Unexpected Valentine
Jimmy took in a deep breath wiping his brow clean of sweat as he turned away from the radio. He stretched out his neck, arms and hands approaching the bar. Shaking out his arms one last time, he reached up and clung to the metal bar, then proceeded in raising and lowering his body. He forced his muscles to keep going past what he knew was their comfortable limit, feeling them start to burn.
He was grateful to have the room to himself, the whole corridor for that matter. Professor Dumbledore gave him permission earlier that week to use the Room of Requirement as a gym so he could work out. Honestly, he was shocked Dumbledore had given in so easily, he thought he'd have to go into details and whip out some charts on how exercising increases blood flow and helps his brain work faster, or something like that. So, as everyone else 3rd year and above enjoyed a crisp Valentine's day in Hogsmeade, he occupied himself in the new weight room.
The room itself was shocking enough when he had first entered. He didn't know it'd be set up once he got there. He assumed he'd have to make a few spells ,conjuring a piece of equipment or two. Not an entire gym already waiting for him.
But it was a nice surprise all the same. So far, he'd done all the none-machine aided routines he'd grown accustomed to back in Dunlap, then tackled the weights, barbells and a machine that was for his legs.
Noticing just how badly his muscles were burning brought him back out of his reverie. Jimmy plopped back onto the bright blue mats that covered the entire floor and shook out his arms as he made his way over to the cover nearest the door. There hanging on the wall was one of Jimmy's favorite exercising equipment: the punching bag.
He'd had one at the orphanage, and it was older than Snidley herself. It had been falling apart and he'd nearly beaten all the stuffing out of it by the time he had left. The new one hanging in front of him was still its original bright red. Shoving equally crimson gloves on, Jimmy bounced a bit from foot to foot, trying to get a rhythm in time with the music. Within seconds, he began punching the sturdy bag.
The blood in his veins seemed to flow smoother as the earlier tension in his temples slowly eased away. His muscles relaxed and flexed comfortably as everything seemed to just fall in place perfectly. This was one of the reasons he loved working out. Everything just seemed simpler when you were conditioning your body. A certain activity would bring certain results, it was as easy as that. Jimmy had complete control over what happened to his body and how to get the feelings desired therein. Nothing felt as victorious as a good, long work out.
A shrill giggle brought Jimmy's right hook at an odd angle into the bag, making it put painful pressure on his wrist. Jimmy hastily shook out his hand with a groan and looked over to see who had interrupted his concentration.
A bustle of movement was made at the half open door, making Jimmy dash over. Just in time he saw a small group of girls trying to sprint down the empty hallway.
"HEY!"
The girls stopped abruptly, standing still as stones. Jimmy blinked,leaning out the doorway. Did they actually listen to him?
"Whats going on here?"
Jimmy rose brow as he saw what had REALLY made the peeping girls stop. A very annoyed Ron Weasley.
"What're you doing up here? Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" Ron pressed on, his hands firmly on his hips as he eyed the girls suspiciously.
"Oh, calm down Ron. We were just taking a walk. Is that all right with you?" Ginny quipped.
"On THIS corridor? What for?" Ron questioned, even more skeptical than before.
Harry looked past the girls and saw his brother watching them from a doorway. Confusion hit him until Jimmy walked into the middle of the hall. Even with his arms crossed, Harry could tell his twin was shirtless. Harry rose a hand to his mouth, trying not to laugh at the realization of the situation.
Ron felt a sharp stab at his ribs and was in the process of shooting a glare at Harry when he followed where his finger indicated. Ron let a breath out then rounded on his sister and her friends," Why you peeping toms!"
Ginny, along with the rest of the sixth year girls, blushed a furious red." Honestly, Ron, we didn't mean to. We were just wandering around when we heard music."
By this time, Jimmy had made his way over to him, standing just to the side of the girls who perked up with fresh embarrassment.
"We mean it, Ron. We couldn't help it if we stayed longer than necessary," A girl said, just to get quickly poked in the arm.
Harry snickered as Jimmy pinked.
Ron crossed his arms and shook his head," You should be ashamed of yourselves. Spying on poor Jimmy. If I catch any of you peeking in on him again, its detention for the lot of you."
The girls quickly nodded then scrambled away, mumbling amongst themselves as they disappeared around the corner.
