Chapter Twelve
Endless Nightmares
Kind of a Late Disclaimer: This is Fan fiction; all of this is based on J.K. Rowling's series. This is what I thought up after reading the Harry Potter series way too many times, and converging Ron's character with an out of control teenager, like the ones I know. Thanks for the reviews, and remember it's fiction, not real.
Author's Note: I'm not about to kill my favorite character, and you may all wonder why I am putting Ron through so much if he's my favorite character, and the answer is this: I'm a drama queen, and it's my story. If you don't like it don't read it, but thanks for the reviews!
If this situation seems impossible even for the fiction world it's probably because it is, just remember this is fan fiction. I hope you all enjoy.
Ron tossed and turned. He could be heard screaming from rooms away. Medi-wizards rushed to his bed, finding Ron strangled in his sheets. He was crying in his sleep.
"No more, please no more… I don't know… please leave me alone… Ow!" Ron would sob.
"He's alive, but trapped in a nightmare." Dr. Covington says.
"What do you suggest a calming potion?" Nurse Maia asks.
"Yes, he'll need it… that and reassurance that he's not still there." Dr. Covington says.
"How can we reassure him that?" Nurse Maia asks as she gets a goblet of calming potion. "He's trapped in his world, we've tried talking to him, and we're not getting through."
"You give up way too easily. Have faith and a lot of patience. He can't be rushed." Dr. Covington says.
"That's easy for you to say, doctor, you have more than one patient." Nurse Maia says.
"True, but I am interested in his recovery very much. He's exceeded all of our medical predictions. Only one other person has surpassed medical predictions before and ironically enough, its this young man's best friend." Dr. Covington says.
"You mean Harry Potter?" Nurse Maia asks looking from the boy to the doctor. The boy seemed about the same age as the famous Potter boy would be.
"Indeed I do." Dr. Covington says.
"Still, he's been here for a week now and he's only now beginning to stir. I wonder how long he'll be like this if he was knocked out for a week." Nurse Maia says.
"Patience, my dear lady, after all, you chose to work with children, and in the psyche ward, no less." Dr. Covington says.
"The pay is fabulous, the job is tedious." Nurse Maia says.
"You must be passionate about your work. Nurse Maia, this is a boy, not even sixteen, and he's suffered very badly. We hear about what he is capable of. Just because he does not come here doesn't mean he can't. I fear that if he does gain control of the British, we will be at his mercy." Dr. Covington says.
"Voldemort would never come here. He hasn't even conquered Britain, because of that great wizard Dumbledore. He hasn't even killed the Potter boy yet. Why would he start something here if he can't manage to kill a teenager and an old man?" Nurse Maia asks.
"You forget that both Dumbledore and the Potter boy hold great power. All Voldemort would have to do to destroy us is tell the muggles. There'd be mass riot, nobody would know who was what and the muggles with power would hang anybody they thought fit the type." Dr. Covington says.
"Ah, but the muggles trust us. Half of us are married to muggles, or have you forgotten?" Nurse Maia asks.
"Maia, your husband would have you killed for riches. To some people the world only revolves around money." Dr. Covington says.
"I got your point I'll be patient." Nurse Maia says… this was her way of ending the conversation.
"And learn to care." Dr. Covington says.
Nurse Maia returns to Ron with the goblet of potion.
"No, leave me alone… stop… please stop. I can't…" Ron cried and was struggling against the restraints that held him bound to the bed.
"Ron, drink this and you'll feel better." Nurse Maia says magically making the bed bend so that he was sitting up a bit more.
"No! No, you can't make me, I won't take anything you give me." Ron cried trying to move his arms still.
Nurse Maia realized that Ron just heard her. "Ron? Ron sweetheart, you're at a hospital now, and if you could just open your eyes, I promise you there's nothing to be scared of…" Nurse Maia says.
"Where are you?" Ron asks.
"Open your eyes… you'll see me." Nurse Maia says putting the goblet down on the bedside table.
"My eyes are open. There's only bad wizards here, please help me." Ron cries.
Nurse Maia opened his eyes for him, prying his eyelids apart with her fingers. He yelled and closed his eyes tight.
"Ron, if you just open your eyes, there aren't any dark wizards here." Nurse Maia says.
Ron slowly opened his eyes again. The painful lights made him close them tightly again. All he saw was white, a painfully bright white light. His world was blurring back again he was going back into the kitchen. That lady wouldn't be able to save him now. Tears ran down his eyes.
"Ron, open your eyes again." The lady's voice called again. She hadn't left him, but neither had Voldemort and the death eaters.
"Too painful." Ron cries.
