Hehe.. cackles evily I've been working on this chapter for a while, in between analysing articles for English and learning about sequences & series for maths… Here is chapter 3… Which was going to be chapter 4 before the whole merging of chapter 1(If Only) and chapter 2(Frozen Bits of Time) took place. Now they are both one big, long happy (but depressing) chapter, which is followed by a really short one.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, even though my heart yearns to. Nor do I own Draco. But one day, (or during maths class), I will marry Tom Felton, and we will have a beautiful wedding, and children, and we shall name them… okay. Fine, we won't get married then! You're just jealous!
Last chapter…
Luckily everyone was at breakfast already or getting ready for what the new day would bring. Not stopping to glance at whether there were still other girls in the dormitory she shared, Hermione approached her bed and started drawing her curtains, so that she could gather her things for her shower, but stopped, when she heard a…
A deep thumping sound. She glanced around, trying to find the source of the noise. Hermione shrugged it off, thinking she was just tired and imagining things from lack of sleep. Rummaging through her oak chest of drawers, she began to gather her things. But then, she heard it again.
'Boom… boom…boom…boom'
It was a rhythmic sound, sort of like drums… Just like the time last summer when her next door neighbour decided learn how to play the drums. It drove her father crazy, because their next door neighbour, Neil would choose such inappropriate times to practice, especially in the middle of the night. Her dad would get up, clearly angry in his velvet robes and slippers that Hermione and her brother brought him for his 40th birthday and would then proceed to the Neil's house and bag on the door for a consistent amount of time, until he stopped. Sometimes he would stand there all night, because Neil couldn't hear him.
Thinking about her father was too hard. A wave of sadness washed over her. She would never see him again… Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt sick. Stupid death eaters… Stupid magical world… Her stomach felt like someone had punched it, and yanked it out. Her throat felt croaky and dry, and her attempts at keeping the tears at bay were unsuccessful.
The beating sounds got more rapid and faster. She blinked back the tears, startled.
Hermione could feel her body tensing up, her heart beating faster and faster with every beat.
Surely others girls in her dormitory could hear the sound? Then why wasn't anyone coming to investigate, to see what it was?
She peered out from behind her curtains. The dormitory was deserted.
The thumps got faster still; she could feel herself tensing up again. It was an odd feeling. Like she didn't have control of her body. Why was it tensing, why was her heart beating faster with the beats?
Multiple beats occurred, gaining speed and becoming more rapid.
Hermione could feel the earth rumbling.
It wasn't an earthquake… or was it?
Don't be silly, she told herself. Earthquakes don't occur at the same time as tribal drums. This had to be different. Something magical…
Her thoughts stopped when she could hear someone calling out her name…
'Hermione?'
Maybe it was just her mind, playing tricks on her again. She knew the drums weren't part of her imagination, because she felt unbalanced and the ground was shaking.
"Hermione!" who ever or whatever was calling her, raised their voice.
She told her brain to be quiet, she didn't want to go insane and start hearing voices. That was the last thing she needed now.
"Hermione! Are you here?' it was Ginny.
The thumping came to an absolute halt. She was no longer tensing up, the ground wasn't moving and her heart had stopped beating rapidly.
"I know you're here…You didn't show up for breakfast, and you're usually the first one there. I also checked the library…"
Hermione didn't answer. Or rather, couldn't. She couldn't believe what she had just experienced, and Ginny was acting like nothing had happened.
"You can come out if you're having a bad hair day, you know? We don't care…" Ginny teased, as she pulled back her curtains.
Ginny pulled the curtains back completely, revealing Hermione who was staring at the wall, clearly in shock.
"Hermione? Are you alright?"
Hermione didn't answer.
A billion thoughts were running through her mind.
'Am I going insane?'
'Don't be silly. You were sane a while ago…'
'But how do you know I was sane?'
'You don't… this is the first sign, talking to yourself'
'It's just lack of sleep. I'm just really, really tired,' she told herself.
