A Dash of Madness

Sanity is very rare: every man almost, and every woman,

-George Santayana (1863-1952)

Due to her head lolling onto her left shoulder, Hermione had a limited and completely sideways view of the events that occurred at the final moments of the last battle she would ever in her life take part in. In this canted view, Hermione could see a few Order members, still dueling remaining Death Eaters. She could see Severus and Draco out of the corner of her eye. Sliding her eyes downward slightly, she could see Bellatrix; regaining consciousness to find herself a bound and writhing lump. Directly in front of her, she could see the undulating ball of spell effects that was the duel between Voldemort and Albus.

Having abruptly stopped his attempt to pick the limp young witch up and whisk her away to Hogwarts, Hagrid seemed frozen in shock. As Hermione watched, the other duels in her line of sight fizzled out one by one. The Order members stood gaping in awe at a point which seemed just past her left shoulder. The remaining Death Eaters had a different reaction entirely. Gaping in horror, sounds of anger and hate falling from their slack mouths, they began to back away from the source of the blue light without even realizing they were doing so. So intent were the Order members on what they saw, that several Death Eaters managed to throw hexes at Harry before Remus and Minerva came to their senses and tightly bound the few that remained.

Finally, even Severus and Draco were distracted enough to drop their fierce duel completely. Stepping slightly closer to the source of the blue light in amazement, Draco had a look of pure gobsmacked astonishment. Taking one look past Hermione's shoulder, Severus straightened up, loosing all pretence of madness, grinning a boyish grin reminiscent of his former mad self. As the blue light came closer, its edge touching where he stood, Severus lifted his head, closed his eyes, and let out an unprecedented peal of delighted laughter.

Shocked by his manner, Hermione vainly tried to close her own eyes, in an attempt to sort out what she could feel about this blue light she could see all around her. Though she didn't manage to so much as twitch an eyelid, Hermione felt as if suddenly all was right with the world. Even her motionless state was no longer able to worry her, because surely everything would work out for the best.

The effect on the remaining bound Death Eaters was a sharp contrast to the joyful and awed Order members. The insane witch bound near Hermione began to shout angrily, and Hermione could hear similar sounds coming from the other tightly wrapped bundles in the wood. Their reaction was so different from Hermione's own euphoric state, that it puzzled her momentarily. Soon she shook off the feeling, too at peace and joyful to be buggered about the discrepancy. Soft huffing sounds floated from her mouth, and Hermione realized that she, like Severus, was trying to laugh for the joy of it.

A gentle, but loud voice erupted from just behind Hermione's limited vision. "Enough!" it softly roared.

As Hermione stared, Harry walked past her, a bemused and smiling Ginny trailing along in his wake. A blinding, electric blue light emanated from Harry in waves, lighting up everything in Hermione's sight. Hermione vaguely wished for some eyelids to squint. So bright was the blue light that it dazzled her wide open eyes and caused her to see swimming, sparkling prisms.

The maelstrom that had been the duel between Albus and Voldemort abruptly winked out. Smiling in rapture, Albus too threw back his head and laughed long and loudly. Voldemort, on the other hand, starred at Harry in growing horror.

"Stay away from me, Potter!" he screamed. "Stay away from me, or you'll regret it!" Unconsciously, he backed slightly away from the source of the blinding blue light, blinking and stumbling in confusion.

"Regret?" breathed Harry softly. "What is regret? The world is made of love and all that shall cherish it shall be blessed."

At this point, Voldemort made a vain attempt to escape the smiling nemesis which approached him so calmly and slowly. Still blinded and stumbling, he was barely into the clumsy turn that would Apparate him to safety when a silent spell from a giggling Dumbledore seemed to glue him to the spot.

"No!" he screamed, as Harry closed the last few meters that separated them. "I'm the Dark Lord! No puling brat will ever defeat me!"

Drawing himself up, on his face a rictus of hate, Voldemort threw everything he had into one last spell.

"Avada Kedavra!" he roared with every ounce of his being.

A bolt of green energy flew from Voldemort's wand towards Harry's heart. Regarding it with the same calm smile Harry had worn since he entered the wood, Harry made no move to dodge the Killing Curse. The curse never reached its intended target. A meter away from where Harry stood, right where the blue light emanating from him was the thickest, the green spell seemed to simply sputter and vanish.

For a few seconds, all was eerily calm. No breeze stirred, no sound was heard. Then, coming from the point where Voldemort's curse had hit the blue light, came a startling explosion. Hot white light expanded out like a miniature sun going nova, temporarily blinding the onlookers. A thundering concussion of sound knocked all but Hagrid from their feet.

Due to Hagrid's strong hand on her back, Hermione stayed sitting up when the rest of the Order members fell. The flash of light had left her eyes completely dazzled, and for long moments she could see nothing but unadulterated white. Wishing she could blink, or ask what had happened, or do anything at all, Hermione struggled to stay patient until her sight cleared. Fuzzy shapes were finally starting to make an appearance in her tilted vision, but she could see nothing clearly yet.

"Sweet Merlin," exclaimed Hagrid softly, "I can't see a blasted thing an' tha's a fact."

