Disclaimer: You don't have enough money to pay me to take credit for the recent 'deaths'...I do not own HP! Foward flames to JK, not ME! (hides)
AN: Ah.../looks around/ So...this is my first foray into this catagory...but I had much too good of an idea to let it go to waste.
This is really a Upper PG-13, but as we have the quirky K-M, really the only place it fits is here.
So...I will be quite upset with anyone who includes spoilers for book 6 in reviews. I haven't read it, others here haven't read it, don't spill it.(although I do know basically what happens) It goes without saying that this is AU, set at the beginning of Harry's 6th year. So...there will be spoliers for books 1-5.(But none from 6, if I can help it...)
Couples planned at the moment are: Hermione/SS Ginny/SB James/Lily...I'm not sure whatto do with the twins yet...XD
Forgive me if I do not use as derogatory descriptions for certain people as are in the book, I watched the movies first, and formulated my opinions thus--so a certain some-one's hair looks clean enough to me. Note that,pertaining to thedifferences between the movies and books, I will choose the scenario I liked best out of the two when presented with a choice.
And to head you off before you get upset, despite the fact that I find him somewhat oblivious, I have nothing against Harry. Any insults directed toward him aren't really overboard as they are self-inflicted, after all. You are always harsh whenberating yourself.(alright already! enough spoiling my chapter!)
As for the title...eh...it's complicated, but is a reference to the time travel. If any one could give me the latin translation I would sooo appreciate that!
I can't explain it. Spaces are inexplicably removed by this editor. There is nothing I can do. Sorry, but some words will run together.
Symptoms of the cure
(the title currently means something like 'Negative Cure', but I'd rather have this one...)
Chapter 1: The end of the Order
It's not what it seems Not what it seems Just in my mind
Not what you think
No I must be dreaming
It's only in my mind
Not in real life
No I must be dreaming
Not what you think
I must be dreaming
Not in real life
I must be dreaming
He smiled slightly as he lay back against the couch. A little part of him felt guilty for allowing himself to be happy, for allowing himself a few brief moments of relaxed bliss when just the last year he had been the driving force behind the death of the person he had begun to think he would always be able to turn to, someone who was simultaniously a father and a brother to him.
Oh yes, he never forgot that it was his own fault. His friends tried to say that his godfather had known what he was getting into, that it was entirely his own choice.
But Harry knew. It wasn't anyone's fault but his. Even the woman who had killed his godfather had only done so because Harry was there in the first place. Because Harry had let his rashness, his over-inflated ego, his foolish, stupid pride getthebetter of him. If he had only listened to what his friends had told him, if he had only tried a little harder in his Occlumency lessons..
If he had only used that stupid mirror...
" 'Ey! Harry! You there?"
Harry blinked as he was jerked out of his thoughts by Ron's face leaning over him with a look that was a mixture of concern and irritation.
"Yes, Ron, I've just been thinking is all."
"Well, I've been trying to talk to you for five minutes now." the red-haired boy gave him a suspicious frown, and Harry had to suppress a groan, knowing what the boy would say next, "You weren't thinking about that again, about him?"
Harry glared up at the freckled boy, "No. And I don't see why it would matter if I were, he was my godfather."
"Harry! You know you shouldn't dwell on it! It wasn't your fault!" Ron huffed, launching into the speech he and Hermione had repeated countless times over the past year, "You know he wouldn't want you to sulk around all of your life! You've got to move on, keep up the fight!"
"Who are you to say what he would want! You didn't know him like I did! He was my godfather!" Harry snapped, leaping to his feet and glaring down at his friend, "You all want me to just 'move on' and 'forget about it', but I won't! What if it was you? Would you want me to just forget? To go merrily along my way? Perhaps crack a few jokes at your funeral, and pretend you never existed!"
"Harry..." Ron started, an antagonized look on his face.
"No! I won't forget! And I won't ever say his death was his own fault! You all tried to warn me, but I wouldn't listen! It's because I refused to listen to reason, and consider for even a second that it could be a trick!"
