As Time Ticks Away

Chapter Nine

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"Professor, I have a question for you," Hermione said after a moment of silence. Her conversation with Dumbledore had gotten her thinking about ways to overcome this curse that plagued her life.

The headmaster nodded and said, "I am all ears. But remember the stipulations."

"Back in first year we learned about the Sorcerer's Stone and how it was used to cheat death by Voldemort. I was wondering if there were any other instances in which death has been cheated."

Albus Dumbledore let out a sad sigh. "Unfortunately," he began, "there have not, to my knowledge, been any similar occurrences where death has been cheated. But that is not to say it can't happen."

Hermione felt a little defeated. She had been hoping that he had something up his sleeve. Then again, even if he had known something, there was no guarantee that he would be able to tell her directly what it was. Now she felt as if she was back to square one, only this time someone knew what was happening and they too were helpless.

"How do I talk to Ron and Harry like this?" Hermione asked her headmaster. "How will they ever know how afraid of time one can be?"

"It's hard for some people to grasp the importance of time. Some people have longer than others, but they won't know that until it is too late. They laugh at those who share their fear, only to eventually succumb to time themselves. As for Potter and Weasley, I suspect they will have more questions than laughs. Do not be afraid to let them know that someone's greatest enemy is time." Dumbledore enjoyed talking in riddles and knew that this was as good a time as any to do so. Luckily, Hermione was the only one who ever understood them.

"And when they have questions?"

"Answers only come to those who seek them, not to those who wait for them. Nevertheless, remember there mustn't be any direct help or answers."

Sadly, Hermione knew that this last riddle had a number of different meanings. For one, she couldn't tell Ron and Harry what she was going through or what she was feeling. Second, she couldn't tell them where to start looking, that was like telling them what curse had struck her. The book she had read had stated this, which she had read the night after going to the bookstore.

"I believe it is time we bring in Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter," Dumbledore stated. "I have no doubt that they are beyond worried." With a flick of his wand, the silencing spell that he had placed vanished. He then called them out to the living room. Within seconds they were there, as if they stood by the door waiting the whole time.

Panting, Ron asked, "What's wrong Professor?"

"Nothing is wrong Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore lied. "At least nothing that you can help with, mostly school things," he corrected himself. "Now as I was telling Miss. Granger, there isn't much time before the start of another school year. I trust you are all prepared." Harry and Ron nodded. "Good. It's going to be a tough one I predict. Anyways I must be off. There is so much left to do before everyone starts arriving."

Dumbledore turned back towards the fireplace and started walking over. Once he walked in he grabbed the floo powder. Before disappearing he looked over to Ron and Harry. "Time is slowly ticking away boys. Don't waste it." With that he whispered his destination and was gone with a burst of flames.

"Bloody hell, what was that about? 'Time is ticking away.' What do you think he means by that?" Ron asked his best friend and girlfriend.

Harry was the first one to respond. "I'm sure he just meant there's only a few days left of the summer and we should enjoy it."

Hermione looked at the two boys. She knew Dumbledore had just given her an opportunity to hint to them what was going on, she couldn't waste it. She decided to speak up. "I don't think that's what he meant exactly."

Ron and Harry turned towards Hermione, both with confused looks on their faces. They each pulled up a chair and sat in front of the brunette.

"So what did he mean then?" Ron whispered.

She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how she was going to word everything. "He came to talk to me about the incident and we got into talking about other things. The main thing we talked about was time."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why would you talk about time?"

Hermione hesitated. "We were…um…talking about fears and how time is one of my biggest."

Ron reached out his hand towards Hermione's. He squeezed it tight and didn't let go when he started talking. "Why are you afraid of it? I always thought failing was."

This was a lot harder than she had thought it would be. She was afraid of saying too much and she was afraid of the questions. Every time she said something there was another question and right now they were easy. But what happens when the easy questions get tougher. Once more, Hermione took a deep breath. "Cause time leads to death."

"But you've always known that," Harry interjected. "Why are you so worried all of a sudden?"

"If I could tell you I would." Hermione's eyes began welling up with tears. Not telling them the truth was becoming much harder.

Suddenly, Ron's face became angry. "What did Malfoy do?" he practically shouted.

The tears were now streaming down her face. "I can't say if he did anything," she cried.

Ron finally let go of her hand and stood up, knocking his chair over as he did so. "Why can't you tell us Hermione? I need to know. I'll make him pay for what he's done as long as you tell me!"

Harry stood up too and put his hand on Ron's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "Ron, we don't know if he's done anything. Hermione hasn't told us anything specific, we can't just assume." He turned to his other best friend. "Why can't you say anything?"

She looked into Harry's green eyes and then at Ron's outraged, blue eyes. This was a question she wasn't sure how to answer. She couldn't say telling them would cut her life expectancy. "You just have to trust me when I say I can't tell you," she stuttered.

"Was it a bad thing?" Ron asked, this time more calmly.

Hermione's crying slowed. "Is anything done by a Malfoy a good thing?"

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. They knew it wasn't a trick question; everything any Malfoy did proved to be bad, at least what they had seen and known. It was obvious he did something terrible, something that made Hermione afraid to talk. Or was it more than that? Did it what Malfoy do have something to do with time?

These questions found a way into Harry's thoughts. He decided to press ask Hermione about them. "You said you're afraid of time. Have you always been afraid of time or did it just come on suddenly?"

Hope was once again shining through. Harry's question meant he was starting to understand her situation, somewhat anyways. Hopefully, Ron wasn't far behind.

"Kind of suddenly," she answered. All of a sudden a pain started to make its way through Hermione's body. She stood up to try and get away from the boys, hoping not to scare them.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked starting to follow his girlfriend.

She began to stumble as her vision became blurry. She was struggling to take deep breaths, finding it hard to inhale. Breathing became gasping as she tried to assure Ron and Harry that she was okay, but no words came out of her mouth. With a thud, Hermione fell to her knees. The pain grew sharper, like knives stabbing at every inch of her skin.

Ron and Harry rushed to her side the moment she hit the ground. Neither of them knew what to do because neither of them knew what was happening. Without warning Hermione let out a horrifying scream. Each of them grabbed a hold of her arms to bring her back to the couch. However, upon their touch Hermione pulled away, screaming even more than she had been already. They did know that they were now more helpless than ever.

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A/N: Yeah, I did just end it there. Sorry guys. But once again I want to thank you all for your overwhelming support. Your reviews and kind words make me want to write more and that's why this came so quickly! Enjoy and please continue to leave your support.