A/N: This chapter is really, really, really long, so I hope you've got plenty of time to read it all.
Chapter 35: A Form of ApparitionNora, Hermione, Ron and Draco sat around Harry's bed, just watching him sleep peacefully. They hardly talked, it might wake Harry up, and when a word was spoken, it was in a soft whisper that they could barely hear. Harry gave a grunt and rolled over onto his side in his sleep when Dumbledore entered the room. The old man walked over to the four students who where sitting quietly around the sleeping boy, looking at him expectantly.
"Ah, I see Harry is still asleep," said Dumbledore as he smiled upon them all. "Good, good. He needs the rest. Now, I fear I have some slight unfortunate news." He saw the happy looks on the students' faces falter as their eyes darted towards Harry and back to him. "It has nothing to do with Harry. This concerns Draco."
"What?" Draco blurted, before clapping his hands quickly over his mouth and glancing at Harry, checking to see if he was still asleep.
"I am afraid it is rather serious, but I am not sure if it really will occur," Dumbledore told Draco.
"What is it?" he asked resolutely.
"Voldemort has ultimately found out that you, as well as Harry, possess the power to annihilate him," began Dumbledore. Draco watched him intently, fearing the worst. Hermione, Nora and Ron were all keeping very quiet. "I assume he is going to try and… ruin you with the same tactic he used on Harry. Voldemort does not yet know he failed to drive Harry into insanity so I daresay he will attack you with a nightmare as well." In the uncomfortable silence that followed, everyone watched Harry sleeping, watched his chest rise and fall in a slow, steady rhythm under the covers.
"Does that mean I'll go insane when I've had the nightmare?" asked Draco finally, breaking the silence. Nora, Hermione and Ron held their breaths, waiting for Dumbledore to answer.
"Not necessarily. All you need to survive the insanity that follows are your friends. They need to be with you when you wake up and they need to distract you from the thoughts that will run through your head. Their presence is all you need to overcome it," Dumbledore told him. Draco looked outside where the sky was still thunderous, even hours after the downpour in which Nora had danced so blissfully… Nora. Would he ever see her again? What if he wasn't distracted enough after the nightmare and he was dragged into insanity? Would she know how much he loved her?
A/N: urgh. Writers block totally kicked in.
Draco was so consumed in his own thoughts that the voices of the others were drowned out as he stared at the still sleeping Harry. Draco wished he could wake him up; ask him what it was like to be on the verge of lunacy, if he knew what was happening to him when he had woken up from the nightmare.
"Draco. Draco? Draaacooo." Draco looked up, dragged out of his morbid thoughts by Nora's voice.
"What?" He asked, his voice a little hoarse.
"Are you coming to dinner with us?" asked Nora, looking at him as if she knew what he had been thinking moments before.
"Well, I'm not that hungry. I might join later, but don't count on it; I had a rather large lunch," replied Draco, not really looking into her eyes; afraid she'd see right through him if he did.
"All right, then," said Nora and she turned around to join the others, who were waiting in the hall. Draco looked at Harry, who was still sleeping serenely, and heaved a great sigh. He would not admit it to any one, but he was afraid. Afraid of losing his sanity, afraid of not being able live any further than age seventeen, afraid he may never see his friends again and afraid he would know he was insane but not be able to do anything about it. He heaved another sigh, took one last glance at Harry, and then stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked the meadow and the forest, the cool wind sweeping past him, blowing a few leaves past in the process. Draco closed his eyes, tilted his head back so he was facing the sky and spread his arms out like Nora had done so many times that day. Now he finally realized why she liked being in the rain so much. It was as if all of your troubles floated away as you listened to the sounds outside. He could hear the threatening rumbles of the sky, felt a raindrop fall on his forehead and heard the wind howling as it passed him.
"Planning on jumping?" Draco immediately lowered his arms and snapped his head to the right where Harry stood, overlooking the clearing in front of them.
"I thought you were asleep?" said Draco, not answering Harry's question.
"Nah, I woke up when Dumbledore entered. He may be really silent, but all that energy around him is enough to wake up all of Hogwarts," replied Harry, still looking ahead of him, watching a pair of birds fly underneath the darkened sky.
"Oh," was all Draco could say in return.
"So, planning on jumping?"
"No."
"Planning on killing yourself in any other way?"
"No."
"Hungry?"
"No." Draco's stomach gave a loud growl as if proving him otherwise. Harry smiled while still staring out ahead of him.
"Cold?"
"No." Draco didn't really know why Harry was asking those questions, or why he was answering them for that matter, his mouth just replied without really thinking.
"Having fun?"
"No."
"Scared?"
"Petrified." The two of them just stared ahead, watching the overcast sky, feeling the wind brush past them, howling and whistling. For some reason, Draco did not mind talking to Harry. In less than a second, rain came pouring down from the sky as heavy as earlier that day, but neither of the boys moved and they continued watching whatever was in front of them.
"About to wet your pants?"
"Crap in 'em, more like." Both of them chuckled.
"Nauseous?"
"Yes."
"On the verge of a mental breakdown even before our Voldie gets a chance?"
"Yes."
"Unable to move?"
"Yes."
"Which would clarify why we're still standing in the pouring rain. Exhausted?
"Yes." There seemed to be a slight second before Harry continued his inquiry.
"Love her?"
"With all my heart."
… Silence…
"I know you're afraid of going insane after your nightmare, but don't worry, none of us will let it happen," said Harry, finally turning to look at Draco.
"What if it doesn't work? What if I slip into insanity anyway?" asked Draco, facing Harry, fear very clear in his voice and eyes.
"Well, then I will personally shake you around and scream at you at the top of my lungs until you're back to normal," replied Harry. Draco cracked a slight smile, but it vanished almost immediately.
"Hell, I'd even let you hit me with a Troll's club if it keeps me sane," he said grimly, watching the rain pour out of the gloomy sky.
"Really? Wow, I'll go find a Troll right this instant. Say, can I practice a bit on you right now, just so I can get the hang of it?" said Harry with an over-enthusiastic voice. Draco chuckled as he sat himself on the floor and stared through two iron bars of the railing at the rain falling on a dark blue lake far, far away. Harry did the same and the two of them sat in comfortable silence.
"Ahem," someone standing in the door opening to the balcony cleared his or her throat. Harry and Draco snapped their heads to look in the glowering face of Nora, who had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot. "You order me to go inside before I get ill but then you go sit around in the rain yourself! WITH HARRY, WHO WAS NEARLY DRIVEN INTO INSANITY? HAVEN'T YOU TWO GOT ANY COMMON SENSE?" She stepped out onto the balcony and added, after the first drops of rain reached her, "Ooooh, rain!" she walked to the middle of the balcony, raised her head with her eyes closed and smiled, letting the rain pour on her face and down her body.
"AHEM!" someone standing in the door opening to the balcony cleared his or her throat. Harry and Draco snapped their heads to look in the glowering face of Hermione, who had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot as Nora had done only minutes before. "You order us inside before we get ill but then you go sit around in the rain yourself! WITH HARRY, WHO WAS NEARLY DRIVEN INTO INSANTIY! AND NORA, WHO ALREADY HAD A HARD TIME STAYING OUT OF THE RAIN WHEN SHE WAS FINALLY INSIDE! NOW SHE'LL NEVER WANT TO GO BACK IN! HAVEN'T YOU ANY COMMON SENSE?" Shrieked Hermione in a high-pitched voice, scolding them almost exactly like Nora had done. Harry and Draco looked down in shame, but Nora had taken no notice of Hermione's words, it seemed like she didn't even know Hermione was there at all.
"Let's go inside," muttered Harry to Draco who nodded. They both stood up and were about to walk past Hermione when she held out both hands in front of her, ordering them to stop.
"Oh no, you don't. You two got her into this mess and you're not leaving me to drag her back inside," she told them, indicating to Nora. Then she turned around and went inside, waiting for the two boys to bring Nora back in.
"Erm… let's ask her first, see how weird she's gotten so far," said Harry and he walked up to Nora. "Nora? Let's go back inside." But Nora took no notice and watched the rain pour down upon the country stretching out before her, her eyes round and shimmering. Harry and Draco each took an arm and tried to drag her inside, but Nora pried herself loose and leaned her hands on the banister of the balcony, watching the countryside in interest, her eyes moving every which way, examining everything.
