Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter and Percy Jackson! JK I wish!
Dean's POV
Dean walked into the Great Hall for lunch and was greeted by the friendly murmur of conversation. The ceiling was sky blue with a few clouds lazily moving across it. "Dean, over here!" Dean looked over and was surprised to see Ron calling him over.
"Wotcher, Ron! Whatcha up to?" Dean asked. He was actually quite surprised to see Ron making an effort to be with him. "Me? Nothing. I was wondering if you knew where Hermione was, she never showed up to Charms." Ron looked worried, I was worried too, it's not like Athena's children to skip class. Worrying my lip between my teeth, I reply "I don't know, did she mention anything weird, or look shaken?" Weasley looked thoughtful and slowly shook his head "No, I don't think so… wait, she did say something about the anniversary of a fight on a bloody hill, mean anything to you?" Dean's face lost its remaining color, how could he have forgotten what today was… "The Battle of Half-Blood Hill?" Dean asked voice cracking, he had wandered into the camp three months after the battle, the camper's spirits had been broken and the ground was covered by dried blood, just the stories he heard made his heart ache, it was taboo to discuss what had happened unless someone who had lived through it brought it up, like a You-Know-Who for demi-gods.
Ron's face lit up "Yeah that!" His grin faltered as he saw the pained look on Dean's face. "Why, is it something bad?" Ron questioned. Dean just swallowed and nodded "Please tell me you exactly what happened the last time you saw her." Ron looked like he was about to protest, but when he saw the pain in Deans eyes he just started talking.
"Hey, Monnie, wassup?" Ron asked as Hermione walked down the steps looking a little tired. "Oh, noth-" She broke off as she saw the calendar. Her eyes widened, she immediately started running, she ran straight out the portrait hole, only just calling back to Ron "See you later!"
"Thank you, Ron!" Dean called out before he ran out the doors of the Great Hall. Ron sighed and mumbled something about telling people what was going on and introverts.
Dean searched all over the castle for Hermione. He looked in passageways, he looked behind armor, he even looked up in the astronomy tower. Dean had finally looked into the last empty classroom when he heard it, gut-wrenching, heart breaking, broken, scared and tired sobs. They were coming from the library. Dean walked extremely fast into the book filled rooms. He heard a hushed voice coming from the same direction as the sobs.
"Hush, reader, hush. Please stop crying reader, I need my helper." A surprisingly soft voice was saying, Dean turned the corner to see Madam Pince rubbing slow circles along Hermione's back. His footsteps made Madam Pince look up and stop rubbing her back, "Please, Madam Pince, who is it?" Hermione tensed before she asked through her sobs. Dean's heart broke, Tears started streaming down his face. "It's me 'Mione." He saw her shoulders slump and he found himself kneeling beside her.
"I know, it was horrible, just let it all out."
Hermione's POV
Hermione had walked to the library after catching sight of the calendar, the one place no one except came unless it was necessary. 'Mione had made friends with fierce librarian by helping put away books and working alongside the librarian, who, it turns out was just lonely for someone who shared her love of books. In return, Madam Pince comforted Hermione every time someone call her a know it all or if her and Ron had fought with her, Mama P as Hermione had taken to calling her, would call her the 'The Reader.'
Hermione slid down the wall behind the desk and started to cry, she heard the librarian moving in the back and called out "Mama P…" Her voice was choked, and thick. Pince looked out from behind the shelves and saw the tears streaming down. "Oh my, dear who is it this time?" She asked holding out her arms, the teen ran into them sobbing.
The hands rubbed circles onto Hermione's back, then they stopped and footsteps made 'Mione freeze, "Please, Madam Pince, who is it?" She was listening to the other breathing it was ragged like hers. A familiar voice made her loose the tension between her shoulders "It's me 'Mione." Suddenly Dean was kneeling beside her comforting and soothing her even as the tears fell down his own face.
The screaming, and the pain. It bamboozled even the clearest of minds. Hermione was fighting three monsters at once, pain exploded along her back. Four long scratches fall along her back. Hermione drops and blacks out!
The pain of the past hurts too much, and the flashbacks keep coming.
Hermione sobs over the body of a fallen sibling. Seeing an eleven-year-old fighting a minotaur. The boy who had captured her heart run through with a sword. It just goes on and on.
Dean's POV
Hermione had cried herself into exhaustion. Dean was holding the older girl to him, tears were still flowing freely down Dean's cheeks. "Madam Pince." Dean whispered "Yes, Dean." She looked up at him, "May I transfigure a bed?" Pince just nodded and held out her arms for the little bookworm. 'Mione's head rolled to the side and rested on the bony shoulder of the librarian. Dean Transfigured a chair into a bed and Madam P laid Hermione gently in the bed. Madam P just waved Dean over to sit next to her desk, she looked down at him and sighed "You better treat my reader, my Mya, right. Otherwise you might find out why Muggles fear librarians chasing after late fees." I gulped and nodded.
Madam Pince looked relieved and said "Welcome to the family. You are welcome here anytime, and you may also call me Mama P." Dean was worried about to hear the answer to his question but he asked anyway "How did you meet Hermione, Madam Pince?" She looked at me and smiled, "It's Mama P to you, you little rascal! Anyway, I met darling Hermione, the very first day she arrived. She just walked into the library and started to read. I was suspicious of her at first, it's not every day that a bookworm like Hermione waltzes into my world and picks up the key to my heart. I believe her first words to me were 'Are you Madam Pince? I made these cookies for you. Actually, I made them for whoever the librarian was here, but since it's you, that doesn't matter.'" Her voice cracked with emotion "She was so sweet, and I just couldn't help but to love her. The cookies were delicious and what was even better was that, Mya could talk for ages about her books just like me. No one except her ever cared enough to listen to anything I said. She worked so hard to win my trust, she came here every Saturday to help me put away books…" The old woman's voice trailed off as she got lost into the memories. After about five minutes she shook herself and continued "The first time she came to me crying was in her first year, someone had called her a self-righteous, know-it-all, Gryffindor. I comforted her the best way I could, she developed a tougher skin after that. The next time she came to me crying the way she was tonight was when that Malfoy brat called her a Mudblood." Madam Pince just told lots of stories, and Dean processed what was going on before he fell asleep. Madam Pince smiled her darling Mya had found another member of her family. Neither child stirred as Madam Pince place them together in the bed and walked into the back room for a cup of tea.
Dear Darlings,
I'm horrid, I know, poor Hermione. She just can't catch a break! I hope this chapter makes you think about what to review! Do it for 'Mione if you don't... who knows what might happen...
See you later,
Fort