Hi everyone,

Thanks to those who reviewed. Glad you enjoyed it. I made the 1st Chapter a lot longer than the Prologue, but i'll try to make the next chapter longer still. Sorry for the delay in uploading, and please review after you read this chapter!

SlytherinDream98

I had never really given a thought as to how I would die. I had hoped it would be peaceful- just growing old and falling asleep one night to find myself in heaven. Or wherever it was dead people went. After meeting Harry, I was sure I would die during the war, in the midst of blood and bodies of those I loved. Never a combination of both.

Who would miss me? I thought to myself. My parents? Yes, they would be sad to receive the news. My best friends Harry and Ron? Probably. Perhaps the entire Weasley family; they were hoping I would marry into that family. But… would he miss me?

Drip.

The mirror stood alone in the middle of darkness. It was too far away for me to see any details on it, but I could tell it was a mirror. Then an earth-shattering sound filled the world, and I turned, mortified at what was happening- the ground was crumbling into pieces and I would have fallen down into yet another world of nothingness if I stood there. I forced my feet to dash forward as fast as they could, reaching a hand out to the mirror that was edging closer and closer-

And then I woke up.

Just like that. A simple opening of the eyes and the bright sunlight was shining on my face as I sat up. There was water dripping from my hair, which was smooth and shiny because it was soaked. I had not expected to wake up in a lake in the middle of nowhere; I had not expected to wake up at all!

A stifled gasp made me look up. My mind raced and my eyes grew wide at the sight of the person before me, and I slowly stood up to reach out, longing to touch him, confirm that he was real, that he was living. "No." He muttered. I leaned forward to get closer. "No, it can't be." He stepped back. "You…" My fingers were close enough to grab his clothing, his hand-

And then he was gone. Running, with his legs so fast they were a blur, away from me, into the forest. Water dripped down like unshed tears, and I sat down again in the cool water to think. Hadn't I seen him in my dream? In the mirror? Yes, that's right. Before I fell down with the crumbling floor, an image of the man and I embracing had been in the mirror before I fell to my doom.

I slowly stood up and trudged off into the opposite direction, not knowing where I was or where I was going, my thoughts focused only on him.

Why did Draco run away from me?

It had been 3 weeks now: 3 weeks of confusion and utter sadness. Perhaps it would not be so displeasing once I boarded the train to Hogwarts, and being able to see my friends. And I would see him.

My heart stung again. I would see Draco, but i knew i would try to relieve these feelings i had for him. We would walk past each other in the hallways ignoring each other, and he would probably have another girl in his arms every other week. That was fine. My heart thumped against my chest.

I shook my head free of these thoughts. I was going back to school, see my friends and go to classes! I felt my face give a small grin as my mother knocked on the door and came in, "Hermione, dear?"

I looked up, feeling tired. "It's about time we left, sweetie." My mother came over and sat down next to me on the bed. "I'll have daddy get your bags, alright?" She smoothed my hair back as I nodded.

"Don't worry, darling, if you need help telling your friends, I'll go along and help explain, how's that?" I vigorously shook my head no, this was my business and I had to be the one to tell them. "Well, that's fine by us." She pouted anyway, "But your dad and I will make sure you board the train before we leave."

The drive down to the train station went by in a blur. I sat in the back seat with a book in my lap as my finger trailed over the words Hogwarts: A History. I heard the hushed whispered of my parents, and my hand automatically curled into a fist. My parents had been talking about my… situation all 3 weeks now.

When I left the lake into the forest that fateful day, I had snapped back to reality after endless hours of walking through bushes and trees that tore my flesh apart. The sky was darkening and the birds fluttered back to their nests. I found my wand in the pocket of my jeans and apparated back home, envisioning the front porch in my mind.

The apparition back to my house was painful- the air was knocked out of my lungs, my bones ached, and my throat felt hoarse. I heard my mother's frantic yell and my father's apparent trying to calm her. My feet were bruised and torn, leaving dots of blood on the pavement as I used all my strength to knock on the door. The knock vibrated through the silence, I heard a chair scrape back and hurried footsteps, the creak of a door being opened before I passed out.

"Hermione? Honey?" My father shook my knee, and I snapped my head back up. Both my father and my mother gave me small reassuring smiles, "We're here honey, let's go." They lifted me out of the car as if I were a sick patient who needed to be treated like a little child. But I was still numb from all the pain, so maybe this was how I needed to be treated. Maybe. I shook my head. What happened to all that Gryffindor bravery I had all those years? Sure I loved Draco, but that didn't mean I had to become one of those giggling girls that break down after a breakup.

I gulped. Our breakup was very different though.

The loud buzz of students rushing around on platform 9 ¾ made me glance up. As wrong as it was, I desperately searched for a head of golden platinum hair. I felt my heart thump fast and hard, felt my feet shuffle faster and my arms swing out of my parents' grips. I was bumping into people, but I ignored their yells of protest and anger. I could faintly hear my parents shouting for me to slow down, telling me to wait for them else I get lost.

Then I tripped, being stepped on by people who chose to move on. I felt anger coursing through my veins. Why did I want to see him so much after having my heart ripped out by him?

A strong hand jerked my arm up. I looked up at my savior, feeling my chest tighten as I stared at his storming silver eyes. His face was expressionless, but his eyes showed anger for my stupidity. I opened my mouth as my eyes flashed angrily, but he let go and vanished as soon as he appeared. I tried to follow after him, to yell at him for being scared of-

"Hermione!" My mother caught up to me. "Don't scare me like that! What if you were lost? Hermione?" She shook my shoulders, making me turn towards her. "Oh Hermione, sweetie, what's wrong?" She used her thumbs to brush away the few tears I hadn't noticed until now.

"Never mind that, Hermione, your dad and I met up with Harry and the Weasleys, come on then." And I was taken to where my friends were. "Mione!" Harry, Ron and Ginny enveloped me into a big group hug. I felt my face break into the widest grin since forever. They pelted me with questions like "Why didn't you come to the Burrow?" and "How are you?" and "Is something wrong?". My parents pulled me to their side and gave them a reassured grin, "I know you're excited, boys, Ginny, but let the girl tell you something." Their expressions became serious as they nodded at me.

My fingers shook slightly as I opened my bag and looked for that scrap of parchment. I tightened my grip and was glad the shaking had stopped. My eyes and body felt weirdly empty, like my soul had been sucked out of me., but it was pleasant in a weird way. My hand circled around the parchment as I drew it out. But instead of looking at those around me, I stared at the red train preparing to leave in a few minutes. "Hermione?" Harry asked me.

My heart gave a lurch as I found him staring at me, his eyes piercing right through my body, and my knees buckled under me, sending my sitting on the ground. Ginny and Ron rushed forward to help me up. My grip on the parchment tightened again, and I thrust it into Harry's open hand. I lifted my head high proudly, noting how there were no more traces of sadness or self-pity. I had moved on, and this was how life would be now.

I've lost my voice.