"I'll make it less painful if you tell me where you hurt…" Nurse Maia says.
"The light hurts my eyes, there's nothing but white." Ron cries.
Ron heard her say something vaguely in the distance, but it wasn't to him… Voldemort was talking to him. 'If you tell us, we won't kill your little mudblood girlfriend on the holidays… think about it, who means more? Potter or Granger? Potter or Granger?'
"Mione…" Ron cries. He could see them killing her parents and then killing her. He heard her voice.
"You killed me Ron! I see how much I meant to you, not as much as Harry, obviously! You're a traitor, and I hate you!"
"No Hermione! I'm sorry! I'll take it back! Please!" Ron sobs. He saw her hand reach out to him.
"I don't want to die Ron! Please save me!" Hermione's eyes were wide with tears of fear.
Ron struggled but couldn't grab her hand, his arms wouldn't move as much as he tried.
Hermione fell off a cliff… "You could've saved me." She cried.
"I want to die!" Ron sobs.
The other voice returned, "Ron open your eyes now, the light is off."
He felt something pull his eyelids apart. He was cold wherever he was, but the lights were dimmed and it wasn't painful. Though he was scared very scared. Everything was dark, he couldn't see anything but white, even though everything was dark, his surroundings seemed to be white. The walls, if that's what they were, were white… the ceiling was white, whatever he was laying on was white, and he looked down at himself… the blanket, the only thing covering his naked self was white.
Then his vision became clearer. The walls weren't walls; they were curtains, like those in Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing. He was lying on a hospital bed, but he knew it wasn't at Hogwarts. From the accents he heard, he got the feeling he wasn't in Great Britain anymore.
Ron heard someone whisper an incantation and his arms were released. Then he turned his head, which was hard for his aching neck, to the side and saw a lady who was obviously a medi-wizard of some sort, was watching him.
"Welcome to America, drink this, please. You'll feel much better." Nurse Maia says.
Ron took the goblet from her with a very shaky hand. She took it back from him just before he was about to drop it.
"Sorry." Ron says looking down with embarrassment. He must be extremely weak if he couldn't hold a goblet.
"It's perfectly all right. Maybe you should let me help you, though." Nurse Maia says.
Ron looks at her unsurely.
"Hold on a second, don't close your eyes until I get back." Nurse Maia says.
It was more than a second, Ron knew. Nurse Maia must've been gone twenty minutes before returning with a box of plastic straws. She took one out and placed it in Ron's goblet. She held the goblet in front of him and waited patiently for him to drink it, yet he hesitated.
"What is it?" Ron asks.
"A straw. You can sip the potion through it." Nurse Maia says.
"No, I meant what's in the goblet?" Ron asks.
"Oh, calming potion." Nurse Maia says.
Ron hesitated before taking a sip. "Are you sure this is a potion? It tastes like tea only cold, and it's good." Ron says continuing to drink the potion.
"We enchanted it to taste like Iced Tea." Nurse Maia says.
Ron finished the potion, and it did its job quickly. Ron who was excited about being in America and had millions of questions to ask, now felt like everything was slowing down, and he could only remember one question at a time.
"Madam? Would you mind if I ask you a few questions, since I'm in America, you said?" Ron asks.
"Of course not, as you're my only patient on this shift, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have." Nurse Maia agrees.
"Thank you." Ron says. "Well, my first question is may I ask your name? I don't want to sound rude or anything by not knowing your name."
"Oh, I apologize for not introducing myself. I'm Nurse Maia." Nurse Maia says.
"What part of America am I in? Is it North, South, or Latin America?" Ron asks.
"We're in Salem, Massachusetts." Nurse Maia says.
"In the United States?" Ron asks.
She nodded.
"How did I get here? Why am I here?" Ron asks.
"Well, you were shipped here, because they believe you to be in danger in Britain right now." Nurse Maia says.
"Why?" Ron asks.
"A few aurors felt Voldemort might be coming after you, they felt that he knew you were alive, and you might know something that could ruin his plans." Nurse Maia says.
"Will I be able to go back to Hogwarts?" Ron asks.
"Yes, but not right away." Nurse Maia says.
"In two weeks?" Ron asks.
"No, I don't think so." Nurse Maia says.
"I'm going to have repeat my fifth year all over again." Ron mutters to himself.
"No, you're not… the reason you can't return to Hogwarts right away isn't because of your health. You need to stay here a bit to recover without all of the stress that Voldemort brings to Britain." Nurse Maia says.
"But still how will I get my work… fifth years take O.W.L.S this year and I need to be there." Ron says.
