Disclaimer: Nope, don't own a bean, just the clothes on my back.

A/N: Here go my thank yous. Padfoot's-Luvr – Hope you like this chapter. Allana – You really are the sweetest person I know with all your love and affection. It means so much to me. LinNicole – I can't help but love the twisted relationship that is Hermione and Lucius either. I can't believe you think I'm doing a fantastic job. Let's just hope this chapter does the story some justice. CharmedLeoLvr – I'd slap her too but I have plans for them both. Loving your fan fics by the way. Super – I always love getting reviews off you. You've always supported my fan fics, even this one. Thank you. maile – Let's hope that I don't disappoint you on this one either. mrs malfoy – Special talent? Me? Really? Only my husband and one other person have said that. Thank you. I'm glad you liked that line as well, it took me twenty minutes to word that bit so it sounded just right. MiSSxMELON – I know what you mean about Snape. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep him in it for most of it or not. ICE was an excellent story btw. I will read the sequel very soon, promise. Davida – I bet there is someone out there just waiting to love you. You probably aren't looking hard enough;-). Thank you for your review. Hotskittles – I have now updated and looking at the calendar I feel very bad that it was nearly a month since my last update. I wouldn't say I'm a great writer, just about average.:-) Angelzeus – Now listen here Miss Faloola, stop plotting against me, we're meant to be on the same side. I'm still undecided on Snape though. Will let you know when I have decided. SerpentClara – You make a very valid point and thank you so much for pointing it out to me. I will definitely work that back into the story a.s.a.p. Hope you didn't lose patience in waiting for this update. Confused 1 – What can I say, my life just won't let me sit down for two seconds to get this up.;-) T'Lorie – Your review completely made my day, I was grinning like a Cheshire cat for half an hour when I got it. And Hermione healing quickly….well….all I can say is, watch this space. Thank you so much for your kind compliments. eleni rhiannon – I will most definitely take you up on that idea of bouncing ideas off you. And this nonsense of me being a REAL writer will have to stop right now;-), I can only hope good enough to be a real writer. I will certainly get to read your stuff and that's a promise. ELIZABETHYOURFAN – Why thank you very much. K T – The person who sent me the email, you know who you are:-). Thank you for taking the time to do that, it was the kick I needed to move quicker on updating.

Well, I can't thank you all enough for actually taking time out of your day to read my measly story. It means the world to me. However, I can safely say that this is not my best or favourite chapter of this fan fic of mine. I've fiddled and fiddled with it but this is the best you are gonna get from me. Hope I don't disappoint you all too much, if I do then don't be afraid to let me know. Try your best to enjoy. Also, could you please excuse any bad spelling or grammar I have left in, I'm just too bloody lazy to sift through it. If I don't update in the next couple of days then have a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Chapter Sixteen

"Where on earth have you been with the girl? I told you to fetch her nearly an hour ago, Severus." Madam Pomfrey screeched when they entered the hospital wing.

"Miss Granger is still not well. She had to keep sitting down for a little while." Snape told her flatly. Hermione looked at him with a frown. She went to say something but was quickly pulled over to a bed and made to sit on it by the medi-witch. "I'll leave you to it." And with a whirl of his cloak, he had left the hospital wing.

"I just knew you should have stayed here. What was I thinking letting you go?" Hermione listened to her talk to herself. The only thing she could think of was seeing her parents. They would help her to make sense of her feelings and she loved nothing more than to sit and chat with them.

"I'm fine, really, just a little sore, that's all." Hermione told her gently. Madam Pomfrey tutted as she gently lifted the girl's hair to look at the wounds. She was horrified to find that they were not healing. What was she going to do with them? "What is it?" She asked seeing the look on her face.

"Your wounds are not healing and it would be too dangerous to put healing potion on them." Hermione lightly touched her head where they were. She flinched at the pain. How had she not noticed them before? "I'll have to put bandages on them and hope they heal the muggle way and quickly at that." She bustled over to her office just as Harry and Ron came in followed by Dumbledore. She smiled; just the man she wanted to see.

"Miss Granger, how are you feeling today?" The headmaster asked with a chuckle. Harry and Ron jumped on to the bed and sat on either side of her.

"I could be better but I was wondering if I could ask you something?"

"You already have but you may ask one more question." His eyes twinkled playfully at his joke. He clasped his hands together and looked at her more seriously when he saw no smile on her face.

