Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter world (much to my dismay), hence writing on a fanfiction site.
Chapter Twelve
I had a whole lot of trouble getting to sleep that night and for the first time it wasn't because of bad dreams. My mind was sloshing around inside my skull. I couldn't think of anything but Remus, the feelings of his arms around me, of his warm, solid chest... it was enough to drive anyone mad. Thoughts and images of him ran laps through my head on a never ending track. I should never have been so forward and no matter what how much I wanted to believe I wasn't in control, I knew full well it was my own fault. What am I going to do? How am I going to see him every day and pretend that everything's normal? How am I going to be with him knowing that I can never be with him? What am I going to do? A repeat of unanswerable questions flowed one after another. Finally, near four in the morning, I managed to think myself into complete exhaustion. I feel into a fitful sleep.
"Well, Rodolphus, I'm waiting." There was a danger in that voice, a sort of poison.
"M-my Lord, we've reached a b-bit of a hitch in the plan," Rodolphus, I assume, replied. From such a low vantage point, I could see his whole body quivering in fear under his heavy, black, Death Eater robes. I stared unblinking with an unexplainable loathing. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about how pathetic he was.
"Indeed." I could sense the danger growing. I tensed with excited anticipation.
"Y-yes, my L-Lord. It would s-seem that the family will n-not be returning to their home for the h-holidays as we'd originally been led to believe. The g-girl will either be at H-Hogwarts under D-D-Dumbledore's protection or hidden in an Order safe house." The air seemed to crackled with rage. I was almost giddy with expectation.
"I don't ever want to hear that name again, is this understood, Rodolphus?"
"Yes, m-my master! Please, f-f-forgive me!"
"Crucio!" The sound of screams filled me with delight; I could hardly contain myself. The curse was removed, and the pathetic man lay curled on the floor, gasping for breath. "You do not ask me for forgiveness." I could sense a shift of attention from the chair above me. "Wormtail!"
An even more despicable rat of a man scuttled into the room, appearing from the darkness. He bowed as low as his stub legs would permit, then bowed a little further. "My Dark Lord."
"Do you know what it is that I want, Wormtail?" There was a hint that the wrong answer could prove deadly.
"Yes, master." He seemed to sense the threat as well.
"Tell me, my cowardly servant, what is it?"
"You want the girl, my Lord...?" He ended in a question, horrified that he would be punished. I could only hope.
"Yes, I want the girl," his tone chilled, I couldn't wait for what I knew would come next. "How then Rodolphus, do you suppose I will acquire what it is that I want, if you are incapable of following my orders?" Rodolphus twitched uselessly on the ground.
"Wormtail, it would seem that I've a proper assignment for our informant inside of Hogwarts. Contact him, now." His tone suggested retribution if his will was not done. I watched him retreat unharmed; what a disappointment.
"You see, Rodolphus, your folly hasn't cost us too much." I could taste the fear in the air, "but you have let me down before and you may find that your folly is going to cost you much," I uncurled myself from the base of my master's chair, barely containing my ecstasy.
"Nagini, I think you'll find that my servant here is no longer in need of his hand," At last! I launched myself forwards without restraint at the shrieking form in front of me, ripping through flesh when my fangs connected. I gorged on blood and meat. That poisonous laugh filled the room, once more.
I was violently ripped out of my body and I screamed in agony, feeling hot pain fill my being. when I wrenched open my eyes, four alarmed pairs stared back.
"Ginny, are you alright?" Valerie Cobb, the girl whose bed lay beside mine, asked, clearly shaken. I didn't even try to answer because I felt so nauseous. I couldn't stop imagining that I had the taste of blood in my mouth.
"She looks like she's going to be sick," noted Bonnie Maye, the girl on my other side.
"Do you want us to go get someone?" One of the other girls asked, I couldn't tell which. At first I thought about how much I really, really didn't want either of them to get anyone, in fact, I didn't even want this to leave the dormitory. It was a real sign of my recent mental development when my very second thought was that I needed to let someone appropriate know what I'd just learnt.
I nodded my head vigorously and for some reason, they each nodded back, not quite sure what else to do. I summoned up all my energy and managed to give them a little help, "Please, would you get McGonagall?"
Val grabbed Bonnie, and the two of them headed downstairs. Sara and Kaliesha sat awkwardly on the end of my bed, almost falling back asleep. I heard a commotion downstairs coming from the common room. I wasn't entirely curious when I heard McGonagall's voice floating up the stairs, but when I heard my brother's voice and Neville's, I couldn't stop myself from going to look into it. The two girls half heartedly tried to tell me that I should stay in bed, but they felt much more inclined to follow my idea by going back to bed.
I hobbled down the staircase, feeling entirely too disoriented from the pain in my head to walk straight. I entered the common room, not expecting it to be fully lit and filled with a bunch of people (I mean, it was 5 in the morning, most people should have been passed out from all the festivities). McGonagall was standing in the center of the room, facing a shirtless Ron and decidedly scrumpled Neville who were supporting a terribly shaky, slightly green looking Harry. Dean and Seamus stood behind, looking rather pale and equally dishevelled. Everyone had an undeniable look of concern on their faces.
I spotted Bonnie and Val standing slightly off to the side, seemingly undecided on whether they should make their presence known or not. They clearly wanted to see what was going on as well. I headed in their direction, unnoticed by the bulk of the group. I waited with them, nodding my head in greeting. I did feel entirely less ignorant about the situation and felt pretty sure that I'd managed to extrapolate what had happened. I supported myself with the back of the couch and listened.
"He sort of stopped screaming and went into a fit or something," Seamus explained. "I mean, we've all seen Harry have nightmares before, but this seemed much worse than usual." Dean and Neville nodded in firm agreement. McGonagall and Ron shared a meaningful glance that only I understood.
"Alright, Mister Weasley, why don't you take Mister Potter to the hospital wing for the night, he's not looking too well." Ron took full support of Harry from Neville and manoeuvred him out of the portrait hall with some difficulty. "The rest of you, head back to your dorms." She quickly turned and made to follow, but Neville's voice stopped her.
"Professor? When we woke Harry, he sort of mentioned something..." There was a significant pause while McGonagall turned to look at him, we all did. "He mentioned something about You Know Who contacting someone at Hogwarts... Could this be true? We all know about Harry's connection with him, so could this mean that he actually has a contact in the school?" Everyone looked terrified at the idea. Dean and Seamus stared McGonagall down, clearly wanting to know the answer to Neville's question as well. This confirmed my assumptions about the situation. Harry and I had had the same dream. All eyes turned to her.
"Longbottom, it's hard to know for sure right now. We're heading into dark times and it seems the most appropriate measure is hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." Everyone seemed to fall into a deep contemplation of this. "Now back to bed, all of you," she finished, changing her tone and attitude so suddenly it startled the group of us. I started to feel a lightness in my head, as if I'd sat up way too quickly. McGonagall was almost out of the portrait hole when a cry from Val brought her back.
"Professor! Ginny's just fainted!" Oh, great.
TBC
Author's note: I know, I know, it's super short and I'm sorry, but I wanted to get this out before I crack down on all my culminating projects for school. Plus, that's a good enough spot to end it, right? Anyways, I'm feeling wildly celebratory because I just got my acceptance into University which is such a relief! I'd also just like to thank Snaluck, pbk and TemperedRose for your wonderful reviews :) You guys keep me going!
TemperedRose: Oh, you'll see how those two play out, I have all my plans for the pair of them ;)
