A/N: Ptrst a.k.a. Jamie - Although all questions that you asked may not be answered in this chapter... I hope that you enjoy it all the same and thanks for the review. Also, thank you to all other reviewers: 404, mrs skywalker, and triquetraperson!
Chapter 2 – Horrendous Aftermath
Minerva McGonagall was on her way down the second floor corridor when she ran into Professor Flitwick.
"Minerva?"
"Why hello, Filius," the Headmistress greeted. She was so pleasant that it caused him to laugh. He wasn't sure what was making her act like this, but they didn't often smile anymore and he wasn't about to question it. He liked seeing her this way because so often since Dumbledore passed on, McGonagall had been in a slump.
"What are you doing? I just sent Miss Granger up to see you," Flitwick informed as he stopped in front of the tall, pointy-hatted witch.
"Ah, very good, very good," McGonagall said with thin smile on her face.
"What was it that you wanted her for, Minerva?"
"She preforms a job for me... has been ever since her third year. She started it for Dumbledore, but seeing as things are as they are, I took over as her superior. She keeps an eye on our young Harry... tells me all that he does or thinks about, dreams about even. It helped Dumbledore to plot out things in the war really."
Flitwick was shocked to the point of speechlessness. He had no idea Dumbledore would do a thing like that, or that McGonagall would continue with it. He opened his mouth, but closed it shortly after.
"Now if you'll excuse me, Filius, I think Miss Granger is waiting for me."
He watched her walk away, humming to herself as she went and popping a lemon drop into her mouth as she rounded the corner, much like Dumbledore used to. She was so whimsical and carefree, she acted too young for her age, and completely out of character considering her emotional detachment as of late. But it did help to keep spirits up around Hogwarts to see her this way.
Flitwick snorted with laughter and continued on his way to his office, the song McGonagall had been humming ebbing its way into his own mind. He began to hum himself now, feeling much lighter in mood as he did.
"Good morning to you," he greeted cheerfully as a second year looked at him strangely while he passed.
Meanwhile, McGonagall was just coming to her office door, but something was odd about it. It was open. She entered the office and looked around, it was total chaos. There was a chair overturned, portraits were babbling loudly, Fawkes was squawking, and the instrument that had been on her desk was moved and now lying on the floor.
She walked slowly through the office, the portraits going silent as she passed by them. She came to the desk, pulling out her wand and with a wave, turning the chair to its rightful position. She then turned to the object on the floor and with a wave of her wand, it too was back in its rightful place on her desk. She turned to Fawkes who gave a tired and saddened coo before bowing his head.
"What happened here?" McGonagall inquired as she turned to the portraits who looked at one another, some leaning into other's frames, but none answering. "Where's Miss Granger?"
"The Mudblood?"
"Our Head Girl, yes," McGonagall corrected Phineas Nigellus. "Now, where is she?"
"Well, that we are uncertain of," spoke the portrait of a man named Everard.
"What can you tell me, then?"
"She came in here, yes," Dippet said. "She knocked and you weren't here to answer so she came in and headed for Fawkes. She knocked that thing off your desk." Dippet nodded to the silver gadget on McGonagall's desk.
McGonagall turned to it, picking it up and examining its knobs, all were still in place just as they should be. Just as she had left it after using it.
"And?"
"She tried to put the knobs back in place after they moved, the foolish little Mud- Muggle-born," Phineas replied. "All I remember after that was the thing throwing off a lot of noise and steam before it started rocking and shaking all over the place."
"Anything else?" McGonagall asked fearfully.
"I told you that's all I remember," Phineas said contemptuously. "Everything blacked out after that."
"That's right," agreed Everard. "I was sitting over here in my frame listening to those two argue," Everard gestured to the portraits of two of the other Headmasters besides him while the other Headmasters and Headmistresses nodded in agreement, "and then there was nothing."
"That's it, then," McGonagall repeated as she looked around at their faces. She seemed grave and somewhat upset in a slightly panicked or fearful way. What could have happened to make her fearful or panicked?
"Yes, Minerva, that's it," Dippet answered. "When I came back to, the chair was toppled, Fawkes was causing a ruckus, and that thing was on the floor letting out a whole bunch of steam." Once again, Dippet gestured to the silver instrument on McGonagall's desk. What had happened to Hermione?