"All right. I've had enough," said Draco and he picked her up and carried her inside, setting her on her feet next to Hermione. Harry closed the balcony doors shut and guarded it, preventing Nora to go back outside.
"Hmpf," said Nora as she pouted and crossed her arms. Then she walked off with Hermione to Merlin knows where.
"We really should get a leash on her," muttered Draco. Harry nodded while checking his watch. Butterflies fluttered in Draco's stomach as he asked, "What time is it?"
"Nearly seven o'clock," replied Harry. "About four hours 'till you go to sleep. But don't worry; we're all going to be there. I'll personally sit by your bed every second while you sleep. Come on, let's go get some grub," finished Harry and he dragged Draco out of the infirmary and towards the kitchen's, of which neither of them had a clue where it was.
Finally, after asking many, many paintings where the kitchen was, they found it, hidden behind a painting of a turkey dinner. You had poke the delicious looking turkey, which would then get up and run away screaming, revealing a doorknob. It was pretty much the same idea as in Hogwarts. Harry and Draco entered the gleaming white kitchen, which smelled of all sorts of delicious foods. A house-elf walked up to them wearing a sparkling white pillowcase and little shoes.
"At least the house-elves are being treated right," muttered Draco, a hint of bitterness in his voice that Voldemort had to go and ruin his life.
"Yeah, looks like Dumbledore joined S.P.E.W. or something."
"What is sirs liking?" asked the house-elf kindly.
"Well, we were kind of hoping that we could get some dinner, since we missed it," said Harry. The house-elf bowed and immediately four or five others came hurrying over with all sorts of filled plates. They placed them on a table in the corner, added two chairs and then dragged Harry and Draco over to it.
"Enjoying your meals, sirs!" squeaked the house-elves before bowing and continuing their work.
"Thanks," replied Harry and Draco. They each took a seat and began eating.
"So you were hungry," said Harry, smiling. Draco chuckled.
"Yes, I was, but the nausea covered it up," he replied, feeling a bit more uncomfortable. He was reminded of the last question Harry had asked. "Love her?" He had replied "With all my heart," without even thinking the question over, without knowing what Harry had meant. Guessing, by Harry's silence he was thinking about it, too, but Draco wished he wouldn't begin about it. The two of them chewed their food slowly, thinking the question and reply over.
"You do love her, then?" asked Harry after a long unpleasant silence. Draco gave a heavy sigh, before nodding, avoiding all eye contact with Harry. Harry gave a sigh too and then said: "I'm terribly sorry for overreacting when I saw you two in the hall, when we first landed in this castle. I shouldn't have. I already knew you weren't a bad guy and I still blew my top."
"It's not your fault. It must've been pretty shocking. Slytherin enemy since first year making out with Gryffindor best friend since first year… I don't think you overreacted at all, come to think of it," said Draco. He ate the last piece of his steak and a house-elf immediately came over to take his plate away.
"Well, I still think I could've been a bit calmer. Nora had already told us over the year you weren't really evil, that it was just an act. I guess I didn't want to believe it…" Harry finished his dinner, too, and another house-elf came to take his plate away.
"Don't worry about it. We can't change the past," said Draco as they both got up and made to exit the kitchens.
"Unfortunately," said Harry as a bunch of house-elves ran up to them and shoved all sorts of sweets in their hands. Harry and Draco keenly accepted the extra food and exited the kitchens.
"What time is it now?" asked Draco, butterflies fluttering again out of nervousness.
"A bit past eight thirty," replied Harry. "Nervous?" he then asked, seeing the look on Draco's face.
"Every second adds another butterfly to my stomach," answered Draco grimly as they entered the marble and gold Entrance Hall.
"What shall we do now?" asked Harry. Draco shrugged.
"I don't really care, as long as we don't go to sleep," he replied.
"Should we go sit in the living room?" suggested Harry. Draco shrugged again, which Harry took as a yes. They walked up the staircase and finally reached the right landing. Upon entering the living room, they saw it was empty and wondered where the other three were. The large, merrily crackling fire welcomed them in and they both walked up the front and took a seat in one of the comfortable chairs facing each other. Silence followed, which was broken only by the cheerful pops and crackles coming from the fireplace as it warmed its surroundings.
The two boys sat in silence, staring at the welcoming fire. Outside, it had begun raining again and the gentle 'tap, tap' of raindrops hitting the windows added to the joyous pops and crackles coming from the fire. It was half an hour later that Draco broke the peaceful silence.
"What time is it now?" he asked, looking up to watch Harry, who checked his watch.
"Nine o'clock"
"Oh." For the next fifteen minutes they sat in silence again, both dreading the moment when Draco would go to sleep. Their thoughts were interrupted when Ron, Nora and Hermione entered the room, Ron looking incredibly pleased to see Harry and Draco.
"Don't leave me alone with those two ever again… ever," he told them, jabbing his thumb in Nora and Hermione's direction.
"Oh, come on. We're not that bad," argued Hermione, a bit offended.
"Yes, you are," replied Ron, wide-eyed. "All you two talk about is… is… girl stuff!"
"Well, what do you expect, Ron? We are female, in case you haven't noticed," said Nora, crossing her arms.
"I have too noticed!" said Ron, though it did look as though someone had told him a fact he once knew, but had long forgotten. "I just didn't really expect you two to be so girlish. I mean, you, Hermione, you're always reading some book and being all intellectual, and yet you were going on and on about how you missed Terry and wished you could see him. And you, Nora, you play Quidditch and read more books than me and Harry have together, and you just do NOT stop talking about… rain and your mood swings," he finished, a bit disbelievingly. Both Nora and Hermione huffed.
"I did not go on and on about Terry," argued Hermione faintly at the same time that Nora quietly said "I only talked about rain for like five minutes." Harry and Draco chuckled, watching the girls blush as they looked at the carpet. Hearing the chuckles, they both snapped their heads up, murderous looks on their faces.
"What's so funny? You, Harry, can only talk about either Voldemort or Quidditch, it's enough to drive anyone insane," said Nora, glaring. Harry stopped laughing. He looked at her in disbelief, wondering why he was suddenly under attack, before glaring at her in return.
"And you, Draco, you can only talk about Quidditch, too. You'd think that is the only thing programmed into your brain," snapped Hermione, glowering, wiping the grin off of Draco's face as he returned the scowl. Ron stood in between the four, Harry and Draco by the fireplace, Nora and Hermione by the door opening, looking quite smug with himself. The other four slowly turned their heads to look at him and his smirk vanished almost instantly as he gulped. Harry, Nora, Hermione and Draco began shouting all sorts of things at Ron that he did that annoyed them, which was quite a lot to be honest, and the gangly red head cowered in a corner as more and more insults filled with his annoyances made their way to him.
After about fifteen minutes or so the five of them had finally stopped shouting at each other and calmed down somewhat, Harry and Draco still in their seats, Nora and Hermione still near the door opening and Ron still cowering by the bookcase.
"Huh," said Nora. The others looked at her, wondering what she meant. "I don't believe this has ever happened before. All of us arguing with each other."
"Yes. This must be the first time we've ever bickered like this: everyone against everyone…" said Hermione. Harry, Ron and Draco thought it over for a second before nodding their agreement. It remained silent for a bit, nobody moving from his or her spot.
"So what should we do now?" asked Nora cheerfully after a minute, walking over to the fire and seating herself on the couch. The others were taken a bit by surprise by this sudden cheerfulness after they had all just quarreled, but they recovered soon and Ron and Hermione joined the others by the fireplace.
"I dunno," replied Harry.
"You know what I regret?" asked Hermione quietly after a few minutes of silence. The others looked at her, but said nothing, sensing the remorse in her tone. "That it's just us here. No offense, of course."
"None taken," said Ron promptly.
"I mean, in Hogwarts there were hundreds of students and you could always talk with anyone. The common room was always full of laughter and noise. If we wanted to play a game, like truth or dare, everyone would be happy to join in and it would really be fun. Here it's just us. I've talked to you guys a million times already. It's always dead silent in this castle and we can't play any games because we already know everything about each other and we can't dare anyone to do something with someone else because we're all good friends and it'd be awkward." Hermione sighed, and closed her eyes. After a few seconds she opened them and continued. "I wish we could go back to Hogwarts, see our other friends again, be amidst the oblivious laughter of students who are unaware of the dangers."
