Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Doctor Who, just the plot to this story.
Chapter 27: Legilimens
~ AMY ~
Everything was right with the world… except for the fact that Amy was, again, in the process of trying to off the Headmaster.
The plan didn't work, of course. Much like that of what happened with the necklace, another student was harmed in the process: Ron Weasley. Long story short, Slughorn was supposed to give Dumbledore the poisoned mead, not Harry and Ron. Even though Ron was the only one that drank the poison, Amy was at least relieved that Harry was alright.
Amy, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were sitting in the Hospital Wing with Ron. He was still unconscious, but it was the fact that they were there that mattered.
Hermione, despite whatever was happening between her and Draco, was right at Ron's bedside, holding his hand. Amy was next to her, while Harry and Ginny sat across from them, holding each other's hands. They waited patiently for the rest of the Weasley clan to arrive. As if on cue, Fred and George barged in and ran to their brother's side, pushing Harry and Ginny away to get a better look. "How did it happen?" George asked, keeping his eyes on Ron. Harry relayed the story to the twins, as he had done for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just minutes ago.
"Where's Mum and Dad? Have they gotten here yet?" Fred looked to Amy.
"They've already seen him. They're with Dumbledore now, but they'll be back soon." Amy took Fred's hand and stroked it. She knew that Ron was going to be okay, despite the fact that he had just been poisoned; Harry was able to get to him in time with the bezoar.
"Are you sure the poison was in the drink? Could Slughorn have slipped anything in while you weren't looking, Harry?" Fred asked.
"He would've had the time but… why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?"
"Maybe the poison was meant for you, Harry. You know, with the whole 'Chosen One' thing and all."
"I don't think that's it, though. Dumbledore reckons that Voldemort's been trying to get Slughorn on his side, but Slughorn's been in hiding all this time."
"I still think it's possible he could be a Death Eater..." George stated.
"Or he could be innocent," said Ginny. "The poison could have been in the bottle, in which case it was probably meant for Slughorn himself."
"Maybe Voldemort wants him out of the way, then. Maybe he thinks he could be valuable to Dumbledore." Harry sighed.
"But you said Slughorn had been planning to give that bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas," Ginny reminded him. "So the poisoner could just as easily have been after Dumbledore."
"If that's the case then the person giving Slughorn the poison should have known that he would most likely keep the mead for himself," Harry added. Damn, I should have realized that. Of course, Slughorn kept the mead all for himself.
Suddenly, there was a slight movement from Ron's direction. His mouth moved as he murmured "Er...my...nee" under his breath.
Everyone stared at him in silence, waiting for him to say something else. But he just fell right back into a deep sleep, beginning to snore again. Everyone looked between Ron and Hermione for a while, until the Hospital Wing doors flew open.
Hagrid came running in towards them, making the rest of the room shake.
"Bin in the forest all day!" he panted. "Aragog's worse, I bin readin' to him — didn' get up ter dinner till jus' now an' then Professor Sprout told me abou' Ron! How is he?"
"He's doing fine, Hagrid. He'll be better soon."
"No more than six visitors at a time!" said Madam Pomfrey, hurrying out of her office to yell at everyone. Amy looked around to the others in the room and decided that she should be the one to leave. "I'll see everyone later, then. I'm going to head up to the library. Start on some homework." Amy stood up and let Hagrid take her seat. As she walked out, she could tell that Fred's eyes were on her, but she wasn't going to take him away from Ron right now. Amy turned in Fred's direction and gave him a simple nod. He smiled and nodded back, then turned his attention back to the conversation.
Amy exited the Hospital Wing and headed towards the library. She promised Tonks she would try and keep her grades up this term, and knowing that Tonks could check on her at any time helped her to follow her guardian's rules.
Amy woke up the next morning, showered, and got dressed. It was only seven in the morning on a Sunday, so she kept quiet so that the other girls in her dormitory could sleep. She thought of asking Hermione to come along with her to check on Ron, but when she looked towards Hermione's bed, it was empty; as if she hadn't slept there at all last night. Amy finished buttoning up her plaid shirt and went off to the Hospital Wing. She knew that this was all her fault, what happened to Ron and Katie. If only she had said no to Dumbledore when he made here swear to work with Draco. They'd been doing this for the past six months and she wanted out. She was thinking about leaving Hogwarts and returning to Leadworth to live out the rest of her life as a muggle, but she knew that Dumbledore would be able to find her, no matter where she was.