McGonagall turned to Fawkes, one of her last remaining links of consoling with Dumbledore's absence. She then turned to the silver object with its many knobs. What had she done? McGonagall turned back to Fawkes who seemed to stretch tall on his perch as he spread his wings and called out in a beautiful way before bursting into flame.
McGonagall felt that this might be a bad omen, and she rarely believed in the Divination arts. She shivered and looked over to Dumbledore's empty picture frame. She wished that he was there now because she needed help.
Hermione was still in her unconscious state as she felt something cold trickling down her throat and into her chest. She wanted to shiver to warm herself, but found she couldn't. A few minutes later, the aftertaste appalled her and she wanted to rinse her mouth out. But seeing as she hadn't the strength to even open her eyes, that wasn't an option.
She tried her best to think of something, anything. What had she been doing that could have caused her that much pain? That machine, contraption, gadget, silver thing, whatever it was or had been, that was responsible.
Where was she? She didn't know, but she had a good feeling in her for some reason, she had recognized that suit of armor and that stone floor, or at least had seen some like it if not those exact ones. She had seen them in Hogwarts, and if she was in fact in Hogwarts still, then she would be in good hands and had nothing to worry about. Or did she?
Would she be all right? She couldn't even open her eyes, that should have been a hint to her that she wasn't. Another hint to her should have been that she couldn't hear anything around her, only the sound of blood, or at least what she thought was blood. Maybe she just thought she heard that from memory.
It was all so confusing and she couldn't be certain on anything. It aggravated her and she wanted nothing more than to scream, but she couldn't do that either. It had pained her chest to breathe even the last time she was awake. Could she even breathe now, was she breathing?
Doubt filled every square inch of her brain and slithered into her heart. She wanted to cry now, wanted to feel Ron's strong arms about her waist and shoulders as he ran his fingers through her hair and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. Then something occurred to her, did Ron know what had happened to her, what would he think?
She couldn't leave him alone, she had to fight harder now, but how would she even fight in the first place? And what, exactly, was she fighting? Everlasting sleep. Pain. Death? No, she couldn't think like that. She had to show hope and pray to God and magic that she would pull through this and return just as she had left, if not better than before.
It felt so impossible though at that moment in time, she felt she couldn't do anything. 'Wait' her mind screamed, 'Time!' Was time still frozen? It had been back in McGonagall's office. The paintings were stuck in mid-argument, Fawkes wasn't moving, the chair was in mid-fall. No, time was moving and ticking away again because those people had rushed to her side.
Those people. Where were they? Had they helped her? And just how much time had elapsed since she had saw those people, been in McGonagall's office with time frozen? She had so many questions and she wanted them answered now, she needed to know.
"Filius!" McGonagall had burst into Flitwick's classroom hoping he would be in there or in his office that was just off his classroom. Urgency dripped from her every word and Flitwick had apparently got the message as he came running out to her where she stood waiting at his desk.
"Y-Yes? Wha-what is it, Minerva?" He needed to catch his breath, but McGonagall wasn't about to give him time as she rushed into explanation.
"I need you to conduct a thorough search of the castle – have all staff, paintings, ghosts, poltergeists, and students on the look-out for Miss Granger. She's gone missing."
"What? But I sent her up to your office," Flitwick protested in disbelief, he couldn't believe that a student had disappeared from her office.
"Yes, she arrived there and then disappeared from there," McGonagall said with reason which didn't seem like reason at all because it didn't make sense how she could just disappear.
"What if we can't find her?"
"We will... In the meantime, I must go and see Sibyll," McGonagall briefed as she turned to leave Flitwick's classroom.
"Sibyll?" It was well known that McGonagall didn't like the Divinations teacher and the feeling was in fact mutual. So, it came as a shock when McGonagall even suggested paying a visit to the teacher.
"Yes. I know it seems I don't believe in her, but I think she might be able to help us," McGonagall answered quickly. Her eyes held a gleam that was calculatingly crafty and elaborately evasive. One that showed she had something clever in mind, or that she knew something.
"Very well," Flitwick relented as he bowed his head in defeat before following her from the classroom in a rush, parting with her as he went to find Sprout in the greenhouses and McGonagall headed for the North Tower for Trelawney's classroom. 'I should go to Firenze. Too bad he's out on a mission for the Order' McGonagall thought dryly.