Finally, the two boys turned to their flushed friend.
"Next time I suggest you lock the door," Ron advised with a smirk.
Jimmy bristled," How was I to know I'd become 'This is a male body' to them?"
Harry patted his brother on the shoulder," Puberty's a pain, live with it."
Jimmy scrunched his nose, not losing the crimson in his cheeks," Puberty my ass...Its like they've never seen a guy working out before..."
Harry and Ron shared a laugh as Jimmy stalked back off to the room, looking very much as embarrassed as the girls were before.
//-------
Harry gave a mighty yawn and stretched out. His brain was pretty much at maximum occupancy, so he decided to call it a night. He closed his book and tossed his quill atop the messy pile of parchments and texts. Harry rubbed his stinging eyes and peered about the barren common room. The embers in the fire were clinging to the warmth, struggling to keep aflame. A glance at his watch told him it was a quarter past eleven. Everyone was already in bed by now, leaving Harry by himself.
Harry stood up and stretched properly. He wasn't quite ready for bed yet and Jimmy was probably in the middle of his shower by now. Harry was oblivious as to why Jimmy liked night showers as apposed to morning showers. Why would a person want to go to bed wet? With a shrug, Harry gathered his things and piled them into a corner of the table. Spotting a glint of silver, Harry looked over and smirked. Lying next to his inkbottle was a slender pocket dagger. On the top was beautiful wine-colored cherry wood, the rest a gleaming metal. The blade itself was as sharp and dangerous as any full length sword, and retracted into the cherry wood. Etched in gold letters along the underside was the phrase ' True power is compassion in the wake of victory.' Harry ran his fingertips along the words, rolling them over in his mind. He initially didn't know what to make of Jimmy's gift to him, but he knew it best to just not say anything. Jimmy didn't exactly think conventionally.
'It might come in handy,' He had said. For what, Harry didn't know. The philosophical statement engraved on a weapon seemed contradictory, but Jimmy had insisted they fit together. Only Jimmy, Harry thought to himself with a sigh.
Pocketing the gift and swinging his cloak around him, Harry headed out of the portrait hole as quietly as possible. He knew Ron would still be up, patrolling the empty hallways as a proud Head Boy. He could go talk to Ron for a bit, the redhead never seemed to mind company on his lonely patrols at night.
So, Harry made his way down the quiet hallway, trying to walk quieter as he passed portraits whose occupants were fast asleep. As he approached the main staircase it finally hit him that he had no idea WHERE Ron would be by now. With a sigh, Harry headed downstairs nonetheless. He knew that without Ron beside him, he could very well get into serious trouble being out of bed so late. But he was determined to walk off some of the lingering tension from studying and simply sort through his thoughts.
Alot had happened the past few months. Cienna coming back and Jimmy to name a few. Harry had no idea WHAT Voldemort was up to lately. Not a word had been heard of him in quite awhile, making Harry all the more nervous. No news, was BAD news. Like the quiet before the storm Jimmy would say.
Harry jumped off the last step, heading absentmindedly down the entrance hall. Maybe a walk outside would good him some good. And if it looked like he would get caught, he could just say he was visiting Hagrid. So, Harry continued down the walkway and onto the grass. He enjoyed the silence for a while, liking the way the frost-bitten blades crunched beneath his shoes. Drawing his cloak tighter against his body, Harry wandered alongside the forest, peering into it at nothing in particular.
All the calmness of his life was unnerving. Aside from the uproar Jimmy had caused, nothing was what he couldn't handle. Brother problems were one thing, Voldemort was another. Harry just couldn't truly enjoy a simple life when he knew the Dark Lord still breathed...And that he had Hermione.
"Hermione..."
Harry frowned as the word felt alien on his tongue. He gave a shiver but forced himself not to ignore all the concerns he had about her. Is she all right? Did he kill her? Would she ever get back to normal when Voldemort was defeated? Does she even remember me?
All the questions jumbled around Harry's head, pausing just long enough to be acknowledged before diving back into the ocean of worry. Harry shivered again. Would he be able to kill Voldemort when the time came? Was he even ready?
What about Jimmy? Would he be able to protect his brother as well? What if he failed? What then?
So many questions with no answer, he pondered to himself. It's not fair.
