Disclaimer: We are not J.K. Rowling nor Lauren Oliver and therefore own neither the Harry Potter series nor the Delirium trilogy.
They Cannot Take It
by silenciothezebra
Prologue
Clunks resounded in the large room. A tall cloaked figure came sprinting in, only stopping when he reached the end of a long majestic table. Bowing, he heaved out as clear and respectfully as he could, "My lord."
A snicker echoed against the marble walls, making the barely concealed noise of amusement practically a death sentence. A pale scaly looking man sat at the head of the table on a large wooden throne like chair; he looked down the long table at his followers, his eyes falling on each of their masked faces, looking for the perpetrator.
His cold red eyes squinted maliciously at his followers; he opened his mouth, releasing a series of soft and creeping hisses. The occupants of the room stiffened; some frightened and a few delighted eyes turned to their master.
A hiss echoed against the marble walls and a large green snake slithered up their master's chair and unto the table. The air was still, no one dared to breathe as the snake passed each one of them. The snake bid its time, moving slowly and purposely looking at each single one of her master's followers. It seemed an eternity until she stopped.
The snake looked at the person before her and then to her master. The man that she was by looked at the snake wide eyed and then to his master. His master met his gaze as he had already set his steely red eyes on him. Without warning, not even a hiss, the snake pounced and launched its jaw on the man before her.
There was dull thump as the snake released its hold and the man fell back into his chair. The followers stared, surprised, at the victim of the snake as the snake slithered back to her master.
"Go on." the raspy voice of their master turned their attention away from the bleeding victim and back to the new arrival.
The tall figure bowed, saying, "My lord, the potion you requested is near finished."
That, it seems, was not what their master was looking to hear, their master's curled in a deadly frown. "Near?"
"Yes, my lord." the figure said, his voice an even monotone, not betraying any emotions that may be running inside of his head. "We are in the finishing stages. The finishing stages require a… guinea pig, so to speak, my lord. We are lacking of one to test it on; so that we may see if it works properly, my lord."
Their master's eyes hardened and he waved his hand carelessly, the chair in which lay the victim of their master's snake, flew backwards and the person fell to the ground with a dull thud.
"Take him."
Chapter One
"The most dangerous sicknesses are those that make us believe we are well."
"I'll be fine, mum." an exasperated Ginny Weasley repeated to her overly fussy mother for the twentieth time that day.
"Don't give me that tone young lady." Mrs. Weasley retorted her hands and fingers trying to make Ginny as presentable as possible - all the while repeating to be careful and not to get in trouble this year.
Not that Ginny could blame her mother. It was dangerous times now, the war in full throttle. Order members were being caught every other day and several muggleborns hadn't been heard from in weeks. The twins joke shop was attacked last week too. They had barely made it out of there alive. Bill and Fleur were protected at Shell Cottage and Charlie was safe in Romania, but Percy and Mr. Weasley were in the thick of things at the ministry.
It was only expected that she'd be this anxious about her youngest, despite being sixteen, getting out of her sight for such a long time. But that didn't mean Ginny was necessarily enthusiastic about it. She really did understand her mother's anxiety, she had been feeling the same way over her family and friends the last months after all, but Ginny would rather be helping the Order than going to Hogwarts.
What could she do to help with the war at Hogwarts of all places? How could learning how to make the strongest love potion in the world help their cause? It wouldn't, that's what. Love potions are for hopelessly flirty forever alone girls like Romilda Vane. It would be absolutely no use to help finish Voldemort.
"Mum, I'll be fine." Ginny said, recovering from her thoughts. "McGonagall is still there, isn't she? And Flitwick? Nothing will happen. It's Hogwarts after all."
Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips, restraining herself from reminding her daughter of the duels that had taken place at Hogwarts at the end of the last school year. Mrs. Weasley swallowed all of her worries and forced a smile. "Send an owl every day to your father and I, and send one as soon as you can after the welcoming feast. And just in case, send an owl to Tonks as well." Ginny nodded, hugging her mother.
"Everything will be okay, mum. I promise." She whispered softly into her mother's ear. They slowly pulled out of their embrace. Mrs. Weasley held her only daughter at arm's length, her eyes glistening with tears, and kissed her daughter farewell on her forehead.
"Keep your wand on you at all times, Ginevra." Ginny nodded, giving her mother a faint smile, not bothering to correct her mother on her name.
"See you soon." Ginny said softly, departing from her mother and entered the Hogwarts Express. She walked down the long hall, searching compartment after compartment until finally arriving at the one her two friends, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were sitting in.
"Hey." the three greeted each other. Ginny walked over to the window, peering out to see her mother. Spotting Mrs. Weasley, she gave her a slight wave as she sat down. "So."
"Have you heard anything from Harry?" Neville asked her as soon as Luna made sure the door was closed.
"No, not since Bill and Fleur's wedding." Ginny said staring at the floor of the compartment. This wasn't really what she wanted to be talking about right now.
"I'm sure Harry, Ron, and Hermione are fine, Ginny." Luna said softly.
"They can take care of themselves." Neville added.
"Yes I know but- can we just talk about something else please?" Conceding to Ginny's wishes, they changed the subject to Crumple Horned Snorkacks.
