Healing the Broken

Chapter 32- Hermione's Worst Fear

Please check out authors note at the end of this chapter!

The room seemed to drop ten degrees, the torches instantly burnt out in sync and plunging her into darkness. Hermione takes out her wand and mutters "Lumos Maxima" and the room instantly fills up with light, sending odd and strange shadows across the room. There's an evil cackling, sending goosebumps up and down Hermione's spine.

She knew that laugh.

She turns pale and fear grips her- she had been stupid to think she could face this alone. How stupid. Stupid, stupid, STUPID-

"Hello dear." The voice cackles.

She knew that voice.

The voice that haunted her nightmares ever since that awful day- the day the scarred her for life.

"No." Hermione mumbles, clambering to her feet and stumbling back into a desk. "You're dead. You were blown to bits."

The room is filled with a high cackle again, followed by her voice. "I was, you're right. But guess what, deary? I've come back. And don't think I haven't forgotten what you did- you were supposed to be dead, but then they came in and saved you! And you all got away." She practically hisses, and Hermione tries frantically at the door. She even tries Alohamora, but it's no use- Harry had locked her in tight. "He punished me, you know. The Dark Lord. For not killing you. He punished me dearly, and it's filled me with a lovely large pot of hatred for you."

Hermione stops. Harry and Ron had come in and saved her. She glances down and clutches her forearm tightly. She promised herself back when she was saving herself that she would rescue herself from now on.

And so she turns around to face the room, her wand extended, and hollers "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU, BELLATRIX!"

~~~~~

He tried to close his eyes.

Right, just close your eyes, and sleep will come. He tells himself over and over again. He tried counting sheep- no such luck.

Harry groans and flops backwards onto his bed, attracting Ron's attention. "What's crawled up your trousers and took a dump?" He asks him, and Harry throws his hands up in the air and lets them fall back onto the bed before answering.

"I'm worried to death about Hermione, so worried that I can't sleep. I feel like I should go help her." He says. "Maybe I should go help her, come to think of it. I mean, a full ghost, all by herself? It could kill her."

Ron pushes him back down onto the bed, shaking his head. "Nope. No way. First of all- if you get out of the Gryffindor Tower, it will attract the ghost's attention and the plan will be ruined, and then we will have to be going through this again, but worse. Second- have faith in your bloody girlfriend, mate. She's beaten almost everything we've come across- and the things she didn't, she either wasn't there or she was unconscious from fighting so hard. Hermione can take care of herself."

Harry put his face in his hands. "I'm not going to be able to sleep. I'm to worried."

Ron shrugs, plopping on his own bed. "What, you think I'm going to sleep good? No way- not many people are going to sleep good at the thought of Hermione out there, right now, taking on the ghost that's been terrorizing Hogwarts alone, but who says we have to sleep? Why not just stay up?"

Harry leans back into his pillows. "And do what?" He shakes his head. "I just wish I had a sleeping draught."

"Mm." Ron says, only half listening.