Chapter 1: Awakening “You were a sacrifice for the greater good.” He blinked and popped a lemon drop in his mouth, then continued, “I am deeply sorry for what has happened, but you must understand that it had to happen.” The twinkle in his eyes that she had originally thought was genuine compassion, only displayed itself for what it truly was: genuine self-preservation. How he hasn’t been sorted as Slytherin was behind her understanding. Hermione’s body was shaking, I was appalled. “Professor!” She rung out, finally finding her voice. “This..this-what happened wasn’t for the greater good! No one found anything! No one captured anyone! 3 weeks!” She swallowed the lump in my throat, the sting of tears not hindering her voice, “3 whole goddamned weeks. Merlin’s beard, can’t any of you see that it was a terrible plan?” Hermione looked at the faces of the people who she had added to her family. Shocked to see that there was no pity, sympathy, or even regret on their faces. The people she called her friends. The people who avoided Hermione’s eye contact at all costs. “I could’ve told you that if you would’ve informed me before throwing me to the wolves. Considering I was the only one affected! “Do any of you know what I went through locked up with Dolohov?” No one said a word. “Huh? No one?!” Hermione screamed. Her face felt hot; she felt as if no one could hear me. Like no one cared. “Hermione, you must grasp tha-” Dumbledore began. But Hermione wasn’t going to let him downplay her torture as some kind of war tactic. “No!” Voice cracking, she turned to him, “You don’t get to say anything! You weren’t there. You don’t have to feel his hands on you every second of the day. You don’t have to see the dreams I dream. Because you, oh magnificent Dumbledore, were here! Sitting on your ass, while I was out there filthy! Being ruined in every way by a merciless death eater. This was not fair! Why didn’t I get a say in this?” Tears streamed down her cheeks, her eyes burned, and her throat was sore. “Oi, come off of it, Hermione!” Ron yelled, on his feet. His face was red, and his expression angry. “For being the brightest bitch of our age, you’re a bloody idiot.” The surprise was apparent on her face. “Ronald! I could’ve been murdered for no reason!” “Fred didn’t have a say in whether or not he was to die!” Ginny, the only girl best friend she had ever had, shouted. Her eyes held hatred and her stare held no remorse for her dirty, bloody friend. “My parents and Sirius didn’t have a say!” Harry joined. “My brothers’ didn’t have any say!” Molly conformed. Hermione was speechless. Were they really justifying her planned assault because of their lost loved ones? She just didn’t understand. These were her friends, they were supposed to hug Hermione and comfort her. Tell me that she wasn’t ruined like she had felt she was. But they didn’t. They made me her feel worse. The bashing continued. Names rung from their mouths, some familiar, some not. “The Longbottoms!” “Edgar Bones!” “Marta Pentick!” “Edna and Bilius Caratoc!” The list went on and on. Hermione could only look on at her “friends” as they made me feel even more like shit than she already did, Dumbledore sitting back in his chair nonchalantly, popping more lemon drops in his mouth. He had no intention of stopping them. Of comforting her. Of protecting her. “I have no obligation to protect you, Hermione.” He must have been using legilimens. “My only job is to secure the life of Harry Potter and secure the world of magic. You are not on that list.” Hermione was seeing red, and definitely not the rosy kind. The young witch’s heart was hurting and her body was in pain, and all anyone could do was keep kicking her. They kept kicking her while she was down. Most of their screams consisted of words like “selfish”, “bitch”, “know-it-all”, “useless”...... And “mudblood.” The poor girl’s sanity had been holding on by only strings that hoped for relief. Relief through those who she had believed cared about her. Now, the strings have been snapped. The witch brought her wand up, gripping it hard in her hand, and without hesitation, began casting curses and disarming her new opponents. Hermione wasn’t thinking so much about wanting them dead, only wishing for them to understand her pain. “Stupefy!” Ginny fell to the ground with a thump. “Expelliarmus!” Molly’s wand came to my hand. “Conjunctivitis!” Dumbledore stumble around, his eyesight gone, wand on the ground. “Flipendo!” Harry went flying backwards into the cathedral ceilings. The curses began getting worse from there. Hermione didn’t know what she was thinking, she could only think to punish. It was obvious that no one was prepared for her wrath; these usually very talented duelers were clueless as to how to protect themselves. “Furnunculus!” Ron’s face became boiled and blistering. “Incendio!” Dumbledore’s office was set ablaze. The screams got louder as everyone panicked. Everyone but Hermione, that is. After being tortured mercilessly for 3 weeks, she learned from the best. Knew how to inflict scorching agony without so much as a flick of the wrist. Hermione Granger knew just what she was doing. “Immobilis!” Molly