"Yeah. It's not fun here anymore. In Hogwarts there's always a few students playing a prank at every part of the day, you're always in for something new," agreed Ron. The others nodded, knowing the feeling all too well.
"In Hogwarts there were always enough distractions to take your mind off of the inevitable," Draco told them.
"I'm actually missing the amounts of homework we used to get," said Nora. Hermione nodded but the guys looked at her as if she was mad. Nora just shrugged it off. So the rest of the evening was spent listing all of the things they missed about Hogwarts and how they wished they could go back to the familiar castle, or go back to the days when they hadn't known of their 'powers' and when those murders hadn't occurred. Needless to say, it wasn't a very happy evening and there was a lot of tension and sorrow in air, though no one mentioned it.
"I see you're all having a nice time using this living room," said Dumbledore in his calm voice as he entered the room. The five students turned to look at him and Draco involuntarily glanced at Ron's watch. Ten thirty. Time to sleep. "I have come to collect you all and to bring you to Draco's bedroom," continued the old man, watching as four pairs of eyes shot towards Draco and back to him. "I will tell you my plan there," he added and walked out of the living room to enter Draco's bedroom. Harry, Nora, Hermione, Ron and Draco followed slowly.
"Nervous?" whispered Harry as he and Draco entered the hall.
"I feel like I'm about to spit out butterflies," replied Draco, entering his room after Hermione. Dumbledore told them to sit on the bed and then he began to explain.
"As I have told you, I have a suspicion that Draco will have a nightmare, like Harry had, that could drive him into insanity. I have a few precautions that could make it a lot less worse than it can be. First of all, Draco will receive a dreamless sleep potion. I have no doubts that Voldemort will be able to break through it, but at least Draco will be well rested when his nightmare comes. Second of all, you four will stay here and watch him sleep and when he wakes up you do all you can to keep him sane. And third of all, you will all touch the Amulet of Era's as it will give you all more energy, it might help Draco fight the insanity off better and I'm sure you four will need all of the energy you can get to stay awake the whole night," finished Dumbledore. He then called an unknown name and a second later an elderly house-elf they had never seen before appeared with a smoking goblet in his hands. "This is the sleeping potion. Thank you, Grim." The old house-elf nodded and then vanished.
"Draco, you get changed into your pajama's and you're friends will give you the sleeping potion. I, unfortunately, cannot be here. My presence will only disturb everything. I wish you all good-luck." And with an encouraging smile Dumbledore left the room.
"What did he mean: 'My presence will only disturb everything?'" asked Ron, befuddled.
"He's too powerful. He emits too much power to be here; it would interfere with our job of keeping Draco away from insanity," answered Harry. "By the way, Draco, you'd better get changed."
"So, wait. We've got to do this all by ourselves?" said Ron in disbelief. "Isn't that a little… I dunno, risky?"
"It's even riskier if Dumbledore stays with us, quit whining," snapped Hermione. Ron glared at her but said nothing more. Draco went into his bathroom to change when Hermione exclaimed: "Oh wait, we've got to make a program. A schedule!"
"A what?" said Ron, gaping at her.
"A schedule. And we need some food, too, and maybe some coffee," added Hermione thoughtfully. She had begun fidgeting and looking around the room, hoping everything they needed was lying around somewhere. Unfortunately, it was not.
"All right. Ron and I will go get the food and coffee. You go search for some parchment, quill and ink to make the schedule and Nora will…" Harry trailed off, looking at Nora. What will she do? There was nothing left.
"And I will stay here," helped Nora.
"Right. Yes. You stay here and watch Draco. Prevent him from doing something stupid like killing himself. Let's go," he added to Ron and the two of them hurried out of room, towards the kitchen.
"I'll be back before you know it," said Hermione, then she exited the room as well in search for parchment, quill and ink to make a schedule, leaving Nora sitting in the middle of Draco's bed all by herself. A few seconds later the bathroom door opened and Draco walked out in his boxers. He looked around the room, a perplexed look on his face.
"How long was I in there?" he asked Nora, pointing to the bathroom. She smiled.
"Harry and Ron have gone to get some food and drinks from the kitchen and Hermione went to make a schedule of some sort. I stayed here to keep an eye on you," she replied.
"Ah, yes. Afraid I'll kill myself, are they?" Nora nodded.
"Yes. But I'm surprised you've stayed so calm with that hanging over your head. If it had been me I'd have cracked long ago and tried to jump out the first window I could find," she told him as he sat down on the bed, too.
"Well, get inside my head and you'll see total chaos. There's currently a siren going off and a voice yelling: 'Warning, warning. Evacuate immediately. Warning, warning,'" replied Draco glumly, feeling it was incredibly easy to talk to her, even after the disastrous fight they'd had.
"You have nothing to worry about. The others and I will do everything in our power to help you. We kept Harry sane, didn't we?" said Nora as she patted his arm reassuringly.
"I guess. It's just… the prospect of having a horrible nightmare that could drive you insane isn't exactly what I'd call fun."
"Yes, well like I said, you're handling this a lot better than I would've done. Now get into bed or you'll freeze before you even fall asleep," ordered Nora. Draco did as he was told and got under the covers while Nora got off the bed to close the curtains. Draco watched her stand on the tip of her toes to reach better, the ceiling was ten feet high after all, and smiled as she failed to close the drapes. Nora put her hands on her hips and glared at the curtains irritably.
"You are a witch, you know. Use your wand," advised Draco.
"Hmmm. Yes, that would be a lot easier. Fermare," she said as she pointed her wand at the drapes. Silently they slid closed and Nora beamed at her accomplishment before sitting cross-legged on Draco's bed again.
"Good job," Draco said in a voice people normally used for praising little kids. Nora glared at him.
"Why thank you. But I don't think I could have done it without you. That was a very useful bit of advice, you gave me," she told him sarcastically.
"For you it was. You couldn't even come up with it by yourself," shot Draco.
"I did, too. I was just trying it the Muggle way," argued Nora, crossing her arms.
"Uh-huh, right," Draco replied in a way that clearly said he knew otherwise.
"Fine, don't believe me."
"Fine, I won't." The two of them sat there, Draco sitting propped up against his pillows, Nora across from him, both of them acting like little children.
"I did too think of using a wand," muttered Nora after a few seconds, studying the wardrobe. Draco laughed. "I did," said Nora, looking at him.
"All right, all right. I believe you," he told her, raising his hands in surrender. Nora smiled a satisfied smile.
"Good," she said, still beaming. Draco on the other hand, had stopped chuckling and was now holding a hand on his stomach and leaning forward. "What? What is it?" asked Nora worriedly as she sat on her knees.
"I feel sick," was all Draco managed to say before he threw up on his covers. Nora quickly cast a scourgifying charm and Draco's dinner vanished instantly.
"Feel better?" she asked as she crawled over his bed and sat beside him to rub his back and try to comfort him a little. To both of their displeasure Draco shook his head and leaned forward again. Nora looked around the room, trying to find a bucket of some sort.
"I'm not even sick," whimpered Draco in a hoarse voice.
"I know you're not," replied Nora soothingly, still searching the room with her eyes for anything he could throw up in. She remembered Draco's last piece of advice, to use her wand, but she could not remember learning a spell that would transfigure anything into a bucket of some sort. "All right, you're going to have to keep retching on your bed spread," she told Draco, turning her attention back on him. Draco nodded and immediately obeyed by vomited on his covers. Nora cast another scrougifying charm and continued to rub his back, wondering what on earth could have triggered this vomiting.
Draco's breathing was now ragged and his face had turned rather pale. He groaned when he leaned forward again ready to throw up for the third time. Nora couldn't do much for him except rub his back, trying to make him feel a bit more comfortable. To her surprise Draco grabbed her hand with one of his when he retched again, but she held on to it, ignoring the slight uncomfortable feeling that had settled in her stomach.
"Feel better yet?" she asked while casting yet another scourgifying charm. Draco gave her what looked like a cross between a shrug and a nod, but it could have been something completely different as well.
After Draco had thrown up for the fourth time and he was sure there was no more need for vomiting he laid himself down in his bed feeling exhausted and pulled the covers up to his chin, though, completely unaware of it, he still held Nora's hand with one of his.
