The Golden Trip

Chapter 22

A/N please vote for the last chapter:((

August 7, 1998

My screams woke me up.

My legs were burning. Like fire. It was almost as painful as the Cruciatus, but not quite. I willed myself to stop screaming, as I was fine, I was alive, I was safe. After the internal battle ended, I opened my eyes. No one was here in the twin's room. It was just me laying in the bed.

Wait. I glanced around, noticing the pictures hung up on the walls. The twins do not have those. I'm not in the twin's room. I'm in my room. The new one. A glance out the window let's me know it's past midnight. How long have I been out for? Hours, days? And what truly happened to me during that battle-and why-

The calendar is wrong. It must be. I'm two years ahead in time. How is it already 1998? Wouldn't I have to recover first before being brought back? Why did I suddenly go back? My eyes flutter close for a moment before opening. It's going to be a rough day.

I grab the journal that's laying next to me, and place a bookmark in the pages. After putting it back in a drawer, with a wave of my wand, it's invisible. I tap the lamp besides my bed once, and burrow further down into the covers. My breathing calms down, and I relax my shoulders.

I can't sleep.

I sigh and stare at the ceiling. I should have known this would happen. I climb out of bed, leaving the room. Hopefully, no one else is up. And who would be, at this time? I accio my wand and walk down the steps. I had to pause at the landing because so thought I heard someone, but other than that I made it to the first floor fine. I open the kitchen door and head outside.

Night also helped me collect my thoughts, to calm myself down. There are no birds flying, or gnomes running around in the garden. The grass is soft against my feet, and I lazily drag my wand against the tops of the higher stalks. Once I get closer to the woods, I make my way down the lake trail. It leads me to the bank of the lake, and is hard to spot from the Burrow. With a small chance of someone seeing me, I ease up. I sit down on the soil, dipping my feet in the water. It's lukewarm, warmer than the night air. My arms wrap around my torso, holding on tight.

Snap.

Within a blink-of-an-eye, I'm up and ready. My wand is aimed perfectly at their chest, with a spell ready to spill from my lips.
"Woah, Granger," Fred smiled at me lazily, putting his hands behind his head. "It's just me."

Annoyed at myself, I sighed. Come on, Hermione. It's just Fred. You're fine. You're safe. You're alive.

"Sorry." I whispered, my eyes darting between the lake and him. He had bags under his eyes, but he seemed as peppy as ever.
"S'kay. You get jumpy." Fred replied, crossing his arms.
"I'm not jumpy."
"Yeah, sure. Paranoid."
"I'm not paranoid!"
"You've been in war, Granger. I'm not blaming you."
"Oh," I mumbled. "Sorry." Fred shrugged, waving a hand in the air.
"No biggie."

He walked over to a swing Mr. Weasley had built for Teddy and sat down on it, pushing himself back and forth. It could easily hold his weight and more, and was tied to a large oak tree. I sat down on the grass next to the swing, facing him. It was silent for awhile between us. I listened to the crickets chirping, and tried not to focus and how Fred kept staring at me.

"Granger, listen." I looked up at Fred. He was looking at me. Of course he was. "I've been thinking about a lot. The war, Bellatrix, a lot. And it doesn't add up."

"What do you mean?" I asked, startled. What else could we possibly not know?

"Well, for starters, your arm," He said. "I know about the whole thing with Malfoy Manor, but it doesn't add up. When we were attacked, the burning of the Burrow, you didn't get hurt there. And you should know better than most, the chance of not getting injured is close to nothing. So, is it like a shield?" Fred stopped for a moment, thinking. "And next, when your guys' training was cancelled. Something with the time room. Which I found...odd. Because nothing rarely happens in the time room. It was almost a coincidence with something, maybe."

A coincidence with something. And that coincidence was me.

"And you know who was leading the investigation?" I looked up at Fred. Was this really something I wanted to get into? To see the consequences of my actions? To see what I could do?

"Who?" I whispered, my curiousity getting the better of me. I just wanted to know, and then I would let it go.

"Draco Malfoy."

I didn't let it go.

A/N
i know it's short i knowww and i'm sorry for the late update.but this is my friends. this is the last chapter of the book. and i'm so sad, but that just means i will post the sequel soon! so, for me to post it sooner, please vote and comment and add this story to your library so your updated on when it comes out. also, follow me to see updates i post on when it should be coming out.

thank you for getting me to 2.6k. i truly didn't think that would happen. this is my first book i posted-albeit not a very good one-but i'm amazed people wanted to read it.

thank you all i love you oh so much

xoxo emmaawing