A/N - EEEK! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated. Life has been a bit hectic as of late... but I haven't forgotten to get poor Hermione out of this mess. Don't worry - big things are going to happen in the next two chapters. Also, I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, but there's a reason to that.

"She was screaming like a banshee!" Lavender said. The sixth year Gryffindors were all in the Great Hall, eating a half-hearted breakfast. Lavender, Ginny and Parvati had to relay the story several times as more of their house came in and headed straight for them.

"She's never like that," Parvati said pointedly. She ran her hands through her silky hair and let a sour expression cross her face. "She's been acting kind of strange, hasn't she? I mean, she's usually waving her hand in the air to answer some question or even ask a question, but lately she just sits there all subdued."

"She said she had a bad dream," Ginny said with a scoff. "Even my worst nightmares about You-Know-Who don't make me scream and kick people."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance that clearly said "Why hadn't we noticed?". Harry grumbled and stabbed an eggy mess on his plate with annoyance. Ron played around with his toast, not intending for it to come anywhere close to his mouth. The table sat in an uncomfortable silence while the rest of the Great Hall buzzed with noise. Ron opened his mouth finally, like he was about to say something, when more noise erupted from the Hufflepuff table.

A first year had gotten up and was singing a popular Weird Sister's song at the top of his lungs. His face was beet red and his voice continuously cracked as he hit high notes. Around him, his housemates were in stitches laughing. The boys surrounding him were falling off of their seats with laughter. People from the other house tables were laughing at the boy, who was now gyrating his hips in imitation of one of the singer's dancing.

Harry took the opportunity to scan the head table. Everyone was paying attention to the newest entertainment with mixed reactions. Dumbledore looked highly amused, a concealed smile playing on his lips. McGonagall looked as if she wanted to reach out and smack the Hufflepuff boy across the face. Professor Sprout was pounding Professor Sinistra on the back as they both laughed. Snape, of course, was the only one among them with a scowl that seemed like it was determined to stay.

When the boy ended and sat down, his housemates clapped feverishly. The two boys on either side of him patted his back and then turned to face one of the sixth year girls. The entire table seemed to focus on her, the shorter ones standing up off their seats to get a good view.

"What do you think they're up to, then?" Ron asked curiously. He picked a new piece of toast and bit in to it.

"They're playing a game, I think that's rather obvious!" At this, the sixth years turned around quickly. Hermione was sitting next to Harry, her face flushed and her hair messier than normal. She looked as if she'd just run the entire way there.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed. He looked her over further, as if he was expecting to see her fall apart before his eyes.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, setting her fork down and staring at her friend. "Are you... okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you. How are you?" Hermione set an apple on her plate and sliced it with full attention.

"Hermione..." Ginny continued, her voice changing drastically. "Stop it. We know something's wrong, would you just tell us already?"

"I feel much better, Ginny. I think I was just having a reaction to all of the work I've been doing lately. I've been working far too hard so early in term. I was just exhausted and-"

"Wait a minute!" Lavender said, her eyebrows knitted together. She was leaning over her plate, her hair barely an inch above her plate. "Do you mean to tell us that you, Hermione Granger, have been studying too hard? Well, I never thought I'd see the day!"

"I know it must seem totally absurd, but-"

"It's about bloody time you decided that, Hermione!" Ron said. He had a gleeful expression on his face, as if he'd just come across Christmas months early. Harry had a doubtful expression on his own face, but it was overshadowed.

"Oh, but I did manage to add an extra three inches on my Cleaning Charm paper. While I was in the Hospital Wing, I heard Madam Pomfrey say something before she gave that curly blond Ravenclaw girl a bottle. So I went to the library and looked it up. It was to purify the contents of a potion that has been sitting for a while. So things like dust don't alter it in any way. It's like the-"

"I thought you said you where studying too hard?" Ginny asked, her teasing tone evident. Hermione blushed.

