Harry Potter 1. Night Terrors

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't even own the idea for this story! The idea is Hotkat144 and I thank her for allowing others to use her creative ideas!**

**Night Terrors**

_**Nightmare**_

Darkness had fallen and all were resting comfortably in their homes except for one lone home. Screams tore through the house, causing it to tremble with the agony of the shrieks. The chaos reigned in a dimly lit room where men in dark robes and masks loomed over two terrified muggles, inflicting unfathomable pain upon their fragile bodies. Cries filled the room from a young, helpless witch being held back to watch the gruesome affects of the unheard spells. Tears streamed down her face as she watched her parent being murdered. Everything seemed to blur as she was released and fell to the ground, captured by pain. The pain never stopped and soon all coherency fled her mind and her sanity slowly started to slip away. Torment was her world now.

_**Hell**_

A young, dark-haired wizard stood in the raging light of a house ablaze with flames. His mind was racing yet stood still. His heart drummed faster yet stopped. All sound were deafening, he heard silence.

Eventually his muscles broke free from the ice of fear and despair and burst into the flames of panic, anger, and _need_ as he sprinted towards the house and crashed through the door.

Death Eaters roamed about the house, through the flames. They looked like the very demons of Hell. The scarred young wizard paid no attention to them as something unseen pulled him through the house, up the stairs, and to a closed door. With a desperate wave of his wand, the door flew open and everything slowed to a stop. His terrified eyes met those of a ghost. His lungs were crushed and his heart was torn out and stolen.

Rage flashed through him. As he turned to the Demons in the room, he caught sight of the bodies of muggles he remembered seeing on occasion. Time sped up and ire consumed him. The flames that engulfed the room raged with him. He bellowed curse after curse at Death Eaters, blocking those aimed at him. As his thrashing continued, he paid less attention to protecting himself and was hit with many curses. cut, burned, thrust back; he kept going, showing no sign of being affected.

Suddenly his arms were restrained and his thrashing repressed. Order members flooded in and took over the dueling and capturing of the Death Eaters.

Breaking free from the grasp of his old teacher, he ran to the trembling young witch on the floor. He pulled her into his bloody arms and embraced her tightly, letting a few tears escape. He began to rock back and forth, weeping and mumbling.

"'Mione. No. 'Mione. Not you, 'Mione. 'Mione."

He heard none of the screams, the cries, the curses. He merely heard his own grieving...and a strangled whisper. His name. No matter how distorted the voice was, he would always be able to tell to whom the voice belonged. With this knowledge, he choked back his sobs and peered down into the ghostly eyes. Though he now saw a spark of life. That spark was enough for him to spring to his feet, hauling her up in his arms, and race out of the burning house and to the safety of the opposite street.

Fatigue caused him to fall to his knees and set her on the ground. Physical and mental exhaustion clouded his vision in darkness and he fell forward onto his hands, panting. He needed to remain conscious to protect her. He was losing the battle as his fingers dug into the ground. _No. _He shook his head and a pain shot through him. "No. I need...to..."

He fell. The feeling of failure and helplessness closed about him as the darkness finally ripped his mind from the world of wakefulness.

**A/N: Well there's the beginning. I hope you enjoyed it. Review and let me know! **

**The following chapters with be done a bit differently then this one.**


	2. Phantasmal Bane

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor the idea for this story which was thought of by Readerforlife(used to be Hotkat144)**

**A/N: I realize that the previous chapter was extremely confusing but I meant it to be that way. I wanted it to have that sense of confusion you have as you dream(no, it wasn't all just a dream) These following chapter will be a lot more understandable, I promise! ...though you may still have questions.**

**Phantasmal Bane**

_**Havoc**_

Harry awoke and felt as if his whole body was throbbing in pain. He opened his eyes and was thankful it was dark out since the faint light given off from the moon was enough to burn his eyes and spark a headache causing him to close his eyes.

Groaning, he tried to understand why he was in pain. As the memories flooded him, his eyes flew open.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed in a hoarse voice.

He immediately sat upright and tried to stand up, numb to the pain.

"Mr. Potter! You cannot get up!" a feminine voice cried from somewhere to his right.

"Where's Hermione!?" he ignored the plea as he struggled to his feet.

Two hands gripped his arms and gently forced him to sit back down.

"Miss Granger is here. It was strongly suggested that we keep her in the same room as you. Now sit!"

The knowledge eased him yet spurred him on. His eyes flew about the room in a frenzy, searching for her. He only saw a blur.

"Where are my glasses?" he asked urgently.

"Calm down, Mr. Potter. Here they are."

