Shattered Glass

Chapter Three: A Shattered Mind
(Author's note I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.)

Lucius looked up at the sky, the bird was circling in the air clearly looking for something, or perhaps someone. He had a great deal of experience with the bird, seeing as how he was the one who bought it for his son. The animal did not take to anyone but Draco. It nipped at everyone who it had to sent a letter to. What was she searching for? ... It was impossible. Draco couldn't possibly be alive, that would mean... Lucius had bread a traitor. What a waste of seventeen years of cultivating a mirror image of himself. He looked over at Bellatrix who was still teasing him ruthlessly about how he had let the girl slip out of his fingers. He scowled at her. This evening was going to be a bad one indeed. Unless... the discovery of a traitor in their midst would greatly overshadow the escape of a girl. Especially if... if it was revealed that his son was working with the infamous Harry Potter. He reached into his pocket retrieving a silver pocket watch. It was nearly nine thirty in the morning. “Bellatrix,” Lucius said clearly annoyed “I believe your nephew is the one that saved that animal from us.” He said making sure to not claim him as his son. Bellatrix deliberately stopped laughing.

“What?”She asked clearly confused, looking around as if he, Draco, would be in the bushes, holding the dirty blooded girl in his arms.

“Look there.” Lucius said calmly pointing at the circling animal. Realization had dawned across her crazed features.

“You bread a blood traitor.” She sneered. Laughing once again.

“That is not yet certain, we must go to his grave. Perhaps that wasn't his body.” Fury and disappointment screamed inside of him. How could Draco do this to him, suicide was bad enough. Could he really have produced a boy who would do this? Save a no good dirty mudblood from death? Was it possible? He could not be sure until he checked the body. If it had not decayed then... it would be true. Lucius made the point to himself that if it came down to that he would hunt down his 'son' personally and kill him. Another question entered his mind, who had helped him. Though his son was cunning and smarter than any boy his age, he couldn't have come up with it all by himself. “Narcissa.” He whispered so only he could hear himself. A mother would do anything to save her son.

***


There was a small almost inaudible pop.

Harry and Ron landed with a thud in a random place in the woods; probably the first sight they stayed, neither of them knew, and neither of them knew who had apperated. They just knew they had to leave. If Harry didn't listen... They were just trying to get away, so that way if... neither of them wanted to think it, but both knew the other was. If... if Hermione, they're dear friend for more than six years was dead... then she would not have died in vain. Ron, doing as she instructed reluctant slipped the golden chain off of his neck, handing it to Harry. Harry did not take it and watched as it fell to the ground beneath them. “She said...” Ron's voice broke off, part of him seemed to be dying, he loved that girl, and he never even got to say it. Ron dropped to his knees grief overcoming his body. He began to cry uncontrollably. “Hermione... You can't be. Please...” He kept saying over and over again never able to finish a sentence.

Harry fell too doing something similar but not quite as extream. The horcrux lay between them as both of them lamented for their fallen friend. There was no way that she could have outran them, and knowing Hermione, she didn't apperate for fear of them grabbing a hold of her and fallowing. “Ron.” He wheezed out between sobs of loss. “We have to stick together now... she would have wanted it. I'm so... so sorry...” he inhaled sharply before he could finish. Ron unable to form any other words merely nodded, as he banged his fists into the soil. Harry clutched his heart, he had witnessed someone close to him die before, his beloved Uncle Sirius, but he could not and did not dare imagine what would happen if one of his two best friends had died. In robotic motions Harry stood still crying and began to put up protective spells. If they were going to weep, they needed protection.

Hermione was dead.

Neither of them knew what to do without her.

