A/N: All right here's another installment and it seems that things only get worse for our team! Will they triumph? Find out as the story unfolds! P.S. Sorry for not posting for a while now! Been a tad busy!

Disclaimer: Like every strong house, J.KRowling's foundation is strong! I'm just renovating the house a bit!

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Chapter 18

"The most dangerous dark creature"

After that night everyone seemed to be on the alert. Ginny had now gained a newfound strength and was even more eager to do what ever she could to help Ron. She partly felt responsible for his incarceration and wanted to get him out of there as quickly as possible. She continued to write to Ron as much as she could and he responded every time. He kept telling her not to be scared for him and that it was somewhat of a vacation staying there as he told her that he knew he'd be let off the exams for sure. "That fool, even behind bars he makes jokes!" said Ginny as she let a smile slip from her mask of despair. Harry was happy that Ron's letters could at least calm her down. However, Hermione was a different matter. She had received letters from Ron too but obviously she would have never let him read them even if he had asked. He knew what they must have been like. He could only imagine her crying at night and wondering what to do.  However, something was about to surprise everyone like a bomb… or at least, a collapsing wand!

Fred and George had finally made an indication of life by sending an urgent owl to Harry. They were in Luxembourg negotiating with a wealthy businessman to fund a new chain of their joke shops in that area. However, it seems that they put all that to a halt after hearing about Ron and after hearing some very distressful news.

"Dear Harry,

We heard all about Ron and have sent mum an owl about it. Please tell Ginny that we're sorry that couldn't write back to her. However, there are more problems heading your way that you should be aware of and we're heading to Hogwarts right now to tell you about it. Even writing to you by owl is dangerous. Please keep a look out for us around the first of March. We're going to pass by home first to get Ron's car. We have a feeling that we'll be in need of her because there are places we might have to go where apparating is impossible.

Yours truly,

Fredrick and George Weasley."

Time seemed fleeting yet agonizingly long all at the same time. Hermione was studying non-stop and barely had a word to say to anyone. Harry and Ginny only supposed that this was her way of coping with all that was happening around her. Hermione had felt like she was slipping in everything and tried to reanimate her cleaver conscious being. She thought of the way she couldn't figure out about Ron's persona, about how it took a mention from professor Snape to think about using the Curalithium and how Colin, of all people, had figured out the curse that was placed upon Lucius.  She, herself, still had no clue as to what it was. So she hit the books and hit them hard.  She had even gotten ahead in most of her classes again and was now completely sure that she wouldn't be having any problems with her N.E.W.T.s. That was a relief to Harry for, as he reluctantly went to his Quidditch practices, he knew that nothing that involved him thinking illogically would give way in his mind. They did have to eventually replace Ron for the following match against Ravenclaw and although Harry's performance still was excellent, it just wasn't the same as when he and Ron would stay up the night of the victory and enjoy a good butter beer together.

As the week flew by Draco was preparing for many things himself, as he would be supporting his father in a trial on the 30th of April. Lucius had not been sent to Azkaban but rather, was held in a boarding house, heavily guarded of course, near the head office of the ministry of magic because he was still recovering from the curse. Draco had not spoken to his father for the entire time he was there for nothing seemed to replace the awkwardness that he still felt inside of him. Although Draco did try everything to get his father back to normal, he still felt very distant from him after all he had done in serving the Dark Lord. So he made not a gesture to communicate unless it was completely necessary. Yet whatever Draco's feelings were, there was still unsettling fact that Lucius had never made any indication of trying to communicate either.

***

The trio was lounging in the common room all the while surveying Colin. Ginny had made extra sure to keep close watches on him during classes. She couldn't help but look at him with cold stares and tried very hard to hide them. After a few minutes of being watched Colin simply went up the stairs and right to his dormitory.

"Ginny, you're being too obvious," said Hermione looking up from her Dark Arts book.

"Oh! I can't help it! I HATE him! I've never hated anyone in my life!" she said feeling very hot.

"Oh Ginny, he's gone anyways, and it's not like we should rush his dormitory," Harry sighed. "I just wish we knew what he was up to because he does seem dodgier then usual," he added as he played with a strange device.

"What's that Harry?" asked Ginny curiously.

"Oh! Well, Remus gave this to me for Christmas, remember? Here I'll show you what it does," said Harry as he laid the luminescent device on the ground.

As Harry played with a few knobs the machine began to glow. It shimmered and sent beams of light to every which direction. Then, all the beams became one thick stream of light and hit one of the walls.  One would have quickly thought it to be an eccentric flashlight however, it not only lit up the wall but it revealed what was on the other side. 