"Feel better?" she asked, after having cleaned up for the last time. Draco nodded faintly, his eyes closed, his breath still uneven. "Thank Merlin. I wish Hermione were here; then you could touch the Amulet-" began Nora, just as the door opened and Hermione entered. "Speaking of the devil," she muttered.
"I finished the schedule," Hermione panted as she waved a piece of parchment in the air. Her triumphant look changed when she saw Draco. "What happened?" she asked as she quietly closed the door.
"He got sick and retched four times," replied Nora.
"Poor thing," said Hermione as she sat down on the bed on the other side of Draco.
"So what did you make a schedule of?" questioned Nora, eyeing the piece of parchment in Hermione's hand.
"Of who's to stand guard, two at a time, replaced every hour, when to touch the Amulet, whenever you feel yourself getting tired, and when to eat, every hour. That sort of stuff," replied Hermione.
"And what do the others do when someone stands guard?"
"Read. Oh, right, books!" exclaimed Hermione. She jumped up and ran out of the room, the schedule clutched in her hand, leaving Nora looking a bit baffled at the suddenness.
"Books are really important to her, aren't they?" asked Draco hoarsely, his eyes still closed, his breathing still ragged. Nora laughed quietly and smiled at him.
"Yeah, pretty much. Feeling a bit better yet?"
"Yeah. But, honestly, I was rather surprised; I had expected butterflies to come flying out of my mouth," he replied. Nora chuckled, unthinkingly caressing Draco's hand lightly with her thumb.
"That nervous, huh?" she asked.
"Hey, you would've already been lying flat on the ground surrounded by shattered glass if you were in my place, so feeling like spitting butterflies isn't that exaggerated," Draco told her, his eyes still closed, though some color was coming back to his face again and he wore a small smile.
"True. Very true," replied Nora, still automatically stroking his hand. Just then Harry and Ron entered the rooming, looking slightly flushed.
"H-h-had trouble f-finding the k-k-kitchens," panted Ron, as he leaned forward, trying to regain his breath. Harry, too, was finding it hard to breathe properly.
"And did you get the food?" asked Nora, looking at their empty hands.
"Not yet. But we asked the house-elves to send some food up every hour or so. They're busy making some right now," replied Harry as Ron lay down on the ground.
"Ron, what on earth are you doing?" asked Hermione as she entered the room, carefully stepping over Ron, carrying a pile of books.
"I'm resting," replied Ron without opening his eyes.
"Ah. Well, here are some books to read," she said while placing the pile carefully down on the floor at the foot of Draco's bed.
"What happened?" asked Harry, seeing Draco.
"He got sick and retched four times," replied Nora.
"You all right, mate?" called Ron from the floor, eyes still closed.
"Yeah," mumbled Draco, who still had his eyes shut as well.
"Where's the food?" asked Hermione, just realizing Harry and Ron had returned empty handed.
"The house-elves are preparing it. We've asked them to send some up every hour," replied Harry. Ron grumbled something that was definitely made up of some curse words.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Nora, leaning forward a little so she could see Ron. He just grumbled a bit more.
"He wanted to have them send some food up every fifteen minutes," replied Harry grinning as he looked through the books Hermione had retrieved from their Living Room. Hermione shook her head, watching Ron with pity written all over her face. Luckily Ron didn't see.
"Get up, Ron," she said.
"Why?" moaned Ron, finally opening his eyes.
"Because Draco is about to drink his sleeping potion," replied Hermione as she kicked Ron lightly in the side, trying to get him to get up, but Ron just rolled out of the way. Hermione sighed. Draco sniggered as he watched, but his nervousness, which had went away a bit when he was alone with Nora, now seemed to flow back to him at full blast.
"Ron, pleeease get up," said Nora, but Ron did not move. "Get up… Up!" He still did not move. Hermione completely lost her temper, pointed her wand at Ron and said:
"Wingardium Leviosa." He gave a shriek as he was lifted into the air.
"Let me go, you wench!" he shouted, shaking a fist at her. Hermione lowered him, a bit too fast, and Ron landed painfully on the ground again, panting.
"You… evil… hag," he said slowly. Hermione dismissed him with a wave of her hand and walked over to Draco so he could touch the Amulet of Era's. After he was done the rest of them touched it, too, and Harry grabbed the still smoking goblet from the nightstand. Hermione sat on the bed across from Nora and on the other side of Draco.
"What's this?" asked Ron as he picked up the piece of parchment that contained Hermione's schedule. "Useless," he muttered as he crumpled it up and cast a spell that made it disappear.
"ROHON!" exclaimed Hermione. "That was my schedule! I spent a good deal of work on that!"
"Well it was useless," replied Ron. Thus Hermione gave him the silent treatment.
"Are you two guarding him first?" asked Harry. Nora and Hermione nodded. "All right. Well then, Draco. It's time for you to drink the dreamless sleep potion." Draco nodded slowly, and tried to ignore the million butterflies that were fluttering around in his stomach like crazy. Harry handed him the goblet and Draco hesitated for a second before drinking it, feeling Nora still caressing his hand, though she was unaware of it. Draco felt himself becoming drowsy as he gave Harry the goblet and laid his head down on the pillow, focusing hard on the hand Nora was stroking.
"Aw, crap. I forgot to get the Troll's club," Draco heard Harry complain, and he laughed quietly before sleep washed over him.
"You forgot to get what?" asked Nora, looking at Harry.
"Well, Draco said that he'd even let me hit him with a Troll's club if it kept him away from insanity, but I forgot to get one," explained Harry.
"Right," said Nora, deciding she'd just forget that.
"So, now what?" asked Ron, speaking up again. Hermione huffed and looked in another direction. Ron made a face at her and then turned to the others. "Well?"
"I guess now me and Hermione watch him," began Nora, indicating to Draco. "And you and Harry just read." And so a long night began.
They switched guards every hour after they had all eaten something and whenever they got tired they would touch Hermione's Amulet, Draco sleeping peacefully through it all.
It was nearly four thirty when Nora and Hermione, who were standing guard, noticed a change in Draco's sleeping behavior. They instantly called Harry and Ron who rushed over immediately.
"What should we do?" asked Hermione, panicking.
"Should we wake him?" suggested Nora.
"No," replied Harry firmly.
"What?" shrieked Hermione and Nora in unison.
"No," replied Harry, still more firmly.
"Why not?" asked Ron.
"Voldemort will know. We have to wait until he wakes up himself and then we'll start distracting him," Harry explained to them.
"You're sure about this," said Hermione. Harry nodded.
"Positive. If we wake him up now, Voldemort will, I dunno, sense it and he'll know we know about his plans. Remember, he still thinks I'm insane."
"All right. We wait," said Hermione and the four of them watched Draco getting more and more troubled as a frown made its way onto his normally calm face.
Draco found himself standing outside, beside a large house with a gigantic garden that looked a lot like his. He took a few steps forward and heard a shriek. He looked around quickly and, to the side, he saw a little girl being chased by someone who looked a lot like him. A second look told him it was him and realization dawned. It was the fifth of January. The day Nymphirah would be murdered. He ran forward to himself and his sister, to warn them, but neither of them noticed him and continued playing.
"Draco!" called a malicious voice. "Draco, come here!" it was his father and Draco saw the younger version of himself walking up to him.
"Yes, father?" he asked in a voice full of hatred.
"The Dark Lord and his fellow Death Eaters have arrived. You shall receive the Dark Mark now," his father whispered, though older Draco could still hear it. "Follow us." And Lucius Malfoy walked off towards the forest with Voldemort and the other Death Eaters, followed by the younger Draco. The other, real, Draco searched the area trying to find his mother, but she had already gone inside. He then tried to find Nymphirah and saw she was sneaking over to the forest, trailing her brother. Draco ran after her, trying to stop her, but he knew it was useless. He ran through the forest and stopped in a clearing where he saw himself standing in the middle of a circle of Death Eaters with Voldemort.
"Your mother and sister are not to know about this. They would not understand if they found out. Kneel, Draco," said Voldemort in his cold voice. The real Draco just watched, not wanting to see what would happen next. Wishing he were anywhere but here. "Kneel, so you can receive the Dark Mark."
"Yes, master," replied the younger Draco, his voice dull, as he kneeled down in front of the snakelike man.
