Disclaimer: I STILL don't own anything... oh well.

Hermione was scared out of her mind. Someone had been watching her. How long have they been watching her? She wanted to cry, she was so scared. Someone was out there, watching her, but she couldn't make out anything about the person, not even if it was a male or female. Shivers went up and down Hermione's spine.

Interrupting Hermione's worries, a loud crash came from Hermione's room. She had left the window open... What if it was the person who had been outside her window? Suddenly, Hermione couldn't breathe. She felt as the walls were closing in on her, as if she had just taken her last breath. Choking and sputtering, she tried to breathe. Something told her to get out of the house, but she couldn't leave without finding out what the noise was. It could even have been Bubu.

And indeed, when Hermione crept to her room, there was an owl sitting next to a broken picture frame, but it wasn't her owl. The unfamiliar owl jumped onto her shoulder and shoved a letter into her hand. The envelope was shaking violently because Hermione was so nervous. Who could it be from?

Putting aside her fears, she opened the letter carefully. In loopy handwriting Hermione did not recognize, it said:

Don't leave the house anymore, whatever you do. It's not safe.

There was no signature. Who had warned her? But that small fact didn't worry her at all, she immediately grabbed Bubu, who was trying to fit in the space between the TV and the couch, and secluded herself in her room. She pulled down the shades and shut the light. The darkness made her feel depressed.

Forgetting her 'depression', Hermione began to ponder. What had happened to all of her friends and their families? Her heart began to pound at the thought that they could be hurt or in danger. And had her pursuer told her parents there was a dentist convention when there really wasn't, so they could get them away from Hermione? Who would be so cold-hearted to separate Hermione and the only people that cared about her? Hermione wanted to scream, but she held back.

So many questions swirled in Hermione's head, she felt faint. She was starting to feel very tired, maybe because the light was off. She got off her bed and made way to the light switch, but she began to feel dizzy. Holding a hand to her forehead, Hermione collapsed onto the floor, only to be found hours later by, who she thought, unwelcome company.

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Hermione lifted her body uneasily from the floor and felt the back of her head. A pang of pain shot through her body. "Ouch!" she cried aloud. Had she fainted?

Suddenly, the doorknob rattled. Someone was trying to get in! Ignoring the fact that Hermione could barely see, she stood up and looked for somewhere to hide. Before she could, the door opened and Hermione screamed in fear for her safety. Instinctively, Hermione held her hands over her head and closed her eyes tightly, trying to wish it all away and pretend it was a dream. But it wasn't a dream. It was all too real.

Someone grabbed her body and turned her around to face the person. Whoever this mad person was, shook her to try to get her to look at his or hers face.

"Hermione!" a very familiar voice shouted. "Hermione, it's okay!" Very reluctantly, Hermione opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred, but she could make out this 'strange mad-mad'. It was...

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione felt so foolish for being so immature and scared for someone she had complete trust with.

"I'm so sorry I scared you," Lupin said. "Are you alright?"

How could Hermione answer that question? She had no idea what was going on. "I don't know..." she said stupidly.

"Has anyone contacted you?" Lupin looked very stressed out and worried. He was very young, but he didn't look it right now. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess.

Fury rose in Hermione, but she tried to control herself. "Has anyone contacted me? No! They've all disappeared! And I want to know why. Where are they, Professor Lupin? I want to know."

"First of all," Lupin said. "There is no need to call me 'Professor Lupin', as I am no longer your Professor. It's Remeus. And second of all, I can't explain anything here. The house is bugged."

"Bugged?" Hermione gasped. "You mean someone has been watching AND listening to me?"

"Shh!" Lupin said quietly. "Come on, we've got to get out of here."

"Where are we going?"

"Headquarters."

Hermione knew where that was. Number 12, Grimwauld place, Sirius's home. Or it was his home.

"How are we getting there?" Hermione asked. When she had gone last time, she had simply woken up there.

"We're flying," Lupin said barely above a whisper. There was a shocked look on Hermione's face. She couldn't fly... the only time she flew was in her first year and she wasn't even all that good! She was only chasing flying keys, and Harry was the one who caught the one they needed. Hermione would make a fool out of herself.

Lupin started to walk out of the room, but Hermione tugged on his sleeve. "Profes- Remeus, there's something you should know," she said, feeling odd calling him by his first name. "I've only been on a broomstick once and I wasn't all that good..."

