DISCLAIMER. None of the characters used are a creation of mine. They belong solely to JK Rowling.
Hermione sobbed, tugging at her arm, beating against her brother's vice like grip on it. Her knees scraped against the floor, blood beginning to seep out.
'You slimy, little wench,' Rab sneered. 'You will pay for the lies you've spewed. I will make you pay.'
'I didn't mean to, I swear. Rab, please.. I can explain.. I can.. I'm begging you.. let me go, please, Rab.. you're hurting me.. Give me one more chance, please.. I love you, Rab, please..'
Rab raised his brows in mirth, his voice laced with pure hatred. 'You lied to me. You sullied my family's name. You took from me my trust and butchered it. You don't deserve forgiveness. You don't deserve mercy.'
Hermione felt her breath hitch. 'But you.. you're not .. you dont believe in all that propaganda .. you're different, I know it .. you cared about Melinda too.. she was muggleborn, too, I know you, Rab..'
'She was a passing fancy; a toy. Speak only for yourself, mudblood. You will suffer for what you have done.'
Hermione hissed in pain, sweat dripping down her brows, her fingers reaching out instinctually around her burning back.
Hermione sighed.
One hundred and eleven.
That was how many of her memories had already been twisted and turned into a nightmare. Although the seeds of doubt had long started to be sown, hope still lingered, tethered to her only by the weakest threads.
The worst days were when a small voice inside her head began questioning if she had traveled back in time at all. Could it be that she was simply held prisoner by her own mind? Maybe she had taken a hit to her head and lost her sanity? Maybe the war had been won and she was merely just another patient up in the psych ward of St Mungo's. It made sense, didn't it? It was highly more probable than voyaging into the past.
No.
She was always quick to refute any such claims. She only had to see Harry and she could breathe easy again. Harry would show her that what she had lived through was real and was not just a figment of her imagination. He would come find her. It would be soon now.
It had been long enough.
He would come soon.
Soon.
But why hasn't he already, a traitorous voice whispered inside her head.
Hermione cried herself hoarse. She should have died days ago. Hell, she should have died years ago. But life still clung to her like a disease, its gnarled and warbled fingers always clawing at her raw skin.
Perhaps if it had been Ron who had lived, the war might have already been won. All this suffering.. the pain..
It kept wearing her down.
She felt like a ghost most days. Barely slithering through the minutes slipping by her like sand through her fingers. The time dragged on and on, plucking at each of her precious memories. She had struggled against Bellatrix when she could find the will to but only in vain. Her head would always be jerked aside and her mouth forced open, the contents of her ivy poison forced down her throat as tears burned hot trails across her cheeks.
Hermione was only just holding on, Harry's face looming across her vision like the gospel truth. She kept picturing him, tracing the pandomime of criss crosses that made up his visage.
Harry was her only sanctuary.
On the good days she would dare and miss the others. She would remember the freckles that dotted Ron's face and the flaking red hair Ginny was always cording her fingers through. She would think about the twins and sometimes even her old dorm mates.
Time had been kinder then. She had been a torrent of a girl, funneling through the world of magic like a force to be reckoned with.
She would then trace patterns into the stonewall, her heart reminiscent of the long, drawn out summer days she had spent with Sirius, how his languid kisses, however few they had been, had brought her alive. She remembered the warmth James exuded and the merry mischief in Peter's eyes. She remembered the way Remus and Lily would sit together even at meals, pouring over their books and revelling in their shared reverance of the written word.
The memories would stretch and take her to another beautiful face chiseled with care. She would remember the stormy grey eyes of Regulus and smile thinking of his little feet bounding across the Lestrange Manor on the mornings of Christmas.
But life was never fair and she would then be invaded by a screeching so vile it set her blood on fire. She would see Regulus' pleading face as he begged to be redeemed. She would see Ron's body being thrown carelessly across the yard. She would see Draco's body fall, his knees giving in and his hands reaching out to the blood gushing out of his stomach, the redness intensifying with each panicked breath.
