Running around the grounds at night with her pack mates, even in just two weeks time, made Pansy lean and no stranger to speed. What she wasn't experienced at was following someone while maintaining some degree of stealth up and around a few dozen or so sets of stairs while also maintaining speed. Not to mention the fact that the stairs moved. A lot.

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The divination tower seemed as good a place as any to hide in her misery. It was high up; difficult to get to on a good day, it was empty and it was dark. Then there was the added bonus of being ironic. If divination, in her mind, held any merit, she might not see the glowing embers of what was her childhood...everything every time she closed her eyes. If she had somehow known.. She always prided herself on knowing everything. She could pull any useless fact out from a silk hat at a seconds notice. This whole experience taught her one thing that was more than a useless fact. She was more arrogant than she'd ever blamed all of the Slytherin snakes combined of being. She deserved this. Her family how ever, did not. This realization did not humble her in the slightest, nor did the cool night air bring her any comfort. With trembling hands she took the Devil's note from her pocket. She closed her eyes and hoped against all odds it said something new. It didn't.

Heat welled up in her chest and she began to take short, un-fulfilling breaths. Her skin tingled and with lack of proper oxygen, went numb. Her body shook as the dam in her mind broke down and all those evil burning thoughts poured out; her parents at the forefront. In her mind she saw the annihilation clearly. Against a background dusty gray and orange flecks, two smoldering corpses sat, clinging to each other.

What a fucking waste. She thought bitterly.

Slow burning tears fell from the corners of her eyes as more memories forced themselves on her. She felt her rib cage close in on itself as she watched herself steal every ounce of information that might have saved her parents. What a tactless, stupid idea. She caused this.

Maybe, she thought, if I had people to rely on the way others rely on me, I would have known better or found a better way. Maybe if this war didn't have certain people so self involved they could do more for the good of others rather than thinking about the destruction of one fucking person! He's not even a person! Soulless, she began to hyperventilate, stupid, selfish, arrogant BASTARDS!

She began to feel bitter towards her only friends in the world. Why couldn't they worry about her for once? Truly worry? The only reason she mattered to them was because if anything happened to her they would be screwed! No one was safe from her rage. She balled up one fist and fingered her wand with the other. If her parents bothered to learn about who she was in the first place... if they even bothered once to get to know her world, they could have kept themselves safe! They might have taken the threats she warned about seriously!

A strangle cry escaped her lips as she raised her wand. No. She thought. Never again. I'm better than this. I've always been alone. I'll always be alone. I need to stop pretending. I have all the power I need. All I need is this wand and my own two feet. I should thank that sick son of a bitch. I know who I really am now. And I'll make sure everyone else knows it too.

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Severus escaped from the great hall as soon as he could. Using a confiscated map, he tracked Pansy up to divination tower where he found her holding onto the door frame as she shielded her eyes from a bright and hellish glow. He squinted at the light as his horrifying vision unfolded in front of him. He choked on smoke and his throat burned. A chair flew against the wall to the left of the door and shattered into splinters. Glass and crystal balls lay shattered and the remains of a fine china set littered the floor. Even the stone wall seemed to sweat. There was a flurry of movement to his right, close enough for him to touch. Her robes were burning up around her, ash and charred marks all across her skin. Her feet were bare and filthy and her fingers were clenched. She was frantic and wild as she tore into another chair, flinging it mercilessly across the room as she screamed. Severus and Pansy were horrified to realize she hadn't even been using her wand for the destruction they were witnessing. She had fought the very room around her with her own two hands. She should have been bloody, if not broken. But save for the dirt, there was not a mark on her. She turned on the spot, dark curls flying about her face, and darker eyes reflecting the orange glow. This was the second sign, Severus was sure. There she was, reflecting the essence of Satan himself. She raised her eyes to the ceiling which too would now need some repairs, and cried out. She cried out her pain and misery, her exhaustion at the world. Suddenly, the air lost it's electricity. Dust settled, shards and ash found the floor, the fire was out and the orange glow, gone.

Hermione Granger fell to her knees, encircled in the glittering ashy remains of her fury, and with the last of her energy drained away, her mind faded into unconsciousness.