Hermione found herself in the middle of a dirt road. The waxing moon overhead washing everything in a soft silver glow. Not that she could see much of it at present. Her eyes had shut tight in a desperate attempt to keep herself from losing control.

Her body let out a deep soul rending shudder, no longer able to contain the pain inside. Her legs failed her first, sending her down onto the dirt beneath. Deep sobs, that nearly shook her heart out of her chest, wracked her frame as she let out what could no longer be contained. She braced herself against the travel-worn stones as her cries threatened the very life inside her.

Had she really seen what she knew she saw? There was no way to deny it. No way to twist it into something less painful. It was all her fault. She'd let her fear hide her feelings, force her into trying to do something she could never have done. Lost memories aside, there was enough of her left to know, that it was wrong. He had made his choice, but she—had given him hope.

Her body continued its way down unable to bring in enough air to sustain the cries that would have torn even the strongest warrior asunder. It was the call of a soul-shattering. The weight of emotions that held no name. The sound of a world that would never look bright again.

Where could she possibly go? What could she possibly do? She had nothing, she had no one to call her own. She couldn't run to Harry and tell him, the was shame too great. It had never been a bother before, she was sure, so why did it hurt so much now? Who was she? Easily replaced by another, there was nothing that this world needed from her. She merely a survivor. One of many. She was broken. Her brilliance, gone. Her mind uselessly fluttering in and out of the spaces of memories too disorganized to make any sense.

She didn't know how long she cried, only that she couldn't stop. It was as painful as it was cleansing. All this time forcing herself to try and feel something that wasn't there. Trying to pretend that her life was something that it wasn't. All of it falling away. She lifted her head with all the strength she had left, looking out to where she had gone. She hadn't known what had happened only that the orb on her chest had taken her somewhere.

Some part of her had hoped that it would have been the answer to all her questions but that part of her heart wasn't available. The unknown was slowly taking over and she knew she had to get up. The stone on her chest was casting a soft red glow against the darkness and she believed that it would take her where she needed to be. With tears and sobs still shaking her frame, she found the last of her resolve.

A borrowed strength taken from someplace else brought her slowly back to her feet. She didn't recognize where she had gone. Only that it felt farther away than she had ever been. The wind was cool against her skin and the air, what she could take in of it, felt clean. The fear of the unknown was bringing a numbing feeling to everything she had just let go and she found herself moving forward without a compass.

oOo

Severus lowered himself down silently onto the balcony. The night and his disillusionment charm keeping him completely obscured. He could feel the turmoil in the air but he couldn't feel her. He had been sure he'd seen her come into the building. She wasn't hard to miss in the dress she had been wearing. Even in the dark, she had shone more beautifully than the North Star. Not that he would have admitted that to himself.

His eyes turned to the boy who sat on his bed with his head in his hands. He could feel many things even through the barrier that held them apart and knew instantly that he had done something. Something irrecoverable. His eyes narrowed and he raised his wand.

The Imperio curse left his lips with ease. Dancing in the dark had never been a moral quandary for him. The thirst for knowledge had no boundaries to him. It was all one balance of power. It was the Wizard who made the spell what it was, not the magic itself.

When the boy's head turned to the door, he wasn't gentle. His power tore through him without conscience. He tore through everything. Every day that he had spent with Hermione over the summer, all his lecherous thoughts. He wasn't surprised that his activity tonight wasn't his first time. In fact, he seemed to have made quite a habit of it over the summer.

Severus felt sick. The guilt and shame of his fear that had kept him away falling down. He would never have left her behind if he had known. The boy was barely able to restrain himself. It was a miracle Hermione had been safe at all from him.

He would have thought the nightmare he had given him would have put a damper on his lust but it had only twisted his fantasies. Though he hadn't yet acted upon them Severus knew that the boy was working his way towards it. He had act. He couldn't allow this boy anymore favors.

oOo

Hermione pulled Snape's cloak tighter around her trembling frame. Her gut-wrenching sobs had eased leaving her tears to run silently. The darkness was so absolute, not a single city light to be found in any direction. The moon provided only enough light to see the dirt road that seemed to stretch on infinitely in front of her.

The orb had dimmed to a slow pulse that seemed to be slowing down the further she went. She was sure she'd chosen the correct direction but the desolate roadside was starting to worry her. It was starting to become more narrow. She had felt the wards falling down around her when she'd moved forward, strong protections that would have prevented any sort of magical travel. She could have turned back but her heart had pushed her forward. The fields that had been open and ready for harvest were growing into darkened thick trees.

Hermione looked up into the small canopy that was growing over the road when the softest smell wafted through the air. Her eyes closed as she tried to identify the smell when a soft thump sounded behind her nearly making her jump straight out of her skin. She spun on her heel turning her wand light behind her.

There was no one there. A soft noise lowered her eyes down to the gravel path and her eyes widened slowly. An apple? "Lumos Maxima." Hermione squinted against the light coming out from her wand and took a hesitant step closer. Her heart thumped just a bit faster when she leaned down to take a better look. It was. It was an apple. She came back to her feet turning her head around. It was impossible to see anything clearly in the darkness but as she was unable to know for sure what manner of magical creature may be lurking she decided that casting out a light might not be the best choice.

