Here you go! And I'm glad no one flamed about the pairing we introduced last chapter… XD

And really, this is the longest story I've ever done So be happy!

Hermione quickly followed Ron and Harry hastily into the back ground, and as soon as the door was shut and blocked with the three inside of it, the front door was thrown open and many footsteps and crashing noises were able to be heard from the front room.

Harry had never been too good in dark, enclosed spaces. Not with the years spent in that damned cupboard. But now was not the time to panic, not with Hermione and Ron shaking like twin leaves behind him. And speaking of twins… God, so many out there were their friends and more than two were Ron's siblings. Ginny, she had to be okay. And Fred and George and Seamus and Neville and Dean and he could not panic.

Hermione was trying not to whimper in fear but suddenly gave a small yelp that made her throw her hands over her mouth as she jumped when someone tried to open the door to the back room. Shaking badly and whimpering very quietly, she tried not to start crying but she was terrified and thinking of everyone that could be captured.

Harry pushed both Hermione and Ron behind himself, Ron wrapping his arm around her and cradling her head with one hand, holding his wand out with the other.

The door continued to rattle some until after a few seconds, a deep voice told the person to give up and they quickly retreated.

Hermione bit her lower lip and closed her eyes, still terrified.

They stayed huddled in the darkness for several minutes. Minutes that progressed and lengthened and none of them felt like moving. It just didn't feel safe. Nowhere felt safe.

After about five minutes, Hermione broke down crying. The weekend was supposed to be a happy one, filled with shopping and butterbeers and just all around fun, but it had turned into a nightmare. Friends and relatives were now taken away and captured, while others were possibly hurt.

"Shhh," Ron murmured, holding her tightly and fighting down his own fear.

"H-How could this h-happen?!" she cried into his chest. She was still afraid to be loud as traps or people could be waiting out in the front room, but she couldn't help it.

"We'll find out, Hermione," Harry said quietly. "As soon as we get back to Hogwarts. For now let's just stay calm, okay?"

She slowly closed her eyes, trying to calm down. It was hard but slowly, she began to calm down.

"Should we, um, chance leaving?" Ron asked. They'd been hiding for so long, standing tense and waiting for the worst, that their feet were aching slightly. It had to be over, didn't it? But Ron wasn't sure and Harry didn't want to take any chances.

"I… don't hear anything else," Hermione whispered quietly. The back room had an exit that led to an alleyway, and the screams and shouts that had been sounding before were gone now, and she hoped it was just all over.

"Then let's try it," Harry said.

Ron nodded.

"Out the front?"

She just wiped away the remaining tears, not caring which way.

"Yeah, okay," Ron said.

"Wands ready," Harry breathed as they inched toward the door. He pushed it open slowly. It snagged on a toppled display case and he and Ron had to put their full weight on it, but eventually it swung open revealing the store to be a mess. Broken glass glittered on the floor, spilled inks and potions and other assorted items were all over the place. The front door had been blasted off of its hinges, leaving them to look out on an eerily empty expanse of road.

Hermione's hand was shaking as her wand was at her side. "This… but…" she couldn't come up with a single sensible sentence, and slowly made her way through the debris. "It's a good thing I waited and looked outside," she whispered quietly, trying not to think of what would have happened if she hadn't seen.

They stepped outside and noticed that most other shops were in similar states of destruction. They looked around, Ron feeling sick to his stomach. "This is horrible," he said weakly.

She gave a nod, looking around. "This… maybe we should get back to Hogwarts right away and make sure everyone is fine."

"You're sure?" Harry asked. A part of him wanted to check around town first, but it probably wasn't the safest way to do things.

"There still may be Death Eaters around here," she whispered quietly. "We really should just go back to Hogwarts and find out who was taken or hurt." She was very shaken up and it was pretty clear.

"Okay," Harry said and Ron nodded. "Let's hurry."

In half the time it normally took, they were back at Hogwarts. Many students were in the Great Hall or the hospital wing, talking about hurt friends or getting their wounds tended.

"D'you think we should go to the hospital wing first?" Ron asked as they started up a staircase.

"Yeah," Harry said. "At least someone there should know who made it back."

