Disclaimer:  Nope.  Don't own 'em.  Probably never will (OK, so I never will, but a girl can dream, can't she?)

*** Thanks to Korella May, Slapmesilly, and Snwflakesweety for reading and reviewing!  It means a whole lot to me!

Chapter 8: The Great Witch

"I just don't get it!" Hermione cried out, frustrated; earning herself a stern look of disapproval from Madame Pince.  "I just don't get it!" she moaned softly.

"What's there to get or not get Hermione?" Ron asked through a yawn.  "They're sick.  That's all there is to it.  There aren't any dark wizards running around.  Why's that so hard to believe?"

Harry listened to Hermione's comeback, something about dark wizards being sneaky.  Sneaky?  Sneaky wasn't a strong enough word for them.  He snorted.

Hermione turned and looked at him.  "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing…look," he began, changing the subject immediately, "it's almost time for the library to close.  We've been here since after dinner and I'd like to go," he requested, almost rudely.

"You don't want to find out what's wrong with them?" Hermione asked innocently.

Harry sighed, gaining frustration with her.  "We know what's wrong with them Hermione."  He shoved the book in front of her and pressed his finger down hard on the page.  "See?  It says right here: Cerritus Delirius."

She bit her lip and looked like she might cry.  "I was just trying to help," she said softly with tears in her eyes.

Harry took a long hard look at her and sighed.  "I'm sorry Hermione.  I know you were just trying to help.  But what good is this going to do for us—or them—if it's not the Dark Lord."

Hermione nodded and stood up.  "I guess you're right.  And the library is going to close soon.  We might as well go."

Ron however stayed seated, looking intently at the page in front of him.  "Come on Ron, we're going back to the Common Room," Hermione directed.  Ron held up his index finger for them to wait a moment.  Harry could see the puzzled look on his face.

He looked up to Hermione then.  "What did it say about that Cerritus Delirium or whatever it was called?"

"It said it affects only pureblood magical people and is quite common.  You must have heard of it before now Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yeah, I have," he replied distractedly.  "Is that all it said?"

She flipped open the book to the page they had last been looking at.  "Umm…"  Her eyes ran down the old page of the book.  "It also says that it is easily curable.  Major symptoms include fever induced hysterics.  By that they mean ranting and raving, what we've been seeing here…"

"So it says nothing about hallucinations?" Ron quizzed.  Hermione's eyebrows shot up and her eyes rounded.  She had forgotten about that.

Harry sat back down, folded his arms over the table and laid his head there.  It was going to be a long night.

"Did you find something Ron?" Hermione asked, leaning in closer to Ron.  She felt the hair on his arm stand straight and smelled the distinctly Ron smell she had become so fond of.

He flipped to the cover, keeping a marker in the page he was just at.  "This book is called A Curse or Ailment?  At first I thought it was just a load of crap but I looked through it anyway and this is what I found: the curse is called the Umbra Visius and is accompanied by hallucinations, hysterics and finally…death.  Many times this curse is confused with the Cerritus Delirius ailment because people forget the hallucinations, or assume the hallucinations happen because of the ailment.  They are not the same thing.  While the ailment can result in death, medi-wizards and witches have made untold bounds in the field of medicine; the curse, however, oftentimes results in terrible suffering and permanent weakness if no counter-curse is used.  The counter-curse is not known."

He finished reading with a definite tone of finality in his voice.

"Great!  So we've got a curse on our hands and there isn't a counter-curse!" Harry exclaimed angrily, throwing his hands into the air.  "That's just great!  Damn book, what help is all that information to us if we don't know the counter-curse?"

Hermione didn't even reprimand Harry for swearing.  Instead, she tapped her fingers on the table in a rhythm.  "It does seem pretty hopeless," she agreed wearily.

"Wait!  There's one more thing!  The last time this curse was knowingly used was in 1556 with the uprising of the Great Witch Amara, whose name, coincidentally, means bitter.  She used the Umbra Visius curse before she came to a village, the curse a tell-tale sign she was coming.  As many as forty-five percent of the wizarding population fell prey to her.  Because these were the last times the Umbra Visius curse was used, very little research has been done on it," Ron finished reading.  He looked up at his two best friends. "It does seem rather hopeless, doesn't it?"

Hermione shook her head.  "No, not exactly."  She rubbed her forehead as she flipped the pages of a book someone had accidentally pulled off the shelf while they were looking through ailment books.

She flipped the pages for what seemed like a half an hour, with Ron and Harry nearly falling asleep, a let out a quiet "Aha!" when coming to something of minor importance.  She opened her mouth to speak when—

"The library is closing now.  You three will have to leave," Madame Pince whispered harshly to the trio sitting in the back corner.

"Please, can I have one more moment Madame Pince?" Hermione asked sweetly.

