Holding Back Tears
Ch. 8
Darkness that Gripped Their Souls
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Hey guys! Are you still there? I doubt it. I would be really mad at someone who waited to post a chapter as long as I did. I don't doubt that I probably lost a couple of readers. I'm sorry that it took so long. I'm in college as most of you know, but this semester I got a job and my extra time became non-existent. I'm off of school for the summer and I'm working as a manager of a camp near San Antonio. I should have enough time to complete this fic and probably start a new one by the end of the summer. There probably aren't many chapters left of this one. The next chapter is going to be the most action packed and interesting one. I can't wait to write it. Ch. 9 is the chapter I've been planning and organizing since I started this fic. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Not a lot happens in this chapter, but it leads into the next which like I said earlier you won't find boring.
Disclaimer: Hmm… I think I'm beginning to run out of creative things. I never really owned the Hogwarts castle and Rowling really doesn't write to me telling me what Ron and Hermione are doing. (Just incase I fooled some of you ;) ) However I do own this fic, but yet I own nothing that is written about in the story. EX- Ron (unfortunately), Hermoine, Harry, Voldemort, Wormtail, etc, etc. Y'all get the point. I'm just a poor college student writing a story based off a book because I'm not creative enough to write an original piece of work. Well, on to the story!!!!
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After Ron finished buttoning his shirt he looked back up to Hermione's eyes. They just stared at each other as their newly persistent sense of fear overtook them completely. Finally Ron looked away to their surroundings to make sure the Death Eaters were still gone. Then he turned and crouched down next to her and spoke softly, "Hermione, you stay here. I'm going to go look for Harry and as soon…"
"Ron! NO! I'm not going to just sit here while you go out there searching for Harry!" Hermione retaliated.
"Hermione, You're too weak! You're not going out there and potentially face Voldemort in your state. I'm not going to lose you again!" Ron replied back urgently. He almost yelled the last words.
Hermione put her hand on Ron's cheek and looked directly into his eyes and said softly, "Ron, I can't just sit here knowing you and Harry are out there risking your lives. I'd never be able to live with myself if anything happened to either of you. I'm going to find Harry whether you like it or not." As she said this Ron looked down in defeat. "But it will be easier if we do it together."
There was a long pause and Ron still wasn't looking at her. She could tell he was angry with her and scared for her at the same time. She dropped her hand from his cheek, and she stood up slowly and carefully, but no less determined. When she was standing she stretched her aching muscles and slowly began to maneuver her drained body. As she turned her back Ron looked up and watched her progressively get more comfortable walking again and saw that with each step her pain was receding.
She was walking quite smoothly with out any hindrance by the time she turned around, looked at Ron and said, "I'm feeling better now anyway."
Ron nodded his head in seemingly against his better judgment and stood, walking next to her. "Come on then," he said softly.
They walked over to the arch of Ivy and looked both ways, but before Ron could turn right out of the garden Hermione grabbed his arm.
"What is it?" Ron asked, apprehensively looking around for a Death Eater or some other form of danger. When he saw none, he looked back to Hermione.
"I just wanted to let you know that if I can help it I won't let anything happen to me, and I definitely won't let anything happen to you. But if something does happen to me…I want you to know…that I will always love you, and this belongs to you and always will." Then instantly she leaned up and kissed him softly, but yet it was passionate in a way that can't be described; the kiss was full of her love for him.
When they broke apart Ron's eyes betrayed the amount of love that he also held for the beautiful and brave girl in front of him.
She smiled sweetly at him, grabbed his hand, and said, "Let's go find Harry." She walked out of the Ivy archway with Ron following close behind her and turned right down another path of houses.
They walked in silence listening intently for anymore of Harry's tortured screams to prove that he was still alive and to give them a direction to walk in, as their eyes unceasingly looked for any signs of Death Eaters.
"Do you know where we're going Hermione?" Ron whispered as he looked for any tracks or some sort of mark to lead in the direction of their good friend.
"No, I'm just following my instincts," she said quietly in return.
"Naturally," Ron stated semi-sarcastically. Hermione just smiled and squeezed his hand comfortingly.
"Ok, lets stop and think," she said after walking around aimlessly for another minute. At this rate Voldemort would have taken over the world before they could find Harry. "We're in Godric's Hollow. So, more than likely Voldemort took Harry to his parent's house."
"Do you know the address?" Ron asked hopefully.