"Daddy says we'll go to Sweden for the holidays." Luna wistfully said.
"Didn't you go last year?" Neville replied. Luna nodded.
"Last summer. Daddy thinks that the Crumple Horned Snorkacks might show themselves more during winter. Colin Creevey might join us. He wants to photograph one." She gave a shy smile when she said Colin's name. Ginny smiled wide at her friend and both girls seemed oblivious to the scowl that now shown on Neville's face.
"How about Hogwarts? Do you think many muggleborns will be there this year?" he said, hoping to turn the topic away from Luna's crush.
"It sounds to me like the Order has been gathering as many muggleborns they can and have been hiding them since June. I wouldn't be surprised if there is only half the amount of students at Hogwarts this year then it normally is." Ginny replied, it had taken her so many tries to listen into one of their meetings, she was glad she had gathered some information from the snippets she had heard.
"Gran and I were hoping that, but we weren't sure." Silence fell upon the group; none of them knew what to say. Neville desperately wanted to talk about where the trio was and what they might be doing, but that was a touchy subject with Ginny. Ginny was silently glad that Neville didn't further into those conversations; they had to be talked about but … not yet. She wasn't ready.
In silence, the three friends went to reading their books, or in Ginny's case, staring out the window, watching the scenery slowly go by.
Her shoulder was shaking, "Ginny. Ginny." A voice repeatedly said. Her shoulder wouldn't stop shaking. What was wrong with her shoulder?!
Warmth left her shoulder. Someone's hand had been on her shoulder. Someone had been shaking her shoulder.
She blinked her eyes open, the light from the sun momentarily blinding her. The rhythmatic sound from the wheels hitting the rail reminded her that she was on the Hogwarts Express and not at home in her bed.
Across the compartment, on the opposite bench, Luna slept soundly. Her head resting on her arm, her Spectrespecs lopsided on her head, and her mouth slightly open releasing the softest of snores. A tall, not so lanky, boy was leaning over Luna, shaking her awake. She jerked up, surprised and confused. Ginny blinked again, her eye sight clearing more. Neville was standing tall with the concerned look on his face. "Something isn't right." He announced to the two girls. Luna stood up, wondering what he meant. She looked out the window, taking in where they were. Ginny stared at Neville, confused. "What do yo-" the train jilted to a stop, flinging Ginny against the compartment window. Slightly dazed, Ginny flinched, rubbing her cheek with her hand as she stood up from her uncomfortable position. Voices from the confused students on board could be heard through the walls and closed doors of the compartments. Neville helped Luna to her feet from where she had fallen onto the floor, "I don't think that was Crumple Horned Snorkacks." Luna's dreamy voice showed concern.
The three of them exchanged looks and quickly went to the compartment door and peaked out. Four men appeared, they were cloaked and masked, and they were only recognizable by their deep voices which were now commanding various students to return to their compartments or face consequences.
Luna's eyes went wide and looked to her friends to know what she should do. Neville's jaw was set and his eyes showed an unsettling glisten as his hand gripped his wand. Ginny, on the other hand, looked like she was having an internal battle with herself. Her lips twisted in an annoyed fashion. Her hands gripped her friends' shirts and jerked them back into their compartment.
"Don't do anything stupid, Nev. We don't have Dumbledore to bail us out anymore." Ginny said, Neville clenched his jaw harder. Luna looked back and forth between the two, her eyes bright with concern in the most un-Luna like way. Neville sat back in his seat rather reluctantly.
"Well what do you think they want?" His fingers twitched and played with a loose thread in the bench, it was as if he was taking care of one of his plants.
"They're probably checking to see if Harry is on the train." Ginny said softly and almost absentmindedly, the mention of Harry's name had been something that she was hoping on avoiding for a while, even though she was the one to say his name.
Luna looked at Ginny thoughtfully, taking in her friend's suggestion. "If I were V... you-know-who, I would send my best followers or myself to capture my worst enemy." Ginny looked at her with peculiar look on her face.
Neville's eyebrow's scrunched together, "I didn't recognize those voices. I know all of you-know-who's inner circle, at least I think I do. He would have sent Lestrange or Greyback if he thought Harry was here... you-know-who has something else planned for all of us."
At Neville's statement, Ginny quickly peeked out of her corridor again. The men were going into each corridor one-by-one. Every time they entered they were met by screams of protest and fright, and every time the left they carried out glass phials containing a red substance.
Blood!
Ginny quickly re-entered their compartment. She looked at her friends, shocked, and a bit confused. "They're taking blood!" she whispered urgently. Neville looked at her equally confused, standing up and moving past her, he peaked out their door.
"Get in!" barked a Death Eater, startling Neville. Neville quickly recovered and the three students had their wands drawn, but only to have them flying in the air from a flick of the wrist from another Death Eater.
Before Neville, Luna, or Ginny could shout with alarm, the first Death Eater raised his wand and a blue light came shooting out towards them.
A/N: This is a co-authored story. We decided to write this after discovering that two of our favorite series, Harry Potter and Delirium, had no crossover yet. We have a lot planned for this fic and we hope you enjoy it!
(Edit ~ December 30, 2012: We've moved this to the Harry Potter archives from the crossovers. We decided it's not much of a crossover to Delirium because we only have some elements from that story.)