"The Salem Institution of Witchcraft and Wizardry will help you. You might even understand your studies more. There are two teachers in every class. We borrowed the idea from muggles. Magic is very important, they make sure you learn it one way or the other." Nurse Maia explains.
"When may I leave here?" Ron asks.
"We can't be sure just yet… Perhaps a week, or possibly a month." Nurse Maia says.
Ron looks down sadly, but he's reminded of something else that's bothered him since the morning.
"Where are my clothes?" Ron says pulling his blanket up. He wasn't cold, just embarrassed because his blanket was only just above his hips.
"We have them." Nurse Maia says.
"May I have them back?" Ron asks.
"Yes, I'll have Dr. Covington come back and help you dress." Nurse Maia says.
"No, thank you. I can dress myself." Ron insists.
"We don't want you to rush or strain yourself." Nurse Maia says.
"I won't. I can dress myself." Ron says determinedly.
"All right." Nurse Maia says. She leaves for a minute and returns with Ron's clothes and a male doctor follows her.
"Ron, this is Dr. Covington. He'll be outside your curtains incase you need help." Nurse Maia says.
"Thank you, but I'm sure I can dress by myself." Ron says.
"Just incase." Dr. Covington says.
Nurse Maia gives Ron his clothes before she leaves his bed, pulling the curtains shut.
Ron was able to pull his briefs on without getting out of bed. He pulled his sweater on just as easily. He got out of bed though to pull on his pants, and as he stood up the whole room spun. He grabbed on to the rail of his bed, waiting for it to pass. He felt somebody grab him by his elbow. He regained balance and the spinning stopped. He looked up to see the Dr. Covington he just met.
"Are you all right?" Dr. Covington asks.
"I'm fine." Ron says stubbornly. "I was just a bit dizzy is all."
Ron pulled on his pants to prove that he could do it.
"Thanks for catching me." Ron says reluctantly.
"We'll keep that between us." Dr. Covington says.
"Thank you." Ron says.
"Your welcome… listen, do you want to see your parents or your brothers? They've been here for a week now. They've been worried sick." Dr. Covington says.
"They're here?" Ron asks hopefully.
"Of course." Dr. Covington says.
"Which brothers are here?" Ron asks.
"I don't know their names? I know there's three of them." Dr. Covington says.
"Are two of them identical?" Ron asks.
"Well they all have red hair, but they don't look like twins." Dr. Covington says.
"Oh, well then it must be Bill, Charlie, and Percy… are they mad at me?" Ron asks suddenly. He remembered he killed his Grandfather. 'He would've been able to escape had you not been suspended.' Voldemort's voice echoed in his head.
"Not that I know of, if anything worried about you? I hate to remind you kiddo, but you almost died. In fact, you're supposed to be dead, or insane if you did wake up. You beat the odds, but we have yet to alert them of this. I think Maia's informing them now." Dr. Covington says.
Nurse Maia lead five Weasley's to see her patient who was sitting frightened, and worried waiting for their reaction.
"Ron, do you remember us?" Bill asks softly.
"Yes." Ron says. Thinking it best he reassure them that his memory was fine, he identified them. "You're Bill, there's Charlie, there's Percy, there's mum and there's dad."
Everyone sighed relief, and Mrs. Weasley let tears fall as she leaned down and hugged her son tightly.
"I'm so happy you're alive!" Mrs. Weasley sobs. "I'm so sorry for not being home with you."
"You're happy? You mean you're not angry?" Ron asks surprisingly.
"Why would I be angry?" Mrs. Weasley asks.
"Because… I got Grandfather killed, if I hadn't been suspended, he wouldn't have been there…" Ron says trailing off, ready for the blow to come.
"Your grandfather's fine. If we're mad at anybody its him for leaving you." Mr. Weasley says.
"But I made him go, it was my fault I was home in the first place, I guess I deserved it." Ron says.
"No, you didn't deserve it!" Percy says.
Ron knew he didn't deserve it if Percy said he didn't.
"I'm really sorry for getting suspended. I was trying to be good, I really was, but it didn't matter." Ron says softly.
"Look, that's past. Don't worry about it. How are you feeling?" Bill asks.
"I'm feeling much better, but I'm still a bit weak." Ron says embarrassed.
"That's nothing to be ashamed of, you'll get your strength back, you've been tortured and you haven't eaten anything for a week, since you've been asleep. It's expected of you to be weak. Your expectations were actually a lot worse, but still as long as you're alive and remember me that's all that matters." Charlie says.
"How could I forget your ugly face?" Ron teases.
"Yea, I agree it's hard not to remember something so hideous." Bill says playing along.
