scapegoat

02

One summer, before the prospect of a war had even settled in, Hermione had been sitting out in the garden of the Burrow. It had been a sunny day, the sky almost completely clear besides a few puffs of white that'd lingered from a storm the night before. Harry had been beside her, picking at the grass aimlessly as he chattered about the coming school year. And Ron, whose voice she could also hear faintly, was picking gooseberries with his sister for a pie that they would all later eat.

"Ron you're not meant to squish them like that", she'd heard Ginny complain as Ron waved his hand around to get rid of the juice running down his fingers.

She heard his laugh. "They're gonna be mashed up anyway, I'm just giving mum a head start"

"You're an utter pest, you know that don't you?"

"Am not, you're the one that's being all grumpy about it...", his voice had drifted away as the pair moved further from the house.

Her heart throbbed as she looked at them. She'd been happy. A pure and genuine happiness. It wasn't an emotion that was caused by an abundance of gifts or words of praise, it was just happiness. It was a feeling that she at that moment realised, came to her when she was in the presence of those she loved.

"I've always wondered what it would have been like if I'd had a sibling", Harry's voice had come through as he looked distantly to Ron and Ginny's retreating figures.

She smiled and looked at his side profile. "I doubt you'd be any different"

He quirked his eyebrow, but kept his focus straight on. "Why's that?"

She shrugged. "I guess you're individualism will always over weigh anything else"

"I suppose so", he laughed. "But don't you wish the same?"

She smiled back. "What to have siblings or to be an individual?"

"Siblings", he chuckled shaking his head towards the grass beneath him. "But I guess we're the same when it comes to our individualism, you've always been pretty cocky"

"Hey!", she shoved him lightly as they both laughed.

He'd held his arms up in surrender and leaned away from her. "Sorry, sorry"

She only smiled as her gaze drifted back over to the field in front of them. A field that now seemed to be glazed over as if it were covered in glass.

"How endearing", a deep, mocking voice rumbled through her subconscious.

She awoke with a start, grasping onto the cushions on either side of her.

"Do you often dream of past memories?", she looked up with a start to find Snape leering over her with a distasteful look on his face.

She sat up quickly in defence and felt the blood rush to her head. He'd taken a few steps back, and was looking distantly into the unlit fireplace. His voice rattled through her head again and she bit her tongue at the thought of him rifling through her memories; memories in which were particularly heart felt for her.

A tap of impatient fingers against the mantle piece. "Well?"

She breathed in deeply, pinching her nose bridge as her eyes squinted shut momentarily in stress. "No, that was a one off", she said as her hand dropped back down to her lap.

"Don't let it happen again"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "I can hardly control what I.."

"Have you had a chance to look over the booklet?", he looked indignantly to where it lay strewn on the floor and tapped it lightly with his foot. It flew up into the air and before she realised the direction it was going in, it slammed straight into her chest. She spluttered as the spine collided with her rib.