She would see Ginny's maimed body, raped and defiled by wolves that knew nothing but rage. She would see bodies and bodies and bodies. She would see how they were haplessly piled one over the other, the life long gone from their eyes, their entity being nothing more than a scornful remembrance of the people they had been.
She would see as Hogwarts fell and the world turned into a gaunter place, a heavy silence enveloping it as the darkness spread.
It was not the kind of place she remembered from her childhood. It was not the kind of place anybody ever remembered living in before.
This world was what she had wrought.
There was no home.
Never a home.
Hermione smiled wryly, the sluggishness beginning to return. She sat with her back hunched, her fingers splayed out before her eyes.
Her body was getting used to its drugged state, allowing her to keep surfacing as and when she wanted. A small mercy but she would take whatever she could get. After all, she was a dying woman. There wasn't a lot she could hope for.
"Forgive us now for what we've done..
it started out as a bit of fun.. Oh children
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice..
Rejoice, rejoice.."
It was never easy to wait. It was never easy to forget. But it was most difficult when you didn't know whether to wait or forget.
She knew all would feel right the moment Harry came. But it had been too long already. Should she forget and give up on all hope?
It was tiring to keep looking up, hoping for someone who never comes.
Hermione sighed heavily into the stale air which reeked of the filth and grime that covered her body.
Sweat lined her palms as she began feeling trapped inside her head once again, slowly drifting in and out of what remained of her life.
There was no voice but her own.
It was daunting, really. There was nobody. Just her.
Reality felt like a knife driven into her heart.
'Garbage! Useless.' Her father yelled. 'How do you think you could have saved us, Hermione? Who do you think you are? You think you get to own a piece of crappy wooden stick and wave it around and you become the hero? You've got quiet a God complex there. How dare you take from us our memories?' His eyes turned into slits as his lips thinned into a line. 'I wish you were never born. You have brought us nothing but disappointment ever since you joined that freak show of a school.'
Her mother sidled up to him, running a soothing circles across his back. 'Now, dear, don't let her get to you. Forget this nuisance of a girl. I will deal with her,' she smiled sacchharine sweet.
'I will have you know you deserve nothing,' her mother spat at her. 'We paid for your education. We paid for you to go to that school of yours. We paid for everything you own. And this is how you repay us? Get out of my house! You're a worthless piece of shit! Get out! Out, I said! OUT!'
There was a sharp stinging pain that rose up her back as it was prodded at. She felt her head burn with bleariness as something other than the dank dark coloured the back of her eyes.
She clenched her eyes shut as the brightness threatened to send her over the edge. The light was overwhelming. Her sensory deprivation came back full force, sending her nerves haywire.
She shrieked as a stranger's fingers attempted to pry her hands away from her eyes.
'Hermione!' Her heart skipped a beat. 'Love, it's me! Hermione.. can you hear me? It's okay.. it's just me..'
'It's me. I won't let them hurt you anymore,' her saviour whispered to her furiously. 'It's okay.' Strong arms enveloped her in a hug. 'You're okay.' Fingers threaded gently through the knots of her hair. 'Everything is going to be okay.' A warm hand enclosed her own. 'I've got you, you hear me?'
Hermione felt her walls crumbling. Her lips trembled as the world crashed around her. Dry sobs heaved through her body as she threw herself into her brother's arms, placating the disbelief inside her heart.
'Thank..,' her throat burned from the disuse. 'Thank you.. thank you .. I .. I've been so.. so alone,' she rasped. She opened her eyes slowly, the brightness around her still unnerving. There was a blinding red haze that clouded her vision slowly beginning to piece away. The stone room looked bleak, tiny. It was barely bigger than a prison cell. The door to it lay wide open, only dull light streaming through, bringing along with it a cold wind that lapped against her bare skin, making goosebumps ignite up her arms and legs.
'I know and I am sorry,' his eyes shut close, his forehead pressed against hers. 'I am so, so sorry for acting like this godforsaken piece of slime, Hermione. I let them do this to you,' his breath hitched. 'I stood and watched you bleed.' He whispered, 'I let them do it.'
