A/N: Terribly sorry this took so long. My Internet service provider is still screwed up, and it's been randomly
eating my emails, both those I send and those I receive. A thousand apologies to everyone, and most
definitely a thousand thanks to anyone who reviewed. *bows* Here you are:
AmandaMancini - People keep telling me they print out my stories. *looks flattered* Are they really worth
it?? ashkickerchic - of course it's H/H, I'm an H/H fan to the death! StarFish - Hi Nick! I remember you!
Thankies so much for always reviewing, I love it! Miki_Rainwater - Praise? *blushes* I should be strung up
for making you guys wait so long .. but here it is! Corinne Cassandra Valard - Hehe, I love involved readers.
Harry is a bit of a jerk in that scene, I think I'm going to rewrite it. Trance - that's characteristic of me. I'm a
Mad Cliffhangerist. ;) Karen A. Plattes - Backwards? That should be interesting. ^_^ hermione potter -
thanks for the emergency job, and how did you guess? I only found out that similarity after I wrote it!
Well, here you-all go! I hope you enjoy it, 'cause I had to rewrite one ... particular ... scene .. *winks at Me
Myself and I.* I couldn't stop laughing after you pointed that out .. ;)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione stared at her, unbelieving. Then, slowly, things begun to come together.
"You don't have any lipstick!" she gasped. "That day - Parvati came in and asked you for makeup, and you
didn't have any lipstick. But your lips were smudged that night when you came back from Ron's date!"
"Yes," Lystra said, smiling slightly, "I can't wear lipstick, you know. It covers up the poison, so when I kiss, I
can't kill them."
"So - what -"
"Some of the poison leaked out. I was about to kill him, and instead it dribbled down my lips when I missed
.."
"You - you - Ron -" Hermione gasped out. "You didn't kill him, you just brushed his lips, didn't you? .. before
something interrupted you!"
Lystra's face darkened and she advanced on Hermione. The turquoise eyes blazed in her white face. She
looked suddenly dangerous. "Yes," she growled, "that fool, that pigheaded stupid boy realized what I was .. I
was careless enough to let slip my secret .. and he jerked away..yelled for help..so I had to start my acting a
little bit early."
Hermione inched a little backward, still protectively standing in front of Harry's unconscious form.
"But it didn't work!" she blurted out, anger coursing suddenly through her. "It didn't work! Ron's not dead,
and neither is Harry!" she said triumphantly. "And I've found out your secret!"
"Yes.." said Lystra slowly, a grin spreading across her face. "Yes, that is a bit of a problem. However," she
stepped again toward Hermione, "that can be remedied.."
Hermione got what she meant. She looked automatically towards the stairs to the dormitories.
Lystra, following her gaze, laughed derisively. "No one will hear you scream," she whispered, her eyes
glowing suddenly with an inner light that gave Hermione a chill up her spine. This woman was mad.
"No one will hear you scream," she whispered again, taking a step closer.
Hermione moved back, clutching Harry's limp wrist.
"I can kill you, Granger, before you make a sound. I am Lord Voldemort's creation. I am perfect, a perfect
instrument of death, raised and trained to kill."
Hermione stared back into those sinister eyes, lit with a fire that burned cold at the thought of death.
I held off Voldemort, she thought desperately. I did, me and Harry. But Harry is unconscious - I don't even
know if he'll even wake up at all - and I have no protection. None at all.
"Come on, Harry, wake up," she murmured, shaking Harry's wrist. "I need you.."
Lystra took another slow, measured step towards her. Her lovely face was screwed up into a grimace of
hatred.
Hermione stared at her, then backed up and shook her head, tightening her grip on Harry's limp wrist. "I
won't let you kill him," she choked. "I won't let you do it."
But Lystra's eyes were shining. "Yes," she said. "I'll kill him first. And he'll die without ever knowing,
Hermione dear, without ever knowing that you were right about me. That I was his undoing." She let out a
low chuckle. "Now hand him over to me. He is, after all, what I came here to accomplish in the first place.
Work before pleasure, you know."
"No!"
"Very well, then," Lystra said suddenly, straightening. Before Hermione knew what was going on, Lystra had
whipped forward with inhuman speed and knocked Hermione a blow to the gut that sent her flying
backward.
Hermione let go of Harry's wrist, surprised and out of air. She gasped for oxygen as Lystra pulled Harry's
body up from the floor with strength that no teenage girl certainly ever had.
Lystra whipped out a long, dark wand and shot something blue at Harry. It surrounded him and lifted him a
few feet above the ground, still unconscious, where he floated gently.
"You let go of him," Hermione growled, getting her wind back and rolling over into a crouch. "Right now."
Lystra ignored her. "What if I don't?" she said boredly, studying Harry inside the blue as if he were a
specimen in a tank. "You'll curse me? That won't work. I've been working with you in your classes. I know
what you're capable of, and you can't hurt me."
Hermione clenched her teeth. Somehow, she thought Lystra was right. She couldn't get the better of the
strange girl in a duel. But .. what could she do?
*
Harry felt like he was drowning, drowning in cold liquid. His nostrils were full of that sickly sweet scent
about Lystra - an overpowering stickiness that made him want to throw up. His entire body was cold - he had
never been so cold in his entire life. He could not stop shaking.
Blackness was all around him .. it was like his dreams, before .. what dreams? He knew he'd dreamed
something terrible, something that had been like this blackness, but he could not remember ..
What was the last thing he'd done? He and Lystra were in the Gryffindor common room, alone, and Lystra
was about to kiss him .. then Hermione had come bursting in, yelling something. What had she said? He and
Lystra had broken apart with only a brush of each other's lips, then he had felt suddenly incredibly sleepy.
And fallen asleep, extremely quickly.
Where was he?
