Just a quick apology for not updating in a while, and also to say that I've made a trailer for this fanfiction,

uk. youtube. com /user/kathrynann1112
(You'll have to take out the spaces for the link to work)

so feel free to check it out and tell me what you think!

Secondly, "The Five' F's' of Dragonology" (See below) is from an actual book by the name of "Dragonology: The Complete Book Of Dragons", just in case anyone was interested.

...

The screaming…the pain….the darkness. All of it swirled around in her head; Constantly going round and round; and every so often there was the murmur of hushed voices, always much too quiet to understand. And then there was the laughter. The hideous, screeching, maniacal laughter that wouldn't go away.

...

Severus paced up and down the small room restlessly like a caged animal. It had been several days since the attack and although his hunch about Hermione being poisoned had been correct, his assumption that he would be able to cure her had not been. She had lain in a death-like slumber ever since, and any potions or spells he had tried had had next to no effect whatsoever. He was a potions master and also an experienced healer, but nothing he tried so far had worked. It maddened Severus that he couldn't help. Even Dumbledore himself had admitted that if Severus couldn't help her, then no-one could.

He stopped his relentless pacing for a moment and turned look down at the girl lying on his bed. Her face was a sickly pallor and her skin glistened with sweat. Bending down he picked up a wet cloth form a bowl of icy water and kneeling beside her, he moved the stray strands of hair away from her face and gently dabbed her forehead with it.

Severus had been through so much over the years, and just when he had been hoping that it was all over and done with, that demon-like thing had came along and wrecked any chance of peace and quiet with these nightmares that were still haunting him. He wanted revenge for what had happened to him; and now, with fate of Hermione irrevocably linked to the creature, he was determined not to let the demon win. At any cost.

……

There it was, the laughter again. It hurt to listen to, but there was no escape from it. She heard the murmuring voices again; it was like running water in a stream. She listened. They brought some relief form the pain, the voices.

...

Remus lifted yet another leather-bound tome from the dusty shelves that lined the school library. In between running countless errands for Severus, teaching and coping with the side effects of being a werewolf, he had been trying to find out what exactly the creature that attacked Hermione was in the hope that he might find a way to cure her. So far, he'd had no luck whatsoever. Dropping the large book onto the nearest desk with a distinct thud he sat down and started to skim through the contents page of his current volume of choice, moving his finger down the page and muttering to himself as he read some of the more unusual titles.

Nessie: The Truth Behind the Tartan.

"Nope," he murmured out loud.

Trollspotting: an Enthusiasts guide.

"Certainly hope not,"

Werewolves: A Tale of Two Moons

Remus chuckled, "I don't think so…"

Dragons: The Five 'F's of Dragonology (By Dr. Ernest Drake)

"Lord forbid…"

And so he continued, with only the swirling particles dust that showed up in the lamplight for company.

A few hours later, Remus sighed dejectedly and lent back as he prepared to give up on yet another book. However, a title he had missed caught his eye just as he was about to slam the book shut.

Vampires: Misunderstood Denizens Of the Night?, it read.

"I wonder…" Remus mused as he started turning the pages.

'123...124...127...133...,' he muttered, turning the pages, 'There…'. He moved the lamp closer to the page and began reading.

………………

It was night time at Hogwarts. The darkness lay around the castle like a thick blanket, muffling all noise or activity from within. The silence was overwhelming. Not even the forest stirred as he walked among the tall boughs of the trees that were scattered around him like wooden statues in a courtyard of earth and stone. It was peaceful, but something nagged at the back of his mind. He couldn't quite figure out what it was however, so he kept on walking. He reached the top of a small hill and decided to sit on the grass, facing the castle. The grass was damp and felt cold to the touch as he spread his fingers out on the ground. It was ever so peaceful here. A cool, silent breeze played across his face and blew his hair in front of his eyes. He reached up to tuck it behind his ears, but as he did so he realised someone was sitting on the grass opposite him.

It was a woman, but like none he'd ever seen before. Her silvery hair flowed around he shoulders and down to her waist and her eyes were a soft grey colour. Looking down at her pale skin, he saw there were patterns that swirled and twisted around her, constantly moving and changing, giving her the appearance of both solidness and transparency at the same time. She sat cross legged and was dressed in a multitude of softly coloured cloths. He continued to stare at the constantly changing patterns, until he was interrupted by her soft, musical voice drifting across to him.

"Good evening, Severus."

Her looked up at her, not sure what to say. She smiled warmly at him.

"I've been looking for you." She stood up and walked over to him. "I have a message from the Old One."

Severus finally found his voice. "The Old One?" he enquired slowly, puzzled.

She shook her head, looking rather sadly at him. "This message is for you.

'Forget everything you have known.

Everything is nothing. Nothing is everything.

The Wounds of the old world have been reopened.

They bleed Death and Despair.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Severus sneered at her.

She stepped back from him suddenly, a fearful look in her eye, and all around him the world started to fall apart.

"Wait! I-" He reached forward as if to grab her, but there was nothing there. A maniacal laughter filled his ears as nothingness descended upon him, and he heard someone shouting his name.

"Severus, Severus!" it called urgently. He was falling into darkness. Blackness. Nothing.

Severus opened his eyes and blinked several times, adjusting to the light. Groggily he made to sit up, but recoiled back in shock as he came face to face with a haggard looking man who was far too close for comfort.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Remus!" Severus growled furiously when he realised who it was.

"Thank God you're awake! I came down to find you, and you were talking in your sleep, and-"

"…and for some unknown reason you felt the apparent need to cause me an untimely death due to a bloody heart attack?" Severus interrupted sarcastically, meanwhile trying to salvage whatever dignity he had left. He got up from the armchair he had evidently fallen asleep in, and made to walk over to the bed in the corner.

"Well, I've got some good news," Remus started to explain rather timidly.

"Oh, really? How nice for you…" was the sarcastic reply from the other side of the room.

"I think I may have found a way to save Hermione," Remus whispered softly, still standing beside the chair. The effect it had on Severus was electric.

"What!" Severus spun round to face the werewolf, all sarcasm forgotten. "Well, what is it?"

……………

They had been getting clearer, the voices. She strained to listen, and this time she caught one or two words. 'Cloth'…'too late'…'water'…'useless'…'blood'…The disjointed phrases made no sense. She could smell something warm, metallic. But before she could decide what it was, she slipped back into darkness again.

...