Born From Madness (Harry Potter Fanfic)

39

Hermione was stunned with what the elf had just told her. Not to go back at Hogwarts... why? Hermione thought as she started to wonder who this guy was so she could push him in his face for having the nerve to stop her from going to Hogwarts. 

"What do you mean? I must not go back to Hogwarts? I have to go back! I am going back!" Hermione shouted at Winky. Winky shook her head. 

"No, no, no! Master has ordered Winky to make sure Miss Hermione Granger does not go back to school! To stop her from discovering the truth." Winky grumbled, shaking her finger at Hermione. 

"The truth? What do you mean? What truth am I not suppose to figure out? Who is behind all of this?" Hermione asked. Winky started making chocking noises then tried to bang her head against the wall. However, Hermione was able to stop her. 

"Okay, okay, okay! You're not supposed to tell, but I need to know why must I not go?" Hermione asked. 

"Terrible things will happen! May happen to you Miss Granger if she goes, which must not happen. Master does not want that to happen! Master warns Winky that if Winky does't make sure you are safe, then he will beat Winky within an inch of her life." Winky whimpered, "Which he is ought to if Winky fails!" 

"No, he shouldn't! Besides, I'm not scared of whatever this nightmare could be! Dumbledore will be there to protect us if terrible things are going to be happening. I'll just have to risk it because they aren't going to stand in my way of an education." Hermione stated to Winky. Winky shook her head. 

"Dumbledore may be greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had, but he does not have certain powers... certain powers no decent wizard..." Winky went until she stopped and then proceeded to slap herself in her face. Hermione grabbed Winky's hands and held them against Winky's sides. Once Winky had shown signs that she was cooling down, Hermione let her go. 

"I'm sorry, Winky, but I must insist on going. I have a lot of things to do while at Hogwarts and it's the only place I've got... well I think I got friends." Hermione mumbled. 

"Friends who don't even write to Hermione Granger?" Winky said, slyly. 

"Well, I expect-- wait a minute!" Hermione said, frowning, "How do you know my friends haven't been writing to me?" 

Winky shuffled her feet. 

"Hermione Granger mustn't be angry with Winky. Master said this may be the best course of action to ensure you didn't go back to Hogwarts." Winky stated. 

"You've been stealing my letters?!?!?!?!?!?" Hermione screamed, her hands tightened into fists. 

"Winky has them here," Winky told her as she pulled a pile of envelopes tied with thin string from inside the pillowcase she was wearing. She could make out Harry's and Ron's untidy scrawl and even a scribble that looked like it was from Hagrid. Hermione made a grab for them but Winky jumped out of her reach. 

"Hermione Granger will have them, ma'am, if she gives Winky her word that she will not be returning to Hogwarts." Winky promised Hermione. Hermione shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"I will not! Now give me my friends' letters! They do not belong to you or your awful Master. And you can tell whoever it is that when I find out who they are, I will put a hex on them that is so bad they will be wishing they weren't ever born!" Hermione warned her. Winky shook her head. 

"Then Hermione Granger leaves Winky no choice," Winky said in the most eerie way. Hermione watched as Winky went running out of her room. Hermione followed behind but she wasn't as quick as Winky was. Hermione was turning the corner in time to hear her Mom and Dad screaming their heads off and Winky vanishing into thin air. Hermione rushed into the room to find it consumed in Chocolate frogs hopping around as Grandma Elka was trying to catch them. She turned around rapidly, searching for Winky. 

"Hermione! What did you do?" Her mom shouted. Hermione turned horrified. 

"It wasn't me! It was Winky, the house-elf! She did this so I wouldn't be able to go back to Hogwarts!" Hermione shouted at them. Her parents looked at her like she was insane. Grandma Elka tossed a few frogs back into their packages. 

"What is a house-elf? And what would one be doing here and why would it want to stop you from going back to school?" Dad asked. 

"House-elves are like servants to wizards. Mostly they work for some of the older wizarding families. Some of which, I feel they shouldn't have those house-elves." Grandma Elka answered. 

"Well that still doesn't answer why one would want to stop Hermione from going back to school?" Mom stated to them. Grandma Elka dropped to catch a few more frogs and put them back into the packages. 

"We'll ask later. Right now we got frogs to catch." Grandma Elka said as she went to grab another couple of frogs. It took them awhile till they finally grabbed all the frogs they could find. Grandma Elka motioned for all of them to the table. 

"Now, Hermione, tell us what happened from the beginning." Grandma Elka told her. Hermione proceeded to tell them from the moment she met Winky to the when Winky told Hermione how she can't go back to Hogwarts due to someone not wanting her to find out the truth about something and how she was stealing Hermione's friends letter to how Winky had caused the Chocolate Frogs to escape their packages. 

"This is serious business we're talking here," Mom mumbled, "And she said these terrible things would happen to you if you went?" 

"Then it's settle," Dad said, "I'm sorry, Hermione but we are pulling you out from Hogwarts. I can't risk letting you go, knowing some psycho out there is trying to hurt you." 

"WHAT?" Hermione screamed, unable to believe what she was hearing. 

"Now hold on! We're not going to take Hermione out of school because some house-elf was making a supposed threat. For all we know, it's some cruel prank." Grandma Elka suggested to them. 

"Prank or not, we can't take that risk." Mom told Grandma Elka before standing up and turning to Hermione, "I'm sorry, dear, but we can't take that chance in hopes it turns out to be a prank." 

Mom and Dad hurried out of the room, discussing on how did they pull Hermione out of her school. Hermione leaned forward, feeling defeated when Grandma Elka psst at her. She looked over at Grandma Elka, who leaned in to whisper. 

"Pack your bags, dearie, I'm sending you off to the Burrows."