Title: The Beginning of the End (17)

Author: Procella Nox noctis

Category: Horror

Sub Category: Mystery

Keywords: Hermione, Blaise, dreams

Summary: Summer brake had been his favourite time of year. Until he had to spend it with Hermione Granger. And that was just the beginning of the story.

Sneak-peek: She turned to look at his hands, gracefully sliding down the parchment, elegant letters and numbers bursting from his quill. How she wished she knew what those hands could do with her body. Wait. 'Bad Hermione. Fantasizing about Blaise in Arithmancy is NOT a good idea!'

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and unfortunately never will. No money is being made out of this story, which is a pity, it's really good. Modesty isn't my forte.

A/N: I'm SO sorry for the delay, but I've been unfortunately experiencing some writer's block. Random thought, did you know that Ralph Fienes will be Voldemort in the 4th movie? Why are all bad guys played by sexy guys? Thank you to Sokorra who corrected me, Theo Nott was actually Ares, not Hades, Blaise was Hades. Also, expect a bit more on Theo, I've grown fond of him, for some unknown reason. Anyway, I only have one Trelawney-ish prediction to make: it is coming. Now, enjoy!

Seventeen: Dreams I wish I hadn't

She stared helplessly at the board. No matter how much she tried, the equation remained a riddle to her. Lazily, she began bashing her head against the table she was sitting at.

"Is there a problem, Miss Granger?" Prof. Vector asked, smiling under his moustache at the teenager's attitude.

"What? Oh, no. Sorry, it's my way of, Yeah, that's it."

"Are you sure you don't have to visit the Infirmary, Miss Granger? You never needed to hurt yourself to concentrate before."

"I'm fine, really."

"Very well." The man said, retreating to his table.

Hermione sighed, this wasn't going well. She had lost all concentration. Ever since the Ball. And they were almost in mid November for Pete's sake! She took one more look at her Arithmancy paper, and then turned around to look at Blaise, who was right behind her. He was writing. His aspect was rather carefree. His tie was loosely tied, two buttons were undone, giving Hermione a very pleasant view. His hair, who Hermione had took the honour to cut down to chin-length again (it had grown rather long, he was beginning to resemble a dark haired Malfoy), was covering those beautiful turquoise eyes, which was a pity because she loved them. A tiny smirk graced his face, letting her know that he knew he was being watched by her.

She turned to look at his hands, gracefully sliding down the parchment, elegant letters and numbers bursting from his quill. How she wished she knew what those hands could do with her body. Wait. 'Bad Hermione. Fantasizing about Blaise in Arithmancy is NOT a good idea!'

She placed her view once again on her assignment, but it was no use. 'How can the most brilliant mind in Hogwarts not be able to do a simple equation?' her mind once again flew to Blaise's hands. 'Girl, you're falling hard.' She stopped in mid thought. 'If you haven't fallen already.'

She looked at the window, which was rather hard, seeing as the window wasn't there. 'Funny, there was a window there last week. Or was it in Transfiguration? God, I'm losing my mind.' It wasn't usual, her losing track of time, forgetting what day she was in. 'What day is it, anyway?' she looked for a calendar in the classroom. She found none. "What day is it today?" she whispered to her desk partner.

"It's Wednesday." Came his answer. Hermione turned to look at Theo Nott. "Losing track of time, Granger? Try dividing that result by two. It worked for me." He smiled. She mouthed an 'oh' then went back to her assignment. Which was still only halfway done. She did what Theo had told her. It worked, she noted with a smile, which didn't passed unnoticed by the Slytherin.

Bored as hell, after finally having resolved the problem, she started gazing through the classroom. Hannah Abbot passed her a note, which in turned she passed to Theo. 'Boy, they really are going serious.' She could hear Blaise's scribbling behind her. Lisa Turpin gave her a tiny smile from her seat, which Hermione returned. Terry was still writing something down on the parchment. Then her gaze passed a strange clock, decorated with a few snakes. 'Was Vector an ex-Slytherin? He never favours them.'

Her sight became blurry. Her head felt on fire. A wave of dizziness passed her. And the next thing she remembered was Blaise's gasp as she hit the floor. Then, the world went black.

She felt like she had fallen from a tenth floor. Taking in the place where she was, she vaguely noticed a familiar looking clock. Before she could fully acknowledge what Vector's clock was doing in her dreams, another thing became clearer. She was tied up.

Voices could be heard behind the door of the room she was in. The door opened. She looked up to find herself gazing in two blood pools. Two skinny fingers languidly traced her jaw-line, going to her pulse. There, the fingers stopped, and pressured down.

"Good day, Hermione Granger." A voice hissed in front of her nose.

"You need a breath-mint." She croaked.

"Idiot! Even after two weeks of torture you still have the guts to mock me?! Crucio!"

She let the pain come, too tired to scream. Two weeks? How on heaven's name had she survived this long? The curse was interrupted.

"I hope you liked this preview, Granger. Because it's what you're going to get. Really soon." Voldemort hissed before leaving the room.

Had that been a warning? Or a premonition? Before she could analyze further, the scenery changed.

