Healing the Broken

Chapter 42- A Death Like No Other

The dark street, lined with houses and neatly kept grass, was illuminated by lampposts that stuck in the sidewalk. The fragment of light cast dark shadows on the streets, and nearly hid Hermione as she raced down the road. The midnight air was damp and frosty, but she wasn't cold- the summer months had only just begun, of course.

Her eyes scanned the addresses on the house. 3285... 3267.... 3228.....3210! She turned abruptly, and faced a large house- Andromeda's house.

Andromeda's house was tall and dark, with a wooden porch and, by the looks of the windows at the top, had an upper floor. The driveway was made from gravel, and the hard rocks crunched under Hermione's tennis shoes as she made her way up to the house, where a man sat on the porch under the light, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

This must be Tyrannous, she thought to herself.

Tyrannous did look something like his voice had sounded. He looked... well, he looked like a coward. Everything about him made her feel as if he would get up and run away into the darkness the second something frightening happened.

He had thin, wispy hair that was a mousy brown and was thinning even more, especially down the middle. He had tiny, black, beady eyes that pierced the darkness, a short pointed nose, and a plump body- he was like a tomato. Hermione figured she had no reason to judge, for she wasn't all too good long either.

(before you all attack me about that whole Hermione thing, check the bold words below, I have a explanation for saying this.)

But there was something about him that made her shiver all over, sending tingles up and down her spine. He almost reminded her of a...

And then his eyes met with hers, and something clicked. Of a rat. He reminded her of a rat.

Peter Pettigrew stood in her memories, doing all of the terrible and cowardly acts that he had done. She scowls with disgust- Peter had been a coward. Nothing more, nothing less.

She walks up to Tyrannous stiffly now, her hand on the tip of her wand, which was still resting in her pocket. If needed, she could have a hex out and going in a split second. But as soon as she reached the stairs, she no longer felt any need to be worried.

"Miss Granger! What an honor it is to see you!" Tyrannous says, and he gets to his feet, shaking her hand quickly. "You really have no idea how special I feel... but that's not what we are here about, is it?"

Hermione shakes her head. "Afraid not, but I do appreciate your kind words. They were very nice of you." She smiles. "Do you have her cell phone for me?"

Tyrannous pulls out an old fashioned flip phone from his pocket and hands it over to her. Hermione traces her thumb over the cool metal of it. What if Andromeda really was gone? And this was the last thing she'd touched since then?

A tear blooms to form in her eye as she stuffs the cell phone roughly into her pocket. She sniffs, wipes her eye, and holds out her hand. "Thank you for taking care of her, and thank you for agreeing to meet me. It was all very kind of you- I know it's very late."

He smiles, shaking her hand, and for a moment, the cowardly glow that had seemed to emit from him disappears. "Of course, of course... do let me know if she's alright, would you? I have been visiting her lately, and we've become friends- she's quite a joy to be around, don't you think? And her grandson, Teddy..."

Hermione's stomach drops at the mention of Teddy's name. How do you explain to someone who could only speak a few words that his grandmother was gone? Unless she wasn't gone- which was a hope that she would have to cling to dearly.

She turns on the spot and apparates.

~~~~~

Harry was walking down a dark and dimly lit hall that was blank and boring. The only thing that kept him on the edge was this feeling of fear and danger creeping inside him, one that made him jump at even the slightest rustle, and gasp at every peculiar shadow.