Hermione nodded, heading towards it. Once they got in there, she gasped quietly. So many people were hurt that barely anyone could actually move around in the room. Beds were crammed next to each other and Madame Pomfrey seemed to never stop running around. Hermione looked around for anyone that could answer their questions and found where Seamus and Neville were laying. Slowly, she weaved her way through the beds to get to them.

Harry and Ron followed slowly, trying not to stare at the students who were laid up in beds moaning or bleeding.

Hermione finally got over to the two and looked at Ron and Harry. Luckily, Seamus and Neville weren't that badly hurt, so she watched him. "Who… who didn't make it back?" she asked quietly, a bit scared to find out.

Seamus frowned. "We don't know yet," he said with a groan. "Oh, my head fuckin' hurts!"

"Calm down,

" Neville said, since Seamus was showing signs of panicking. He took several deep breaths that didn't work and squeezed his eyes shut, body trembling.

"Dean and Ginny made it, didn't they?" Neville asked anxiously.

Seamus opened his eyes wide and stared at them, waiting for the answer.

Hermione quickly glanced around the room and her eyes widened in horror. "Oh god… maybe… maybe they're in the Great Hall," she said as she looked at the horrified Ron.

Ron nodded dumbly. "Yeah… yeah, let's go check. Please."

Harry and Hermione both nodded.

"We'll see you back in the dorm," Harry said, resting his hand on Seamus' shoulder for a moment. "Okay? Stay calm."

Hermione began to walk away from them, feeling a bit sick to her stomach with dread. She just didn't feel right… she was hoping beyond all hopes that the two were fine.

As soon as he'd left the hospital wing Ron sprinted the rest of the way to the Great Hall, not bothering to say anything to any of the passing students who tried to stop him. He had to find Ginny. She had to be all right.

Hermione quickly ran after him, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to her to ask what was the matter with Ron. As she ran closer to the Great Hall, the feeling of sickness got stronger and stronger.

Ron entered the Great Hall. There were fewer students in there than in the hospital wing, mostly Ravenclaws and Slytherins.

"Hey, Weasel, lose something?" a voice drawled to their left.

Hermione ignored Draco and glanced around the Great Hall. "I don't… feel so good," she whispered quietly as she put a hand over her mouth.

"Ah, somebody fetch the Mudblood a basin," he said, eyes glittering maliciously. "You know, I'm a bit angry that you made it out of the raid alive. But no matter, good still came of it, didn't it, Weasel? One less Weasley in the world makes for good populations control. 'S not like your parents could afford all those children anyway."

Hermione growled and turned to Draco. "I will do the same that Ginny did to you if you don't shut your bloody mouth," she said dangerously. No professors were around, and the fact that Ginny could take Draco made Hermione feel a lot more confidant.

He smirked. "You're living on borrowed time, Granger. I'd spend more of it getting something out of your pathetic life if I were you." He turned around and started to make his way out of the Great Hall. "Oh," he said over his shoulder. "The final tally's hanging up in the dorms. Everyone missing and safe is listed. Might want to get used to the idea that your names'll be on it some day. Aren't you just… so proud?" He snorted and walked away, leaving Ron shaking and Harry and Hermione glaring at his back.

She was about ready to launch herself at Draco but felt Harry's hand grip her wrist. She was so angry and wanted to kill him. "Just let me. It'll take me only a minute. Please. I've gotten practice from my father. Just let me…" she said as she tried to pull her wrist away.

"Ron's more important," Harry said. "Right? Let's just… make sure."

After a moment, she gave a nod. "Fine. Once we see that Ginny is fine, I'm going to kill him…" she muttered quietly.

Harry had to grab Ron's arm and steer him to Gryffindor Tower, his whole body shaking and his breath coming in fast pants, with Hermione following worriedly now. He gave his arm a squeeze and Ron glanced down at his hand, slightly calmed but still scared out of his mind.

Hermione soon got to the common room, and quickly walked to the bulletin board. Quickly reading over the safe column, and not finding Ginny's name, she gave a whimper then looked to the missing. As her eyes scanned down the list, they met Ginny's name and she turned back to Ron while shaking some and looking terrified. She couldn't believe that Ginny was missing, but she was more scared over how Ron was going to act. "R-Ron, maybe you should… sit down…" she whispered, glad Harry had stopped Ron close to the couch so just she could look for Ginny's name.

