I'm back at it, two chapters in one week? Woah! Don't expect that a lot lol... Enjoy!
Chapter Five
My heart feels weak as we slowly exit the Forbidden Forest. It's cold. I can barely feel Ron's grip around my hand. I don't look at him, as the roaring fires at the castle break the dark night's black colors and pierces my eyes. I can feel his trembles, silent sobs wracking his body, echoing my own.
He's gone. All hope of winning the war, gone in a flash of green and red. So sound, no wind, nothing. Dark. Quiet.
Alone.
We stand at the edge of the woods, fearing the outcome. I debate running. Far off, away from the War. From this world. But there is no escape. Voldemort will take over every inch of the land. So I will accept my fate now, with the same bravery as Harry did. I will die by my friends.
A flash of red light zooms past my peripheral and we're on the offensive, throwing spells back at the Death Eaters. 'Stupid,' I think. They flanked us and still missed. How are we falling when the other side is moronic, disorganized, and stupid.
A spell rips open the skin on my wand arm and I am separated from Ron as I fall back slightly. NO time to assess the wound, I face off with two Death Eaters. I guess I screamed when the spell hit me, or we're making quite a commotion, because movement catches my eye from the castle as several of our side run down the hill to team up with us.
One down. The second down. I'm throwing spells I didn't know I had learned and letting out the hatred, the sadness, filling the hole in my soul with a power I didn't know I had.
The others have joined us and I look around frantically creaming for Ron, he's a couple meters off, taking on two Death Eaters of his own. His face shows the remainder of his sorrow as it dries up on his red, anger contorted face. As I head towards him I am attacked again, and must detract and face my opponent. He is strong, and quick, and my air has gone numb so my spells are off.
'I'm going to lose,' I think, as he raises his wand, a spell on his lips. But then an angry yell tears through the night and all eyes turn to face the woods. Running towards us is Harry, and behind him an angry and confused Voldemort stands surrounded by his followers. Harry? Harry!
As my feet begin to move I am grabbed roughly from behind. My wand is wrenched from my grasp and cold skin leans against my cheek. I watch as Harry and Ron take down their opponents and then look up at me. The looks on their faces say it all. My captor is not the Death Eater I was facing simply moments before. It is Voldemort.
My body grows cold. How could I have landed myself in this position? How could I be so stupid? Why did I allow myself to be distracted?
As if in slow motion I watch as they begin to turn and run towards me, their wands at the ready. Instead I feel the pressure of the wood of his wand against my neck and his cold, grisly hand on my bare, bleeding arm. I'm ready. I will gladly sacrifice my life for theirs. But as the words leave his lips the pressure is released and instead I watch as a flash of dark black races towards my friends…
I don't remember sitting up. I don't remember feeling their names being wrenched from my throat but I feel the aching throughout. Two sets of warm arms wrap around me in the way I am so accustomed to and I feel my heartbeat slow down only slightly, the sweat on my body slowing down it's drenching. A kiss is laid upon my cheek and I know the feeling of Ron's chapped, raw lips. I know the smell of his wool sweater and his spearmint toothpaste that never seems to fade.
"Hermione!" My mother bursts into my room in her robe, my father on her heels. Their arms replacing the ones I crave. "Honey, are you okay?" My mom always takes on this tone of a hushed scream in these situations. It's all contradictory and just comes out odd, normally enhancing my agitation. Tonight I lean into my parents embrace and allow myself to become emotionless. I cut it off, as my father's hand strokes its way through my unruly curls.
"Yes." My voice comes out in a dry monotone. Sitting up I crawl off the bed and walk across the room to grab my jacket and clutch. "I'm going to go for a walk. Don't wait up." I say and head for the door, before turning around and mumbling a quiet thank you. I disturbed their rest. Again. These nightmares wake me at least five days a week, the screams always leaving me hoarse, the images always leaving me blind to the real world as flashes engulf me.
The night is dark, but the air is musty and warm. My feet lead me to the same spot they always do. I know where I'm headed without thinking, and the grate meets me before I have had time to prepare for it. As I cross the freshly mown grass I stop and remove my shoes, which I barely remembered to slip on in the first place, and drag my toes through the lush foliage. I walk circles around the memorial, humming to myself as I do, dragging my hand across the sleek marble stone.
Slipping the fingers of my other hand into my purse I draw out a cigarette and press it between my teeth as I search for my lighter. The flash of fire burns into my eyes and I am once again looking up at the castle. The poison filled smoke goes smoothly down my itching throat and I moan closing my eyes and tilting my head back. The fresh mown grass smell makes me feel warm, the smoke makes me feel relaxed, the cool marble makes me feel empty. But I feel.
"When are you going to quit?" I open my eyes half-lidded and look out of my peripherals at Harry. He's leaning against the memorial, a slight look of disapproval on his face. A dark laugh empties from my chest.
"Do you remember the first time we smoked together?" I whisper, letting myself slip into the memory as I slide down to sit on the grass, the sharp tips scratching me through my thin pajama bottoms. "Fred and George nicked a pack from their Uncle Hugo, and let us have some. We snuck out into the garage where Mr. Weasley kept his "muggle toys" and hid in the corner."
He laughs and comes to sit with me. "Yeah, I remember. We had to get away from Molly and setting up for the wedding. I think we were going to explode if we didn't." He smiles at me sadly. "Doesn't mean that you should have continued."
"I only do it after the nightmares." I whisper, taking another drag. "It reminds me of happier times, before all of this. Besides, I'm already full of scars. What's a few more?" I stare down at the arm holding my cigarette. MUDBLOOD it screams at me, covered by scars in every direction; internal screams I inflicted myself. Above that is the remaining scar of the spell I was hit with during our last battle. It still hurts occasionally. It all hurts.
