Senses

Chapter 27

Hermione wiped heavily at her sticky face. She hadn't any idea how long she had cried, though her own painful wails still left her ears pulsing. It was somewhat liberating in a way. To release all the pain that had built up inside her, gnawing away like an infection. Her heart remained somewhere near her feet and her head was much too heavy to lift but she did manage to push herself up into a seated position.

Her shoulder was certainly bruised but she was grateful that she hadn't broken it. A small rub over the area made her hiss and the space between her legs pulse with need. She sneered at herself for her body's reaction after having just mourned the loss of her parents. It was wrong, disgusting. Just like her.

A small round of self-loathing gave way to a pang in her stomach. She turned her head up towards the posted list and frowned. It showed a big red cross where she was to have eaten lunch.

Her lunch was no longer brought to her as it was the one meal she was responsible for. The small kitchen had plenty of food to choose from but it was her job to eat it. There was a small chime that sounded when she was to do so and she only had an hour window to take the food from the icebox. If she didn't, it didn't count. She could still eat but she lost credit.

A deep groan brought her to her feet. With her hand on her shoulder, she limped her way from the room towards the bathroom. Her hip was definitely bruised as well making it difficult to put too much of her weight on her leg.

The pulse between her legs was becoming harder to ignore as she came to sit on the toilet lid. Her fingers came to the buttons on her shirt—one of his no doubt—that had been shrunk to fit her frame. As she pushed off the softly worn fabric she made a face as her fears were confirmed. A large bruise ran down from the bone of her shoulder almost to her elbow. She would have to show him, there was no way around it. As ashamed as it made her feel, it had to be done.

Another absent sniffle pulled a cloth from the rod and she leaned over the sink to wet it. Her stomach let out a loud growl to which she cursed it to be silent. With a heavy sigh, she pressed the cool cloth to her face, wiping away the evidence of her regret, her guilt, her pain. A small glance to the mirror reflected the hollowness inside her and she quickly covered her eyes.

How had everything gone so wrong?

By the time she had the mental resolve to pull herself free from the darkness creeping towards her soul, she was sitting down at the kitchen table. A bagel with strawberry jam sitting on a plate. It wasn't near enough but as she'd already lost credit she didn't care.

The kitchen held the only clock in the entire space, at first she'd been captivated by it. Lingering as long as she could. Now, it brought her comfort and a small bit of pleasurable anticipation that it was almost time to see him again.

She'd had copious amounts of time to think about what that meant. While her memories were still fuzzy and more than half of her life was still locked away, she knew him. She knew a new side of him. A kind, immeasurably powerful and resilient side of him. Despite how wrong it felt in her mind, her heart told her that he was the answer to the ache inside her. It wasn't love. But it was something.

The clock over head chimed softly. Telling her that it was about time to leave, time for him to release the locks that kept her safe. He had explained the reasoning after she'd gone into a small panic at not being able to leave on her own. That should he be unable to free her the lock would release twelve hours after the chime would sound. That she was to run, run as far away as she could. Not to look for him.