Alright, I'm sorry this took so long. I hit rock bottom, and lacked inspiration completely. I failed you, I know. Don't hate me! And I have a warning for this chapter. It is DIFFERENT. It's so utterly unusual that I don't know where it came from. It you don't like it, skip ahead, and just read the lat section. It's from eight points of view, and they're all thoughts. Not dreams, I don't write dreams.

~*~

Cold... Grey... Warm... Whisper... Grey... Blank... Nothing... Empty... White... Grey... Gone... No... Trapped... Grey... Wall... Cold... Blank... Where... None... Grey... Haze... Lost... Stuck... Cage... Mind... Empty... Thoughts... Gone... Heart... Stone... Grey... Where.. Nothing... Bright... White... TRAPPED...!

Need Hermione.

~*~

Warmth, a calm blessing, wrapped around her. The breeze fluttered through her hair, locks of rose flying over her eyes. She could feel herself spinning swiftly, a whirl of pictures sweeping tenderly around her. A glimpse here, a flutter of an image there. Green eyes pierced her, fading into a high, chill laughter. There was a storm, and she sat outside her window as glorious golden lightning danced across the sky; a song played gently in the distance, one of her favorites, Jaded by Mest. The tune reached her ears, and those visions blurred and combined. The first verse hung on the wind, carried by the storm. The lightning from the storm reached down and held, a glossy image of emerald eyes hanging just below it. Then, suddenly, the laughter began, chilling her to the bone. There was a crack, a split of thunder, and the cackle died. It left only comfort, images of green rain, whispers of sweet songs filtering to her ears. She was... happy.

~*~

The fire burned him. It coursed through his veins, crying out in fury as it unleashed wave after wave of torment. He couldn't stand it any longer, as it thrust itself into every crack of his body. He was crumbling from the inside out, pierced with a seemingly unending flame. The torture was terrible, but he wouldn't scream. There was nothing he could do, left helpless to himself. Nobody was there, no one to help. It was impossible. But he couldn't fight it. Oh, the pain!

And it ended. In an instant, every fiber of fire dissipated, leaving only a cool sense of belonging. Someone was there. Someone had come. It was gone. The ache, the blaze, it was beaten away. Because someone had come. Ginny had come... She was helping... She was there... He wasn't alone...

~*~

Two ghosts were there. Not ghosts, exactly, but a spirit. Elements, figures there but lost. One hung to her left, so far away that she could barely sense him. But it was there, the feeling of being free and independent, a fierce love of challenge and a loyalty unchallenged. But there was also recklessness, a hot temper, and he was so far away...

Not like the other. He was close, mere inches away. If she moved, it wouldn't take her more than two steps to reach him. Intelligence lingered to the left, mingling with sensitivity and hidden love of danger. Vague clouds of unknowing halted her, barriers of ignorance sending her away.

One far away, one so close. Her, trapped in between. Trapped, trapped in the hive of uncertainty, of questions unanswered and impossibilities. No where to go, and everywhere to walk.

~*~

Distrust was his strength. Mystery, danger, hunting, they lurked in his presence. Malevolence encompassed him, but the lining of his cage was one of complete respect. He was good at it, at ignoring the spite and anger. It fueled from those with ambition, from those with the experience and power. He had that, the wit and the grace, the charm and the act; he could play the role with perfection. Nothing was wrong.

Then she came. Glorious, chocolate and kindness. Intelligence, cunning, wisdom, it leaked out of her every pore. The aura was a strong one, complete with a full maturity that seemed yet unended. She was wonderful. Amazing. Perfection in every detail.

But not his. Her mind was torn. His mind was torn. Her heart leagues away, a multitude of technicolor. His was black and white, artistically arrayed with grey, and suddenly longing for the color in hers. For the brightness, the intense tranquility, to be in his life. But he couldn't reach, not yet.

Distrust was his downfall, and the barrier snapped.

