Hermione awoke in her bed gasping for breath. 'Oh good,' she thought relieved, 'it was just a dream.'
She recalled the horrific dream. She had seen Voldemort while heading out from the library.
"Where is Harry Potter?" he had demanded.
"I would never tell you!" Hermione had yelled back at him.
"Silly girl," he spoke icily.
He had performed the Cruciatus Curse on her until she woke up. Voldemort laughed the entire time as she went through the excruciating pain that she was experiencing. He had enjoyed seeing her twitch from the pain she had felt.
Hermione shivered involuntarily. It was almost like she could feel the curse in the dream. It was a nightmare, she decided.
She decided it was time to get moving, as she saw the clock read 7:54 AM. She looked in the mirror just to be sure she was fine.
'Yep,' Hermione thought, 'I still have my bushy hair, and no cuts, scrapes or bruises. It was definitely a nightmare.'
Hermione didn’t want to bother to shower, for she was still recovering from her nightmare, she didn’t change clothes, and just left her hair wild. She had fallen asleep in her school robes and she just hoped that she didn’t look (or smell) too horrible.
Hermione went into the Great Hall, and saw Harry and Ron looking sorrowful. "Guys? Are you okay?" Hermione asked, very concerned.
Ron looked directly at her and replied, "It's almost like I can hear her."
Harry said, "I know what you mean. It's almost like I can feel her presence in here."
Hermione looked at them, hurt. "Are you still mad at me, just for not letting you copy my essay? If it is, then you two are going way too far."
The two boys just looked down at their food and ignored her. Hermione didn't feel hungry anymore. She stormed out of the Great Hall to go to the library before Transfiguration. She scanned through the books and finally decided on a thick charms book. She reached to get it, but her hand went through it.
‘What?’ Hermione thought, ‘Be logical, Hermione. It's probably just jinxed.’
A small voice in the back of her head said, 'Then why isn't it in the Restricted section'
‘Because,’ she reasoned with the voice in her head, ‘it's a prank by a student.’
Pleased that she silenced the voice that gave her doubts, she picked a completely different book on the other side of the library. Again she reached for it, but couldn't touch it.
'It's you, not the books,' the voice persisted.
Hermione retorted, ‘The spell must have been cast on the whole library.’
The voice laughed. But Hermione didn't have time to argue with herself, seeing as Transfiguration was starting in five minutes.
Hermione ran down the halls so she wouldn't be late. As she sprinted, she hoped not to run into any teachers, or Peeves. She was lucky for the former, but not the latter. As she spotted Peeves, Hermione looked around frantically for another route, but found none. Much to her surprise, Peeves just flew by, taking no notice of Hermione. She didn't have time to ponder why he didn't notice her for she had less than a minute to get to class. She started running again, but the bell rang about a minute before she could get there. Hermione walked into the open classroom door, gasping for breath. No one looked at her, not even Professor McGonagall.
Hermione didn't care that she wasn't noticed by the teacher, and started with an excuse, "I'm so sorry I'm late, Professor. I ran into Peeves, and you know how he is."
Professor McGonagall didn't seem to notice, so Hermione took an empty seat up front. The professor continued on with the lesson, which was about Animagi. "Now, as you all know, I am an Animagus. Can anyone tell me one of the requirements of becoming an Animagus?"
Hermione's hand shot up in the air, as usual, while everyone else's was down. Professor McGonagall scanned the room. She started to lecture the class. "All of you will be taking your NEWTS next year!! You should at least be able to tell me that you have to register at the Ministry of Magic to become an Animagus!"
Hermione looked at the Professor in dismay. Professor McGonagall completely ignored her. She would never do that. The only one to ever do that was Snape. Why wasn't anyone even acknowledging her existence?
"Why is everyone ignoring me?!?!" Hermione screamed as loud as she could, but no one even looked at her. She started crying. "Can't you see me?" she asked, this time much quieter.
She stormed out of the room. She was so angry and upset, she forgot to open the door. She walked right through it. Hermione did notice this. She stopped immediately, with half of her body in the classroom, the other half out.
"Am I a ghost?" Hermione wondered aloud. "I can't be, though, otherwise everyone would see me. What happened to me?"
Immediately getting an idea, she ran to the Hospital Wing. Upon entering, she saw Draco Malfoy sleeping. She remembered yesterdays' game. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Of course Gryffindor won, but Malfoy was close to catching the Snitch. When he realized he couldn't get it, he tried to shove Harry, but Harry had prepared for this and put in an extra burst of speed. Malfoy had fallen off his broom and acquired a few injuries. Luckily for him, they weren't too severe because the Snitch was just ten feet from the ground.
Suddenly he woke up. He turned to Hermione and asked, "What are you doing here, Mudblood?"
Hermione stared at him, wide-eyed, and asked, "You can see me?"
A bewildered Malfoy answered, "Duh! You've been hanging around Weasel-boy way too long."
Madame Pomfrey poked her head inside. "Good, you're up. I was starting to worry that your head injury was more serious than I thought."
Madame Pomfrey came in with a potion and walked right through Hermione. It was Malfoy's turn to stare wide-eyed. He started mumbling, "But she... how... can't be... no... what?"
Madame Pomfrey asked in concern, "What are you talking about, deary?"
"Never mind," Malfoy mumbled quickly.
Madame Pomfrey still looked a little worried. She watched him drink the potion in one gulp, make a disgusted face, and handed her the vial.
Madame Pomfrey informed Malfoy, "I'm going to keep you in here until tomorrow morning, so I can be sure you're fine." With that, she left the room, walking through Hermione again.
Hermione suddenly remembered her real reason for being here. She looked around and saw some closed curtains. Hermione looked at it with dread. She slowly walked over, Malfoy watching in amusement. She stuck her head in and gasped. "Why do I always have to be right?" she moaned. Malfoy stared at her, confused.
"What are you blabbering on about?" he asked, in a harsh manner. Only he could make a question seem like an insult.
"If you really want to know," she spat, "then go look behind these curtains!" She pointed to the curtains. She really hated Draco Malfoy. Why did he have to be the only one who could see her?
Malfoy got up, a bit slowly. He was still in a little pain, and trudged slowly over to the curtains. He pulled them open and his eyes became the size of dinner plates.
Malfoy began stuttering in shock. "But... but... how... you're there... what... how did that happen?"
Hermione looked over at her body, covered in cuts and bruises, lying in the hospital bed. 'At least I'm alive,' she thought.
Then a sudden realization dawned over her. "The dream was real," Hermione whispered so quietly that Malfoy, who was only a foot away from Hermione, could barely hear her.
The Only One Who Could See Her by Kattelena Riana
Chapter Notes: A big thanks to my beta, kathyhermy123!
Disclaimer:J.K. Rowlings characters. Based on Just Like Heaven.