He missed the simpler times. Simpler questions with even simpler answers. Good Vs. Evil, plain and SIMPLE. What happened when the lines were crossed? Could he very well KILL one of his best friends just because she was possessed by Voldemort? It wasn't her choice. She couldn't help it.
Tears began to well up in Harry's eyes, which he didn't try to fight against. He missed Hermione and the guilt was boring deep into him. He'd gone over all the 'what ifs' and none of them made anything better.
Harry crossed his arms and leaned back against a tree. Cienna would say forget the what ifs, thinking what COULD have been was pointless. Draco would say the same thing. Ron would say forget about it all together and try to move on. Jimmy would say stop trying to change the past and instead change the future.
"Hermione would've probably said the same thing..."
"I probably would have."
Harry jerked involuntarily and whipped his head towards an approaching figure. It was shroud in black, its cloak billowing round its feet as it stopped a few feet from where Harry stood petrified.
"Why, I thought you'd be happier to see me."
Harry's mouth wanted to say something, but his brain was numb. He quickly thrust his palms into his eyes, rubbing them and mumbling," I'm dreaming...I'm dreaming..."
"You can't dream while you're standing and moving about. Besides, I think it's quite too cold for anything to fall asleep out here, don't you?"
Harry looked back up, both astonished and wary. Licking his lips, he summoned his voice once more," H...Hermione?"
The girl pushed her hood off, shaking out her sleek, brown hair. She grinned at her old friend and watched amusedly at his reaction," You act as if you've never seen me before."
"Hermione? Is it really you?" Harry inquired, not daring to believe.
"Who else would it be?" She replied with a smile.
But before Harry could question further, she started to walk off," Wait, where are you going?"
"Follow me," She said simply and disappeared amongst the trees.
Despite his better judgment, Harry followed. She took him deep into the forest. Minutes passed by that seemed hours as the silence grew larger and more threatening around him. Harry shivered in spite of himself feeling more than vulnerable now that he remembered he hadn't brought his wand with him. If this was a trap, he was screwed.
A few minutes later, Hermione finally stopped and turned. Harry found them standing in a slight clearing from what light Hermione's wand gave off.
"Whats going on Hermione?"
"Oh, you always were all talk and no play," She smirked.
Harry frowned as she approached him. She pinned him back against a bulky tree, leaning into him. He could feel her lips fractions away from his, making an all new sort of shiver course through him. Part of him wanted to push her away as fast as he could, while the rest of him just wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let go. He ignored both these instincts and instead held himself still.
"God, Harry, I've thought about you so much...There wasn't a moment that went by that you didn't cross my mind." She murmured as she ran her fingertips down his neck.
Harry stiffened, suddenly feeling his stomach turn queasy. Something was wrong. Very wrong." Why don't you tell me what's going on."
"No," She half whined." I want us to pick up where we started. Exactly where we left off before we broke up."
Harry tried to shift his body away from hers, but she had him pretty much wedged between a wide split in the rough trunk and her form. "We can't, Hermione...Look, I know Voldemort's controlling you now."
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes," Oh, lets not talk about him. Lets talk about us instead...I've been thinking, I simply MUST do something to make it all up to you. SO, I spent all week thinking of the perfect Valentines gift that I could give you to apologize and it finally hit me last night...Wanna know what it is?"
Harry looked at her uneasily. The wildness in her eyes was terrifying. Those normally warm and loving brown eyes were utterly destroyed by the evil in them now. "Hermione, please..."
"You'll never guess. Ooh, its quite good if I do say so myself." Hermione smirked, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck."I knew from a reliable source how much a certain someone was bugging you, so..." She leaned in closely, breathing her words on his skin." Your brother should be dead by now...Happy Valentines Day."
Harry's body acted of its own accord as he began to shake uncontrollably. Pushing as hard as he could, Harry threw Hermione aside and made a dash through a path between the trees. He leaped over roots, tripped over twigs and got lashed at by bushes. He only hoped he took off in the right direction.
Jimmy...Please, god, no...Anything but that...
Harry ignored the pure panic that was racing through his veins and struggled to use all of his will to keep running. Harry stumbled as he broke free of the forest and quickly gathered his footing once more. He dug each step deep into the earth, pushing himself even faster than before.
