Contort

“RON!” Hermione woke in a cold sweat, the striking details of her nightmare lingered fresh in her mind. Pausing for a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts, Hermione unraveled herself from her bed sheets and slipped on her house coat.

The silhouette of Ron's demon entered Hermione's mind with such force she had to grip the wall for strength. What is going on? She couldn't get Karas out of her head. She haunted her dreams, just as she was haunting Ronald's steps. Hermione didn't deny herself the right to admit that it has becoming impossible to suppress the feeling of how much she missed Ron Weasley. Yes, she wished it was her he was clinging to. She craved his attention and her nightmares reminded her of who had stolen that wish from her.

Something terrible is happening, she thought. Her lips began to tremble and burning knot formed in Hermione's throat. Tears began to pour only seconds later. Her heart ached for her friend and he hadn't even noticed her longing. The nightmares began two days ago, taunting and mocking her affections. It was becoming too much. And then it struck her, she knew what must be done. Hermione picked up her pace and descended the stairs of the girls' dormitory and vaulted toward the entrance to the boys'.

“Ron!” She yelled while her fist pummeled against the wooden door. It was early morning now, most of the students were heading to breakfast. Although, the matter of waking up those who were trying to catch a few more moments of peace, didn't faze her.

Harry Potter was finishing putting his right arm into his dress robes as he opened the door.

“Hermione, what is it?” He asked first with tired eyes, then became alert once her saw how distraught his friend looked.

“Where is Ron? I need to speak with him!” Hermione's voice broke at the end of her sentence and her eyes searching frantically across the room for that head of red hair.

“Hermione, he's not here.” Harry replied, “In fact, I don't think he came in last night.” He scratched the back of his head and tried to remember the last time he'd seen Ron.

“Harry, I need to find him,” Hermione was shaking now. “I need to tell him that I'm in love with him.”