"Good, good. Now, stick out your arm, Draco," said Voldemort, excited that his heir would soon be a Death Eater, too. The real Draco watched the young version of himself bend his head, turning his gaze to the floor, and hold out his arm. He still knew the exact thoughts that were going through his head right at that moment: 'I don't want to receive it, I want to be an Auror when I finish school, I want to capture Death Eaters, not work with them.' Draco shook his head slightly as tears formed in his eyes.
"Now, this might sting a bit," Voldemort said and Draco watched as an icy cold finger touched the arm of his younger self. He could see himself grimace in pain and he remembered how he had felt. He had thought his arm was being torn apart.
"ARGH!" Draco saw Voldemort let go of young Draco's arm as he screamed in pain. He saw himself look up in confusion, wondering who had screamed. Voldemort was now clutching his hand and young Draco looked at his own arm to see if he had gotten the Dark Mark. Draco could almost hear the thoughts as though he had said it out loud: 'White?'
"Master, are you harmed?" Asked Lucius Malfoy, bringing Draco's attention back to what was going to happen soon.
"No. I'm all right, now. Well, I certainly didn't expect this and I do not know what it is, either. Draco!" shouted Voldemort and young Draco gave a slight jump.
"Yes, master?" He asked, while kneeling in front of Voldemort again.
"Do you have the Dark Mark on your arm?"
"Yes, master," said Draco, while covering it up with his sleeve.
"Very well, then. Ah, Nagini. You have returned," said Voldemort in a hiss. The snake that had arrived hissed in return.
"Yes, master." Draco saw his own eyes widen; he could hear what the snake was saying! He could speak Parseltongue all of a sudden! He saw himself look at his Dark Mark, then at Voldemort and then back at his Dark Mark.
"Is everything set? Will we be able to continue with our plan?" hissed Voldemort, not aware of what Draco was doing.
"Yes, master. Everything is ready." Then Nagini slithered away, weaving in and out of the Death Eaters, who moved out of the way as she passed them.
"Well, the plan is ready, Hogwarts will be our aim and if everything goes according to plan the students will be in the Great Hall when we set the owls and Nifflers loose," said Voldemort in his high-pitched cruel voice. "What is it, Nagini?" he hissed as his snake came gliding back.
"Master, there is a little girl watching," hissed Nagini and then she slithered off again. Draco's stomach dropped; he knew what was coming next and he didn't like it. Why had Nymphirah always wanted to follow him everywhere?
"What?" shouted Voldemort. He walked swiftly out of the circle of Death Eaters only to return, holding a squirming Nymphirah. "You silly little girl. You should've known better than to follow your dear brother. Now, you shall pay," said Voldemort in merciless cold voice. Nymphirah was kneeling in front of him, sobbing in her hands, whispering apologies, begging him to spare her life. Draco wanted to reach out, to save her, but he couldn't. He found it impossible to move and could only watch. "Avada Kedavra!" He saw the flash of bright green light, he saw Nympirah's limp body fall to the ground, saw the triumphant look on Voldemort's face and felt rage flow through him like he never felt before. He wanted to murder him. He wanted to murder the man that had ruined his, and many others', life.
"NYMPIRAH!" Draco watched, tears running down his face, as the younger version of himself ran forward. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER! THERE WAS NO NEED! SHE WOULDN'T HAVE TOLD ANYONE! THERE WAS NO NEED!" Yelled the young Draco at Voldemort, while hugging the limp form of his sister. "There was no need!"
"You foolish boy! No one speaks to Lord Voldemort like that! No one! CRUCIO!" bellowed Voldemort and Draco watched as he saw himself squirming on the floor, his face contorted with pain and rage. He saw himself scream, scream like he had never screamed before, and felt a very outsized urge to scream himself… and to kill the man who had ruined his life.
Draco shot up in his bed, screaming, tears running down his face, and shaking terribly, like Harry had done the night before. Nora and Hermione were now both holding a hand and started whispering soothing words at once, not able to imagine how much pain he must be going through. Harry and Ron were not really sure what to do, women seemed to be way better at this sort of stuff, so they patted Draco's legs, the only part they could reach, since Nora and Hermione seemed to have taken up all of the space near Draco's upper body.
Draco let out a loud shout filled with agony, tears still pouring down his pale and clammy face. He was shaking as horribly as Harry had done. It killed Nora to see him like this and she pulled the trembling boy into a hug, holding him close to her, stroking his hair. She rocked him back and forth very slightly like she and Hermione had done with Harry, hoping they would be able to keep him from insanity.
"It's all right, Draco. Shhhh. It's all right," she whispered into his ear. Hermione stroked his hand and arm, tears forming in her eyes. She tried not to think about what would happen if he were pulled into insanity, but the thought forced itself into her mind.
"We'll keep you from insanity. Don't worry. It'll be all right," whispered Nora into his ear as she kept stroking his hair and rocking him, though not really believing her own words. The thought of him, without his sanity, kept entering her mind and, though she tried hard to push it away, it remained firm in place, causing a few tears to escape from her eyes. Hermione glanced at her best friend every so often, checking to see how she was doing, how she was handling this. She knew Nora still loved Draco, though the stubborn girl would never admit it to anyone.
Draco's mind was almost completely blank. He found himself thinking about the… thing he had witnessed the whole time. His sister trailing him, watching the secret meeting from behind a tree, getting caught, begging Voldemort for mercy, begging him to spare her life. Images kept entering his mind and returning over and over and over again. He knew his friends were there. He knew Harry and Ron were patting his legs. He knew Hermione was holding his hand, squeezing it every now and then, and rubbing his arm. He knew Nora was the one holding his other hand and hugging him and rocking him back and forth and whispering comfortable, soothing, even hope-giving words into his ear, but he didn't really acknowledge it; everything seemed to go by him, though he tried hard to focus on it.
"Harry, Ron, go get Dumbledore," said Nora, a bit aggressively, all of a sudden, taking her friends by surprise.
"What?" asked Ron, startled.
"Go and get Dumbledore," she repeated fiercely.
"But he's not supposed to be here. He's too powerful remember?" argued Ron, frowning.
"Just get Dumbledore!" she snapped with a look so vicious that the two boys scrambled from the bed and ran out of the room in fright, fetching Dumbledore as she had ordered. Nora continued hugging Draco and, when she thought Hermione wasn't looking nor paying attention, she whispered in his ear "I love you."
Hermione watched as Harry and Ron ran out of the room and kept staring at the hall, where they had been only seconds before. She didn't want to turn around and look at Draco again. The sight of him like this scared her and she felt that, even though he had been a real pain in the ass from first till fifth year, he didn't deserve this. No one did. Except Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hermione sighed softly as she kept staring into the hall. She was about to turn around and sit straight again, when she heard Nora whisper something in Draco's ear again, even quieter than before. Though it seemed as if she was saying it out loud. But what was it? She strained her ears. "I love you." Hermione frowned. Nora wouldn't admit her love for Draco to anyone, not even to her, Hermione, but she would to Draco himself, the one person who was not supposed to know? This made no sense. Wait… unless… Nora did not expect Draco to wake up, ever again. But how could she just give up hope like that? How could she be so forlorn? It was a mystery to her. Hermione turned around and began stroking Draco's arm again, hoping immensely Dumbledore would arrive soon.
Draco closed his eyes. His vision was blurred when they were open. It felt better to close them. He wanted so much to just let the nightmare drown him, but a little part of him said he shouldn't, said that he should focus on his friends, on other things, and though Draco tried, it was almost impossible. Whenever he found something else to think about it led him back to the nightmare. He tried to focus on Nora's words. Tried to pay attention to what it was she kept whispering. He heard her shout something, but he did not know to who or what she was shouting. Just then he felt Harry and Ron leaving the room in a hurry. But he didn't want them to leave. He wanted them to stay, to help him out of this, whatever it was. Them leaving brought new tears in his eyes. Draco tried to focus on Nora's words again. What was she saying? Pay attention! What is it! What is she saying? He thought desperately, trying so hard to keep the nightmare away. "I love you." Draco's mind seemed frozen for a few seconds before Nymphirah's death engulfed him. As he was being rocked back and forth he focused on those three words. She loved him? She still loved him? And though this gave him a whole lot of hope, he found it harder and harder to keep the nightmare out. He found himself wishing more often that the horrible thoughts would just engulf him, but still a little voice told him to resist, to hold it back, to focus on happier memories: She loved him. And Draco tried, he tried as hard as he could, but it was almost impossible, and he was so exhausted. When he was right on the verge of just letting all the dreadfulness wash over him, he heard a sound. A beautiful clear voice singing and Draco focused on it. Listening to it was much easier than trying to think of happy thoughts. The song broke with ease through all of the barriers his brain had set up as the words flowed into his mind, sounding like a phoenix song, but he knew it wasn't one. He knew it was Nora's favorite song, though how, he did not know.
