Requiem for his soul

Chapter 8

She just stared, time passed by but Hermione simply just stared.

Her dainty hands empty, palms faced towards herself as she looked down on them. The dim candlelight gave an alluring glow to her tanned skin, no longer soft and smooth, but rough and worn out.

She stared

She stared at the ridges and dents where her joints held her fingers to her palm

She stared at the lines horizontally crossing their way through her skin

She stared and stared and stared.

The contract was left discarded on the floor, near the nightstand. The parchment paper crumpled on the sides.

Enough she whispered in her head do not cry

Do. not. cry.

She needed answers, not lies, not false hope, not information she didn't understand, she needed clarity, she needed a sense of direction, and she would get it on her terms, not the terms of Malfoy, or Pansy, or Theo or anyone.

She would not wait till they came to her room and forced her to sign the contract, and she would accept the terms in hopes to get her wand back. To escape.

She would not wait, she would not accept

Slowly Hermione lifted herself off the bed, bending down with an unsteady hand to retrieve what she dropped. Taking one step at a time she walked across the grotesque bedroom, the darkness following alongside her.

The double Victorian door stood its ground in front of her, heavy built with dark mahogany wood and crafted bronze handles, holding deep engravings of various designs. It stood there in mockery, knowing she was weak and powerless, it stood there staring down at her, a force completely impenetrable. She lashed out at the door before, only to bruise her fist but this time she accepted its challenge. Whether it was magically sealed or warded to keep her in, she would leave. Her hand reached towards the handle and Hermione turned it all the way, pushing the door but it didn't budge. It remained locked.

Hermione sighed, lips quivering slightly as she recollected her thoughts and concentrated on her magical pulse, it fluttered vibrantly somewhere inside her veins, too afraid to come out. A simple alohamora was all she needed. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, hands shaking as she spoke out to the darkness, a simple plea.

Please

Before she could manage to pry her eyes open again, the door immediately swung wide open, a gush of dust and air settling on her face. As the desolate silence of the hallway greeted her.

It... Did it work?

All you had to do was ask nicely

She refused to give in to the voice, refused to reply or to understand it. Right now she needed to get out.

The hallway was dimly lit, an eerie atmosphere surrounding the area which warned her not to trust it, the silence goaded her, she didn't have a plan. Only focus and anger. She would find her wand soon enough. Holding a single candle, the flame lighting the way as she began to move, a faint echo rang through her ears with each step.

A few moments passed by and Hermione was lost, except for a small light which illuminated in the far end of the hall, enticing her to enter the room.

Maybe she should?

Before she took another step a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. Immediately she spun on her heel, gripping the candle tightly.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you." He drawled, leaning back against the wall with his legs crossed at the ankle.