The American Enigma

Painful Reminders(READ THE WARNING)

Fair warning: Prisoner of Azkaban will cover a lot of dark topics, such as suicide and sexual assault. They won't be in every chapter, but they do play a part in the ultimate climax of this book and Goblet of Fire. If, at any point during this book or later on, you feel like you can't continue, DON'T!!!!!!!!

I do not want you to be triggered and feel like you still have to read the story. I will recap it during the summer chapter. Take care of yourselves first and foremost.

To a sappy moment, I'd like to give TomasGranger003 a round applause for finishing Lady In Red after dealing with so many obstacles. I highly recommend it, as it is one of the best Hermione stories out there. 114 chapters of pure awesomeness.

While I waited for the sun to rise, I pulled out a notebook and started to write in it. My wrist twitched every so often, causing large squiggles to form on the parchment. Before long, the twitching ruined the piece of parchment, making me sigh.

Great. I'll have to go and see McGonagall to explain the situation. Which will make sure the teachers know, but so will Dumbledore. And I'm not exactly sure if I can trust him anymore. If he knew I was missing and didn't do anything, then there's a chance for me to lash out. I thought to myself, ignoring the set of eyes on me.

Hermione's an early riser, and I think she knows too much about what I went through.

Normally, her trying to help me wouldn't be bad. More time with her is always great. But now? Now I'm just damaged goods. Jäger covered all of his bases with his torture, and at this point, I'm surprised Hermione can still look at me.

"Morning, Mione." I said, only to be surprised by her hug and tears. "What's wrong?"

"I-I-I'm sorry, Y/N!" She hiccuped. "I j-j-just had a-a-a nightmare! You were gone, and nobody bothered looking for you!"

"I'm right here, Mione."

"Yeah, but I wasn't there when you went through whatever you did!"

"And I'm glad you weren't." I couldn't bear the thought of her suffering for being my friend. Nor could I imagine the thought of seeing her everytime I woke up from a nightmare while in St. Mungo's, which was every other hour.

"I could've helped you!"

"No. You couldn't." She recoiled as if I had slapped her, but I pressed on. "What I went through, I didn't go through it alone. I'd rather not say what happened to the other, but please" my voice broke, making her hurt dissipate. "Don't think you didn't help. You helped me remember that I could survive." She gave me a sad nod before pointing at the ruined parchment. I groaned and told her I'd have to talk to McGonagall due to it.

Before I could even say something, Mione asked me if I was excited for Muggle Studies and Arithmancy. Those were two of the electives I chose. Herbology and Astronomy were the only two classes I struggle in, but the teachers knew that it was moreso due to how I didn't understand certain aspects.

So the teachers were going to explain it to me, as well as letting Awstin handle the homework situation.

Which just means that he gets the work, after the tutoring sessions are finished, he makes sure I understood everything before handing me the homework. It's a win-win situation. If I'm not clear on something, Awstin can explain it while I'm not burdening the teachers with my questions.

Hermione tapped me on the shoulder, concern evident in those brown irises of home. She was all I could think about during the torture. When I wanted to die, her smile was the one thing that made me fight. Her hugs washed away the fear.