Amy descended the final staircase, turned the corner, and entered the Hospital Wing. When she arrived, she could see Ron laying in his bed with Hermione's body draped over his. She was still in yesterday's clothes, implying that she stayed here all night. Amy smiled to herself. In the chairs next to Ron's bed, Fred, George, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were all asleep. The only one that was awake was Ron. He was watching Hermione very carefully, trying not to wake her. Amy approached the group with caution, not wanting to wake anyone.
"How are you feeling?"
Ron's head tilted up. He smiled when he caught sight of Amy. "Amy. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? What's going on?"
"You mean, you don't remember?" She pulled a chair up to his bed as they continued their conversation in whispers. "You were poisoned in Slughorn's office last night."
"Poisoned? Must've been one hell of a birthday, then..." Ron chuckled.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Amy reached into her purse and pulled out a box covered in wrapping paper. She passed it over to Ron, who unwrapped it with ease.
"Wow, Amy!" Inside the box was a small silver ring. On the inside circle, the words 'Bloody hell, you're good at Quidditch!' were engraved.
"Do you remember?" Amy laughed.
"Of course. It was your first trip to the Burrow and you and I played in a Quidditch match with Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. No offense, but I didn't expect you to play that well… This was the first thing I said to you."
"Yeah, well… I didn't know what else to get you, so… "
"I love it, Amy. Thank you," Ron leaned over, kissed Amy's forehead, and then ruffled her hair with his free hand. He placed the ring on his middle finger and smiled. "I can't believe it's been ten years."
"I know," Amy sighed. "So much has happened since then… too much."
"What do you mean?"
"You know… everything that we've all gone through. And we're all so young."
"Yeah, I guess. But we all got through it alright, didn't we?"
"Not all of us..." Amy immediately thought back to the moment when Sirius Black died right before her eyes. "What about Sirius?" They sat there in silence.
The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione began to stir after a few minutes. The conversation went on with everyone concerned — "Ron, how are you feeling? "— but by the late afternoon, Madam Pomfrey forced everyone except for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to leave so that she could do some tests. Fred and George took this as a sign to return to their flat in Diagon Alley, while Amy and Hermione went back to the Common Room to meet up with Harry and Ginny. On their way up, Amy asked Hermione about what was going on with her, Draco, and Ron. Hermione dodged answering the question by changing the subject. Amy didn't want to bother her too much on the subject, so she let it go.
"How is he?" Harry ran up to Amy and Hermione as they entered the room.
"Give them some space, Harry," Ginny walked over and took his hand to calm him down. She then looked into Amy's eyes pleadingly. "But, um… yeah, how is he?"
"He's fine. Madam Pomfrey is just running some tests for now, but he should be released soon He'll have to rest for a bit, though." Hermione smiled at the couple and then excused herself so she could go change into a new set of clothes.
"Did Hermione stay with him all night?" Ginny smiled at Amy.
Amy giggled and nodded her head, then turned to Harry. "Not to turn away from the subject at hand, but, what're we going to do about Quidditch? I'm already subbing in for Katie while she's being treated. The only people from the original team that are left are the both of you, Demelza, Jimmy, and Ritchie."
"Sad to say we've already figured that one out..." Harry turned around and pointed to a sixth year Gryffindor boy sitting on the sofa with a smug look on his face.
"Cormac!? You asked him to sub for Ron?"
"Well, I didn't exactly ask him. He kind of cornered me and Ginny when we came back from the Hospital Wing last night. I had no choice but to give him the position."
"Well, alright then," Amy sighed. "I guess I'll meet up with you both later; I promised Professor McGonagall I would help some of the first and second years with their transfiguration."
Of course, that was a lie.
Amy left the Common Room and headed for Dumbledore's office; she and Draco had another meeting with him today.