Madame Pince pursed her lips together before nodding.  "Just a moment, and then you'll have to leave."  She looked to the very drowsy boys.  "All of you will have to leave."

"Yes, I understand," Hermione whispered in response.  She tapped Harry's head and nudged Ron to wake up.  He almost fell off his chair.  Hermione rolled her eyes.  "We have to hurry.  We only have a moment and then we have to go.  Listen to this: the Great Witch Amara, who lived from 1490 to 1650, finally dying of old age, was hell bent on destroying the world but no one knows why.  Speculations include an estranged lover.  She was known to have relations with wizards until her death.  In particular, at the time of her destructiveness she had found the wizard Cassius, her lover, with her sister Severina, whom she trusted with her utmost being.  Both were put to death quickly and Amara was never the same after that.

Another theory is that she wanted world domination, but this isn't necessarily true because never once did she use the Umbra Visius Curse, or any Unforgivable curse on a high-ranking wizard or witch, that is, unless they were being unfaithful to their lover.

Therefore, it seems most likely she was trying to preserve the lives of the faithful while giving revenge to those unfaithful wizards and witches she was felt deserved it.  Thus, fifty-six percent of the population suffered the Umbra Visius curse, going crazy—

"Wait!  Did you two hear the discrepancy in numbers of those harmed by her?" Hermione asked.  "In Ron's book it says forty-five percent and here it says fifty-six percent—

"Alright, you three will have to leave now.  Miss Granger, you may check out that book if you wish, since you seem so interested in learning about the Great Witch Amara," Madame Pince interrupted.  There was a fondness they hadn't heard in her voice before.

"Yes then.  I'd like to check this book out.  Do you know much about her, Madame?" Hermione asked respectfully.  She continued to keep her voice in a whisper.

Madame Pince nodded.  "I only know a little about her.  She is the equivalent to the muggle's Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty…they were real people but now they are used as Fairy Tales to teach children a lesson.  My mother told me the story of Amara so I wouldn't even think of being unfaithful to—

Madame Pince stopped then, a dull blush covering her tight cheeks.  "Never mind, you!  Here's your book.  Now, leave," she said in a tone of voice that resembled the voice they were used to hearing from her.

They entered the darkened corridors.  They had five minutes to get to the Common Room before Mrs. Norris and Filch would be seriously patrolling the hallway.

"So this Amara witch punished people?  And what does the number difference have to do with anything?" Harry asked curiously.

Hermione shrugged and opened the book to the page she had marked.  Ron, who was standing between the two, was definitely closer to Hermione, and not just so he could get a good look at the page either.

He could smell her hair.  It smelled like sunshine.  Did sunshine have a smell?  Ron didn't think so, but it didn't matter because her hair smelled like sunshine.

"They never found all the people she cursed," Hermione murmured.  "That's all it says.  The book blatantly says there are discrepancies as to how many people she cursed, and that is because officials never reached all the villages she afflicted with the curse."

"Does it say anything else?" Ron wondered.  The torches in the hall flickered as they walked by.  Harry heard a hissing and knew it was from Mrs. Norris. 

"We've got to hurry," he urged.  The trio picked up their pace and made it to the Fat Lady in record time.  "Pimply Pumpkins," Harry said and the Fat Lady swung open just as Mrs. Norris rounded the corner.

As the portal door swung closed Hermione continued reading out loud.  "The curse continues to affect those who have been unfaithful to their lover.  There is no known counter-curse."

"So Carmen, Katie, and Lavender were being unfaithful…that's simple!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione tapped her chin.  "Is it though?  I didn't think Lavender was dating anyone.  Katie I know wasn't.  I hadn't heard that Carmen was dating anyone."  She looked at Ron first and then to Harry.  "It isn't that simple.  Do you two know if they were dating anyone?"

Both boys shrugged.  "That's gossip.  That's your department, as you are apart of the female race," Ron pointed out.  He and Harry grinned.  This would be torture for Hermione; she hated involving herself in wishy-washy gossip.

"Alright, alright…I'll do that…but you guys need to find the counter-curse," Hermione bargained with a triumphant grin.

Ron looked distraught, and Harry nearly laughed.  "How about all three of us ask around?" Ron suggested hopefully.

"Yeah, how about that?" Harry seconded.

She sighed, shook her head and walked away from them, her book still in her arms.  "Goodnight Ron, Harry!" she said as she departed.

Ron and Harry shook their heads, hoped she wouldn't make them find a counter-curse that didn't exist and prayed they would get to sleep in the next day.

The deserted common room's fire crackled to life, and a faint cackle wafted on the wind…

So, what did you think?  I had a lot of fun writing this and I got to tell you, I absolutely feel so lucky to have the reviews I have…that said, please review some more!  Thanks!  Now I'm off to eat breakfast!  I hope you're having a good day/night!