Hey! Ummmm… I'm thinking about changing the title of the story, I'm not sure… it might not fit with what happens in the story, not sure if it shocks or just reveals…. Also, WARNING: School is starting so don't expect as many updates as usual. Well, I hope you like this chappie!
Disclaimer: None of it's mine, blah blah blah… all of it is J.K. Rowling's. (sighs, then perks up) The plots mine though!
Her screams filled Hogwarts' halls as Dumbledore levitated her to the hospital wing. Harry, Ron, Ginny, McGonagall, and Snape followed closely behind. Dumbledore pushed the doors to the hospital wing open as Hermione's screams of agony worsened to a point that Ginny, with tears running down her cheeks, clapped her hands over her ears to block out the sound. Madam Pomfrey hurried over as Dumbledore set the girl down on a bed.
"What's happened, Albus?" she cried out as she stopped at Hermione's bedside.
"I don't know, Poppy," Dumbledore replied loudly as Hermione's screams were increasing in volume. "We found her like this in Hagrid's hut."
"Make her STOP!" Ginny screamed, burying her face in Ron's shoulder. Harry's eyes were fixed on Hermione, who was gripping the sides of the bed so hard that her knuckles had passed a normal shade of white. Madam Pomfrey rushed away, coming back a second later with a yellowish potion in a crystal vial. Snape flinched visibly.
"A Potion of the Dead, Pomfrey?" he asked softly. Everybody's gaze turned to him, except for Madam Pomfrey's, whose was fixed on Hermione.
"Yes, Severus," she said in a strained voice. "You know the symptoms of the curse laid upon this girl more than I do. This is the only thing that will rid her of this nightmare." Snape raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. Madam Pomfrey uncorked the vial and poured the contents of it into Hermione's open mouth. Hermione gave one last blood-curdling shriek, and then slumped back against the pillows, unconscious. Dumbledore approached her and laid a hand on her forehead. She was burning up in spite of the weather she had previously been in. He shook his head.
"We will have to find out what happened to her in a couple of days," he said. "Poppy, watch her around the clock. As soon as she awakens, bring Mr. Weasley here." Ron's head shot up.
"ME?" he asked, his eyes flitting to Harry for just a second.
"Yes, Ronald," Dumbledore replied. "Hermione will probably want to only speak to you, seeing as you two are extremely close. You will come to me after your visit, seeing as I will need to know what has happened to my student. Of course, Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter may come visit after you. I just think that Miss Granger will want to see you first, Mr. Weasley." Ginny saw the anger that flared up in Harry's eyes, but she ignored it, taking hold of Hermione's hand. Hermione flinched and pulled a face, murmuring something under her breath. Madam Pomfrey pulled the curtains, shooing them all away.
"She needs my care, not yours, so OUT!" she shouted, then turning to Snape. "I would like for you to stay for a second, Severus. I may need your help." Both of them disappeared inside the hospital room, leaving Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Dumbledore outside. Nodding a goodbye, Dumbledore left them, heading down the hallway to his office. Harry immediately walked away from Ron and Ginny, muttering something about finding Cho.
Hermione's eyes blinked once then opened. The room was dark except for the torch at the doorway. She sat up in bed, clutching her side in slight pain. She opened her mouth, but could only gasp out her word.
"Ron!"
Ron pulled a chair up to Hermione's bedside. He reached up and felt her forehead.
"You have a fever," he muttered. She smiled faintly and flinched, holding her hand to her side. Ron's eyes were all concern.
"What happened out there, Hermione?" he asked. She closed her eyes.
"I was sitting on top of the hill on the lake when someone pushed me over the edge. I fell for what felt like eternity when I hit the lake head first." She shuddered. "It was so cold, Ron," she said in a quiet voice. "So cold." She didn't speak for a minute.
Then, "Something hit the water next to me, but I didn't see what it was, since it was raining and all. I started to swim towards the cliff and pulled myself to the edge of the lake and got out. I ran for the pitch, seeing as everyone would be there when I heard heavy footsteps behind me. Then I heard him shout curses and I zigzagged my way to Hagrid's hut. I ran inside with him chasing. He tried to kill me first but it hit the table in front of me. Then he said, 'Personus Constricte Maximus!'. Oh, Ron!" Tears leaked from her closed eyes. "The pain was horrible. Worse than anything I could imagine. Like millions of knives piercing my skin. Skinning me alive. Like someone was slowly eating me away at the inside." Ron slipped up onto the bed, pulling Hermione close as she sobbed into his shoulder.
"It's okay, 'Mione," he murmured while stroking her hair. "It's over, the pain is over."
"No," she whispered. "The pain will never be over. It will always be there. Always."
