2nd October, 1998

Hermione's sleep-muddled brain dimly registered the streak of light that broke into her otherwise dark room. The door closed slowly and soundlessly, blocking out the light and plunging it in darkness once again.

She heard footsteps approaching her and sat upright, her hand flying towards her wand, a reflex reaction by now.

"It's me, Hermione," Ginny's soft voice cut across the silence and Hermione inhaled sharply.

"Shit, Ginny. I could have attacked you," Hermione breathed, lowering her wand as she pulled the chain of her bedside lamp, illuminating the room in an orangish glow.

Ginny's hair was sleep-ruffled and her eyes were bloodshot, dried tear streaks on her cheeks.

Hermione opened her arms and Ginny gave a broken sob before jumping on the bed and crawling towards her. Hermione wrapped her arms around her friend, cocooning her in as if wanting to protect her from the outside world by this naive action.

Hermione pulled down the sleeve of her bandaged arm, thankful that Ginny hadn't noticed it.

"What happened?" she asked, smoothing down her hair.

"Stu... stupid nightmare," Ginny said in between sobs.

"It's okay, love. You're safe. Your family and Harry are safe back at the Burrow," Hermione whispered against her hair, rubbing soothing circles against her back.

She allowed Ginny to cry her heart out, stroking her hair and whispering soothing words to her.

She finally pulled back, looking at Hermione with watery eyes.

"I'm so scared, 'mione," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"I know. I'm scared too," Hermione admitted.

"The war won't ever leave us alone, will it?" she questioned and Hermione felt a familiar dread wash over her, McGonagall's words repeating in her head.

"It'll get better with time, Gin," she whispered. Ginny still looked miserable but nodded.

"I wrote them a letter but of course, I won't be getting any reply at this hour."

"We could send them a patronus," Hermione offered but Ginny shook her head.

"I don't want to disturb them. I'm sorry for disturbing you but I didn't know what to do."

"Shut up, Gin" Hermione smiled, pretending to sound reprimanding. "You can always come to me. You know that, right?"

Ginny nodded, pulling Hermione in another hug.

"Now, do you want some dreamless sleep or maybe some sleeping draught?" Hermione asked.

"A little bit of both?"

Hermione laughed, nodding her head as she leaned down against the side of her bed and opened the drawer of her side table.

She handed the two vials to Ginny who drowned them immediately

Hermione pulled the chain on the lamp, drowning her room in darkness once again.

"Come here," she whispered and Ginny curled next to her, her leg straddling Hermione's stomach, her nose buried in the crook of Hermione's neck.

Hermione continued to stroke her hair. Her fingers ached to reach for another vial of dreamless sleep but she resisted the urge. She knew she would get addicted and then it would be constant headaches and throwing up if she was denied the tasteless liquid.

Ginny was soon snoring peacefully next to her and Hermione tried to summon sleep but it wouldn't come.

So, she let her mind wander. It went back to the forest on the outskirts of Australia, the two men following her from the bar she'd gone into disguised as a muggle woman that came there once a week.

She didn't know how the men found out Hermione wasn't who she was pretending to be but they had quietly followed her. Hermione had known as soon as she had left the bar so she had deviated from the route she had intended to take, instead leading them further and further into the outgrowth of trees.

They had realized what Hermione was doing and a duel had broken out. Hermione was outnumbered. Four to one. She had stunned the two of them but she had been overpowered so she had run for cover in the wild.

She remembered how the dormant beast in the darkest corner of her mind has awakened with the drunk's words.

She had tried to push it back, she had tried to fight it but it was too strong. It had taken over Hermione's mind and her body. It had forced her to do its bidding but she couldn't put all the blame on it.

It was her demon after all.

The most horrifying part of her encounter was that she didn't regret anything. Instead, she was filled with a sick sort of satisfaction.

What did that make her? She wasn't any better than the Death Eaters, abusing her powers, and hurting people just because she could.

She once used to be kind. She had mercy to spare and then more. She was ready to find light in the worst of people but now?

What had happened to that girl?

The war had killed her.

She wondered what Harry and Ron would think of her if they ever found out what had been going on in her head. The violent, dangerous thoughts.

She wondered if this beast inside her would turn her into something she had always fought against.

She wondered if it would continue feeding on her light and goodness and shreds of hope until Hermione had nothing to give.

What would she do then?

Hermione hadn't realized that she had started crying somewhere along her mental spiral. She wiped the tears with the back of her sleeve and closed her eyes, listening to Ginny's soft breaths, trying to ground herself.

She wouldn't be corrupted. She would fight.

That night she dreamed of herself in the darkness. She tried to see, turning her head sideways. A strip of light lit up to her right, then left and then it continued until she was standing in a circle of people, their wands raised to illuminate their faces.

They all had similar masks. Death Eater masks.

Hermione touched her face and felt the cold material of that hideous mask on her face as well. She screamed but no sound came out. She tried to claw the mask away from her face but her hands were suddenly stuck to her sides.

Then the scene shifted and she saw the man from Australia withering on the ground. Hermione hovered above him, useless as a ghost. She shifted her position to see who held the wand at the man's chest and she came face to face with her own self.

The other Hermione had the Death Eater mask strapped to her forearm and her mouth was curled upwards in that cold, monstrous smile she'd seen on Bellatrix when she had been torturing her.

Hermione woke up with a gasp, her body thrashing around. Thankfully, Ginny had rolled over to the other end of the bed sometime in the night.

Hermione looked out the window to her right and was disappointed to see that it was still dark.

Word count: [1,163 words]