"Very funny, that's enough." Charlie says.
"I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to show you that I'm all right." Ron says.
"You mustn't be all right if you're apologizing. You're a stubborn kid, and you never apologize for anything." Charlie says.
"I'm all right really, I just didn't want you to hold a grudge against me." Ron says.
"Yea, you're all right then. You're starting an argument." Charlie says.
"No I'm not, you started it." Ron says.
Charlie laughs.
"Can I send an owl to Harry and Hermione, or the twins and Ginny?" Ron asks.
"No, you can't. Nobody's supposed to know you're alive." Mrs. Weasley says.
"What? Why not?" Ron cries.
"Some aurors at St. Mungo's felt you were in danger there, because You-know-who knew you were alive, and was possibly after you, because they think you know information that might ruin his plans if you did remember when you awoke. Though it was said you wouldn't awake, and…" Mr. Weasley trailed off squeezing his son's hand.
At first Ron wanted to pull away from anything touching him, in fear of the pain that Voldemort inflicted upon him. His father was squeezing his hand of his bad arm. Even though it was healed, Ron still winced as though it hurt him, though he was more scared, but his father was holding his hand, and it made him feel better. His father might forgive him now… forgive him for being proven wrong. Ron knew his father loved him, and he needed to know people cared about him right now. He wished Hermione cared about him.
"But he wouldn't come here, would he?" Ron asks.
"We don't want to take another chance of losing you. You just worry about recovering. You'll see them soon enough. We might be back home around Christmas." Mrs. Weasley says.
"Are you and dad staying with me?" Ron asks hopefully.
"Yes." Mr. Weasley says.
"Yes, and whether you care or not, Perce, Bill, and myself got a week off because of a death in the family." Charlie says.
"Who died?" Ron asks sarcastically.
"Are you telling the twins or Ginny that I died? Maybe they could tell Harry and Hermione, and maybe they could send me owls…" Ron says hopefully.
"We can't even tell Fred, George, or Ginny. We can't even tell Dumbledore. Rita Skeeter's all over the attack. We don't know how she gets her information, so we can't take a chance of her letting anybody know. You-know-who will find out and we just don't want to take another chance." Mrs. Weasley says blinking tears out of her eyes.
"This is going to be the hardest thing in the world to do… confirming what everybody thinks. I don't want to see Fred and George cry." Charlie says.
"Don't tell them then, please I don't want anybody to hurt over me." Ron says.
"We have to, Ron." Bill says softly.
"Make sure you cry, if Rita Skeeter is around using Polyjuice Potion or something, she'll know if it's real or not by your tears." Percy says.
"She's an illegal Animagus… a beetle." Ron says quickly. "Hermione found that out last spring and threatened to report her if she wrote again."
"So that's how she's been getting her stories. Look, we're going to go back to Hogwarts and get this over with now… We'll be back tomorrow." Bill says.
"You stay with us." Charlie says seriously to Ron.
"I will. Will you do something for me though? Tell Hermione that she might be interested in a book under my bed… I know you can't tell her I'm alive, but just say you got my last request or something, and tell her that I mentioned it or something, please?" Ron asks.
"I can do that." Charlie says.
"Thank you." Ron says.
"Stay strong. I'm going to kick your butt as soon as you're released for that ugly remark." Charlie teases.
Ron laughs.
Bill and Charlie climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor common room with red eyes and their throats dried. They pictured their brothers' reactions and their only sister's reaction. She and Ron were closest. This would be terribly hard, so they had already cried imagining it, to get the tears ready.
When they got to the portrait hole the fat lady wouldn't open. So they went to Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle sprang to life without them even having to say the password. Dumbledore seemed to have a foretelling of when something was really urgent and would have the door open without them even having a guess at the password. They let the spiral staircase take them up to Dumbledore's office and knocked on the door, before Professor McGonagall let them in. She had been previously talking with Professor Dumbledore and let them in.
"We apologize for disrupting your meeting Professors, but we need the password to the Gryffindor common room. The portrait of the fat lady won't let us in without it, and it's extremely important that we talk to our sister and brothers." Charlie swallows.
"Information about your brother?" Professor McGonagall asks.
"He's dead." Bill croaked.
Charlie covered his eyes and turned away as tears ran down his face.
Professor McGonagall opened the window for air as she choked, but Professor Dumbledore seemed to see the truth through Bill's eyes as he gave him a searching look. He said nothing about it, as he knew how serious the situation was. He nodded knowingly, before he gave a weak smile. He stood up.
"Professor McGonagall and myself will go with you." Professor Dumbledore said gravely.