Amy hated lying to her friends — really, she did — but she didn't see how else she was supposed to go through with this without keeping the truth from them. Whenever she talked with her friends, she had to watch what she was saying; she could never tell the whole story… and now she was partially, no, solely responsible for the near-death of two students — one of which that had been one of her best friends for the past ten years.
Dumbledore required that Amy withhold the truth from her friends; of course, Draco had nothing to worry about, seeing as he really didn't have any friends, which Amy kind of envied at the moment…
When the pair arrived in the office of the Headmaster, they were surprised at his disappointment in their failed attempt to murder him. Although he was in on the ruse, Amy never expected him to be this upset over being alive.
"How hard is it to murder me? Especially when I am expecting it."
"You can't expect me to just be able to kill you after everything you've done for me. Besides, it's not my fault Slughorn was careless enough to forget to give you the mead." Amy stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Dumbledore. "You just don't get it, do you? Draco and I care about you… or at least I do. We're not just going to kill you without a second thought. It's like you don't even know us." Amy turned around and stormed out of the Headmaster's office, slamming the door behind her. She descended the staircase and entered the hallway; she heard another set of footsteps catch up with her from behind.
"It's March, Pond. I have three months before the deadline is up. If I—we—don't carry out his task, then… he'll kill me. He'll kill me, my parents… maybe even you." Draco looked into Amy's eyes, begging for her help. She knew what the deal with Voldemort was—she didn't have to be reminded: if she didn't assist Draco in the assassination of Albus Dumbledore, a lot of other people would die. "I need your help, Pond."
Amy stared at him and sighed. "Do you know what it's like, Draco? Having to betray the trust of the only friends I have here? Harry? Ron? Ginny? They all hate you. Hermione's the only one that barely tolerates you—"
"She tolerates me? Did she really say that?"
"Just stop it, Draco. Every night I have to sneak away from my friends—after lying to them—and meet with you, someone that doesn't even acknowledge me as a friend."
"Because if I did, it'd be putting you in danger! Do you know how many people I have wronged in this school? Too many. And any of them would be more than happy to go after anyone that dares associate themselves with me: a stuck-up, racist, pure-blood, as they would say."
"Well… at least we can say you're not racist anymore," Amy chuckled. "You'll always be a stuck-up pure-blood." Amy changed her expression to match his. "I'll help you Malfoy, but don't think that means I won't turn the Death Eaters in later on." Amy moved in closer to him. "I don't know what'll happen once Dumbledore is dead. But I sure as hell won't be joining your side with the Death Eaters, nor will I stand around and let everything happen. I'm going to help you Malfoy, but… I need your word that—after Harry defeats Voldemort—and he will defeat him—you won't associate yourself with the Death Eaters anymore. It's the only way I'll agree to help you."
Draco leaned against the nearest wall a slid down it, placing his head into his hands; Amy decided to join him on the floor. "Draco, you know that I have no idea the pressure you're under right now… maybe, if you just told me something, it could be easier on you."
"You know I can't. I made an Unbreakable Vow to not reveal any crucial information."
Amy sat up straight and placed her hand on his back; Draco lifted his head and looked straight through her. "Maybe you don't have to say anything." Draco looked at her with confusion. "This may hurt a bit." Amy reached into her bag and drew her wand, slowly.
"What are you doing, Pond?" Draco tried to move away from her.
"I'm going to help you." Amy took his hand in hers and held her wand to his forehead.
"Legilimens!"
"Amy… are you alright?" No, she wasn't.
When Amy awoke, she was lying on a bed in the middle of the Hospital Wing. She didn't know how she got there or how long she had been there. The last thing she remembered was trying to open up Draco's mind.
"Amy, what's wrong? What happened?" Amy slowly opened her eyes to see that she was surrounded: sitting next to her were Ginny, Harry, and Hermione and standing next to her were Madam Pomfrey and no other than her Head of House, Minerva McGonagall.
Amy struggled to sit herself up, so she resorted to staying in a lying position.
"Miss Pond, are you alright? You had us all scared to death!" McGonagall motioned for Madam Pomfrey to leave them; the only ones left now were Amy, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and McGonagall. "Mr. Malfoy carried you into my classroom stating that you had collapsed in the middle of the corridor."
