A/N: School is evil, I tell you. They keep me from writing, what with all the homework they give and all… Of course, a new PS2 and FFX didn't help matters too. But here's chapter 10 at last. Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks to both mystical and bucky for your kind reviews. Really, without you guys, I would've thrown this fic out of the window.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The name Tel'anran'rhiod belongs to Robert Jorden and the 'Wheel of Time'.
Dreaming of youChapter 10
Through the Mirror
"I'm sure you'll do better next time, wouldn't you, Wormtail?" Voldemort said pleasantly, a slight smile on his face, as he lowered his ward. Wormtail took a deep breath, and nodded fervently. He was shaking all over, the result of almost ten minutes of the Cruciatus curse. His nerves still felt as if they were on fire.
For some reason, Hermione found herself starting to feel sorry for Wormtail. Then she remembered that it was Wormtail that caused Harry to lose his parents in the first place, and it was also because of Wormtail that Voldemort could return. Then it was easy to turn away from his pitiful form on the ground, and to harden her heart against his sobbing breaths.
But her movement as she looked away had not gone unnoticed. Voldemort turned and fixed his burning eyes on Hermione. Hermione hurriedly closed her eyes too late.
"So, our guest seemed to be awake." He said then, in his soft hissing voice. He walked over to her and leaned over her. "Aren't you, my dear?"
"What do you want?" Hermione said almost in a whisper, trying her hardest to keep the quivering from her voice, and only succeeding partially. She kept her eyes close, however. If she wasn't looking at Voldemort in the eye, she was fairly sure that she wouldn't be overwhelm by the fear running amok in her mind. Fairly…
"What do I want?" Voldemort repeated the question softy, as though to himself. He straighten up and spoke in a louder voice. "Why, not you, to be sure." He turned about and started walking back to his throne. "What I want, the person I want… is Harry Potter." Voldemort said. "Wormtail is suppose to bring me Potter's girl, since Dumbledore appeared to cast so many protective charms around Potter that Wormtail can't even get close to the boy." He stopped and sat down on his throne before continuing, the snake waving her way back onto her master's body. "But Wormtail failed, as you know. He brought you back instead."
"Master! I'm truly sorry for this. I thought…" Wormtail's voice pleaded from where he lay, as he half-raised himself on one knee.
"Oh be silence, Wormtail." Voldemort snapped irritably. "This isn't your place to speak." Wormtail sank back down onto the ground.
"However, all is not lost yet." Voldemort continued. "From what Wormtail said before, you are one of Potter's closest friends. I'm sure he'll come when I tell him that I have you in my hands."
"Oh no, he wouldn't." Hermione said loudly, her mind racing. "He hates me now."
"Oh?" Voldemort said, not seeming surprised at all. "Why would he hate you?"
"I…err…" Hermione cast around her brain for something for Harry to hate her for, but came up blank.
"Go on." Voldemort said encouragingly. "Tell me why he would hate one of his closest friend."
"Err… I told him that now's the wrong time to get a girlfriend." Hermione, finding nothing else that could cause Harry to hate her, pulled something out of the blue. "The OWLs are just around the corner, and he should spent his time studying instead of wasting it on a girl."
"Oh… Just because of that, Harry will hate you?" Voldemort said with a small smile. "I guess we can't use you to blackmail Harry then…"
Hermione found herself tensing up. The tone was all wrong. It was as if Voldemort was just teasing her, playing around with her.
"Crucio!" Voldemort said it rather casually. And Hermione's nerves burst into flames all at once. She bit back her cry of pain, however, and clamped her teeth onto her lips, drawing blood. But she did not notice. All she knew was that the duller pain in her lips served as a distraction from the shaper, more intense pain from the Cruciatus curse.
"That is the prize for lying to Lord Voldemort, mudblood." Malfoy said spitefully from his place beside the door. Hermione heard him as if from a long distance away. The pain was too great for her to spare much attention to anything else. Then she heard something. Something that cut through the pain like a knife. A voice that she recognize almost at once. "Hermione! Hold on. Help is on it's way."
~~~~~~~~~~
"I have to help her!" Harry cried as he watched Voldemort use the Cruciatus curse on Hermione, one hand sunk to the elbow inside the mirror. "Star! Send me back at once!"
"Don't worry, Harry." Star said soothingly, trying without much success to calm Harry down. "Dumbledore is no his way even as we speak. Hermione will be fine."
"I can't just wait for Dumbledore to get there. Hermione would be dead by then." Harry half-shouted, concern for his friend had sharpen his tone. He watched helplessly as a small stream of blood flowed from the side of Hermione's mouth. "Is there any other faster way to get to her?"
"Well…" Star said, a little hesitantly. "You could use the mirror to reach her…"
"How?" Harry interrupted. "Tell me!"
"The mirror is a gateway of sorts connecting Tel'anran'rhiod and your world." Star said. "You can use the mirror to see things on your world, and also to travel to the place you see…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Harry had one foot on the frame of the mirror, and had pulled himself on the mirror. "So this mirror can bring me to Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yes… But…"
"That's good enough for me." Harry said, and prepared to jump into the mirror.
"Wait, Harry." Another voice shout from behind him. Surprised, Harry turned around to see Ginny running across the cavern towards the mirror. She came up to the mirror panting.
"Wait, Harry." She said again, when she had caught her breath.
"I can't." Harry replied. "Hermione is in danger."
"I know." Ginny said, "But you shouldn't go alone."
"There's no time to look for help." Harry said impatiently.
"You don't have to." Ginny said, smiling. "I'll go with you."
"What?" Harry exclaimed. "But it's dangerous!"
