Disclaimer: None of this is mine...boo!
A/N: Hey! I'm back! Thank you for being so patient with me! Life sucks especially with exams. Well, they're over for now, and I'm here. So allow me to present you...tada...the fruit of my late nights and hard work...the next chapter of Change My Fate. Remember to review! For those who are waiting/longing/dreaming to see Draco and Hermione together...they're getting there...one or two more big things need to happen first.
Captured
She woke up with a familiar wetness on her face.
Tears.
She'd had a dream. A bittersweet memory, one of a child's aspiration and love. It was sad to realize how far she had trodden away from that path. So she had cried. Cried for those memories.
She looked around the bright room. She had forgotten to shut her curtains the previous evening when she'd climbed into bed
She sat up, hugged her legs to her chest and stared out through the window. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was just rising. It had snowed last night after the party had ended. A layer of pure white snow covered the world outside. It had snowed a lot this year unlike the previous years, where only a thin sheet of ice covered the ground. It was as if the Gods were reminding them of the innocence, the purity, the joy that their world was losing everyday.
She continued staring out the window. Simply giving herself to the moment. To lose herself in it. To let the tears flow again. It wasn't often that she could find time for herself. To be a girl again. Life had been so hectic in general. It had been either battling or preparing for battle.
She sat there and absorbed in the view as the world outside bustled into life with the rising sun.
When she had finally decided that she had sat in her bed long enough, she wiped her tears from her eyes, dressed and headed downstairs. Only Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were awake, sitting in the kitchen, conversing quietly while having breakfast. She walked in and was greeted with smiles from both mother and daughter. Mrs. Weasley turned and summoned a plate of breakfast for her as she sat down.
"G'morning." She said, stifling a yawn that suddenly came.
"G'morning." Ginny said whilst Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Hey, 'Mione, we're going to Diagon Alley when I finish this, do you want to come?"
"Why Diagon Alley?" Hermione asked. It had been a while since her last two unpleasant experiences in that place.
"Well, mom here wants to buy some more doxycide. Those pests just love that curtain in the drawing room." Ginny said, rolling her eyes at her mother's insistence of getting rid of them. They'd moved here since Hermione's fifth year and had started cleaning and tidying every niche of the house. Honestly, as long as the doxy stayed out of their way, all the members were okay with them.
Hermione smiled, Molly Weasley's love for hygiene was legendary; it surpassed her parents' and that was saying something. She shook her head. "I think I'll pass. I've got some potion in the lab that I need to monitor."
"Sure suit yourself. But, 'Mione, you need some fun sometimes. It's no good to be cooped up in those smelly potions." Ginny commented as she finished her tea and handed her mother the dirtied plate and cup for her to clean in the sink where the charmed sponge was scrubbing furiously.
"I do have fun!" Hermione exclaimed with a smile as she watched the both of them left the kitchen and headed to the door. In her warm seat, she watched them open the door to a world of white. Just remembering something as the door started to close, she called out, "Be careful! If anything goes wrong, come back immediately!"
She saw the two figures' heads nodded before the door fully closed with a soft click.
She sat there, ate her food and waited for the rest of the occupants of the house to come down.
xxXxx
It was near noon when the rest of the household, which included the Weasleys that reside there and Harry, woke. They had a brunch and went to do the activity of their choice; it wasn't often that they get free time. Fred and George were obviously developing new pranks as loud yelps and banging were heard from their room. Mr. Weasley, Ron and Harry were immersed in a discussion about Muggle artifacts in the drawing room. She satisfied herself by monitoring her potions every half an hour.
The Pepper up potion that she had been brewing was complete at four. She left the lab with the bottled potion and looked out the window. The sun was setting already. It cast a dark, black shadow on the lives outside. Everything was moving at a leisurely pace as if no one had a worry for the world. It was a hectic figure that appeared in the yard and staggered towards the door, disrupting the scenery outside and made her frown in alarm.
She narrowed her eyes and tried to define the features of the person outside.
Mr. Weasley saw the figure too, but he knew the identity immediately and went for the door. As the abrupt knocks sounded on the door, he opened the entrance.
"Ginny!" Molly gasped as she stumbled into the house. Blood was on her clothes and tears were streaming down her face. Her hand was grasping tightly onto Ginny's wand.
Harry leapt out of his seat. "What? What happened to Ginny?" he rushed towards the hysterical woman who had collapsed on the floor.
"Oh! Harry!" Molly cried heartbrokenly. "They've got Ginny!"
It was as if the reality of Sirius's death settled in again.
Suddenly, Harry's face became oddly blank. Like it was when Sirius died, only worse. Instead of the sudden outburst of yelling and screaming, he became silent. All emotions hidden. He retreated into his shell. Hidden. Secure. Alone.
