Hollow or Human

Chapter 6

A visit to the wizarding world

This was by far the most emotional chapter for me. I poured out all of my emotions in this. It reflects how I feel these days. I want to see how this affects my readers. I have a song suggestion for this chapter. Please listen to 'Coma Black' by Marilyn Manson. This song inspired me to write this chapter with as much strength as I could muster.

While Ulquiorra had taken Orihime as captive, deep down below the skies, it was night in the wizarding world. One could hear the roar of the storm outside the magnificent castle of Hogwarts. The island of Hogwarts was bathed in dark cumulus clouds. It was night time for the students and most had gone to bed. Meanwhile, the headmaster of Hogwarts was pacing in his room, visiting his own world of thoughts where he was pondering the current situation in the wizarding world.

Lord Voldemort had returned a year ago. A full year had elapsed. As he had predicted, the dark lord did not immediately announce his return but had kept a low profile. This had prompted Albus Dumbledore to immediately reinstate the Order of the Phoenix. Albus knew his former student enough to theorize that Tom Riddle intended to invade the ministry from the inside and tarnish his image and paint him as a fraud who was lying about the return of the Dark Lord.

This wasn't what the old wizard was worried about. The source of concern was Hogwarts. Voldemort was fascinated by it and he wanted to take control of the castle to spread his twisted ideology. The students would grow up to become mere pawns of the dark lord and anyone who dared to defy him would be destroyed. Dumbledore had to formulate a plan as soon as his sources had alerted him of the army that Voldemort had begun to recruit.

The headmaster had to act soon for the fate of the world literally rested on his shoulders. While he was confident in his abilities to hold his own against Tom, permanently eliminating the dark lord was a nuisance. His former student had reached new heights to immortality hence it was not possible to assassinate him in a single try.

Another matter had been brought to Albus's attention. That was related to one Hermione Granger. A whole year had passed after…. that incident. He had still not completely

recovered from the void that had been created after the death of Harry Potter. Dumbledore would shoulder the guilt of his student's demise at the hands of the dark lord till his dying breath.

However, Harry's death had the greatest impact on Hermione Granger. The girl had completely changed. Changed was an understatement. She had become a shell of a living being. The headmaster had reviewed Miss Granger's grades that showed that she was barely passing in all the subjects.

This was a truly worrying matter as the girl was formerly outstanding in all her classes, she topped all of her subjects. Her studies were not the only issue though. Professor McGonagall had informed him of her declining health. Albus had noticed that the girl's eyes didn't sparkle with the light that they formerly had. Miss Granger had shadows under her eyes indicating sleep deprival. Her mouth had shrunk and one could notice that she had lost a lot of weight.

Dumbledore's musings were cut short by a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal none other than Hermione Granger. The headmaster intended to talk to her to make her feel better. Her health was declining. This needed to stop. There was another incident that was reported today.

Hermione Granger was a barely living empty shell now. Ever since the tragic incident, she had stopped eating properly being force fed multiple times in the hospital wing. A girl who had a thirst for knowledge, was now barely passing her tests. Sleep was a past habit of hers. Girls in her dormitory had complained a couple of times about hearing her wailing and screaming in the middle of the night which was caused by nightmares. Hermione did not make the same mistake again. She would cast silencing charms before going to bed.

Her world had truly ended after his death. Her friends were extremely concerned about her health. Neville and Fred had attempted to talk to her about it but she would always shrug them off. Ron had given up long ago and was back to his usual self now. It was as if the event had no effect on him. Then an incident occurred today which landed her where she was now. At the headmaster's office.

Hermione had finished her work in the library and was heading towards the Gryffindor common room when she was stopped in her tracks by the insipid prat Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin sported a smug look on his already arrogant face. He had managed to find the mudblood alone so he decided to humour himself. After all, it was rare to come across Granger.

"Look what we have here." He smirked.

