A/N: Thanks for all of your positive reviews. I hope that this chapter will keep you coming back. While the Interlude of Chapter 3 is the same, the chapter has been reworked and I think it's much better…although still very short.
I hope you like…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Kind of Fairy Tale is This Anyway?
"Her-my-oh-nee!" Somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind Hermione could hear someone calling her name and she was not yet ready to wake up; not ready to relinquish her dream. She fought for sleep. She begged for it to reclaim her. She'd found solace in his voice and somehow feared that if she awoke she might never hear it again.
"Her-my-oh-nee!!" The voice was becoming louder and more impatient. Against her will she was drawn back into consciousness as yet another yell pierced the silence, "Her-my-oh-nee!!!"
She lay there frustrated and unwilling to open her eyes. "Who…what…what is that?" She said exasperatedly, wondering as to whom she would soon be hexing. "Damn it! Damn you!" She cursed at the mysterious voice that taken her from her dream. Having been woken suddenly the details of her dream vanished like dust in the wind; she knew only that a man was speaking to her and that his soothing voice had made her feel safe…and loved. Her sleep-addled brain would not allow her to remember who he was or what he was saying; she could remember only the solace she'd found in his voice. Please bring him back to me, she thought desperately as she closed her eyes more tightly and tried to will herself back to sleep…completely ignoring the voices that continued to yell her name.
The sun shone brightly through the window onto the bed where she lay, the brightness now reflected behind her unopened eyes. She put her hands to her face as she slowly made to open her eyes, silently praying for sleep to overcome her before she did. When sleep did not claim her she reluctantly opened her eyes only to find herself instantly closing them again. She rubbed her hands over them and took a deep breath before opening them again. Her heart skipped a beat when she caught sight of the room she was in.
"Where the hell am I?" She said aloud as she struggled to sit up. The speed with which she'd tried to sit up caused everything around her to spin uncontrollably and her vision to blur. Her head felt as though she'd been hit with a hammer and for a moment she thought she might be sick. What's wrong with me? She wondered as she dropped her head back down on her pillow. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands for a few moments; taking a couple of slow, deep breaths she waited for the nausea to pass before trying again. She sat up slower and as the spinning subsided her vision began to clear, bringing her surroundings into sharper focus.
Gathering every ounce of Gryffindor courage she possessed she took a deep breath and said, "Alright Hermione. You can handle this. Maybe you don't know where you are or what you're supposed to do or even if you're dead or alive…but you can handle it." She trembled slightly as she finished her pep talk, her arms were pumping up and down as she inhaled and exhaled deeply.
She slowly looked about the room, afraid to move too quickly should her world begin to spin again. Although she was positive she'd never been there before the room seemed vaguely familiar to her and the longer she looked around the less frightened she became. She wondered at the typical questions of `where am I…what happened…and how did I get here?' But the question that plagued her most was, `why do I suddenly feel so safe in here?'
She took her time looking around the room trying to place the familiarity. With the exception of a bed, dressing table, wardrobe, an old trunk and a small bathroom the room was quite bare. There was nothing spectacular about the place and she didn't see anything that could help her determine where she was. There were no knick-knacks on display or pictures hung on the walls.
She slowly rose from the bed and looked down to find that she was wearing a simple blue nightgown. There was elastic around the neckline and wrists and it was nearly long enough to reach the floor; she hadn't owned anything like it since she was a child. She gently caressed the material and a soft smile played at her lips as she thought about how she used to snuggle on her mom's lap in a nightgown similar to this.
Quickly shaking those thoughts from her head she began looking through the drawers of the dressing table where she found some ribbon and a hairbrush, which she placed on top of the table. In the wardrobe was an old dress and shoes that had seen better days. The trunk was filled with miscellaneous stuff such as ribbons, needles, fabric, thread, an old book, and some very old lace.
Suddenly remembering that someone had been calling her name she made to look for clothes she could change into. She found a simple, maidenly dress hanging on a hook near the bathroom. Assuming it was her size she made note of the towel that hung next to it and reluctantly moved to turn on the water so she could shower.