Suddenly an old, portly nurse came into view as the nurse returned to him his glasses. His eyes were once again in a frenzy until they fell upon the sleeping form of Hermione on a bed on the opposite side of the room. In a second, Harry was on his feet, out of the woman's grasp, and at Hermione's side. He braced himself on the bed with one hand while the other held Hermione's.

"Please, Mr. Potter, you mustn't be up! You're not fully healed!" She had her hand on his shoulder and back trying to lead him away but he would not budge.

Harry had no thought other than Hermione but he felt the hands leave and then felt something nudge his legs accompanied with a stern "Sit." He let his weak legs give way and he collapsed in the chair thankfully, never taking his eyes off Hermione.

He watched her for what could've been, and probably was, hours. His held felt heavy as he struggled to keep his eyes on Hermione but eventually rested his head on the bed beside her.

_**Phantom**_

Harry's consciousness seeped back into him as he felt something warm and soft caressing his hair. He hesitantly opened an eye to see that it was still dark out. He moved his head to face the other direction to see Hermione with her back resting against the headboard, gazing at something he knew he couldn't see. Her eyes drifted to his at the movement of her hand down his face to cover his ear slightly.

"Hey," he croaked softly.

"Hey," she whispered, nearly inaudible.

Her fingers continued to caress the hair above his ear as she gazed at him awhile, though soon turned her gaze away from him again. He remained still, watching her as he enjoyed her caresses, until he fully woke up and had enough sense to realize that she was the one in need of caresses. He slowly sat up, resisting the urge to stretch his back and neck, and Hermione's eyes were once again upon him at the loss of warmth on her hand. He smiled softly and moved closer as he reached for her forlorn hand and looked into her eyes. It looked as though he were looking through a ghost with a mere glimpse of life latent deep within. Though as he stroked her hair behind her ear, he saw the phantom slip; and as he grazed the back of his fingers down her cheek, it was gone, revealing the part of her soul still struggling on. He couldn't help but smile at the sight and soon he felt his eyes sting with joyous tears as they washed away his fears of never seeing her again. He felt her hand brush away the tear he hadn't known he had shed as he relished the sight of her eyes. As he noticed that she portrayed no emotion in her expression, his brow furrowed slightly. He was about to say something, what he didn't know, when she traced the crease in his forehead. Her eyes, which had been following her hand's movements since she dried his tears, finally met his again. Her hand slipped from his forehead to the hand that held hers.

Her eyes shone bright and spoke the words her mouth couldn't form. He held back a gasp and the urge to crush her with his embrace as he read her. However, she reached out and grasped the front of his shirt tightly with desperate hands and drew him to her as her body shook with the storm that raged within her. He wrapped his arms around her as he allowed himself to shed a few more tears out of the many that fought for freedom. His silent tears cascaded down into Hermione's hair as she continued to tremble. He sought a way to console the girl-woman in his arms but found himself feeling utterly useless.

A soft knock sounded at the door and the portly nurse appeared and hurried to the door. Harry watched as the nurse opened the door to reveal two redheads. He quickly turned his head away and dried his tears. Hermione pulled away from him slightly to peer over his shoulder before quickly and gently retreating back to the head of the bed, pulling her knees to her chest. Harry watched with a strange feeling of emptiness as his arms hung open. He noticed that her eyes were dry, no sign of weeping, and he realized that she _hadn't _been crying. A touch to his shirt where her face had been buried moments before confirmed his realization as he felt no dampness.

His attention was drawn to the sound of approaching footsteps and a hand gripping his shoulder, whether it was offering comfort or trying to gain comfort he couldn't tell. Harry looked up to see the worried face of his best male-friend gazing at their mutual friend with his sister, doing the same, at his side.

Ron cleared his throat. Silence. The grip on Harry's shoulder tightened as Ron began to speak, sounding as though he were strangled.

"H-How...are you...Hermione?"

No response.

Harry looked back to Hermione and felt his spine freeze as he saw the returned phantom. The ghost shielded all signs of herself as she gazed off out the window. No matter how horrific the sight was for Harry, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. The sharp edges of the shell she portrayed tore through his heart and he felt as though a part of his own soul was locked inside with her.

A slight jerk of his shoulder pulled his eyes from _her_ to the nervous forms of his friends.

"I don't think she...wants us here, Harry," Ron whispered. "I-we, well, from the looks of you we figure she wasn't like this with you...so we'll leave; give her some more time." He then raised his voice slightly and turned his eyes to Hermione. "We're here, Hermione. Don't forget us."

With a final squeeze of Harry's shoulder, the two siblings shared a worried glance before leaving. Harry sat nodding slightly to Ron's whispers as if in a slight daze, turning his eyes back to _her._

He hadn't heard the door close but Hermione must've since she looked to him, a weakness shone in her eyes that nearly crippled him. Dull wisps of the phantom remained. His own eyes burned with inquiry and worry.

