A/N: Thanks Grovek26, aryaa, cordee, ramyfan and AMBERJANUS for your kind reviews in last chapter.
**This chapter is the continuation of previous part and written for the first time, exclusively from Audré's POV. Here the rain has been used is in the form of human tears.
**Those that haven't seen psychotherapy being performed doesn't know how it feels when someone is put into a trance and he or she describes their traumas. It feels like you are a part of that mind and it takes days to take off the feelings that it leaves on one's mind who had been part of it. I have tried my best to describe it in my own words and I humbly ask to take any mistake unintended for methods vary according to the minds we deal with. Another thing to note is, usually not a lot of issues are not dealt in one session for they can cause more harm than healing. So, this chapter will not be very long.
**WARNING: SOME DISTURBING DESCRIPTION OF VIOLENCE INSIDE.
Acknowledgement:
*The song is courtesy to 'Westlife' from their album 'coast to coast.' One of my very favourites. ;)
Well I guess that's all and now please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review.
The album of OC's has been updated with new pictures of Draco, Hermione, Morpheus and a few glimpses of memories.
My fiction 'The Poisoned Apple' has been nominated for The Hogwarts award in the category Hermione Romance. It is posted on the site and I would like you to cast your vote on the site under 'vote' tab.
The website is hogwartsawards DOT weebly DOT com **replace DOT with a . The link can also be found in my profile.
For adult theme this chapter is rated M. (HIGH MATURITY)
Disclaimer: The copyright to Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling. Any other characters are purely work of fiction and any resemblance is co-incidental.
Chapter 53: The October Rain (Part 2)
Audré was staring at her husband's Muggle portrait with a longing look.
As if it was yesterday, that Morpheus had reluctantly agreed to make a portrait of himself on Audré's constant request.
"How do you think our grandchildren will envision us when we are dead?" she had asked her husband who looked up from the book he was reading right behind the very desk that stood now in a corner of his study, "They need to know how we looked like." She tried to persuade him calmly from her seat across his table.
"Will it make any difference to them if they don't ever come to know how we looked like, my dove?" Morpheus had smirked to infuriate his wife, "Portrait or not, we are their grandparents, Audré and we will be."
Knowing how in her husband's veins ran the stubborn Malfoy blood, Audré had left her sofa and walked over to stand behind the man before placing her hands on his silvery blond hair, "It matters for me, Morpheus. You know that." she said quietly while massaging his scalp gently with her soft hands, "After all, they will be Malfoys too and will need to know the man who broke the tradition that was being followed the Malfoys for a thousand years."
Morpheus had leaned back on her touch and closed his eyes, "You know I don't want to leave any mark of my wretched existence on this planet. Everything that I did or am still trying to do is only to amend the mistakes that I made in the past. It is not for glory or fame."
Audré ran her fingers gently through Morpheus's sleek, long hair and kissed on his forehead, "A portrait won't hurt you. I will hang it here, in this room, away from all prying eyes." She had assured him.
"Who do you think stands a chance before the mighty Audré Chombrun Malfoy?" Morpheus had jibed her lightly and she snorted, "Very well, we shall have a Muggle portrait. No movements, no memories, Audré, for I know I have damaged you enough with those things that I carry in my head." he said solemnly.
Audré sighed heavily and wiped away the lone tear that had escaped the confinements of her lashes, "You think that you damaged me, Morpheus, but I know how very wrong you are." She whispered to the motionless portrait hung on the wall before her, "You have completed my soul, Morpheus, you have given my life a purpose, a challenge."
The knock on the door brought back Audré to her present state and she composed herself once again.
"Come in, Jean." she called and the door opened to reveal a nervous looking Hermione in her nightclothes.
"Come in, Jean." Audré invited the young woman who was standing on the threshold, apprehensive, "I assure you we are completely alone and I am not a bloodsucking Vampire however unlikely that may seem." She tried to make the atmosphere normal.
She watched as Hermione smiled feebly and taking a deep breath, entered the study.