"Hey, Harry, Ron! Did you guys hear what happened?" Neville Longbottom came running in the Gryffindor common room as Harry and Ron sat by the open window playing a game of wizard chess.
"No, what?" Ron was trying hard not to laugh as Harry answered Neville, but they weren't laughing as Neville told them what was the matter.
"Hermione's gone missing! The whole castle's looking for her," Neville exclaimed.
Harry's face was blank as he stared at Neville, he seemed to be trying to figure out what Neville said like he had told him in a foreign language. Ron on the other hand, was staring at the chess board, his mouth slightly open, though he seemed to have stopped breathing.
"H-Hermione... miss-missing?"
"Yeah," Neville said softly. He was still watching Ron who had started to go horribly pale as he continued to stare at the chess board. "I'm sorry guys."
"It's all- it's all right, Neville," Harry sighed as he thought about it. It wasn't all right, how could it be all right? It would never be all right until they found her. Find her. If they needed to find her, what were they doing just sitting there? "Ron?"
"She- she's gone, Harry... just- gone," Ron babbled mindlessly in a little more than a whisper.
"C'mon, Ron. We better go look for her," Harry coaxed as he stood up.
Ron raised his head slowly to look at Harry's face. The look in Ron's eyes was nothing short of heart brokenly stunned and they were shining with confusion as he turned to the window and stared out it as though he had never seen sunshine before. How could the sun shine at a time like this? Hopefully it would shed some light on the subject and show a happy ending for this seemingly hopeless situation.
Ron rose slowly from his seat, his eyes now on the chess board as one of Harry's knights sneaked across the board and carried off Ron's queen. Ron's queen. Hermione. Who had carried off his queen, Hermione?
Hermione woke with a sudden jolt. She was still feeling unconscious and she didn't want to open her eyes, but her chest was throbbing as though her heart was five sizes too big for her chest and her ears were pounding tremendously. It was as though there was a marching band inside her head, her temples throbbing with each pulse of her brain which seemed to only go faster and harder with each beat. It felt like it was going to explode, yet again she wanted to scream out.
She opened her mouth, but she heard nothing actually come out of her mouth, though she felt the pushing force of her lungs thrusting air to her voice box. Then she felt her ears pounding harder with a blaring noise that had came not from herself, at least she didn't think so. What had made that noise?
She wanted badly to open her eyes and see Ron sitting beside her, yelling with glee that she was okay, but she couldn't do that. No matter how badly she wanted to, or how hard she tried, she couldn't open her eyes. She was fighting with all her might, but the power she exerted for that fight didn't seem like anything at all.
Hermione lay there now, not thinking, trying not to feel, and she heard, though blurred, the pounding of something. It was like a troll stamping its feet upon the ground. No, two trolls. The noise that followed after made her head spin with agony as she tried to scream for whatever was making the noise to stop.
Her breath came in short gasps as she tried to scream, but this time, not even the pushing force of air came as it halted with pain in her chest. What had happened to her that she was feeling like this? Curse that silver object, she wanted to blast it to smithereens the next time she saw it.
"Sibyll?"
"I foresaw you're arrival, Minerva," Trelawney said in a misty sort of voice as she sat, half hidden behind the swirling colored smoke of her scented candles.
"You foresaw it," Minerva laughed haughtily to herself. "Then maybe you can tell me why I am here."
"You are about the last prophecy I foretold. It's simple, Minerva," Trelawney said as she wafted smoke away with a jangling of her bangles as she stood and walked over to the windows, pulling the dark gossamer curtains so that sunlight stopped short at the windows.
"Can you repeat it for me, then?" Minerva asked tightly.
"Time will never be time at all. An unexpectant thrust from future to past with a paralyzing fall. Great scholar and better friend... helpful through and through to the very end. Behind the mask lies a grace, she holds the one true ace. Take it slow, gain all trust... love never formed from only lust. Play the part and heal a withered heart. Time will never be time at all... to the unexpectant that feels the fall."
Sibyll's voice had no misty tone this time and she seemed to be almost grave as she finished. McGonagall sat, replaying Sibyll's words over and over in her head as Sibyll spoke up, her normal, misty tone returned to her.
"The girl – the one who left my class – I've heard she's gone," Trelawney spoke slowly with a mysterious demeanor.
"Yes, that she is," McGonagall replied with a slow nod.