"This could have been extremely useful last year!" said Harry looking at the students marching in the halls. "It would have been so much simpler to find the three treasures of the founders if we could just scan the entire school!"

"You're right. It's like an x-ray machine," said Hermione looking at the beam.

"X-ray? What's that?" asked Ginny.

Harry grinned and began to explain as Ginny looked at him curiously and asked why they needed to see the bones in the first place. "Don't muggles know they're there?" As they spoke, Hermione decided that she had enough of study and was ready to go to bed. So she packed up her books, said her goodnights and went upstairs. She entered her dormitory to find it quite empty. She liked it that way and settled down on her bed. As she began to change into her nightgown, she then looked at the Phoenix ring that was on her nightstand that Ron and engraved for her. Ever since the day he was taken away she had left it in her pocket and it pained her to wear it. Hermione then thought that she shouldn't be so selfish and only think about how much it hurt her to imagine Ron so far away trapped within those cold gray walls. He had given it to her out of love and she should wear it to recognize that. So, she took it and looked at the engraving.

"Ron and Hermoine, one heart, one mind. Feb 14, 1998"

She smiled. "I love you," she whispered into the silence of the room as she put it on.  She then lay in her bed and closed her eyes. Soon sleep reached her spirit, as she felt whisked away… deeper… deeper… She felt the heavy weight of sleep layer over her like a thick blanket. Dark… Cold… Lonely… She fell into a room of stone and iron. Rats, everywhere rats were crawling as her vision became clearer. She stared even more and looked to her left. She gasped as she saw a figure laying silently in dream, his fiery red hair tumbling every which way. It was Ron.

She took the time to take in the scene. She was in a cage – no a cell. Was she in Azkaban? Her strange dream grew more intense as she began to smell the dampness and feel the warmth of the enclose air. This was no normal dream. She walked towards Ron who lay on a canapé without covers or pillows. His arms were tucked under his head as Hermione saw his lovely sleeping face. She moved forwards to touch him and feel those red strands of hair in between her fingers. As she moved her hand towards him, she noticed how transparent it was. She was a ghost, a specter, neither there nor gone yet she chose to speak.

"Ron… Is that – Is that really you?" she mumbled but the boy merely groaned within his sleep. Suddenly, more words were uttered beyond Ron's consciousness.

"Hermi – Hermione…"

"Ron? Wake up. It's me. I'm right here!"

"Run away… just run away! It's dangerous! Stay away! Stay away from me!!" he shouted, eyes still shut tight as his head turned. "I'm not your master! I'm not your slave!" he yelled suddenly.

Hermione was thrown aback.  She moved slowly backwards until she heard a voice come from the shadows.

"But you are… you are my toy, my tool, my ally. My slave, my master…" said a frightening voice.

Hermione looked about every which way but suddenly a harsh, loud, high-pitched sound resonated from everywhere. She started to yell in pain as she placed her hands over her ears. She fell to her knees and closed her eyes tightly as the noise drilled into her.

Then it stopped.

She opened her eyes only to be in her room once again. However, the piercing noise repeated itself and then came a light from her window.  She got up and gazed outside only to see a flying red object in the sky. Wait! It was Ron's car! Fred and George sounded the horn again and signaled to Hermione to meet outside. She nodded fervently. The girl grabbed her cloak without a thought and headed downstairs. She was in no state to scowl at them for being so loud or for alerting the rest of the tower, as they surely did. However, by the time that she turned her head to see if they were still there, they had vanished. Harry was sitting next to Ginny and gazing into her eyes in a suspended haze. Hermione didn't want to intrude but now was not the time for anything else but this. Still shaken by her dream, Hermione rushed to the two.

"Harry! Ginny! Fred and George are here! They're waiting for us outside!"

"What?" they both said at once.

"Yes!  Come on!" she eagerly motioned.

They quickly stood up forgetting the moment and Harry rushed up to get his cloak. Soon curfew would be over and they still had to get one special person before heading outside. Harry threw the cloak over the girls after going down a few floors to the dungeons.  They then waited for a few moments in front of a plain stonewall as it opened every so often to lead into the Slythrein common room. Soon they saw Draco appear before it but Harry quickly grabbed his arm before the boy had the chance to utter a word.

"Draco! They're here!" whispered Harry as part of Draco's sleeve became invisible.

The silvered haired boy was surprised for a second but acknowledged what was happening.  With a nod he moved away from the entrance and near a dark corner. Harry had thrown the cloak off.

"I don't know if I can fit 4 people under here but we can try,"

"This better be worth it Potter. The last thing I need right now is detention because those clowns want to show us a comedy act," said Malfoy as Ginny cringed.