'Why?' his eyes seemed to ask.

'I can't. I just can't,' was her eye's response.

He saw her crying on the inside causing a pain to overtake him. Why couldn't she cry? Why couldn't she let her tears wet her eyes, cheeks, his shoulder? He nearly grabbed his heart in agony but refused to, forcing himself to continue to gaze into her dry eyes.

She didn't move but she was reaching for him with her eyes; a plea he didn't miss. Slowly and quietly, he moved onto the bed beside Hermione and cautiously opened his arms to her, wrapping them around her as she leaned into him. Her trembles rattled his heart and her desperate grasp frightened him out of his mind. His hold on her tightened as if trying to hide her from everything, protect her from everything; as if trying to pull her pain into himself.

He tried to forget the phantom, tried to banish all memories and simply held onto her as if she were the only thing left of the world. He _needed_ her to stay and refused to ponder the phantom and the pain. Nothing else mattered. Hermione needed to be saved.

**A/N: I finally sat down and finished this chapter! I hope this one makes more sense, though knowing my mind it's not much better. Many details will be cleared up as I go but if something doesn't click just ask me about it. **

**The whole '_her_' thing was Harry basically naming the "phantom Hermione" and will show up a lot more.**

**Also, I've been having a title then separate titles for the sections of the chapters in case someone was wondering. I'm not sure if that will continue, it simply worked out for these chapters.**

**I apologize for my mistakes but I am too lazy to spend that much time editing.**


	3. Observant Oaths

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor the idea for this story which was thought of by Readerforlife(used to be Hotkat144)**

**Observant Oaths**

_**Vigil**_

Weeks passed and Hermione still hadn't spoken or _looked_ at any one; any one except for Harry. Though he was happy that she would actually look _at_ him instead of _through_ him, Harry still wished she would talk to him more or even acknowledge her other visitors.

Still, Harry remained by her bedside nearly every day and night even after he was fully healed(and also when he wasn't-much to the nurse's dismay). He didn't _feel_ "fully healed"; he felt broken and bleeding. His heart was in shreds, his mind was clouded with all piercing thoughts surrounding Hermione, and his soul was entangled in his heart's shreds and mind's clouds. With his wounds he sat. Peering into her ghostly eyes until the phantom fled, then filling himself with as much of the sight as he could before the ghost returned. Watching her sleeping form until the nightmares took her and contorted her before he reached out and soothed her. Holding her when the nightmares didn't relent or woke her and holding her when her pain weighed her down. He never, however, wiped away her tears, caught the wetness with his shoulder, nor soothed her teary sobs. Her eyes remained dry.

On several occasions Harry was forced to sleep and then he slept on a bed in the ward next to Hermione's, usually with a Sleeping Draught potion filling him. Those around him worried he would sicken himself with his constant vigil but he disregarded them and continued.

When Hermione was finally to be released, it was decided that she would live with Harry and Sirius at _Grimmauld Place_ for the remainer of the summer as details were figured out and answers were sought. During the weeks Hermione was subject to many tests and Healers who sought to heal her "inside out" but Harry refused to allow any to follow them to _Grimmauld Place, he saw how Hermione reacted to them even if they couldn't and a break from it all seemed best. They didn't argue too much. _

_As they walked into the old house, Harry kept a firm hand on Hermione's lower back for support and guidance. She was placed in a room familiar to her from previous visits and a few newly acquired clothes, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley, were placed in the bare closet._

_Hermione sat down on the bed quietly as Harry turned from the closet and took in the sight. The room was worn and weary looking as it's new occupant did; grey on grey. Taking the slice to his heart, Harry joined Hermione on the bed. Both remained silent. _

_Harry looked to her to see her staring at the door before looking to him, eyes still holding a ghostly veil. He immediately stood and shut the door before going back to Hermione's side. _

_"Thank you," her soft, trembling voice drifted to his ears._

_His eyes fell to hers with a questioning gaze and saw the phantom had gone. She peered up at him with a strange quiver in her eyes._

_"For saving me, staying with me-Merlin for staying with me!- and for putting up with me and...and-" her voice was cut off by a sob. Harry instinctively pulled her to him, wrapping his arms about her and __whispering into her ear._

_"Shh it's alright. I'm right here. I'll always be here." The words were meant to soothe but Harry wondered how true they were. Could he stay with her always? Could he protect her? Could he live? _

_"Promise," she muttered into his chest._

_"What?" Harry asked startled, he hadn't intended his words to be a promise of any sort._