He stood there in front of the sobbing mother and stared into space as Mr. Weasley helped his fallen wife. He picked up the wand that Mrs. Weasley dropped and continued to stare at the door, as if expecting Ginny to walk in any moment. But then suddenly, as if reality crashed in, he fled to his room and slammed the door shut.
xxXxx
There was no time for guilt. She was guilty. Immensely. If she had went…Maybe, just maybe, Ginny would still be here instead of that god forsaken place. But there wasn't time for that.
She sat there around the table in the kitchen and listened to the men and women before her talk about the situation.
None of the Weasleys were there. Neither was Harry.
It was a hard blow to the family, especially after Percy's submission to St. Mungo a year ago.
They've all decided that it was necessary to rescue Ginny from the clutches of Voldemort. What they were arguing was when to take action.
They've learnt from Snape that the Dark Lord and his favorites would be visiting Azkaban shortly during New Year's Eve. Her mentor was against the idea of possible confrontation with Lord Voldemort. However, Professor Dumbledore seemed to be set on the idea that it would be the perfect time if not to end the war, to breach Azkaban and reclaim the dreaded prison.
"Professor! This is insane! You do remember that they have Dementors there! Some of the people here can't even produce a corporeal patronus! How are we supposed to fight the Dementors off and dual with the Dark Lord and his best men?" the spy master exclaimed.
"Severus," Dumbledore said calmly, not losing his cool but held a steely gleam in his eyes. "It will not be a man-to-man dual. We will have groups. Some will be holding the Dementors at bay; the others will be dealing with Voldemort."
"Some of the Dementors would be able to stray. What of those? There's so many of them to keep track of all at the same time!"
It was quite entertaining to watch the tennis match between two imposing figures of the order if it weren't for the dire situation. Minerva McGonagall was silent with thin lips, listening and trying desperately to think of a compromise between the men. Arabella Figg was still trying to grasp the situation as she had just been called in from her Muggle home.
"But it is a fair chance of them fighting the Death Eaters too." Hermione suddenly contributed to the conversation. "The Dementors. They want the happy thoughts, so they will attack random people in a fight. In battles, all of us don't have any happy thoughts, and the memories can be pushed into the psyche by an Occlumency potion."
The conversation stopped in front of her. Both men looked at the girl, just turned a woman, in front of them. Professor Dumbledore was beaming widely at her.
"Miss Granger, that is a wonderful idea." He said appraisingly before turning to Snape. "Severus, you've made an inimitable Potion Mistress. I believe that is exactly what we will do. How long does it take to make this potion?"
"About Two weeks. More or less." Severus grunted, still apprehensive of the idea.
"And am I right to suggest that a speeding potion would not affect the outcome of the potion?" the elderly Headmaster asked, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes." Severus said.
"Do we have any speeding agents though? They are rather hard to come by these days." Arabella Figg asked, speaking up for the first time.
"We have some speeding potions that would allow us to finish the concoction in around five or six days." Hermione said, seeing that her mentor was still against the idea of rescuing Ginny Weasley on the day Lord Voldemort visit Azkaban.
"Yes, I believe you should use those." Dumbledore said with his face pensive. "I trust that you'll begin the potion immediately as I contact some members."
With that, Dumbledore left the room with an uncharacteristic swipe of his robes that oddly resembled Severus's. He then went to the fire place and flooed back to Hogwarts
Severus grunted rudely before storming out of the room and towards the resident Potion lab. He was unhappy about the situation as it was plain to her and everyone else's eyes. He may not have agreed or liked Professor Dumbledore's decision but he wasn't about to defy the elderly wizard's suggestion. It wasn't much of a suggestion than an order, anyways.
Hermione made her ways to follow her mentor to assist him in this task. They would be looking after several cauldrons at the same time. It was always better to have two Potion Masters than one. She was at the door when Professor McGonagall's voice called to her.
"Hermione," she said, her eyes crying out her worries. "Before you go and assist Severus, can you, will you go and check on Harry, please? He's not that…well. He is coping worse than when it was Sirius's death…"
"Of course." Without another word, she left the room and head straight for Harry's room. Severus had been handling several potions at a time for many years; she was sure some time without her to assist him would be fine. The potion can wait a bit.
Her friend needed her.
A/N: Okies...I'm sorry I made Hermione cry so much...but it is a very distressing time for her to see him again...it is the dam suddenly broke. But don't worry, you'll see Hermione in real action soon! So...what did you think of this chapter? Please review...and get people to read this...I really want to achieve my first 50 reviews (as a be-lated bday prezzy)! Thanks.
Btw, I would like to know if everyone would be okay if I add another person's point of view?! The main focus will be on Draco and Hermione but due to the plot, to maintain a wide point of view, there may be need for another POV. Is everyone okay with that? Maybe just dedicating one or two chapters to their point of view.