Lightbringer

5

Hermione/Ginny

Meanwhile, Hermione Granger tortured her best friend Ronald Weasley almost to death. They were in a completely dark room, and he lay whimpering on the floor, his entire face smeared with blood. He writhed in agony under the Crucio curse, screaming his soul out. She loved it. His tortured body twisted from side to side as if the pain was swinging him like a pendulum.

"You're such a crybaby," Hermione remarked as she observed him. Her voice sounded unfamiliar, slightly higher than usual, and cold. The love she once felt for him vanished into thin air.

"It's his weakness, that's why I can't stand him," she continued. "He's a weak, stupid boy who thought he deserved something. 'You're pathetic, Ronald, truly pathetic and disgusting,'" she said, almost losing herself in laughter. It tasted somehow satisfying. Bringing him down and seeing how much pain he was in brought her joy. This may become her new favorite activity.

Suddenly, it happened. The smell of smoke and burning flesh filled her nostrils. Something was burning behind her. Ron was gone. Instead, she found herself in a room full of mirrors. The frames of the mirrors were ablaze, and smoke filled the entire room. Hermione coughed and choked. She tried to use her wand to dispel the smoke, but it burned her eyes. And then she realized she wasn't holding her wand. The smoke cleared, and she saw the malicious eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange. "You'll never escape me, Mudblood!" the witch screamed, and just as she was about to leap out of the mirror, Hermione woke up, drenched in sweat, in her bed in the secret hideout.

She ran her fingers through her tousled curls and tightly shut her eyes. "It's okay, it was just a dream," she murmured softly. Then she got up, took a deep breath, and decided to go to the only window in the secret hideout. She needed to see the moon, needed to see something outside. She would love to go out again, but she only did that when she was ready to attack. "What have I become?" she whispered to herself.

For almost two years now, they had been hiding here, yet Hermione felt like she had been here much longer. The window was in the hallway just a few steps from her room. Carefully, she leaned against the wall and looked outside; no one could see the house. It was under the oath of secrecy, and only those who knew the secrets could unveil it. Hermione sighed. The moon was beautiful, large, round, and bright. It illuminated the field in front of the hideout. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky. Oh, how much she wished to be outside again. Hermione leaned forward cautiously, just a little. She wanted to see just a little bit more.

Then she suddenly heard a faint rustle, footsteps drawing closer. Hermione swiftly turned around. Her shoulders tensed. Attack mode. Her arm with the word "Mudblood" began to itch and burn once again. She clenched her hands into fists and then saw that it was only Ron, with tousled hair, a pale face, and visible dark circles under his eyes in the moonlight, quietly approaching her.

"Hey, Mione." Hearing her former nickname gave her a headache. Mione wasn't her anymore. Not the golden girl who so diligently wanted good grades.

"Hey, Ron," she said softly.

"Can you not sleep either?" he asked hesitantly.

"Not really, I'm lost in thoughts."

Ron nodded slowly and stepped beside her. While Hermione observed him from the side, she realized how much he had changed. He not only smelled different than before, but his entire face had changed. A certain hardness could be seen in his eyes. His cheekbones were higher, his chin more defined, and the beard seemed to age him by five years. His hair now reached his neck again, like it did back in the fourth year. Without a doubt, Ron had grown up, unfortunately not in the way Hermione had always hoped for. She honestly wished to have the funny, chaotic schoolboy back, the one she had fallen in love with back then. But those times were also gone.