You don't need no friends
Get back your faith again
You have the power to believe
Another dissident
Take back your evidence
It has no power to deceive
I believe it
When I see it
For myself
Hermione looked at Nora surprise. She had not hear her friend sing for a long time, yet here she was, in one of the most dreadful moments in her life, singing as clearly and wonderfully as if it were a celebration and she was asked to share a song with them. She had not heard Nora sing since the winter vacation, right before they had gone back to Hogwarts. Hermione felt as if the song gave her hope, as if it was a phoenix song. She knew it was all for Draco.
I don't need no one
To tell me bout heaven
I look at my daughter
And I believe
I don't need no proof
When it comes to god and truth
I can see the sunset
And I perceive
Hermione closed her eyes as she listened to the song and caressed Draco's arm. This song was a favourite of her and Nora's. They had loved it the moment they heard it, which was on the radio a few years ago, when they were staying at Nora's house. It was such a wonderful song.
Sit with them all night
Everything they say is right
But in the morning they were wrong
I'll be right by your side
Come hell or water high
Down any road you choose to roam
I believe it
When I see it
For myself
Nora had no idea why, but she felt that singing was a lot easier for her to do than whispering soothing words. And she felt that if this song had gotten her through some terribly dreadful times before, it would get them through this. She dearly hoped Draco could hear it; he would have something to focus on.
I don't need no one
To tell me bout heaven
I look at my daughter
And I believe
I don't need no proof
When it comes to god and truth
I can see the sunset
And I perceive
Darling I believe
Sometimes it's hard to breathe
At the bottom of the sea
Draco felt himself calm down while listening to the song. Felt himself relax as the tunes drifted through his head preventing all the horrible thoughts that had been intruding all the while before, to enter again.
I believe it
When I see it
For myself
I don't need no one
To tell me bout heaven
I look at my daughter
And I believe
I don't need no proof
When it comes to god and truth
I can see the sunset
And I perceive
Harry and Ron ran into Draco's bedroom only to stop upon hearing the beautiful sound that reached their ears. Harry spotted the source immediately, but Ron had a bit more trouble. He looked all around the room, trying to see what was singing so beautifully, it never occurred to him it could be a person, so Harry nudged him hard in the ribs and pointed to Nora, who was sitting on the bed hugging Draco, both of them eyes closed, singing. Dumbledore stood quietly behind them, listening, humming the tune very quietly.
I don't need no one
To tell me bout heaven
I look at my daughter
And I believe
I don't need no proof
When it comes to god and truth
I can see the sunset
I can see the sunset
I can see the sunset
I don't need no one
I don't need no one
I don't need no one
I don't need no one
To tell me bout heaven
I believe
When Nora was done singing she opened her eyes and quickly wiped a few tears away. She heard a gentle snoring and looked to the side to see a peacefully sleeping Draco, and a happily smiling, though through tears, Hermione. Nora carefully laid Draco's head on his pillow, feeling very embarrassed, and gave a little jump when she heard Dumbledore's voice
"Well, that was a brilliant song. It is one of my favourites. Though, sad to say, I haven't heard it for a long while, up until now. Thank you for reminding my aging mind what the tunes were," he said happily.
"Erm… yes," murmured Nora. "You're welcome."
"Now, Harry and Ron said that you ordered them to come and fetch me rather snappishly but I see you handled perfectly well by yourself. You four go ahead downstairs for a good, hearty breakfast, and I shall bring Draco up to the infirmary," Dumbledore told them. Harry, Nora, Hermione and Ron nodded and they walked slowly out of the room.
"He'll be all right, though, won't he?" asked Ron as they walked down the hall. Hermione purposely looked the other way; she was still ignoring him.
"I think so," said Harry, going down the stairs, but Ron wasn't waiting for a reply; instead he walked next to Hermione.
"Aw, come on, 'Mione. You're not gonna ignore for the rest of the day, are you?" he whined. Hermione huffed, crossing her arms.
"Watch me," she snarled.
"Ha, you already talked to me! You can't keep ignoring me now. You already talked to me!" he exclaimed happily.
"Watch me," snarled Hermione again, wiping the smile off of Ron's face.
"Aw, come on 'Mione. You know I didn't throw your schedule away on purpose," he said as they entered the Dining Room. Hermione said nothing. "Oh, she'll beg me to talk to her sooner or later," muttered Ron to Harry as they sat down. "You just wait and see."
"Right, mate," Harry told him, thinking Ron was incredibly dim-witted when it came to women. But then again, so was he.
Halfway during breakfast Dumbledore came to join them and explained that today would be the last day of practicing to dodge Bludgers on their brooms. Tomorrow they would start to practice a form of Apparation that many men use while duelling. Harry remembered Dumbledore fighting Voldemort almost a year ago and both men had been able to disappear and then appear again in a completely different spot. He vaguely wondered if that was what they were going to learn.
So after breakfast they went outside to the Quidditch pitch for more practice. Hardly any of them were paying attention, though; all of their minds were set on learning that form of Apparation. It would be dead useful in their fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. After a lot of nauseating spins, twirls, loops, dives, etc. they were finally allowed to stop while Dumbledore went to check on Draco who was now waking up.
"He's all right, though, isn't he?" asked Hermione as they landed on the floor.
"I guess," replied Harry. "Otherwise Dumbledore would've said so, wouldn't he?" The four of them put their Firebolts away and headed towards the castle.
"What should we do now?" asked Ron, boredom washing over him. Harry shrugged.
"There isn't much to do. The rain stopped long ago, so we won't be able to play around in it," he said, looking at Nora.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny," she told him sarcastically.
"See, in Hogwarts we would've come up with something to do already, here we just do nothing," said Hermione.
"We could explore the grounds a bit," suggested Ron.
"It might be dangerous," said Harry.
"Oh, right."
"Merlin, this place bites," stated Nora.
"What?" exclaimed Ron. "It's got teeth as well as monsters?" He folded his arms, looking irritably at the castle and it's grounds. Harry, Nora and Hermione stopped still and watched him, a bit taken aback by this sudden outburst.
"Ron!" said Hermione exasperatedly.
"What?" he asked irritably.
"It's a figure of speech. This place doesn't actually have teeth," explained Hermione, her hands on her hips.
"Oh. I knew that." He walked back up to them. "By the way, you look just like my mum when you stand like that," he added as he passed Hermione. Her arms immediately fell to her side.
"We could visit Draco," suggested Harry. The others shrugged.
"Yeah, all right."
A/N: Oh my god. This chapter is already soooo long and I still haven't gotten to the main part of it! You guys are gonna have to keep reading for a bit more, hehe:
So the four of them went inside and called out for sir Cadogan, needing him to lead the way, as they still hadn't figured out where everything was exactly.
"Right this way, kind sirs and gentle ladies!" exclaimed the knight happily before he began running. He tripped quite a few times, "Running with armour is highly difficult, kind students, and it should not be tried by any one other than a professional," he told them as he struggled to get up, and the four of them tried hard to stifle their laughter. Ron was having most trouble of them all and he buried his face in Harry's robes, though it hardly helped.
"Are you ill? I daresay those noises are not ones made by a healthy, strong person like myself-" He tripped over a loose pebble in one of the paintings and fell flat on his face. Ron could no longer hold himself and he howled with laughter, only to be slapped on the arms by Nora and Hermione, and Harry, who hit him in a very queer way, imitating the two girls. Ron howled with laughter again as both Nora and Hermione glared daggers at Harry, who just flashed his boyish smile at them.
"We have arrived!" exclaimed sir Cadogan as he scrambled up after yet another fall.
"Thanks," the four students told him, recognizing the hall outside the infirmary immediately.
"Should we knock?" whispered Hermione.
"Dunno," whispered Nora back.
"I guess knocking couldn't hurt," stated Harry and he rapped loudly on the door with his knuckles before slowly opening it. Draco was lying in the bed next to the one Harry had lain in and Dumbledore was sitting next to him in a comfortable chintz armchair.
