Dark Desires

Chapter 8

It was Ron.

"Hermione, where've you been?" Hermione winced slightly in horror when Ron flung himself around her. His words didn't sound accusing, merely curious. There was a sad undertone, though, and as he now hugged her tightly, his tears came automatically flowing. The rain was still pouring down in buckets around them, and his tears became invisible with the big droplets from the sky. Hermione felt pity for him, yet she couldn't bring herself to answer. She knew that if she stayed here much longer and started talking, Ron would convince her to stay. And she could not accept that. So she freed herself from him in a slightly harsh movement.

"What's wrong, 'Mione?" Ron noticed it instantly and backed away. The brunette wouldn't answer him, but instead turned around and was about to open the metal gates to walk away, when Ron stopped her. She needed to leave this instant. There was a suffocating atmosphere over the whole situation and she had to escape.

"Where are you going?" Ron blocked her escape with his arm, leaning over her. There was something threatening in his eyes now, Hermione saw it as she looked into his face. It reminded her of that evening; she shuddered just thinking about him standing over her, expecting her to give herself freely to him. "I need you, Hermione." His voice was nauseatingly sweet, creeping its way through her ears as he leaned closer to her. She could feel his breath on her cheek, suffocating her through minimal distance. He wanted something, that was obvious. He wanted to kiss her, to use her as a comfort for everything he had been through this evening.

Suddenly, the brunette slammed the gate open, tearing him out of this trance-like state. He jumped surprised away, staring at her as though she'd grown two heads.

"I'm sorry", said Hermione. But she wasn't sorry, and her voice did not embody any of the empathy her words conveyed. And with that, she turned away and began walking hurriedly down the road. The wind had started howling around her, in tune with her beating heart, making the rain whip into her face at a rather uncomfortable pace. A part of her expected him to come running after her, but he didn't. The silence was striking around her and it caused a suddenly overwhelming feeling of loneliness to crash over her.

Where is she? Bellatrix should have stood right there, outside the gates, waiting for her like they agreed. But she didn't. Hermione began to trudge worriedly through the mud, into the treeline by the path. She didn't dare to go far into the woods and stopped as soon as she reached a tall oak tree. Not that she expected it, but the dark-haired witch was not hiding there either. Hermione turned to walk back to the road when someone coughed to her left. She immediately pointed her wand in the direction of the coughing, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. However, she did not need to take use of her magical abilities because the figure stepping out from behind the trunk of the tree was Bellatrix.

"Do I have to die of frostbite, or do you have a plan?" Bellatrix sneered through gritted teeth. She was completely drenched. Her long hair clung to her face and her clothes were soaking wet. A part of Hermione thought she looked like an adorable, drowned kitten and she could not help but smile.

"God, you really do look as though you took part in a diving competition", laughed Hermione (at this, Bellatrix looked as though she could murder the girl, but somehow it only caused more laughter to erupt from Hermione's mouth). She continued in a more serious tone, "And it is exceptionally rare that people actually die from frostbite, you know. They usually die from some complication such as the decay and death of tissue in the body, and in your case, that would be hard to achieve."

"Try me", Bellatrix muttered grumpily. Her death stare was gone now, replaced by a restlessness few could match. Hermione grasped her arm, intending to disapparate with her, when a violent shiver rushed through Bellatrix anew. The brunette laughed.

"Don't worry, you will be warm soon enough", said Hermione heartily, took hold of her arm again and disapparated on the spot. The two shadows vanished into the night with a small 'pop'.