Hermione decided to ignore him and was about to elbow her way out of there when Malfoy blocked her path and shoved her, causing her to step backwards. Normally, Hermione was more than capable of dealing with him but she had become a mere puppet so the thought never struck her mind.

"What is it Granger? Missing your buddy? Thinking about him? I can't help but think that the world has become so much more enjoyable without him."

"To think that the wizarding world called him the 'boy who lived'. He was a pathetic worthless fool who met his end at the hands of the Dark Lord. A fitting end to a loser."

Something inside Hermione had triggered when Malfoy started to taunt her. The feeling intensified to such an extent that it exploded. A year's worth of frustration, anger, and grief all directed towards the ferret faced eyes burned with fire and a shriek escaped her throat followed by the movement of her wand. Draco's eyes widened at her actions and before he could take out his wand, he was sent flying into a wall. The impact was so intense that he felt as if his ribcage was broken.

The girl did not stop there. A couple of stunners later, Hermione rushed towards the boy and began to stomp his face. She did not realize during her assault that her eyes had begun to water and tears were flowing freely down her face.

This was the scene that was witnessed by Minerva McGonagall. The transfiguration teacher was shocked beyond word and wit. Acting on impulse, she waved her wand to separate Hermione from Draco.

"Miss Granger! What is this?!"

Minerva soon concluded that this was out of her hands so she decided to send Hermione to the Headmaster. Albus had already intended to speak to the girl.

"Miss Granger, you will immediately visit the Headmaster's office right now." McGonagall said. Like a robot, the girl turned and made her way to Dumbledore's office, while the professor took Malfoy to the hospital wing. The boy's face was beyond recognition now as it was bloodied and bruised heavily.

Dumbledore stared into the eyes of the girl in front of him. It had been a year since the tragedy. The girl standing in front of him was a living had read Minerva's note explaining the situation. He would first see for himself what had happened. He was already aware that Hermione was taunted by young Mr Mafloy. Miss Granger would never react like this.

"Miss Granger. Would you be kind enough to explain to me of the event that occurred tonight?"

Hermione was in a terrible state. Her eyes were still red and puffy from all her crying. She complied and relayed the event in detail. The professor already believed her so he decided to talk to her regarding her issues.

"Miss Granger, I have been told by my peers that your grades have dropped significantly and that you have managed to pass your exams by a slight margin. Not only that, I have observed that your health is declining and is further affecting your studies."

Dumbledore decided to proceed on the main point. "I know and am well aware that Harry's death is still rather fresh and new to all of us. But you have taken it to your heart. This signifies the strong bond between the two of you. However, you must understand that taking this approach will only end up in consuming you."

"It is true that Voldemort has returned and he will stop at nothing to destroy the world. He has started building his army which will come for Hogwarts after the ministry. He hasn't made himself known to the world yet but the world has already begun to be affected by him."

"Remember your friend Harry Potter who defied him till his last breath. He was killed by the very same man. Miss Granger, it is not my place to tell you this, regardless, I shall say that Harry would never have wanted you to be miserable."

"Contribute towards ensuring that the Dark Lord fails in his plans. For Harry. Return to your former self so that you can help the world. I intend to end Tom once and for all. "

Hermione couldn't hold it any longer. The tears that had dried were now flowing again. Her body rocked. Sobs escaped her throat. The headmaster looked at her with a grieving expression. He made his way towards her and put his hand on her shoulder.

The headmaster's words had affected her. She recognized the message. She needed to become strong. For Harry. She needed to contribute as much as she could to the wizarding world. To end Riddle. She still wasn't sure whether she would return to her former self. A part of her had died. She would still try though.

A knock came at the door. Albus gave permission to enter and Neville Longbottom entered the room. He fidgeted with his robes and spoke, "Professor McGonagall sent me here for Hermione."

"Ah , yes Mister Longbottom. We are done now. You may take her back to the common room. Off you go now. Miss Granger, do consider my advice."

Hermione stood up. She nodded and silently thanked Dumbledore. Neville escorted her out and departed for the Gryffindor common room.