Dead and Gone

During the war, Hermione went M.I.A. Everyone thought she was dead and after a few years, everyone moved on. Including Ron. But what happens when she resurfaces, seemingly unharmed?

Chapter Five: Empty

Once Hermione had finally fallen asleep, George silently untangled himself from her and laid her back down on the bed. Grabbing a blanket from the end of the bed, he pulled it up to cover her. Kneeling down beside the bed, he ran a gentle hand through her hair. He could see pain written across her normally delicate features. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss to her forehead, then grabbed the dirty laundry from the floor and went to do laundry.

After hanging Hermione's clothes to dry, George went to the kitchen to make some tea. He found his mind wandering back to Hermione laying in her knickers and bra in bed. In his bed. The tea kettle whistled, pulling him from his thoughts and he shook his head. He couldn't think of her like that. Unfortunately, it wasn't his brain he was thinking with. Shifting uncomfortably, he set an empty tea cup and the kettle of hot tea on a wooden breakfast tray and walked back down the hall to his room. After placing the tray on the nightstand for Hermione, he noticed that her breathing had become rapid. Her head twisted from side to side and a whimper escaped her lips.

Hermione watched as two men strapped someone onto the table she once occupied. She stared down at them with hallow eyes. Picking up one of the knives, she turned to them, a smile tugging at her lips when they began screaming into the gag. Taking the gag off, she placed the tip of the knife at the corner of his mouth. "Turn that frown upside down, honey." She said and pulled the knife through the man's skin from the corner of his mouth to his ear then repeated the process with the other side. Blood poured from the man's face and a smile tugged at her lips. Placing the knife down on the small metal table, she picked up a small torch and walked down the table to the man's feet. Turning it on, she stared at him as the fire burned his skin. The man screamed, forcing the skin on his face to rip apart…

"Hermione! Hermione wake up!" George yelled over Hermione's screaming.

Hermione shot up in bed, covered in sweat. It took a moment for her to realize where she was and that George was sitting beside her. Throwing her arms around him, she sobbed into his neck. George wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. Whispering soothing words, he ran a hand over her hair as she clutched to the front of his shirt as if her life depended on it.

"Shhhh, it's alright, Hermione. It's okay. You're safe."

"Did she tell you what she was dreaming of?" Ginny asked.

"No. She's just been laying in bed all day since it happened." George said starring into the fire. He shook his head. "There's something seriously wrong with her, Ginny. It's like…" George shook his head again.

"Like what?"

"It's like she's got no emotion except remorse. And even then, it isn't normal remorse."

"What do you mean, no emotion?" Harry asked.

George swallowed. "Every feeling is forced. Every smile. Every laugh. And her remorse…its more like fear than feeling sorry."

"Maybe we should get a psychic or an empath to talk to her. See if they can figure out what's wrong with her." Ginny suggested.

"Maybe." George said, not really listening.

"There are a few empaths working at The Ministry. I'll see if any of them will help." Said Harry.

George nodded absentmindedly and stood up. "Where are you going?" Ginny asked as she watched her brother walked across the room.

"To check on Hermione. Get an empath here as soon as you can." George said and walked down the hall.

"She's in here." Harry said, walking down the hallway to George's bedroom.

"I thought she was dead." said the small blonde, a distant look in her eyes.

"She was in Hell." Harry knocked on the bedroom door and poked his head in. "Empath is here."

George waved them in and furrowed his brow when he saw who the empath was. "Luna?"

Luna smiled and practically floated over to where Hermione was laying. She sat down on the bed and tilted her head to the side, her smile disappearing. "Well this is interesting." She said as she stared down at Hermione's sleeping face.

"What? What is it?" George asked.

"She seems…cold." Luna's eyes searched Hermione's face. Reaching out, she placed a hand on Hermione's stomach. Luna's face became, what George could only describe as, troubled.

"What is it, Luna? Do you sense anything?" Harry asked.

Luna shook her head and stood up, backing away from the bed, her eyes still focused on Hermione. "How long was she in Hell?"

"Uh, 3 years, but time is different down there." George said.

Luna nodded. Hermione's eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment to realized that she was in George's room and not Fred's. Sitting up, she looked at the three of them.

"Why are they here?" Hermione asked, referring to Harry and Luna.

"They came to help figure out what's wrong with you." George said.

Hermione stood up and walked past them. "There's nothing wrong with me." She said as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Yes there is. Luna, tell her." George said as the three of them followed her.

Hermione reached up into one of the cabinets and pulled down a bottle of fire whiskey. Pouring herself a glass, she turned to them, leaning against the counter. "Nightmares, that's all they are."

"You're empty." Luna tilted her head. "You can't fill it can you? Not with food or drink. Not even with sex."

Hermione took a sip. "You're so full of crap."

"You can smirk and joke and lie to your friends, lie to yourself but no to me. I can see inside you Hermione. I can see how broken you are; how defeated. You can't win and you know it. But you just keep fighting. Just…keep going through the motions. You have nightmares because you miss what you were. You miss the power it gave you. And you pretend that it scares you but it doesn't because you just don't care anymore. And you don't care anymore because inside, you're already dead."

A/N: I took most of what Luna said from Supernatural. I saw the episode online and the words seemed to fit just so perfectly. Let me know what you guys think. :)