"She's gone, isn't she?" Ron said softly. He sank down onto the couch with an agonized groan. "Oh… oh God." He put his head in his hands. "Oh God, oh God."

Hermione slowly sat next to him. "I can't believe this is happening…" Her hand slowly ran over Ron's back, trying to comfort him but she was shaking some so her comfort skills weren't that great at the time.

"She can't be…" Ron muttered over and over again.

Harry sat on his other side, grasping his hand and twining their fingers. He had no idea what to say. He was distraught too. Ginny was like his little sister. He'd saved her once… why not this time? Why were they too late this time?

Hermione couldn't help but feel the tears run down her cheeks. "She's… she's probably going to be fine Ron. Somehow, it's all going to be twisted around and used against…" she suddenly wished she hadn't started talking. But, what else would they do? Either kill them or bribe them. "S-She has to be fine." She couldn't stand it though. Ginny had been almost like her sister, and had been her best girl friend, and she couldn't stand to think of it, but there it was…

They were all saved from having to comment when Neville and Seamus made their way into the dorm followed closely by Dennis Creevy. They spared a look for the trio, but most of their attention was fixed on the list. They made their way to it.

Dennis let out a broken gasp and clutched at Seamus' robes blindly.

Neville just stared and Seamus cursed loudly.

"M-Maybe we should go look… we can sneak out… we can check… she has to be there…" Hermione said softly. But she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to, due to the hopes of Ron that could easily be crushed, and the fact that Ginny could have been under some of the rubble, dead.

"Dumbledore is sending out search teams," Seamus said softly. "So, we should stay put." His voice broke slightly and he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "This is ridiculous. Fuckin' ridiculous."

"Half of us didn't make it back," Neville said softly. "Two sixth year boys and one girl, a handful of third and fourth years and Dennis."

Harry looked up sharply. "Colin's missing?"

His younger brother sniffled and nodded.

"This… Harry, what if they attack again? What if they somehow manage to get into Hogwarts? I mean… we need to do something," Hermione said quietly.

Neville looked at them. "Well… we can't get into trouble this time," he said a bit uncertainly, having thought it over since the attack. "I mean… there's no Umbridge to ban it…" Slowly, he started to think it was a bad idea.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked while looking up at him.

"Er… never mind, it was a stupid idea," he said quickly with a shake of his head.

"No," Harry said. "No, it's not. Tell us."

"Well… we could set up the DA again," he said a bit nervously.

Hermione's eyes widened. "That could work, you know. But… instead of just the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge looking out for us, we have almost all of the Slytherins… and probably some of the Ravenclaws."

Neville nodded. "That's why it's a bad idea and I take it back," he said quickly.

"No… it's just…" Hermione looked at Harry, wondering if he would want to do it again. But they would have to be a lot more careful about who were going to be in it this time, and she knew she was going to have to do some curse so no one could even speak of it except to other members.

Harry opened his mouth to agree, but Ron was the one who spoke up. "Let's do it," he said, his voice flat but determined.

Harry nodded. "I think it's a great idea. It could help people in the future… at the very least next time we'll have each other."

Hermione was about ready to say something until two second year students came into the GCR, talking and chatting. "I heard that three of the Weasleys were taken. And, it may just be a rumor, but that Lucius Malfoy is behind this all. If he is… then those Weasleys are as good as de--"

The other friend promptly dragged her friend into their room when Ron's horrified gaze was on them. Hermione couldn't help but whimper. She had forgotten all about Fred and George… with Fred sick, it would have been harder to fend the Death Eaters off or run.

Ron stood up. "I think… I need to be alone," he said weakly. "I'm… I dunno. Oh God, mum and dad… do they know? And Bill and Charlie." He was pale, his freckles standing out like spots of ink on his face, and Harry thought even with his glasses off he would see his thin frame shaking.

"They… they probably know Ron," Hermione could only say slowly as she tried to mask her worry. She didn't know how to comfort him and the words she was trying to say to make him feel better were probably making him feel worse.

"I should be with them," he said helplessly. "Mum'll be hysterical and…" he trailed off.