'Hermione?' Ginny said, waving her arms in front of her friends face.
'Anyone home?'
'Sorry Ginny,' Hermione forced out for her friends sake, with a strained smile.
'So where were you at breakfast?' Ginny asked, unsuspectingly, making herself at home on Hermione's bed.
She paused for a moment, unsure whether to continue.
'Harry and Ron were worried too; you're always the first one there in the morning at the table you know, so we found it odd that you weren't there…'
Hermione, distracted already looked back out behind her curtains, still curious to why Ginny couldn't hear the beat sounds that occurred so unmistakably just moments before.
'Dumbledore made an announcement too, it was something about relations with other schools, and it was a pity you weren't there, because Ron and Harry could have used some explanations from someone who wasn't stuffing their face like the food was going to disappear…'
Maybe she was going insane, Hermione decided. It was just like how Harry was hearing voices in second year, except he had a reasonable explanation- he was a parseltongue. She had no reasonable explanation for feeling the ground rumble and tribal drums. Her family wasn't magic. Or, should she say they weren't when they were alive…
'Hermione? Are you listening?'
Hermione's head snapped back to her friend sitting on the bed. She forced a smile and a nod for her friend's sake. She knew Ginny would worry if she thought there was something wrong with her.
'Well, you look a wreak,' Ginny finished off.
'Just feeling a bit tired.'
She struggled to think of an excuse that would be plausible.
'I stayed up last night studying, and lost track of time… Err, before I knew it, it was morning, and the sun was rising…' she explained, her voice wavering slightly.
Hermione waited, anxious to hear her sentence. Would Ginny believe her?
'Hermione, you should really take it easy. No more late night studying okay? We're going to get you fixed up before class; you look like you had a wild night … with the books'
Hermione felt as if a whole load had been lifted off her shoulders. Ginny brought it. Hopefully she wouldn't ask anymore questions.
Ginny guided her to the bathroom, and went back to Hermione's dormitory to pick out an outfit. Which Hermione thought was pointless, seeing as she was required to wear uniform anyway, and all her uniform looked basically the same.
Turning the shower taps, Hermione sighed, as the warm water washed over her. She massaged her shampoo into her hair, the chemical smells wafting in the steam.
Moments later, she reluctantly turned off the taps and stepped out of the shower.
Her hair was mattered together in its usual clumps of frizzyness, and it was wet with beads of water. She sighed. She would never get used to having such ugly hair.
Maybe it was time to change?
Probably not. She often thought of it when she had time to spare from her studies, but she never acted upon the idea. So why start now?
Wrapping her bath robe around her, and the mess of what was supposedly her hair into a spare towel, she tottered out of the bathroom.
She was greeted with Ginny's cheerful smile.
'Wow! Where did you get this from?', Ginny said enthused, waving an Egyptian ornament in her face.
Hermione took the object from Ginny and inspected it. She hadn't seen it in a while. It still glistened in the sun, the way it did when she first got it. It still gave her a feeling of complete control, power when she held it.
'Your brother gave this to me as a present after you went to Egypt to visit Bill. I forgot I even had it…' Hermione replied, trailing off.
It was true. She had forgotten she had it. Holding it in her palms again, she couldn't help but feel like everything was going to be alright. It was a weird feeling. Why did this object from Egypt give her such a feeling?
"Hey! Hermione!" Ron yelled from across Diagon Alley.
"Hello Ron! What a pleasant surprise" Hermione said, walking across the Alley.
After a brief, friendly embrace, Hermione could not help but enquire about their holiday to Egypt.
"How was Egypt?"
"It was really cool and stuff. Bill took us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them!" Ron replied.
"Sounds fascinating. I've done some reading up on Egypt whilst I was in France, and it's amazing how the Egyptian wizards were so advanced! Did you know that they discovered…"
Ron interrupted Hermione, "Sorry, I don't need a history lesson thanks, having Percy there on the trip was enough. He wouldn't stop going on about his bloody Head Boy badge!"