They walked in an eerie silence to Gryffindor tower. They entered to find Hermione still in the same spot as before, sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace. Her eyes were still red and sad. She looked terrible.
"Has Hermione been to class since she found out?" Bill asks in a whisper to McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall shook her head.
"Hermione skipped a week of lessons?" Charlie asks in the same whispered tone that Bill used.
Professor McGonagall nodded.
The twins were joking around, but not as enthusiastically as usual. Harry was trying to do an essay at a table across the common room, but kept getting held up, as he had to stop and wipe his tears. Ginny was reading by the fire, though she looked as if she were merely staring at it, not reading it.
Fred stood up and turned around when he saw them. He didn't see the red eyes or how upset McGonagall looked. He only seemed to see his brothers and smiled hopefully.
"Bill, Charlie, I'm glad you're back. Tell me good news, how's Ron?" Fred asks.
Everybody was silent. Neville, Dean, and Seamus looked up anxiously. Harry turned around and looked as well. Angelina walked over to Fred comfortingly and wrapped an arm around him incase Bill and Charlie's eyes indicated something.
Bill walked over to Fred, Charlie walked over to George and Ginny. Everybody watched and waited with baited breath.
"Ron… passed away." Bill says his lip trembling.
"No, you're lying. You have to be! He can't have died. You said yourself, he was strong… he was fighting." Fred sobs.
"He was fighting. He was very strong… he just couldn't win. They killed him. They killed him slowly… they just weren't able to get help in time… The ministry wouldn't believe Grandfather or dad when he told them. If it weren't for a friend of mum's… he would've died sooner. He got a chance to fight…" Bill says.
"STUPID MINISTER OF MAGIC!" George yells and throws a glass plate that held pieces of pie earlier at the fireplace. The plate hit the fireplace with a crash and it broke into a million pieces as it dropped to the floor.
Charlie grabbed his wrists before he could do anymore damage.
"Stop, look at me. Nobody is to blame for this except You-know-who, himself. The Minister of Magic did nothing to help Ron, but he didn't kill him." Charlie says.
"This would've never happened if he hadn't been suspended!" George yells.
"George, this isn't Professor McGonagall's fault at all. It's not your fault professor. You are looking for someone to place the blame on. I can go through a list of names we could blame it on, but it won't change anything. You-know-who killed him, not Professor McGonagall, not some Slytherin rival he had, not even the Minister. It was You-know-who. Ron earned that suspension George. From everything he did from the start of the term to being in the forest, he earned himself one big punishment. He was completely out of control. I'm not saying he deserved to die, he didn't. We all know that. He needed discipline, and Grandfather was the only one who could control him. He was sent home, and things happen that nobody can control, nobody can predict. Nobody knew… if something else had taken place, then something else would've happened, but it didn't. The only person you can blame George is You-know-who." Charlie says.
"We never got to tell him all those cruel pranks we pulled, were just jokes… we were stupid and sorry. I mean the humiliation on his face was enough to punish us. He probably died hating us." Fred says.
"No, he didn't die hating you. The medi-wizards got him to wake up for maybe five minutes at the most, but we were able to talk to him. He was a bit incoherent, but we managed to make most of his words out. Mum knew you two would be hard on yourselves if you never got to say you were sorry, and she told him that no matter how cruel or careless you could be with your pranks, that you two were sorry, and that you did love him. He asked mum to thank you for him. He knew you didn't mean anything by it. It was your way of using your brains. He looked up to you two a lot, because you're funny and creative. He wouldn't want you to stop being yourselves because of him, and he said for you two to look after Ginny for him. He always thought that as his job. He kept mumbling protect Ginny… protect Ginny for me. He obviously meant you two, I guess he thought you were there… he was a bit incoherent like I said so he wasn't exactly there, but he cared about you Ginny, he kept saying it. You were very important to him." Bill says.
Ginny sobbed on to Charlie's shoulder.
"What else did he say?" Fred asks.
"We couldn't understand all of it he was mostly rambling." Bill says.
"Oh! Wait, remember he said something… it was about Hermione… what was it? Bill do you remember?" Charlie asks.
Everyone looked from the boys to Hermione.
"Oh, what was it? I forget…" Bill says biting his bottom lip and trying to concentrate.
"Oh, something about a book… by his bed? I think that's what he said. We could hardly understand him." Charlie says.
"Why don't you go check if there's a book around his bed. Maybe he was just saying three things at once." Bill says.
Hermione got up and walked upstairs to the fifth year boys' dormitory. She entered. She walked sluggishly and made no sound. There were tears in her eyes.
