A/N:Thank you to all of you who have read the last chapter and reviewed.. I really appreciate it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or all that is linked to it... XD
'Lavender? Please … Come back…' Seamus began to mutter Lavender's name, his voice growing ever so slightly stronger each time.
"Seamus?! It's me, Lavender, please wake up!" Lavender called to him as she struggled to sit up in her bed.
Seamus's eyes fluttered open and he had a smile on his lips. "I'd know your voice anywhere. I knew it was you before you even said it was you."
"Oh Seamus, I'm beginning to believe that babbling is one of the side-effects that dreamless potions induce." Lavender replied with apparent relief that he had finally awoken after 2 days of continuous sleep.
Fighting to stay awake, Seamus struggled to say "Lavender, don't leave me." And with that he was succumbed with exhaustion and slipped into sleep again.
"I never could even if I wanted to." Lavender replied in a whisper and she too began to doze off comforted by the fact that Seamus was safe.
The next day Harry and Ron were released and they could attend their classes as per usual on the condition that they returned to Madame Pomfrey on the weekend for a check up. They had agreed to her terms without a doubt; anything just to escape the hospital wing.
"Harry, look!! The sky is blue!", Ron exclaimed still in an unstable condition from being locked up in the hospital wing for so long.
"Ron, mate, the sky's always been blue." Harry replied but when he was sure no one was looking he too stared up at it in fascination.
"Goodness! Pull yourselves together. Anyone who would see how you're acting would think that you just served ten years in Azkaban rather than three days in the hospital wing!" Hermione said incredulously.
As they made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room they saw that the Fat Lady was still unconscious. Not knowing how to get in they began to contemplate some ideas.
"Well we could always go in from the window using the school's brooms." Ron suggested.
"Ronald are you out of your mind?! Of course we won't do that! Other than it is extremely dangerous to attempt a stunt like that I will not ride on a broom!" Hermione replied crossly.
Ron thought it best not to tell her that it really wasn't all that dangerous since he had already tried several times when Quidditch practice had run late and he was too tired to climb up all those exhausting stairs.
After several more suggestions they heard someone clear their throat noisily. They looked around, seeing nobody but swearing they heard something.
"Ahemhem!" the Fat Lady in the portrait sounded, and with her eyes slight closed shut she said, "Well just because I'm unconscious it doesn't mean that the password won't work anymore!"
They group stared at her awkwardly and then Harry said hesitantly, "Flying Pigs?" The doorway swung open and they scrambled in hurriedly all blushing at their stupidity while the Fat Lady muttered, "Flying Pigs indeed; I thought that would be the day you finally have realization smack you; Honestly!"
"Well who would have thought that the Fat Lady was such a drama queen?!" Hermione commented.
"I can still hear you!!" a voice sing-songed.
Hermione muttered something along the lines of, "hear me all you want, see if I care!" while the boys snickered.
An owl flew in from the open window and landed on Harry's shoulder; it was a note from Professor McGonagall requesting to see him after dinner that day. He went up to his dorm in search of some parchment to send a reply saying that he would be there; he thought it improper to reply on the same parchment that was sent. Harry searched his drawers and when he lost hope there he directed his attention to his trunk.
Knowing that all his school supplies were inconveniently placed at the bottom he heaved the trunk on his bed and unceremoniously dumped its contents. He quickly snatched what he was looking for and hurried downstairs to send his reply not bothering to put back everything in his trunk. In his rush he failed to notice an object of the utmost importance; an object that had been buried under his belongings for two years. A treasure waiting to be found; a glimmer of gray.
While Harry was writing his reply to McGonagall, Seamus had been stirring in his bed and when he finally woke up for the second time that day he felt very well but apparently not well enough to be released from the prison that was the hospital wing. Lavender had been sitting by his side and her lips formed a smile when she saw that Seamus had awoken.
"Hello Seamus." She greeted him quietly, almost shyly.
"Hi Lavender." He replied slowly not quite knowing the grounds that they stood on; what were they exactly?
"Lavender about Parvati, I never went out with her you have to believe me. And it broke my heart to break up with you but I had to."
"Why?" she asked in a small voice.
He hesitated for a moment but then said, "V-voldermort. Death Eaters have been sending threats to my family and for some stupid reason they wouldn't stop unless I ended things with you."
"Oh Seamus. I would have never wanted your family to be in danger! I would have understood if you told me." She said worriedly. "How are they now? Are they safe?"
"Yeah they're safe now, that's why I have all these bumps and bruises Death Eaters came when we were there, at my house."
Lavender didn't care who 'we' were and she ignored the biggest understatement of the year 'bumps and bruises', all she cared about was that Seamus and his family were safe.
"Lavender, I- " he hesitated for a moment; was he ready for this? "Lavender I really like you. Do you want to give us another shot?" he asked anxiously, chickening out of what he really wanted to say.