"Let's go to the North alcove." Audré offered gently and followed the young woman into the exclusive sitting area, "I want you to take a seat of your choice and sit comfortably." She gave her an assured smile.
Hermione's brown pair scanned the room before resting on the double sofa where she had sat with Alexis the night Audré ate the book and she approached it in confident steps, "I am fine." She said after sitting on the half that Alexis had occupied that night.
'The innocent woman is so attached to Alexis that she finds comfort in his slightest presence and touch.' Audré thought ruefully, 'Why did you do this, Draco? Why did you separate them so cruelly?' she shook her head sadly.
"What are you going to do to me, aunt?" she heard Hermione asked her, "Use Legilimency?"
Audré smiled kindly at the timid woman before crouching down and facing her full on face, "No, dearest. I am not going to use that on you though I am well aware of its use and functionality." She took Hermione's hands on hers, "Legilimency, though a very powerful magic, invades the human mind and if used repeatedly can render it useless. So, we are ticking it off the possible methods to be used upon you." She explained to her, "What we are going to do is talk. Just talk." She said solemnly.
"Just talk?" Hermione blinked and repeated after Audré, "That'll be all?" she asked, unsure.
"Yes, dearest, that will be all." Audré stood up and walked behind the sofa to stand behind Hermione, "Like keys to every lock is different, the method to explore every mind is different. While I had to Obliviate and use Pensieve in case of my husband, yours, I trust will do well with just talking." She undid Hermione's braid and released the glorious brown curls before plunging her hands in them, "I want you to sit back, relax, close your eyes and if possible sing a song that cools you down." She bid Hermione gently.
"Sing a song?" Hermione turned her head and looked up at Audré, "Here? Now?" she asked, sounding amazed.
"Why not?" Audré asked back, "After all, we are here to relieve you from some deep-seated traumas. What can be possibly be better than a song?" she straightened Hermione's head and started massaging her scalp, "Relax and sing. No one is here to judge your voice or quality of singing, Jean. It is just you and me." she reminded her.
Under her assuring words, Hermione leaned back on her sofa and relaxed her tense muscle, "This is a Muggle song, aunt, because I kind of find Wizarding songs funny. Maybe it is because I am a Muggleborn witch or something but I actually enjoy Muggle songs more than what they broadcast in WWN." She closed her eyes and hummed a little before smiling, "This song is called 'my love' and it was composed by an Irish band called Westlife." She paused, "I love it for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is from my own country – Britain. Secondly, the name of the Muggle album suits me very well; it is called 'coast to coast', aunt, just like I am wandering from coast to coast with my son, Adrian. And finally, this song speaks the words that I couldn't tell my friends and family before I had to leave them. Should I start?" she asked again.
"What are you waiting for?" Audré, deeply touched by Hermione's words, demanded, "Cabaret at Mouline Rouge?"
"No." Hermione's sound of laughter echoed across the otherwise empty room, "Well…" she cleared her throat audibly before starting the song:
An empty street,
An empty house,
A hole inside my heart,
I'm all alone,
the rooms are getting smaller!
I wonder how,
I wonder why,
I wonder where they are,
The days we had,
The songs we sang together,
Oh yeah!
And all my love,
I'm holding on forever,
Reaching for a love that seems so far!
So I say a little prayer,
And hope my dreams will take me there,
Where the skies are blue to see you once again,
My love!
Overseas from coast to coast,
To find the place I love the most,
Where the fields are green to see you once again,
My love!
Audré had never heard a better song to describe Hermione's feelings so accurately. How strangely well that Muggle song captured her longing for her friends, family, country and gave it a new dimension through music. Hermione's voice, though not very musical, was doing it a justice for she sang it not with her voice but with her heart – the heart that missed them terribly. Awed, Audré listened closely:
I try to read,
I go to work,
I'm laughing with my friends.
But I can't stop to keep myself,
From thinking
Oh no!
I wonder how,
I wonder why,
I wonder where they are?
The days we had, the songs we sang together.