She sniffled softly and wiped a tear absently from her cheek and canceled her spell. Instead, she chose to adjust her perception of the world around her. Her brain was starting to clear the more focused on her task she became. The pain inside her was pushed down deep, something she'd have to deal with at a later time. Her main concern now, were the dark clouds moving overhead and the heavy amount of wards that she was only now starting to become aware of.

"Come on...think...what was the spell?" Hermione sniffled again closing her eyes as she tried to think. It was like trying to wade through waist-deep mud but at least her brain was starting to turn at all. She pulled the cloak back around her and canceled her light spell before taking a deep breath. She could do this, she just had to focus. "Ah...yes..." Her back straightened and she took a slow breath. "Ibis oculis."

The world came into sharp shades of grey. She could see for miles. Every single leaf on every tree in crystal clear focus. She tucked her wand into the pocket inside the cloak and wrapped it tighter around her. The charm she'd cast on the tail to keep it from dragging had faded away and the full weight of it was starting to weigh her down. As much effort as it took her to keep moving with the added weight, there was no way she was going to part with it now. She gathered up the sides in her fist and continued forward, her eyes scanning the road ahead.

There was a small bend in the road that she was coming to and she could start to see two divergent paths. The sharp focus was giving her a mild headache but she pushed it aside. There was a small signpost, old and broken. She glanced down to the orb still pulsing on her chest to see if she was still going the right way, she was but she'd have to choose. Left or Right. She glanced back from which she'd come, the grove of trees obscuring most of the path she'd taken from the small rise.

Her steps became warier as she made her way further up the small rise. Neither direction held any clues as to which one she should choose. The signpost was worn by years of neglect leaving all but the first three letters of one sign even visible. She ran her fingers through the groove left behind trying to decipher what it could possibly say. "Ba...Bai?" Hermione let out a soft sigh and a small sniffle letting her hand fall down to her side. She looked between the split paths before down at the orb still glowing dimly around her neck. A small idea sparked in her otherwise scattered thoughts and she reached up to take the small charm into her fingers.

"Point me..." The liquid inside the charm shifted and for a brief moment it did nothing, Hermione was about to release back down before a small thin line suddenly shot out from within. Her eyes widened with surprise as it pointed her to the left, the line fading out somewhere beyond the next rise. She didn't know where it would lead her, or rather she didn't want to hope that the small voice in the very back of her mind was right. With only a fleeting glance to the path to the right, she shifted her stance to take the left.

She walked on, just as before, a seemingly endless road cloaked in darkness stretched ahead of her. The moon had gone out, leaving her only with her modified vision to lead her way. She was walking into trees, thicker and taller than before. She glanced up to one that hung over the path and found it to be laden with fruit as the other had been.

The path was becoming more narrow, as though she were no longer walking on a road but rather a small path through the woods. Her perception spell was starting to fade out when she saw just the smallest of lights. A dim burning flame encased in dirty glass. The bend in the path made it hard to discern what it was but she kept her eyes focused on it. The spell from the orb still led her through, twisting around the bend as she walked.

Using it as her guide, she continued forward with more confidence. Her emotional upheaval was starting to take its toll on her body but she still had enough energy to keep moving. The thrill of the unknown taking precedence over everything else that had tried to take her under. While the thoughts were still there, she was able to keep her head above their dark waters well enough to remain on task.

Hermione tilted her head as the post became clear, the light flickered as though to greet her as she came to stand beside it. She felt a wall of magic more powerful than she had ever felt. The light from the orb pointed straight through it, and she was sure that it would take her through. A deep breath steeled her fear and a hand around the stone eased her worry. She closed her eyes as she crossed the invisible boundary only to reopen to the sight of a village hidden in the trees.

oOo

Severus looked down at the boy bleeding at his feet. Curled with his hands desperately clutched between his legs as the blood ran from his ears and eyes into the white carpet below. He had wanted to kill him, but a new plan had taken over. He wanted him to suffer, needed him to suffer for what he'd done. He knew of no greater punishment than the one he had been dealt. The boy would live, but it wouldn't truly be a life worth having.

Ron turned his eyes up through blood-filled tears that ran down his face, his eyes trying to see the demon who had done this to him. It was impossible. Their face, their body shrouded in a thick black smoke as though they had risen up from the pits of hell itself. He had nothing left to say, his pleas, his cries for mercy had fallen on deaf ears. His mind was completely ravaged. Every memory, every hope, every dream, twisted and turned against him. The pain he felt between his legs made no comparison.