Hermione felt the wetness in her eyes grow. There she was only moments from her tirade of self destruction, staring now into the dark pools of her unexpected saviour.
'You came back, Rodolphus,' she croaked out. 'That's .. that's what I'll always remember you by.. you came back.. you came back.. you came for me..'. A sudden desperation washed over her as she once again clung close to him, fisting his robes in her hands and sobbing soundlessly into his chest, the weight of her torment surging her on. 'You came back.. you came for me..' She cried as he rocked her gently, always mindful of her back.
'I know, love.. I will never again let anybody hurt you. I'm so, so sorry. Please.. please forgive me..'
'You came back,' she kept repeating herself, as if a loop had struck a chord inside her mind, her eyes unfocused and vacant. 'You came back.'
Rodolphus frowned as he felt her fall limp against him, her lips still moving but no voice coming out. 'Hermione, love, it's time to leave. We don't have very long. I have been trying to get to you for days now. It was only today that Narcissa was finally able to help me out. She told me Lucius will be visiting soon though. Now is the only chance we might get. We need to leave now lest we arouse suspicion.'
Hermione's lips trembled. 'I .. I don't care,' she whispered. 'Let me die here.. I don't care.. you came back.. you came back for me.. I don't have to die alone anymore.. you came for me..'
Rodolphus pulled away just slightly so he could look carefully at her.. truly look at her. Her skin was pallid and devoid of her usual glow. The circles hung low and dark beneath her eyes, her hair matted to her face with blood and sweat. All colour washed away from his face as he murmured somberly to himself. 'It is exactly as I feared. Look at what they've done to you..
'Hermione,' he said firmly, bringing out a small vial from the insides of his robes. 'We don't have long. Please, come with me.'
Hermione's brows furrowed as she looked around herself.
Yes. Yes, she had to leave. Rodolphus had come back for her. She had to leave and get to Harry.
Harry!
She wobbled on her feet as her scarred hands reached out to the wall for support. She felt her knees give in as she buckled and fell into Rodolphus' arms.
His eyes filled up as he whispered, his voice broken and weary. 'Look at what they've done to you.. they toyed with your mind like a child's play. Oh, Hermione..'
Hermione shut her eyes tight as she spat out, her voice inching towards pure malice, 'Don't talk about it.' Then, gently. 'Please don't..'
Rodolphus steeled his nerves, nodding to himself. He removed the lid that covered the vial and held it up to her. 'Drink. It won't be enough but it will do the job for now.'
Hermione, her relief at seeing another face, any face, all too fresh, was still weary of potions and concoctions. The hair on her arms rose as the sight of a sneering Ron graced her vision.
'What is it?' She asked nervously.
'Have a little faith, love. It's only just a replenishment potion. It should help you walk. Lord knows how long your muscles have been stiff and sore. Your body will need a long time to recuperate but that is something we are incredibly short of at the moment.'
Hermione felt her fists curl as all the nightmarish memories haunted at the outskirts of her mind. She had to get out. She had to get to Harry. She took a deep breath before downing the contents of the vial, feeling a sudden rush of energy and clarity hit her.
The light became a lot less daunting and the sounds of the crashing waves somewhere outsidd no longer felt like a dull throb against her head.
She squinted as Rodolphus began pulling her outside, even the dull light a stark brightness against the constant black she had lived her life in this long, long time. Her eyes wandered over the large landscape of barren land. The sea washed across the ridges of the cliff violently as the waves shook.
She staggered as she took in the dreariness of the stranded island she had been imprisoned in, each crashing wave another shackle on her soul. She felt Rodolphus grip her fingers tight and pull her across the vastness of the dry land, interspersed with sea greens, the towering palisades of solid rock awash with the thunder of the rumbling clouds above.
'A storm is brewing,' Rodolphus murmured, jumping over wide arches, constantly turning back to make sure his sister was really there, his steps still hurdled by the guilt that threatened to pull him asunder. He marveled numbly at the cold blooded man he had become. How easy had it been for him to singlehandedly bring about the destruction of his own family. How easy had it been to give in to the dark.
