Chapter Text
I wanna taste you,
but your lips are venomous poison
Alice Cooper, ‘Poison'
‘He’s there! Potter’s there! Someone, grab him!’ Pansy Parkinson shouted, and Hermione could hear the maddening cackling of Bellatrix Lestrange, like a nail scratching on glass. She opened her eyes. It was the sound of her alarm clock.
“Yes, Crooks, the nightmares again," she said, seeing a concerned look in her familiar’s eyes. “The bloody nightmares.” She rubbed her left forearm. The scar hurt, as it always did when her sleep was troubled like this - so, almost every night.
She got up from her bed, proceeded to the bathroom, then, through the winding hallways of Grimmauld Place, to the kitchen. Harry was already there, boiling water for tea and making toasts. He stepped towards her, hugged her when she entered the room.
“Mione,” he greeted. “How are you feeling?”
“Thanks, Harry, I’m fine,” she sighed. It was a lie.
“Come on, everything will be alright, you’ll see,” he nudged her shoulder a bit. She tried to smile, to thank him for this support, but grimaced instead. She gave Crookshank some wet food, but when she tried to eat her toasts, she realised right away that she was physically unable to ingest even a bite.
“Hey, Mione," Ron said, stepping into the kitchen. “‘Tis the day, innit mate? Don’t worry, it’ll be OK." He gave her a brief hug. Soon after, Ginny entered the kitchen. She hugged Hermione and held her close for a long time. After a short breakfast, when the boys and Ginny tried to distract her with talks, and she only sipped on coffee, lost in thoughts despite everything, she went back to her room. Like a sleepwalker, she got dressed in official mantles, combed her hair. Then she went to the main hall, where the others were already waiting for her, went up to the fireplace, and, throwing a pinch of powder into the flames, flooed to the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. It was crowded and busy even at an early hour. Hermione wandered aimlessly in a random direction.
“Mione,” Ron caught up with her and caught her elbow. “The court is that way, actually. Let’s go.” She let herself be led away. Before long, they arrived at the doors of the justice hall, which were still closed. She sat down on a bench a bit further down the hallway, staring blindly into the wall in front of her. Ginny and Ron sat at both sides of her, Harry sat beside them, they started speaking, trying to console her, calm her down. It wasn’t working.
“Hermione,” she heard, and, raising her head, saw Professor McGonagall approaching their group, followed by none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt. Hermione and the others got up from their seats. McGonagall came closer and gave the girl a soft hug. “How are you holding up, my dear?” she looked Hermione in the face intently, and she tried to smile, but it was bleak. “Don’t you worry, everything will turn out fine! I gave all the materials and evidence I could to the Aurors, and I’m ready to testify in the courtroom today.”
“So am I,” Shacklebolt added. Then he proceeded to explain to them in great detail how he had personally partook in the investigation, consulted with the judge and with Aurors. McGonagall gave occasional comments, and Harry and Ron asked questions. Hermione realised that they were trying to take her mind off of the upcoming court meeting, and she was grateful for this, but it was in vain.
Finally, the hall was opened, and they went inside. By that time some other people had arrived - someone from the press, some perhaps concerned sides. At least Rita Skeeter was nowhere to be seen, Hermione thought. She and her group made their way inside, took their seats on the benches. The trials began. First there were two trials on some small-scale attempted Death Eaters, whose names Hermione didn’t even bother to memorise. She didn’t pay attention to the witnesses, prosecutors nor the defence. The judge deemed both of them guilty, sentenced to Azkaban incarceration.
During these trials, little by little, others started to fill the hall. Bill and Fleur Weasley, then Luna Lovegood together with her father. Fred and George came. And they all sat close around Hermoine, whispering words of encouragement, words of support to her as they were taking their seats on the benches. On the other side of the hall, several Slytherins gathered - Zabini, Nott and Greengrass sisters. They were sticking to themselves.
And then, finally, the last hearing of the day started, and when Pansy was led into the hall in chains and put into the interrogation chair, no matter how hard Hermione tried, she couldn’t hold back her tears.