Isolation
Hermione pushed pass the others towards the library. Her face was set in confusion, surprised at Harry�s reaction. What was his problem? He�s been so distant and to himself, it was as if she didn�t even know him anymore.
A year ago, he was plain o� Harry, Harry who had a crush on Cho Chang and gave no glance her way. Now, he�s changed and became someone else that she could not understand. Someone that she knew she can never love.
And he will never love me, she added to herself. It�s been almost three years since she fell deeply for him. The kiss she gave him in their fourth year was only the beginning of a whirlwind of emotions. Besides, he had that new girl. Why would he ever be interested in a plain girl like her?
She shook her head and entered the library, pushing aside her feelings. She didn�t want them, that was for sure. It made her go crazy when she first realized her feelings for him.
Hermione took a seat and took out her notes for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She shuffled through them, searching for a specific page. Earlier that day, Professor Gray, their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had given them an assignment to research about the past of Hogwarts. All she�s found so far from �The Mysteries of Hogwarts� by: Trenton Nomads is that in the early 1300�s, a farm was built not too far from Hogwart�s location.
She stood up to search for a book that she promised to find for Ginny earlier, but ended up bumping into Professor Gray, making him drop all his books. Immediately, she apologized. �Professor Gray, I�m sorry. Truly, I am. I wasn�t watching where I was going and I didn�t��
He cut her off with a warm smile that crinkled his amazingly young face and raised a hand. He bent down and picked his books up. Hermione followed him.
He said, �It�s quite alright, Miss Granger. I should be the one apologizing for I was the one who wasn�t watching where I was going. Are you here to do my research?�
She nodded, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. Never in the two weeks that she�s been there had she realized how handsome he was. Strands of his dark curly hair fell around his face and his mysterious dark eyes seemed to mesmerize her. He looked like he was only twenty instead of whatever age he is at the moment.
�Okay then,� he said after picking up his last book, �I shall be going now. See you in class, Miss Granger.�
Hermione nodded and stared after him when he walked away. While following him with her eyes, she spotted him hesitate before walking out the door. She glanced in the direction that he looked as if he were deciding whether to go or not. Amber Daily from Gryffindor sat with her back turned and desk covered with stacks of books.
* * *
Amber returned the books to their original spots and stuffed her things away. The dream from the previous night replayed itself slowly through her mind as she walked through the corridors towards her common room.
No matter how much she tried to shake them off, they remained like a blood sucking leech.
The time was exactly ten when she reached Gryffindor�s common room. No one was in the common room, only a few students who were still working on their projects.
She ignored them all, making her way towards the girl�s dorms. Halfway up the stairs, someone called her name but she didn�t respond. Her eyelids were already half closed.
�Amber,� they called again.
Slowly and reluctantly, she turned. All she wanted was peace and quiet. Was that too much to ask for? Hermione stood at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes asking a question that Amber wasn�t sure she could answer.
�Yeah?� she answered the girl who wasn�t much younger than her self.
She climbed the stairs until she stood only one step below her. Her long bushy hair, usually down, was up in a ponytail that dangled down to her shoulder blades. �I wanted to ask you, did you speak with professor Gray today? About anything at all?�
Amber shook her head, her brows beginning to furrow. She said, �I went to his class, you saw me there. But I left right after class was dismissed. I headed straight for the library.�
Hermione nodded and smiled. She said, �how far are you along on his assignment? I was in the library too. Looked like you have a lot done.�
She shook her head, thinking to herself that this girl wasn�t bad. Actually, if she gave Hermione a chance, they�d become great friends. But no, she couldn�t. She would only get hurt when the truth comes out and that was the last thing that she needed.
�Not really,� she regarded coldly. �I still have much to do before it�s due. Now if you don�t mind, I�d like to go up to bed now. I�m tired after such a long day of work.�
Hermione looked taken aback, but she replaced it with a neutral face and walked back down the stairs. Amber didn�t like the way she was treating people, but isolating herself from them would be the only way to keep them from hurting her and her from hurting them.
She sighed and went up to bed. Thankfully though, she did not have the dream again.
* * *
The ghostly figure stared at the girl who lay gently on her bed. He sighed and ran a finger over her soft cheeks, desiring to be with her once again.
She sighed and turned over in her bed, obviously having a dream.
A tear ran down his face, but he wiped them away, anger bubbling deep inside of him. How dare they take her away from him like that?
He had made a promise to her not too long after the incident. He had made a promise that he�ll protect her and that she�ll never be alone, but he had broken that promise. No longer, he�ll make sure he keeps it this time. They�ll be together soon enough.
* * *
Harry stared at the breakfast that was thrust into his plate by Hermione. She stared at him with concern, waiting for him to eat it.
He shook his head, taking only a tiny sip from his goblet of juice. She sighed with annoyance and rolled her eyes, returning quickly to her food.
He wasn�t hungry, there was too much he had to do. Last night, he did not go to bed until late in the night. He was up, thinking of ways to get Amber to trust him. She really needed to let down her guard and start trusting someone.
A movement caught his attention and he looked up. Hedwig, his snowy owl flew in from outside and dropped in front of him a very peculiar envelope.