Harry stood and grabbed his arm. "Let's go to the dorm, all right? You can lie down and we can talk or not talk, whatever you want."

Ron looked at him with wide eyes and then nodded tiredly. "Okay."

Hermione looked at the two of them. "I'll just… go to bed…" she said quietly, feeling a bit like an intruder for some strange reason. "Night," she said quietly and headed towards her room. She wanted to be with them but felt like it was rude, anyways, everything she said was making the situation worse so she didn't deserve to be there exactly, right?

"No," Ron said, grabbing her wrist. "You can come with us."

Seamus watched them all with a searching look. "You can have the dorm to yourselves for a bit if you need to talk," he said. "Neville and I'll stay with Dennis."

The younger teen hadn't let go of Seamus' robes since they'd seen the list and he didn't look like he wanted to be alone. They were all going to spend a bit too much time alone, it seemed. And all of his year-mates were missing besides. He needed them just like Ron needed Hermione and Harry.

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron, then slowly nodded. She looked towards Dennis with a pitying look but felt a lot more sympathy for Ron and she followed the two of them up slowly.

The dorm was just like it had been earlier that morning. They'd warded against House Elves in their sixth year because, as Dean had said, what teenage guy didn't feel more comfortable in a messy room? So a pair of Dean's jeans were on the floor where he'd left them, a series of his collectible football cards were on the drawer between his and Seamus' beds and his books were still thrown on the floor from his tiny tantrum the night before about so much damn homework. And he was gone, now... along with Ginny. It was too much to take in, but Ron wasn't stunned or shocked. He was angry and distraught and scared. He fell onto his bed, watched as Harry closed the door and stared up at the canopy, tears making his vision blurry.

Hermione leaned against the wall as a silence surrounded them. Unlike the rest, this one was comfortable and understanding as their feelings were shared. Tears once again clouded her vision as she stared at the pillow on Ron's bed, not even trying to think of anything to say.

Harry moved to sit on the floor beside the bed, picking up Dean's nightshirt and fingering the material and tipping his head back against the mattress. Ron's arm was flung over the edge of the bed next to him and he watched the long, calloused fingers clench into his palms, a helpless movement.

Hermione finally let herself fall to the ground, leaning against the wall still. She moved some books and then pushed something away that looked like it needed to be washed months ago with a book. "This is so screwed up," she whispered after a moment. For once, she couldn't stop herself from speaking her mind and she knew she was going to have to change her thoughts or it would probably make Ron worse in some way.

"Yeah," Harry breathed.

Ron just made a sound of agreement in the back of his throat.

Hermione slowly moved and leaned against the mattress while letting her head loll back. Her hand slowly moved up to run over Ron's hand gently.

He turned his hand over and twined his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand. "I just want to know if she's okay," he said absently. "I want to know if she's dead or alive or hurt. That's all I want."

She gave a small nod, returning the squeeze gently. "We'll know soon… we'll know." She wanted to promise. She wanted to make him feel better or say anything that would make him feel even the slightest happier, but all she could think of was to try and comfort him the best she could. Maybe it wasn't good enough, but for once, she understood what Ron and Harry always felt about her.

Ron just sighed, his other hand finding its way into Harry's hair and sifting through the strands. "D'you think Dumbledore will talk to us tomorrow?" he asked softly.

"I hope so," Harry answered. "He must know what's going on."

"How could they get away with it? I mean, there must have been so many wizards and witches. And there aren't that many Death Eaters… why couldn't we win? Why couldn't it be s-stopped?" she whispered, replaying the scene in her mind. Now that it was replaying over and over, she could have sworn she saw Ginny and Dean but had paid no attention to it then. Terror had just taken over her and she fled like a coward, at least in her eyes.

"I don't know," Harry said.

"It doesn't make any sense," Ron added. "I mean, how could they do it? Why wasn't someone there to protect us? I thought there were supposed to be Aurors on the look out for these things."

"Maybe… maybe someone wrote a fake letter on the where-abouts of some Death Eaters or Voldemort." It didn't feel scary to say his name anymore; it simply rolled off her tongue like any other word. "If someone had done that, all the Aurors would have gone there…"

"You always trust them, you know? And maybe we aren't so safe. Maybe it's really, really good that we're starting back with the DA," Ron said. "Maybe we'll be able to protect ourselves since they aren't doing a great job of it."