"I remember reading it in The Fall of You Know Who but I can't remember it precisely." They stayed silent while Hermione thought of the address. "Well, Voldemort had us sent to the middle of that street for some reason. It was called Gateway Boulevard; I remember reading the sign while we were looking around the street. Maybe if we found that street again we'd have a better chance of finding him. Voldemort probably took him somewhere close by," Hermione said thinking out loud, and then turned to look at Ron for his opinion.
"And we're going to be heading right back toward all the Death Eaters looking to kill us on sight," Ron said disheartened.
"Well, you come up with something better!" Hermione replied angrily.
Ron held up his hands in a peaceful manner and said, "I've got nothing. You're idea is fine, but we're going to have to be really careful." Hermione gave Ron a look that said 'obviously' and started heading back to the street that they had started out at.
They cut across between houses and gardens going the shortest way to the street. They did this mostly to stay out of plain sight, but subconsciously they just wanted to go any way that would allow them not to see the place where Hermione had been horrifically tortured and the house of the family that was just as outrageously murdered.
Ron hadn't realized how far they had run from the street earlier as they tried to make their way back. It seemed to take double the time to get back, and each step was filled terror at what they might come face to face with in the very near future. Every breath was too loud to them giving the Death Eaters surrounding the area a tracking devise to find them.
However, their path was not crossed by any Death Eaters as they approached a street sign that said 'Gateway Blvd.'
"We're here," Hermione said unnecessarily. They walked slowly close to the house trying to avoid standing in the direct light of the street lamps. In the distance they could see the white sign that they knew to hold the name of the quaint sub-division.
As they slowly progressed down the road their hopes began to lower, as they heard no sign of life much less Harry. They also found it quiet suspicious that none of the Death Eaters had decided to stay around incase they had decided to do what they were doing.
'Maybe they just don't think we'd be brave enough to come back to this place once they believe we're unarmed. They know we're not stupid enough to think we can take them on without our wands.' Ron thought hopefully. They finally made it to the house where Voldemort had taken Harry into the shadows not too long ago. Their hearts where pumping loudly in their ears as they walked in between the two houses into the darkness that gripped their souls with dread.
They slowly searched the backyards of the houses that Harry was drug towards earlier. They cautiously took each step with the fear they'd see Harry's dead body lying motionless on the ground.
As they walked a bit further they saw a flicker of flames and herd muffled screams of more than one person. When they reached the end of the houses in that area they saw a leveled area that looked big enough to have once held a house. Now it was just a grassy field with small trees growing sporadically through out the space. In the centre of the land a fire blazed while a huge cauldron was set atop of the flames.
Behind the cauldron stood the disgusting face of the Dark Lord; Ron inhaled sharply at the sight of him.
Hermione looked to the left and saw something that completely shocked and confused her at the same time. The Dursleys' were all there bound and gagged. They looked completely terrified and repulsed. Dudley was crying loudly and every once and a while he would choke on the material covering his mouth and start to hyperventilate. Petunia looked so horrified that she was completely motionless except for her wide fearful eyes watching every move that Voldemort made. All the while Vernon's face was even redder than Ron's when he was completely embarrassed, and he was unsuccessfully pulling against his bandages in an attempt to free himself trying in every way possible to keep his eyes off the hideous creature in front of him. Hermione nudged Ron to make sure he saw what she was seeing.
"I'm not going crazy am I? That is the Dursleys' over there, right?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.
"Well, if your crazy them I'm joining the mad house with you, because I see them too," Ron said just as astonished.
"What could Voldemort want with them?" Hermione asked knowing Ron didn't know the answer.
"Not a clue," Ron replied, "Look!" he said suddenly and pointed to the right.
Hermione turned her head in the direction of Ron's extended arm and saw to her dismay Harry tied up, unconscious, while Wormtail was doing something with Harry's arm.
Hermione took a deep strengthening breath as she tried to gain the courage for what they were going to have to do. Tears were stinging in her eyes as she watched Voldemort turn and look at Harry with so much resentment and hate that it was a million times more horrible than Professor Snape could ever conjure.
"Alright, wake him. It is time for the ceremony to begin," said the cold eerie voice of the most evil wizard that has ever lived.
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P.S. Guys the line about I should have told you since the first time I met you, I love you is the line I threw in the last chapter was the quote from Pirates of the Carribean. I need to become more original because now there is a Peter Pan (the new one) quote thrown into this chapter. I hope you can find it if you've seen it. It's a little harder. I have faith at least one person can find it. Just to add in… I do believe in fairies, I do I do. I do believe in Fairies, I do, I do!!!