 "I doubt it! Fred and George wouldn't have written to Harry the way they did if it was! Now hurry!" ordered Hermione as they were once again covered in emptiness.

It was a bit strange to be under there for even if the magical heirloom did cover most of their bodies their feet up to their ankles could still be seen. So it was a matter of hoping that who ever passed them wouldn't have the misfortune to look down. They made their way past the halls and into the grounds. They knew where Fred and George would be waiting. As they neared the Whomping Willow they could hear a faint purr of an engine. They jogged closer and saw the twins appear from behind the car.

"We should get a bit closer before we removed the cloak," said Harry as they darted into the darkness.

Fred and George were looking about everywhere until they noticed the 4 sets of ankles walking their way, bodiless. The way their face turned, it looked like they were ready to loose their lunch until Fred hit George on the shoulder.

"Oh! You idiot! I thought we killed that idea! The regulation department said it would be offensive against dismembered people, remember?"

"Don't look at me! We only had one prototype! And you destroyed it with the exploding cauldron cakes!"

"Fred, George… it's us," said Ginny from under the cloak as they threw it off.

Fred and George seemed suddenly relived but looked bewildered as they saw Draco Malfoy appear with them. They frowned hatefully as Draco turned his head to stare into the grounds. Hermione just waved her hand in a "don't ask" sort of way to calm the twins down and Harry signaled their attention.

"Oh! Right!" they both said at the same time.

"So what's this news you couldn't write to us about?" asked Harry.

"It's awful Harry!"

"Yeah! Far worse then Ron going to Azkaban even!"

"Nothing can be worse then that!" said Hermione still remembering her vision.

"No. At least Ron's safe in Azkaban! Ever since they charmed the place with anti-magic defenses no manner of magic can exist inside those walls! Even Dumbledore can't break the magical barrier remember? Anyways, what we came to talk about is quite magical without a doubt!" said Fred anxious.

"We came here, to tell you that there's one left Harry! And it will surely be after you!" replied George.

"One what?" asked Harry.

"A Dementor! And the worst one yet!"

"What? What are you saying? After we found out how to destroy them, we annihilated them! Dumbeldore's spell got them all! He was sure that there was not one left!" said Draco suddenly.

"That's why this is so urgent!" said Fred glaring menacingly at Draco.

"This Dementor cannot be killed using spells! It is said that four wizards used their Patronus to simply ward it away but failed! It's been heading in this direction and out of the blue too! Harry, this one's different. The Ministry fails to recognize it but we can tell it's coming for you! This Dementor leaves a special calling card after it's attacked anyone…" said George looking quite concerned.

The four teenagers caught their breaths.

"A lightning burn on the ground! One -" said Fred as he lifted his finger to Harry's forehead. "That looks just like your scar Harry," he added in an eerie tone.

"It could just all be coincidence…" said Harry trying to focus.

"I don't think so, not after the way they were commanded to come specifically after you the last time," said George.

"But why haven't we heard anything in the news? They can't hide random murders like-" began Draco.

"Oh, they can! You'd be surprised!" George cut him off abruptly. "We're also here to tell Dumbledore. He should be warned not that he doesn't suspect anything… Our travels make it hard to block our ears to these things,"

Hermione felt a wave of nausea. Could things really get any worse? She wasn't sure whether being awake or asleep would ever calm her nerves now. For one thing, the twins were right about Ron being safer in Azkaban but then that dream taunted her, with Ron being badly tormented by something or someone. There was still the matter of Harry now being persecuted again by a Dementor after they were supposed to be all destroyed.

"We're going to leave the car here for your safety. You know, in case it does show up. Rumors say it can apparate as well. So being able to move fast in the sky may be your way to safety. This is no mere dark creature! And you might need her to help you escape if something goes wrong," explained George.

"Right! The rumors are just too hard to ignore and here is the last bit of information Harry… It not only gets to your soul but drains you of your magic as well! That's how it knows how to do things like Apparate and do other spells! The moment we heard of its calling card from that Duke in Yorkshire we did our best to collect more and more information as we traveled. Then we heard about Ron right when we discovered it was getting near hear, that's why it's been so hard to track us," concluded Fred.

Ginny closed her eyes and spun around. Harry grabbed her hand before she could get too far and gave her a questioned look.

"We best be off then…" started Fred.

"We have to see Dumbledore,"

"We'll leave the car near Hagrid's old hut and leave from Hogsmeade,"

"I just hope that our precautions really are for nothing,"

And away they went as they started the engine as silently as they could. As they flew around the four escaped under the cloak once again and walked back to the castle.