"Yes, but I couldn't help it. I was curious as to what she was giving that girl, because she did the same to something she gave me last night. I was just too distraught to recognize it and ask any questions."

"Right then, Hermione. You've been studying too hard, but had time to run to the library before you came down here?" Harry let his skepticism be known. He stared right in to Hermione's eyes and saw her flinch slightly. Something wasn't right.



"She was screaming her lungs off, Albus!" Minerva McGonagall was beside herself. Part of the staff was gathered in Dumbledore's office for a staff meeting. McGonagall had taken the stage and was venting her grief to the rest of the staff. She was stationed next to Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout, who patted her back soothingly. Snape sat across the room, staring off with feigned disinterest.

To him, after all, it was just another day. What did he care that the boastful little Gryffindor had had a bad dream? It seemed like every time one of those little snits stubbed their toes or had a nightmare, the rest of the staff was coddling them. He'd go mad if he were expected to do the same.

"She seemed so far away when before she drifted off to sleep again," Madam Pomfrey said.

"I don't see any problem with her work. If anything, it's even better than normal. She does seem rather distant, though, even with Messrs. Potter and Weasley. She ignores everyone around her quite often," McGonagall said wistfully.

"And that's strange?" Sprout spoke up. "I mean, she's never seemed too close to anyone but Potter and the Weasley boy. She's always off by herself, it's nothing new!"

Snape sneered at the names. He fiddled with the hem of his sleeve as he fought with an image in his mind. The first night that the students had been in the school, during the welcoming feast, he noticed something that had disturbed him greatly. The Granger girl's face was covered in purple bruises and painful looking cuts - but no one seemed to notice. Either they didn't notice or it was something all of the students already new about. Yet he doubted that. Instead of dwelling on it, Snape shrugged it off. For all he knew, Granger had gotten in to a fight with someone on holiday. The conscience in the back of his mind told him that several beatings had to have occurred in order for the girl to have bruises at different stages of healing.

At the time, he wondered what it mattered, The little Gryffindor girl was of no concern to him. His job was to teach her Potions. Let Minerva take care of the girl's crying and whimpering at night. However, something in his mind seemed to click. He grimaced, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach. Not only had the girl arrived at school with a set of bruises that no one seemed to notice or care about, but any time he came near her, she'd shrink away. Then again, that wasn't too unnatural. Students shrank away from him all of the time.

Not Granger, he thought. No, Granger never stepped down. She ran away crying, but she never shrank away. Snape narrowed his eyes and looked ahead, trying to appear bored.

"Ahh, Severus?" Dumbledore spoke up, eying Snape cautiously. "Do you have something to say?"

Snape narrowed his dark eyes even further, clouds forming across his face. "Yes, headmaster. I was curious as to why this little girl's nightmares were so important? Several of my Slytherins have been plagued by nightmares since they arrived, and yet they've never caused such a problem. Honestly, if we fussed every time someone acted slightly out of context, half of the school's female populat-"

"That will be enough, Severus!" McGonagall snapped. Her nostrils flares as she shot looks of annoyance at Snape. "We need to worry about these things," she pressed on, "With so many problems in the wizarding world, with... well, I'm sure we're all more than aware of the situation, there's no telling what these children are being subjected to outside the walls of this castle!"

Everyone but Snape nodded.

"And besides," McGonagall continued, "Miss Granger is a close friend of Mister Potter's. Wouldn't you think that someone has noticed this by now, and that that could be used against her?"

"Very well," Snape sighed. "What exactly are you suggested we do? Coddle every single when they've fallen off their brooms from a mere foot?"

McGonagall smiled through tight lips. "Watching them a bit more carefully and closely will do just fine, Severus. If you're up to coddling the Slytherins, by all means, be my guest - and don't give me that look! You were the one to suggest it. Furthermore, I think it would be a good idea to keep a better eye on all of the students - not just ones in our own houses."

Snape sneered and stood. "Very well," he spoke softly. "Let the senseless coddling commence!" with a swish of his long frock coat, he exited the room.

