only you

chapter 3 - the teacher

The ground was made of compressed dirt, hard, dry and long travelled. This narrow path spanned what seemed to be miles ahead into the dark forbidden forest, with great shadowed trees looming, their gnarled branches reaching down to snatch her. Hermione was hopelessly lost, after wandering for an hour or more down these paths, praying that she wouldn't meet any of the numerous dangerous creatures that owned the woods. She knew she was searching for something, and doing so fervently, but every time she tried to recall what it was, her mind went blank.

Finally, she saw it through the misty fog that rose from the ground, about fifty feet ahead. A repeated flash of electric green light accompanied with cries of horror that she needed to silence. Hermione knew what was coming, that this was the part where she broke off into a run and dashed toward the epicentre of this sound. So, she did, and began sprinting toward the flash in the distance that strobed like lightning whipping through the air. Closer and closer she came, and louder and louder became the screams and cries for her name. She felt her bare feet slapping the hard ground, her arms and legs cut and stinging from the nettles and trees that whipped her as ran toward the green light.

As she grew nearer, her vision too became clearer, as the fog dissipated with her proximity and the green light flashed and flashed. She stood at the clearing, now dark as pitch. The light had stopped and although she was blind in the darkness, Hermione swallowed at the thought of what waited at her feet. It was dead silent, save from her burdened breath. She was not alone, despite the oppressive silence. She knew she was too late to stop the green light's destruction, and just on time to receive her punishment.

"Finally, together again, my love."

The voice was sickly sweet and sharpened by poison, piercing the silence. She knew she should say something, a quip or insult or anything to repel the growing feelings of dread consuming her. But she didn't dare, for fear it would make what was to come worse. What was the point when there was no way to escape it?

Yet something disturbed Hermione's mind, as she caught another misty figure standing at the edge of the clearing. It was impossible to make out who it was from their large black cloak, but whoever the person was oozed a sense of malice and was an unwelcome addition to the usual dreaded scene.

Despite the change, the outcome was the same.

"Avada kedavra!"

The shout was accompanied with a terrible green light and in that moment, the bodies of Hermione's loved ones at her feet were illuminated by it, revealing the clearing to be encircled by Draco, Ron, Harry, Ginny and everyone she had ever loved. Even those who had been long dead were present, heightening the tragedy by seeming as if they had almost been resurrected and cut down again. The sight accosted Hermione's eyes for only for a moment, and then she felt her body fall to the ground, and allowing herself to join the fallen.

She jolted. A sense of dread filled her. Trembling, she unclenched her palms and dared to stretch them out to feel for the bodies beside her. Her fingers connected with silk and velvet. Hermione opened her eyes and was comforted by the familiar sight of the Ravenclaw dorm and Draco sleeping soundly in the adjacent four poster bed with only his platinum hair visible from the blue velvet covers.

She snatched her watch from her bedside and blearily discerned the time from its face, lit only by the moonlight peeking through the curtains. Four in the morning, far too early to get up and start preparing for the day. She couldn't bear the thought of returning to the terrible dream that appeared before her eyes every time she slept. It haunted her, and after the past couple weeks of its presence, the misty clearing even seemed to appear behind her eyes even when they drooped in Professor Binns' class.