Chapter Three
Gym
Hermione pulled on her gym clothes and walked with her cousin into the class. A few boys ogled her long, tan legs and curves, but Hermione ignored them. They reminded her too much of the Deatheaters. She shuddered slightly. "Ok, today we will be playing Dodge ball. Mr Newton, Miss Cullen, Miss Granger…." The teacher continued listing students to be on their team. But Bella wasn't one of them. Hermione sighed.
Mike stared as Bella's cousin walked with Alice over to his team. She was gorgeous, more so than Bella. Alice shot him a glare and he raised his hands in defeat. But he knew he wasn't the only guy looking at the new girl and thinking the same thing.
Hermione shut her eyes for a moment before opening them with a sigh. The whistle blew and a ball headed straight for her. But Hermione's mind pictured it as a curse and room as the battle field. At once she dodged it and threw the ball she held back at them.
Alice watched amazing as Hermione dodged every single ball with ease, as if she did this a lot. She watched as every ball Hermione threw hit it's target. Soon, there was only Alice and Hermione on the team and a guy on the other team. Alice was guarding the team's players while Hermione was dodging the balls.
Bella leaned forward. "She's really good." She whispered. "Yeah. But her eyes aren't here." Alice replied. Bella frowned. "What do you mean?" Alice pointed at Hermione as she dodged another ball. "Her eyes are unfocussed, like she's elsewhere." Alice explained. Bella gasped as she too noticed the look in her cousin's eyes. "She wears that look a lot. She never used too. It's like she's dead."
Hermione looked up and didn't see the boy on the other team standing there, but Ron. She froze and stared at the boy, tears filling her eyes. She blinked and the boy changed into Bellatrix. The Bellatrix sneered and nodded over to a heap. With a jolt, Hermione realised it her mum. She looked back to see Bellatrix with her Dad, her wand at his temple.
"Aww, is the Ickle Mudblood going to cry?" Bellatrix sneered and Hermione gulped. "It's not real." She muttered. She knew it was her memory playing tricks on her, but it was so real. "Hermione!" Her dad's pained yell cut through her and a tear fell. "Say night night to Daddy." Bellatrix sneered. "No." Hermione whispered. There was a flash of green and Bellatrix let go of her Dad. Hermione felt her tears run down her face and she ran from the room.
Alice and Bella turned their attention back to the game and frowned. Hermione had frozen, staring at the boy on the other team, but not seeing him. Tears filled her eyes and the two exchanged a worried look. She looked at something to one side that wasn't there and her eyes grew wide and horror filled.
She looked back and her face became pained. "It's not real." She muttered. Alice and Bella hurried to her side, trying to bring her back out of her mind. "Hermione." Bella called, waving her hand in front her cousin's face. A tear fell and the two students tried harder to wake her. The teacher called an end to the lesson and hurried over to them.
"What's going on?" She demanded. "No." Hermione whispered. All the tears she held back began to fall and she ran from the room. Bella bit her lip. "Where's she going?" The coach demanded again. "I don't know. She's been acting odd since she came to Forks. She recently lost her parents and boyfriend. I think it's affecting her." Bella explained. The teacher's face became softer. "Go after her. You two are dismissed from class today." She smiled. Alice and Bella didn't need telling twice and ran off, Alice running at human speed, after Hermione.
Mike, Angela, Lauren and Jessica watched as Hermione dodged each ball perfectly. They were on her team as well. "Wow, she's really good." Jessica murmured. Suddenly, Hermione stopped. "It's not real." They heard her whisper.
"What is she, like, retarded or something?" Lauren sneered, watching as a tear slid down her cheek. "It's just a game." Angela shot her a glare. "She's not here, at least not in her mind." She snapped. Jessica frowned. "Huh?" Angela sighed. "Her eyes are unfocussed." She explained. "Like she's seeing something that's not there, right?" Mike asked. Angela nodded and Lauren snorted. "Like I said, she's retarded."
"She's not! My Granddad was the same. He had watched his mother be killed in the war and sometimes went into flashbacks. It happens if something traumatic happens in a person's life." Angela growled. Mike sighed and watched as Hermione began to cry and run from the gym after Bella tried to bring her out of it.
They heard what Bella and Alice told the coach and Jessica bit her lip. "That's what happened." She sighed. Lauren sighed. "Okay, so she's not retarded." Mike growled. "She has had a hard life. You're a cow." He snarled before joining the other team.