She was home. Her home. She eagerly entered the house, waiting to see her mother's cheerful face, when a scream reached her ears. She ran to the kitchen only to find the most horrific sight. Her mother and grandmother dead. Killed by the Killing Curse. And standing next to them, tall and handsome was none other than Blaise Zabini. Her father was next to him, being tortured. He looked at her.

"This can be stopped. It will come. You can stop it, Honey. Just kill him." Her father said, before Blaise's killing curse finished him off. The boy looked back at her. And smiled in the most feral way. The next thing she knew, she was under a black wolf, which looked most willing to tear her apart.

"Hermione, wake up!"

She opened her eyes. 'I'm in the Infirmary. Why?' then she looked at her left to meet turquoise eyes filled with concern. A piercing scream could be heard throughout Hogwarts as Hermione realised who was sitting besides her.

"Get out, get out, get out!!!!! You murderer!!!! You killed my family! I never want to see you again! Get out! I hate you!" she screamed while Millicent and Pansy were trying to calm her down.

Blaise looked livid. "Hermione, what's wrong, love?"

"Don't call me love! You're going to kill my family! I don't want to see you. Never again! Go away!" she screamed, breaking into sobs.

Blaise looked truly scared. He had no idea what could have happened to the girl to make her think that he'd kill her family. He loved them, for god's sake! Nonetheless, he left the room, not wanting the girl to scream like that ever again. It broke his heart.

It was the end of November and Hogwarts began to believe that the most famous couple would never be together again. Hermione began shaking uncontrollably every time Blaise stood near her. She isolated herself in her books, not even talking to her friends. No one knew what could've happened to led the girl believe that Blaise would kill her family.

Blaise, on the other hand was more concerned every day. He had suffered various nervous breakdowns, and was often seen in Sirius office, seeking advice.

Hermione soon discovered one of the advantages in being a sorcerer. She controlled the elements. Not as well as Miss Sarrasin, but well enough for her to be able to summon a wind to take her to the island in the middle of the lake. There she stood and cried. She was afraid. She was scared. She didn't want to listen to her dream. Deep down in her mind she knew it was Voldemort's doing, but some sort of spell or such forbid her to react against it. She didn't want to see Blaise, afraid of what she'd do in his presence. So she was very surprised to see him flying over to the island on his broom.

"Don't run." He said while she was getting up, already summoning the wind.

"I'd never, in a million years kill your family, Hermione. Lord knows they're like the parents and grandmother I've lost! What made you believe I want to kill them?"

"I had this...dream. It was...you were over them, torturing them and killing them afterwards...then you turned into Jet and jumped at my neck. I...I don't want to believe it, Blaise. But it was the scariest thing I've ever seen."

In two long steps he was at her side, hugging her while she wept. "I love you. I'd never do anything to hurt you. And if anyone hurts you, I'll kill him. Even if it's me. Especially if it's me."

"I know, but I...you should have seen it. It was, oh god I never want that to happen, Blaise."

"Shhh...it won't. I'll make sure it won't. Don't cry, love. It's going to be okay. Didn't you say Voldemort did this to Potter once? What if it's the same thing he's doing to you? He's just playing with your mind, Hermione. I'd never do that."

"I know. I guess you're right. I'm sorry." She said hugging him tight.

"Come on, let's go. I'll give you a ride." He offered her his hand, they climbed his broom and took off.

While she was hugging Blaise on the broom, one phrase kept repeating in her head. Kill him.

Somewhere in the world, two red eyes opened and a feral smile bloomed. "Perfect."

E/N: I'm SO sorry for the cliffie, and the short chapter, but if I'd go on then I'd have to begin with the next chapter, and I don't want to do that. This is all you get from November. So sorry. As to my prediction, I'll give ten points to whom knows what's beginning. Just tell me your house.

Thank you to:

Romm. You stayed awake just to read thins? I'm really flattered, thank you.

MissDramatic. You must have a very vivid imagination then. Let's see if you imagine Hermione's dream as vividly as I did when I wrote it. It really gave me the creeps. Thanks.

Surferchick89. I know, I love being odd, expect that from my stories. Thank you.

Kori. Thanks for the correction, I didn't notice. Course I know your stories. You'll see what I mean. Muchas gracias amiga mia.

Ehlonna. Thank you. I spent a night thinking what to do with that chapter, it kind of flew into my mind. I blame the Olympic Games. And Athens.

ShimmeringEvil. If you're referring to the Quidditch girl-talk, yeah, it was my favourite part to write, for some strange reason. I never had a girl talk like that with my friends. Sniff.

Sw33tVi3t. Now I'm confused. Okay then, if you get confused ask me what you don't get, and I'll clear things up for you.

The girl at the rock show. You're Soya, aren't you? Yup, a real lot of time and effort spent on the information. I hope you like this chapter as well.

Don't forget! 5 reviews or more get you the next chappie. Furthermore, if you like this story, read Sometimes by Sokorra Lewis. Kori is a dear friend of mine, and a brilliant writer, I honestly don't get why she doesn't have as many reviews as I do. You'll really enjoy it, trust me. Bit sad, though. And she could try and post the final chapter!!![ hint, hint] Review! Thanks.