-Incendio-

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Don't sue, I'm poor. EXCEPTION: I own the Witches of Trane, the Crystal Orb, the flying carpet idea for the story (kinda), the idea that the forests of Albania are next to the Dead Sea, the Door of Serenity, Fabrisia, home of the nymphs and Amethyst Cove.

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CHAPTER 26: When the Sunsets Were Still Ugly (Chapter rated PG-13 )

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In a Dream...

There was a huge wall. A white wall. Blindingly white. No stains or dark spots. Surrounding her was the wall. It started slowly to creep closer towards her. Then a dark red liquid oozed through the walls, filling up the floor many many inches. Hermione recognized it as blood. She screamed, but couldn't' get out, and was soon drowning in the red blood. It went over her head and she breathed one last breath, before going under. Her eyes flew open, without her wanting them too, and to her surprise, she could see through it as clearly as she could in the thin air. Even better. Her sense of sight seemed strangely, freakishly acute. She took a deep breath, and it felt like air. It felt better then air. The substance she was breathing in felt like breathing the cleanest air that anyone has ever breathed. Before factories and people polluted the sky. When the sunsets were still ugly.

She quickly brought her senses together. Her entire body started to feel tingly, and numb. She wanted to pinch herself, but she couldn't move her muscles. Her body started to move on its own, expertly swimming through the thick substance, through the white wall, and into a whole new world. There was a pitch black sky, with no stars visible. It scared Hermione, but she felt oddly at ease. A portal appeared in front of her. There was a swirling of colors; before it stopped a clear image was shining in front of her.

It was Hermione. She was standing next to Ron and Draco, wearing torn rags, whip marks on her bare chest and legs. Draco and Ron were the same. Hermione's hair was long, almost reaching the top of her breasts, but it was not long enough to censor herself from whatever was torturing them relentlessly. Draco and Ron were crying. Hermione was the only one that was not. It was like a parallel universe.

Quickly, the real Hermione was pulled backwards towards the white, blood-filled room, but it wasn't there. She was flying through time, the years whizzed violently past her. Then she stopped, and could scarcely believe the sight in front of her.

It was a horrible war, between what looked like elves and the same horrible black-hooded creatures that had been haunting Draco and Hermione for so long.

The elves were being horrendously slaughtered. Their forces were retreating, but the creatures showed no mercy. They continued to kill them at great numbers, with obvious ease. Soon, all the elves were gone expect the few who ran into the dark forest behind them, some who had been deprived of an arm or toe.

The creatures silently spoke a spell, which cause all the beautiful, blue corpses to rise off the ground. They created a funnel like shape in the air, and then dropped back down, onto posts surrounding the land. Their bodies were no where to be seen. Just their heads.

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Hermione sat up with a horrible scream. Her whole head was swimming, and she felt like her arms and legs were melting off her body she was in such pain. Someone quickly rushed over to her, and calmed her down enough to make her lay back down.

It was a beautiful woman that Hermione did not recognize. She was wearing a plain wool dress, and had a crown of leaves around her head.

She was patting Hermione's forehead with a cool washcloth, whispering consoling words.

Hermione spoke in a raspy voice, that made her throat hurt. "Where am I?" she asked the woman.

She smiled, like the answer to the question was obvious.

"Fabrisia, dear." said the woman, covering Hermione back up with a blanket.

It all flooded back into Hermione's mind. The moke, arriving in the forest of Albania, the zombies, finding Draco, kissing Draco many times, arriving in Fabrisia after becoming a ghost to save Ron, and going on a wild underwater journey with Laurel the mermaid to get her body back from Nyoka, the Queen of the snakes.

Hermione sighed, and closed her eyes. She wished she was back at home, in her muggle bed, watching her muggle TV, and her mother was bringing her chicken soup for her throat, and something for the pain in her arm and leg.

"What happened?" Hermione croaked, eyes still closed.

"You broke your arm and leg, sweetie. But don't worry, we're mending them as we speak. Here," she said, handing Hermione something and making her sit up slowly, "drink this. It will help."

Hermione nodded graciously and took a sip. It tasted like a pleasant combination of pumpkin juice and herbs. She greedily drank the whole thing, realizing it had been quite a while since she had had any real food.

"How long was I asleep?" she quickly demanded, her voice coming back to her like waves moving towards a shoreline.

"Two days." said the woman, and quickly left the room Hermione was in.

Hermione fell back on the pillows. What had happened in two days? How were Ron and Draco? What about Karissa. And Laurel? Was she okay, too?

Hermione had so many questions; she wished someone was there to answer them.

But no one came. She observed the room she was in. It was more like a tent, white canvas was stretching around her, and there were a few scattered shelves with potions and ingredients on them. There was a padded chair in the corner, a deep indent in the padding. Someone had been sitting there not too long ago. Hermione hoped it was Draco. The thought of him being worried about her made her heart soar.

After a while, Hermione's thoughts wandered towards her dream. What had it meant? She was in rags, with Draco and Ron. Surely it had not been sowing the future. Hermione had to tell someone, but when she tried to move her legs to stand up, they seared in horrible pain. Hermione lay back down against the pillows, utterly defeated.

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I absolutley LOVE this chapter. By far, my best and my favorite. Sorry it's taking so long to update. I rewrote this chapter 3 times. The first two ideas were stupid and made no sense. I like the outcome of this idea much, much better. Enjoy and review!

XX-Dracos-Dark-Queen-XX - As you wish. ;)

lacekiki - Thanks!

Cold-eyes-for-you - Haha. I always leave everyone asking for more. ;)

Lestatlover1784 - Evil free is the way to be! Aww! Fluffy pink unicorns! Actually, I have. She's really good. claps I'm just waiting for another chapter of YOUR story. Hem hem. And yeah, I've read rootbeers stuff, and it didn't really tickle my fancy. It's cool that you two are friends, though. -) I don't have yahoo, but maybe I'll e-mail ya sometime! Chow!

londonmalfoy - Thanks!

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Oh yes, I almost forgot. I got the idea to do a random survey for all my reviewers. Here it is:

1. Which story do you like more, the one with Hermione, Draco, and Ron, or the one with Ginny and Dumbledore?

2. Who is a better character. Karissa or Laurel?

3. Without looking back at chapter one, do you remember that the spell 'Incendio' means?

4. What is your favorite species that I put in the story? (Examples: Evil Black Hooded creatures, zombies, nymphs, mermaids, wizards, sprites, trolls, elves, mokes etc. etc.)

5. Do you like the idea of quotes, or riddles, more for the story?

6. Tell me your favorite part of the whole story.

7. What do you think is the funniest part of the story?

8. Do ya love it-)

So, if you want to, just answer the questions in your next review!