Oh yeah!
And all my love,
I'm holding on forever,
Reaching for the love that seems so far!
So I say a little prayer,
And hope my dreams will take me there.
Where the skies are blue to see you once again,
My love!
Overseas from coast to coast,
To find the place I love the most,
Where the fields are green to see you once again,
My love!
Audré closed her eyes and brought forth her inner powers for the more she listened to the song, the more terribly sorry she felt for the young woman. She needed to start their session now, when Hermione was at ease and at apparent peace. The pressure on her fingertips became gentler and she started massaging Hermione's scalp more slowly.
"Go to sleep, Jean." she bid her in a soothing voice, "Just go to sleep and let me take over now." she massaged the spine on the back of her neck, "You are slowly falling asleep, Jean, don't fight it, just relax and sleep. Let go of all your worries, pains, tension and sleep like a baby. Relax." She kept talking to the lightly singing woman.
The last fragments of the wonderful song hung in the air when Hermione slumped on the sofa, deep in slumber.
From the corner of her eyes, Audré saw a male figure approach them.
Draco.
He was unusually grave and silent as he stood and watched them from a distance.
With her eyes, Audré motioned her nephew to take a seat as she continued massaging Hermione's scalp gently.
"Can you hear me, dearest?" she asked Hermione softly, "Can you hear me, Jean?"
"Yes, I can." Hermione's sleepy voice replied monotonously as Draco settled down with a deep frown.
"What date is today, dear child?" Audré asked Hermione again, the fingers relentlessly massaging Hermione's scalp.
"20th October 2004." Hermione replied in a toneless voice.
"What was the date of the day Draco tortured you, Jean?" Audré jumped to the real question and noticed her nephew fisting his hands tightly.
Hermione frowned deeply and her body jerked slightly as she replied, "29th March of 1998. It was Sunday."
Draco was fixedly staring at Hermione when Audré asked her the next question, "Can you go back to that day, Jean?" her massage became even gentler, as if she was pleading to her with the very touch, "Can you talk about it?" she implored.
Hermione grimaced and shook her head, "No, I don't want to go back there. It was…I can't express it…" she said in a pained voice.
"It's alright if you don't want to go back there." Audré said cautiously, "What about the day after it? 30th March 1998? Can you go back there?" she offered kindly.
"Uhum." Hermione nodded, "I am at Shell Cottage now." she replied.
"Tell me dearest, what do you see?" Audré gently pressed Hermione's cervical spine, "Is it day or night?"
"Night. It's night." Hermione replied, her voice fearful, "I am lying on one of the two beds…the other one has Luna…Luna Lovegood…we are sharing a room…she is asleep…but I am awake…I can't sleep…I am scared…extremely scared…"
"Why dearest? Why my love?" Audré asked Hermione kindly, "Why are you scared?"
Hermione's face contorted in pain as she replied, "I see Malfoy everywhere…when I open my eyes…when I close my eyes…when I try to sleep…I see him looming at me…his clothes…discarded…he is trying to take off mine…" she was panting heavily as if she has just run a mile or two, "…he is jeering at me…kicking me…calling me Mudblood…he is lying on me…he is kissing me forcefully…he is biting me… he is inside me…" she broke off suddenly and curled into a small ball on the sofa she was sitting on, "…I am sacred like death…I want my Mum…I want her badly…but she is in Australia with Dad…I sent them there…she is there and I am alone…and scared…very very scared…there is a pain between my legs…it's intolerable…I can hardly walk…but I try not to show it…I scrubbed it today…but the feeling wouldn't go…it feels as if Malfoy is still inside me…no matter how hard I try the feeling doesn't go…it lingers on my body…and my breasts…my nipples…they are bruised…I tried to heal them today…but the scars are still there…couldn't ask Fleur to do that for me…she would ask questions…I don't want anyone to know…we are in a war…and Voldemort has the Elder Wand now…he is after Harry's blood…he is killing people everyday…everyone is anxious…and frightened…we are planning to break into Gringotts…because Harry let go of the Hallows…I don't want to divert his attention to me…I don't want anyone to pity me…because Malfoy raped me…I am strong…and brave…I am a Gryffindor…but I am scared…I am very scared…and I am ashamed of being scared…I can't sleep…Malfoy is here…Malfoy is everywhere… Malfoy is…" she tightened the curl and hid her face behind her joined thighs.