"Harry!"
Harry didn't bother to pause as he saw out of the corner of his eye Hagrid emerging from his hut. All that mattered was Jimmy. He'd already wasted two minutes getting through the forest, would it be too late?
Harry slipped as his feet hit the slick stone of the walkway. His lungs were burning madly as he raced through the open entrance hall doors. He whisked past two professors who shouted something at him. He might've noticed what it was they had said, if it not for the one sentence pounding through his brain in time with his footfalls 'Please let it not be too late'.
Taking the stairs in as big groups as his long legs would allow, Harry quickly sprinted up to the Gryffindor Tower. Spilling out onto the floor, Harry hastily picked himself up and screamed the first word out of his mouth since his encounter with Hermione.
"JIMMY!"
He raced down the empty hallway, vaguely hearing distant feet running his way. He couldn't stop, not now. He had to get to Jimmy. He had to save him...God damn you, Voldemort.
With what was left of his strength, Harry skidded round the corner and burst into the bathrooms. The immediate contrast between the cool air outside and the fogged up bathrooms made Harry all the more anxious.
"Jimmy! Jimmy where are you!?" Harry screeched, not caring that his voice was several decibels above his highest.
He didn't have his wand, but that didn't matter. He'd fight with his own bare hands if he had to, anything to help his brother. As Harry walked down the aisle , he ducked his head inside each and every one of the stalls. Coming to the end of the aisle, Harry took a shuttering breath in. The water was running hot in the very last stall on the right. It was that one that had caused so much steam. And it was that one where he would find what he came for.
Preparing himself for the worst, Harry rounded the last stall, peering inside. What he saw there made his heart plummet.
There on the shower floor, was Jimmy. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his wand lying loosely in his limp hand. His body was slumped against the edge of the tiled wall, water beating down inches from his feet. Finally tearing his eyes away from his lifeless brother, he barely noticed with a start that someone else was on the floor as well. Harry took a step forward, swiping at the foggy air to see better.
He gasped, his body going rigid once more. Skye was gazing blankly at the ceiling, her body completely frozen in the last stance she had been in.
Harry paused then frowned. How was Skye frozen? If the spell that was placed upon her was the full-body binding spell, then that means...
"Uhhhh gah...."
Harry quickly jerked his tearing eyes back to the floor, seeing the form of his brother start to stir. Leaping forward, Harry gathered Jimmy in his arms, hugging him like he'd never hugged him before.
"You're alright! Praise the lord, you're ALRIGHT!"
Jimmy groaned in protest, still too weak to push Harry off of him properly," Not if Skye over there had anything to do with it."
Harry turned and looked at the girl, a sudden hatred ignited deep within him," You....YOU!"
Jimmy's reflexes allowed him to catch Harry before he launched himself upon the frozen Slytherin.
"Harry! Harry, stop! Killing her isn't going to do any good!"
"She tried to kill you! Of all the dirty, sneaky, hateful things.." Harry spat.
"I'm guessing she was just following orders," Jimmy said, motioning to the horribly raw emblem of a skull and snake on her arm.
Harry grabbed Jimmy's wand before he had time to react this time and aimed it down at the petrified girl," One less death-eater would do the world good."
"Harry!"
"Don't Jimmy! She tried to kill you! What makes you think she won't do it again?"
Jimmy sputtered for a second, unable to voice the gut feeling he had. But before either of them could do another thing, Skye leapt to her feet and was gone just as fast as she arrived.
Harry blinked and was in the process of chasing her when Jimmy doubled over. Quickly catching him, Harry lifted his brother to his feet and swung his arm around his shoulders.
"Come on, lets get you to the hospital wing."
Jimmy grunted his consent, his head still whirling at an alarming rate. Harry wasn't all that worried about catching Skye just yet. If he knew a thing or two about Death-Eaters, it was that they didn't give up easily, and also were unbelievably predictable in their ambition to please Voldemort. Skye would be sticking around if she truly wanted to be favorable in the Dark Lord's eyes.
So, for now, Harry needed to tend to his obviously injured twin.
"Happy Valentines Day, Jim," Harry said as he helped his brother through the Infirmary doors.
Jimmy gave a weak chuckle," Happy Valentines Day, Harry."