Hermione's breathing turned ragged, her legs once again beginning to lose all feeling. Images of dark and dainted memories crawled back inside her mind, devoid of any rationale.
Rodolphus cursed as his foot caught trap into a thick knot of weeds.
'Why did you..,' her throat still ached, 'why did you come?'
Rodolphus sighed heavily. 'I would have been here sooner if not for Bella..,' he backtracked, 'if not for Bellatrix. She does not place enough faith in me and for good reason, too. It is only because of Narcissa that I could find you. She had been trying to get to me for sometime now. She risked everything by coming here today with me. We will meet with her soon now.. right there by the treeline,' he pointed with his fingers.
Hermione squinted into the distance, the scapeline a blur against her vision. She cast longing eyes at the charcoal sky, her heaving breaths fogging. 'How long..,' she mumbled, 'how long has it been?'
Rodolphus paused before turning to look at her, with something akin to a sorrowful regret in his tear filled eyes. 'It has been long enough.. Hermione, I might never get to say this but I truly feel that I ..'
'My, my.. look at that,' a sultry voice drawled from the Lestranges' right. 'What do we have here?'
'I cannot believe this .. atrocity,' Bellatrix whispered in horror, her face ashen and her eyes downcast in shame and embarrassment. 'My very own husband..'
Rodolphus tightened his jaw, a look of consternation passing over his face. 'You are no longer family to me, Bellatrix. Not even my love for you could ever persuade me to forgive you for what you have done. You ripped apart the family I owe everything to. You turned me into a monster.'
Bellatrix seemed to have heard none of it however for she went on, her hands wringing in nervousness, true fear explicit in her hooded eyes. 'No, we have time yet.. this can be undone.. Lucius,' she turned to him, 'we are all one big family. You must help us. We cannot let the Dark Lord know of my husband's foibles. No, no we mustn't let that happen. I will save our family's name, don't you worry, Rodolphus.'
Rodolphus tightened his grip on his wand. 'Did you not understand what I just said to you? You mean nothing to me. You mean nothing. This marriage is done for. I release you from whatever boundations you have to me.'
Lucius placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. 'Get a hold of yourself, Bella. The man is possessed. The girl has obviously dabbled with his senses. Rodolphus is lost to her viles. He has betrayed the Dark Lord, the true holder of all your love and adorations. Do not let the fickleness of your heart deceive you. You are loyal to none but our Master.'
Bellatrix's pained eyes flashed in fury as she stared hard at Hermione, her voice cold and unforgiving. 'You will pay for this, you bitch. CRUCIO!'
Hermione jumped to the side, her knees scraping against the jagged rocks, new tears forming along her already tattered robes.
Rodolphus raised his wand in defiance, his mouth forming quick words as spells fired on either side. A maddening rage overcame his features as he whirled round and round, protecting both himself and his sister against the deadly forces that threatened their existence.
'Looks like it's kill or be killed, Lestrange, my man.' Lucius sneered. 'It is going to be such a shocker to the Dark Lord how the entirety of you lot turned out to be nothing but lying rats. Not what one might expect from one of the oldest and the purest families, I must say. Pity,' he drawled, making the hair on Hermione's skin rise.
A snicker rose up his throat, revealing the sinister look in his eyes, leering down at Hermione. 'You never stop, do you? Always creating such a ruckus.'
Hermione gulped, acutely aware of her defenceless state what with her wand stolen away, her clothes half ripped and her mind addled. It was only the rush of adrenaline pushing her body to move. Fear was the sole barrier that kept her from falling completely apart, the frayed nerves in her body on full alert.
'HERMIONE, HIDE!' Rodolphus yelled as he flicked his wrist at the incursion of dark spells shooting out the wands of the small band of Death Eaters.
Memories worth years sparked her body into coming alive in a peculiar manner of magic as she crouched low, her chapped fingernails digging into her palms as she crawled to find cover behind a patch of rocks. She bit her lip as she plucked at the strings of her magical core, attempting to channel her powers wandlessly but her body had been drained so thoroughly of her vitals that even looking for crumbs of magic was a herculean task.
