Growing Wings

You're the song that writes a story

But leaves a lot to read

The closest thing to perfect

But the farthest thing from me

Growing Wings
~~

That night...

Hermione opened her eyes. Eyes darting around, she felt around her bedside table for her watch. She grabbed it, squinting at it. 4:36? Not even 3 hours... She heaved over to the side of her bed, careful not to wake her roommates with the creaks of her canopy bed. They already questioned her when she first went to bed, and Lavendar, being the nosy girl she is, had to interrogate Hermione about her whereabouts. She eventually told them, and after about 20 minutes of squeals and awe, they finally let her sleep. She wasn't sure where she wanted to go, considering she was out in the common room just a couple hours ago. She stood up and looked around the room. It was really quiet, with just the sounds of the wind outside. She liked it at this time of night, where she could just sit around and think about whatever she wanted. She walked over to the window and took a seat. She looked out at the moon, which, for some reason tonight, seemed to glisten.

Tonight, of all the nights...she smiled to herself. She put her elbow on her knees and rested her cheek on her hand. No, the moons not shining brightly tonight, I've just finally opened my eyes... She yawned openmouthed. She definitely had something on her mind: Martha.

Why hadn't her parents told her? What were they afraid of? The only thing she got out of thinking she was a muggleborn witch was the daily taunting received from Malfoy. She didn't know how she was going to react to her "parents" when she went home for the summer, but she knew their relationship wasn't going to be the same. Hell, I might not see them again. She knew she was going to go find this Martha and bring her back into her life. That is, if she was in her life before. I don't even know what this woman is like, and it's just a stupid assumption anyways. She felt a little tear well up in her eye, but forcefully held it in. No, not now, not tonight, not anymore, I promise. She needed answers, and she needed them fast. If she didn't get them she would explode.

She closed her eyes and took in a couple of deep breaths, pinching herself to make sure she was awake. With no avail to that, she promptly fell asleep; she had done a lot of emotional business that night.

~~

She was sitting on the moon. No, it only looked like the moon. From where she was sitting it only looked like it. There was a black sky out and barely any stars out. She had her wings outstretched, but when she turned around to look at them, she couldn't see them. She could sense them, but not feel them. She stood up, almost mindlessly, closed her eyes, and all of a sudden, jumped off her moon. She realized she was falling down when she opened her eyes, but the fear was building up in her throat and she couldn't scream. She was getting closer and closer to the ground, and closed her eyes in fright, hoping she'd wake up before she'd hit the ground. But instead of hitting the ground, she landed on it like cotton. She stepped on the ground again to make sure it was firm, and released her tension. She figured out where she was, the Hogwarts Lake. The place where she and Harry shared so many infamous talks here. She smiled and walked along, when she spotted a sitting figure ahead of her. She quickened her pace, but the person kept moving further away. She outstretched her arms, but slowly her dream turned dark. Her world was shaking violently, and she could faintly hear someone calling her name.

~~

"Hermione?"

Harry shook her shoulders a little more, when she came to and opened her eyes.

"Hmmm? Harry? What are you doing in here?" She looked around and saw that she had fell asleep in the same spot she'd been thinking on last night.

"Waking you up. You missed breakfast and I was wondering where you were."

"I missed breakfast?" Harry nodded.

"I could only bring you a muffin, Snape caught me with food and ordered me to put it back," he said, showing her the muffin he escaped from Snape with.

She laughed and accepted it, ripping the top off.

"Thanks, Harry."

He kissed the top of her head, and offered his hand. She took it and stood up. She shooed Harry out of her room and she quickly got dressed. She walked out of her room fussing with her hair, and hurrying over to the Potions dungeon. She didn't want to get Harry into more trouble with Snape.

~~

Hermione walked out of the dungeons and up to the Great Hall, thankful she didn't upset Snape and get points taken away. She made a quick stop to the library to return her book, then headed towards her destination. She reached the massive doors to the Great Hall and walked over to the Gryffindor table where Harry and Ron already were. She was about to take her seat when a stinging pain shot up through her back. She winced and arched her back, making Harry and Ron give her a puzzled look.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked as he stood up. She sucked in air through her teeth before screwing her face up in agony. This time, Ron stood up. Hermione now doubled over, but her face told the other 2 that she was still in pain. Harry held out his hand, not knowing what to do, and she grasped onto it, almost making Harry jump. They were both turning frantic as the pain in her face increased.

"Go get Dumbledore!" Harry nearly shrieked at Ron, who ran off.

"Harry... Get ... Nurse... Hurry!!" Hermione said through clenched teeth. She gripped his hand harder and stooped down on her knees. She held herself up on all fours and still sucked in sharp breaths. What the hell is going on? Harry looked around and saw the whole Hall looking at him and Hermione. Everyone seemed to be whispering, and a few teachers were rushing over and conjuring stretchers (more than needed). Dumbledore came into the Hall with Ron not far behind him, as he walked quickly towards the crumpled figure that was Hermione. She was grabbing anything in her reach, as if squeezing them would make the pain go away. Suddenly her vision began to blur, everything was fading, and the last thing she saw was Martha in her minds eye.