Sweat coated my body as I shot up in my bed, my head swimming through the misty fog, and a painful ache that throbbed from in between my thighs. I lifted a shaky hand up to my lips, gasping as they burned with blood and somebody else's heat. I pulled the Gryffindor sheets all the way off my body, running to the bathroom in between the two bedrooms, to inspect the damage. My dream had felt so real, it had to be true. On the way there, I took a glance and stared down at my once ordinary pajamas, which were no ripped beyond repair. I gulped deeply as I saw that my chest had been revealed way beyond the point of decency.
"Hermione, what the hell?"
"Can't talk right now, Harry!" I yelled back at my best friend, slamming the door behind me as quickly as possible. I gave a long sigh of relief as I sank back against the door, sliding down it slowly. I closed my eyes for several moments before finally summoning all of my Gryffindor courage, and braving the mirror. When I finally saw my reflection, I gaped, flabbergasted at my own reflection. I looked- well, to be terribly blunt, I looked well and thoroughly shagged. My cheeks flushed scarlet and my gaze fell to my neck. My eyes widened (if it was at all possible, considering how wide they already were) and I froze. There was a bite, the very bite from the dream, and it was hidden by the biggest hickey I'd ever seen. As I continued to stare at my reflection, I begun to feel light-headed.
"Ginny." I murmured quietly before passing out, collapsing to the floor.
--
When I woke up, I was incredibly drowsy, and my head was spinning. I felt like I had been playing with a Blast- Ended Skrewt and head butting with a hippogriff.
"Harry?" I whispered softly, opening my eyes feebly. His almond shaped emeralds stared back at me as he gave a rather large sigh of relief before fetching Ginny. I wanted to know where I was, and what the bloody hell had just happened. All that I could remember was having a rather wet dream involving one psychotic Death Eater, i.e., Barty Crouch. A soulless husk of a man, whom I'd only ever seen at a distance and in the Daily Prophet when they announced his sentence. Again.
"Thank Merlin you're alright!" Ginny grinned, her brown eyes sparkling brightly as she hugged me. I used all of my strength to hug her back, when the sound of rustling parchment caused us to pull apart. I frowned in confusion and lifted the sheets. An extremely crumpled letter laid there, addressed to me.
"Aren't you going to open it, Mione?" I frowned and Ginny spoke up for me.
"She just woke up after passing out, Ron! Give her some time, would you?" I gave Ginny a grateful smile and she smirked.
"Hermione, what is going on?" I looked up from the wax-sealed parchment, a permanent frown etched on my face.
"Ginny, can you stay? I'm not really comfortable with having everyone here." And everyone was crowded around me, muttering softly as they stared down at me. Ginny nodded cautiously before shooing everybody out. Harry and Ron stayed, annoyingly stubborn.
"Aren't you two going? I asked for everyone bar Ginny to leave!" I huffed, my eyes flashing defiantly.
"Anything Ginny can hear, we can hear too!"
"Leave. This is a girl thing." They paled slightly at the wicked look in my eyes.
"Ah, um-yeah. We'll just be going then. Come on, Ron." Harry hissed, yanking Ronald out of the room.
"Smart one, isn't he?" I laughed and sat up, wincing slightly.
"Sometimes. Other times, they can be completely thick."
"So, what's going on? We were really scared for you." I blushed, thinking of my dream. Ginny giggled and I bit my lip nervously.
"I don't know, I'm not really sure." She scoffed at this and I glared at her, but she brushed my death glare off.
"Whatever happened, it looked like somebody was going to kill you, but changed their mind and decided to shag you instead. And how could you not know? It's a pretty simple question." I frowned and rubbed my head tentatively.
"It all happened in my dream, but when I woke up, I had all of the physical marks. Including this." I moved the frizzy curls away from my shoulder to reveal the hickey/bite. Her eyes widened and she swore colorfully. I bit my lip again and blushed scarlet.
"Merlin's hairy balls! Who the hell were you with? A bloody werewolf?"
"No!"
"Well, who was it then? Please tell me you know!"
"I know who it was, but…"
"Light or Dark?"
"Dark. He was supposed to be dead. Well, as close as you can be to being dead without being Avada'd. I whispered softly, ignoring the pain wracking throughout my body as I pulled my legs up to my chest, resting my chin on my knees.
"Ok, Mione. Just tell me who it was, and I promise not to judge." I was still skeptical, but I told her anyway. Ginny had proved along time ago that I could trust her.
"Bart Crouch Junior." It was barely a whisper. Ginny stared at me like I had three heads.
"He's not dead, Hermione." My blood ran cold.
