Chapter 10
Back to Square One
Blinking away the last remnants of her dream, Hermione looked around her, the still night broken only by the sleeping breaths of her room mates. A quick look at each of the beds revealed the other girls to be safely locked in their own unconscious worlds. She wished that she was still drifting pleasantly through her own, but the thought of closing her eyes made her shiver even more. Not wanting to slip back into the nightmare that she had just left, Hermione pulled back her covers and sat on the edge of her bed, the oppressive darkness around her not easing her feelings of dread.
Climbing out of the bed, she gathered her robe and wand, and headed silently out of the door, creeping silently down the staircase that would lead to the common room. More than anything she wanted to have a little light that would push away the darkness that seemed to be enveloping her, causing her to shiver despite the extra layer of clothing that she now had wrapped around her body. The cold chill of death lingered from her dream, and it was that along with the image of Harry that haunted her waking mind.
Reaching the common room, Hermione headed straight over to the fireplace, and a short spell later, the fire in the grate once more roared to life, filling the room with a warm orange glow, that began to banish the night from the room. Around her shadows danced on the wall, but she paid them no attention as she moved over to one of the chairs and settled down in it, making herself comfortable.
Her gaze fixed on the flames, as they moved hypnotically, entrancing and casting their spell, until they took on familiar shapes and there in the fire were the silhouettes of Harry and Lord Voldemort facing each other wands at the ready. She closed her eyes shut, but the images continued to move in front of her. However hard she tried, the replay of the end of her dream would not be banished from her mind.
A soft footfall sounded on the stairs to the boy's dormitory, but still she remained lost in her thoughts, her back facing towards the direction the noise was coming from. As the owner of the footsteps drew closer, Hermione remained transfixed to the orange glow.
"Can you not sleep, Harry?" Hermione asked, not looking towards the new arrival.
Harry opened his mouth to speak and blinked, as he stood for a moment, lost for words. "Wow, Hermione. Have you been practicing Divination?"
"Harry!" Her voice echoed around the quiet room, as she came to her senses and jumped up out of her chair and wrapped her arms around him. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she finally had proof that what she had seen was only a figment of her imagination, and Harry Potter was not lying dead on the ground outside Grimmauld Place.
"Whoa, Hermione!" Harry grinned, slightly surprised by her greeting, before she unwrapped her arms from around him and took a step back, her cheeks growing darker in the low light of the fire.
"I…ah…" Hermione looked at him, fighting to find the words she needed to explain her behaviour, but she could find none that seemed suitable, so she fell silent and just looked at her friend as he stared at her, looking more than a little puzzled by events. "I couldn't sleep," she finished feebly. "What are you doing awake?"
Harry walked over to the other chair that stood in front of the fire and dropped down into it. "I couldn't sleep either." He let out a low sigh. "It doesn't feel the same here anymore not since…"
"Not since Dumbledore died." Hermione finished for him, as she settled down into the chair opposite him.
Harry stared at her dumbly. "Yeah." He paused for a moment, and frowned. "Are you sure you haven't been practicing Divination?"
"What?" Hermione asked, her features creasing in puzzlement as she tried to make sense of what he was talking about.
"That's twice now." Harry looked at her curiously. "First you know it's me coming down the stairs without even looking and just now you finished my sentence for me." He paused for a moment. "And you always said you were bad at Divination."
Shaking her head, Hermione continued to stare blankly at the young wizard. "Just lucky, I guess." She pondered for a moment then spoke again. "Although, I'm having this strange feeling…but it's nothing." She shook the thought away, as she flicked her hair behind her ear, and pulled her robe around her body. "I'm sorry you are having such a hard time settling back in, Harry. We knew it wouldn't be the same without Professor Dumbledore here to…" She let her words trail off.
"What are we going to do without him?" Harry let out a sigh. "He knew what we had to do. He knew everything." He fiddled with the edge of his own robe that covered his pyjama clad body. "How can I do this without him? I don't even know where to start."
