Hermione carried the cube in her hand, walking towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She had made excellent time, arriving in Diagon Alley in only a few moments time. It was rather lucky that Seamus lived to close. Her heart was beating hard, however, although she did not know why. She was nervous, she guessed. Nervous about what? Well, maybe what this cube does. Or what it doesn't do.
She pushed the door of the shop forward, walking hastily in and cutting everyone who was in the long line of people waiting to be served. Several scowls were heard, and she wanted to yell at them to get over it, but she held her tongue. She nearly pushed the person who was being served now out of the way, just to get to Fred. The person glared at her, but she glared right back.
"Fred. Fred, get George out here right now, or let me go back there and talk to him. I have to talk to him," Hermione begged, holding the cube behind her back. Fred stared at her for a moment, before motioning for her to jump over the desk and go into the back room. She smiled and swung her legs over the counter. "Thank you," she added before going into the back room.
The place was familiar, seeing as she was in it only days ago. Although, still, something was different. Maybe the fact that music was playing from the direction of George's working room. She followed the music, which became clearer as she got closer to the room.
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
That song… George said he had the record of the album. She recognized it, but the name of the song did not immediately come to mind. She wondered why he was listening to such a depressing song. There were plenty of happy songs out there, and this one was definitely not one of them.
She saw George sitting in his chair, scribbling away on a piece of parchment with a pencil. Sighing, he flipped the pencil over and erased whatever he just drew. His hair was unkempt, and even though he was facing away from Hermione, she could tell he was tired just by the way he sat in the chair, head held up by his hand and elbow on the desk. She frowned, going over to him and tapping him on the shoulder.
George jumped, spinning around in his chair and putting a hand to his chest. "God, Hermione. Scare a man, will you?" he said, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "What are you doing here? Wh—Oh. You got the letter, and the, uh, cube, did you? I'm guessing it didn't work, since you look awfully, uh, upset. Oh wait, maybe that means that it did work… but then again, I told you to come if it didn't work."
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
"No, I haven't tried it yet. I don't exactly know how it works, and it got me kind of confused—don't you dare say anything to that!" she snapped angrily, pointing a finger at him as he opened his mouth, smiling lightly. The smile disappeared, and he crossed his arms, looking up at her. "Why did you send this to me? Am I supposed to be your test subject? Is it going to do something horrible to me?"
George shook his head. "No. I wouldn't have sent it to you if I knew that it was dangerous and that it would hurt you. I am not that stupid, nor am I that mean, as much as you'd probably like to think I am," he growled, his voice rising, and his appearance becoming sharper. He sat up straight and looked her in the eye, narrowing his own. "I'm not that type of person, Hermione."
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me
"Why are you listening to this song?" Hermione asked him, and he turned to his record player in the corner. "It's just so… depressing."
"It doesn't make any difference. Give me that cube. I want to show you how it works," George said, holding out his hand. Hermione pulled her hand out from behind her back and handed him the cube. He set it on his desk and stood up, holding his hand out over it. A strange, ominous glow immersed from it, and Hermione back slowly up. "Wait. You need to put your hand over it. It needs to know how many people are playing."
"Playing? Playing what?" she asked, pulling her hands in closer to her body and clenching her fists. George smiled, and Hermione reached her arm slowly out towards the cube, unclenching her hands. The cube glowed again, this time a softer purple color. She looked at him, and he scratched his head.
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me…
"I think you have to ask me first, since I was the first person to put my hand over the cube," he said, blinking slowly. "Go ahead, ask something."
"Ask what?"
"Truth or Dare, of course. I thought you knew what this cube was. After all, you were the one who came up with the idea for the cube. Well, most of the idea. You did the thing with the peanut butter, which made me have the idea to make this cube. Only I made this much more efficient. You don't have to hold it in your hands at all. It's a very smart cube. It knows everything that you are doing. If you don't do a dare, it sprays whipped cream in your face… although I haven't exactly found out how it does that yet, since I haven't tested it. But we can test it out right now! Just you and I, in a small, little game of Truth or Dare. And we'll keep it rated at a low level, so don't worry. Fred isn't back here, so there really isn't anything to be worried about. You can trust me," George smiled, and Hermione thought about this for a moment. Should she trust him? Well, she trusted him more than she trusted Fred, but still… what if this was payback? No… he wouldn't.