"W-What? But didn't he get the Kiss, and…" I trailed off, gripping the sheets as I remembered his voice, husky with lust. Ginny hugged me tight and explained.
"Yeah, he did get the Kiss, but You-Know-Who found a Dark Spell to release all of the souls trapped within, without killing them. All of the Death Eater's souls were returned to their original bodies. And seeing as they had already served their sentences, the Ministry had no choice. They couldn't keep them prisoner any longer. They all walked free last night. Here." She passed me the edition of the Daily Prophet that was sitting by her side. I unfolded it and gazed at the front page. Was it just a silly coincidence, that his picture was the biggest on the page, or a new method of torture for me? I read as fast as possible, drinking in each word. As I did so, my throat became drier and drier, and my skin deathly pale.
"Hermione?" She asked, clearly worried. I looked up at my only female friend and smiled weakly, glancing down at the long forgotten parchment once more. I broke the wax and stared down as a silver ring fell out of the parchment.
"Maybe you should read the letter, Mione. And check that ring out for dark magic." I was too worn out to point out how obvious her suggestion was. And, I didn't feel any animosity emanating from the ring.
"I know that this is the stupidest thing that I've ever said, or thought, but I trust him. How silly? I trust a deranged, escaped, and mentally unstable Death Eater." She smiled faintly and sat down again.
"It's not that silly at all. I trusted Tom. I thought that I loved Tom. Just read the letter, Mione." I smiled and picked it up, reading it to myself, ready to relay any important information to Ginny.
My dearest vixen,
I'm sure that you know by now that I have been freed by my Master. I know that you are unsure of your feelings regarding me as of yet, but I know that you are mine to love, et cetera, et cetera.
Time, is an ingenious part of magic, precious. Dangerous when tampered with. But, it is our destiny to be meddlers of time, yours has already begun.
No matter how much you deny it or attempt to fight it, it will be inevitable. It has happened once before, but my Master has kindly given you a second chance to come back to me. Last time, you were Dumbledore's puppet, doing all that he required, plus more. I never beg, but I will implore you to do the right thing by us, precious, when the time comes. Embrace me, vixen, as you embrace your books and knowledge.
We are Fated, you and I. Fear not, for I shall not harm you, unless it is justified.
Till we meet again vixen, farewell.
Barty Crouch Junior.
P.S: Last night was not a dream, not the part where you gave me your most precious gift, and the lock of your hair. You still smell of cinnamon and wildflowers.
Ginny watched the color of my cheeks change, laughing at my different facial expressions as I read.
"Well, he sure is romantic, in his own crazy way." I muttered to myself.
"What did he write?" Ginny asked, much too eager.
"That he loves me. And that my destiny has already begun. What a load of rubbish."
"Anything else?" My cheeks flushed as I remembered the postscript.
"That last night was not a dream."
"Good to know, but I still feel as if there's something you're not telling me." I shoved the letter in her face, letting her read it and give her own opinion.
"Oh dear." She mumbled.
"What is it?"
"Fated. A muggleborn and a pureblood have never been Fated before. To be Fated is sort of similar to soul mates." I snorted. It sounded too much like Divination for my liking.
"This isn't Divination, Mione. It's pre-ordained by the Gods and Raw Magic. Barty Crouch Junior is your mate." I paled considerably.
"It's not so bad though, is it? He is really smart, eloquent and charming, and not that bad on the eyes…"
"The only downfall is that he's a deranged bloody psychopath who has tortured dozens of people, and killed and maimed even more. Oh, and he's Voldemort's little lapdog.
"Yeah. That." She retorted. I picked up the ring, staring at it. It clearly had no dark magic or curses within it, as I wasn't convulsing in pain or dead. I blushed when I realised that it would only fit on my wedding finger.
"Er, I think that I should go fetch McGonagall. I'll be back in a bit."
"Thanks." As I continued to stare at it, the tiny feminine part inside me urged to put it on. For once, I listened. I put the ring on, admiring the shine of it in the soft light drifting through the drapes. I shivered with delight as I remembered Barty's mouth on my skin.
"Barty…" I murmured softly, smiling to myself as his letter came to mind. For the moment, I would forget that he was on the other side of this War. I would forget that he was a criminal, and that he was insane. I closed my eyes, a soft sigh leaving my lips. As I did, I let out a sharp cry as the ring burned, and my nerves scorched. It felt as if I was being ripped into multiple pieces and stabbed repeatedly.
--
When I opened my eyes, weak and disorientated, I found that I was sitting in someone's lap. I registered the now familiar coffee coloured eyes before the world around me faded to black.