The air vibrated with the cracks of dark magic filling it up. Hermione saw as the three dark robed Death Eaters skirted around each other in a wicked dance of wits. Being so close to Rodolphus as she was, she could hear the strain in his breathing as the combined efforts of two of the most skilled Death Eaters began to wear him down. Sweat trickled down his temples as his arms flailed around in a flurry of attacks.
The two Death Eaters stood at least a couple hundred yards away, flashes of sparks lighting up the darkening sky.
As raindrops thundered down the raging cliff stood over a howling sea, Hermione plundered through her memories, each one bringing to her mind the faces of people she had loved. She could feel Death coming for her as she sat still, barely minutes past the intruders' mess.
There was a resounding howl of magic battling against magic as she saw Rodolphus dive towards her, his breathing a ragged mess and his face resembling that of a beast.
'Come out and play with me, dear husband,' Bellatrix roared over the storm, her own breaths heavy.
Rodolphus' eyes softened as he took in the form of his shivering sister, sat cowering behind a bare rock. He pressed a gentle hand against her cheek. 'You have to run now,' he whispered fervently. 'Run while I make a distraction for you. Find Narcissa. She will lead you to safety. You must be quick on your step, now, Mi. Run!'
Hermione's lips trembled as she shook her head, a mix of fear and longing keeping her rooted to the spot.
'This is not the time, Hermione, for Merlin's sake, RUN!'
'It's hardly a fair fight,' she mumbled, skipping over words in her hurry. 'They will crush you,' she croaked out.
'What is it, Lestrange?' Lucius yelled. 'Hiding under your sister's skirts, are you? Come out and face us like the man you ought to be.'
Rodolphus sighed as he chanced a quick glance around the rock. His eyes were clouded in horror. 'Hermione, please.. just go..'
'I can't..', she begged. 'You saved me .. I can't just run away.. I can't leave you for dead..'
He shut his eyes, anguish clear on his face. 'What I did today for you does not make me a good man, Hermione. It doesn't erase all the sins I have committed. I have much to atone for.'
Thunder broke apart whatever words came out of his mouth next.
'No, it doesn't,' she said. 'But it does make you a better man than you already are,' she flung her arms around him.
Something broke inside him then, his face transforming into that of a man living under the weight of a lifetime of regrets.
'I am already done for, Mi.' His voice turned into a gentle sombre of quiet. 'My fight is over. Yours isn't.' He pushed her firmly away. 'Live your life to the fullest, sister and look after your brother, alright? You two must care for each other. Live for me. You must live, Mi or this will be for naught.. you must live..'
A childlike voice broke out of her as memories of a five year old Hermione brushed against her consciousness of how a skinny teenager would kiss away the blemishes on her knees after each fall.
'Rolf..,' she whispered, hating herself for crying lest he draw more fear from her desolation.
'That is it. I am coming for you,' Bellatrix cackled.
Rodolphus' eyes filled up as he enunciated each word. 'You. Must. Live. RUN!'
Hermione sobbed as her knees wobbled. She looked at her brother's retreating back, her helplessness a curse. Never before had Hermione Granger felt so curelly pathetic. Never before had she walked away from a dying man.
Each step was heavier than the last as she kept her form pressed to the ground and inched slowly towards the treeline still almost half a mile away, her body looming dangerously towards the very edge of the humongous cliff.
Something felt so invalid as desperation tugged at her heartstrings. It wasn't fair. None of it was. What had she done to reap such harrowing pains? Why had she been made to feel more pain that a human body could? What grievous sin had she commited?
Her thoughts remained a jungle of concrete sobs as she pulled herself away from the screams behind her. The gut wrenching cries of pain that reached her ears were so painfully familiar that she almost stopped and went back into the throes of the battle despite her utterly useless self.
The mud kept giving away making her slip once every few minutes. The rain still plundered through, the water rippling over to the side and falling into the deep sea, stones and loose rocks tumbling down with it.
