Visions and Prophesies

Visions and Prophesies: The Nightmare Begins

    Hermione remembered little pieces of things. She remembered telling Harry to leave her alone. She remembered going to the common room, but for some reason not staying there. She remembered wandering the halls of Hogwarts... then she remembered nothing. Nothing until she awoke in a dark, dank dungeon, bound to a wall and gagged. She could hear footsteps out in the hallway, coming closer to where she was. Too weak to care, she didn't look up when the door to the cell swung open.

"Tell me the prophesy."

The sound of that voice made her head snap up, smashing painfully against the stone of the wall behind her. The surprise written on her face quickly vanished and was replaced with a look of defiance. Hermione was book smart, but she was also no coward. Others cringed at the name of Voldemort, some at the memory, but Hermione was a Gryffindor at heart. Brave, Strong, Loyal...

"Have it your way. CRUCIO!"

The pain of thousands of knives tore at her body, not only the outside, but inside as well. It felt as if her heart, lungs, and all other internal organs were being shredded to pieces. After what felt like millions of years, the curse was lifted.

Tell me the prophesy girl."

Hermione once again refused and once again felt the pain of the Cruciatus Curse. She was protecting Harry and Ron. She would not give... even if it meant death for her.

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    All afternoon Harry kept an eye out for Hermione, but when Charms, Potions and lunch passed with no sign of her, he became frantic. While everyone was congregating in the Common Room, he tool a walk to the Headmaster's office. Standing in front of the stone gargoyle, Harry wracked his brain for the password.

"Lemondrops?"

"Cockroach Clusters?"

"Chocolate Frogs?"

"Twix?"

The gargoyle sprang aside and Harry ran up the moving stairs to the door of the office. He raised his fist to knock at the door, but before he could, it swung open. Professor Dumbledore stood in the doorway looking deeply disturbed.

"Harry, I think you should come in."

Harry stepped into the office and looked around. Fawkes looked close to a burning day, and the office was immaculate as always. Sitting down, the boy looked at the headmaster in curiosity and concern.

"I know why you are here Mr. Potter. It's about Ms. Granger. I think you should read this."'

The old man passed a roll of parchment across the desk and settled back in his chair.

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    Sarin sat in her room staring at the wall but not seeing it. To anyone that walked in, it would seem that she was daydreaming... but she was having another vision. The same girl was sitting, battered and weary, upon the cold stone floor of some long forgotten room. Standing to the girl's right was a figure... a man. He had hair that was slicked back and a sneer upon his face. He moved slowly closer to the girl on the floor and grabbed a handful of her hair. With the other hand he delivered a slap so sharp, it reverberated in the room.

"Little mudblood filth. Worthless waste of flesh and talent."

The voice was oily and hissed the venom out as words.

"A Prefect. A laugh if you ask my opinion. And to top it all off, as if being a mudblood wasn't horrible enough, you had to be an ugly piece of mudblood filth."

The girl whimpered in pain as his grip on her hair intensified.

"Hermione Granger. My son's tormentor, best friend of my enemy, love of the Boy-Who-Lived... Ugly trash is what you are. Nothing more and soon Potter will take his blinders off and see that you are a truly abhorrent sight and he will leave you... if the Dark Lord does not get to him first."

Tears leaked from the girl's eyes as his words hit her harder than he ever could with his fists. He spoke every one of her fears aloud, making her wonder if perhaps he spoke the truth. Some part of her struggled to hold on to the truth. She loved Harry, so he just had to love her in return, right? He said he did, little gestures showed others that he did, so it had to be true.

"YOU LIE!!"

The scream was ripped from deep inside as her captor released her hair from his grip and she slumped to the floor, sobbing. She knew she shouldn't believe it, but somehow, for some reason, she did.

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    Sarin snapped out of the trance, her breathing hard and uneven. Granger. The girl who's parents had died a year earlier... the deaths of whom Sarin had seen. Now that she really thought about it, she remembered seeing the girl talking to Harry Potter and to Ron Weasley. She had shared a room with Sarin and Ginny before term started last summer.

"Oh my God. It was her!"

Grabbing her cloak from the side wall, Sarin tore from the dormitory and down the stairs to the Common Room. She didn't stop running when Toby called out to her, or when Ginny made a grab to stop her. She knew her face was wild with fear and recognition, but she HAD to tell someone about it. Not just anyone, but the Headmaster, or Professor McGonagall...or Harry Potter himself. Once outside of the portrait she composed herself.

"I can't very well go up to Harry and say 'Harry, I think I've been having a vision about your friend being tortured. Thought you should know. Have a great day!' Bloody hell he'll think I've gone completely nutters! I just have to tell Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall I guess. Whichever I see first."

With that she began running down the corridor. As she turned the corner, she collided with someone warm, tall, and very solid, then fell backwards onto the floor.