"I know" Ginny said calmly. "But I'm going anyway."
"This is Voldemort we're talking about." Harry said, trying to persuade Ginny to stay. "What if something happen to you?"
"Don't worry." Ginny said. "I have you to protect me, right?"
"Even so…" Harry said. "But I can't protect you from everything."
"Don't worry." Ginny said again. "I do know how so take care of myself."
"It's just too dangerous." Harry replied stubbornly. "I can't let you take the risk."
"Harry." Ginny said patiently. "Hermione is not only your friend, you know. She's mine too. I want to save her too."
"But…" Harry finally gave up and turned to Star. "Say something, Star. You know how dangerous Voldemort is."
"I think Ginny is right." Star replied. "On your own, the mirror is very dangerous, but the two of you together might just make it. Especially you two."
"What?" Harry stared at Star, unable to believe his ears.
"See." Ginny said with a small smile. "I told you so."
"There's no time to loss." Star reminded Harry. "Just remember to keep the connection between you and Hermione."
"But…" Harry was torn between wanting to keep Ginny here, out of harm's way, and rescuing Hermione. Both mean a lot to him, and he wasn't sure what he should do.
"Oh stop wasting time and get going already." Ginny said, shoving Harry into the mirror. Harry gave a surprised yelp as the mirror seemed to swallow him. Then he was gone. Ginny pulled herself up onto the mirror too, and turned around to look at Star. "Wish us luck." She said, and jumped in after Harry.
"Luck, Ginny, Harry." Star said then, to the empty room. In front of her, the mirror rippled and went back to it's former black color.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbledore paced around inside his room, walking the length of the room and back again, his brows drawn up in thought. The location that Firenze told him was surprising, to say the least. The old Riddle House was build on top of a hill, and according to Firenze, the hill was riddled with caves and caverns. Voldemort was hiding in one of them.
He had to hand it to Voldemort, that's for sure. Dumbledore didn't even guess that he would hide so close to the first place the Ministry of Magic would search, not that Voldemort needed to worry about it, of course. Fudge was still trying his hardest to ignore the fact that Voldemort had actually returned, and so the official forces had done next to nothing. Oh, there were a few sweeps, and security was increased in some areas, but that was due mainly to Dumbledore's influence with the Aurors in question then on any orders from the top. Sometimes, it was almost enough to make Dumbledore scream in frustration, the way Fudge obstinately refused to face facts and reality. Not that he would do that, of course. Too many people depended on him for him to afford that. But sometimes, in the privacy of his own room, He had to admit that it was very temping indeed.
A movement in his magical mirror caused Dumbledore to look up. McGonagall had just rushed pass, and was hammering at the door even before Dumbledore could register her presence on the mirror.
"Come in." Dumbledore called out, opening the door as he did.
"I've found out who were the missing students, Headmaster." McGonagall said in a rush, not brothering to catch her breath.
"Who?" Dumbledore asked, as he sat back down on his chair and motioned McGonagall to do the same.
"There were more then one missing, Headmaster." McGonagall said, also sitting down.
"What?" Dumbledore cried out, shocked. "But Firenze told me that only one girl that was kidnapped."
"In a sense, he was right, sir." McGonagall replied. " The dark mark was found floating above the bed of Hermione Granger. Traces of a portkey's magic signature were also found around the bed."
"And the other missing students?" Dumbledore asked, though he could guess who the other two were.
"Potter and Weasley, Sir." Was the answer.
"I thought as much." Dumbledore replied, nodding his head. "Any traces of any magical activities?"
"Nothing." McGonagall answered. "They seemed to have vanished into the thin air."
"Most particular…" Dumbledore said, stroking his beard.
"Indeed." McGonagall agreed. "Ronald was most upset about it."
"What?" Dumbledore cried out again. "But you said he disappeared along with Harry."
"No, it wasn't Ronald that was kidnapped" McGonagall answered. "It was his sister."
"Of course! Tel'anran'rhiod!" Dumbledore exclaimed, having hit on the only possibility.
"But they didn't bring their wands along." McGonagall said, holding out three wands.
"I think it's a safe bet that Harry and Ginny would be on their way to rescue Hermione now." Dumbledore said, taking the wands and weighing them in his hands absently.
"Wouldn't they be in the disadvantage without their wands?" McGonagall cried out, standing up. "I must stop them!" So saying, McGonagall turned and walked towards the door with determined steps.
"And how would you find them?" Dumbledore asked from his chair.
McGonagall looked back at Dumbledore helplessly. He was right, she knew. But she couldn't just let mere children fight with the Dark Lord. It was a job for the adults.
"We do have a surer way." Dumbledore said as he too stood up. "We send them their wands by owl."
McGonagall stared at Dumbledore, surprised. Trust Dumbledore to come up with such a wild but practical idea. Then she saw Fawkes flying up to Dumbledore and landing on his shoulders. Dumbledore looked surprised, but also pleased. Fawkes picked at the wands with his beak
"What's this?" Dumbledore asked in amazement. "You want to send this to Harry?"
Fawkes nodded his head and picked at the wands again. He then lifted up on leg and held it in front of Dumbledore's face. Dumbledore held the wands next to Fawkes' leg and conjured a thin rope that twisted itself around Fawkes' leg, tying the wands tightly. Fawkes then lifted off and flew away from one of the numerous windows around Dumbledore's office.
"Never in my life…" Dumbledore whispered.
"Well, at least they stand a chance now." McGonagall said. "But we have to hurry."
"Indeed." Dumbledore replied. "But there's no time to call in the Aurors."
"What do we do then?" McGonagall asked.
"We go after them ourselves." Dumbledore answered. "Snape can guide us there."