Hermione, this place is wonderful. I'm so glad we chose this one over that awful one I wanted to go to. I feel relaxed already. Hermione beamed at her mother, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"I'm just gonna unpack my stuff and then I thought I'd take a quick look around before lunch." Hermione began as she emptied the scattered contents of her two bags into the small wardrobe. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, nodding in satisfaction. She was wearing another pair of denim shorts and a t-shirt . Her hair, which she had once again washed and brushed for half an hour to make it appear straight fell down her back uneventfully, a pair of sunglasses perched onto of her head kept a few loose strands back. She grabbed her purse and then headed for the door.

"Well don't be too long, the receptionist told me that there was a small café down the street and I thought I'd treat us to lunch there so we can discuss what we're going to do for the rest of the time." Hermione nodded in response. A few moments later and she was out on the old country lane, walking in the direction of the rather large house that she had seen moments before. It looked different to a normal old, country house but Hermione couldn't place quite why.

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"Good Morning." Hermione looked up dazed, realising that she had been daydreaming again.

"Hello," Hermione replied cheerfully to the elderly man that had greeted her. 'Wow, the people here are so friendly!' she thought to herself. "Um, I was wondering if there was a church nearby?"

"It's just a little further along this road. It shouldn't take you too long to find it."

"Thanks." She set off walking again further down the lane. Trees towered tall above her, letting streams of sunlight fall to the ground. She could hear children laughing in the distance, and the mumbling chit-chat of adults and was instantly reminded of a play park, with slides and swings and see-saws. She decided that the church could wait, she could visit it later. The sounds were drawing her to them like a moth to the flame, there was nothing better than sitting in a noisy park full of screaming, happy children to relax. It seemed like their laughter and joy were contagious. True to her thoughts, as she rounded the country lane, she found the source where all the noise was escaping from.

It was as if by magic, she had been transported into a different land. A rather large but indefinitely old church was surrounded by extremely ancient trees. The road that she had been aimlessly trudging down for the last twenty minutes separated around the church, each going off in different directions. A path lined the stone wall beside the road, and there were a few small shops, including the café that her mother had told her of earlier. A few lonely cars decorated the street, aside from the many tourists milling around. All of this was rather normal, but something about the cobbled streets and old church made all the difference.

Hermione listened intently, and heard more happy shouts coming from behind the stone wall. Glancing left and right to check for traffic, she quickly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and ran across the road, her flip-flops bouncing along behind her. She hadn't seen what was in front of her, but felt something small bump against her knees and then a loud thud. Hermione had tripped and lost her balance, falling down onto the cobblestone street. She didn't quite appreciate them as much after that incident. She rubbed her sight, moaning slightly realising that she would soon have a rather uncomfortable bruise to deal with. Muffled sobs cleared her vision, and brought her back to the fact that she had knocked someone over and that she should stop worrying about herself.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Hermione cried as she crawled over to the little girl that lay in a huddle on the ground, sobbing quietly. "Did I hurt you?" she asked gently, patting her on the back. The little girl looked up, tears in her large, doe like blue eyes. She shook her head before bursting into another set of fresh tears.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked anxiously, looking at worriedly at the mass of people that were staring at them. "How about we get off the road?" Hermione told the girl nervously, holding out her hand for her. They stared at one another for a moment, before the girl slipped her tiny, tear stained hand into Hermione's. "That's it," she encouraged, pulling her up and walking her to the path.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she prodded gently, noticing that the girl was clutching to her hand rather desperately, and looked extremely afraid. Hermione wasn't quite sure what to do; she'd never had much experience with little kids. The girl could only be about 7 years old, but she was incredibly small and fragile, much like that of a glass figurine. Hermione crouched down on her knees so that she was less intimidating.

"I'm Hermione," she said brightly. "What's your name?"

"Felicity," came a quiet reply, so small Hermione was surprised that she had heard it.

"Where are you mummy and daddy Felicity?" The tiny hand held in hers stiffened slightly. "Who are you here with?" Hermione asked; rephrasing the question slightly but the hand in hers remained tight. But she didn't speak, she stood in silence. 

"I . . . I, my mummy and daddy aren't here," she whispered, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

"Well where are they then?"

"Dead." Hermione's face fell, her question hadn't meant to come out that way, and she had certainly not been expecting that answer. She felt a surge of sympathy for the child, obviously distraught.

"So who, umm . . . are you here with?"

"No-one." Hermione's eyes opened in shock, the girl couldn't be here on her own. She just couldn't be. But then she took in the little girl's tatty old dress, the mangles in her hair and dirty face wet with tears and realised that she was possibly telling the truth.

"Where do you live?" she asked, dreading the answer. But she didn't get one, only more tears. Hermione did the only thing that she knew how; she wrapped her arms around her and gave her a hug. It seemed to work, Felicity relaxed against her and stopped crying. "Would you like me to take you home?" Hermione whispered softly in the girl's ear. Felicity was clinging to her shirt, but she managed to feel her nod her head.

"How about an ice-cream first though?" Hermione said as she stood up and once again took the little girl's hand. She was pleased to see a smile light up on her face. "I assume that that's a yes then?"

"Yes, please."

Hermione allowed herself a glance at the clock on the church, and noticed that it was already half eleven. Her mum wouldn't be too pleased when she got back to the bed and breakfast after lunch, but she couldn't just leave Felicity all on her own. She'd find a way to explain later. After buying Felicity a Mr Whippy ice cream, she followed the girl as she skipped happily down the country lane that Hermione had walked up earlier that morning. She found out a lot more about her new friend as they talked, although the subject of her parents wasn't brought up again.