"We are here for you." Hermione leant forward in her chair and took his hand in hers, before he snatched it back out of her grasp. "Harry?"
She watched as he rose from his chair, turning his back on her as he moved over to the fire and gazed into the living flame. "I don't want your help. I've lost too many who have already tried." Harry's temper was visible in the tone of his voice, as his body grew rigid. "I can't…"
"You aren't going to lose us." Hermione stood up and walk over to him, her hand tentatively place upon his shoulder, feeling him tremble at her touch. She fell silent, unable to speak, unable to find the right words to make everything right. There was so much she wanted to say and do, to tell Harry how much she and Ron cared for him and that they would be there for him. "We will always be here, whether you want us or not. We care about you too much…" She faltered, her brow creasing slightly as she fell silent.
Harry turned and looked at her, concern filling his eyes. "What is it, Hermione?"
Hermione's hand slipped off his shoulder and hung loosely down by her side. "Harry, have you ever had a feeling of…?" She sighed heavily and shook her head, silently berating herself.
"A feeling of what?" He asked, his voice rising questioningly.
"Nothing. It's silly." Hermione gave him a smile, as she pulled her robe around her to ward of the shivers that flooded her body. She caught the look on his face which showed that he was not convinced that the conversation should be brushed aside so quickly, but he did not press it further. "We should try to get some sleep."
"You go. I won't be able to sleep." Harry moved back to the chair and sat himself down.
Hermione frowned and looked at him stubbornly, secretly pleased that he was willing to stay up as she did not think that she could face her nightmare again that night. "If you aren't going, I'm not going to try either." She sat herself down in her own chair and looked over at him. "We could use the time researching for clues to the possible location of the Horcruxes."
"You really don't need to stay with me. I'm not going to do anything foolish, you know." He grinned at her, his eyes revealing his gratitude for her company. "Where should we start?"
"That's easy…at the beginning." She smiled and waved her wand in the direction of a pile of books and parchment that rested on a nearby table, and silently spoke the word 'Accio', bringing the items over to where she and Harry sat.
* * * * *
Having been unceremoniously woken by a startled Ron, who came down into the common room and found his two friends asleep, their laps full of books while used pieces of parchment with strange line diagrams lay on the floor at their feet, Harry and Hermione glanced at the back of the young wizard as he disappeared through the hole leading into the main body of the school, the room falling into complete silence as the students made their way to breakfast.
Looking at Harry, Hermione laughed as Harry held his hands over his grumbling stomach that had been making a noise since breakfast had been mentioned. He frowned comically and let his gaze fix to her face. "I think Ron was right, we'd better hurry." He grinned and made his way to the stairs leading to the boys' dorms. Stopping, he turned and looked at her. "Thank you for last night, Hermione."
She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "It was nothing, I enjoyed the company. It kept away the night…" Her voice stopped as her eyes grew wide at her slip.
Harry frowned and moved back towards her, his eyes searching her face. "Why didn't you say you had a nightmare last night?" He stopped for a moment, cutting her off before she could answer. "Is that what you thought was silly?"
"No…and yes." Hermione stammered, not really prepared for such questions. "But it was just a bad dream, and I really did not want to pile such a silly little thing on top of all the troubles you have been having." She gave him a small smile, hoping that would be an end to the conversation.
"If you are having bad dreams, you can talk to me about them. We are friends, and I am here for you as much as you are here for me." Harry grinned and watched her flinch as he used her own argument against her. "I don't want you to hide things from me and I know Ron would not want you to."
Hermione nodded, her smile growing. "I'll tell you about it after breakfast. You really need to eat something." As if to prove her point, Harry's stomach let out another grumble.
"Yeah, we should." He laughed. "I'll see you back down here in a minute."
Nodding her head, Hermione watched as Harry turned and disappeared. She stood for a moment, staring at the space that he had just vacated, berating herself for letting slip about the dream. She knew it was not that important, people had bad dreams all the time, but there was something about this one that was haunting her. A shiver rushed over her as the last scene replayed itself to her, before she headed off to the girls' dorm to get dressed.