He looked down at his body. He was just floating there, in the same T-shirt and jeans he'd been wearing in
the common room with Lystra, just - not existing. There was infinite blackness all around him. He had an
eerie feeling, odd as this place was, that he'd been there before.
Then, scaring him nearly out of his skin, someone called to him.
"Harry!"
Harry wheeled .. and came face to face with Ron.
"RON?!"
"Harry! What are you doing here?" Ron exclaimed. There he was, red hair, freckles and all, looking perfectly
normal - except that he was just floating in space, just like Harry.
"I don't know!" Harry confessed, staring at Ron. "Ron, what are YOU doing here? You're ... half-dead! In the
hospital! You haven't shown a sign of life for days! What happened to you? And your lips - they're green!"
"So are yours, Harry."
Harry jumped and put a hand to his own lips. "Green?" he managed. "How - why.."
"It's Lystra, Harry. She nearly killed me. I was with her." At Harry's questioning look, Ron elaborated. "On
our date. Well, we were walking along the lake, you know, and Lystra was flirting like mad with me. Then
she leaned close to me, you know, like she was going to kiss me .. She got this look in her eyes that scared me
to the bone..and she whispered in my ear .."
Ron looked hard at Harry. "She whispered that she was a Death Angel. A female supporter of Voldemort's.
And she was there to kill you, separate you and Hermione."
Harry stared at Ron, his mouth open. "You're joking," he managed at last, in a dry voice. "You're joking - you
have to be!"
"Hermione was right, Harry," Ron said heavily. "She's bad news. Well, you can be sure I screamed so loud for
help that someone must've heard me .. god, Harry! She has canine teeth. Like a vampire's. And it took me a
long time to figure out but .. her lips have a poison in them. It almost killed me. And I think it almost killed
you. That's why you're here, with me."
Harry sank to his knees. "Oh my God, Ron, Hermione!"
"What? What happened?" Ron said, intensity in his voice as he dropped down beside Harry. "Tell me all
what's happened - since I got attacked. How long has it been?"
"A few days," Harry managed, hiding his face. "Hermione and I fought. On the night we found you .. she
thought Lystra had something to do with it, and I thought she was being stupid with jealousy about a pretty
face.." He shook his head, guilt flooding through him. "We broke up."
Ron grasped his arm. "Lavender," he said urgently, pulling Harry's head around to look at him. "Lavender - is
she all right?"
Harry stared at him. "She - she's staying with you. Your uh, body, I mean. She hasn't left her post since you
were attacked."
Ron let out a moan and slid to his knees. "Oh, Lavender," he muttered, clutching his hair, "I wish I hadn't - I
wish I hadn't broken up with her -"
But Harry was straightening.
"Ron - I left Hermione alone with Lystra. In the common room. Alone. Hermione knows! That's why she
broke us up. How the devil does she know?"
"Hermione's smart, Harry," Ron said dismissively, standing up. "Right now we need to worry about how
we're going to get ourselves out of this."
Suddenly, however, a white-hot flash of pain burned Harry's scar. "Dammit!" he cursed, holding his hand to
his scar.
"What? Your scar again?" Ron said concernedly, trying to lift Harry's hand and get a good look at the scar.
"Ow," Harry mumbled dully, the scar burning on his forehead. Ron's face seemed to be blurring, sliding out
of focus. Instead, the scar started to pulse, and with it - Harry let out a yell of suprise - low, chanting words
seemed to pound at the back of his head.
"Harry? Harry! What's wrong?" Ron shook Harry hard.
"Words," Harry mumbled. "Words .. they're saying something .."
"Harry! Who's saying what? Try and make it out.."
The chanting grew steadily in Harry's head. It seemed familiar .. it had a familiar ring to it..
"Foe vanquished - the leader gone, the people mourn.."
"Love of the foe - silenced, her voice lovelorn.."
"I've heard this before!" Harry yelled, breaking into the silence. "I've heard it before! My dream!"
Ron looked around. There was no one, and no words were being said. "Harry, are you all right?" he said
cautiously.
Harry paid him no heed. The voices were continuing.
"Her power gone with broken heart, soon to depart .."
"Friend of the foe - dead, murdered by the dark.."
That was it! His dream! It all came back to him now. The Great Hall, his own dead body and Ron's, Hermione
crying in her pajamas .. Lystra, chanting along with Voldemort.
But this time the chant continued, with new words he had never heard.
"Hair and eyes of brown, more beautiful than anyone else.."
"The one the foe loves, one with voice like bells,"
"Will this night be defeated by our spells."
"No!" Harry screamed, falling to his knees and clutching his head. "No! Hermione! They're talking about
Hermione!"
Ron stared at Harry, scared and bewildered. Harry was talking about voices in his head? .. "Harry, what's
wrong? What about Hermione?"
"All these together, combined to defeat,"
"Just say the word, and the last one will be beat!"
*
I wish I was Harry, Hermione thought bitterly. He could do something here. He's so much braver than me!
Oh, Harry .. I'm sorry I argued with you! Please come to me! I need you!
*
Hermione! Harry thought in despair. Oh, Hermione, Hermione, I'm so sorry I ever doubted you about Lystra!
He felt Ron's hand on his back, and realized he was shaking. Ron helped him up to his feet. "Harry- what was
that all about? Is Hermione in trouble?" Ron asked cautiously.
"Yes," Harry said, reaching up and running a hand through his hair. "Oh, God, yes. I wish I could be with her!
I never should have doubted her! I'd give anything to be back with her right now!"
~
Harry, I need you!
~
Hermione, I need you!
Lystra let out a scream as, taking both her and Hermione by suprise, Harry broke free of the blue spell and
tumbled to the floor.
* * *
There! Sorry about the cliffhanger. The next chapter is the last one, and we'll be finally done with this awful
story! ;) ~CM