Sage | H. GRANGER

forty three

Flashes of green and blue shot past a girl, whose feet slammed against the damp stone of Hogwarts. Her chest heaved as she ran wildly through the halls. Jet black hair whipped over this girl's shoulders, moving as though it was the black smoke from a forest fire. Bruised arms pumped at her side, the cool spring air bit at her lungs as she breathed heavily.

She didn't know what she was running to, or who she was running from, but the ice cold fear that ran through her veins kept her legs moving. She passed bodies along her way, familiar faces no longer filled with life. A scream bit at her throat at the sight. The halls that once held so much light and laughter were now littered with death and so much darkness.

"Run all you want, Sage." A voice coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once mocked her. "You can't escape your fate."

Her legs burned with every step, her eyes stung with the beads of sweat that dropped from her hair. A door materialized in the distance. One she had seen so many times before. The room of requirement.

"Sage." The dismembered voice called, taking the form of those who haunted her. The voice was her father, her mother, her sweet Alaric. It made her feel nauseous at the sound. "Oh, Sage."

The voice hissed her name, and Sage let out a strangled cry. Her legs ached for rest, but she pleaded with whatever God above to keep her moving. Her prayers fell on deaf ears as her legs gave out underneath her. She fell to the ground with a pained grunt, her hands and knees catching the brunt of the fall. She hissed in pain as pins and needles pricked at the sights of contact. A sobbed rattled her hollow body. She wanted desperately to stand, to keep going, but it was as though she had become a part of the ground she lay on.

"There is no use in fighting it anymore." The voice tsked. It was Draco speaking now. "Look around, girl." Harry.

"Everywhere you go, everyone you touch, it all ends up the same." Her mother. "Destined for destruction."

"No!" Sage screamed, covering her ears to get away from the voice. (voices?)

"Leave me alone!" Her throat was raw, the familiar metallic taste of blood flooded her senses. The voice laughed at her. She wept at the sound. Please. She begged. Please just stop.

"Stop?" Sage felt a presence next to her as she cowered away from it. Fear took control as her frail body shook. Her hair invaded her sight and her breathing was ragged.

"Don't you get it?" The voice was light, airy, filled with honey. Another sob racked her body. "My love, there is no end in sight."

A forceful grip forced Sage onto her back. Her hair fell from her face and her chin quivered at the sight before her. Hermione stared at the girl with fury. Sage fought the urge to scream, tears falling down the side of her cheeks as Hermione leaned closer to the girl. A touch wiped away the tears that fell, but the touch didn't bring the warmth that she was accustomed to. It filled her with a dread that she couldn't shake.

Hermione straddled Sage, who squirmed to free herself from the grip the girl had on her. Hermione pushed aside Sage's wild hair from her face, her touch grazing Sage's cheek. Sage struggled, cries left her as Hermione laughed wickedly from her spot. Hermione reached next to the girl, a sliver of silver appeared in Sage's vision. Her breath got caught in her throat as she watched Hermione with bated breath. Horror washed across Sage's face as realization dawned on her.