Severus turned slowly on his heel to leave the way he'd come, it wouldn't do well to linger. As much as he wanted to see the boy's pain he had to find her. He had to go to her. When she had needed him most, he had been gone. He had done nothing, he had trusted her to do what was needed but had left her without the tools to which to complete the task. He knew she as capable, in her right mind but she hadn't been there in a very long time. The regret over the later had stayed with him every night since. It had possibly been the biggest mistake he had ever made. He knew if she had known, she would never be so eager to find him, or rather, he wouldn't survive the encounter. As it was, he would welcome whatever she had to give him at this point. He just hoped it would hurt.

oOo

Hermione stood in awe at the quiet village standing before her. The main street leading to something dark looming in the distance. She could tell that the path she had taken hadn't led her to the town's entrance, rather a side street between two rows of small modest ancient looking houses. No more than three on either side. The light that had led her through disappeared into the village center, a large broken fountain that had surely looked amazing in its original design.

The air around her felt different, less oppressing and dare she say: welcoming. A deep breath centered her courage and she pulled the cloak tighter around her waist. She could hear the small shuffle of feet up ahead and her heart started to beat a little faster. The village reminded her a little of Hogsmeade in its design, though the writing over one of the doors appeared to be in a language she couldn't readily identify. The orb that had been leading her directly to the town center dissolved when it hit its mark on one of the gems still remaining along the side of the fountain. Hermione was curious before two voices startled her heart nearly out of her chest. A bright light from an opened door on the house at the end of the street and spurred her to take cover.

"See you tomorrow Angus, tell the boys to bring by their crop and we'll get to sorting it for sale."

"Will do. Have a good evening Shan."

Hermione quickly pressed herself against a wall in between two buildings. She held her heart as she listened to the sound of whoever it had been walking away and the sound of an aged door being pushed back into its frame. She had almost believed that the town had been abandoned but clearly, she was mistaken.

As the street went quiet again she pulled herself from around the edge of the building. There didn't appear to be anyone else out, and as she made her way towards the fountain she was able to partially see something looming like a mountain in the distance. The wide main road took two paths, one down into a deep forest while the other led into the darkness.

Go to the inn.

Hermione whipped her head behind her when a whispered voice filled her inner mind. She could have sworn someone had spoken directly into her heart. Like a voice from on high. Unidentifiable, but there. Her hand closed over the orb on her chest as she tried to take in enough air to still her racing heart. She was scared, but not terrified. She looked through the dark streets but found no one or anything about. Then, as though guided by an unseen hand, she felt herself turning back towards the center of the village.

Her feet moved slowly, looking at every shadow before her eyes saw the sign. Barely lit by the only lamppost that seemed to be used in the entire town, the letters INN standing boldly against the white weather-stained wood. She had gone this far, why should she stop now? The orb clearly meant for her to be there and she was sure it had been given to her by him. Was he here? All this time?

Another look around the quiet streets and she was moving again. Her heart was thumping so loud in her chest and her head was starting to follow suit. Another sniffle and a wipe to her eye steadied her trembling frame. Her fingers were sore from having been clenched so tightly in the fabric that kept her melded with the night. The voice came again, just as soft, just as faint. Her eyes darted to the sides but still found no one there. A slow breath left her parted lips as she turned towards the building standing on the corner.

The door opened with ease, a golden warmth of light making her wince. The few people who had taken to having their dinner there that evening turned their heads slowly with curious faces. They looked like nothing more than kind, hard-working people. A couple, possibly in their forties, and a man sitting alone at the bar. Hermione lowered her eyes and slowly moved from the doorway unsure of exactly what to do, then all the people turned their heads in unison when a large barrel-chested man with a long greying beard came from a side door. He was carrying a plate of food with him, a soft smile on his face.

"A visitor, we don't get many of those. Do make yourself comfortable." He motioned to the booth that was closest to her before continuing on towards the man at the bar. The people who had paused in their meals at her entrance slowly turned back towards their own tables. Hermione whispered a soft polite Thank you, before moving towards the table he'd motioned to.

She watched the man serve the other at the bar before starting to make his way over to her. She offered him a weak and nervous smile that became more relaxed as he took a seat down in front of the table to help seem less intimidating. It did ease her somewhat though she still felt a bit lost in what she should do. It wasn't that she hadn't been in an inn before, rather that she was in an unfamiliar place, with people she didn't know after having her heart ripped out of her chest by someone whom she was supposed to be able to trust with her life. It was simply, a lot to process.

Reglan had only taken a small glance at the traveler that had come through the door. He was a curious man by nature, and when it had been revealed to be a beautiful young woman he could hardly contain the feeling. The cloak that she held herself in looked three sizes too large for her small frame only adding mystery to her sudden appearance. The make-up that had been washed away by her tears was another indication to him that he should tread gently. He knew the wards would keep her safe from any muggle traveler but the darkness was deep inside the woods and he didn't want to scare her back into them.

"My names Reglan, though most call me Reg. This is my inn, you are welcome to stay and eat here. I'm sure you've noticed by now that one does simply leave here at night." Reglan gave her a kind smile when her eyes rose from the table. A fatherly figure to many he knew he had a sense of calm around even those he'd never met. "Does a beauty like you have a name?"

"Her-Hermione..." She didn't offer her last name but he hadn't offered his either. She had to admit that his presence was somewhat calming though it was only serving to make her body feel heavier. "Wh-Where am I?"