Post momentum.
Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter.
Black cloaks were flying around.
They also seemed to be invisible to everyone but Hermione.
She wondered if she was starting to show signs of psychosis, closed her eyes for more than thirty seconds before trying again. The hallucination seemed to never end, and absolutely no one else was looking the same direction.
"Mother" she murmured faintly , gradually immersing in utter panic as her mother noticed her pale face.
"What is it, dear?" Sounding genuinely concerned, she looked the same direction, yet unable to undertake anything, back at Hermione.
Hermione's face drained of all colours : those creatures were following her. They flew over her head and dragged along as she tried to enter a shop, much to her mother's dismay.
She didn't even explain, just dragged her along and closed the door behind them.
Turning around to reassure her mother, she was flustered by her reaction. She did not look surprised. Hermione kept analysing her iffy expression.
"Mother" she started vehemently, almost irritated.
Yet, managed to undo the suspicion in a heartbeat.
"What is it, Hermione?"
She didn't answer. Nervously pacing in the book shop, she went over the whole scene in her head, trying to understand what was going on. She tensed when remembering how composed her mother was in that fraction of a second as the creatures showed up.
Perhaps was it a hallucination? She didn't have much recollection of what happened until two months ago. Did she go through a severe injury yet did her mother chose to hide the truth?
"Mother… " She dwelt in thoughts for a few more minutes, her eyes distraught, breathless.
"What exactly happened two months ago? There's a void in my mind and your description of the events isn't satisfying to me."
She did not stutter this time nor blink. Her answer was smooth and it made Hermione even more suspicious.
"You had a car accident and you lost some of your memories in the process."
That's not what happened !
"What? " Hermione slapped herself. She was hearing voices now ?
She turned around and, much to her mother's panic, ran for the emergency exit. In her haste, she dumped into a man entering the store from the exit. He was carrying a herd of books inside the shop. She stumbled upon the pile of books and fell on top of him disgracefully.
"I'm really sorry!" Hurrying to gather the books, she didn't notice she pushed on his body to get up and grab them, forcing him down once more.
"Bloody hell woman !" He screamed at her venomously. He started brushing his clothes and looked at her. He stopped moving. Stopped breathing. His eyes wandered to her arm and then to her face.
"G..Granger? What the fuck are you doing here?" She was puzzled.
Who was this person?
"Do you know me?" She managed to blurt out, impenetrable.
He looked stunned, then they both heard a piercing howling sound, turned to the same direction and that's when she felt it. A wave of pestilence followed by utter despair.
Melancholy to near madness. Like a chronic disease implanted in her heart from birth.
"Granger! Make it stop!"
What do you MEAN make it stop? How did he know her name and what were those things?
Somehow a crowd assembled near them and pushed the black creatures outside to close the door. She looked back at him and he was terrified.
"Granger… I thought you could pull a patronus, you fucking bitch."
"Do I know you?" He gave her a repulsed look before closing the gap and whispering inaudible insults, making her even more curious.
"Just tell me-"
"Granger you will not fool me. I came here to hunt you down, and at last I found you. You were hiding in that shithole with the wards on, yet here you are, outside, buying books as I thought you would." He left the shop after going to the back of the basement to send a letter with an owl.
It seemed strangely familiar to Hermione who proceeded to run after him.
She grabbed his left arm and he instinctively pulled away, in a pull so aggressive it startled her, sent her stumbling to the other side of the shop.
He just stared in what he wished to be cold and disdainful, yet only managed to amuse Hermione who saw the glimpse of guilt in his eye.
"Who are you?" She asked straightforwardly, awkwardly getting up and rubbing the dust off her jeans.
"I see you've been accustomed to muggle clothes again. Well, that's exactly where you belong, mudblood." What was that?
"I'm sorry what? Is this some kind of slang I am not aware of?" He narrowed his eyes at her, then smirked and bent forward to get closer to her.
"You know I'm right." He whispered pleasantly.
"I have no fucking clue what you're actually talking about!" She screamed in disbelief.
He grabbed her shoulders and stared intently into her eyes. A few seconds passed when Hermione noticed his eyes were of a deep frozen grey.
Realisation went through his face like a wave of despair. He backed off, pushing her away and held out his arms for a few seconds, gesturing her not to follow him before he took off.