Come undone

Hermione didn't know how long she could keep this up. She knew that she wasn't keeping up the façade of "everything is fine and normal". She wasn't participating in classes, and she was hiding herself in Myrtle's bathroom in between them. She knew that even though her glamours were holding up, her emotions that she was desperately trying to hide where shining through in full force. She couldn't keep up the brave face that she wanted to. She was able to dodge her friends and Cedric, but she knew now that she would have to work at dodging professor McGonnagall. Though she didn't look up during class, she was well aware of the professor's eyes staring at her through much of the class. Hermione knew she was being conspicuous, but she really didn't care anymore. She thought that things would be better upon her return to Hogwart's, but they almost seemed worse – there were too many people to try and dodge, and a lack of hiding places. She was going to have to face people at some point. She knew she was going to just have to try harder at faking it.

The next class she had was potions, and Cedric was in that class – how was she to face him? Would she be able to hug him? Would she be able to kiss him? She was going to have to try. Hermione looked at herself in the mirror and gave herself a pep talk, "you can do this, you are strong" she repeated over and over. She took a deep breath and made her way to the dungeons. Cedric was waiting for her outside of the classroom.

"There you are! Where have you been? I have been worried sick, everyone says you don't seem like yourself!" Cedric said as he enveloped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head. He noticed that she went rigid at his touch. He held her at arms length and said "What is the matter? Something is wrong."

"It's nothing." Hermione replied, "I think I have the flu or something, I feel out of sorts, but it's nothing to worry about." In reality, Hermione was flinching because his embrace put pressure on her battered body and it hurt a great deal, she also felt uncomfortable being touched – as though her body was having an involuntary fear of being beaten again. She knew this was an irrational fear – Cedric loved her, and she loved him – but how could she go back to the way things were as though nothing had happened? She wished she could repress it, but didn't have the strength to.

"How was the visit with your dad? You never answered my owls." Cedric said in a concerned voice. Hermione's eyes shifted away with the question as she replied "Fine."

"I hope you don't think that you're convincing me that it was "fine", I know you too well, tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened, it was fine!" Hermione snapped back.

Cedric looked at her shocked, she had never spoken that way to him before and he was rendered speechless. The last of the students filtered into the potions room a few moments earlier, and class had just begun.

"Look, we're late and I really don't want to deal with Snape berating me for it, I have to endure him through Occlumency training later today as it is." No sooner did Hermione say this than a wave of nausea came over her. She forgot that Dumbledore requested that she and Ron be trained in Occlumency as well since they were closest to Harry and there was a chance that Voldemort would attempt to get to Harry through them. How would she be able to hide what happened? She wasn't practicing, and her mind was so scattered she knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate and focus enough to protect her mind.

Cedric saw her turn pale and break out into a sweat as she began to back away. It was at this moment that professor McGonnagall entered the hallway at the far end – she was intending to pull Hermione out of class to speak with her. She stopped instantly as she watched what was unfolding before her eyes.

Cedric took a step towards Hermione, and she backed away – hands raised in a "stay away from me" fashion. "Hermione, you look really ill, please – let me take you to Madame Pomfrey."

"No!" Hermione shouted, "I'm fine!"

"Please Hermione," Cedric said with concern in his voice, "Just talk to me, what's wrong? I love you and want to help you, why won't you let me?"

"I don't need anyone's help, especially yours" Hermione said icily – she had no control over what she was saying, her emotions were at the wheel.

Minerva was shocked to hear Hermione speak that way not just to Cedric, but in general. This was not the Hermione that they all knew and loved. Yet Minerva remained still, wanting to observe how this was going to play out.

Hermione turned her back and began to move up the hallway away from the potions room. Cedric jogged a couple of steps after her and grabbed her arm to stop her. As soon as she felt his touch she screeched "DON'T TOUCH ME", pulling her arm back violently, she swung around to face him – pointing her wand square between his eyes. Cedric stopped dead in his tracks, unable to comprehend what was happening, but he immediately backed off nonetheless. He backed up a few steps with his hands raised the way Hermione raised hers not a few moments earlier. The hand Hermione had her wand in began to tremble until her entire arm was shaking. Her breathing became fast and ragged – shocked at how she just reacted, scared that she was unable to control her emotions or actions. Her eyes shifted around, scanning her surroundings in a panicked way, when they finally landed on a wide-eyed professor McGonnagall at the far end of the hall. Hermione backed up a few steps – wand still semi-raised, before she spun around and sprinted up the hall and out of the dungeons.

Cedric didn't follow, it was as though he were glued to the spot, watching his girlfriend run away from him in terror. Minerva made her way quickly up the hall until she reached Cedric. "Mr. Diggory, what on earth just happened?" She asked in a breathless voice. Cedric just shook his head in disbelief at Minerva.

"I have no idea professor, I am at a loss for words. She has never spoken like that to ANYONE, let alone me – and she recoiled when I hugged her – as though I made her uncomfortable. I don't understand."

"I know Cedric" Minerva said – dropping her usual formality, "I'm worried as well, she was not herself in class this morning – sitting in the back of the room, she seemed to be in a totally different world."

"She sat in the BACK of the room?" Cedric said in disbelief. "Something is very wrong, SOMETHING happened over break – everyone said she was acting strange since the moment the saw her on the train back to Hogwarts. She was not like this before she left. I know she didn't want to go home, but I insisted that she should go – I thought it would be good for her. She didn't leave my side right up until the moment we parted, we held each other and she was fine. Now she can't stand to even speak to me. Something had to have happened, she's come undone." Cedric looked Minerva dead in the eye, "I'm scared." He said quietly.

"I know" Minerva replied, as they looked up the empty hallway in which Hermione ran, "I am too. I think it's time we spoke with Professor Dumbledore."