Jimmy took in a deep breath wiping his brow clean of sweat as he turned away from the radio. He stretched out his neck, arms and hands approaching the bar. Shaking out his arms one last time, he reached up and clung to the metal bar, then proceeded in raising and lowering his body. He forced his muscles to keep going past what he knew was their comfortable limit, feeling them start to burn.
He was grateful to have the room to himself, the whole corridor for that matter. Professor Dumbledore gave him permission earlier that week to use the Room of Requirement as a gym so he could work out. Honestly, he was shocked Dumbledore had given in so easily, he thought he'd have to go into details and whip out some charts on how exercising increases blood flow and helps his brain work faster, or something like that. So, as everyone else 3rd year and above enjoyed a crisp Valentine's day in Hogsmeade, he occupied himself in the new weight room.
The room itself was shocking enough when he had first entered. He didn't know it'd be set up once he got there. He assumed he'd have to make a few spells ,conjuring a piece of equipment or two. Not an entire gym already waiting for him.
But it was a nice surprise all the same. So far, he'd done all the none-machine aided routines he'd grown accustomed to back in Dunlap, then tackled the weights, barbells and a machine that was for his legs.
Noticing just how badly his muscles were burning brought him back out of his reverie. Jimmy plopped back onto the bright blue mats that covered the entire floor and shook out his arms as he made his way over to the cover nearest the door. There hanging on the wall was one of Jimmy's favorite exercising equipment: the punching bag.
He'd had one at the orphanage, and it was older than Snidley herself. It had been falling apart and he'd nearly beaten all the stuffing out of it by the time he had left. The new one hanging in front of him was still its original bright red. Shoving equally crimson gloves on, Jimmy bounced a bit from foot to foot, trying to get a rhythm in time with the music. Within seconds, he began punching the sturdy bag.
The blood in his veins seemed to flow smoother as the earlier tension in his temples slowly eased away. His muscles relaxed and flexed comfortably as everything seemed to just fall in place perfectly. This was one of the reasons he loved working out. Everything just seemed simpler when you were conditioning your body. A certain activity would bring certain results, it was as easy as that. Jimmy had complete control over what happened to his body and how to get the feelings desired therein. Nothing felt as victorious as a good, long work out.
A shrill giggle brought Jimmy's right hook at an odd angle into the bag, making it put painful pressure on his wrist. Jimmy hastily shook out his hand with a groan and looked over to see who had interrupted his concentration.
A bustle of movement was made at the half open door, making Jimmy dash over. Just in time he saw a small group of girls trying to sprint down the empty hallway.
"HEY!"
The girls stopped abruptly, standing still as stones. Jimmy blinked,leaning out the doorway. Did they actually listen to him?
"Whats going on here?"
Jimmy rose brow as he saw what had REALLY made the peeping girls stop. A very annoyed Ron Weasley.
"What're you doing up here? Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" Ron pressed on, his hands firmly on his hips as he eyed the girls suspiciously.
"Oh, calm down Ron. We were just taking a walk. Is that all right with you?" Ginny quipped.
"On THIS corridor? What for?" Ron questioned, even more skeptical than before.
Harry looked past the girls and saw his brother watching them from a doorway. Confusion hit him until Jimmy walked into the middle of the hall. Even with his arms crossed, Harry could tell his twin was shirtless. Harry rose a hand to his mouth, trying not to laugh at the realization of the situation.
Ron felt a sharp stab at his ribs and was in the process of shooting a glare at Harry when he followed where his finger indicated. Ron let a breath out then rounded on his sister and her friends," Why you peeping toms!"
Ginny, along with the rest of the sixth year girls, blushed a furious red." Honestly, Ron, we didn't mean to. We were just wandering around when we heard music."
By this time, Jimmy had made his way over to him, standing just to the side of the girls who perked up with fresh embarrassment.
"We mean it, Ron. We couldn't help it if we stayed longer than necessary," A girl said, just to get quickly poked in the arm.
Harry snickered as Jimmy pinked.
Ron crossed his arms and shook his head," You should be ashamed of yourselves. Spying on poor Jimmy. If I catch any of you peeking in on him again, its detention for the lot of you."
The girls quickly nodded then scrambled away, mumbling amongst themselves as they disappeared around the corner.