"She's out of reach... you'll never get to her until the prophecy is fulfilled," Sibyll said gravely as she took her seat once again, smoke clouding over her face with its large eyes behind their huge, round spectacles.
"You think that prophecy is about Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked disbelievingly.
"I know it is. My aura is pulsing... I've been to the Beyond many times as of late. Danger for all draws near. Abandon your search and prepare... the eve of battle is only a short ways away," Trelawney said as McGonagall eyed her suspiciously.
"Your aura? The Beyond? Danger?" McGonagall repeated in an outraged tone. "I don't believe you can really See anything at all because we've been in danger for quite some time now! It's all some crackpot hoax! You might be able to fool a few gullible students and some ignorant adults, but you do not fool me with your ridiculous bologna. If you truly were a Seer, then you would have saw Dumbledore's death and warned him against it."
She said nothing more as she rose from her chair and went to find Flitwick, she had to find them and warn them to go to the Order and have them be alert. In the meantime, she would continue the search for Miss Granger as well as get on the Floo with Scrimgeour after consulting Firenze, wherever he was.
Harry and Ron had searched the entire castle from floor to rafters, wall to wall, and secret passage to secret passage. They even got out the Marauder's Map to look for her, but her name wasn't on there anywhere. No little dot with the name Hermione, Granger, Know-It-All, Brainy-Ack, Head Girl, Gryffindor Student, Jane, or Ron's Girl even. They were starting to give up hope.
"Where could she have gone?" Ron dropped on the floor of the fifth floor corridor in front of a stone statue. He sighed heavily, he wanted nothing more than to go to the boys' dorm, go to sleep, and wake up just as he had that morning with Hermione jumping on him.
"Do you think she might have gone into Hogsmeade?"
"What for? She was supposed to meet McGonagall, Hermione wouldn't run off to Hogsmeade when she has a meeting with the Headmistress," Ron reasoned. It was amazing how smart and logical he could be at a time like this.
"Then where could she be... she can't Disapparate... Can she?"
"Not on Hogwarts grounds," Ron sighed as he went into deep thought.
Harry was surprised at how quickly and reasonably Ron was answering these questions and suggestions of his. It was almost like having Hermione there, she would be proud of Ron. It was too bad she wasn't around to see it.
"Well, how abou-"
"Shh!" Ron jumped up and grabbed Harry, pulling him behind the statue as Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall rounded the corner.
"Go tell Moody, Filius... have him alert all the Order," McGonagall directed.
"Yes, Headmistress," Flitwick said with a nod as they went around another corner and began descending the stairs.
"This must be serious if they are involving the Order," Harry whispered.
"You don't think they've kidnapped Hermione, do you?"
"Voldemort? Kidnap Hermione?" Ron flinched as Harry said the Dark Lord's name, but he soon straightened up as he nodded. "I wouldn't put it past him, but how would they have gotten into the castle?" It took Ron a few minutes to answer, he seemed to be so caught up in worry, that he couldn't free his tongue to speak.
"The same way we do... an Invisibility cloak," Ron whispered back. "I mean, that's the only way I can think of. McGonagall had that wardrobe Malfoy used last year removed and Malfoy's not here this year to let them in again."
"Well then, two can play that game. Let's go get my dad's cloak and find out just what's going on," Harry said as he moved out from behind the statue and started down the corridor for Gryffindor Tower, Ron close behind.
She had been in pain for what seemed like centuries, though it could really have only been five minutes because she didn't know the time or how much had went by. Her mouth was dry and her breathing was slow, though that was in a way okay because her chest hurt if she took too deep a breath. Her eardrums pricked like someone was poking a needle in them.
"Ron." Her voice was weak and barely audible, but wait, she had spoken and she was able to hear without too much pain now. She had spoke and heard. Now all she had to do was make her voice louder and call for help. She would make it, she would be fine. She opened her mouth to speak, but the voice she heard was not her own as something was poured into her mouth.
"Just drink this, deary," said a sweet as honey female voice. "You'll feel better in a bit, poor dear. It's a good thing Tom found you or else who knows what kind of worse shape you'd be in... I'd say you're lucky, but you're bad off right now with that paralyzed back and things."
Had Hermione heard this woman right? Maybe she didn't have her hearing back. Paralyzed? Her mind screamed with horror, she refused to believe that she was paralyzed. This woman must be talking to someone else, and who in Merlin's name was Tom?