Professor McGonagall was too busy wiping her face with a handkerchief to count the boys or worry about Hermione being in a boys' dorm.
Hermione looked around Ron's four-poster bed. The bed was made the hangings were drawn. Nothing was on the bed, nothing was on the bedside table, and nothing was in his wardrobe. She fell to the floor crying, but then she decided to take a look under the bed. There it was a small book underneath. Hermione reached under and pulled it out. It was Ron's journal. She hugged it against her tightly. Something in there might tell her his feelings toward her. She pocketed the book in her robes and crossed the hall to her own dormitory, where she would read it.
Bill and Charlie stayed the night on the armchairs in the common room. The next morning when everybody left for lessons, Charlie and Bill knocked on the door to the fifth year girls' dormitory.
"Hermione?" Bill calls.
When she didn't answer they entered. Only Hermione was in the dorm. She was reading, but it wasn't a schoolbook.
"Hermione, what is it that you found in Ron's dormitory?" Bill asks.
"Ron." Hermione says as tears ran down her face. She held up the journal. "Everything Ron was thinking is in here." Hermione cries.
"I didn't know Ron kept a journal." Charlie says.
"He was scared… all this time. When he would panic, he'd get defensive. He said he wouldn't let anybody hurt him." Hermione says.
"I wonder why he would want you to have it." Bill says.
"I think he wanted me to understand." Hermione says.
"Look, if I know my brother and I do, I know he wouldn't want you moping about skipping classes just for him. He'd most likely think it decent of you, but it's best not to dwell… you haven't attended a single class in a week. I'm sure they're still reviewing, but you never know what you're missing. I'm sure they're teaching things that will be on the OWLS, you'll need to be ready." Charlie says.
"Hermione, I don't mean to rush you, but you've known he wasn't going to make it for a week now. Try and move on… as hard as it is…" Bill says.
"I've had a week to pray that I was wrong, but like Ron says, I'm always right. I hate being right all the time." Hermione cries.
Meanwhile, back in America Ron was trapped in a nightmare. He couldn't sleep peacefully anymore. Ron didn't even think he was sleeping. Everything was so realistic.
"PLEASE STOP!" Ron yells thrashing at an invisible person.
The medi-wizards who had him as their patient on the night shift ran over to him and magically restrained him to the bed.
"Wake up Ron, Ron wake up." Dr. Miller says.
Dr. Miller was a very compassionate female doctor who brushed Ron's damp red hair off his sweaty forehead.
"Please leave me alone." Ron whimpered.
"Mr. Weasley, your safe now sweetheart. Please wake up. Everything will be better." Dr. Miller assures him.
Ron squinted his eyes open and tears poured out of them.
"Make them stop. Please make them go away." Ron cries, looking everywhere and trying to break free of the invisible restraints.
Dr. Miller removed the restraints and hugged the patient tightly, allowing Ron to cry on her shoulder.
If Ron wasn't so exhausted and terrified, he might've been embarrassed to be breaking down and hugging a stranger.
Finally he stopped, but he kept rubbing his eyes awake, afraid to face the night.
"I'm sorry…" Ron cries to the stranger. Humiliation was overwhelming him.
"No, no don't be. Sweetheart, you suffered a great deal of trauma, you're allowed to cry." Dr. Miller says.
"I'm sorry, I don't know your name." Ron cries.
"I'm Dr. Caroline Miller. I must say it's an honor to meet such a strong patient as you Mr. Weasley." Dr. Miller says.
"I've never had anybody be honored to meet me… wow. You can call me Ron though." Ron says softly.
"All right, well it's very nice to meet you, unfortunate under the circumstances I must say though. May I ask what happened in your nightmare?" Dr. Miller asks. "You don't have to talk about it if you're not ready though."
"Everything that happened… happened again. I felt the pain all over. It wouldn't end. Why won't it stop?" Ron asks.
"You've suffered a great deal, sweetie… you see you've suffered so much trauma to your body and mind… you can't just forget about it. However, I can give you a helpful little thing I used to do when I had nightmares of witch persecution years ago." Dr. Miller says.
"Please tell me, I'll try anything." Ron cries.
"Whenever you have a nightmare, say one two three wake up… one two three wake up." Dr. Miller says.
"What if I don't wake up?" Ron asks.
"Somebody will be here to wake you up." Dr. Miller says.
"Will I still be er… mental when I return to Hogwarts?" Ron asks.
"You're not mental, dear… you're just reacting. Something like this won't go away just like that. I'm sure if you talk about it, after awhile you'll overcome it." Dr. Miller says. "Nobody can tell how much time it will take…"
"I guess I'll have to rely on that one two three wake up solution of yours." Ron says with a weak smile.