"You see? I told you it would only be a matter of minutes before they found their way up here," said Dumbledore happily, and Draco smiled gratefully at his headmaster.
"So, how are you feeling?" asked Harry as he sat down next to Dumbledore on a slightly less comfortable chair.
"Not bad, actually," replied Draco truthfully. "A bit tired, but not bad."
"Oh, thank Merlin. We were dead worried about you," said Hermione as she sat down next to Harry, leaving Nora and Ron to sit on the other side.
"I'll be leaving you for now. Work to be done, of course," Dumbledore told them and he walked out of the room, the everlasting twinkle in his eyes twinkling one last time at them before he disappeared from view.
"So, what did you guys do?" inquired Draco.
"Had more practice dodging Bludgers," replied Ron dully.
"Oh."
"Yeah, it was pretty boring, and nauseating, but tomorrow we start something new," Harry told him, and Draco immediately cheered up.
"Really? What? Dumbledore hasn't told me yet."
"Some form of Apparation. Dumbledore told us people use it a lot when they duel. I saw him do it when he was fighting Voldemort," replied Harry.
"Really? Cool," said Draco. "I mean, the form of Apparation is cool, not fighting Voldemort. He shouldn't be worth so much time," finished Draco in a dark mutter.
"Yeah," said Harry, a bit automatically.
"I miss my family," pouted Ron. The others sighed and nodded.
"Me too," said Nora. Then her eyes opened wide in shock. "Oh no! no, no, no, no, no!" she groaned immediately. The others looked at her, brows furrowed.
"No, no, no what?" asked Ron.
"It's Lily's birthday Friday, which is in four days and I haven't gotten her a present or a card yet! And it should already be sent because Merlin knows where we are and it could take days before Siberia reaches her! ARGH! How could I have been so stupid?" She shrieked, totally in hysterics.
"Well, -" began Ron, but Nora cut him off.
"IT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION!" she snapped. "YOUR'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO ANSWER THOSE, RON!" Ron closed his mouth and glared at her, mad that both girls had bellowed at him in less than a day.
"Look, I'm sure Lily will understand if you're present comes a bit late," said Hermione. But Nora shook her head.
"I don't even have a present. Weren't you listening?" she snapped.
"All right. No need to bite my head off," snapped Hermione back. Both girls glowered at each other. Ron was now looking pretty pleased with himself, happy that he was no longer the only one being yelled at.
"You can always make a present. Or send a picture or something," suggested Draco. Nora slowly turned her eyes on him, and, after one last glare at Hermione, she shrugged and replied:
"Maybe. But I don't have a camera nor do I have any idea what I would make or where I'd get the things to make it with."
"Well, what does she like?" asked Draco. Nora thought about this for a minute.
"Harry," she replied simply. Draco's eyebrows shot upwards and were completely hidden by his untidy hair. He looked at Harry, who was grinning.
"Yeah. They have this really special bond together," explained Nora a bit bored, waving her hand dismissively. Draco looked at her again.
"I see. Well then send her a picture of Harry, or a drawing, since you don't have a camera," he said.
"Isn't that kind of lame for a birthday present? No offence," Nora told him. He shrugged.
"Well, if you can think of something better," said Draco. Nora thought for a while, leaning her head tiredly on her hand, trying to think of a birthday present for Lily, when all of a sudden she was hit with the memory of the funeral, for no reason at all. Images flashed past her. She was sitting on the snow, in front of Dean's coffin. Harry coming over with Lily, handing her to her sister. Lily asking if the person in the picture was Dean. Asking if the person he was kissing was her, Nora. Stating that Dean was handsome. And as sudden as they had come, the flashes and images disappeared and Nora felt something warm roll down her cheeks. She put her hands to her face and wiped some of it off. She held her hands up in front of her eyes and expected to see translucent tears on her fingers, since she had been crying, but instead of pearly tears there was blood. Dark red blood. Nora stared at her hands, not knowing what on earth was happening to her, when she realized that she was crying blood, that it was pouring out of her eyes. Her high-pitched scream pierced the air like a gunshot breaking the calm silence early in the morning.
"Nora. Nora!" shouted Hermione as she shook her friend. Nora opened her eyes and scanned the room in fright. She was in the infirmary, sitting by a bed.
"W-W-What h-ha-happened?" asked Nora terrified, fear all over her face, she clutched the white bed sheet in front of her.
"You fell asleep," said Hermione, and Harry, Ron and Draco nodded.
"I fell – what? I fell asleep?" she asked, looking at her friends. They all nodded. Nora frowned and looked at the white sheets that covered Draco. Without thinking she stuck out her hand and touched the Amulet that hung around Hermione's neck. Nora immediately felt herself strengthen and stop trembling.
"What happened? Why did you scream?" asked Harry. Nora told them what she had dreamed, though it had felt so real.
"I was crying blood," she finished.
"Poor thing," muttered Hermione and she gave Nora a hug before sitting down in her seat.
"And it had really felt like the day of the funeral," said Nora weakly. "It was so horrible. And Lily, stating Dean was handsome, it only made me feel so much worse."
"Come on," said Harry softly. "Cheer up a bit."
"I can't!" exclaimed Nora, bellowing at Harry for the first time since a long while. "He's dead! And I can't help but keep thinking that if I had woken him up when Hermione and I went to check on you, Harry, that he could have stayed alive! When we ran away, he probably thought I was kidnapped and killed! Which was probably why he was battling Death Eaters! And he died! He died not knowing that I was alive and safe! … Not knowing how much I loved him," she finished faintly, fidgeting roughly with the covers.
Harry, Hermione and Ron stared at Nora. So now they knew. Now they finally knew what had bothered Nora for so long after Dean had died. She blamed herself and thought he never knew how much she loved him. Draco was the only one who was not gaping at her. He had never even known she had been so troubled. She had always seemed normal to him. Unless he had been so stupid and ignorant not to notice, which was a large possibility.
"He knew how much you loved him, honey," said Hermione softly. "He really did know how much you loved him, and it's not your fault he battled Death Eaters. It wasn't because of you. He wanted to fight them; he tried to protect the castle. He knew you were alive and safe."
"Really?" asked Nora, her voice rather hoarse. Hermione nodded. Nora wiped her tears away and looked at her shoes. She felt ashamed of her outburst.
"All right. So a present for Lily," said Draco, trying to change the subject, for which Nora was very grateful.
"A picture of us all would be nice," suggested Ron.
"Ooh, and we could take it by the lake in the forest," said Hermione excitedly.
"But where can we get a camera?" asked Nora.
"Dumbledore?" said Harry.
"Oh my god! I have a camera!" exclaimed Hermione, hitting herself on the forehead. "I totally forgot about it, but I have a camera in my trunk. I bought it the moment we stayed in a wizard area during our trip."
"Great. So let's go," said Ron.
"All right." And they got up out of the chairs.
"What about me?" asked Draco feebly. They turned around and laughed. Hermione walked over so he could touch the Amulet and when he was fully strong again he jumped out of the bed, already dressed, and the five of them made their way out in the hall.
"Argh," grumbled Nora. "Why do we always have to call sir Cadogan when we want to get around this castle? I wish we knew the way."
"I know it a little," said Hermione and she walked off.
After a couple of wrong turns and dead ends the five of them were finally standing outside in the bright sun and warm breeze, having changed into their swimsuits and picked up Hermione's camera along the way
"Should we take some pictures of the castle, too?" asked Nora.
"No, people might recognize it," replied Hermione. Together they walked off towards the forest. When they finally reached the beautiful lake they gazed at it, enthralled by its beauty.
"Now you four go into the water and I'll set the camera so that I can get in the pictures, too," said Hermione and she began fidgeting with it. Nora was already running off into the water, squealing, as Harry, Ron and Draco ran after her, trying to tickle her. It took a while before Hermione had finally figured out how the camera worked. She waded into the water as the camera hovered in mid-air, facing them. When she reached the others she was immediately attacked by Harry and Ron and tried to get away from them, not wanting to be tickled. Nora was attacking Draco, to the side. When the five of them were in the middle of the water, all wrestling each other, laughing, a snap was heard and a large puff of smoke came from the camera. The five of them stopped to see what had happened.
"How'd you do that?" Ron asked Hermione.
"Well it comes with this cordless thing and when you press it, the camera takes a picture. This way I was able to get in it, too," she explained.
