Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.
A/N: I do apologize. I've been sick and typed this chapter under the unfluence of copious amounts of NyQuil.
Hermione practically bounced into breakfast that morning, only slightly late, but thankfully unnoticed coming from the fireplace. She grinned as she sat down at the table, eating only a few bites of her breakfast and drinking all her juice. As she was about to get up from the table, Harry and Ron walked in.
"Hey Hermione," Harry whispered to her. "We went to get you last night, but you weren't there," he finished, his eyebrows raised.
"Sorry," she replied, only a faint blush covering hr cheeks. "I thought I might have gotten the potion wrong, so I went to check."
"Perfectionist," she heard Ron mutter before she ran up to her room to change.
"Hermione!" Ginny yelled from down the stairs only moments later.
Hermione stuck her head out the door. "What?"
"Hogwarts letters are here!" yelled the excited girl.
At the mention of school, Hermione's good mood faded slightly. It would be difficult for her to go back to school like this. She closed her eyes and plopped her head onto the wall behind her as she let out a sigh. She knew she would have to tell Harry and Ron now. She wasn't sure if she should be happy she would finally tell them, or scared because they would be so mad at her.
She made her way downstairs again, walking into the buzzing room. She grabbed her letter as Mrs. Weasley handed it to her, opening it withthe feeling of a lead ball sinking to the bottom of her stomach. Did she make Head Girl?
"Oh my god," she whispered as the shiny badge of theHead Girl fell out of the envelope and onto the floor.
"What is it Hermione?" Ron asked, following her gaze to the floor. "Bloody Hell, Hermione made Head Girl."
"Like we doubted she would," Harry said with a laugh before Harry and Ron swooped in to hug her.
"Air," she gasped after a minute. "I need air!"
Laughing, the boys let her go, smiles all over their faces.
"Do you know how much stuff we can get away with now?" Ron said, a dreamy look on his face.
"Ronald Weasley," cut in the stern voice of his mother. "If I hear you giving Hermione a hard time I'll personally come up to Hogwarts to give you a hard time!"
"Sorry mum, forgot you were still in here," he mumbled, looking only slightly dejected and casting Harry a wink.
Hermione just rolled her eyes at the two as Remus walked into the room. The happiness that had melted earlier came back in full force as she smiled over at thim.
"What seems to be the happy occassion?" he asked, surveying the animated talking around the room.
"Hermione's been made Head Girl," Molly informed him, looking proud.
"Well done Hermione," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze. She just smiled, butterflies darting around her stomach at the small contact.
"Well hurry up and eat," Mrs. Weasley said to the group of students in the kitchen. "We need to get to Diagon Alley in a bit so we don't run late, as usual."
Hermione clutched the letter in one hand, and the badge in the other as she entered the study to talk to Professor McGonagall.
"Professor, may I speak with you?" she asked timidly.
"Of course Ms. Granger, have a seat."
Hermione sat down in front of the woman, her grip not letting up on her letter or hre badge. "Well, I-I-um, well." Hermione stopped trying to speak and sighed. "Thank you for making me Head Girl," she finally said quietly.
McGonagall looked up at the girl. "You were the best for the position," she said with a tight smile.
"And I do appreciate it, but with my...circumstances, do you think I should still-"
"Of course Ms Granger! Don't you EVER think you aren't worthy because of your situation. Remus certainly never did," she said. "Not after his friends were there to help him." She raised a knowing eyebrow.
Hermione cringed. "I know, I'm going to tell them this afternoon," she said quietly. "I'm just...afraid I guess."
"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley have dealt with worse before. And you are their friend. They will stick by your side," said the older woman with a reassuring smile.
Hermione let out a frustrated cry and raised her hands in the air. "Prats," she said through her teeth. She had been trying to get them alone to talk to them the entire afternoon, but they kept dragging her store to store and now they had spent the better part of an hour staring at different brooms and discussing their aerodynamics.
With a final frustrated sigh and a wave of her arms she stalked out of the shop and set off for the book shop. When she neared Knockturn Alley she stopped in her tracks and her spine stiffened. Her eyes darted into the darkness, only meeting a pair of yellow ones. They were the ones to break the stare first, turning and walking further into the darkness.
Her feet not listening to her brain, followed slowly, curious as to who it was although she had a sinking feeling it was Greyback. She silently willed her feet not to take her any closer to the Alley, but they just wouldn't listen. As she stepped her feet in, she felt the darkness and dankness swell around her and the trance her feet had been in broke. She swiveled on her heels to run out, but she felt a strong hand clamp over her mouth and a large body press against her back.
She screamed, but only a muffled sound came out. She could feel his breath on her neck, feel the roughness of his cheek against her own.
"I can't have you back in that school," he said in a low whisper before she felt something point in her back.
The last thing she saw was Mrs. Weasley leaving a store, not 20 feet from her. She raised her arm to the woman before her world went black.
Remus was very rudely awoken when he heard the 'pop' of an apparition in his house. He squinted open his eyes from the couch and opened them wide when he saw a very distraught looking Molly with Harry and Ron looking even worse.
"Remus, oh thank goodness you're here. I-I need your help," the older witch said frantically.
"My god, what's happened Molly?" he said, getting up from the couch and walking over to the trio. Trio? Where's Hermione?
"We were in Diagon Alley, getting school supplies," she began. "Harry, Ron, and Hermione went off to look at Brooms, and-and-um" The woman was wringing her hands now, her voice trembling.
"Where's Hermione?" Remus demanded.
"We don't know," Harry said quietly. "She left the shop before us. We went to look for her, but we couldn't find her."
"We searched the entire place," Ron said, just as scared as the other two.
"You searched all of Diagon Alley?" Remus asked as he turned back to Molly. She gave him a nod. "And Knockturn Alley?"
This was responded with a negative shake of her head.
"She wouldn't go down there," Ron said.
"It doesn't matter if she would go down there, it's probable that if anyone took her, they left that way," Remus said, running his hand through his hair and letting out a deep breath. His Hermione was gone.
"We will be able to find her? Right?" Harry asked, looking up into Remus' face.
This time, the older man didn't give Harry a smile of reassurance. He just put his hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed it.
Author Babble:
Sorry for the delay, I hadn't typed this chapter yet and I got really sick. I hope to catch back up fast.