En Memoriam

Chapter 31

Madame Pomfrey frowned softly as she watched the readings over Hermione's head begin to spike before glancing down at the nutrition supplement she was presently pushing through the catheter. She hadn't calculated Hermione to wake for another few hours but something was breaking through the heavy anesthesia meant to keep her blissfully unaware.

Setting aside the half-finished syringe, her eyes turned down to the bruises on her veins left behind from the IVs, her cool fingers running down her exposed arm. As she reached her wrist, one then both of her arms began to tremble. The line that monitored her heart gave a small chirp as it went from calm to rapid in a matter of moments.

Poppy's brow furrowed deeper as she watched the lines begin to warp, indicative of extremely high stress. She had been calm all through the night, something wasn't right. Her eyes ran down her fame again only to watch more of her limbs begin to twitch and flex. She pulled the syringe she had partially pushed, checking and double-checking that it was the correct potion. It was correct.

Dark, everything was so dark. The world in which Hermione had found herself felt cold and desolate. Her mind, floating as though lost in the sea of her subconscious. Then, suddenly everything exploded in a flash of red. Her own scream threatened to deafen her as the floor of the drawing-room she knew so well came into view. The agonizing pain came next, as though on a delay, and despite knowing that everything around her was happening solely in her head, it flowed through her entire body as though she were really there.

Her body contorted as she writhed on the floor, gasping for air that had long since been expelled. As she lay panting, a familiar weight pressed into her chest and her throat ached to plead her innocence. However, despite her desperate attempt, the words did nothing to quell the fury of the witch that held her down.

She pleaded again as the witch snarled, her body arching up under her weight as Bellatrix pressed her wand into her side. Another blood-curdling scream left her lips as the pain from before tripled in power. She could feel the fragile strands of her sanity plucking away with each futile attempt to break free from the spell. She could almost hear them snapping away like an over-tuned guitar. Molten tears ran down her frigid cheeks as her body fell still. Her eyes, glassed and unfocused. The last little light inside her very soul growing dim. Even in her dreams, she could not escape the glint of the blade that now carved into her pain-numbed flesh.

Poppy turned sharply when the girl in her care shot up in bed. Her eyes were wide and filled with so much fear, "Miss Granger?"

Hermione panted heavily, her eyes darting and unfocused. She didn't see nor hear the medi-witch, her body still locked inside that tortuous night. The unfamiliar surroundings combined with the tightness of her throat caused her to panic. Her hands came up from the bed to pull at the tube that was in her nose. It hurt but even as blood dripped into her mouth from the sharpness of the pull she gave it no mind.

Hands came next, the sound of something crashing to the floor as Hermione wrestled with the arms that came to hold her down. They didn't push her back to the mattress but they did try to keep her from leaving the bed. Her throat constricted as she let out a sharp barking whimper. Her legs kicked at the blankets as she tried to get them over the edge. Her hands presently locked on the shoulders of the arms that held her back.

"Miss Granger!" Poppy was more stunned than apprehending. Her eyes were like saucers when she felt the girl's nails dig into her skin. Even in her diminished state, Hermione was strong. Her strength was fueled by the adrenaline that was coursing through her.

Hermione turned her head sharply away from the voice calling out to her, her eyes blinking furiously as reality began to bleed in. Her head wobbled a bit and she swallowed down the awful iron taste in her mouth. Her vice-like hold relaxing ever so slightly.