Drabble 5: Scream

Author's Note: Sorry for the 7 months delay. I lost the list of words/prompts I was using and couldn't find it. Then I gave up searching and figure I'll use my own words but I ended up forgetting all about this. I just found the original list today (Wednesday, May 17th, 2017)

Grief's Wail

Harry's chest rose and fell with almost painful breaths. Sweat plastered his unruly hair to his face and cuts and bruises marked the aches of his body. The scent of blood and death and rotting flesh stung his nose but none of that mattered. All that mattered was the broken body in front of him.

Harry crashed to his knees. Bushy brown hair covered the face of the corpse but Harry didn't need to see the face to know who it was. He recognized those curls anywhere.

Hermione's neck was bent in a way that made Harry uncomfortable just by looking at it. Her usually fair skin was gray and ashy and was covered in gashes and burns. With a trembling hand, Harry moved Hermione's hair aside. Her eyes were still wide open and her mouth was frozen in a silent scream. Harry could see the echoes of fear in her cinnamon eyes even though the once brilliant light in them was now gone.

This was the product of hours of torture, not by magic but by one's own bare hands.

Harry knew he should get up. He knew he should kill the son of a bitch that did this to his Hermione. He knew he should kill him slowly and painfully, make him feel everything Hermione felt in her final hours and more. He knew he had to avenge Hermione in some way. But he couldn't do anything of these things, not right now.

For now, all Harry Potter could do was tilt his head to the Heavens and scream.