fred&hermione - doing just fine on your own

chapter nine

hermione's pov.

trekking back to shell cottage, i felt a gust of loneliness even though i had been in full conversation with ginny. as we walked back into the living room of shell cottage, i placed the picnic blanket and basket on the coffee table, which was messily scattered with quidditch through the ages magazines. trust george and fred to cause a mess, i thought to myself, smirking softly.

i was soon followed by the bustling noise of harry, ginny, ron, bill and fleur clattering back into shell cottage again, chattering and laughing with one another. i was so happy to see them all happy and enjoying themselves, they deserved this after everything that had happened. i however, couldn't adapt to the laughter and jokes, as a sudden wave of tiredness hit me. i blame the sea air, i told myself, shaking my head, my damp curls turning gradually drier.

"you alright, 'mione?" ron asked, putting a hand on my shoulder, harry too staring at me with a concerned look.
"oh, yeah, i'm fine - just the sea air, i'm exhausted. didn't know what to expect." i chuckled, shaking my head.

ron looked at harry half-reassuringly, and harry nodded, turning to continue helping ginny pack away the remainder of the picnic. ron smiled at me, patting my shoulder and wandering away to the armchair in the corner to the newest edition of quidditch through the ages, as if they didn't have enough magazines already.

i was so grateful to have harry and ron still here to support me, i was so so close to losing harry during the battle, it almost killed me to even think about it now. ron especially, who'd been struggling with emotional distancing since the battle, it kind of caused him a lot of turmoil. that's one thing he and i had in common, at least.

my eyes kept slumping shut slowly as i tried to keep myself awake in the living room, so when bill proposed he make tea for everyone, i declined politely and snuck away upstairs to try and sleep the best i could. that was something i liked about shell cottage, it was so serene and peaceful, so different to my little townhouse at home.

i trekked upstairs and closed my bedroom door behind me, glancing around the room tiredly as i noticed ginny's unmade bed and her messy side of the room, smiling to myself at her disorganisation. typical weasley, i chuckled. i decided to take a leaf out of her book and chucked my extra belongings on the stool beside my bed, throwing my towel down on the floor and pulling an oversized, cream woollen jumper over my bathing suit, which had now dried. i pulled my hair away from the neckline over my shoulder, and curled up in bed.

i glanced around the room again, watch the sea slowly drift in and out onto the beach from the window, as the tide came in as evening was drawing closer. i rolled over, and in the process, the sleeve of my jumper rolled up and exposed my 'mudblood' scar again. it was hideous, i detested it and every memory of malfoy manor that cling to it, i was mortified to look at something that had permanently become part of me. holding back tears, i pulled my sleeve down, tucking my hands under my chin and shutting my eyes. i just want to think of something nice, something different, something new. let me think. let me dream.

and i did dream.

i found myself sitting in the corner of a dark, cold - well, what looked like to be, some kind of apartment in central london. it had cream walls with the paint peeling, and was quite plain. i stood up and began wandering aimlessly around the room - i seemed to be looking for something. or someone. i seemed quite distressed. i proceeded from room to room, rummaging behind the curtains and shelves in search of whatever i needed. then all of a sudden, this awful stabbing pain wrenched through my body, particularly my stomach, bringing me to my knees. a high-pitched ringing, almost like a scream, similar to the one i heard whenever voldemort made the calling for harry to hand himself in during the battle, rang through my ears, making my head ache and pulsate with pain. i tried to cover my ears whilst gripping my stomach with my other hand - the pain was unbearable. i crawled into the corner of the other room and lay there, panting and screaming in pain.

"hermione." a distant, ghostly voice called.

i could hardly open my eyes to see who was calling me, i was sweating and tears blocked my vision as i caught a glance of a shadowy figure standing in the doorway of the room.

"hermione," it kept calling, more repeatedly and aggressively, but it didn't get any louder.

another shot of stabbing, wrenching pain shot through my back and abdomen, as i gripped my stomach so hard i could almost feel my nails digging into the skin. i shut my eyes tightly, shuffling my legs in distress, and the ringing scream in my ears continued, getting louder, until it fell silent, and whimpering cries replaced the screaming. this continued until a white light surrounded me, and i woke up.

my eyes shot wide open as i sobbed and panted for breath, sitting up in my bed and looking around the room frantically. i was sweating, and i didn't know whether to blame that on the thick woollen jumper or the distressing nightmare.

"hermione." a voice echoed from the bedroom door, and i whipped my head around so quick i almost thought my neck snapped.

fred. i couldn't let him see me like this. i whipped the covers off me and stumbled out of bed, onto my feet at first, but falling to my knees and scrambling across the room to the dresser where i directed my wand at fred, still frantically panting for breath. how had i not saw him standing in the doorway? how could i be so stupid?

"hermione, what the hell's wrong?" fred asked in utter confusion, shaking his head and putting his hands up in defence, letting go of the door handle.
"i-i can't, i-" i tried to utter the words which weren't there, i couldn't even begin to explain what had happened.
"hermione-" fred stepped into the room, approaching me with his arms still raised.
"no!" i screamed, sobbing and soon losing all my strength, going weak at the knees and clattering to the floor, curling up into a ball.

i screamed through the sobs, shaking and pulling at my hair and face as my tears ran into the carpet. i soon felt muscular arms enclosing me and pulling me towards him. i glanced up through my matted curls and tears, and saw fred holding me tightly. i just sobbed harder, i couldn't stop, i clung to him as hard as i could, not wanting to let go.

fred's pov.

i didn't know what had happened to her in the little time we'd been apart. she'd been asleep, so she must of had some kind of nightmare. but what kind of sick evil nightmare would evoke a reaction like this? she was truly tortured and distressed, i had never seen her like this, but it's what i could of imagined happened at malfoy manor with bellatrix. or worse. i just grasped her closely and held onto her for dear life, as she did the same. i couldn't leave her like this.

it seemed now that hermione granger, the brightest witch of her age, mightn't have been doing so good on her own, after all.