That night the two women spent time playing wizard chess, discussing the morality of love potions and reading in companionable silence. Long after Minerva had gone to bed Hermione was still reading and making notes on her homework. She didn't want to go to sleep because she still feared what lurked beneath her conscience. There were many nights that Hermione flailed and called out in her sleep, but in recent months she was aided from that pain-filled world by the comforting help of the silver-black tabby. In this dark, magical manor, however, she was alone in the fight against the night terrors and it made waking so much more difficult. As the night wore on she fought against the ghoulish hold of Bellatrix, her own personal demon. When Bellatrix's knife pierced her arm the pain was excruciating and her scream reverberated through the house.

From just down the hall Minerva had woken with a jolt by the horrified shriek of her young friend. This wasn't the first night that she had been shocked awake this way, but it still made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. As soon as she had wrapped herself in a gown she sprinted through the house. The moment she was by Hermione's side she grasped the girl's shoulders and raised her to a sitting position, calling her name.

Hermione's tormentor tried to hold her in the dream world, nails penetrating her skin, but McGonagall's voice guided her back to reality. As Bellatrix disappeared below her, Hermione finally opened her tear-streaked eyes. For the first few moments she didn't know where she was or who was holding her. She struggled against the body until her memories returned. She cried into the Professor's shoulder, holding her as tight as her lean arms would allow and Minerva embraced her back, murmuring into the bushy mane.

"It's okay, dear. It's all over. You're awake now, here with me. Shhh…"

They sat there a while and even when Hermione had lost the strength in her arms to hold on any longer, Minerva continued to hug her tight. She kissed the crown of the girl's head and then her temple, rocking until the sobbing died down.

"S-sorry, P-proffessor,"Hermione hiccoughed, "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologise for. You just had a nightmare."

Shaking her head, the teenager pushed away so she could swing her legs over the side of the bed. "They aren't nightmares. They're too real to be n-nightmares. It's like it's happening all over again, but all… all at once. All of it. Lupin and Fred and Tonks and, and even Harry… all dead and I didn't do anything. And her… she's in my head and she hurts me from the inside." Hermione buried her face in Minerva's shoulder again before pulling back the sleeve of her pyjama top. The scars that formed the word MUDBLOOD looked as raw and red as they did the night it was cut into her and there were hand-shaped circled her wrists. "It hurts so much."

McGonagall had known that the girl had nightmares; that she was afraid to sleep. Many nights had been spent by her side, curled and ready for the moment she was needed, but she had never known that it was this bad. She had never been privy to this frightening side-effect.

"S-sometimes I see her when I'm awake. Or I think I do. Just in the corner of my eye. Or I can smell that ghastly odour from the Malfoys' dungeon. And now… you know Nick said Voldemort's back. In the castle as a ghost."

"That's not true," McGonagall cut in firmly. There was no way it could be true. "You and Harry destroyed all the horcruxes. You killed what was left of his soul."

"But what if there's another one. I thought of it tonight. What if Hogwarts is a horcrux too?"

Minerva shook her head and wrapped an arm around the girl's too-thin waist. "Hogwarts… there is nowhere safer. No wizard could hope to overpower the kind of protective magic that the many, many Headmasters have put into it. I have heard there's a new ghost that doesn't yet have the power to materialise, but it isn't him. I promise, when we go back to the school we will find the spirit together and prove that it is not Voldemort."

She wasn't convinced, but Hermione nodded anyway and cleared her throat. Crying had made her throat sore and dry and now that she was fully awake she felt foolish and childish. To put distance between herself and her professor's warm frame she stood and walked to the wall mirror. She looked dreadful. No one looked graceful when they cried, but her face was puffy and red, her eyes huge and her nose running. It was embarrassing.

"Are you okay, Hermione?"

She nodded.

"Come downstairs and we'll have some warm milk. Then you can try to get a better night's rest."

Hermione wanted to protest. Sure, she'd go down stairs, but she very much doubted she could sleep again. The threat of those memories was too frightening and would keep her up till morning, even if she tried.

Before going downstairs, Hermione washed her face in the bathroom adjacent to her bedroom while McGonagall waited at the foot of the stairs, two warm mugs in her hands. Hermione paused during her descent long enough to feel bad for upsetting her teacher's sleep.

At the bottom of the stairs she met Minerva and took a mug from her. "I'm sorry for waking you," she said, eyes cast down.

"Stop apologising," Minerva chastised softly as she led the way to the lounge.

A fire was already burning brightly in the hearth, warming the room. They sat together on the sofa and at McGonagall's insistence Hermione described the nightmare in detail. The warm milk, hearty fire and good company eventually did their job and as hard as she tried to fight it, Hermione found herself start to drift off again. Her head bobbed and shoulders slumped as she leaned into McGonagall's body. Despite her fears and the strange surroundings she felt safe. When she finally surrendered to sleep Minerva levitated her back into her room and covered her with the doona. Once satisfied that Hermione was peaceful, she murmured 'goodnight' for the second time that night and left, promising herself to find a way to help her young friend.

((Two chapters for Christmas week and then we'll return to Hogwarts and the ghost for New Year's.))