"I think I will suffice with 'really like you' for now." Lavender replied teasingly and leaned in to kiss him softly with a smile playing on her lips.
That evening Minerva was having a meeting via the Floo network with the Order.
"The Phoenix Feather is the essence of the Order; it had belonged to Albus. He had passed it on to Frank Longbottom who in turn passed it on to his mother, Augusta, for safekeeping. Every ten years the feather resurrects and at the time of the resurrection the feather must be with the Phoenix it belonged to, in this case Fawkes, or else a power unleashes, a power so great it might as well been surreal. The feather contains magic, which under the right circumstances, would be enough to destroy the world. A single feather is all Voldemort needs. The Horcruxes are nothing to him anymore, not if he has the feather in his possession, and that is why we must do everything in our power to keep it from him. That is the reason that Augusta Longbottom and now Nymphadora are being held against their will. It's all because of a feather." She had ended her passionate explanation with a bitter note.
"Now, you are to find out where the feather is at the moment, and be sure to check Gringotts, of course. Now, I'm forced to leave you but be sure to let me know if anything happens."
She ended her conference and with a sigh rested her forehead in her arms. She was beginning to doubt her ability of keeping everything from falling apart. It was all starting to crumble, and she did not want to be buried under the ruins. A brisk knock was at the door and wearily she called out, "Come in."
"Professor you wanted to see me?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Harry. Have a seat.
"Harry, I know that you have spoken to me about the Horcruxes. But given the current circumstances I believe that we will have to abandon that plan. We have a much greater risk at hand; something that we could use to destroy Voldemort and all his souls."
"But Professor, Professor Dumbledore himself assigned me to find the Horcruxes and destroy them, all of them."
"I know Harry, but if Albus had known what would happen now with the fea-. Harry please, I know the chances I am taking when I ask you to stop the search for the Horcruxes and I believe it is the right step to take at the moment."
"Professor if I may ask, could you please tell me what is much more important than the Horcruxes?"
"I'm sorry Harry. I don't think I can tell you, maybe in the near future but right now I don't believe that there is any reason to worry you with the Order's business. Good Night, Mr. Potter." McGonagall replied briskly expressing that there was nothing left to discuss.
"Good night Professor." Harry replied indignantly.
On his way back to the Gryffindor tower he thought about what could possibly have caused McGonagall to give up on the Horcruxes. He couldn't think of an answer nor did he think that he would get one any time soon.
Harry walked into the common room in a huff and didn't waste any time glancing around to see who was there. He went directly to his dorm and after plunking all his things in his trunk he lied down in silence thinking about everything and nothing, and for the first time in a very long time he thought about Sirius.
Ginny was sitting in the Common Room with Hermione when she suddenly asked, "Hey Herms, have you spoken to Neville recently?"
"I told you not to call me that! And no, I haven't spoken to Neville recently. Actually come to think of it, I haven't seen him all day either." Hermione replied as guilt washed over her; how could she have possibly neglected her friend?!
"Come on Ginny, let's go look for him. We'll check in the boys' dormitories first then Hogwarts grounds." She said decisively.
"But Hermione we aren't allowed in the corridors now."
"We are if we're patrolling. We are prefects and we are going to be patrolling the hallways."
"Except that it's not our duty tonight so we won't actually be patrolling." Ginny mumbled.
"Oh we'll be patrolling alright, patrolling for Neville."
"I wouldn't have dreamed of hearing anything weirder." Ginny sighed with defeat and followed Hermione up the staircase that led to the boys' dormitories although she was almost sure that Neville was safe somewhere and didn't want to be disturbed.
After turning the world upside down and then right again in the 7th year boys' dorm, well Hermione turning the world around and Ginny watching from the doorway, they still didn't find Neville. So it was off to the dark, damp, dreary corridors for them.
"So Hermy, where do you plan on checking first?" Ginny asked using the nickname that Harry had taught her.
"I thought we'd best check the Room of Requirements first; oh and Ginny? Remind me to kill Harry the next time I see him."
Ginny giggled in reply while trying to stay in-step with Hermione's quick, long strides.
When they reached the Room of Requirement's hall, Hermione began to pace. She hastily finished off her third pace and almost instantly a door appeared. Hermione did not waste any time in opening the door and swiftly disappearing behind it. Ginny not knowing what else to do, awkwardly slipped behind the door as well.
There sitting in a desolate corner was a sleeping Neville with his knees drawn up to his chest. As they drew nearer, his seemingly peaceful face had turned gaunt. His eyelids seemed to be drawing a curtain in front of what they hid; they seemed to be closed over a hollow opening. He trembled and let out a painful sob and then he collapsed to the floor. As if willing the ground to allow him his escape, bribing the ground to take his body to the other side, the side where the sun doesn't shine. A side where there was darkness and darkness alone. A darkness so inviting, so welcoming, ready to swallow your despair and pain in its depths.