Finally, the two boys turned to their flushed friend.
"Next time I suggest you lock the door," Ron advised with a smirk.
Jimmy bristled," How was I to know I'd become 'This is a male body' to them?"
Harry patted his brother on the shoulder," Puberty's a pain, live with it."
Jimmy scrunched his nose, not losing the crimson in his cheeks," Puberty my ass...Its like they've never seen a guy working out before..."
Harry and Ron shared a laugh as Jimmy stalked back off to the room, looking very much as embarrassed as the girls were before.
//-------
Harry gave a mighty yawn and stretched out. His brain was pretty much at maximum occupancy, so he decided to call it a night. He closed his book and tossed his quill atop the messy pile of parchments and texts. Harry rubbed his stinging eyes and peered about the barren common room. The embers in the fire were clinging to the warmth, struggling to keep aflame. A glance at his watch told him it was a quarter past eleven. Everyone was already in bed by now, leaving Harry by himself.
Harry stood up and stretched properly. He wasn't quite ready for bed yet and Jimmy was probably in the middle of his shower by now. Harry was oblivious as to why Jimmy liked night showers as apposed to morning showers. Why would a person want to go to bed wet? With a shrug, Harry gathered his things and piled them into a corner of the table. Spotting a glint of silver, Harry looked over and smirked. Lying next to his inkbottle was a slender pocket dagger. On the top was beautiful wine-colored cherry wood, the rest a gleaming metal. The blade itself was as sharp and dangerous as any full length sword, and retracted into the cherry wood. Etched in gold letters along the underside was the phrase ' True power is compassion in the wake of victory.' Harry ran his fingertips along the words, rolling them over in his mind. He initially didn't know what to make of Jimmy's gift to him, but he knew it best to just not say anything. Jimmy didn't exactly think conventionally.
'It might come in handy,' He had said. For what, Harry didn't know. The philosophical statement engraved on a weapon seemed contradictory, but Jimmy had insisted they fit together. Only Jimmy, Harry thought to himself with a sigh.
Pocketing the gift and swinging his cloak around him, Harry headed out of the portrait hole as quietly as possible. He knew Ron would still be up, patrolling the empty hallways as a proud Head Boy. He could go talk to Ron for a bit, the redhead never seemed to mind company on his lonely patrols at night.
So, Harry made his way down the quiet hallway, trying to walk quieter as he passed portraits whose occupants were fast asleep. As he approached the main staircase it finally hit him that he had no idea WHERE Ron would be by now. With a sigh, Harry headed downstairs nonetheless. He knew that without Ron beside him, he could very well get into serious trouble being out of bed so late. But he was determined to walk off some of the lingering tension from studying and simply sort through his thoughts.
Alot had happened the past few months. Cienna coming back and Jimmy to name a few. Harry had no idea WHAT Voldemort was up to lately. Not a word had been heard of him in quite awhile, making Harry all the more nervous. No news, was BAD news. Like the quiet before the storm Jimmy would say.
Harry jumped off the last step, heading absentmindedly down the entrance hall. Maybe a walk outside would good him some good. And if it looked like he would get caught, he could just say he was visiting Hagrid. So, Harry continued down the walkway and onto the grass. He enjoyed the silence for a while, liking the way the frost-bitten blades crunched beneath his shoes. Drawing his cloak tighter against his body, Harry wandered alongside the forest, peering into it at nothing in particular.
All the calmness of his life was unnerving. Aside from the uproar Jimmy had caused, nothing was what he couldn't handle. Brother problems were one thing, Voldemort was another. Harry just couldn't truly enjoy a simple life when he knew the Dark Lord still breathed...And that he had Hermione.
"Hermione..."
Harry frowned as the word felt alien on his tongue. He gave a shiver but forced himself not to ignore all the concerns he had about her. Is she all right? Did he kill her? Would she ever get back to normal when Voldemort was defeated? Does she even remember me?
All the questions jumbled around Harry's head, pausing just long enough to be acknowledged before diving back into the ocean of worry. Harry shivered again. Would he be able to kill Voldemort when the time came? Was he even ready?
What about Jimmy? Would he be able to protect his brother as well? What if he failed? What then?
So many questions with no answer, he pondered to himself. It's not fair.