Hermione flushed red, embarrassed.
"Anyways, come with me, I've got something to give you. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron."
Hermione followed Ron, curious. What was he possible going to give her?
"Here" he said when they got to his room which she shared with Percy.
Hermione examined the object.
"Horus' Eye carved in what's supposed to be blue agate. I don't know if it's supposed to mean anything or anything like that, but Bill said it probably isn't even real blue agate"
"Wow, thanks Ron… You didn't have to get me a present."
"That's okay. Mum made me get it anyway."
"Hermione?" Ginny asked, concerned.
"Oh sorry… just remembering to when your brother gave it to me."
"So, what is it?"
"Horus' Eye carved in what Ron said is supposed to be but probably isn't blue agate."
The eye looked just as it did the day Ron gave it to her.
The delicate blue stone glittered in the light; it had a magical sparkle about it. The eye stared back at her, powerfully as if it could see right through her.
"Um… Who is Horus?" Ginny asked hesitantly.
"Didn't you learn anything whilst you were in Egypt?" Hermione asked, teasingly.
"Horus was son of Isis and Osiris and god of the sky and protector of the reigning Pharaoh. He was also called the lord of heaven and was often pictured with the head of a falcon. The name Horus meant 'He who is far above'. Horus is also often pictured with an ankh, which is the symbol of life. The holder of an ankh had the power to give life or take it away. Only pharaohs and gods were permitted to carry them."
"Wow… it looks cool. My brother for once gave a good present!"
Hermione inwardly agreed, and continued to be enchanted by the present she'd forgotten about.
"Anyway, heres the outfit I picked out for you" Ginny said, handing Hermione her uniform.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "What is so different about this set of uniform, compared to all my others?"
"It just looked better," Ginny replied shrugging.
"But they all look the same!"
Ginny shrugged again, this time without saying anything.
"If you say it looks better, then so be it," Hermione said whilst turning her heel, heading back to the bathroom.
She didn't realise she was still holding blue agate object until she had locked the door in the bathroom behind her. Shrugging and not bothering to take it back to her section of the dormitory and then coming back, she set the enchanting object next to the sink.
Unwrapping the towel from around her head, something caught her eye in the mirror. It was glowing… The gemstone was glowing!
"What the hell…" she muttered under her breath, scooping up the object.
The bright yellow light surrounding the object was growing.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock. She checked the mirror reflection to make sure she wasn't imagining things. The glow was reflected.
'I think I'm going insane'
'You're not going insane!'
'First the strange tribal drum sounds, and now I'm seeing things!'
Hermione closed her eyes, and opened them again. Yup, the glow emitting from Horus' Eye was still there…
"HERMIONE!" Sounded a voice, loudly, echoing throughout the bathroom and startling her.
She dropped Horus' Eye.
It all happened in slow motion. A blue blur, crashing, slowly towards the floor, and shards of the gem bouncing off the white tiles.
She gasped in shock. She had dropped it.
"Hermione! HURRAY UP!" Lavenders voice floated through the door, piercing her ears and causing her to wince.
Hermione hurriedly picked up the broken pieces of the once beautiful object and stuffed them into her towel.
"Hold on for a sec, Lavender!" She yelled back.
Quickly stripping herself of her clothes, she got changed into her uniform. She gathered her bath robe and the towel with the broken bits of blue agate in it and quickly unlocked the door.
"Jeez, what were you doing in there, Hermione?" Lavender glared at her.
Hermione could only shrug. And for the second time that morning, and wave of sadness washed over her.
It was only a stupid cheap rock, she told herself.
Okay… I don't know if Blue Agate can actually break… But for the sake of it, it can now! Read and review… The blue button at the bottom left hand corner is begging you. You know you want to! Any advice is welcome…