The look on Draco's face almost rivaled a dead man as Audré came out from behind the sofa and kneeled beside Hermione's curled form.
"It's okay to be scared, dearest, it's just fine." She stroked Hermione's curls flowing beside her head, "Come to me dearest, come into my arms." She disentangled Hermione's arms that winded around her flexed thighs, "Come to your Mum. Come to me, dearest." she cooed as Hermione slipped out of sofa and snuggled against Audré's sitting form, "Mum is here, Hermione, dearest. Mum is here and you are safe. No one can harm you now, my love. Mum came to you. No matter what happens a mother can never forget her child. Not even death can take me away from my daughter Hermione. So, this Mum came to her only daughter and she is safe now…she is safe in her arms." she tried hard not to break into tears, "Mum's brave daughter Hermione is safe now."
"Mum! Mum!" Hermione cried out, eyes tightly closed and winded her arms around Audré's body even closer, "Mum, I miss you, Mum. I am so sorry that I wiped your memory. I am so sorry that sent you and Dad to Australia." She hid her face in Audré's bosom, "I am so sorry. I am so sorry."
"No, dearest, don't be sorry for I am proud of my brave daughter. She is every mother's dream child. My Hermione is every mother's dream child." Audré tightened her embrace around Hermione, "Don't be sorry for being brave. Don't be sorry for making me proud."
"But I am scared, Mum, I am not brave. I am scared to death." Hermione spoke against Audré's chest, "I am so alone and I have no one to share my fears."
"You have me, dearest, you have your Mum, Hermione." Audré whispered softly into Hermione's ears, "Share it with me. I am here always by your side."
"Mum, why did Malfoy do this to me? Why did he hurt me like that?" Hermione's voice was so pained that her words were barely understandable, "What have I done to him? Why did he not kill me before he tortured me like that on a dungeon floor? Was I not his classmate? Am I not a human being? Am I some kind of animal?" with every word that escaped her lips, she cried harder.
Audré looked at her nephew who had hid his face behind his hands ever since he entered the study, "Why not?" she asked Hermione proudly, "If not you, who then? Who has the courage to challenge the mighty Malfoys? My daughter Hermione Granger. Who was better than Draco Malfoy at everything? My daughter Hermione Granger. Who was the best in entire school even with her Muggleborn heritage? My daughter Hermione Granger." her voice failed her in her swelling emotion, "You are not an animal, Hermione. It is Draco Malfoy, who is lesser than an animal. It is him who is cursed now. He didn't hurt you, my dearest, he hurt himself and you came out unscathed. You came out victorious and he died the moment he touched you. You are alive and he is dead and defeated. And you are in my arms now and you are safe…and strong and brave like no one else in this world."
"Mum! Mum! Malfoy is coming again! Take me! Hug me tightly! Don't let him hurt me again." Hermione almost crushed Audré's ribcage as she tightened her arms around her sitting form.
"I am here, Hermione, I am here. Let him come and face me. Let him come and take my daughter away. Let him come for I fear no one." Audré winced as Hermione almost tried to merge their bodies together, "Let him come."
"Mum, he is here…Mum, save me…Mum…NO! NO! NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Hermione screamed.
With all her remaining facilities, Audré concentrated on Hermione's head and whispered the spell she desperately needed now.
"Legilimens!"
And she was inside Hermione's thoughts. Their snippets were rushing past her as if she was riding through a high speed broom and almost like a crush landing she appeared in an unfamiliar dungeon.
Before her very eyes Draco was trying to control a fighting Hermione on the dungeon floor.