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
"Fine. Truth or dare?" she asked. "I can't believe I am doing this…"
"Neither can I, actually. Uh…Dare. Let's see what happens if I don't do it. Just give me a wicked random dare. Like sticking my head in the toilet or something. Not that we have a toilet here, but whatever," George shrugged, and Hermione blinked stupidly. What the hell had he just said?
"Fine… uh, I dare you to poor water all over your head," Hermione said, and the box started to glow again. George smiled, and he crossed his arms across his chest. "And then turn off the music."
"No, I am not doing that," he said loudly, and in a very monotone type voice. "And I am most definitely not turning off the music." The box glowed even more, and a blinding flash covered the room. Hermione couldn't see anything until the light went away, and she looked at George. Yeah, that was whipped cream, all right. She reached out a finger and scooped some cream onto it, sticking her finger in her mouth.
"Hey, that's pretty good," she joked, and George laughed sarcastically at her. "Hey, it is. Try some." And George did just as she said. He licked his lips, which were also covered in the white cream, and swallowed. He nodded, scooping some more cream up with his hands.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me…
Me…
Me…
"Okay, Hermione, truth or dare?" he finally asked her.
"Truth, I'm not taking anymore dares from you or your stupid brother ever again," she answered quickly, and he smiled lightly at her. "I usually learn from my mistakes, and I know I definitely did this time." She raised her eyebrows at him, smiling as she waited for her truth.
"Okay, just so you know, if you don't answer the truth, the cube will know. If you don't you'll have to keep doing it, or the cube won't let you out of my sight until you tell me the truth. That was a little thing I added, just because it seemed like a fun idea. Although… that could get weird… what if someone was playing this game and they had to go to the bathroom?" he trailed off on a totally different subject, thinking about this for a few moments. "Anyways, I was wondering… why did you really leave two years ago, and why do you look so different? I knew you were lying before, so…"
"Why do you always have to ruin something fun? Not that I am enjoying this or anything. Oh wait, I'm usually the one ruining everything fun. Ha, whoops. Wait… I just insulted myself. God," she said, and George narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine. I'll tell you. I left two years ago… because… I just can't tell you. You, of all people, I just can't tell. I don't know why… I just can't."
Long lost words whisper slowly to me
Still can't find what keeps me here
When all this time I've been so hollow inside
I know you're still there
The redhead frowned, and Hermione sighed. "It's just one of those things, you know? One of those things that you've kept a secret from everyone, just to save them from the truth. Because you're better off not knowing the truth. I'm serious when I say that, too," she told him.
"Come on, it can't be that bad. What, you left because you felt rejected? You left because you felt stupid?" he asked, and she shook her head. He exhaled loudly. "You couldn't even tell Ron that you were leaving. He was heartbroken. He thought it was something he did."
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry about that. I really am. But he would have felt bad either way. Look at me. Look at what I've become. This skinny, depressed body. I'm always tired, always weak, always in pain. Because that is what I have become," she snapped at him.
Watching me, wanting me
I can feel you pull me down
Fearing you, loving you
I won't let you pull me down
"I don't get it," he said slowly, as he turned off the record, shaking his head slowly. "I don't get it. What are you talking about."
"I've tried to be stronger. I didn't want to be affected by emotions anymore. What good that is doing me," Hermione laughed to herself, as her eyes watered. "I left for a reason. Do you really want to know what that reason is?" George nodded, and she smirked.
"Fine," she said. "George, I… I left because… God, I can't say it! I…"
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Author's Note: I left you in total suspense! Bwah ha ha ha! I am so proud of myself for leaving you like this. And you all sit in your chairs, confused beyond belief, I'm sure. But don't worry. You'll find out why she left in the next chapter, I promise. I swear you will. Or do I? Dun, dun, dun!
Anyways, I'd like to thank mi amiga Belle Heart y mi otro amiga Zavi for being so cool. And Belle Heart is such a great friend/fan, and I haven't properly thanked her. So thankies to them!
Let's see. The plot is mine…that's basically it for this chapter. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling. Also, the songs, "My Immortal," and, "Haunted," belong to Evanescence.