* * * * *
As they walked into the great hall, Hermione turned towards the Head table where all the teachers sat. In the centre seat, usually occupied by Dumbledore sat Professor McGonagall, which still shocked the young witch despite them being in the school and witnessing it the day before. Her eyes ran along the occupants of the seats, her mind not failing to notice the obvious absence of Professor Snape and his replacement, who was yet to arrive at the school. Hermione turned and watched Harry as he walked over to the Gryffindor table, not sparing a look around him at all.
Ron greeted them with a smile, and waved his sausage pronged fork as they settled into the seats. "I thought you weren't going to make it." He brought the food to his mouth and took a bite, giving up on conversation for a moment.
"Harry's stomach wouldn't let him miss breakfast." Hermione gave Ron a pleasant smile as she began to select a few items from the array of dishes that were dotted in front of them. She looked over at her two friends in time to see Harry finish whispering something to Ron, before they both stared at her without saying a word. She returned their gaze but decided to shrug it off as she began to tuck into her breakfast, realising just how hungry she was.
As she chewed thoughtfully, her eyes once more found the professors' table, her gaze gliding over the line until she finally stopped on Hagrid, who was looking completely out of sorts, and worse than she could ever remember seeing him. "Hagrid looks terrible." She lowered her fork, suddenly disinterested in eating. "We really need to cheer him up." She stared for a moment, watching as the gentle giant played absentmindedly with his food.
Following her gaze, Ron looked over at Hagrid and frowned. "Losing Dumbledore and Aragog has hit him really hard." He lowered his fork, seeking out its next victim. "I don't know what…"
"Speak to him, Harry, before he leaves." Hermione cut Ron off.
Harry looked at Hagrid and then back at Hermione. "He's not leaving. He's eating his break…"
The two wizards stared in wonder as suddenly Hagrid pushed back his chair and rose to his feet, heading without a word to anyone towards the door of the Great Hall. Harry turned to Hermione, as Ron continued to watch open mouthed. "What has got into you, Hermione?" He asked incredulously.
"What do you mean?" Hermione replied, knowing full well what he was referring to, but not wanting to get into a discussion about it.
"What do I mean? You know what I mean. Last night and now this morning, you seem to be predicting things that are going to happen." Harry turned his attention back to the empty chair left by Hagrid. "How did you know he was going to leave?"
Hermione looked at him and shrugged. "I didn't know he was going to leave. It was just lucky timing." She frowned and turned her attention back to her food.
"Has this got anything to do with your nightmare, Hermione?" Ron's voice drew her attention to him.
"My nightmare?" Hermione looked at Ron then shot a glaring look at Harry. "Why did you tell him about that?"
Harry shrugged, looking a little hurt and confused. "I didn't realise it was a secret."
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "I'll tell you about it later, I have to get to class. I'll see you back in the common room." She gave them both a frustrated glance and rose from the bench, and walked away from the table, not having to look back to know that the two of them were whispering about her.
Barely reaching the door, she heard the rush of footsteps behind her and continued though the door and into the hallway before she slowed her steps, as she heard a voice calling out to her.
"Hermione!" Ginny Weasley approached smiling oddly, with a questioning look in her eyes. "How's Harry?"
The older witch smiled at Ginny and shrugged. "It's hard to tell. You know Harry." She paused for a moment, feeling pity for the girl standing before her. She had had a tough time during the summer, but at least that had ended when Harry left the Burrow and returned to Grimmauld Place, back at school he was a constant reminder. "He's having a bad time at the moment, what with everything that has happened. He's taking it badly."
Ginny nodded her head sadly. "Yeah.
"I have to get to class." Hermione pointed off in the vague direction of the Arithmancy class. "We'll talk later, okay?"