"Hermione, who did this to you?" Ron asked. The answer came so softly that Ron had to lean closer to hear it.
"Draco Malfoy."
"DRACO MALFOY?" Harry roared, standing up so quickly that the chair he had been sitting in tipped over. Dumbledore stood, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Sit DOWN, Mr. Potter!" he bellowed. "I will not tolerate this type of behavior in my office!" Harry sat down immediately, glaring daggers at Ron, who looked slightly put out at Harry.
"Yes, Harry," Ron grated. "That's what Hermione told me before she passed out. Draco Malfoy."
"That's not possible," Ginny said. Every eye turned to her. "Draco Malfoy was in the stands the whole time. I had Luna watching him to make sure he didn't try anything during the game."
"Well, if he didn't do it, why did Hermione say he did?" Harry asked.
"Maybe because she thought it was young Mr. Malfoy," Snape said. He had been standing by the door in silence for sometime.
"What do you mean, Snape?" Harry snapped.
"Professor Snape to you, Harry," Dumbledore said.
"Miss Granger could have mistaken Draco for his father, Potter," Snape sneered. "That is what I mean. Unless you are quite dull in the head, you will know quite well that Draco closely resembles his father, Lucius. Though why he was here, I do not know."
"I guess you're right, Professor." Everyone's head snapped to the door. Hermione stood in the doorway, wearing an extremely thin nightgown. Harry found his eyesight drifting up and down her figure. Her voice, however, brought him back to reality.
"It was Lucius," she murmured. Then her gaze turned to Ron. "Catch me." Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she tumbled to the floor. Ron picked her up and carried her out the door, Harry following. Dumbledore turned to Snape.
"You knew nothing of this attack, Severus?" he asked. Snape nodded.
"The Dark Lord does not seem to trust me as much as he used to," Snape said. "I would have been told of an attack on school grounds, seeing as I could have done the job more efficiently." Snape gave Dumbledore a curt not and exited the office, heading for his office.
Ron walked down the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room after placing Hermione back in the hospital wing. Harry's angry look was printed on his mind. Ron still couldn't see how Harry continued to be oblivious to the fact that he liked Hermione as more than a friend. If they were still friends...
"Hey Ron, what ya doin'?" came a voice. Ron looked up into the smiling face of Padma. Her raven hair was done up in curls that bounced around her pretty face. Ron smiled, leaning against the wall.
"Just visiting Hermione," he replied, reaching up and playing with one of her curls. She took a step closer.
"At three o'clock in the morning?" she asked. (A/n: let's just pretend that she's a prefect and she's watching the halls. Does anyone know what time the sun comes up in the morning?) Ron smiled winningly.
"You know me," he said, his breathing becoming heavier as the proximity between their bodies became smaller. "Love visiting at all hours of the night."
"Is that why you can't keep your eyes fixed on my face for a few seconds, Ron?" she asked, her lips less than an inch away from his. He nodded, unable to speak because he could barley breath. She smiled coyly.
"Why, Ronald, are you growing breathless?" Padma whispered. "Here, let me help." With that, she closed the space between their lips. Ron wrapped one of his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as his other arm searched for the broom closet he knew had to be somewhere around.
Snape passed back and forth across the potions room. A Constricting Curse? Why hadn't Lucius just killed the girl? Not that Snape wanted Hermione dead, but Lucius was a master at death. Why put the girl through torment when he could have killed her?
Suddenly, his upper left arm started to burn. Severus grabbed a long black cloak and bone white mask. Leaving the potions room, he hurried up the stairs and through the corridors, reaching the Entrance hall in a minute. As he opened the doors, he heard a giggle and a thud from the direction of the broom closet and a second later, Ron Weasley and Padma Patil fell out of the closet, giggling. Upon catching sight of a disgruntled Snape, both students went increasingly red in the face. Snape raised an eyebrow, but could not stop to give the students lectures, as he was probably already late. Rushing across the school grounds, Snape flung open the school gates and walked several feet away before Apparating.
Snape arrived in a circular stone room, with a large fireplace that wasn't lit, a huge dark green rug, and a long backed velvet chair. Snape put on the mask, lowering the hood of the cloak more as he joined the line of Death Eaters that were already assembled. Silence reigned over the gloomy room when a strangely high voice floated into the room.
"You all are disappointments," hissed the voice. "You think you can hide things from me, but you are all sadly mistaken. I know that the plan has fallen behind. The girl is not dead. Her parents are not dead. Potter's friend's parents are not DEAD!" A shudder went through the Death Eaters, but they stayed silent. "How is it that you cannot complete a simple task? I ask you to do one simple thing, and all I get is CRUCIO!" A Death Eater screamed as the curse hit him. He fell to the floor, thrashing and twitching in indescribable pain. A figure emerged from the dark depths of the room and stood in front of the screaming man. Blood red eyes stared out from under the hood of the foreboding creature that stood before them.