A yell of surprise broke her out of her reverie. Her blood ran cold as her eyes fell upon Lucius, his body drenched and looming over hers but his eyes trained forward.
'Cissa?' He called out. 'What are you doing here? You should be home. I instructed you never to follow me.'
Hermione gasped as she saw a round bellied, golden haired woman step out of the woods now only a few yards away, an entirely new kind of fear of being betrayed growing deep inside her.
She felt placated however when Narcissa looked to be on the verge of breaking down, her mind conflicted, her eyes flinging over Hermione's pathetic form every second or so.
Lucius' gaze travelled over to Hermione's body still crawling towards safety. He raised his wand. 'Very well. Here lies the core of all our problems. So be it. Cru..'
'Expelliarmus!'
Lucius' wand shot out of his hand and fell over the cliff side. He looked up at his wife, startled. 'Narcissa!' He yelled, surprised and outwitted. 'Why would you .. what.. I don't understand..'
'I can't let you do this, Lucius,' Narcissa stated firmly.
Lucius was baffled. 'You would go against your own husband for a filthy blood traitor?' He made an odd noise of disgust at the back of throat as he turned to Hermione. He bent at his waist and wrapped his hands around the witch's neck, dragging her along to the very edge, leaving her perched such that her head hung below.
Hermione let out a startled cry as she tugged at Lucius' hands, her nails scraping against his skin. She felt lightheaded as he straddled her, strengthening his grip.
'Lucius, step away from her,' Narcissa begged. 'Please.. you will kill her,' she cried desperately, her wand tight in her grip and yet she dared not make a move.
Tears slipped past Hermione's eyes as the ringing in her ears grew louder. She beat against Lucius' grip, her knees shoving into his belly. She let her fingers go limp as her hands sought the muddy ground for help, hunting for anything that might free her. As her fingers wound around a sharp rock she hurled it at the man, making him stagger for the smallest fraction of a second in which she pushed him away and crawled away.
She looked on helplessly as he put a hand to his head, blood trickling down with the rain. His eyes turned murderous as Narcissa stepped before him, her nimble hands trying to push him away. He shoved her aside, losing all his bearings, indifferent to the cries of his wife as his prey lingered still alive before his eyes.
He marched forward like a madman. He plucked inside his robes to reveal a dangerously sharp dagger, the hilt of which was painted ivory white.
Hermione held her breath as she saw him approach, the flimsy rock in her hands that she had used as a poor excuse of a weapon already trodden away from her. Her already weak body was stepping even deeper into exahustion, her mind that had been toyed with for so long beginning to shut down again.
There was no escape. She remembered how she had once learned to fly but magic had failed her miserably that night. Resigned to her fate, she raised her arms in defence but was ruthlessly thwarted. She sunk into a hazy state of pain as the dagger slashed through her skin, hot red blood gushing out shamelessly.
'NO!' Narcissa cried out, 'Immobilus! Prohibere! Stabit!' She fired spell after spell and yet not one hit the target in her frenzied state.
There was a monstrously loud howl somewhere in the distance which made Hermione gasp. Her pain almost doubled as she heard her brother cry out, his last breaths already arrived.
Only moments and Bellatrix would be upon them. She would prolong her torment miserably so. Hermione felt along her wound as she cast her eyes to the sky. It was clear what was coming next and there was no running away. Her time had run out.
The impending was inevitable. She smiled almost faintly as a bolt of lightning forked through the midnight blue sky.
Lightening.. Oh, Harry..
How fitting for her to go out this way.
Harry.. I am so sorry.
Lucius dashed towards her as she contemplated her next move. She stumbled into the darkness, her feet definite on her way to the edge, ready to take her final flight into the abyss and into the arms of Death but there was a blinding flash of light and a resounding thud.
Hermione's mind kept pulling her under. She forced open her eyes to see Lucius decapitated and fallen over a log of wood, a grimace over his contorted face.
Narcissa stood over him, her voice pleading. 'Please .. please stop this madness..'