Strangely relieved that she wasn't the only one blinded, Hermione struggled to make sense of the murky shapes creeping out of the wall of white. Hearing Hagrid gasp beside her, she focused even more intently. The dazzling whiteness retreated and Hermione could see the reason for Hagrid's surprise, and would have gasped herself had she been able. The Death Eaters lay where they had been bound, quivering and weeping openly. The Order members were struggling to their feet, rubbing their eyes and shaking their heads. And then there was Harry.

The bright blue light that had emanated from Harry was a shadow of it's former self. While he still glowed with it, the light now only reached a couple of feet from where he stood. Less intense, it was easier to see Harry clearly. Harry had an arm thrown around the shoulder of a young boy who couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve years old. He was tall for his age, and handsome, with dark eyes and black hair. Having never in her life seen this boy before, Hermione was greatly puzzled about how he came to wander into the battle. The boy lifted his head, his expression frightened and confused. Giving the boy a gentle squeeze with the arm around his shoulder, Harry spoke to him kindly.

"Don't be afraid, Tom." Harry said softly. "No one here is going to hurt you, I promise you."

"But why are all those people tied up?" the boy asked, pointing at the bound Death Eaters.

"They're criminals," Harry replied simply. "We'll take them to the Ministry so they can stand trial."

"Blimey," Hagrid muttered, incredulous. "Wha's happened, 'Mione? Tha's Tom Riddle, tha is. Exactly as 'e was when 'e was a pup."

"But I don't know any of you people," the boy who was Tom Riddle said tremulously. "I don't remember how I got here! I should be in school, shouldn't I?"

"What's the last thing you remember, Tom?" Harry asked curiously.

For a long moment, Tom looked as confused as if he'd been hit with an errant Confundus Charm. Then the look melted and he said, "I was in Slytherin House, in my bed...I'd just killed someone's familiar...a toad!" A wild, terrified look came over his handsome features. "That's terrible! Why would I do that?"

Bowing his head, and putting both hands over his eyes, young Tom began to cry piteously. Harry wrapped his arms around the weeping boy, and murmured soft encouragements to him.

Hurrying over to where Harry held Tom, Albus put a hand on Tom's head, ruffling his hair, and said gently, "Now then, Tom, I know everything's confusing and frightening right now, but I promise you we'll get it sorted. Don't worry, my boy. I'll look after you."

When he heard that voice, Tom dropped his hands and smiled at Albus in relief. "Professor, Sir! I'm so glad you're here! But what's happened to you, sir? Did you fall prey to an ageing potion?"

Chuckling, Albus drew Tom away from Harry and led him towards where Minerva stood. "I'm afraid not, my boy. You see, Tom, you fell into a bit of bad magic, and you've been away for a long time. I'll tell you all about it someday. For now, I think we'd best get you back to Hogwarts and settled in."

"Tha's Tom, and yet it's not," muttered Hagrid. "Even at that age, Tom was a nasty piece o' work. He'd never a' cried his eyes out over some poor sod's toad."

At that moment, Hermione's view was cut of by the very worried face of Severus Snape. "Hermione!" he practically shouted. "What's happened?"

"She can't talk," Hagrid explained. "The wee lass can't even sit up. Sommat Bella did. When I came back from takin' poor Hestia ta see Poppy, I found Bella standin' over 'er."

"Damn," growled Severus. Reaching up both his hands, Severus grasped Hermione's head gently and straightened it up. "So you didn't see what spell she was hit with?"

"No, Sev'rus. The lass was hit afore I arrived."

"Damn, damn, damn!" Severus repeated. "That bitch, Bella, liked nothing more than to torture her victims while they were helpless. She had a variety of spells she used for just that. I can undo most of her arsenal, but I have to know exactly what curse Hermione was hit with."

Placing a gentle kiss on Hermione's forehead, Severus said, "Don't worry, my trollop. I swear to you that I'll get this sorted. Hagrid, take her back to Hogwarts, but keep that meddling mediwitch from trying to treat her. Bellatrix used spells that will kill the victim if the wrong counter is used. I'll see if I can find out anything here. Bella would die before talking, but surely someone saw what she cast."

As Severus hurried away to talk to the Order members, Hermione heard Hagrid muttering under his breath.

"Much as I'm glad Sev'rus is back wit us an all, 'e ought ta keep a civil tongue in 'is 'ead when 'e's talking to a lady."

Puzzling over what Hagrid said as he picked her gently up and drew out his portkey, Hermione eventually realized that Hagrid had taken offense to the term "trollop." She would have giggled had she been able. The sickening sideways pull of the portkey interrupted her musings, and Hermione discovered that port key travel was even more distressing when one cannot move a muscle. With a strong thump, Hagrid landed on his feet easily in the Hogwart's infirmary. Placing her gently in one of the small beds, Hagrid gave her a comforting--if rough--pat on the head, and hurried off to see Poppy.

Finding herself in the unusual position of being completely bored, yet having not one blessed thing she could do about it, Hermione took solace in her unusual memory and began to mentally read a book to herself. Sweet Nimue, but she was tired. If someone would have been kind enough to close her eyelids, she would have gratefully fallen asleep.