***


Vaguely, very faintly, and almost not at all she felt something soft underneath her. In some distant place she heard voices. None of that mattered right now. The only thing that did was escaping. The cloud she was sure she was laying on was very comfortable. Heaven was nice, or maybe it was hell? Either way she could give less of a damn. She felt a cool breeze roll across her. It felt funny, and strangely painful. Funny her fingertips wouldn't move, neither would her toes. Funny but odd. Somewhere in a half remembered dream she remembered screaming, for help. Why had she done that? Then there was running, so much running. Pain, pain pain, and someone yelling something funny at her, it couldn't have been a spell could it? Suddenly she was reliving it. Lucius, Bellatrix... and more. All of them were after her. And then, they caught her. Beat her. Hermione winced as she remembered it all. “Help!” she screamed. Not realizing that it wasn't happening to her anymore. Still it did not matter, her entire body was remembering it, was hurting lit up in searing intense pain that not only she couldn't comprehend, but couldn't stop. She felt herself stiffen once more and her movements go rigid, distorted and strange. She felt herself cry out is immense pulsating pain.

No, no, she mustn’t remember that. Not ever. She felt herself curl into a ball and watched as her mind shattered, willing the bad memories away. Far, far away, into a tomb that her mind had created just for them, to be locked up for all eternity. What she didn't realize is she was locking away much more than she should. She was locking away everything that had happened to her, the only thing she left was herself. Hermione became a person who didn't know how they had gotten where they came to. She'd even forgot her name. What use was a name anyway when you were trying and succeeding in forgetting your own life.

One of the only thing she remembered was someones icy cold blue stare looking down at her with clear panic in them. There was sadness beneath those mystery eyes, and much confusion. Why were they confused. Surely with such beautiful blue eyes, they couldn't be confused, could they? Hermione opened her brown eyes not sure of who she was, she knew a few things, she knew spells, and bits of knowledge, but she knew nothing about her self. Who was she? Then she recognized something, it sounded like someone was sobbing.

In the corner of the room there was a mass of bloody fabric, that Hermione noted to herself to forget, whomever was bleeding on it must have been hurt badly. There was a sling on her arm, and when she stood and walked she had a pronounced limp, it hurt to walk. She felt like she was bruised all over. She wondered wearily what had happened to her. But before she got to far on that thought there was a sharp pain in her left temple, staggering and placing her good hand on her head she abandoned the thought. She looked over at the mirror, she was wearing flannel plaid Pajamas, her eye was puffy and she had blotches of purple and black etched across her face and down her neck. She shrugged and took a reluctant step forward. “Ouch.” She said softly not trying to draw attention in her direction. She started toward the door, and opened it slowly. It creaked, trying to tell someone she was awake. She almost but not quite jumped back. No one was rushing toward her to help her, so she assumed she was okay.

”Lupin and Tonks left the room after an hour, they looked as though they were about to kill him, but Tonks, grasping her pregnant belly saw the state that Draco was clearly in. “Remus.” She stated calmly, a minuet amount of disbelief in her voice, she didn't actually believe what she was about to say. “He clearly wasn't in on this, he's visibly shaken by it all.” Draco didn't look up as the walked away into the other room so that he was sure they could keep a close eye on him. In Hermione's room he could hear her screaming like she was going through it all again; and it all likelihood she was, the Cruciatus curse tended to do that to people. Draco sat on the bathroom floor for what seemed like forever. There was so much he was thinking, most of it things he never thought he would think. Though 'She' was a mudblood, that kind of violence clearly was not needed. He ran his fingers through his untidy hair hanging in his face, still sobbing, not sure why. No matter what Draco had found out about his father he had never been able to see that man as a monster. Draco felt dirty, he had helped one of them, that made him as a good a a Weasley. Were the Weasley's so bad? Of course they were. They were blood traitors. True, true indeed that Draco was as good as mudblood, or a blood traitor, but that didn't mean he was one.

Draco looked up at the sound of rustling fabric. His hatred of mudbloods came undone, but only slightly. Standing just feet in front of him was Hermione, with a concerned look on her face. One of her eyes was swollen, and purple, her right cheek, and half of her face was bruised deeply, down the middle of her bottom lip there was a split that was still a little bloody. Her right arm was in a sling, she was limping her left leg clearly stiff. Up and down her arms there were bruises, as well as her neck. She looked like she had been through hell and back; she had, he knew that her entire body was probably covered in bruises. And then she spoke, his heart gave a lurch, her voice was almost lost and raspy. “Where am I?” she asked softly.