"Harry, you did try and contact him..."
"And a fine job I did of that, didn't I? I walked right into their trap! I ignored all the warnings people gave me, and stormed blindly right into their hands, if they hadn't wanted the prophesy so bad, I'd be dead now!"
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Harry did not give him to chance. Shooting him an angry glare, Harry turned on his heel and stormed out of the room before Ron could get any words out.
SSSSCCCCCCSSSSSS
"Oh, this is so wonderful!" Ginny giggled for the hundredth time, "A real family reunion! I haven't seen grandpa Bill in years! Even Percy came!"
Hermione smiled over at the hyper red-head, "It really is wonderful, but Harry and I aren't Weasleys...so why invite us?"
"Well..." Ginny said, frowning as she thought for a moment, "Mom said Harry's as good as a son, and she really likes you, too...plus it'd be really rude if we invited everyone but you."
"Not really...I mean it is your reunion, not mine."
"Yeah, but a pretty much the entire Order is planning to come over, and all of the teachers are coming!" Ginny winked and added, "Yes...all of 'em!"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at the red-head, "You say this as if I should derive some hidden meaning in this."
"If you knew what Fred and George are planning for a certain grouch that swore he would poison the main course when he was forced to go, you'd find a hidden meaning too!" Ginny laughed.
"Maybe I won't be dining at your place after all..." Hermione laughed, "Mrs. Weasley must be having kittens over the idea of tonight's dinner. I'm amazed she let you get away."
Ginny scowled, "She's saving the cooking for those prats Fred and George, everyone else from our family has arrived, and not so much as an owl from them saying when they'd arrive!"
Hermione gave her a reassuring smile, and patted her on her shoulder, "I'm sure they're just wrapped up in their store. If they aren't there when we get back, we'll get Harry to help us drag them home!"
Ginny laughed, "Alright then, lets get this pesky shopping done!"
"Maybe we'll have time to drop by a book store before we leave..."
Hermione only smiled when Ginny gave her a glare that said she was not getting near a book store unless her life depended on it.
SSSSCCCCCSSSSSS
"OUCH!"
Ron jumped as Harry fell backward out of his chair, clutching his head.
"What is it, 'Arry? Is it you-know-who again?"
"Yes." he hissed through gritted teeth, the pain from his scar was unlike anything he had ever experienced, it was almost like someone had administered the Cruciatus Curse on only his scar, it was a wonder he wasn't screaming in pain.
"Is he...like...you know, happy?" Ron asked, eyes wide, talking in hushed tones as if speaking about his feelings could somehow draw him near.
Harry merely nodded, fighting back the unimaginable pain, "He's...happy...happier than everbefore..."
If it was possible, Ron's eyes widened futher, "Like at the Triwizard?"
"More."
Color drained from his face. "W-we should contact Dumbledore, tell him about it!"
"Why? He probably already knows the reason...it's not like he could make it stop or anything."the pain was beginning to subside into a dull throb, "Besides, I'll see him tonight anyway, right?"
Before Ron could reply, he was cut off by a cry of alarm from the dining room. Instantly, both of them were on their feet, wands drawn, and racing into the adjoining room.
Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Charlie Weasley were all glaring at Lucius malfoy, who stood in the middle of the room, a cold smirk on his lips. No, he wasn't there, only his image. The image of Lucius Malfoy was blurred slightly, reminding Harry strongly of how Tom Riddle had looked.
"Yes. I am simply here to deliver a message from the Dark Lord." he said in a smug voice, "Your interference has irritated the Dark Lord far too long...your time is up."
"And how do you intend to follow through with your threat when you aren't really here?" Mr. Weasley growled, aiming his wand at the shimmering image.
"Oh, it won't be me..." Lucius laughed, "In a way, you could say it was you."
"What?"