Hermione gave a nod and after a short silence, she looked at the ground. "I think I saw her when I first spotted the Death Eaters. Ginny and Dean. I… I was just completely afraid and didn't notice until now. Maybe if we had done something… we could have gotten them. If I had mentioned it…"

"Nah, they'd have nabbed us," Ron said, tone resigned. "They might have been after Harry anyway… they'd have seen us and that would have been it."

Harry stiffened slightly.

"I don't blame you, though," Ron told him softly. "It's not your fault. Someone should have seen this coming."

Hermione moved her free hand and gripped Harry's, massaging the top of his hand gently while the rest of her fingers twined with his.

He moved suddenly, until he was next to Ron, his body aligned with his. He looked at them solemnly. "We'll be okay," he said. "I'll do everything I can to protect the both of you. I just… I want you to know that."

She gave a soft smile and slowly moved so she was lying on the other side of Ron. The smile was small, and was luckily hiding her sadness.

"I know," Ron said, his hand once again finding its way into Harry's hair. "We'll find them," he added.

"They're my family too. Even Dean and Colin… they're part of my world and I won't let it fall apart. I can't. It's all I've got. You're all I've got," Harry said harshly.

Hermione nuzzled into Ron gently. "The same with me…" she whispered very quietly, trying to forget how she knew all-to-well the dread of a sibling being dead. She hadn't even noticed until now that she was crying and getting Ron's shirt soaked with tears.

He moved his hand out of her grasp to put his arm around her. They lay in silence, Harry snaking his own arm across Ron's body to rub Hermione's shoulder. It was a mutual embrace of comfort and fear and so many different things.

Before the sun had a chance to creep into the room the next day, Hermione was shaking with another batch of nightmares. Nightmares of her father, nightmares of the raid, nightmares over everything. Clutching blindly at Ron's shirt as tears of fear fell from the horror of her dream, small rambles began to escape her mouth.

Ron and Harry woke up to Hermione's soft whimpers. Shaking their heads slightly to dispel sleepiness, they leaned over her and tried to wake her up.

"It's okay, you're with us, Hermione," Ron said. "You're safe. Wake up. It's just a dream."

She continued to toss and turn, unable to wake up until she had tangled them so badly in the blankets that as she fell to the floor on top of scattered books and random items, and the pressure of two bodies on top of her woke up her with wide eyes.

"Ow," Harry groaned softly before opening his eyes. "You two okay?" he asked.

Hermione rubbed her head and then winced. "Yeah… I'll be fine… if you two just get off of me and I get this book dislodged from my back," she said quietly.

Ron and Harry both rolled off, a bit quickly, getting tangled up in each other's limbs. They lay in a heap at Hermione's feet and Harry groaned again. "Ow."

Slowly, she pushed herself and moved the few books that had been under her back then winced, and groaned as she rubbed the back of her head. "Damn it… sorry," she said almost immediately, figuring it was somehow her fault.

"It's not your fault," Harry said.

"He's not really hurt anyway." Ron told her as they disentangled themselves. "He says 'ow' to any bit of contact this early, like he's hypersensitive or something. Don't try tickling him though, he'll punch you."

Harry laughed. "You deserved it. I was barely awake and your hands were cold. Prat."

"Wanker," Ron shot back affectionately.

Hermione smiled then rubbed her head again, sitting on the bed. She was glad was acting as normal as he could now. "My head hurts a lot," she muttered after a second.

"Do we need to go see Madam Pomfrey?" Harry asked, concerned.

"No. It's fine," she said quickly. "Perfectly fine. Just hurts… a lot. Too many people are in there already being tended too. Not going to annoy her with another." Her hand didn't leave the back of her head though but she did cast a glare at a certain book, as if she was mad at it.

"I've got a bit of a headache too," Ron said. "Although, I didn't bang mine against anything." He grinned sheepishly at Hermione.

She smiled softly and removed her hand then quickly hid it, wiping it on her clothes.

"I need a shower," Harry announced. "And then we should check on the others. Seamus didn't look so good last night. I've never seen Neville more calm than him of all people."