~*~

She reeked of darkness. Havoc was her home, the unpredictable chaos around her completely familiar. Her strides echoed on the hall, disrupting the attempted peace that threatened her pandemonium. Who were they to end her fun? Why destroy action, was it not the core of life? Thriving for the kill, battling the foe, facing the demon. It was an adventure, an expedition of everlasting excitement and thrill. Volcanoes of fury erupted where she walked, heaving masses of coal black spite and reverence. The fray raged, and she twisted it, manipulating the figures in her world. She ensured demolition, piece after piece of happiness washed away with her lava of darkness. No one could stand in her way. No one was ready. No one was strong.

~*~

Ice cool barriers, frozen with the malice of an ancient past. Not so many years, perhaps, but a long history. The tale told and retold itself, unfolding to become the magnitude of arctic regions that he dwelled within. Not only was he within it, but it was within him. I rolled and ravaged, seeking nothing more than to quench the fires that sprang unnecessarily from the beacon of his emotions. No one entered. No one left.

But they were melting. Oh, how he longed for them to be gone. For it suddenly, to all end. And the spark began. A tiny flame, not large enough to light a cigar. But it was growing, of, with the passion of one who has all and suddenly desires everything. It spread, devoured, ripped apart the snowflakes of his being. He was melting, sinking, drawing away from himself. And it felt wonderful.

~*~

He frowned into the pool, watching the webbing tangle of thoughts that ebbed from these seven. The colors; orange, red, green, gold, silver, black, white; they washed and turned within the small holding of water. They meshed and split, as the wizened wizard looked on. Frowning in concentration, the old wizard cast a hand over the fibers, slowing their writhing progress.

A concentrated gaze clouded his pale blue eyes, ancient eyes that were set beneath ivory brows. They would be difficult, more difficult than the last. And this time, there was no help. With the destroying of his last seven, the new had come to power, and his own presence had been washed from the earth. Circe curse him, that agreement should never have been raised. Now, they were left unfit and untrained, each walking the earth with a power coursing so strong that it would be unbearable to all others.

His finger settled on the first thread that began in the high left corner. It was orange, a blaze of passion and temperament, of all things that brought forth the spirit of fun and enjoyment. But they were cursed, those of the orange. Walls were determined to trap those figures within. With his last, it had been Azkaban; now it was the whitewashed walls of insanity. He traced its pathway into the epicenter. First, orange met red, running alongside in a bond of siblinghood. Next, it struck emerald, and left its side little through the rest of its path. With gold orange was wary, sometimes closer than all others, and sometimes ages away. White and orange seared against each other, tangling in a mass of hated knots. Black came several years into it's life, its knots more complicated, without youthful naivety. It was black that held a tightened grip on it, a grip that prevented orange from meeting silver, which it had seen once before. Orange was straightforward, it's path direct, but at the moment it drifted lazily in circles, with nowhere to go.

~*~

I told you it was weird. Did you believe me? Personally, I love it. It's my favorite yet. But I think that's 'cause so much of it is me. I'm bad for doing that, but I had to. I had fun writing this, though I won't do it again for a while. I can't tell you when to expect the next chapter, because my inspiration is lacking one moment and bursting the next. This entire chapter took me less than two hours, normally they take me days. So, tell me what you think. Oh, and I'm gonna start replying to reviewers, 'cause Savvy said I should.

AA Battery: I'm sorry that it took me so long to update, and that this chapter had no fluff. Forgive me?

Lourdes: Keep hoping. It may take a while. I hate rushing into things.

Savvy: How can I possibly reply to your whole review? It's so fascinatingly long, and makes me feel brilliant. I'm afraid you might think I'm weird now, because you seemed to love my other chapters, and this one is so different. I hope you like it though, because… I dunno, because it makes me feel so good to open up my mail and find that you left me a multiple paragraph review. Good or bad, I just want one! And thank you!

To Everyone Else: I'm sorry that I can't reply to you all individually, but I'd feel repetive. So, thank you for your reviews, I'm sorry that I took so long, and I'm happy that you like my story!