"Why did you bring me here?" Amy muttered. She looked to her left to the next bed and saw Ron smiling at her.
"You too, huh?"
"I—I don't understand… what happened?" Amy looked around at her friends, but they looked just as clueless as she.
"You passed out, Pond" Malfoy walked up to the group.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Ron narrowed his eyes and pointed at Draco.
"I saved your little friend's life, Weasley. I think I deserve to be here."
"Where is she?! Is she alright?" At that moment, a hoard of Weasley's entered the Hospital Wing in full charge towards Amy; she was now completely caged in by her Head of House, her sixth-year friends (and Ginny), along with Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George. Fred immediately shoved past everyone to be next to her; he practically pushed Ginny out of her seat so that he could sit with Amy.
After being bombarded with multiple questions about what happened and her health, Madam Pomfrey, once again, yelled at the bunch: "Only six visitors at a time!" Seeing that her friends had been there so long, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco took this as a sign to leave; McGonagall took it upon herself to bring Arthur and Molly up to the Headmasters office to discuss what had happened. All that was left were the Weasley brothers (except the prat, Percy), including Ron, who was still lying in his hospital bed.
"Long time no see." Charlie sat down on the bed next to her and ruffled her hair. "How're you feeling, Amy?"
"Honestly?" Amy let out a dry laugh. "I have no idea." Fred tightened his grip on his girlfriend's hand; Amy turned to face him. She hated that he was seeing her like this: weak and in pain. "You shouldn't be here." Amy looked around at all of the brothers. "None of you should. I know you all have better things to do. Bill? Aren't you supposed to back at the cottage with Fleur? You know...planning your wedding." She turned her head to second-oldest Weasley. "And Charlie, aren't you supposed to be in Iceland dealing with dragons?"
Bill moved closer to the bed. "We put it on hold. Fleur understands how important you are to our family. She wishes she could come too, but one of us has to stay and watch over the cottage."
"And as soon as word got to me in Iceland about what had happened to you, I knew I had to get here right away. Besides, Iceland is only a short broom-ride away from here." Charlie smiled at her.
"Oi!" Ron yelled from his hospital bed. "So when Amy's hurt, everyone comes running from across the whole of Europe, but when I get poisoned no one makes a fuss?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Bill smirked.
Amy heard the door the Hospital Wing open and close, but due to the barricade of Weasley's surrounding her, she couldn't tell who it was. Charlie spun his head around to check who was at the door. He sat upright. "Nymphadora," he breathed out. Charlie stood up and ran over, to where Amy could now see Tonks was standing and engulfed her in a long embrace.
Tonks' appearance had only slightly altered since the last time Amy had seen her—which was this past November; almost four months ago. Instead of the long, dark brown hair Tonks had been sporting for a while, recently, her hair was now back to its original short, bright pink. Maybe that's a good sign… maybe she's cheered up a bit.
Amy knew that Charlie and Tonks had grown up together in their first four years at Hogwarts, and then rekindled their friendship when Amy began hanging around with the younger Weasley's; but over the past few years, their encounters had been limited with everything that had been going on in the wizarding world. Though, Amy knew that Tonks wasn't here to visit her closest friend, but to check on Amy. Charlie and Tonks smiled at each other and exchanged a nod, most likely meaning that they would catch up with each other later on. Tonks walked over to where Amy was laying and took her free hand, while Fred still had a tight grasp on the other.
"What have I told you about getting yourself into trouble, Amelia?" Tonks stared at her in disappointment and sighed, but she laughed it away as she pulled Amy into a loose hug, knowing how Amy was still in pain. "I'm going to go have a talk with Madam Pomfrey; try to get an understanding of what happened." Tonks was about to let go of Amy's hand when Amy decided to pull her back.
"No!" Amy stared into Tonks' eyes.
"Alright, then." Confused, Tonks turned towards Bill and Charlie. "Can you go check with Madam Pomfrey?"