Lupin was immediately around the corner, Draco did not move, He could merely stare at the girl that was gored by his father. There was something off about her, she had not hissed in distaste toward him yet, though he deserved it. “You're at Tonk's parents house.” Hermione looked down at the floor looking uncomfortable and confused.

“Oh.” She said softly. “Who am I?” she asked her face looking absolutely lost, her voice sounding pathetic. There was a heavy silence that fallowed her question. She had been cursed by Bellatrix after all. Lupin's face looked horrified, then enraged.

“You don't remember?” He asked his voice on edge, slowly his body was revolving toward Draco. Draco would be blamed for this; and he knew it. And he knew he deserved it.

“No. I don't really remember any thing.” She said not noticing Remus turning slowly toward Draco, hostility in his features, Hermione didn't recognize that however. Just then she noticed something. Those icy blue eyes that she remembered, one of the only things she remembered, were looking straight at her. “You!” she said with excitement, bouncing slightly, her voice cracking.

Lupin took it as fear. “Was he the one who did this to you?!” he demanded. Tonks rounding the corner, heavily pregnant. She walked behind Lupin observing the situation.

“No, no, I don't think so at least.” She looked him over, Draco looked utterly miserable, there were tears streaking mid way down his face, they had stopped by now, but his eyes were red, and his nose was runny. This is what upset looked like. She looked a him as if trying to remember and decide something. She looked him in the eye, there was the sadness, confusion and now fear. As Draco watched her watching him he wondered what she was seeing that he didn't, she had the look of a predator as she took step by step closer to him. Her eyes scrutinizing every part of him. Her feet making faint creaks on the floor, he thought about her pouncing on him like a great cat. Their eye contact did not break until she was less than a foot from him and looking into his eyes. “I think he helped me.” She said after what seemed like a life time, her voice low, blinking and looking up at Lupin, Draco nodded not taking his gaze off of Hermione. She reached with her left arm toward the toilet paper wadding it up. Gently she dabbed at Draco's face. Draco was to stunned and bewildered to move away or call her an insult. Which was strange, normally he would have slapped her, for even trying to touch him. He concluded that it was just his shock from all the blood. “So who am I?” she asked again still tending to Draco.

Lupin looked utterly aghast, and before he answered he shook his head snapping himself out of a daze. “Your name is Hermione Granger.” He said in a flat tone. His worst fears had come true, her mind was gone. They were Lucky, she remembered how to talk, and move, so Hermione wasn't completely lost. If he could He would have sent a patronus to Harry, but the house was being watched.

Hermione smiled. “I have a pretty name!” She exclaimed a tad bit to childishly. She looked to her left and tossed the wad of paper in the basket then looked quickly back at Draco. “Who are you?” she asked happily. Draco took a sideways glance at the two standing in the hall pleading in his eyes. This was the last thing he needed, more sympathy toward a mudblood.

Draco was lucky Tonks saw the look on his face and she stepped in front of Lupin. “You do have a VERY Pretty Name Hermione!” She said matching the lost girls enthusiasm. Lupin looked down at his eccentric wife gratitude streaking across his features for neutralizing the situation. “That young man over there next to you is Draco, he's my Cousin.” Hermione looked absolutely enthused. “Why don't you go with Remus,” she placed her had on Remus's chest, “and he'll show you around the place.” Lupin nodded and paraded a fake smile, Hermione wouldn't know the difference. Hermione stood up and walked after Lupin who took a lighter tone with Hermione.

“Here we have the kitchen!” They could hear Lupin saying. “We have all sorts of goods in here like strawberries.”

Hermione giggled, then asked in all seriousness. “Do I like strawberries?” Her almost lost voice echoing in the kitchen slightly. Lupin didn't respond for a moment.

“I'm not sure.” He said sounding unsteady.

