Things Change

Prologue

"Harry? Harry!" Hermione called his name over and over again, but there was no reply. She was starting to panic and it's now been over an hour since she last saw him. Over an hour since he gave her some excuse about going to help Ginny. She had a bad feeling about it and her suspicions were only getting worse as time moved forward.

No, he wouldn't just give himself up after all we've done. Telling herself that was the only way to feel better.

A flash of red light in front of her and hit a boy she didn't recognize. She was abruptly pulled from her thoughts and felt the need to help her schoolmates. She glanced in the direction the light had came from and saw Bellatrix standing across the corridor with a satisfied grin plastered on her face. Before she could pull her wand up, Bellatrix was quick with another spell.

"Avada Kedavra!"

This one was directed at Hermione and she managed to dodge the curse by a couple of centimeters. She fell to the ground and focused on the coldness of the marble floor while she gathered her bearings. She didn't want to admit it, but she thought about giving up. She couldn't hide the tears that were rolling down her face as she struggled to breathe.

"Hermione! Hermione," she heard someone calling her name. "Over here!"

She frantically picked her head up to assess her surrounding. Ron was calling out to her over the chaos. Hermione felt a flutter in her chest as she saw his familiar face. After ensuring that Bellatrix's attention was elsewhere for the moment, she pushed herself of the ground. With a newfound will to fight, she reminded herself of why she's needed.

Ron. The others.

The moment of relief was only that. Just a moment, short lived. The second she turned her head to see if Bellatrix was paying them any attention, she was deflecting curse after curse. Most of them were darks spells she didn't recognize or know the counter curse for. Instead, she relied on protection and deflection. Hermione tried not to panic as she felt Bellatrix taking the upper hand. Normally, Hermione's wand skills would have been superior but she was feeling the exhaustion.

Ron seemed to notice this and tried to help Hermione by sending hexes towards Bellatrix. It was no secret that Ron wasn't as gifted, but his efforts were proving to be a great distraction. Enough to give Hermione some openings to fire back. Hermione managed to hit her with a mild stinging hex, but it wasn't enough to stop Bellatrix's retaliation. Hermione registered the words before the spell hit her with full force.

"Crucio!"

The pain was more than she could handle. She could feel each of her muscles spasming and her brain rattling around in her skull. It took all of her willpower not to rip her skin off. Hermione didn't have much of a choice when she laid down on the ground and a scream of pure agony ripped its way out of her body. 

Although her vision was blurry from the pain and tears, she saw Ron rushing to her side. Through gritted teeth, she tried to tell him No, keep fighting, but the words weren't coming out. He dropped down beside her and tried his best to break the curse. Bellatrix's hold was tight. Each step she took closer, the pain intensified.

"Hermione," he placed a hand on her head. "It's going to be okay"

She could hear the concern in his voice. Unable to respond while her body seized, she laid limp as the curse wreaked havoc on her body. Her eyes were filled with tears and she could taste the metallic tang in her mouth from biting her tongue. Suddenly, she felt the claws of the curse start to recede. From what she could see, it seemed as though Ron had charged Bellatrix and was trying to disarm her.

Without having to give it much thought, Hermione knew this was bad. She knew Ron wouldn't be able to take Bellatrix down. Even though the effects of the curse were starting to wear off, she couldn't move. It felt like her limbs had been filled with lead and each movement only reminded her of the pain she had just experienced.