"Really, Albus!" McGonagall griped. "His own house is in more danger than any of the others. Half of their parents-"

Dumbledore nodded and cut her off. "That's precisely why he doesn't want to get involved."



A month after Hermione's nightmare occurred, things were just as they always had been. Hermione was just as involved in her school work as ever, despite Harry and Ron's constant whining. It was getting closer to the Christmas holiday, and Hermione had yet to hear from her parents about returning home, so she started making plans with Ron and Harry for returning to the Burrow.

"Ron," Hermione asked on the way to the Great Hall one morning, "How is it that your mother never seems to mind everyone at the Burrow at one time?"

Ron laughed. "Are you crazy? Mum can't stand being there all alone most of the time. She loves having everyone around here, she loves the chaos. She'd have to, with what we've put her through. But one person ends up not being able to come, and you can tell that she's relieved."

The trio reached the Great Hall and took their normal seats towards the edge of the table. Ron had loaded his plate high with food before Hermione had even reached for a spoon.

"Really, Ron. You act as if they starve you here. How can you possibly eat so much every day?" Hermione shook her head as she took her usual red apple and chopping it in to small uniform slices. Ron shrugged as he swallow a mouthful.

"I don't ask, just obey." he joked, grinning. Harry laughed.

A moment later, the familiar squawking signaled the arrival of the mail. Ron watched the ceiling expectantly as Hermione paid the owl that brought her the Daily Prophet. She looked over the front page before handing it over to Harry.

"Looks like a slow day," Hermione said. She pointed to the headline, 121 Year Old Wizard Dies in Cauldron Explosion. "But you just know they'll find any way to tie it to Voldemort."

Harry nodded as he read the front page more carefully. When he looked up, he saw another owl heading for Hermione. "Hermione, are you expecting anything?"

Hermione looked up in time to catch the letter dropped by the owl, and Harry peered over her shoulder at the small white envelope. She felt her skin crawl when she saw the familiar handwriting. Why is he writing to me? she wondered, feeling the letter. She bit her lip and opened it slowly, as if it was about to burn her. When she got it open, she felt her stomach drop.

You are to meet Svetlin at your Three Broomsticks to be brought here for your holiday. There is no point in trying to get out of it, you will be brought back here one way or another.

-- Viktor Krum

"Hermione?" Harry asked. He reached over and touched her shoulder. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and tossed it away from her.

"Hermione! What is wrong you?" Ron asked angrily.

"I... I need to go," she choked, jumping up from the table. She looked left and right before bolting from the room. Harry and Ron exchanged open-mouthed gapes.

"There's something wrong with that one," Ron said. He shook his head and continued to eat while Harry just stared at his plate.

Ron's right. There is something wrong with Hermione. She's been acting so strangely since she came to the Burrow. I know I've seen that handwriting before, Harry thought. He looked up and saw Ron's Quidditch Monthly on the table when it hit him. Krum. That's his handwriting - it's got to be. Without another word, Harry jumped from the table and raced after Hermione.

He found her in the common room, scrawling away on a piece of paper. Her hair was disheveled and she looked as if she'd just finished crying. Harry stepped up in front of her and bent down level with her.

"Hermione?" Harry asked quietly. Hermione's head snapped up and she looked surprised.

"Oh! Harry. I'm... I'm sorry I just ran off on you and Ron like that. I just... I guess I wont be going with you and Ron to the Burrow for holiday. Viktor wants me to come visit him again." she tried to smile. "Wont Mrs. Weasley be happy? One less person-"

Harry spoke as if he hadn't heard a word she said. "Why are you crying?"

Hermione bit her lip and squinted at Harry. "One of Viktor's best friends was just killed - that's why Viktor wants me with him. I... I knew Viktor's friend pretty well."

Harry nodded and stood up. He stared at Hermione as she continued to write. He didn't really believe her - but did he have a choice? Sighing, Harry turned and left Hermione to her writing.