Unveiling Destiny's Script: Whispers of the Past

Chapter 4: Shadows and Suspicions

She was hyperventilating. She couldn't breathe. Her whole body started to tremble, and she started to curl into a ball. She kept trying to focus on her breathing.

Breathe in... and out...... in.... And out....

The cold sweat that clung to her skin felt like a residue of the near-death experience. Hermione's hands, which had expertly wielded her wand moments before, now trembled uncontrollably. She clutched the wand as if it were a lifeline. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and the air felt thick, as if the darkness that had pursued her in the alley still lingered, suffocating her. Hypervigilance took hold, and every flicker of movement sent shivers down her spine. The world seemed to contract around her, the familiar becoming alien and menacing. Hermione brought her knees closer to her chest, the wood floor coolness a stark contrast to the feverish chaos within. Her vision tunneled, and the sounds of the voice around her became distorted echoes.

As someone approached and touched her, she flinched involuntarily. Blinking through blurred vision, she focused on the figure with jet-black hair, a voice that carried a resemblance to Harry's. His urgent inquiry cut through the haze, demanding her attention.

"Hermione! Hermione! Tell me, what are the precise ingredients of the Draught of Living Death?" he implored. Though the world around her remained a blur, her mind struggled to grasp the familiar potion ingredients.

"....pow-... powd-... powdered root" Hermione choked out, "root...root of...of... asphodel" her mind slowing thinking of the ingredients,"infu-...infusion of.... of wormwood, and... and Valerian sprigs" Finally her breathing was labored but focused and so was her mind. She could finally think straight.

"Harry..."She breathed out. " 'Mione, we need to get you to a hospital now, so don't think about anything. Just don't slip into unconsciousness. Not yet"

All she could think about was how easy it was to slip into the dark. Her vision was darkening around the edges anyway. Suddenly, Hermione felt a slap to the cheek.

"What the hell?!" Hermione responded with fervor, and her eyes focused on a very annoyingly blonde hair. The idiot Malfoy didn't respond to her directly and talked to someone in the distance. "Keep tapping her, with her amount of blood loss, she-"

And that was the last thing, she heard before she slipped into the darkness.

____________________________________________________________________________

Hours before

Tears rolled down her face. For the first time in the week, she intentionally let down her walls and felt all the emotions rush into her. She squeezed her eyes, she tried to press her tears back in but, they had a mind of their own and she felt them run down her cheeks. She felt her pent-up emotions rush up from her gut. Her frustration, her anger, her sadness, her fear, all of it just resurfaced in her mind, and she broke out full-on wailing sobs.

The reality of her second mother, her mentor, and her guide through the wizarding world having been murdered by something that had to do with her was worse than the storyline she had in her head previous to this discovery. She was overcome with anger too.

She took a deep breath. She had to deal with her feelings but that was gonna keep her up anyway at night. Now was not the time for it. She had to figure out what these letters were and how they related to her. She picked up the first one on the file and started examining it. By the state of it, it was definitely at least three to four decades old. The parchment paper had only been out for a certain amount of years before it was discontinued. They were also exclusively luxurious and for the upper class of society because they were so expensive. They eventually were discontinued because they were made by {fill something that sounds right here} thread and the ministry of animal and creature rights banned it.