Tonks stifled a laugh then looked down at Draco, her expression went cross. “What happened? Why aren't you with your father? Oh, that's right you're dead. Are you on the run Mr. Pure blood? What does You-Know-Who have you up to this time?” Her tone had darkened and so did her facial features. Draco stood his full height, which was a full head taller than the woman in front of him.

“I'll have you know Nymphadora, that I had nothing to do with that girls attack I only, and ONLY saw it happen, If you would rather her died, well, that’s too bad I saved her. 'He-Who-Must-Not be named' was going to have me killed, yeah, you know months ago when the minister was killed, that was supposed to be me. If I had it my way I would be with my father. Not here with you that werewolf and a stupid mudblood-” He was cut off before he could continue, Tonks had slapped him full across the face.

“Do not, ever, use that work in this house.” She stated completely calm. Draco turned on his heels to leave.

“Draco! Come try these strawberries! They are absolutely wonderful.” Cried Hermione. Draco stopped looking down at the floor. On one hand, he wouldn't have to live out of a tent, at least until the girl regained her memory. Which was still a plus. He'd have food, water, comfort. It all added up. But on the other, He would be living with three people he considered under him. Surprisingly he chose the first option. He would only have to put up with the girl for a while.

Draco walked slowly into the kitchen.

***


Lucius infuriated, apperated to his supposedly dead sons grave, where he found his wife grieving over his tomb stone. Lucius took out his wand glaring at the woman. He was lucky that he never loved her otherwise this would be harder. Narcissa hardly noticed, she just continued to look sorrowfully at her sons tomb stone, occasionally dabbing her face. “I thought you would have figured it out sooner.” She said her voice not wavering even in the slightest.

“Are you telling me Narcissa, that he's alive?” He demanded his tone vicious. She simply nodded, still looking at the grave stone like her son was actually was dead. Lucius felt his anger flare, how could she do this to him? Right when he was about to rise to power? “Why!” he demanded, spit flying out of his mouth. His wand dropping to his side.

“You carelessly threw his life around Lucius, I couldn't let you do that anymore. He was my son, he wasn't ever yours.” the words hardly affected Lucius, it was partly true after all. Lucius only wanted another of himself.

“It was not your right-”

“It was not my right!? Hah, It was, It was my EVERY right! I love him! I could NOT let him die in the hands of a leader who cares not for those who support him. It was my right, it was my duty, and Lucius, It was to my pleasure. Once Voldemort finds out that you missed the fact that Draco's body was actually a chair, who knows what he'll do to you. Hopefully he'll kill you, maybe send you to Azkaban... it would be fitting.” She screamed sounding hysterical.

“He'll go after you, before he goes after me, you helped him escape.” He said confidently.

“Not if Bellatrix tells him it was all your idea. Which, Lucius, I have told her that. She believes me.” Narcissa stated then looked at the tomb stone sorrowfully once more .

“Why? He's probably helping Potter.”

“I hope he is.” Lucius looked startled. She wanted Potter to win?

There was a small pop then standing beside her sister was Bellatrix. “Ello' there Lucius, having a fine day? Cissy figured out your plan, well her and I did. He is going to kill you, worthless man you always were.” She said casually looking down at her finger nails. “Good bye Lucius. Stupefy.” Bellatrix said pointing her want right at his face. Lord Voldemort would not be very pleased. Not at all. And with that the two sisters took him to their master. Lucius's fate was sealed.

***

She looked around, her piercing brown eyes cautious. If she was to be caught she would be punished harshly. There had to be a way out of the castle. There just had to be. Ginny walked down the corridors silently, dodging everything that moved by hiding in corners. She had on a back pack full of what little money she had, as well as clothes. Deep down she felt somewhat guilty. True she had promised her older brother Ron that she wouldn't try and leave, but she got the very abrupt thought a few days ago that she needed to help Harry, in some way. Hogwarts was hardly worth coming to anymore so what was the point? Just as she walked by the wall where the room was she distinctly thought “I need a way out.” And then a door appeared. She smiled. Ginny was quite cunning; and in that moment she knew she was.