The water was barely more than a trickle but it felt good to her just the same. She let the water fall upon her still aching head as she thought back to the last thing she could remember. We were in the battle. I remember…Harry made a strange sound and I looked at him. He was looking toward the Death Eaters and I followed his gaze to find Voldemort there. Then…nothing! Try as she might she could not recall what happened next; hence, she could not begin to fathom how she had come to this place. Her thoughts became jumbled as she thought about Harry and Ron. The battle…where are they? Did they make it? Did we win or is Voldemort still out there somewhere? Could they still be fighting? If they're not fighting and they're all right…do they know where I am? Slowly the realization hit her and she voiced her fear out loud, "Could I be dead?"
The water turned cold and Hermione was brought sharply back to consciousness. She proceeded to give herself another pep talk, "No Hermione. This is going to be fine. Somehow, some way, this is going to be fine. You're not dead and Harry and Ron will find you…" her pep talk had taken a decidedly different turn as her words came out faster and faster, "if you don't find them first. Which is really more likely to happen because let's face it…you're smarter than they are and much more resourceful. Oh yes, this will all come down to me again, won't it? Good old reliable Hermione she'll…STOP IT, Hermione!" She jumped at her own words. Okay, she'd had pep talks with herself before but this was the first time she could ever remember actually yelling at herself. This is not looking good, she thought.
Thankful for the soap that had been left in the shower she finished washing and dried off. Not surprisingly, she slipped right into the dress from the hook. I feel like `Alice in Wonderland' in this thing, she thought as she tied up the back and slipped on the shoes she'd found on the floor beneath it.
She glanced in the mirror and grimaced at the sight before her. Her face was pale and the dark circles under her eyes stood out in sharp contrast. She'd barely gotten the brush through her damp hair when she heard that voice again only this time more insistent…
"HER-MY-OH-NEE!!! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" Although she couldn't place from where exactly in the room, the shouts seemed to come to her from within the walls.
Who is that? She wondered again. Why do they keep shouting my name like that? "Why don't they just come and get me if they want me so badly?" She said out loud to the empty room. Her irritation was growing rapidly.
Aside from her parents no one ever pronounced her name so clearly…and whoever was yelling was definitely not her mother. She didn't recognize the voice and was admittedly a little frightened of who or what may be attached to it. She certainly didn't like the way they were calling her.
Her first thought was to delay the inevitable for as long as she possibly could and force them to come and get her. Then, realizing she'd already done pretty much that she thought better of it. I've faced worse than whatever awaits me here, she thought. "Besides," she said to herself resignedly, "I really don't think I want that…that thing…that person in here. This is my sanctuary…" she sighed, "for now."
Her head still ached and she was still trying to avoid any sudden movements that might trigger the spinning and nausea she'd felt earlier. She decided that the better course of action was to face whatever was calling her straight on, so she could lie back down and hopefully wake up to find herself at home with her parents or at Hogwarts with Harry and Ron. If she could have either one she'd never ask for another blessed thing.
She grabbed the ribbon and quickly tied her hair into a loose ponytail as she made her way toward the door. She opened it slowly only to discover exactly why no one came to pound on her door. Before her stretched a long, narrow staircase leading down to the rest of the house. There were no stairs leading up; she was in the highest tower. Alice and Wonderland in the highest tower, she laughed softly to herself as she put her recent thoughts together, what kind of fairy tale is this anyway? The staircase looked old and not a little raggedy, but she once again drew upon her Gryffindor courage and took the first step.
"Hello?" She called out when she finally reached the landing at the bottom of the stairs. "Hello, is anybody there?" She was met with silence so she continued her descent down a much nicer set of stairs to the next floor. She heard voices down the hall.
"Hello?" She called again as she walked through an open door into an empty bedroom. "Who's there?" She was just turning to walk out when two voices stopped her…she was frozen where she stood.
"Well, if it isn't our very own Cinderella." One sneered.
"It's about time. Mother is furious." The second voice was cold but she could hear just the slightest trace of delight in it.
She heard the first voice again, only this time it held traces of the same delight as was in the second voice. "She'll be in trouble for sure this time." It said. Both of them began to laugh, the sound resonating through her body and sending a chill down her spine.
Fear mixed with her anxiety as she slowly turned to face the ones who were talking. Her eyes opened wide at the sight before her and she took a step back. "Oh my God." She said, her voice breathy and full of shock.
She stumbled; their laughter the last thing she heard before she passed out and darkness overtook her.
-->