Slowly, he retrieved it and stared at who the addresser was. It was a letter from �Age and Time,� a very popular bookstore in the muggle world.
Harry tucked it in his robe, conscious of the eyes on him. He stood up and left his friends. No one stopped him, only the looks that Hermione gave him made him hesitate for a while.
When safely in his dorm, he pulled out the letter. It read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
Your request for, �Past from Present� has been denied. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but there are no copies Left. If you wish to receive a copy of this, reply back and you Shall obtain a copy as soon as the new ones arrive. Thank-You For turning to �Age and Time.�
He folded the paper and stuffed it into his trunk. He couldn�t wait until the new ones came, but he had to. He needed this book to help him with his research for Professor Gray�s class, and it might even help him with Amber.
Harry didn�t know how he came up with that idea, but it was worth a try. The past is a very disturbing place and it might be the cause to the pain and isolation.
* * *
Amber put away her notes for Herbology. She looked up to find Harry staring at her, curiosity in his extremely green eyes.
He was beginning to get her angry, always trying to get into her business when it simply wasn�t his business to know what�s going on with her.
She sighed and stared at Professor Sprout who was saying something that she heard nothing of. Amber looked back at Harry, but he looked away. She followed his gaze and found Hermione across the room who was oblivious about everything.
When they were allowed to leave, she left without a word to anyone, heading straight for Charms.
In there, she said nothing to anyone. Professor Flitwick stood at the head of them all and he began talking. She only heard half of his speech, the rest she drowned out.
The others began to do what he instructed, but she did nothing. Her mind was too far off. It was only when the boy sitting next to her tap her on the shoulder did she come to.
�What are we doing?� she asked him.
He smiled and held out his wand. �We�re practicing how to get into dreams. Would you like to be my partner?�
She thought about it, knowing he was her only hope. She didn�t know what must be done, so she nodded.
The boy introduced himself as Dean Thomas. He explained to her what she had to do. �First, you have to hold your wand up in the air, like this,� he did it and she imitated him. He nodded and continued, �then you say, �Nibarda,� and the person falls into a deep sleep. But you have to do the swish and flick that we were taught in our first year. Did you learn that?�
She nodded, waiting for him to continue. He smiled and went on. �Just so you know, this could be done while a person is asleep too. You can do everything; just don�t have to put them into a deep sleep. For now, we�re just going to practice the sleeping part.�
Amber jumped in surprise when Professor Flitwick approached their seat. She glared at Dean Thomas who tried to hide a smile. Professor Flitwick said, �I see you two are doing well, but I�d like to see someone asleep. Go on Miss Daily. I�d like to see what you can do.�
She swallowed and turned to Dean. He encouraged her with a warm smile and she took a deep breath. Recalling what Dean just said, she repeated each step carefully.
Her wand was raised up and she did the swish and flick before saying, �Nibarda.� When the steps were done, Dean was asleep, snoring.
Professor Flitwick laughed and gave her a pat on the back, barely able to reach it at his height. She sighed with relief and stared around the class. Half of them were asleep, waiting to be awakened.
She spotted Harry staring at Hermione once again. Amber shook her head, going crazy that none knew of the way the other felt. She noted to herself that she would have to hook them up someday. That is, she thought to herself, if they ever become my friends and never hurt me the way the others did.
It pained her greatly, but she listened to the professor, pushing out the bad thoughts. When he finished she turned back to Dean and muttered, �Adrabin.� Dean�s eyes fluttered open and a smile quickly spread over his face. �You did it, Amber. Wow, that was great.�
Amber smiled at him. Now it was her turn. She dreaded it, yet she could not say no. He would only wander and it would only raise questions. She relaxed and let him perform the spell. She fell into a deep sleep, and she dreamed.
* * *
She was there; he knew she was there. If only he could finish his studies before the Christmas ball, he�d be able to see her.
His younger brother has written him letters about her, although they were brief, he knew it was her. Who else could it be? His brother has described her the best he could, even had his smart friend described her in the most ways possible. It was her; it has to be her. Because if it wasn�t, then the girl in his visions was in greater danger than he thought.
Naomi, the girl sitting next to him grabbed him around the neck and pulled him closer to her. She pouted her lips and asked, �What�s wrong?�
He only shook his head, turning from her. She didn�t like that; she took hold of his chin and turned him back to face her. Her long lashes blinked rapidly and she forced on her most innocent countenance. �Tell me, maybe I can help you.�
She grabbed his hands and ran it down her slim body, knowing that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. He went in closer, ready to kiss her, but the vision of the girl in danger made him jerked back.
Naomi gasped in surprise and stared at him coldly. �I�m tired of this. You�re always pushing me aside now. Why are you doing this?�
He shook his head and pushed her aside. �This is none of your business, Naomi. I�m too busy to fool around with you. Leave why don�t you?�
Her face filled with hurt, but he didn�t know what else to do. His kindness would only bring her back and he didn�t need anyone to love at the moment. Most of his time will be spent trying to find this girl and save her before she ends the world with her death.
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Author's Note: Please review and tell me what you think.
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