"Of course, it all depends." the man continued, "In about a minute you'll all die anyway, so it really doesn't matter who does it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Right...I suppose I should explain it so a muggle could understand, you're so enamoured with them, you've probably forgotten most of our world." he sneered.
"I've never lived in your world, Malfoy." Mr. Weasley shot back, his voice held nothing but loathing for the man standing in the middle of the room.
"Oh, quite right." the man sniffed,"Now...for an explanation...what is the word?...Ah! Inside your...well, I wouldn't call this barn a 'house', but...inside it was placed a..."
The man paused, struggling to find some word obviously foreign to him, "Oh, what is it? A 'boom'? No...Bam?"
"Bomb?" Harry heard himself say.
He felt numb, I don't believe it...this is why he was so happy...
Lucius nodded triumphantly, "Yes!A bomb! In...30 seconds this building will erupt in flames."
There was no thought. There was no time for it.
All that mattered was getting out. Maybe they could rescue the other Weasleys if they were outside, there was no telling the blast radius, but he had to try.
Perhaps Lucius' exultant laughter should have been a warning.
But even so, he couldn't have known the door was the trigger.
SSSSCCCCCCSSSSSS
Hermione couldn't see the explosion, but she felt it.
One moment she had been laughing with Ginny as they made their way through the forest, the next they were hurled several feet backward into trees. Hermione heard a distinctive crack as she landed, and desperately hoped it had been the tree. Ginny lay near her, barely conscious.
However, there was only one thing on her mind as she sprang to her feet, and raced out of the forest into the clearing that held the Burrow.
Harry!
As she burst from the charred forest into the twisted, smoking, remains of the clearing that had once harbored the Weasley family's home, she heard a scream. Had the screambeen her? Could the burningwreckage before her really have been the serene and cozy home of the Weasleys? Could the smell of burning wood and charred flesh assaulting her nostrils be real?
No.
No, she had to be hallucinating. It could be one of Fred and George's pranks, an illusion. They were just about to jump out of the demolished building and dispell the charm, laughing their fool heads off.
She heard a terrified shriek behind her...Ginny.
No...Ginny couldn't be screaming...You don't scream about what is not real, do you? She shouldn't give the Weasley twins anymore satisfaction. Unless she was in on it, and this was the 'hidden meaning'?
Hermione felt herself running, the door should still exist, even if she couldn't see it. Yes, the tears burning hervision were unecessisary...and when thetwins popped up so smug with themselves, she would hex them into oblivion for making her worry like this. And Ginny. And anyone else in on it.
But there was no invisible barrier at the twisted ruin of the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell on the sizzling anddisfigured body lyingpartially covered by rubble. He had almost escaped,he had been at the doorway. A strangled sob escaped her lips as she fell to her kneesm and gathered the boy up in her arms. He was still so hot she was sure holding him was giving her burns. But she did not care about the pain anymore...nothing mattered anymore.
He was actually dead. It couldn't be true, but it was. After 16 years, Voldemort had finally suceeded. The miracle boy that had somehow survived him so many times before, the boy who had been destined to vanquish him, the hero of the magical world...the boy she loved.
Tortured sobs wracked her body, as she shook her head. The world seemed to move sluggishly, as Ginny collapsed onto her knees, hugging herself, unable to hold back hopeless tears.
There were two loud cracks, and the Weasley twins Apparated into the midst of the ruins, laughing about some joke one or the other had just said. The laughter died in their throats as they took in their surroundings, the destroyed building where their home had once stood, the mangles shapes that might have once been human...
The look of sheer horror that dawned on their faces stole away all of her lingering hope that it might have all been a joke.
SSSSCCCCCCSSSSSS
As the old man settled himself in his chair, he looked older than he had ever looked before, and it seemed his eyes might never hold their twinkle again. The other threeinhabitants of the room, including himself, seemed somewhatworse-for-wear as well.