"Not to worry, Hermione," Lupin reassured her. "I've bewitched your broom to make all of the exact moves that mine does. All you have to do is hold on tight and stay close behind me."

"Won't people see us though?" Hermione whispered.

Lupin shook his head. "No, there's a charm that makes you blend in with the background that we used on Harry last year when we took him to-" He paused. "You know where..."

Hermione nodded. She had heard about the charm before, but it would be a while before she could master it herself.

"Now come on," Lupin said hurriedly. "We've got to get moving. Where's your trunk?"

Hermione ran over to her bed and pulled out her Hogwarts trunk. A thought occurred to her.

"Pro- Remeus... I just got an owl this summer, but I had a cat before. Can I take both to Hogwarts?"

Lupin shook his head. "Only one. But you can bring both to Headquarters and leave one there when you go off to school." Hermione's face fell. She didn't want to leave either one of them behind. Oh well, she would have to decide later. Lupin levitated her trunk as Hermione scooped up Crookshanks and put Bubu in her cage.

Lupin was already walking down the stairs when Hermione caught up to him. The trunk was following him at his heels. Hermione noticed that there were two broomsticks leaning next to the front door. Lupin pulled out his wand and muttered something Hermione could not understand.

Suddenly, Hermione felt a strange, icy, tickling sensation start at the top of her head and go slowly down to the end of her toes. She looked down at her feet. They matched the floor. "Weird," Hermione breathed. She had never been part of the house before.

Lupin quickly did the same spell to himself. He too became the background of the house. "Come on now," Lupin said. He gingerly opened the front door a crack and peeked through. Hermione guessed he was making sure no one was there. He opened the door to its full extent and they crept outside. The sunlight was so bright that it nearly blinded Hermione. She tried to shield her eyes but it was impossible because she was clutching Crookshanks and Bubu.

"Can you hold onto the cat while we fly?" Lupin asked. Hermione nodded. "The owl can fly behind...." He stopped once he saw the bandage on Bubu's wing. "Oh dear," he said. "I guess we can levitate the cage..." The cage rose slowly into the air to meet the level that the trunk was at.

Before Lupin got on his broom, Hermione said quietly, "Everyone else is at Headquarters, aren't they?" Lupin didn't say anything, but the expression on his face gave Hermione the answer she hadn't hoped for. Lupin began to slowly rise off of the ground. Hermione, clutching both Crookshanks and the broomstick handle, rose as Lupin did.

Hermione's stomach churned and heart fluttered. They were rising very high into the sky. Once they were about 300 or so feet above the ground, Lupin yelled above the wind, "Hold on!" Hermione grasped tightly to the broomstick as she gave one last glance at the place she called home.

Lupin zoomed forward and Hermione screamed. They were bolting through the air at top speed. Hermione shut her eyes tightly and tried to push her fears aside. The point was, she was actually flying. Whenever she saw Harry flying around the Quidditch field, she couldn't help but feel jealous. And Ron was up there as well. As much as Hermione hated to admit it, Ron wasn't as good as she thought he would be, but she believed he could do so much better if he really tried. Hermione would always wonder what it felt like to be flying around freely. Now she knew, but it wasn't herself that was flying, it was mostly Lupin. Nevertheless, she enjoyed it very much.

The wind pushed her hair back, giving Hermione a feeling of freedom. She opened her eyes and looked around her. The ground was so far away and the heavens so close. Hermione wanted to reach out and touch one of the clouds floating nearby, but she would fall off the broom. Hermione looked behind her and saw her trunk and Bubu. Bubu looked frightened, being able to fly while locked up in her cage with a broken wing was most unusual.

The whole flight was very enjoyable. Hermione loved being up in the air, but when Lupin started to go lower, she pouted. She knew she would have to land on the ground eventually, but being up in the air like this made her forget her problem.

If flying would make Hermione forget her troubles, then she wanted to fly forever...

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Woo! Another chapter for you! Thanks for your er... REVIEW! C'mon people! Give me reviews! Give me HUNDRED of reviews! WOOOO! Lol. ^_^ Just puh-lees review! I would appreciate it! Thanks ;D I'll have another chapter soon, it depends on how much you love me lol.

*Lady Jen*