"Mudblood! Filth!" he pinned Hermione's hands on her side, "Now you will understand what it is it like to be humiliated! Now you will see!" he lowered his face over Hermione's.
Trying to control the vomit in her mouth, inside Hermione's memory, Audré whipped out her wand and took a dead aim at her nephew.
"Crucio!" she screamed with all her hatred and blasted off her nephew to be slammed against the stone wall.
"You bastard!" she yelled at him and continued the Unforgivable torturing spell on his writhing naked form "How dare you touch my daughter! How dare you!" she bellowed at the figure thrashing on the stone cold floor now, "You think I will let you walk away with this?" she asked , her eyes flashing as she directed her wand at Draco's naked lower body and aimed at his genitalia, "Now you will understand what it is it like to be humiliated! Now you will see!" she mimicked her nephew fiercely, "Diffindo!"
Draco screamed as Audré's Severing Charm hit the target.
Letting him howling in pain, Audré next threw Hermione's clothes at her.
"Hermione, get dressed this instant, Mum has come to take you." She urged a wild eyed Hermione, "Come, come with Mum." She offered her a hand and a disheveled looking Hermione stood up.
"But Mum, you are a Muggle!" Hermione was casting Audré a look beyond disbelief, "How can you use magic?"
"You don't have to look for logic in your dreams, Hermione." Audré replied and with a last filthy look at her bloodied nephew, they disapparated.
With extreme difficulty Audré pulled out herself from Hermione's thoughts and discovered the young woman slightly panting but otherwise, calm.
"You saved me, Mum." She smiled in relief, "You saved me from being tortured again."
"Mum is always with her brave Hermione." Audré tried hard not to faint from all the emotional outbursts, "You are safe here in my arms."
"Yes, I am safe. I am home." Hermione whispered sleepily, "I feel so good to be back in your arms. I wanted to tell you so many things."
"I know, dearest, Mum always knows." Audré relaxed her embrace and leaned her body against the sofa Hermione was sitting previously, "I am here to listen. Tell me everything." She stroked Hermione's head gently.
As the real Draco Malfoy moved his hands to reveal his grey eyes and looked at them curiously, Hermione started.
"Firstly, I want to tell you that I love you and Dad very much. I remember you every moment of every day that I live. I am sorry that you don't remember me anymore but I had no choice but to let you go. I knew Voldemort's supporters would come for you and the only way to save you two was to Obliviate you and plant a false memory inside your head. I did it without your consent but it was the only way." She sighed in her slumber, "I wanted to tell you that after the war was over I found out that I was pregnant. I was missing my periods and Fleur run a pregnancy test on me which came out positive. I will never forget that date like I will never forget the date when I was assaulted. It was on 17th May, 1998. They day that I chose to crush all my dreams with my own hands and embrace a different destiny – a destiny with my child, my baby that was growing up strongly inside me, the baby that came to me and me only." She sniffed slightly, "I had always wanted to tell everyone about my first baby and celebrate it with my family. But I couldn't tell anyone about it. Not even Ron and Harry - the man I loved and my best friend. Ron, I know would go and simply try to strangle Malfoy for doing this to me. But that bastard has money, family influence and his pureblood power behind him like a three headed dog Cerberus, no matter hard you try it is hard to tame all three at once, it won't. Besides, his entire family will be after my baby and Weasley's, no matter how good-hearted they are, aren't powerful enough to stop the Malfoys. Malfoys are like monsters, Mum. They always get what they want. Even after being known as a practicing Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy got off with a simple sentence of 'House Arrest' for all the awful things he did. He was there after Malfoy assaulted me; he could have stopped it! But he didn't and instead he enjoyed it. Enjoyed a Muggleborn being assaulted before his own eyes. Sometimes, I wonder why I didn't turn his son in when he attacked us at the Room of Requirements." She sighed again, "We were looking for a Horcrux that was supposed to be tiara and Malfoy suddenly turned up with his sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle demanding his wand that Harry had snatched from him." She paused and bit her lips, tears falling like raindrops from her eyes, "I can't tell you, Mum, how I felt when I saw him there. It was my first time…after that incident in the dungeons…and he was facing me like a proud man…no fear…no shame…no guilt in his eyes…I wonder how could he do that to me…what have I done to him…all my life he teased me by calling me a Mudblood…and I ignored him…never retorted back…kept to my books…and he then dares to rape me to degrade me even more…as if his mind wasn't at peace by calling me those names…as if he wasn't satisfied enough…as if I am the only Muggleborn witch out there and his mission is to destroy and humiliate me beyond everything…why, Mum, why…why me?" she burst into tear now, "How could…he even…think that I….will kill his mother?" she stammered, "I was trapped and scared. I just tried to use Narcissa Malfoy as bait in order to escape."