As Fitzwilliam Darcy was insulting Elizabeth Bennet at a country dance, Hermione's "reading" was interrupted by the infirmary door being banged open and several wizards rushing in. Again her view was cut off by the worried face of Severus Snape. Giving her a rather sad smile, he brushed a strand of hair from her face before straightening up to face the other wizards.

"Any change, Severus?" Hermione heard Remus ask, from just out of her line of sight.

"No, I'm afraid not," Severus said despondently. "That eliminates the Dormouse hex and the Chamomile, they would have worn off by now."

Hermione's view of the infirmary was blocked again as a blond wizard with worried eyes starred at her intently.

"No green around the irises," Draco said softly. "That takes Faux Basilisk out of the running."

"Brilliant," Severus drawled irritably, "that leaves only about a dozen other possibilities to eliminate and we'll have our answer."

"Did no one see anything when Hermione was hit?" Harry asked as he leaned over his prostrate friend. Hermione noted only the faintest blue glow outlining Harry's form.

"Nothing!" snapped Severus. "I talked to all of the Order members and even tried to interrogate the Death Eaters. The Order members were all busy with their own duels at the time and saw nothing. The Death Eaters just cried at me."

"And Bella?" Remus asked.

"That mad bitch is nearly as comatose as Hermione," Severus growled.

"What if we start with something simple, like Finite Incantatem?" Harry asked.

"NO!" Draco and Severus shouted together. Severus continued. "Bellatrix was as brilliant as she was insane. Her spells are often intertwined with magical pitfalls if one uses the wrong counter-curse. If we simply start casting spells willy-nilly, we'll kill Hermione."

"What about Legilimens?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Won't work," Severus said dejectedly. "Legilimens isn't like watching a muggle movie, or using a Pensieve. You get words, and flashing images, but visual details are muddled and vague."

For a long moment, the group standing around the prone witch was completely silent. The sound of a door at the other end of the infirmary signaled a new arrival.

"Why the long faces, mates?" Ron Weasley said cheerfully. Hermione could hear his footsteps approaching closer.

"Bella cast some sort of curse at Hermione," Harry said sadly. "Apparently the mad thing booby-traps all her spells. If we use the wrong counter... well..."

Here, Harry's voice trailed off. Ron appeared suddenly in Hermione's limited view, his left bicep heavily bandaged. He placed a hand against her cheek and gave her a reassuring smile before turning to face the other wizards.

"So, we find the right counter-curse. What's the holdup?"

"We don't know what curse she was hit with!" snarled Severus. "No one saw it! We have no idea where to even begin!"

"Well," Ron drawled, "one person saw it. Hermione did. So I'll ask again, what's the delay about?"

"Hermione can't talk, Ron." Remus said. "She can't describe the curse effects to us, she can't move a muscle."

"All she has left are the basest reflex actions," Severus said, his voice sounding flat and lifeless. "Her heart beats, her lungs fill with air, but she can barely blink, let alone communicate what caused her fall."

"Since when has that ever stopped us?" Ron said, impatiently. "Harry, I know you're tired, or glowy, or something, but surely you remember a little jaunt we took through Hagrid's brain?"

Hermione heard a sudden slap, and imagined her glowing friend's hand had just met his forehead.

"I'm an idiot!" Harry exclaimed.

"About time you noticed," Severus sniped, the life returning to his voice. "Would you mind enlightening the rest of us?"

"We were trying to figure out what happened on the Astronomy tower," Harry said in a rush, as Severus flinched. "Hermione wanted to hear exactly what you and Albus said, the night that Hagrid overheard the two of you arguing in the Forbidden Forest. So we took Albus' Pensieve to Hagrid's hut."

"Hagrid was able to manage the charm?" Severus asked incredulously.

"We didn't take the chance," Ron said. "Hermione and Harry found out you can work that charm on someone else."

"So if we use the Pensieve, we can find out exactly what Hermione saw before she was hit?" Remus asked.

"Easily," Harry said. "I mean it's dead easy. Hermione and I practiced on each other before we risked it on Hagrid."

"Was that what you were doing?" Severus suddenly asked. "When you were locked together in that blasted room... were you using the Pensieve?"

"Well, we couldn't ask you about it could we?" Harry said frankly. "What did you think? That we were in there snoggin..."

"Enough!" snapped Severus. "Where is Albus' Pensieve?"

"Back at Headquarters," Ron said. "We'll go fetch it."

As Hermione heard footsteps trailing away from her, another door opened and she heard a new voice.

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly shouted. "You get back in that bed this instant! Poppy said you were to rest until that blood replenishing potion finishes it's work!"

"We'll go," Hermione heard Harry say softly to Ron. "You keep an eye on Hermione."

The footsteps continued from the room, and again Hermione saw Ron's face above her own. "Don't fret, Hermione. We'll get you sorted. Merlin, but you look completely knackered. Try to catch a quick kip while they're gone."

With that, Ron gently closed Hermione's eyes, and Hermione gratefully drifted into sleep.