If Only
"There's a darkness which comes without a warning – but I will sing you lullaby's and wake you in the morning!"
"STOP!" screamed Minerva as she reached her left arm out, summoning the potion out of Hermione's hand faster than lightning. Hermione spun her head to the right, glaring directly into Minerva's eyes and matching her partner's - as if they were magnets drawing it's polar opposite instantaneously. They stared into one another's eyes for a moment – breathing hard. Minerva was bracing herself in the doorway, staring directly at the opening of the vial – squinting to identify a drop on the rim as either the beginning or complete end of something. It felt as though time had stopped – for everyone in the room. For Minerva, the cessation of time began from the moment she saw the vial tip to Cedric's mouth. For Hermione, it was seeing Cedric's potential cure literally fly out the window, taking himself – and everyone else – along with him.
The one moment that their eyes met, was the defining moment in time – for everyone. Hermione had barely slung her head backward, in the beginning of a gut-wrenching scream, when she realized how 'slack' Cedric's head was against her arm. She felt as though she was feverish and freezing at the same time, as she lowered her trembling head towards Cedric. She lost all muscle capacity as she realized that she could neither feel nor hear Cedric's breath against her face.
If only she knew what to do...