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Fear - chapter 4

Hermione's POV

I cast a few spells instinctively, but this demon manages to dodge all of them. I only made it angry, and it's only squeezing Parkinson's throat harder, I swear, she's close to dying. I panic even more, I must do something fast! "Don't do it! Please! Don't kill her!" I yell out, scared by how broken and fearful my voice sounds.

The demon chokes her harder to spite me. It looks at me with sinister expression showing no signs of stopping, than all of a sudden it drops Parkinson down into the lake and flies towards me. I am paralyzed with fear but it shifts invisible instead of clawing me. All I can hear is a chilling laughter passing over my shoulder and echoing towards the dark forest.

I look in the direction for a while, listening to every sound. Seams it's gone, what a relief. I wipe the sweat of my brow and turn around to see Parknson crawling on all fours out of the lake. I jump over to her. I hit her on the back to help her cough up water, than I step back and let her recover from there.

After a minute of sitting and coughing she stands up inspecting her completely wet clothes. She's looking paler than ever. I expect I do as well.

"Are you ok?"

She nods in response. "Let's get out of here! What if that thing returns?!" She says in panic and starts running up the hill.

"Yea, you're right." I realize and run after her.

"It called you master, are you controlling that thing?!" She asks me angrily as we climb up the hill.

"I'm not! I swear! Why would I…"

"Either way, we must inform the professor that thing is still out there. He'll know what to do."

"What professor?" I ask.

"Professor Snape, of course."

"Oh no! He would have me locked up and chained! I'm coming along so I can at least defend myself before you blow it out of proportion."

"Blow it out of proportion?! I almost died!" She screams. "Look at my neck!"

I really can see dark red marks on her neck as if done by a really thick rope. "Alright, sorry, let's just get there in peace."

We reach the castle, and go down to the dungeons. Than I had to wait for her to change out of her wet clothes, witch took me to the edge of my patience as I sat on the staircase wondering what other horrors are in store for me today.

Finally she returns wearing back shoes and skirt, and a white strawberry pattern shirt with a light green sweater over it. I raise my eyebrows surprised to see her out of her school uniform. "Come on, let's go!" She says.

We reach Snape's office in the dungeon without uttering a word. I'm already trembling from the sight of the black wooden door of the Snape's office. If I survive this day I should just pack up and leave right in the morning.

Parkinson knocks twice and after a moment Snape opens the door, looking down at us with his usual cold gaze. "Miss Parkinson and… Miss Granger." He looks over at me, surprised that I'm knocking on his door, and with one of his favourite Slytherin students. "You need something from me?"

"Could we talk inside professor, it's a serious matter." Parkinson says and we step inside. She than proceeds to retell the events just transpired, to professor Snape. I interject when necessary, hoping to prove I'm not the one controlling this demon like Parkinson keeps claiming. I'm just hoping Snape won't call dementors on me.

"I believe this a fear demon." Professor Snape says after a while and looks me in the eye. "It calls you master mockingly. The demon does what you fear Miss Granger. It can sense what you fear the most and feeds of that fear. Witch means you feared for Miss Parkinson's life… more than for your own." He finishes with that conclusion still staring at me.

I look to my left and Pansy is looking at me as well, obviously stunned by Snape's explanation. I feel gotta offer some sort answer to that. "I guess I was afraid if someone dies, I'll go to Azkaban, and that's worse than death."

"I suppose it can seam worse." Snape says, not hiding his disbelief. "In any case Miss Granger, it's seams you're not very fond of your life…"

"I bet professor Snape could help you with that." Pansy interrupts jokingly, prodding me with her elbow.

I don't find this sort of dark humor funny, in this moment in particular, and apparently neither does Snape.

"I don't make poisons Miss Parkinson, and even if I did, I wouldn't give any to my students… even Gryffindor ones."

"Sorry sir, just joking." She says quietly, blushing with embarrassment. It amazes me how quickly she managed to recover from that fear and panic. Joking like nothing happened… I'm still shaken up.

"As I was saying…" Snape continues. "To be sure of all this I must look up this particular demon, there is a book in the library describing these sort of demons in detail, offering solutions to rid of them as well. Here's what you must do, go to the library and find me that book, than I can I help you further. It's somewhere near the restricted section if I recall, but not in the restricted section." He makes sure to emphasize that. "Miss Granger, after all this I presume you won't venture there again?"

"But I never… alright, I won't." I accept.

"We'll find it, don't you worry sir." Pansy confirms going for the door and I follow.

"And hurry up! The demon leaves once it's sated and returns to feed again periodically. It could be only a day before it strikes again." Snape adds.

"Yes sir." Pansy says with a fearful expression as we exit Snape's office room.

We rush trough the empty corridors. "Shit, Granger we gotta hurry! I'm first in line if that thing comes back. Cause you got a crush on me or something?" She says glancing at me, as if it's just a rhetorical question.

Even though I hate her, I might have though of her a few times, in a purely sexual way, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her think she has some sort of power over me. "No! I don't have a crush on you! You forget, when the demon first appeared it attacked everybody but me, which means you're nothing special, you just happen to be there." Damn, I should have mentioned that back at the Snape's office, I realize.

"Oh…" She says disappointedly. Vain as she is, I must have shattered her illusion that the whole world is in love with her. "So it means you're just suicidal." She concludes plainly.

"Sure." I accept not willing to argue it further. It's not far from the truth anyway.

End of ch4-