Chapter Two: Fallen

As darkness quickly steals the light
that shined within her eyes
she slowly swallows all her fear
and soothes her mind with lies
well all she wants and all she needs
are reasons to survive
a day in which the sun will take
her artificial light

The potions dungeon at the time was still void of both students and teachers when Hermione arrived. Still drugged up on her shot of emotional ecstasy, she skipped into the classroom and promptly took her seat, humming a favourite muggle tune as she methodically took out her books and waited for Harry's arrival. She'd never felt better, although the excitement was overwhelming, it was at the same time promising and heartening. A dream come true; No, her dream come true. Nothing in the world could have made her feel any better. She finally had him. Her other half, her soul mate, her love.

'Cause when there's you, I feel whole
And there's no better feeling in the world
But without you I'm alone
And I'd rather be in love with you

"I didn't know you liked Michelle Branch," came a voice. Hermione immediately ceased her quiet singing and looked up from her mountain of text books.

"Harry! You're here!" she blushed embarrassedly having never liked anyone hear her sing. "And yea, I do, heard her on the radio a lot over the summer…she's really good, hey how do you know Michelle?"

Now it was Harry's turn to flush. "Dudley likes watching music videos at home, and her music videos are on a lot. But he doesn't seem to like her…he prefers…what's her face. Britney Spears I think her name is?"

Hermione giggled uncharacteristically.

"It's like Playwizard or something. Disturbing…" he muttered, picking up her quill and twirling between his thumb and forefinger.

"How do you know what Playwizard's like?" she inquired teasingly.

Harry flushed even redder and mumbled a few indistinct words.

The brunette cocked her head and smiled, "anyway, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Harry's eyes brightened a few shades sending shivers down her spine. "Do you remember…a couple weeks ago, when, when Lavender…you know, broke up with me," he asked, mumbling the last bit.

It took all the strength within her to keep from bursting with joy. She simply nodded, trying to look understanding.

Harry continued, putting her quill back down, "And, you said you knew someone who…who really liked me?"

Hermione squeaked, "Yes?" Her hands were clamped onto her potions book so tightly her knuckles turned a shade of white.

"Well, figured, if you knew her, it wouldn't be too bad…so…after you left, I spent all night trying to find out who it could be…and…well, it couldn't have been anyone more perfect," he broke off grinning mischievously.

Hermione's heart was pounding so loudly she was certain Harry could hear it.

"I love you Hermione! You're the best!" He threw his arms around her and embraced her ardently.

"Harry…I-I lo-"she began, but was drowned by the sound of Harry's next words.

"Thank you so much!" he breathed, beaming brightly.

Hermione pulled back in slight confusion at his words.

"I can never repay you enough, but tell me, how did you find out that it was Cho?" he asked, finally letting her go.

His simple words ceased her heart from drumming its rhythmic sound. Her mind turned a blinding white with the exception of the word Cho…CHO. The book she'd been grasping on to so tightly slid through her frozen form and fell to the floor, detaching the pages from the spine. Her throat went as dry as sand and she found it incredibly difficult to draw even a single breath. Slowly, as realization hit, her toffee eyes welled up with hot tears that threatened to fall. It had been Harry that she'd over heard Cho talk about in the library.

Harry stared at her for a moment after she hadn't answered. "Hermione? Are you there?" he waved his hand up and down before her face.

Her dried lips attempted to move, but no sound escaped. The bell rang, and she was spared a reply by the horde of Gryffindors and Slytherins flooding the room.

"Settle down students, immediately!" Snape's voice echoed throughout the dungeon causing everyone to fall silent. "Much better," he paused to sneer at Neville who squirmed nervously upon the edge of his stool. "Today," he began, "We shall be concocting, a Somnio Eternus potion. Can anyone tell me what this potion does?"

The slight rustling sound indicated that everyone had turned their heads towards Hermione as usual. But to their astonishment, her hand was not up. It appeared as if she hadn't even been paying attention.

"No one? How utterly pathetic" the professor chided scornfully. "Somnio Eternus, is somewhat the opposite of a dreamless sleep potion, it takes you to a certain time period, the past, the future, or even the present. But, it is all in your mind. You are unconscious the entire duration of the potion. If you are to use the potion, you will become unconscious eternally. Today, we are only making a temporary effect of the potion, although the ingredients are exactly the same, with the exception of the Nightshade which acts as a counteraction to the Eternus effect. Each drop should last approximately, half an hour, in that time, you shall be observing the behaviour of your partner. The instructions—", he pointed his wand towards the blackboard, which immediately began scribbling down the instructions in his own writing, "—are on the board. When you have completed it, which should be in exactly 29 minutes, you will pour ONE and I repeat, one drop and one drop only onto yourself. Anymore and you may really fall into an eternal slumber." The greasy-haired professor paused a moment to scratch his abnormally hook- shaped nose.

The students were as still as statues for fear of irritating the menacing pedagogue. "I have already selected your partners. So when you hear your name called, come up, fetch the ingredients and sit with your partner."

The students nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "Bulstrode – Weasley" Ron groaned quietly. "Parkinson- Finnegan, Malfoy- Longbottom," Neville jumped from his seat in shock. Snape smirked and continued. "Goyle-Patil, Zabini-Potter, Crabbe-Granger." The list went on, but Hermione didn't bother listening. With her heart feeling jaded, she automatically made her way up to the ingredients. Harry's words were still echoing vividly through her mind. Cho.