He missed the simpler times. Simpler questions with even simpler answers. Good Vs. Evil, plain and SIMPLE. What happened when the lines were crossed? Could he very well KILL one of his best friends just because she was possessed by Voldemort? It wasn't her choice. She couldn't help it.
Tears began to well up in Harry's eyes, which he didn't try to fight against. He missed Hermione and the guilt was boring deep into him. He'd gone over all the 'what ifs' and none of them made anything better.
Harry crossed his arms and leaned back against a tree. Cienna would say forget the what ifs, thinking what COULD have been was pointless. Draco would say the same thing. Ron would say forget about it all together and try to move on. Jimmy would say stop trying to change the past and instead change the future.
"Hermione would've probably said the same thing..."
"I probably would have."
Harry jerked involuntarily and whipped his head towards an approaching figure. It was shroud in black, its cloak billowing round its feet as it stopped a few feet from where Harry stood petrified.
"Why, I thought you'd be happier to see me."
Harry's mouth wanted to say something, but his brain was numb. He quickly thrust his palms into his eyes, rubbing them and mumbling," I'm dreaming...I'm dreaming..."
"You can't dream while you're standing and moving about. Besides, I think it's quite too cold for anything to fall asleep out here, don't you?"
Harry looked back up, both astonished and wary. Licking his lips, he summoned his voice once more," H...Hermione?"
The girl pushed her hood off, shaking out her sleek, brown hair. She grinned at her old friend and watched amusedly at his reaction," You act as if you've never seen me before."
"Hermione? Is it really you?" Harry inquired, not daring to believe.
"Who else would it be?" She replied with a smile.
But before Harry could question further, she started to walk off," Wait, where are you going?"
"Follow me," She said simply and disappeared amongst the trees.
Despite his better judgment, Harry followed. She took him deep into the forest. Minutes passed by that seemed hours as the silence grew larger and more threatening around him. Harry shivered in spite of himself feeling more than vulnerable now that he remembered he hadn't brought his wand with him. If this was a trap, he was screwed.
A few minutes later, Hermione finally stopped and turned. Harry found them standing in a slight clearing from what light Hermione's wand gave off.
"Whats going on Hermione?"
"Oh, you always were all talk and no play," She smirked.
Harry frowned as she approached him. She pinned him back against a bulky tree, leaning into him. He could feel her lips fractions away from his, making an all new sort of shiver course through him. Part of him wanted to push her away as fast as he could, while the rest of him just wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let go. He ignored both these instincts and instead held himself still.
"God, Harry, I've thought about you so much...There wasn't a moment that went by that you didn't cross my mind." She murmured as she ran her fingertips down his neck.
Harry stiffened, suddenly feeling his stomach turn queasy. Something was wrong. Very wrong." Why don't you tell me what's going on."
"No," She half whined." I want us to pick up where we started. Exactly where we left off before we broke up."
Harry tried to shift his body away from hers, but she had him pretty much wedged between a wide split in the rough trunk and her form. "We can't, Hermione...Look, I know Voldemort's controlling you now."
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes," Oh, lets not talk about him. Lets talk about us instead...I've been thinking, I simply MUST do something to make it all up to you. SO, I spent all week thinking of the perfect Valentines gift that I could give you to apologize and it finally hit me last night...Wanna know what it is?"
Harry looked at her uneasily. The wildness in her eyes was terrifying. Those normally warm and loving brown eyes were utterly destroyed by the evil in them now. "Hermione, please..."
"You'll never guess. Ooh, its quite good if I do say so myself." Hermione smirked, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck."I knew from a reliable source how much a certain someone was bugging you, so..." She leaned in closely, breathing her words on his skin." Your brother should be dead by now...Happy Valentines Day."
Harry's body acted of its own accord as he began to shake uncontrollably. Pushing as hard as he could, Harry threw Hermione aside and made a dash through a path between the trees. He leaped over roots, tripped over twigs and got lashed at by bushes. He only hoped he took off in the right direction.
Jimmy...Please, god, no...Anything but that...
Harry ignored the pure panic that was racing through his veins and struggled to use all of his will to keep running. Harry stumbled as he broke free of the forest and quickly gathered his footing once more. He dug each step deep into the earth, pushing himself even faster than before.