The eldest Weasley boys nodded and made their way to the Madams' office. Tonks then motioned for the twins to go and sit with Ron. Fred tightened his grip on Amy's hand and then released it, walking away with George. Tonks sat down on the hospital bed. "Amelia, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I don't know!" Amy threw her arms up in frustration. "It's just..." she began tearing up. "It seems like everything is slowly becoming worse, and worse, and I have no idea how to stop it."
"How do you mean?"
"Ever since I convinced you to let me come to Hogwarts, my life just seems to have gone downhill. And it's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault… it's mine."
"Hey, hey." Tonks took both of Amy's hands in hers and look her dead in the eyes. "Nothing is your fault, nothing. Alright? You have done… nothing wrong in all of the time that I have known you. You, Amelia Pond, are an amazing human being and there is nothing about you that should be different than the way it already is."
Amy let her face fall into her hands as she began to sob. "Tonks, I've done something terrible… really terrible..."
"Amelia, you can tell me—"
"But I can't talk to you about it. I can't, I… I made an Unbreakable Vow."
"Amelia… why?"
Tonks shifted herself so that the two witches were no sitting up, shoulder to shoulder, on the hospital bed. Tonks placed her arm around Amy. "Why did you do it, Amelia? I've always told you… never make an Unbreakable Vow. They only lead to trouble."
"I had to. He didn't make me, but..."
"Who? Who didn't make you?"
Amy stared into her guardians' eyes. Dumbledore. It was Dumbledore. "I can't say." He's making me kill him. "If I say anything, I'll break the Vow, and die, but I have to tell someone Tonks, I have to." Amy broke down in Tonks' arms, leaving both their robes tear-stained. They both understood that if anyone were to break an Unbreakable Vow, it could only result in death; but at this moment—here and now—Amy would rather die than continue on her quest to rid the world of Dumbledore.
Amy's sobbing must have been louder than she thought because she had attracted the attention of nearly everyone in the Hospital Wing. She moved her eyes around the room and locked eyes with Fred, and even through all the tears in her eyes, she was able to tell that he was also crying; Amy came to the conclusion that he must have heard her—everyone must have.
Madam Pomfrey quickly made her way over to Amy's bed asked that the guests leave, practically forcing them out. Tonks kissed Amy's forehead and followed through with Pomfrey's request. The nurse quickly shuffled to Amy's side, closing the curtain around the bed to exclude the remaining patients from the conversation.
"Miss Pond," Madam Pomfrey lowered her voice, "you are not well."
"You say that as if I don't know that." Amy choked out the words through her tears.
"No, Amelia, there is something wrong with your mind. You have placed too much pressure on yourself, to the point where you could not perform a simple legilimens charm. And from what I know, as a member of the Order, you are a trained Occlumens. In layman's terms: you have too many of your own thoughts in your own head that you were not able to see into Mr. Malfoy's mind."
"What do I do, Madam Pomfrey? What can I do?" Amy spoke through the tears; her crying had subsided, but some drops still remained on her face.
"Well, for one, you are excused from class for the remainder of the week; and during that week, you are to come to see me every afternoon. I don't know exactly what's going on inside that head of yours, Amelia, but it's not good. I recommend that, at sometime during the week, you visit Dumbledore."
Amy internally winced. What could Dumbledore possibly do to help her situation? The only person she could really vent to was Draco, but she knew he didn't really care about anyone, let alone her. "Of course I'll visit him, Madam Pomfrey. I'll do it on my way back to my dorm tonight." Amy hated the fact that she was lying to everyone, but what else was there for her to do? "I am being released tonight, aren't I?"
"Yes, Miss Pond. You may leave. But I suggest you say goodnight to Mr. Weasley before you do." Madam Pomfrey opened the curtains around the bed and gestured—not to Ron—but to Fred Weasley, who was standing outside the doors to the Hospital Wing, trying to look in to see her. Amy thanked Pomfrey, bid Ron adieu, and exited the Hospital Wing. She could tell that Fred had been trying to hold back his tears, trying to stay strong for her. Without any exchange of words, he gently took her hand and began to walk her back to the Gryffindor Common Room. She felt safe for now, but she knew that it wouldn't last: Fred would be leaving her, again, in order to return home that night. But she didn't want to worry about that right now. She just wanted to be with him and to feel safe in his arms.
