Time Spent In Eternal Endings

Welcome to Malfoy Manor

Four more days passed and Malfoy had still yet to show up at school.

There was no word from him nor his friends on what was happening and Hermione was getting worried about him. She was sitting in class staring mindlessly at her textbook when McGonagall tapped her shoulder.

"Hermione."

She snapped out of her trance and when she looked up, she found that there were no quills scribbling notes. The class had emptied already. Minerva stood in front of her and Hermione stood up to greet her.

"I'm sorry, I was—" She looked for words, "I was just lost in my thoughts."

"No worries, Hermione. I just wanted to inform you early that you are to attend class as scheduled and retrieve Draco's classwork in the designated classes you two share. Whatever classes you don't have with Malfoy, can be visited after school to pick up his work and I trust that you will get the papers to him without any trouble dear."

She was a bit addled as to why she was the one getting his work, but it did give her an excuse to find out what was going on. Her heart thumped at the opportunity. And then it sank because what if something was truly wrong?

"Of course, McGonagall." Hermione nodded with a slight smile as she prepared to leave.

"Oh and Ms. Granger, I hope that if you ever find yourself or your mind troubled, you feel comfortable enough to reach out to me. Do take care of yourself" Minerva said in her usual light tone with drawn-out vowels before she nodded.

She possibly got to see Malfoy today. There was a chance that she wouldn't be allowed to enter the manor and instead, an elf would pick up the work from her and pop away. Her shoulders slumped with that thought and picking up his work didn't seem favorable anymore. So she hoped that wasn't the case. Her mind was in a tizzy and the lack of knowing what was going on had her on edge all week.

Theo, Blaise, and Pansy were curious as well except they—not surprisingly—used the matter to bounce their jokes off of the topic.

"I reckon he missed mummy too much and had his father come up with a lie to excuse him from school." Laughed Theo.

"If Mrs. Malfoy was my mom I would too Blaise." Theo chuckled like a first-year schoolboy.

"Merlin you two are humiliating." Pansy scoffed as she rolled her eyes in disgust

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Hermione apparated to the manor and was greeted with a harsh wind that made the papers flutter around in her bag. The manor towered over her like a dark shadow begging her to walk into it, just to whisk her away into nothing.

She had been so absorbed in Malfoy's life that she forgot where exactly she was going.

The Malfoy Manor.

The manor where Malfoy's aunt dragged her and tortured her until the blood that made her living heart pump was spilling on their pearly white flooring. The manor her blood-curdling screams filled. The manor that haunted her in her sleep to the point of deprivation and exhaustion. She was sin surrounded by sterling devils in hell that night.

Hermione's blood chilled and she didn't blink once as she stood outside the gates in terror.

But Bellatrix was dead now. And the war was over. And there was no more suffering. She reassured herself.

A *pop* startled her and she slightly jumped. Her eyes darted straight to the elf that stood before her.

"Mippy is here to take you inside!" The elf held her hand out to her as she blinked her big blue eyes waiting.