"It'll take time. Have patience." Dr. Miller says.
"That was never a vocabulary word that I liked." Ron says.
"If I were to give you something to maybe write your thoughts down in like a journal… maybe it would help you get it off your mind slightly, and it might help you understand." Dr. Miller says.
"I had a journal, but I left it at school." Ron says.
"I could give you one, it might help." Dr. Miller says.
"I don't think so." Ron says quickly.
"All right, remember one two three wake up then, and I'll be listening for you." Dr. Miller says.
"Thank you Dr. Miller." Ron says.
Ron stared at the curtains determined not to fall asleep, but out of his boredom, his eyes slipped shut and again he was in his own kitchen.
He saw his Grandfather struggle with them. Voldemort brought him to a chair and Ron slipped off of it. Now was his chance, he slipped under the table. He could see the door. He got to the door and jumped. It was a dead end. A death eater turned and made a grab for him. Ron ducked and ran for the stairs. If he could get up the stairs he could jump out a window and run for his life, because his life depended on his escape. The distance between him and the stairs seemed to lengthen even though he was running closer toward it.
'Please let me get there.' Ron prayed. 'Please, please I'm almost there…' Ron screamed and fell face first on to the stair biting hard on his busted lip. Voldemort had a hold of his ankle. Ron heard it snap. Ron screamed out in pain. Ron looked at Voldemort and saw his wand pointed at him. He flew back into something hard, and it broke beneath him. He was leaning against the back door. He only had to reach up to get out.
'Please let me escape… don't let there be anyone stopping me. Please…' Ron reached up and turned the handle… it was unlocked. With all his force he had in him he opened the door, forgetting his fear and pain… he was free! He was wrong however, as three death eaters came from out of nowhere, Ron wasn't looking around him to be honest. They covered his mouth shut with one of their hands. Two of them carried him in as he struggled violently against them.
'No!' He screamed though his voice was muffled. They forced him down in a chair and he was bound to it. 'No, please don't kill me… please don't.' Ron silently pleaded inside his head.
Voldemort's voice babbled inside his head. It seemed to becoming from a distance. Though the words he did hear clearly indicated he killed his Grandfather.
"I didn't kill him! You did!" Ron cried. Voldemort reminded him that if he hadn't been suspended, his Grandfather could've easily escaped.
'I'm sorry… it is my fault… I'm sorry… I do deserve to die.' Ron's mind cried. He wouldn't give Voldemort the satisfaction of hearing him admit it though.
"He wouldn't have been killed if you hadn't come in the first place!" Ron says.
Ron may have been to blame for being under his Grandfather's care, but he didn't murder him… he may have been an asset to the murder, but he didn't commit it. Still he had a tremendous amount of guilt on his chest because of it.
Ron remembered hearing Voldemort say something about stubborn and pain. Ron knew what was about to happen.
'Please help me.' Ron cried to himself deep inside.
"CRUCIO!" Voldemort's yell echoed in his head.
The pain was returning in full measure… he could feel his bones make a sickening crunch as they broke… he could feel the skin on his back being sliced off with a knife… he could feel somebody stabbing him… the fire was before him… he was going to be burned alive…
"One, two, three wake up! One, two, three wake up!" Ron cried to himself. The fire just burned more… "One, two, three wake up!" Ron cried again.
To no good did the doctor's words do. Ron must've been awake and back in the kitchen. Nobody could help him.
Then, it stopped. Ron couldn't stop shaking… his breathing was too fast and heavy to be normal… he was sweating madly. His ankle hurt… it was throbbing painfully.
"Did you like that boy? Because if you don't answer my questions, you're going to get that a lot." Voldemort hisses.
Why did Ron have to be friends with Harry?
'I won't say anything…' A voice in Ron's mind was made up. Ron was panting trying to catch his breath.
"I won't answer anything you want to know!" Ron heard himself cry.
'Why are you being so stupid? You should've let them figure it out for themselves. You're only causing yourself more pain!' A voice cried in his head.
'Shut up.' He said to himself. He was losing his sanity to voices in his head, before Voldemort could take it from him.
"Oh, but I think you will. Let me remind you of the consequence of not answering me, the dark lord, the most powerful wizard there is!" Voldemort says.
'Not again, please not again.' Ron cried to himself. He was shaking madly.
"You're not the most powerful wizard, you're still afraid of Dumbledore! He's the most powerful wizard there is." Ron heard himself yell with all the breath he could muster.
'Why did I waste my breath?' Ron cries to himself.