"Harry!"
Harry didn't bother to pause as he saw out of the corner of his eye Hagrid emerging from his hut. All that mattered was Jimmy. He'd already wasted two minutes getting through the forest, would it be too late?
Harry slipped as his feet hit the slick stone of the walkway. His lungs were burning madly as he raced through the open entrance hall doors. He whisked past two professors who shouted something at him. He might've noticed what it was they had said, if it not for the one sentence pounding through his brain in time with his footfalls 'Please let it not be too late'.
Taking the stairs in as big groups as his long legs would allow, Harry quickly sprinted up to the Gryffindor Tower. Spilling out onto the floor, Harry hastily picked himself up and screamed the first word out of his mouth since his encounter with Hermione.
"JIMMY!"
He raced down the empty hallway, vaguely hearing distant feet running his way. He couldn't stop, not now. He had to get to Jimmy. He had to save him...God damn you, Voldemort.
With what was left of his strength, Harry skidded round the corner and burst into the bathrooms. The immediate contrast between the cool air outside and the fogged up bathrooms made Harry all the more anxious.
"Jimmy! Jimmy where are you!?" Harry screeched, not caring that his voice was several decibels above his highest.
He didn't have his wand, but that didn't matter. He'd fight with his own bare hands if he had to, anything to help his brother. As Harry walked down the aisle , he ducked his head inside each and every one of the stalls. Coming to the end of the aisle, Harry took a shuttering breath in. The water was running hot in the very last stall on the right. It was that one that had caused so much steam. And it was that one where he would find what he came for.
Preparing himself for the worst, Harry rounded the last stall, peering inside. What he saw there made his heart plummet.
There on the shower floor, was Jimmy. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his wand lying loosely in his limp hand. His body was slumped against the edge of the tiled wall, water beating down inches from his feet. Finally tearing his eyes away from his lifeless brother, he barely noticed with a start that someone else was on the floor as well. Harry took a step forward, swiping at the foggy air to see better.
He gasped, his body going rigid once more. Skye was gazing blankly at the ceiling, her body completely frozen in the last stance she had been in.
Harry paused then frowned. How was Skye frozen? If the spell that was placed upon her was the full-body binding spell, then that means...
"Uhhhh gah...."
Harry quickly jerked his tearing eyes back to the floor, seeing the form of his brother start to stir. Leaping forward, Harry gathered Jimmy in his arms, hugging him like he'd never hugged him before.
"You're alright! Praise the lord, you're ALRIGHT!"
Jimmy groaned in protest, still too weak to push Harry off of him properly," Not if Skye over there had anything to do with it."
Harry turned and looked at the girl, a sudden hatred ignited deep within him," You....YOU!"
Jimmy's reflexes allowed him to catch Harry before he launched himself upon the frozen Slytherin.
"Harry! Harry, stop! Killing her isn't going to do any good!"
"She tried to kill you! Of all the dirty, sneaky, hateful things.." Harry spat.
"I'm guessing she was just following orders," Jimmy said, motioning to the horribly raw emblem of a skull and snake on her arm.
Harry grabbed Jimmy's wand before he had time to react this time and aimed it down at the petrified girl," One less death-eater would do the world good."
"Harry!"
"Don't Jimmy! She tried to kill you! What makes you think she won't do it again?"
Jimmy sputtered for a second, unable to voice the gut feeling he had. But before either of them could do another thing, Skye leapt to her feet and was gone just as fast as she arrived.
Harry blinked and was in the process of chasing her when Jimmy doubled over. Quickly catching him, Harry lifted his brother to his feet and swung his arm around his shoulders.
"Come on, lets get you to the hospital wing."
Jimmy grunted his consent, his head still whirling at an alarming rate. Harry wasn't all that worried about catching Skye just yet. If he knew a thing or two about Death-Eaters, it was that they didn't give up easily, and also were unbelievably predictable in their ambition to please Voldemort. Skye would be sticking around if she truly wanted to be favorable in the Dark Lord's eyes.
So, for now, Harry needed to tend to his obviously injured twin.
"Happy Valentines Day, Jim," Harry said as he helped his brother through the Infirmary doors.
Jimmy gave a weak chuckle," Happy Valentines Day, Harry."