Minerva McGonagall was softly sobbing intoa handkerchief as she sat in one of the many chairs littered across the Headmaster's Office. Serverus Snape sat rigid in a nearby chair, staring blankly across the room at nothing in particular, a haunted look in his eyes. And himself...well, even he had to admit he was feeling a bit...jumpy...maybe paranoid, at the moment, pacing around the office, glancingfurtively at all entrances, waiting for a pack of Death Eaters to leap out of nowhere.
But was any of their reactions incorrect, considering what they had just lived through?
It all happened so fast, if it had not been for the reflexes developed in him from a lifetime as an Auror, they wouldprobably all be dead. There had been an important report--important enough to summon the Order together--but Albus had insisted not to bother the Weasleys about it until later that day. Perhaps that was a mistake, looking back, he was not sure.
The report had been grim, apparently Voldemort had planned an attack on the Burrow while Harry wass off guard, and free of some of his protections. The Order had agreed that they should send four to warn the Weasleys immediately, and hopefully help protect them if they were attacked. The meeting had been hurried, and the four candidates quickly chosen.
Albus, Minerva, Serverus, and he had rushed into the living room to Floo to the Burrow--it would have been foolish to Apparate in a house so full, you never knew who and on where you would land, and it would have taken too long to Apparate outside and stand knocking on the door until a Weasley finally got around to opening up. He should have suspected it before, but that would have meant a spy in the Ordre, a traitor hidden among his 'friends'.
Even Albus had seemed shocked as the green fire erupted into a blue flame.He, himself had only barely been able to erect a ward around the four in the room, before the building had been engulfed in blue flames.
The Burrow was temporarily forgotten as they rushed into the other rooms, searching for Order members.
Tonks...Shacklebolt...Doge...Diggle...Vance...Podmore...Jones...Mundugus...Lupin...all of them...gone in mere moments.
Moody frowned.
Yes, they had grossly underestimated their enemy, and they paid the price dearly.
Worst of all, when they tried to Floo the Burrow--after using a portkey to return to Hogwarts just incase--they could not connect. Either they had been cut off from the Floo networks...or the destination did not exist anymore. The golden feather deposited only moments ago by the phoenix Fawkes had answered that question.
The Order was destroyed.
It was over. The resistance had finally fallen.
The end had come.
Just in my mind
Not in real life
I must be dreaming
AN:Yes. I am a HG/HP fan as well. But you won't see much of that but the angst.
And...I'm looking for a song, or at least the lyrics to it...the chorus goes something like "I tried to go on like I never knew you, but without you I am incomplete" I'd think it'd be called 'Incomplete'...does anyone know the artist, or better yet, have the lyrics?
So...the POV and narration was weird in this chapter, but consider it an artistic style, I meant it to feel somewhat off, kind of to fit the tune playing through it in my mind.
Due to this rumor I've heard that has banned responding to reviews via ANs, I will be responding via a self-written review. Just to be safe.
And for...some of you...who must be feeling very smug with yourselves, thinking you know who the spy is---QUIT IT! XD. The spy is not who you think it is. I guarantee it. >.
You may be wondering why Fred and George Apparated into the (remains of the) Burrow, yet the Order membersdidn't want to?Simple. F/G quite relished the idea of popping up out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights of the people near them.(Which is why they were laughing)
As for the scar, well...it's hard to explain how the pain worked...something similar to phantom pain...which is why he didn't just black out. Really, it's incredably hard to explain.
Reffering to the Order members mentioned, I mentioned only the ones mentioned in the intro-chapters of book 5. There are probably more, but as Moody 'said' 'all of them'...fill in the blanks. Yes I realize some were thrown into Azkaban, but as they were under the Imperius Curse, I figure they'd be released--and I don't remember any Order member other than Sirius 'dying' as of the end of Book 5.
Okay.
I think that's everything.
XD
Now for the reviewing? Ehh...I hope I got the characters right. I'm not sure if Arthur and Lucius are on a first-name basis or not, they tend not to speak directly to one another.
-Yusagi Sombermoon