"Yeah," Hermione said quietly then went to look out the window, wondering if it was still dark out. As she turned her head, she suddenly winced badly and put her hand back to the back of her head, then cursed under her breath.

"What is it?" Ron asked, reaching toward her and grabbing her arm gently.

As he pulled her arm over to him, there was blood on her hand. She tried to yank it away before he saw but sighed.

He looked at and then, without looking at her, yanked her to her feet and marched her out of the dorm with Harry trailing behind. "You're going to go see Madam Pomfrey," he told her. "She'll have time to see you, so don't use that as an excuse. And you're not burdening her. She's used to seeing Harry in there four or five times a year."

Hermione whimpered a bit but followed. "No… I'm fine, Ron!" she said rather quickly. The fact was that the blood was a bit too much to be fine but she really did not want to keep depending on people when she hurt herself.

"No you're not," he said over his shoulder. "So just let us take you to the hospital wing. The sooner you're patched up the sooner we can get dressed, the sooner we find out what the hell's going on."

She sighed and just followed behind him silently, giving up.

The hospital wing had emptied out since the day before. Now only a few of the more serious cases were in the beds and Madam Pomfrey was looking less frazzled. A look that was compromised the minute the three of them walked in. "Oh dear, what is it now?" she asked. "Better sit down, I'll see you right away. What happened?"

Hermione sighed and sat down on a bed. "I'm fine. Ron is just overreacting on a simple c--" she turned her head to look at them a bit too quickly and let out a small hiss of pain, instead of the cry that almost sounded.

Madam Pomfrey gave her a stern look and set about looking her over. "It's not a simple cut," she said finally. "But easily mended. Thank you, boys, for bringing her in," she told them, tapping cleaning the wound and tapping it with her wand. The skin sealed shut and she checked over her work before nodding. "Right, Professor Dumbledore will be addressing the students tonight at dinner. About what happened." Her gaze darkened. "In the meantime," she said, regaining her focus. "Stay out of trouble. And I mean it."

After the cut was healed, she stood. "Do you know if anyone else was found? Or if anyone was sent to St. Mungo's?" She knew that once in a long while, someone would get sent there if their wounds were too bad.

"I can't tell you," she said. "Headmaster's orders. I was advised to make sure all students were given limited information until he could speak to them. But," she added with quick, sidelong glances. "Yes, to both questions. Now off with you."

Hermione looked at Ron and Harry hopefully then followed them out with a quiet, "Thanks." She was trying hard to convince herself that everyone they knew were fine but it was very hard.

Once in the hallways the three shared a look. "Who do you think they found?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "It's anybody's guess, isn't it? We don't know what they were looking for, or who since they couldn't find you. And Dumbledore isn't saying anything. We've got no clues."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but quickly realized it was probably the worst thing she could have said at the moment and just looked away with a sigh.

Ron sighed. "What should we do? Until dinner, I mean."

Harry had no ideas and said so. But they needed something to occupy their time. The longer they sat still, the more prone they were to thinking. And thinking would only lead to hurting.

Finally Hermione looked away, unable to keep herself quiet. "If they found her, don't you think Dumbledore would have told you, Ron? They would have allowed you to go visit her…" she looked down as soon as she finished saying the sentence. "I mean… just so you don't get your hopes up. I don't want to see them crushed again…"

"I don't know," Ron said. "Don't want to think about it, actually." He made his way down the hall, angry and depressed and scared but mostly trying not to feel any of those things.

She followed silently behind him, gazing at the ground.

They walked in silence all the way to Gryffindor Tower and were assailed almost immediately by Seamus and Neville. "Did you find out anything?" Seamus demanded. "You weren't here when we woke up and so we thought maybe Dumbledore had told you something. Is there any news on Dean? Ginny? Colin?"

"No, no and no," Harry said. "We'll find out at dinner though."

Neville groaned and stalked away, throwing himself into a chair.

"What a load!" Seamus exclaimed, pacing back and forth like a caged lion. "They could at least tell us something. It can't be healthy for us to sit here and wonder and worry. Aren't they thinking about us at all?"

"Pomfrey found out that they recovered people and that some are in St. Mungo's," she said softly. "Didn't tell us who. She wasn't allowed."