Minutes later, Draco and his followers sauntered into the class. He felt far less giddy now and irritation had begun to settle in its place. Wandering silver eyes fell upon a weary looking auburn haired beauty in disguise as he took his seat. What crawled up Mudblood's arse he wondered.

Foreign emotions suffocated her mind, body and soul as she lethargically made her way over to Crabbe's bench not taking any notice of the platinum haired heartthrob sitting at the same bench. She'd have normally avoided him, but at the moment, her mind was in complete chaos and her heart, if she hadn't known better, felt like it had been physically ripped from her chest, and heedlessly torn apart into bloody, miniscule shreds. Hermione felt as if she'd been left to die a slow, excruciating death.

Cho.

Her eyes watered once more, but refused to fall. Her breaths were both sharp and painful. Her soul yearned to crawl out through her mouth and scream. Scream for mercy, scream for pain, and keep screaming until someone heard her. Until someone saved her…

Dry, pale lips parted, but still, no sound escaped. Abnormally dark-chocolate eyes seared with pain from not blinking. She closed them gently for fear of the crystalline tears seeping out. Her legs felt weak. Blindly, she sat down. The stool seemed oddly lumpy, yet soft and comfortable.

A quiet, almost inaudible, strange, yet familiar icy voice cut through her mind.

"Comfortable, Mudblood?"

Hermione's eyes darted open and she half leaped off her seat. The students around her sniggered. Whirling around, she discovered why.

"Ferret" her voice hissed like seeping air. Her cheeks flushed crimson as she began to realize what had happened.

"Most girls would kill for a spot in my lap you know, you can't just sit in it whenever you please, there is a queue," he drawled, flashing the girl his infamous smirk.

Hermione glared at him, auburn eyes burning through silver-gray ones, like fire and ice.

"I'm not most girls now am I?" she retorted taking a proper, unoccupied seat this time.

Malfoy sneered. "No, Granger, you're not, in fact, you're not a girl all; you bushy-haired…you Mudblood" he finished, turning his back on her. Evidently, Draco had found a way to evade McGonagall's charm as he wasn't immediately hit with an invisible force.

She walked right into that one…

Draco could feel her eyes blazing holes through the back of his head as he started on his potion.

"Longbottom," he snapped. The quivering Gryffindor slid his seat over another inch.

"Y-Yes? he stammered. Neville shook involuntarily, trying desperately to keep from shaking so violently.

The boy couldn't believe his luck. Paired with the one person he feared most (next to Voldemort, Snape, his grandmother of course; okay and maybe the whole Slytherin house too).

"Don't touch, do or move anything unless I tell you to," Draco commanded sternly.

Neville nodded slowly. He was so terrified wouldn't be able to anyway, so it didn't make much of a difference.

"Pass me the frog spawn," Hermione ordered monotonously throwing ingredients carelessly into the cauldron.

Crabbe grunted and passed her a sponge.

"No Crabbe! That's a sponge!" she cried disbelievingly.

Crabbe blinked, and then shrugged.

"Okay, you know what? I'll do it myself, don't touch do or move anything unless I tell you to," Hermione fumed. She had a brainless shell for a partner. Great, just great…

Time passed, and her insides soon filled with a mixture of anger and sorrow. She felt bitter and spiteful, but at the exact same time, defeated and desolate. Empty, hollow; burdened, and heavy. The once obliviously happy girl was drowning in pain. Internal, excruciating, disparaging pain.

"Watch it, Mudblood," Draco spat, "don't dirty my robes with your filthy touch."

Hermione looked over; she'd accidentally knocked into Malfoy's arm spilling his beaker of luminous moon essence. When she didn't answer, Draco began imperiously dusting off his robes over her cauldron. The potion began to fizz and bubble, changing from a mystifying cerulean colour, to a rapidly swirling, midnight blue.

Smirking, satisfied after effectively ruining her concoction, he turned back to Neville. "Pass me the Nightshade sap."

Hermione, having left to find a rag, returned to find her cauldron overflowing and in ruins. She glanced over to Malfoy who stood towering over her with his arms crossed looking unnaturally smug.

Her eyes narrowed. "Malfoy! What the bloody hell did you do to my potion?!" she bellowed furiously. Her cheeks tinged with a fiery red, and her fists were clenched tightly, poised to knock him out.

"What makes you think I didn't anything, Mudblo—" he was cut short by a bumbling Neville who had somehow tripped over the stool in his attempt to pass the Nightshade sap to Malfoy, knocking him into both Hermione and her cauldron.

"Get off me, Malfoy!" Hermione gasped as the both the 150 pound blond, and the overflowing cauldron toppled on to her.

Malfoy shook his head, trying to wipe the potion off his face with the sleeve of his robes.

The class began to gather around, trying to see what had caused such pandemonium. In the middle of them, lay two potion-drenched teenagers. One blond, one brunette.

Neville crawled back up and peered over the stool at the two bodies, trembling with fear. Malfoy's going to murder me!

"Are you deaf? I said get off of me!" she cried once more in agonizing fury. The weight was now unbearably crushing her body.

Draco groaned and began to snap at her. "I'm trying to—"he suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.

The room began to spin uncontrollably. His vision blurred and his head seemed to lighten. "What the h—" The heap of blond slumped lifelessly over Hermione.

"I thought I told you—"she broke off, and like Draco, fell dead.

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Oh, and that was….Vanessa Carleton, paradise. Chilling song