"You disappoint me, Rockwood," said a dangerously soft voice. "How is it that, after I appoint you to dispose of the students parents, Crucio, that you only succeed in getting three of ours killed. Crucio. I have told you time and again, Rockwood. You must speak UP! CRUCIO!" There was a sickening crack, a blood-curdling shriek, and then silence. The scarlet eyes seemed to dance. The creature stepped contemptuously over the snapped carcass of Rockwood.
"Lucius, you will head the next mission. Pick a group of seven to go with you, and come back here tomorrow to receive information. You may all leave." The Death Eaters slowly filtered out the door. "Oh, and Lucius?" One cloaked figure stopped at the door. "Do not come back at all if you have only succeeded in doing nothing. I will send Nagini to find you. And do not fret, she will give you pleasant company. Dismissed." The creature smiled wickedly as the figure, shaking visibly, bowed and rushed out. The creature glided over to the chair, pulling out a long, dark green and black wand. Waving it, the fireplace ignited in green flames. Sitting down, the creature beckoned an extremely large snake from the darkness.
"Ah, Nagini," the creature hissed to the snake in Parseltounge. "Soon you will have the boy. Patience my pet, patience." The creature stood. "Salazar, arise!" Dark green smoke filled the room and a tall figure emerged from the plumes. Voldemort's smile was one that would chill the blood of even the snake, who slithered off into the darkness.
Hermione thanked Madam Pomfrey and left the hospital wing. It was a week after the attack and Hermione was feeling a lot better. The pain in her side, however, would not leave her.
She was heading down the corridor that housed the Room of Requirement when she noticed the door in the wall. Hermione's curiosity got the better of her and she opened the door and stepped in. Her curiosity quickly turned to horror. Harry and Cho pulled apart from the passionate kiss they had been engaged in.
"Hermione, what the hell are you doing here?" Harry asked, looking thoroughly ticked off.
"OUT, NOW!" Hermione screamed, pointing at Cho with a shaking finger. Cho scrambled out the door, leaving the two Gryffindors to sort out their problems.
"Hermione, have you gone MENTAL!" Harry roared, leaping up from the couch he had been sitting on.
"No, Harry," Hermione hissed. "You have. Do you think that you can just go snogging Cho anywhere you want? Have you even thought about what the rest of us think about her?"
"No, I haven't," he answered angrily. "You know why? Because you never gave a damn about what I thought anyway!"
"That's not my fault!" she shouted. "You never even talked to me!"
"Never talked to you? NEVER TALKED TO YOU! You're the one who ignored all my bloody letters during the summer and then told me not to talk to you!"
"Do you know why I ignored those letters? Because I was busy noticing how many more you sent to Cho! That's right. Hedwig always came to me first, Harry! I saw the letters. I even read some of them! I also read the some of the ones she sent back!"
"You had no right reading my letters, Hermione!"
"I don't? Why not? But you know, I got sick of all those, 'Love, Cho' and 'I'm glad I found someone to write to, Harry, I really like you'. I love just as much as she does!" Oh no, I didn't just say that! Hermione turned the color of Ron's hair and turned to vacate the area when Harry grabbed her wrist and whirled her around.
"What did you say?" he asked softly. She wouldn't look him in the eyes as she answered.
"It doesn't matter what I said, Harry. It doesn't matter anymore. I know how you feel, I know how she feels." She raised her eyes to look at him. "Tell Cho that I'm sorry about what happened and that I will be leaving you and her alone for the rest of the school year." With that, she pulled away from Harry and fled the Room of Requirement, tears of regret flowing down her face.
A/n: OK! Well, I am so glad I got this chapter done before tomorrow. School starts. (sigh) Do not expect an update until probably next week, depending on how often I can get to the computer. I REALLY hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one might be really short, depending on what happens in the story. Thanks again to:
PoTTeRFaN2005: Thank you for reviewing, promise the next chapter will be good, but short.
SoMe wEirDo: Well, you keep thinking, you might have to when the next chapter doesn't get in sooner than you or I would like! Thanks, I'm happy I made your day!
IspikedThePunch: Thank you sooooooo much! Here it is, hope you liked it!
Kkroonie: Hey, I took your advice! I was going to put a different scene to where Harry and Hermione were already together, and Harry was going to break up with Cho, but she starts to snog him and Hermione sees them, but I like this better. Thank you for writing!