Hermione acted quickly and cast some spells to help ease Neville's physical pain and to help decrease his chances of slipping into a comatose. Ginny stood shocked she had not expected this and suddenly she felt grateful that Hermione has suggested they search for Neville and that she hadn't stopped her.
Hermione slung one of Neville's arms around her neck and just noting Ginny's shocked state she yelled at Ginny to stop staring and come and help her. Ginny snapping out of her trance-like state rushed to Neville's other side and slung his free arm around her neck. They hurried the wilting Neville to the Hospital Wing all the while praying to God that they were not too late.
The pair burst through the doors with Neville sagging in the middle.
"Madame Pomfrey!! We have an emergency case here; Neville Longbottom. We found him barely alive and then … then he blacked out. We brought him here as soon as we could. I put some spells on him to decrease the chances of him slipping into a coma and I healed his wounds if he had any. I really didn't have time to check." Hermione said in a rush while she grew more and more anxious.
"Hermione dear, you've done very well. Now sit down and take a breath while I look at Mr. Longbottom." Madame Pomfrey replied calmly as she shot Ginny a meaningful look that clearly said, 'calm her down!'
The roles reversed as soon as they took a seat. Ginny became the one in charge and Hermione just lost control of herself.
"Ginny this is partly if not all my fault. I let Neville down and now he might be falling into a coma." Hermione sobbed.
"Hermione, listen to me! This is not your fault. We all kind of forgot about Neville. We're so used to his quietness that we didn't really register his absence. But you were the one that saved him. You were the one that went looking for him. That was you."
"Think about what would've happened if we were just a minute late; just one minute."
Ginny gently pulled Hermione head onto her lap and stroked her hair soothingly while she cried.
After Hermione had drifted to sleep on Ginny's lap, Ginny looked around the Wing and saw many faces she recognized. She noticed Seamus who was fast asleep while holding on tightly to Lavender's hand, who was also asleep. She saw Draco Malfoy, who refused to be let out of the Hospital Wing claiming that "Finnegan will pay when the minister of Magic sees his broken nose". Ginny chuckled, Malfoy must have been really delusional if he thought that the Minister was going to visit him at the Hospital Wing over a broken nose. Several Hufflepuff Quidditch players were in the Hospital Wing as well. There had been injured during practice when a storm of Skiving Snackboxes rained from the sky causing some of the players to faint while others suffered nosebleeds.
"It does seem that I've been visiting the Hospital Wing a whole lot this year! I'd better make friends with Madame Pomfrey if this pattern continues." Ginny giggled as she spoke to herself. It was only then that she understood the Hospital Wing's side effects that Ron and Harry had endured.
Hermione and Ginny spent the night at the Hospital Wing on the uncomfortable chairs. Hermione slept like a baby, but it was probably due to the sleep deprivation she had been facing due to exhaustion. On the other hand, Ginny did not even get an inkling of sleep; she knew she would need plenty of coffee the next morning to help her endure the full day of classes.
"Good Morning Ginny!" Hermione said as she smiled at the scowling redhead.
"Don't you 'good morning Ginny' me!" Ginny replied grouchily while her left eye twitched, "you slept all through the night; I didn't, so don't you dare talk to me."
Hermione looked as if she would speak again.
"Not even one word." Ginny growled.
Hermione kept her mouth shut all through Madame Pomfrey's speech that consisted of "Neville is doing alright now" and "Don't worry about him" and a rather blunt "Get out of here!". She kept her mouth shut when Ginny snapped at Ron when he commented at how she looked. She even kept her mouth shut when Ginny pushed Harry onto a couch and away from her while he laughed loudly. But when Ginny, unaware of who she was talking to, told Professor McGonagall to "shut up and stop nagging!" Hermione couldn't help it anymore and burst into laughter.
After Professor McGonagall issued Ginny detention with Snape for the next two weeks, Ginny asked Hermione despairingly, "Why didn't you stop me?!"
"Well, you asked me not to! And I quote, "Don't talk to me! Not even one word." Hermione replied in giggles while the boys next to her chuckled.
"I never thought I would say this but I hate you for your memory!!" Ginny said in a huff as she stomped away from the Gryffindor table with a two mugs of coffee in her hands and three glazed doughnuts.
Hermione felt a pang of guilt but brushed it away knowing that Ginny would be back to normal by mid-day.
That evening Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny all sat huddled by the fire. Discussing their visit to Neville after dinner that evening and Hermione noted how much better Neville looked, and Ginny agreed sending Hermione an apologetic smile and Hermione grinned back. They talked about other less-important things, and Harry still thinking that there was no point in sharing what happened at the meeting he had with McGonagall with them did not bring up the subject. Soon, one by one they all retired to bed and when Harry was the only one left he too climbed up the stairs slowly, entered his dorm and climbed under the sheets of his comfortable bed. A pair of grey eyes stared out from the end of his bed glittering in the moonlight.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!! :D