"I was wondering if I could go home to my parents for a few days. I really need to see them." She pleaded to him. He suddenly looked sombre.

"I'm afraid you can't see your parents for a while." His twinkle disappeared as he saw the look of devastation on her face.

"W-why not?" Tears were threatening to spill over. "I need to see them." She felt Ron and Harry take her hands but ignored it.

"When you came back, we had to hide your parents."

"B-but I'm h-here. T-there is n-no n-n-need to hide t-them." She spoke between stifled sobs. Both of her friends started to hug her while holding her hands, trying to comfort her.

"We believe Voldemort will try to take you again. He will stop at nothing to get to his prey and kill anyone that gets in the way. It is for their safety." He felt so sad to see her like this. He had thought she would have taken this better as she had been recovering from the trauma so quickly. She broke down as Madam Pomfrey came back in.

"What have you done?" She demanded of them as she tried to shoo the boys off the bed but Hermione held on to them tightly. "How have you got her into this state?"

"Miss Granger would have liked to have gone home for a few days but, sadly, it is not going to be possible." Madam Pomfrey nodded in understanding. She had been told about the girl's parents the night before.

"If it helps, Hermione, it's only three weeks to the Christmas holidays." Ron spoke up, trying to cheer her up. Her head shot up from Harry's shoulder.

"It's nearly Christmas. What's the date?" She wiped away her tears. She loved Christmas and she was going to have to make the best of a bad situation. She would see her parents soon; Voldemort would surely forget about her.

"It's the twenty-seventh of November today." Harry told her.

"We'll spend it together as usual." Ron nudged her as he smiled. She smiled back but Harry could see that she wasn't happy; it didn't reach her eyes like it always did.

'Why does he want to ruin everyone's lives?' Hermione thought to herself as Madam Pomfrey put patches of her cuts. 'We never did anything to him. How can someone be so hateful?' A single tear slipped down her left cheek as she leaned back onto Harry. Dumbledore gravely watched her. This was going to have to end, too many lives are being ruined and it was killing him to watch so many people get hurt.

"We shall leave you to get some rest." At that prompt, Harry and Ron got off the bed and said a quick goodbye before following their headmaster out of the hospital wing. Harry looked back to find Hermione lower herself on the bed. He hated Voldemort with a passion and his hate was starting to intensify. He took away his parents, his godfather and now he's hurt his best friend. This man was going to pay and that was a promise.

Hermione listened to the doors close as Madam Pomfrey pulled a blanket over her. Her thoughts were starting to take over as she felt her shoes being taken off. She felt lost and alone, she had so hoped that her parents would be able to help her. She heard a distant voice tell her that she should sleep. Maybe she should, forget about everything for a little while. She drifted into a light slumber shortly afterwards.

She smiled as she found herself in her bedroom at home. She could hear her mum and dad talking downstairs. She raced out of her room and down the stairs to them. Her heart started beating wildly as she ran into the living room. They were sat on the couch having a heated argument about something. She smiled at them as they looked up. She was deliriously happy. They motioned for her to join them in the middle, she couldn't move quickly enough to them. Unexpectedly, the room went dark and she could feel something restraining her. The lights came back on and she found, to her horror, Death Eaters sat on either side of her. She started to fight against her restraints while she could hear her parents shouting her from somewhere else in the house.

"Hermione!" Madam Pomfrey shook her harder this time. This wasn't right, she should be waking up. She took out her wand and pointed it at her. "Enervate."

Nothing. The medi-witch was losing her calm. Tears were slipping from under her eyelids as she struggled against the blanket. Madam Pomfrey raced to the fireplace at the end of the wing. She took some Floo powder from the side and stepped into it. "Headmaster's office." She stepped out to find Dumbledore chatting with Tonks, Lupin and Snape. "Hurry, something's wrong with her." One by one they followed her into the fireplace to the hospital wing.

Lupin was the last one to step out and race over to the bed. She wasn't struggling anymore but lay there whimpering and pleading to someone. Dumbledore placed a hand over her forehead.

"Wake up, Hermione." He spoke loudly while looking at her. She was paling very quickly.

"We're losing her, aren't we?" Tonks asked, trying to keep her own tears back.