"How much farther do we have to go?" Hermione asked Felicity as they came nearer and nearer to the large gates that led to the large house that had intrigued Hermione earlier. "You don't live in there, do you?" she whispered, suddenly afraid of being overheard.

Felicity just laughed, and ran straight past the gates as Hermione breathed in a sigh of silent relief. She started jogging after the girl who was giggling in front of her.

"Come on," Felicity yelled as she twirled around to face Hermione, beckoning her with her hands. "In here." She disappeared into the hedge that ran along the road, leaving only a few dislodged leaves behind her. The older girl stared in wonder, weighing out in her mind the pro's and con's of the situation, and with another sigh she pushed through the hedge and vanished from the lane.

When she reappeared on the other side, covered in a few minor scratches and cuts she noticed in dismay that they were in the field behind the creepy house that seemed to be on her mind a great deal in the last few hours. "Umm, Felicity?" she called, but the girl was too busy skipping along ahead of her. "Should we really be here? I mean, this is someone else's property we're trespassing on."

"We're nearly there, its okay. I do this all the time; I don't think the people that live here seem to care. Either that or they don't notice me. Here we are!" She had led Hermione into the trees behind the mansion, the same forest that was outside the patio doors of her room in the bed and breakfast. She found Felicity beaming at her, pointing to her home. It brought tears to Hermione's eyes, but she daren't cry in front of the girl. She was pointing at what would have been mistaken as a tree house, only smaller and not nearly as well constructed.

Put simply, it was more like a few pieces of wood with a rag covering for what Hermione could only perceive as a door.

"I made it myself," Felicity said proudly. "Would you like to see?" Not waiting for an answer, she began climbing up the tree with practiced ease. Hermione, frozen rigid to the bone in shock could only marvel at the young girl, the young homeless girl. Lord only knew how long that Felicity had to live on her own to result in this.

"Are you coming?" she called from above, looking expectantly into Hermione's eyes.

"Sure," she replied, forcing a happy smile onto her face as she carefully climbed up the branches.

"Do you like it?" she asked hesitantly, but her face fell when she mistook the look of sadness on Hermione's face for disgust. "I mean," she continued, "it's nothing special, but when you're in my situation…" she trailed off.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Hermione cried out in alarm, taking in more of the surroundings. A small mattress lay in the corner with an overly large blanket sprawled over it. Beside it was a pile of newspapers, various pictures missing. A spare dress lay slung over the wooden chair that sat in the corner. There was also a small rickety table that was scattered with scrap paper and a scruffy teddy bear that looked extremely worn. The only other item in the room was a box in which Hermione found a hair brush, a toothbrush and a few basic toiletries.

"You did all this yourself?" Felicity nodded, but tears pricked at her eyes.

"And, where do you wash?"

"There's a river…"

"Down on the other side of the forest, yes I know. I'm staying in that hotel in front of it." Hermione cut in. "But how do you eat?"

"Oh, well that's a different story. But you have to promise not to laugh," she said, again staring into the older girls eyes.

"I promise."

"Well, I know this might seem odd, but the people living in that big house, well they're a little weird. They have these, well these um…weird creatures. They're kind of small, with funny ears and stuff like out of a fairy tale or something. But that doesn't matter; you see they found me one day sneaking up to the house when I'd watched the people that live there leave for work. And they asked me what I wanted, and I told them that I was hungry, coz I hadn't eaten anything for five days. Well they told me that they could help me because that would be disobeying their master's orders. The next morning though I found a pile of leftovers on my doorstep with a note that told me that they'd accidentally 'cooked too much food' for the family. It's been happening every day since."

"Really?" Hermione replied with a small smile, but her mind was somewhere else. Felicity's description reminded her strongly of – but it couldn't be, could it?

"Are you alright?" Felicity asked her sceptically.

"Of course. Listen, would it be alright for me to quickly go and sort something out?" Hermione asked the girl quickly. "I promise to you that I'll come back later, I just have to do something first. Is that okay?"

"You will come back later, won't you?"

"I promise you." And then she had a fleeting thought. "Would you mind looking after these for me?" she asked as she took off her sunglasses and handed them over. "They're my favourites, so you know I'll definitely be back later okay?"

Felicity laughed, before watching sadly as Hermione hurriedly climbed down the tree and disappeared into the forest. "I hope she comes back," she whispered to herself.

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Wow, the above chapter is 3,302 words long, well it won't be when Fanfiction counts it up to be less – does anyway else notice that? Anyway this chapter may seem to have no significance, but if you read between the lines you often find the biggest clues and answers. I actually came up with the biggest part of the plot to this story when I went to make a cup of tea an hour ago. It's strange how the best ideas can come from a lovely cup of British tea. I won't be updating again until the weekend at least thanks greatly to my school who just love giving me presents. Too bad they're mile long reports!

I would love to receive feedback on my work, is their anything I can improve or does anyone have any ideas? Also if anyone would be interesting in beta-reading for me please e-mail me or review! Cheers!

Here are some thank-you's for my beautiful reviewers:

Nina217: Thank-you! This is like the first story that I've ever written and I'm actually planning on continuing, so I'll be writing a lot more! ;)

Elluxion: I appreciate you for notifying me off my mistakes, I went back and indeed found some. Sometimes a writer will miss the most obvious mistakes in her own work. I hope that this chapter is up to scratch but please feel free to let me know of any mistakes. :)

Angelique: The disclaimer…oh thanks for reminding me! I haven't written one for this chapter yet, well if youre reading this obviously you have because it'll be up the top… I hope that this chapter is posted soon enough! :)

Nicole (antspants): Wow, you're too kind. By the way, do you like horses or something? I was just wondering because of your email address. :D

Katieshaz: I love Marlborough, I go quite often coz its so nearby! It will be making an appearance in the next chapter I shall think. :)