"Wow, you really know everything," Ron told her. What she did not know, though, was that Harry was sneaking up behind her, his hands ready to tickle her. Hermione's shriek filled the air when Harry finally pounced, followed by much laughter, and more shrieks as everyone began wrestling everyone again.
When they were all done chasing each other, the five of them got out of the water and switched back into their clothes waiting for Hermione to show them the pictures. There were quite a few of them wrestling and tickling each other. One showed Hermione hurrying out of the picture as Harry, Ron and Draco chased her, Nora laughing off to the side. Another one showed Nora being chased by Hermione while Harry, Ron and Draco stood off to the side laughing. Then there was one with both Nora and Hermione chasing the three guys. One showed Hermione strangling Harry for sneaking up on her. One showed Nora attacking Ron, who quickly took cover behind Harry and Draco. Another picture showed Ron all alone, looking suspiciously around him, the others nowhere to be seen. Then there was a picture that showed Nora and Hermione being thrown into the air by the guys. Actually, all of the pictures were of them ganging up on each other, usually guys against girls, but there was one picture that was simply beautiful. It was of the five of them in a row, arms around each other. Harry was in the middle, after all, he was the main point of the picture, Nora and Hermione were beside him, and Ron and Draco were on the outside, Ron beside Hermione, Draco next to Nora. The five of them had their arms around each other and were smiling happily as water rushed down in the waterfall behind them. This scenic picture was to be sent to Lily. The other pictures weren't really an option because it either showed them wrestling each other, or strangling each other, as in Hermione and Ron's case.
The five of them entered the castle, looking at the pictures, and entered the Dining Room for dinner, chatting happily, hair still wet.
A/N: I'm only just starting to write what the chapter is really about, but I'm beginning to wrap it up a bit as well, I don't want this to get too long.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Nora and Draco were all sitting in the Dining Room having breakfast with Dumbledore. They had all gotten a good night's rest and had woken up fully refreshed and rested, the picture of them had been sent to Lily before they went to bed.
"Today we will start learning the form of Apparation I told you about. We will start practicing immediately as it is an important part in battle and takes lots of concentration to learn. The whole week will be spent on this up until Saturday, that will be the last lesson," Dumbledore told them. The five students listened intently; they were all very excited about learning the form of Apparation and couldn't wait until they had fully mastered it.
After breakfast they went outside. Dumbledore would be teaching them out in the clearing in front of the castle, because it was the most spacious and, as he so cheerfully put it, it would be a shame to stay inside during such lovely weather.
"All right. Now, this form of Apparation will not be easy to learn. Firstly you must all concentrate hard on the area where you want reappear. Then you must will your body to go there and last of all you must focus on your colour," explained Dumbledore. The others watched him intently, not really sure if they were able to do this. But all of a sudden Dumbledore wasn't there anymore. They all looked around only to find him standing behind them, smiling. "When you have fully mastered it, you will be able to move as fast as I can."
"Cool," muttered Ron in aw.
"Yes, very… cool, isn't it? Now, I want you all to begin trying to Apparate. I doubt any of you will be able to pull it off today, except maybe Harry and Hermione, but the longer you try, the more likely you are to succeed. Begin," Dumbledore said, while smiling at them all. The five students each chose a spot in the meadow to Apparate too and focused hard on it. Then they tried to will their bodies there while focussing on their colour, but it was not to be done, and they felt quite stupid, really.
For hours and hours they stood staring hard at a spot in the clearing, desperately wishing their bodies to go there while they kept their colour in their minds. At the end of the day none of them had been able to do it and they all felt quite useless, but Dumbledore's words made them feel a bit better.
"No need to worry. Tomorrow you will all be able to Apparate, I guarantee it. I, myself, needed three whole days before I was able to fully master," he told them. So, feeling a bit better they walked back up to the castle.
"You know what I find weird?" said Ron.
"What?" asked the others.
"That I haven't heard anything from my family or Lavender. I sent them an owl a few days ago, but they still haven't replied."
"Same here," said Harry and Hermione.
"But it might take a while because Merlin knows where we are and it could be quite a distance apart," Hermione told them. Ron shrugged.
The next day the six of them were outside again, ready to practice some more. Dumbledore stood to the side, watching them carefully. The five students focused hard, harder than they ever had before, wishing they would move. But hours and hours passed and still none of them had been able to.
Growing more and more tired they were beginning to give up hope at being able to do this at all, and the five of them were about to give up completely when Harry, after a weird sensation in his stomach, floated past the others and landed a few feet away from them.
"Very well done, Harry!" said Dumbledore proudly. "And the more and more you practice, the faster you will be able to move, until you actually don't move at all and just appear there. Practice for another hour and then you'll have the rest of the day off," he told them and the five students went back to practicing.
When the hour was over all of them had succeeded, having received hope by Harry's success. Harry had practiced going faster during the hour and he was moving quicker, but not by much. So filled with more hope the five of them spent the rest of the day doing whatever they felt like.
On Thursday, the third day of practicing, the whole day was spent trying to move faster to their chosen spot, Dumbledore cheering them on as if it were a horse race. Harry was still moving quickest of all and seemed to be learning faster than the rest. After that, Hermione was the best, then Nora and Draco and last Ron. At the end of the day they were all proudly smiled upon by Dumbledore.
"Now that you have all nearly mastered the form of Apparation, half of tomorrow will be spent going even faster and the other half will be spent using it during battle. All right, I believe that it is now dinner time, as I seem to have held you out here a bit longer, so off to the Dining Room," said Dumbledore and he marched inside the castle, the others following him, smiling
That Friday they spent the first half of the day Apparating even faster. They were moving so fast that they could not be seen travelling to their chosen spot anymore, but when they landed there they were all a bit queasy due to the speed and always staggered around when touching the ground. Luckily, when they reached the stage where they didn't move but just reappeared somewhere else, there was no speed involved and the five students were able to stay standing upright.
"Very well done!" praised Dumbledore, beaming. "Now you can begin using it in battle. This may be a bit harder because you have to focus on the battle as well. Pair up, and the one left over will watch until one of the others has fully succeeded in Apparating during the 'war scene'," he said. Nora knew what would happen; Draco would be left over. So she decided to watch first, not wanting him to feel left out, after all, he had changed the subject very quickly after her outburst at Harry, and for that she would be forever grateful. So Hermione and Draco paired up together as did Harry and Ron.
Ron could be seen trying hard to Apparate, but all he managed to do was trip over a couple of times. Harry was able to do it rather quickly, but then again, he was the strongest of them all and managed to learn everything easier. Nora was now battling Ron and she took it a bit easy on him as he was trying very, very hard to Apparate. It was half an hour later when Hermione had been able to Apparate as well and was now standing to the side, watching her friends.
Nora, Ron and Draco needed a bit more time to fully learn to Apparate while fighting, but once they had finally done it, they were able to do it fully and at the end of the day the five of them trudged up to the castle, completely exhausted. At dinner they piled their plates full, famished from the hard training, and stuffed the food quickly into their mouths.
"I have a little 'announcement'," Dumbledore said. The five looked up at him intently, wondering what it could be. "Tomorrow will be Saturday, the last day of practicing the form of Apparation. Tomorrow, though, your families and close friends will come to visit as well. They will be arriving here at noon," he told them. The five students, who were now all smiling, knew that by 'close friends' Dumbledore meant they people they were currently 'dating'. "You will meet them and at one o'clock I will take them apart and explain to them why you are here and what your part is in the defeat of Voldemort." The five students were all beaming, happy to see their families again.
That night none of them were able to fall asleep. Their minds were racing and they were way too cheery about seeing their loved ones again. Finally, in the middle of the night, the five of them slowly dozed off, their minds still active.
A/N: Finally, I finished this chapter, and it's the longest one so far! Thirty-two pages:O Yay! I'm sorry if it's a bit rushed in the end, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting even longer for this and otherwise it would have gotten ridiculously long. The song I put in is Heaven by Live. R&R please. I really appreciate it.
Skins Thunderbomb – Glad to hear you like my story. ) But you don't really have to move on. Just for a bit; Nora and Draco won't be getting back together until a later chapter. Of course, it can turn out completely different and they get back together in the next chapter, I actually don't really know. Truth be told, I never had any intention of getting them together in the first place, let alone separating them again. Thanks for reviewing!