"No, I won't allow it." Lupin almost shouted. He took hold of her hand and sat on the edge of the bed. "Come on, Hermione. It's just a dream, wake up." Her pleading was coming to a slow stop. Dumbledore looked to Madam Pomfrey.

"Bring Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, Poppy. They deserve to say goodbye to their friend." His voice broke a little.

"NO! SURELY SOMETHING CAN BE DONE!" Snape shouted. Tonks fell to the floor as she broke down into hysterics. Lupin cried freely, feeling completely useless. Dumbledore shook his head and urged Madam Pomfrey to do what he had asked of her. The potions master grabbed Hermione and started to shake her. "WAKE UP! I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO DIE BEFORE ME!" He felt Lupin start to pull him back. He let her go, his breathing ragged as he backed away from the bed.

Harry and Ron came running in after Madam Pomfrey. Luckily they had been on their way back up to see her when they had bumped into her. Panic filled their souls as they reached her. Her breathing was slowing and her lips had a bluish tint to them. Ron burst into tears as he bent down to kiss her. Harry felt numb, there had to be some way of getting her back. Then it hit him.

"Someone knock me out." He demanded as he climbed onto the next bed. Everyone looked at him with a frown, except Tonks who was rocking on the floor. "Trust me. When she was gone I had these dreams about her." Dumbledore understood as he took his wand out and raised it towards Harry.

"Stupefy." He said quietly. Harry fell back on the bed. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw Harry walk into the room. She was struggling to breathe as the snake tightened its grip on her neck.

"H-Harry," She gasped, "Y-you have t-to-"

"Ssssh!" Harry held a finger to his lips as he glanced at his surroundings. "This is just a dream, Hermione. Why aren't you fighting it?" He sat down next to her as he looked at the snake. She blinked hard as she tried to swallow. "Come on, you were always the one with logical thinking. Where's it gone?" More tears dropped from her blurry eyes.

"V-V-Volde-"

"Isn't here. I won't allow him to be. This is your mind. Why are you letting him control it?" He was still staring at the snake. "Let her go."

"Never." It spoke back.

"Let her go." He repeated more sternly. It shook his head. "Hermione, I can't do this for you." Her eyes were rolling into the back of her head. This was it, this was death. Then the unexpected happened; her airway rapidly became free and she felt her restraints loosen. She slowly opened her eyes. She was in that safe room again, sitting on the floor with Harry.

"What happened?" She questioned.

"I don't know. One minute we were in your dream, the next we're here." He smiled at her. "I never realised I had actually being talking to you when I had these dreams." Her jaw dropped down.

"You had these dreams too?" She squealed. He nodded. "But how is that possible?" She felt herself being shaken.

"Time to go back." She could hear Harry tell her in the distance. She felt someone hugging her very tightly. Her eyes flickered open as she looked down to see a mass of bright red hair.

"You need to stop this attention seeking, Miss Granger. We have more important things to worry about." Snape snapped at her in a frosty voice. She glimpsed at him to find concern etched all over his face. She heard Dumbledore chuckle.

"You certainly gave us another scare." She looked to him to find there was no smile with that chuckle, only damp cheeks.

"Ron, I love you too but I'm starting to go numb." Her voice was extremely hoarse and sore. He stood back up and harshly wiped his tears away.

"You're going to give me a heart attack before I turn twenty." He joked but with no humour in his voice. Lupin simply took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He was too scared to speak in case his voice gave way. Tonks was shaking as she got up. She gave a feeble smile to Hermione and proceeded to stare at the floor. Recent events had a given her a hard knock; so many of her friends were disappearing and she couldn't seem to do a thing to stop it. Madam Pomfrey went over to Harry and brought him round.

"It seems you've saved the day again, Harry." The headmaster spoke to him like a father would to his son. "You must tell us how." He nodded as he sat up to tell the story of what had just happened.

Lucius slumped down into a chair in his living room, by a blazing fire. He had nearly not kept his word to Hermione. If he had arrived only seconds later……no, he couldn't think like that. He found it hurt too much. It was with no great surprise that he realised he didn't care if he had been put under the Cruciatus curse ten times for interrupting him; it would have been worth it. He couldn't simply stand to one side and let him kill her. Not now anyway, especially now that he knew his feelings were returned. Things may keep them apart but at least he had that feeling of being wanted. He had never experienced that before and it was most certainly something he didn't want to stop.