_Hermione pulled back from his chest to reveal dry eyes yet again, she sobbed but the sobs were always tearless. There was an urgency in her eyes that struck him into silence. _

_"Promise me," she said firmly._

_"Hermione I-" he began but stopped as he continued to stare into her eyes, such pain and helplessness lie there. "Ok. I promise. I promise you, Hermione, I'll always be here. I'll always be with you." _

_Hermione nodded in acceptance and buried her face back into his chest as she held him tightly. Harry gazed off over her head and considered the promise he had just made. The words had flown out of him before he could halt them and he found himself content with the promise yet unsettled. He didn't want to break a promise, especially a promise to Hermione, and he was beginning to fear he would have to. The words he truly wanted to say were 'I'm sorry' along with a long list of faults and a profuse and drawn out apology in which he begged for forgiveness of being who he was and for countless things that lead to her harm. And then he'd beg for her to let him go and leave her to a life without him and everything that follows him. That went unspoken, though, and he settled with keeping his promise as long as he could, returning Hermione's tight hold. _

___**Promises**_

_The two had moved further onto the bed to lean against the headboard for support, remaining in each others arms. They sat quietly and as content as either had been for a long while. They sat together through the day with Sirius checking in only once after the teens had missed all three meals. He had simply looked in, caught Harry's eye, and nodded before retreating. They both knew they should eat something but neither were hungry; they needed the time alone to feel some resemblance of normality. Even though sitting in each other's arms was not a normal act for the two, it felt safer; Hermione felt secure and warm without the complete numbness while Harry felt reassured and anchored without the blazing whirlwind of being lost. _

_It was when night fell that Hermione began to speak. _

_"It was horrible," her hoarse whisper met his ears._

_Harry looked down at her to see her looking out of the window, her head resting on his chest, her eyes shown in the moonlight yet were still far from teary. He began rubbing her back in circles and laid his chin on top of her head, gripping her a bit more tightly._

_"They came... from ____nowhere__," her voice broke but gained it's volume back. "I-my parents were in their room sleeping. I was still up r-reading when I heard them. I heard them break in and come up the steps. I-I froze and stared at the door, clutching the book to myself, wondering if I had fallen asleep and was __having a nightmare. And it was, Harry, it ____was__ a nightmare. They came into my room and they hauled me into my parents' bedroom and they bound me and forced me to watch. They forced me to ____watch__!" her voice broke for the second time, interrupting her. Harry's eyes were shut and he was holding onto her as if he himself were recalling the painful memory. "They-they began casting simple spells as if to scare them, show them their world...my world," the last words were whispered and her body trembled._

_A sudden realization hit Harry and he instantly pulled away to look at her. "This isn't your f-"_

_Hermione just kept talking, "Then they started to progress from the childish hexes to the more nasty ones and soon they were outright torturing them. I watched as they were contorted and broken, I heard them scream and cry and ____wail__, I-I felt their fear and agony. And I watched their faces, their expressions, I watched as the life was drained from them, their sanity... And I couldn't do a thing for them. I could only watch and scream and cry and wail."_

_Harry watched her as her eyes turned ghostly once again and before he could speak or do anything to fend it off, her eyes pierced his and he noticed, oddly, that the phantom only veiled her irises and not her pupils. He wondered if they had always avoided the blackness of the pupils, the nothingness. _

_"When th-they had k-killed them, they let me go. I didn't move, I c-couldn't. Then I felt pain. Sudden and tremendous pain. It was- I-I don't know but it effected me beyond just physically. I was still surrounded by gr-grief and terror but once th-that broke away I was left in a panic. Then I felt..." her words stopped as her eyes darted away. Harry's hand that been rubbing her back came up to cup her cheek and his thumb stoked her skin. Her eyes came back to his with a determined mission of truth. "I felt numb, almost comfortable. I was accepting of it and even ____welcomed__ the pain." Harry's thumb stopped stroking. "It would take me away from the real pain and it w-would-" a sob wrenched itself from her chest and a tear ran down to meet Harry's stilled thumb as her eyes flew shut and her head leaned into his hand._

_Harry gasped at the tear and quickly pulled her into his arms again as he shed his own tears. He rocked her back and forth and stroked her hair. She clung to him as she had earlier that day only now with damp eyes. _

_He whispered words of comfort, words of sympathy, words of apology, and words that spoke of her innocence. And he spoke promises, promises he wholeheartedly intended to keep. _

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I lost inspiration and recently found it :) Of course this wasn't what I planned(nothing ever seems to go the way I plan) but I fairly like it... Let me know what you think, I'd greatly appreciate it! And sorry for any mistakes...**_


End file.