Audré glared at her ashen faced stoic nephew when she replied, "I told you, Hermione, Malfoy isn't human enough to understand this kind of fine feelings. He was born from a monster and monster he became. But fear not, dearest, because you Mum is here and she will protect you no matter what." She said firmly.
"You know, Mum, I went to our old home when the war ended." Hermione's voice resonated on Audré's bosom "And I found that the new owners have renovated it beyond any kind of recognition. All my childhood memories have been wiped away. The swing that dad had made for me with his own hands had been removed. Your favourite lawn daisies had been uprooted and in its stead they have planted some strange purple flowers. I stood across the street and watched it for a very long time before leaving. I couldn't take it that I will never call that place my home; that I will never return to that place for summer holidays; that my Mum will never play the piano and my Dad will never sing a song with it. I have destroyed everything with my own hands. I am alone and lonely without them." she said sadly.
"Really?" Audré tried to beat off the sinking feeling she was having inside her own guts when she remembered having to live without Morpheus, "But you can always relate yourself with us, can't you?" she asked Hermione lightly.
"How?" Hermione asked back.
"Like doing what we liked to do to together and finding us in that." Audré replied, "Like playing the notes that I played in piano and singing the songs that your Dad used to sing. No matter where you are, Hermione, our hearts are connected and your voice will reach us and our voices will reach your heart too. It is our hearts, Hermione my love, that we can accommodate the whole wide world." She caressed Hermione's wet cheeks lightly.
"But Dad's voice was horrible and you admonished him whenever he attempted to sing with your music." Hermione smiled.
"Thanks Merlin, Hermione, that you didn't inherit your father's voice." Audré tried hard to sound like Hermione's mother, "I am proud of you. Now tell me more. What happened with your friends when you found about your baby?" she asked her casually.
Hermione frowned slightly in her slumber as she replied, "I lied to everyone; told them that I am going to look for you and Dad in Australia. Needless to say that Harry and Ginny tried to stop me at first. Almost everyone from the Weasley's except Ron did the same; Ron didn't even speak to me because he was bathing in the glory of being Golden Trio and he was angry with me for turning down his marriage proposal. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were very kind to me and supported my decision. I felt so guilty for shamelessly lying to them. But I had no choice. My baby was my first preference."She sighed lightly, "Kingsley offered me an International Portkey from London to Brisbane but I refused it; told him that I wanted to go the Muggle way because I am tired of war and wanted to enjoy my journey to Australia. But instead of booking an air ticket, I booked a train ticket in Eurostar from St. Pancras International. I knew Harry and the Weasley's would accompany me to my so-called flight in the airport so I told them a false date two days after my actual departure date and left Britain stealthily from Bill and Fleur's home – Shell Cottage." Hermione let out a heavy breath, "Never thought I would leave my own country like a thief. I still remember when I entered the Channel Tunnel in Kent to pass under the English Channel, I looked back at my own country for one last time and said goodbye to it."
Audré was rendered speechless as the true meaning behind Hermione's words hit her. She inhaled deeply to recollect her own thoughts and laid down Hermione's head on her lap.
"How was France?" she asked Hermione after a while, "Did it go well?"