"You're beautiful, inside and out." Ron's voice is to the front and right of me and I catch his blue eyes quickly. They're bright, ice blue. Similar, I think, to Malfoy's, yet… Not. Ron's are warm and happy, Malfoy's are cold and empty most of the time.
"My eyes look nothing like that prat's, thank you very much." He snaps at me. I groan. Sometimes that's a big issue about them. I forget they already know what I'm thinking. Always have.
"I said they look similar not-"
My attention is pulled quickly towards the gate as the metal scraping the cobblestones reaches my ears. I stand up and put my cigarette behind my back as the intruder lifts his head and looks at me.
"Malfoy?" I say incredulously. What in the name of Merlin is he doing here? Why would he been here in my cemetery; disrupting my conversation with my friends? He looks just as surprised to see me here as I am to see him, which is freaking ridiculous.
"What are you doing here?" I'm immediately on the offensive, anger building in my stomach. Without thinking I pull my hand from behind my back and take a drag of my neglected Marlboro.
"Tsk, tsk, Granger, didn't imagine Miss Goody-two-shoes to start up such a nasty habit." He responds, and then proceeds to light up a stick of his own. "Of course, most people would expect it from me, and I can't let my haters down." His input is unwanted and I feel a little crack in my control develop.
"Keep your opinions to yourself, Malfoy." I practically spit at him. But I don't because that's unladylike and even if I am mostly insane and I am still a lady… Mostly. "Answer my question. What are you doing here?"
He approaches me and takes in the memorial, then lifts his wand and taps the base, where a wreath builds itself. He then steps back admiring his work and pats the stone before turning around and locking eyes with me again.
"I like to say hello now and again. Of course I can't really come in the day time. Have to keep up appearances of course." His words are cocky and make my blood run ice cold. "However, my being here at this time and… smoking, is not nearly as interesting as you being here and… smoking."
I wrinkle my nose and turn it up at him. "I am welcome to be wherever I want, whenever I want. And on top of that, I am more than welcome to be here at my will because they say so." I snip at him.
"Who says so?"
"What?" I ask.
"You said because 'they' say so. Who is 'they?'"
I seriously want to beat myself with a bludger right now. Dumbass, dumbass, DUMBASS! How could I slip up like that? And to Malfoy of all people? My brain works quickly and I throw out a quick, half though, "The Ministery."
"Ooooh… So the MInistery says you can… Okay then. Next question." He pulls from his cigarette and I follow suit, once again reveling in the tingle down my throat. "Who were you talking to?"
Suddenly the tingling in my throat is painful because I cough and choke.
"Wh-what are you talking about? I wasn't talking to anyone! And besides that what were you doing spying on me anyways? That's extremely rude!" I overreacted. He knows this and raises one slick eyebrow at me knowingly. I change the subject quickly. "I couldn't sleep so I took a walk and ended up here. It's not so uncommon. This is where I'm most comfortable."
His eyes gaze down at my bare feet and I catch a barely audible, "Clearly."
"You know what, I'm done with this conversation, so I'll take my leave." I huff at him, slipping on my shoes and heading out the gate, leaving him smirking at me from the stone. I stamp out the butt of my cigarette in frustration and resign to walking home, since apparating would cause too much noise and I've already woken my family once tonight.
oOoOoOo
I'm fifteen minutes early to work with my coffee in hand, but last night's events continue to roll through my mind. I am amazed anything is able to go through my mind currently as I only got two hours of sleep, but here I am, rushing to the elevator for my floor, coffee in one hand, the Carrow packet in the other. I allowed myself a night to look over the paperwork and work out a plan before heading to sleep last night. Of course, this turned out to be a good idea, seeing as I would ever have been able to do it this morning.
Ah, who am I kidding? Yes, I would; but it would not have been nearly as enjoyable.
Elsie is quick to follow me into my office, her wheezy voice filling me in on all the unnecessary details around the Ministry. I would have cared about this a little over a year ago, but I don't now. I care about very little besides the time I have with Harry and Ron and getting all of these filth in their cages.
"Oh and Mr. Malfoy left you an owl this morning. He said he wished to discuss with you the finer details of the removal process? Hah, whatever that means but yes," She clears her throat and lays the parchment down on my desk. "That's it right there and that's all!"
Why is she being like this? I hired her to do her job and be normal, not nice. I cannot stand all of her uppityness and smiles. It makes me feel like I have to smile back. I do not smile anymore. Instead, I give her a glance and thank her, requesting she send an owl down to Macmillan in the Dark Artifacts Department to meet me at ten o'clock. She accepts and leaves me in peace.
After a moment of temple rubbing and sips of coffee I glance over Malfoy's letter and then prop it up against my books to keep in mind. I then grab my own parchment and fill out my orders for the hunters in the United States to begin looking North West of Ontario, and request that the head meet me by eight to iron out the finer details.
Sitting back I confirm that all of my top priorities have been scheduled and for the moment completed, so I sip on my coffee for another moment, eyeing the note from Draco. I then send another owl confirming that I will meet with him at one o'clock in a little muggle café off of Briarberry, about two blocks from the Ministry. By that time I will have all of the terms for my arrangement with the Malfoys fulfilled and able to be confirmed with Malfoy.
Today is going to be a long, long day.
Alrighty! A little background for you guys and some interesting dialogue for Hermione and Draco! I would now like to take this moment and brag that my brother got me an autographed picture of Tom Felton in HP3 at comicon and gave it to me for my birthday. In it he calls me a lovely muggle, of course little does he know I truly am a witch with extraordinary powers. ;)
RXR my loves! Thank you sooo much!