Chapter One - The Rise Before The Fall
The sky was a deep shade of violet, streaked with pink as the sunset slowly began to fade. Hermione let out a small sigh, it was so beautiful and calm to just sit here, if only for a few moments. A fluttering of birds sang overhead and she closed her eyes, savouring the sweet air, but opened them immediately as the darkness beneath her lids began to swell into shapes.
Dreaded shapes.
Hooded figures that swam across her mind, in and out of focus, leering ever-nearer. She gripped the plastic ridge of the chair in front of her and mentally shook herself. She refused to give in to those thoughts. That's all they are. That's it.
But that wasn't it. For soon those memories would be back to haunt her, in her dreams at night… That was when she could not run, or close her eyes against them.
Because you cannot run from yourself.
A swooping overhead made her snap out of her reverie and she looked up to see the streak of red shoot past. Laughter filled the air around her, flat and lifeless, an echo of the past perhaps. She turned to watch the six blurs of scarlet rocket past her.
So skilled.
Yet so lost.
This was how they had decided to heal with the situation - to ignore it.
Yet she could not.
Maybe she should go and see Hagrid. He seemed to be the only one she could talk to now. Sometimes, when she was sitting in his warm little hut, she could kid herself that everything was normal too. That Hogwarts was normal, that Albus Dumbledore was still up pacing in his office, that everything was as it usually was.
She could even picture Severus Snape prowling the Dungeons - possibly preying on some unfortunate students that had innocently strayed across his path.
She closed her eyes, feeling as though her insides had turned to lead at this thought. Even now it didn't make any sense. She felt numb.
'Oi! where are you going?' Ron's voice made her jump as he landed, red in the face and glaring at her. 'I'm going to see Hagrid. Fly around if you must, if it makes you feel any better' she told him with an incredulous look. They had promised Harry that they would go with him. 'We're with you whatever happens' even now Ron's words filled her with rage. Yeah Ron, you really messed up there didn't you! She turned away from the red-head, striding toward the Quidditch gates.
'Look, you do whatever you want, go read a book or something, but let me do what I want!' she could tell Ron hadn't even thought about a retort when the words were flying from his mouth. But she did not turn back, she only kept walking, away from him, as far away as possible.
She would have followed Harry, she would have done anything he asked. But it had dawned on her that Harry, quite understandably, had turned from the boy he had once been, the sweet however angst riddled child, into the man intent on one thing - hurting those that had hurt him.
He had disappeared not long after they had left Hogwarts after their sixth year. One night at the Burrow he had just taken off, no note, no word of explanation. It was obvious that he felt as though he had nothing to hang around for.
Fine! I can handle that. It doesn't matter to me anymore. She was nearing Hagrid's hut now... already Fang's sharp barks were ringing in her ears.
It was a strange sight now - Hagrid's hut. After it had once been burnt to the foundations, it had lost with its walls the memories of the young trio. The echo's of past laughter were fading in her head, filling her with leaden angst that wound tightly around her heart and weighted it.
'Hermione? Hello, what can I do for yeh?' Hagrid gave a small if slightly surprised smile - unlike Ron, he had shown nothing but honesty over how betrayed he felt in Harry's disappearance.
Ron, always loyal, always a true Gryffindor at heart, had kept nothing but faith that Harry would return victorious. It was true that Harry had been undoubtedly lucky in his past confrontations with Voldemort, but Hagrid agreed with her on this matter - Harry had abandoned their help when he needed it most. 'Oh... I just felt like some company' Hermione said, graciously accepting the cup of warm tea that Hagrid handed her and sitting herself at the table.
'Sorry to keep dropping in like this but-'
'Nonsense! Don't talk rubbish Hermione. Yeh know full well yeh can talk ter me abou' anything' Hagrid said, again with a warm smile, yet there was great sadness in his eyes, that Hermione sometimes could not bear to look at, and other times felt great comfort in knowing that she was not the only one suffering so badly. Hagrid had seen this before… had seen the rising injustice of it all…
'Remus Lupin was 'ere earlier' Hagrid said, obviously trying hard to think of something to say. Hermione looked up, her heart leapt into her throat.
Remus Lupin, one of the kindest people she had ever met, one of the few people that made this nightmare seem more bearable. 'Oh yes... what did he have to say?' she asked. 'Said they'd had a breakthrough. Said he had some important business to discuss with Rufus Scrimgeour. He had just popped by to check up on some stuff with Professor McGonagall. You know, stuff with the Order an all' Hermione turned this over in her mind. A breakthrough. Good news. The wizarding world was fighting back after all. 'Lovely man, Remus is. Pure soul, so humane, fer what he is'
Hermione knew Hagrid meant no offence by his words, feeling the weight lift slightly in her churning stomach, remembering the last encounter with Remus…
His tearful face, the raw emotion that fled from his body as Order members rushed around him, all the while he stared at the marble white coffin…
She closed that thought, shifting slightly in her chair and forcing the burning liquid down her throat.
Hagrid was talking now about a new shipment Diricawl, a creature Hagrid was going to use in some of his Care of Magical Creatures classes. 'I dunno... it's a good thing the Muggles think they're extinct - these bird are very rare, but very useful, yeh know - can escape danger like that see' he clicked his fingers and Hermione blinked, focusing again on his kind face 'pity there ain't a few more aroun', if yeh ask me' he said, trailing off slightly.
Hermione decided that it was time to leave. She bid Hagrid farewell, promising to come and see him again soon, and made her way slowly back up to the castle. Ron's last words were floating readily in her mind. 'Go read a book or something' yeah Ron, great advice, shows how well you know me after six years doesn't it. You think that's all I know how to do. She was so sick of boys telling her how boring she was, moaning about how smart she was, to realising that underneath all the hard-working, serious exterior was a typical teenage girl with typical teenage problems. Fury still raced through her and she found herself heading instead for the Quidditch pitch, ready to have it out with Ron once and for all, to make him show his real emotions, to get him to answer a few questions that she had been dying to ask.
Too late. The pitch was deserted, the sky now a dark shade of purple and the stars beginning to glitter. She trudged across the pitch, maybe they were back in their dressing room. It was so unlike them to leave the pitch until they were black and blue with injuries and could hardly see a thing in the dark. No such luck. Only a few discarded robes lay on the floor and a broomstick lent against the wall. That was quite strange, Ron wasn't one for leaving a broomstick hanging around. But then, Harry's disappearance was obviously affecting him badly as well.
She took hold of the long, thin handle, feeling it vibrate beneath her fingers. She steeled herself, a sudden urge to prove to Ron that she too could do something fun for once burning the pit of her stomach.
She discarded her bag on the bench and walked out on to the pitch, mounting the broom and trying to figure out how Madam Hooch had showed her the correct grip all those years ago. Damn, she must have seen Harry do this hundreds of times. The broom began to shudder as she swung her leg over it.
Quite suddenly, the broom gave a slight lurch and soared through the icy air faster than she could register. Her grip loosened, despite her attempts to hold on.
Too late.
She was falling.
Falling through the air at immense speed, managing a scream - a piercing shriek - as the ground spun below…