"Yes, it did, Mum." Hermione replied from her lap, "Mother Apolline was very supportive and she helped me settle down. I was quite apprehensive about her son, Alexis at first. But he helped me one night when I thought that I was about to miscarry and my opinion of him changed for good. He is good man, Mum. A true gentleman."
"I know, my love, I know." Audré slipped her fingers gently through Hermione's curls and started to massage her scalps, "Hermione, dearest, I think you should go to sleep now. It's been a long night and we have talked enough." She said kindly.
"But Mum I have so many things to tell you." Hermione pleaded sleepily. "So many things." She said longingly.
"Not tonight, my love, not tonight." Audré looked at the clock on the wall which said it was almost quarter to four in the morning, "We should leave something for our next time together. Now go to sleep my child. Go to sleep, Hermione." She looked outside the window where it was still raining.
The young woman now sleeping on her lap had been crying like the October rain outside. Like the sky empties her grief by pouring her heart in rain, Hermione's sky of a heart had poured itself out through her tears. She was tired and empty now.
She needed rest and sleep for the new day that will come tomorrow.
The new beginning that will take her away from the deep wounds that has bruised her young heart and trust on humanity.
She looked down at the sleeping face of the young woman who had suffered so much and yet remained unchanged in her values and beliefs.
How adorable and innocent she looked!
Audré wanted so much to cradle Hermione in her arms like her own newborn daughter.
Instead she leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Hermione's forehead before closing her eyes.
She called for her inner aura and concentrated on the happiest memory of her life.
She was not older than nine and playing in the garden when her mother called her to give her a little baby dove.
"What's this, maman?" little Audré had asked her mother awestruck at the frail little baby bird on her hand.
"It is a baby dove, Audré." Josée Laval replied kindly, "I found it lying under a tree and couldn't find its mother. Maybe someone killed the mother dove or it got hurt when she was looking for food for its babies. Would you like to keep it?" she enquired.
Audré looked at the weak baby bird on her small hands before nodding, "Yes, maman."
"That's like my good girl." Josée kissed her daughter, "Take care of this innocent dove. If you need me for anything, I am always with you." She smiled at Audré.
'I need you, maman, I need you now.' Audré thought in her head, 'Maman,' she silently prayed to her mother, 'Give all her sufferings to me and free Hermione's soul of the burden she carries. Help this innocent dove. Help her, maman, help me to help her.'
'Help Hermione, maman.'
'Help Hermione, maman.'
'Help Hermione, maman.' She kept chanting in her head.
And like a flash of lightening, Audré felt her aura merge with Hermione's.
'Help Hermione, maman.'
Hermione's aura was pure and white.
'Help Hermione, maman.'
'Give me her pains.' Audré concentrated harder.
Like a monster out of sea storm, Audré felt a suffocating feeling engulf her.
'Help Hermione, maman.'
A black cloud was pouring its acid rain and Audré looked up to burn her own face in the grief that was Hermione's.
'Help Hermione, maman.'
'Help Hermione, maman.'
'Help Hermione, maman.'
Exhausted, Audré slumped against the sofa she was supporting herself while sitting on the floor.
The pain was unbearable.
The loneliness was suffocating.
The helplessness was oppressing her very being.
What was once Hermione's is her now.
Her and her to bear only.
Let Hermione breathe free.
Eyes still closed, Audré gathered the last drops of her stamina and voiced the Healing lullaby that she knew will take Hermione into her own beautiful dreamland:
'Sleepy head,
Going off to bed,
Going off to slumberland
When western skies turn red
Sleepy head,
Going off to sleep,
Into the Woods of Dreams so deep!
Sleepy head,
Day is almost done,
You've learned so much from the day
And night has just begun
Sleepy head,
Follow your own light,
Into the Woods of Dreams tonight!
Into the Woods of Dreams,
We go each night,
Gathering golden fruit from every tree
And if a night mare thunders through
Why, just hold on to me!
Sleepy head,
Tired little child,
The woods are very lovely
So mysterious and wild
Sleepy head,
May I go with you
Into the Woods of Dreams so true!'