went rigid. “Mobilicorpus!” Molly’s body went into the air. Hermione turned her wrist to the right, smashing the matron into the wall. “Mum!” Ron shouted. Harry and Ron looked back to Hermione with fear in their eyes, “Are you mad! Stop this, we’re your friends you bloody bint!” Ron yelled, blood and pus pouring down his face from his bursted boils and warts. Hermione laughed. It was so uncharacteristic, but it felt so good to cackle out at their anxiety and dread. “Are you? Are you, really?!” She had yelled back, furious at their accusation that she was in the wrong. Hermione knee that it wasn’t the best course of action, hexing them. But they had it coming. Hermione expected love and consolence and got degradation. They expected for her to be pushed over easily and she attacked. What did they think was going to happen when they played with a woman’s soul that way? There had been too many unexpected occurrences. So unexpected that Hermione was only going along with her body. She was not choosing to hurt them, her heart was. Hermione’s heart wanted to see them cowering in fear as she had for 3 weeks straight. She wanted them to feel as helpless as she did for 3 weeks straight. Hermione wanted them to feel weak. “Yes, Hermione. Of cour-AHHH!” Harry and Ron both dropped to the ground, twitching. Hermione stood in awe at her actions. She had just crucio’ed her best mates. The only two people who ever were kind to her. ‘But, then again,’ She thought, “Even our friendship was based on them being uncontrollable gits with asshole tendencies. I would’ve never been attacked by that damned troll if they weren’t uncontrollable gits with asshole tendencies. Everything bad that has ever happened to me had something to do with them being involved.” Her mind became rampaged ‘It wasn’t fair. I was nothing but a good friend to them and they were nothing but hazards to me.’ She continued. Hermione just stared at them on the ground, squirming in the excruciating pain the she understood best. She saw movement from her right peripheral. “Expelliarmus!” Dumbledore spelled, pointing his wand at her, his eyes wandering still without sight. “Protego!” His wand flew from his hands, “You’re better than this Dumbledore. Are you not supposed to be the best wizard ever? No wonder Voldemort's winning this war. It’s because you underestimate those around you and you lie like a serpent.” Hermione smirked, happy to see the flicker of bewilderment in his eyes. “Hermione, listen to me, you mus-” “No, you listen to me!” The witch’s voice was booming, then went to a gentle purr, “You planned for my demise. You watched as I was ripped to pieces by those who are meant to be my family.” She looked over to Ron and Harry. The hex had long been taken off, but they were knocked out in exhaustion. “It was for-” “I know! I know! ‘It was for the greater good’.” Hermione shook her head. The red and blues of the fire reflected off of the marble walls and pillars. The men and women in the portraits joined in the screaming as the flames starting licking at their canvases. Ginny and Molly Weasley’s bodies were getting a bit fried. Waving her wand, Hermione brought them back to consciousness. She didn’t want them dead, only hurt. Ms. Granger could hear their chattering and steps in the background, but knew that she would be safe for the next 5 minutes while they assessed Harry and Ron. It was always about Harry and Ron. Sighing, she spoke, “You people say that muggles are cruel? Do you see what you’ve made me become. Do you see what I am doing!” She was shaking a bit, but not in fear, in rage. “You can stop, Hermione. You can make all of this end right now, just...just give me the wand.” Dumbledore’s face was sweaty with the heat of the room. Hermione shook her head, her blood matted hair moving slightly. “Expecto Patronum!” She turned to look at where the sound came from. Harry. He was awake and summoning the Order for back-up. She had to work quick, they were sure to kill her was they saw what had occurred. There was no going back now. Looking back at Dumbledore, Hermione replied to his offer, “No, professor. There’s no going back for me. But I’m going to make sure that there isn’t any going back for you either. Goodbye, professor.” He shook his head rapidly, running at her. “No. No! Hermione, no!” “Avada Kedavra!” The green light shot from her wand and into his chest, his body absorbing it. Then, he plopped onto the hard marble floor. Like the mallet closing a case. The whooshes of Order members arriving moved the air. Hermione looked at Harry in the eye as he now stood in front of her. She didn’t see him coming but he was there staring at her. “Why, Hermione, why?” He begged. As if he didn’t already know. Hermione smiled at him, tears and sorrow gone, only thrill and power coursing through her veins. “It was for the greater good, Harry.” Order members and audits alike were closing in on her, running at her with battle cries. Hermione looked at the faces of her friend’s one last time; a single tear left her left eye as she apparated from the chaos as she realized her fate. She was completely alone.
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