Without another word, the two young women smiled at each other, before Hermione turned and headed towards the staircase that would take her to her first class of the day. Behind her, she could feel the eyes of Ron's sister following her progress. Sighing to herself, Hermione knew that the day was not going to be a good one.
* * * * *
Stepping passed the Fat Lady Portrait, Hermione returned to the Gryffindor house room, glad that at least she had one class out of the way, not that she was sure attending had actually been worthwhile as she had struggled to stay focused on the lesson. Her mind had wandered several times to things that had happened, and she had spent too much time trying to persuade herself to forget about her dream. Each time she attempted it she found herself gazing into the lifeless face of Harry Potter as he rested in her arms.
"So, what were you and Hermione doing last night?" Ron's voice reached her ears as she approached her two friends unseen by either of them. He did not sound at all pleased at finding them sleeping in the chairs that morning.
Harry sighed. "I told you, Ron. I couldn't sleep and she couldn't sleep following the nightmare," he repeated for the hundredth time that hour. "We talked and did some research into…"
"And you just fell asleep?" Ron interrupted.
"Yes, we just fell asleep." Hermione approached the two of them, perching herself on the arm of Ron's chair and smiling at Harry who sat opposite, her voice was dripping with contempt at Ron's question.
Ron looked up at Hermione. "Why didn't you tell me you had a nightmare?"
"Because you were asleep, Ron and she didn't tell me either. Not on purpose anyway." Harry shifted in his seat, closing the Dark Arts book that he had in his lap. "But next time, we'll be sure to walk you up." He began to rise from his seat, but a look from Hermione made him sit back down.
"What are you two doing?" Hermione smiled, as Harry settled back into his seat.
Picking up his book, Harry flashed the title at her. "We were just reading the next chapter for Dark Arts." He placed it back down onto his lap. "The new professor is meant to be there today."
Hermione nodded. "I'll leave you to it." She slipped off the arm of the chair and made to leave when she felt a restraint on her arm. Looking down, she saw Ron's fingers clasped around her wrist.
"I thought you were going to tell us about your dream," Ron asked, quickly letting go of her arm as she shot him a killer look.
Harry sat forward in his seat, looking more than a little interested. "The sooner you tell us, the sooner we stop asking." He smiled at her encouragingly.
Hermione flicked her eyes between the two of them and let out an audible sigh, indicating that she was telling them under duress, before settling herself back on the chair beside Ron, her gaze fixed once more onto Harry's face. She really was not looking forward to putting into words what she had seen, almost as if by repeating them it made everything seem more real. She shivered as a chill spread over her body, reminding her of death's touch, her eyes filling with sadness.
"I don't remember much, just the end." Hermione grimaced as the image swam before her eyes. "You were fighting…You-Know-Who, Harry, and the rest of us were in little fights of our own."
Ron looked up at her questioningly, a glimmer of interest in his eyes. "Who was I fighting?"
Hermione, without knowing why, felt saddened as he asked. It took her a moment before she could speak. "I don't remember who we were fighting, Ron, I just know that Harry was facing Lord…" She caught Harry's glance, her eyes reflecting more than she really cared to share.
"What happened?" Ron asked impatiently.
"I think I know." Harry replied for her, telling from the look on her face. "We lost, didn't we?"
Hermione continued to stare at Harry, nodding her head very slowly. "He…He…" Her voice petered out.
"Killed me?" Harry's question was answered with another nod.
A silence hung between the three for a moment, each looking between the others. Each was lost in his or her own thoughts, each wondering what it meant. Hermione wished more than anything that she could wind back time and not make the slip that had caused the conversation. If only she had been more careful the night before.
"It's just a dream, Harry. It doesn't mean anything." Her voice sounded unconvincing to her own ears. "We all have bad dreams, don't we?" She looked at Ron pleadingly, hoping for him to make everything right.
Ron nodded and grinned. "Sure we do, I had one the other day, when I was chased around the school by a giant chocolate frog." He shook his head and sighed. "That will teach me to eat them before bed. Mum is always saying it's not good to do so."