Lucius thrashed wildly onto the ground, shoving her away with force.
Hermione struggled with words. She wrapped her arms limply around Narcissa's middle, 'We have .. to go.. now.. come with me.. your son.. protect.. come..'
Narcissa howled in agony as she let herself be dragged away, both women a mangled mess of weak limbs and sore muscles.
'Can you.. Apparate?' Hermione asked in a hushed tone, her hand pressed tight against her wounded belly. 'We.. we have to leave.. Narcissa.. your sister.. she will be here any minute now.. Rolf is probably gone and we.. she will kill us both.. your child .. protect your son.. we have to go..'
Narcissa whimpered as she clutched at her wand. She intertwined her fingers with Hermione's, trying to calm her nerves but nothing could soothe her. 'We will end up splinching ourselves this way.. Hermione, I can't.. I can't do it.. I ..'
'We.. we have to leave.. Narcissa.. your sister.. she will be here any minute now.. Rolf is probably gone and we.. she will kill us both.. your child .. protect your son.. we have to go..'
'I am so sorry..'
Hermione felt her body lurch as Narcissa lost consciousness, falling to the ground.
She cursed as she grabbed Narcissa's wand from her, closing her eyes to the world and focusing on a destination when she felt a white hot slash of pain climb up the tears across her back.
'Lestrange! Where do you think you're taking my wife?' Lucius thundered.
Hermione's eyes glanced over at the wand in her hand. One last stand, she told herself. One last fight.
Summoning the last bit of the threadbare strength she had left, she inched the wand in her hand towards Lucius' face, catching him by surprise at her momentary steadiness, and whispered, 'Avada Kedavra!'
The green light hit him square.
The rain pelted at the earth and the soil once baked hard gave away as he lost his footing, his body tumbling over the edge, the depths of the tempestuous sea plunging him into eternal darkness.
Hermione's body fell, the blood from her stab wound still seeping out, all her energy wiped out.
There were screeches in the air from the raging storm.
This is it.
She gave in to her crumbling soul.
This is it for me.
All sound faded away as the world grew calm. The rain still hit her and the winds still howled unleashed and yet the disconcerting quiet grew in the shape of a turbulent force inside her.
Draco..
She had to save Draco. After all that he had done for her..
Draco.
No!
NO!
NO!
She pushed her body awake.
Come on! Please don't fail me now.. please..
.. destination.. determination.. deliberation..
Come on.. please..
.. determination.. deliberation..
The visage of a beautiful golden haired man invaded her dimming vision. She might have mistaken him for an angel har she not known him.
The Admiral.
She was going to die .. he would finish the deed.. Bellatrix had called for help and now she was going to die .. she had failed herself.. she had failed Draco..
She felt the Admiral's cold touch against her chest as his fingers pried at a forgotten heirloom hidden inside her cleavage.
Hermione's brows marred in confusion as the Admiral took hold of her fingers and wrapped them tightly around the emerald pendant her grandfather had gifted her what seemed like eons ago.
'Hush now, my love,' he whispered, his voice a sweet velveteen melody.
There was a sad smile playing at the his lips as he pressed her fingers even tighter, a gentle brush of his touch against her eyes.
The world spun on its axis as she felt Narcissa's weight combine with hers, their bodies spinning into a void of black, the unseen future of the three souls wrapped tight into a knot.
AN: I know I haven't posted in a very long time. I spent half of August sick and then lost all motivation to ever finish. It took me days to write even half of this chapter but then something happened today and I had this rush of inspiration which resulted in me pelting out this chapter, which, by the way, was going to be way longer. But I knew that if I really wanted to post I'd have to split it into half or writing a 8-10k chapter would have definitely turned me off.
Nothing is a good enough excuse for my tardiness though and so I must apologize. But it looks like I'm back for good. I am going to start working on the next chapter right away and hope to resume my usual schedule of posting once every fortnight. I am really glad for all the new readers that have joined this story and your reviews mean the world to me. To my existing readers, I am truly sorry for having made you wait so long.
Thank you to each one of you for still being here.