Ron sees Voldemort's evil smile disappear.
'Here's the end…' Ron thought to himself.
"CRUCIO!" Voldemort cries.
Ron was screaming in pain…
Ron sat up sweating madly and shaking. Everything was blurry. He was soaked, but not all of it was his sweat. Somebody had dumped a pitcher of water over his face. He wasn't in his kitchen anymore. He was back at the hospital. Ron was panting, trying to catch his breath.
Finally, his vision was clear and he could see that his parents were next to him. His mother was crying, his father's eyes were teary and though he tried not to cry in front of his son, it was apparent that he had cried, because of the smeared tears on his face.
Dr. Covington was back. It must've been early morning judging by the sky he could see from the window it was dark, but not night, and his parents weren't allowed to be with him with the exception of visiting hours. Ron looked down at the doctor's watch, but it didn't help, because Ron had to strain his eyes to see, and, as it wasn't digital it was even harder. Ron's head hurt too much to strain his eyes so he gave up.
"It's eleven o'clock." Dr. Covington says.
Ron thought he could read minds.
"If that's what you wanted to know. I saw you looking at my watch. Don't strain your eyes just ask. I promise not to bite." Dr. Covington says.
"Eleven o'clock at night? I've slept the day away?" Ron asks.
"No, in the morning." Dr. Covington says.
"But the sky is too dark to be morning." Ron says looking at the window again.
"It's about to storm." Dr. Covington says.
"Oh." Ron says feeling foolish. Ron turns to his father. "What time is it back home?"
Mr. Weasley checks his watch, before answering in a hoarse voice, "Five."
"Wow, I overslept." Ron says.
"Dr. Miller said you were up most of the night." Dr. Covington says drying Ron off with a flick of his wand.
"Thanks." Ron says.
"You're welcome." Dr. Covington says.
Nurse Maia came in with a goblet of potion. Dr. Covington takes it from her and hands it to Ron. "Drink this."
Ron took it shakily. Nurse Maia took it out of his hands. She opened a drawer and pulled out a box of straws. She placed one in the goblet and held the goblet in front of Ron.
"Oh, I completely forgot." Dr. Covington says realizing his mistake. He reached down on the side of Ron's bed and pulled out a food tray. Nurse Maia placed the goblet on the tray and Ron drank the goblet dry, knowing it was the calming potion.
Ron felt humiliated as his parents watched him. He was weak, and now they knew it. They knew he was crazy. They had obviously witnessed the nightmare.
"Are you hungry?" Dr. Covington asks.
"Extremely." Ron says.
"All right. What kind of cereal do you prefer?" Dr. Covington asks.
"What's cereal?" Ron asks.
"It's a breakfast food. Let me get you a bowl, and you see if you like it." Nurse Maia says.
After having two bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios, Ron was allowed to get up and start walking around. There were hardly any patients and Ron walked up and down the halls with his parents right behind him. They still didn't say anything to him, unsure as what to say. Ron didn't feel as weak when he walked up and down the corridors, it was nice to know his legs still worked, and it felt good to let them stretch since they were cramped up all this time.
Ron stopped walking when he saw a graveyard in the distance from one of the windows. He looked at his parents.
"Are you upset with me?" Ron asks.
"No, Ron, we're not upset with you in the slightest. We just saw your pain… we saw it when you had your nightmare. We just wish we could take it away for you, but we can't. I saw you struggle to hold that goblet without dropping it. You never had to do that before. You never had to deal with so much pain, and you never had nightmares that you couldn't get out of before. Everybody tried waking you. You tried waking yourself… one, two, three wake up… I hate knowing you have to suffer that torture, that pain over and over again. You're my son, you don't deserve this." Mr. Weasley says.
Ron hugged his father and cried. "You're not ashamed of me, you're not embarrassed because of me?" Ron asks.
"No, we love you, and we're proud of you." Mr. Weasley says.
"Sweetheart, if you could never get out of bed again… I wouldn't care, because you're alive and you remember us. It was my biggest fear that you might wake up and not remember me. It was an even bigger fear that you died… when your father told me what he had seen when they got you out of the burrow, I prayed that you'd live, though I thought it would be really selfish, because now you have to suffer all this pain. You have to go through pain that fifteen-year-olds shouldn't have too." Mrs. Weasley says.
"We're proud of you that you came through this far… you fought to live… you're stronger than I could ever be. I'm very proud of you." Mr. Weasley says.
Ron never remembered crying more. His parents were proud of him, something he had wanted of them his whole life. He wasn't sure whether it was worth Voldemort's torture though… then he decided it was, it was worth everything.