Hermione smiled at Ron, and looked at Harry, who still seemed deep in thought. "It's not important, Harry. It was just a silly dream."
Grinning, Harry picked up the book that rested in his lap and rose from his seat. "I just don't want you losing sleep over me." He flicked his gaze between his friends. "We'd better get to Dark Arts before we get into trouble with the new professor. I want to make a better impression with this one. I really don't need another Snape."
Hermione slipped off the arm of the chair, as Ron got to his feet. They looked at each other, neither overly convinced that Harry was not putting on an act. They gathered their things together as they watched the dark haired wizard reach and disappear through the door, before the two dashed after him.
* * * * *
Hermione's eyes followed the new Dark Arts professor as she walked away from the desk that Hermione was sharing with Ron and Harry. The latter was still looking a little put out by the greeting that he had received from Professor Stygian. And the revelation that she was going to be the new Head of Gryffindor did not make any of the three friends the least bit comfortable.
As the professor moved over to the next desk, making the acquaintance of the other students, Ron leaned forward and whispered. "This is going to be a fun year." He frowned as he took a peek in the direction she had gone. "If looks could kill, we'd be dead now."
Nodding his head, Harry sighed. "She seems more suited to Slytherin. I'd give anything to have…"
"Have we met Professor Stygian before?" Hermione interrupted, her gaze following the woman around the room as she greeted each of the students in turn.
Harry shook his head. "I don't think so. Why?"
Before she could answer, Professor Stygian reached the front of the class room, standing once more in front of the blackboard, behind her the chalk falling away from its task of scribbling her name. "In the current climate, use of the Dark Arts has become more than essential…", the professor began with her lesson.
Hermione turned away from Professor Stygian, her eyes finding Harry's, her voice dropping so as not to be overheard. "I've seen her before, but I don't know where." She frowned, frustrated at herself.
"Maybe you saw her walking through Hogwarts, but you didn't know who she was." Ron whispered, keeping his voice down level with Hermione's.
"I don't think so."
Harry looked over at the professor as she continued talking to the class. "She is kind of scary, maybe you saw her in a nightmare." Harry chuckled softly to himself, joined in moments later by Ron.
Hermione's eyes flicked back to Professor Stygian, who seemed to be staring straight back at her. In her mind, the professor suddenly seemed to become far away, as before her stood the form of the Dark Lord himself. Realisation finally dawned as her eyes focused on the professor's face, before blackness descended…
* * * * *
"Are you sure you are alright, Hermione?" Harry asked as the three headed back to the Gyffindor House room following the Dark Arts lesson.
Ron looked at Harry and then at Hermione. "It was strange you fainting like that."
"I think it was hot or something." Hermione shrugged, really not in the mood to be discussing her black out. Her mind was full of other things, especially her dream, which seemed to be the last thing she could remember before she woke up lying on the floor surrounded by Harry, Ron and Professor Stygian.
"It seemed to happen just as the professor looked at you," said Ron conversationally.
Harry nodded and grinned. "She really does have a frightening stare. I thought I was going to pass out when she first looked at me." He shook his head and shuddered slightly at the thought. "She even makes Snape seem pleasant." His eyes burnt with anger as he mentioned the name of Dumbledore's killer.
Looking more than a little confused, Hermione stopped walking, the others taking a couple more steps before they realised she was no longer with them. "Did she do anything? Like raise her wand at me or something?"
Harry shook his head, as he and Ron turned to face Hermione. "No, her wand was on the desk." He stared at her questioningly. "Why would she want to do something bad to you?" His face took on an expression of understanding. "Did you remember where you saw her before?"
Hermione fell silent, and shook her head. "No." She began to walk again, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Honestly, Harry, I have no idea. She just seemed familiar. I might have seen her in a yearbook or something." Hermione gave them both a smile and brushed passed them, shaking off Harry's hand, as she resumed her walk back to the common room. Behind her, Harry and Ron looked at each other before following after her, each lost in their own thoughts.