AN: Warning! Hermione has a nightmare in this chapter. Hermione's nightmares contain her torture with Bellatrix! I will mark the start and end.
Hermione was pulled out of her musings by the return of Lady Kaede and Rin.
"I see ye've already made the acquaintance of Kagome and Inuyasha. I presume ye're from the same world as Kagome?"
"Yes, you could say so," replied Hermione a bit unsure. Did Kagome tell them she was from another world instead of time? Or did it mean the same thing to the others? And would the wizarding world of Britain qualify as the same world?
"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Inuyasha, "She's from your time? Did you know her before?"
"No, I did not. But I saw her clothes, and she recognized me from a picture she saw at my old house. She even met my family and told me they are doing fine," Kagome explained, smiling slightly and teary-eyed at the last part.
"W-… well, that's great," Inuyasha said quietly and went to comfort Kagome, not wanting his mate to be sad.
Lady Kaede looked at the couple and nodded approvingly. She was glad that Inuyasha had learned to show his feelings in a better way, if not always. They did make a great couple.
Turning slightly to the foreign girl she said: "Forgive an old woman for her thoughtlessness, I didn't even ask fer yer name."
"It's Hermione, and no worries, there were more pressing matters."
"Ye're right child. Kagome, Inuyasha, as I went to fetch some clothes, Sango told me if I saw ye', to tell ye' that ye're invited for dinner and to bring the new girl as well. Sango is the one that lend her yer clothes, child", she addressed the tree of them, "Rin and I will eat here and wait for you to bring the girl back, she will be staying here until her foot has healed properly."
Hermione, who hadn't been sure on what to do, was very thankful. After thanking all of them, she, Kagome and Inuyasha made their way to Sango's house. On the way there, Kagome told Hermione a little about Sango, her husband Miroku and her children. The first two children were female twins and called Sakie and Saori while the third child was a son by the name Minoru.
They reached the house on the outskirts of the village, and Inuyasha entered it without even knocking. The women followed him hesitantly after Kagome had knocked on the doorpost and called out for Sango and Miroku. Hermione could see that the family and Inuyasha were already sitting around a fire in the middle of the elevated platform, which Hermione suspected was in every hut. Over the fire some soup was being cooked in an iron cauldron. She smiled melancholy at it, remembering all the times she had used one at school and with her friends. Maybe she could brew some potions for the village if she could find the ingredients around here. She still had some in her bag, but they probably wouldn't last long.
She slipped out of her sandals, sat down in a position that wouldn't hurt her foot and bowed to Sango and Miroku.
"Thank you for lending me your clothes and inviting me to dinner. I am very grateful."
"Everything for a beautiful woman as yourself," replied Miroku gallantly, winking at her.
Sango glared at Miroku and then looked at her saying: "Don't pay him any attention, he is still a lecherous priest sometimes. Not that you are not beautiful, because you are."
She stopped a bit flustered and fearing she had offended their guest. "I am glad I could help you. Inuyasha told us you are from where Kagome comes from?", she tried to salvage the situation.
"No harm done and yes, I kind of am? I am not from Japan, like you probably can tell from my features. I come from a faraway land called England at this time. My name is Hermione by the way."
While they were eating and drinking tea, the group of friends told Hermione about their adventures together, focusing on the time they had met each other. Since there were children present they didn't go in too much detail regarding the violent stuff. She enjoyed hearing about their stories. From time to time she would ask questions about some things, like demon traits or the odd swords. She was pleased to learn more about this curious time she was sucked into.
When it was becoming late and many began to yawn, Hermione, Kagome and Inuyasha said their goodbyes and went to Lady Kaede's hut. It was already dark outside and very few people were still up. Arriving at the hut Hermione bid the others good night and entered. Lady Kaede was still awake, seemingly waiting up for her. She held her finger to her lips and motioned to a sleeping Rin. She then pointed to a futon with blanket. Hermione nodded and smiled gratefully, making her way to her sleeping place. She laid down and made herself comfortable. The old priestess dimed the fire some more and went to sleep.
Hermione laid awake for a while. She was glad that until now nobody had pressured her into revealing her whole past and magic. They accepted that she needed time without her having to say so. Before she became too sleepy she cast a silencing spell around herself. She suspected that the events of the day would trigger her nightmares again, and she didn't want to wake anybody and draw even more attention on herself. Sadly, she cried herself to sleep, being uncertain if she would ever see her magical family again.
Start nightmare
"Where did you get it from? Tell me!", Bellatrix yelled at her.
"We found it! We found it!" Hermione screamed.
"You are lying, you are lying! You filthy mudblood! Tell me! Crucio!"
Hermione felt as if every nerve ending was on fire and she could only resist to scream a few seconds.
After a few minutes Bellatrix release her and asked her again: "Where did you get this sword! Tell the truth, you were in my vault! What else did you take? Say it! Crucio!"
And again, Hermione screamed and felt on fire and like thousands of needles were pricking her skin.
"What else did you take? Answer me!"
Bellatrix slashed at her collarbone with her wand and Hermione cried out as she could feel how it had cut her.
"You filthy little mudblood! Since you seem to not know your place yet, I will teach you and make sure you won't ever forget!"
With these words she cut Hermione's jacket and shirt off with a small silver knife, so that she had on only her bra and a tank top. Then she began to carve the word 'mudblood' into Hermione's left underarm, and Hermione could not stop screaming.
End of nightmare
With a loud scream she woke up. She was breathing fast and was very sweaty. Burring her face in her hands, she tried to slow down her breathing. When she had calmed down a little she stood up and went outside to have some fresh air. She sat down in front of the hut, hugging one leg to herself and laying her head on top of it while keeping her injured foot outstretched. She sighed heavily. What should she do? Maybe a Potion for Dreamless Sleep? She took out her beaded bag and wand and tried to summon the potion. Nothing came out. She must have run out of them. Normally, when she had nightmares she would later talk to a friend, and they would make her feel better about it, but know she couldn't reach them. They didn't even know that something had happened. Tears ran down her cheeks.
After some time, she could hear soft footsteps coming her way. She wiped her tears away and looked up. Before her stood Kagome in what seemed to be sleepwear. The priestess sat down beside her.
"What is it? Inuyasha woke me, telling me that he smelled tears and distress coming from Kaede's hut."
"I'm sorry I woke you up. I… I had a nightmare and I… I miss my friends", Hermione told her reluctantly.
"You must be very close with your friends."
"Yes, we went through a lot together."
"I think I understand how you feel. When I was stuck in my time after the destruction of the Jewel I missed my friends here a lot as well. I would often cry myself to sleep even when I had my family and other friends there. It must be worse for you since you don't really know anybody here."
They sat there for a while in silence.
"Thank you, Kagome, I think you helped me a little. We should go back to sleep now, I am sure your husband misses you."
Kagome blushed at her words and had to clear her throat.
"You are right, we should go back to sleep", she said, ignoring her last comment.
They bid each other good night for the second time and went back to their beds. Hermione did not want to have another nightmare, so she laid awake the rest of the night.
AN: Thank you for your support! I hope you continue liking the story! I am always thankful for your feedback. I am not sure about the rating, should I change it to an M? If everything works as planed I will post another chapter tomorrow. So, look forward to it!
This story is now betaed by Pyo-Kiyo, I am very grateful for her help.
Thanks, and enjoy.