Seamus let out a growl. "Why? Why are they doing this?"

"It's not 'they'," Harry said softly, going to sit on the couch followed by Ron who plopped down next to him.

"Dumbledore then?" he demanded. "Why? Dennis fell asleep crying last night. We all had nightmares, girls woke up screaming, our friends are missing and we have to wait 'till bloody dinner?"

Hermione slowly sat in a chair, pulling her legs under her. "Maybe he's still having people try and find others…" She just didn't have the energy in her to be angry with anyone. Not even at Voldemort at the moment. So she just stared blankly at the wall, feeling a familiar feeling. It was the one that she made herself go into when she was at the house: think nothing, say nothing, do nothing. Her eyes slowly became distant and she let her head rest back against the back of the chair.

Seamus just ranted, pacing back and forth until Dennis made his way into the common room.

"Any news?" he asked hesitantly.

"No!" Seamus snarled before going into another rant that didn't even end with lunch. As the six of them made their way down to the Great Hall, he ranted even more, causing portraits to shush him. He simply flipped them off leaving them scandalized. He did, however, stop when Dennis shoved a roll into his mouth with a sigh.

Hermione grabbed a roll, breaking off small pieces and trying to eat it then finally giving up, as she felt sick to her stomach after just one bite. Knowing she was in a safe, warm room with as much food as she could eat while one of her best friends could have been dead or hurt or in a dank, dark cell somewhere made her feeling about ready to scream, cry, throw up, or maybe just a mix between the three.

The others seemed to feel the same way. They were eating morosely.

Seamus stopped once he'd finished the roll and stayed silent, staring at the table.

Dennis forced down more food than any of them and then had to rush away from the table, holding his stomach.

"What is with Gryffindors these days?" Malfoy drawled from behind them gleefully. "Can't stomach yourselves? Finally feeling as sick to your stomachs when you look in a mirror as we do when we have to look at you ever day?"

Hermione clenched her robes in her lap under the table just so she wouldn't hit him. It was hard to try and stay calm but she was managing.

"Fuck off, Malfoy," Seamus hissed. "What do you know? All your little Slytherin folk got away safely, didn't they? You aren't missing a brother or a sister or a best friend so just fuck off."

She quickly busied herself with pretending to be looking at a rip in her robes. She looked up to notice Neville looking actually mad and then quickly looked down and busied herself again.

"Some of us are just born lucky," Draco shot back before turning to Harry with a smile. "Then again, it does pay to be your enemy, doesn't it Potter. The death toll around you is getting rather high. Parents: two; friends of parents: one; random schoolmates: approximately 50. Well, and Cedric. So 51 then."

Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She tackled Draco to the ground, kneeing him in the balls rather quickly. She was pissed and didn't care frankly anymore if she was caught. It wasn't like she could be sent to Azkaban, and no matter how bad she acted, it wasn't like she could be expelled because she had no home to go to anymore so she didn't care.

His piteous whine almost made the onlookers laugh, but they were too pissed and when Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward to hit Hermione, Neville dragged her out of the way and faced them. "Try it," he said. "And see what happens."

Hermione looked at Neville then pulled out her wand, ready to jinx Crabbe and Goyle if they laid even one hand on Neville. She wasn't going to let anyone get hurt because of her and not do anything about it.

"Let's just get out of here," a girl said from behind them. Pansy Parkinson glared at them all, rushed forward to yank Malfoy up, and together the quartet left without a backwards glance.

Neville sat down with a shaky sigh. "I really didn't want to end up in the hospital wing again," he said with a small, relieved smile.

Hermione smiled and leaned forward to kiss his cheek in only a friendly way, but felt he at least deserved that. "Thank you," she said as she put her wand away. Since she had come back to Hogwarts, everything seemed to anger her so easily and she finally took care of one of the things.

He flushed but nodded. The rest of the lunch period was spent going over, in explicit detail, what had happened, culminating in Dennis doing an incredibly accurate re-enactment of Draco's scream that made all of them laugh.

How'd you like? I know it was longer… like almost 1500 words longer than normal. Actually, almost 2000 longer than normal. Ah well. Hope you enjoyed!

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