Chapter 21:
Harry awoke with a start. Someone was screaming down the hall. Grabbing his glasses, he saw Ron was also up, already opening the bedroom door. Harry could hear Mrs. Weasley trying to calm down Ginny, who was sobbing heavily. As they reached the girls' bedroom, Hermione stepped out.
All the color had drained out of her face. She leaned against the wall as though she was going to pass out. Seeing Harry and Ron, she held up her hand to slow them.
"You two should wait out here." Concerned Hermione was going to faint, Ron stood next to her. Harry peered into the room and at first didn't understand what he was seeing. Ginny was cowering in a corner crying. Mrs. Weasley was kneeling down in front of her, stroking her hair, and talking softly. Mr. Weasley was sitting on the edge of Michelle's bed. He was listening intently to Michelle while writing in a journal Harry recognized as being hers. Michelle was sitting very still. She too was pale. The t-shirt she word had a red line running roughly from the center of her chest in a diagonal down to her side. In her hand, she tightly clutched what looked like a letter opener. Harry could just make out the glistening red of the tip. Slowly, he began to process what was in front of his eyes. Michelle seemed to finish her dictation as Harry stepped into the room. Mrs. Weasley stood quickly and helped Ginny to her feet.
"Harry, could you please take Ginny downstairs and get her some water?" She lead Ginny to him.
"What happened? Is everyone alright?" Harry's voice was tight as he tried to see past Mrs. Weasley.
She continued to block his view. "I think so, but Arthur and I need to be alone with Michelle to be sure. Could you please take care of Ginny?"
Harry could tell Mrs. Weasely wasn't going to budge. "Of course..." he put an arm around Ginny's shoulders. "Come on Ginny, let's go..." he paused at the door to glance at the bed one more time before leaving.
Ginny didn't say anything as they made their way to the kitchen. Everyone else was already there drinking coffee and hot chocolate. Harry got Ginny a glass of water. She squeaked out a thank you before once again falling silent. For a long time, no one spoke. They would all look upward whenever any sort of sound was made above.
Charlie broke the silence first, "Ginny, are you okay?"
Ginny nodded, but tears started spilling down her face. Even though she was 15, she climbed onto Charlie's lap and hugged him tightly. Charlie rocked her and told her everything would be okay. He carried her into the living room. Laying her down on one of the couches, he sat with her till she fell asleep. The kitchen was as quiet as when he'd left it.
"Hermione, can you tell us what happened?"
A deep crease had formed in Hermione's forehead as she tried to figure out exactly what she had seen. "I woke up hearing a voice. At first, I thought I was dreaming, because it didn't sound like anyone I knew. I looked around the room and I could tell Michelle was sitting up in her bed. I asked her if she heard the voice too. She opened her mouth and when she spoke I heard the voice again..."
"What did it sound like?" Ron was leaning in towards her like everyone else at the table.
"It sounded deeper and older. It sounded distant...not like it was faint and far away...but like the person speaking had no soul..." Hermione nervously looked at Harry.
"What did she say?" Harry had a cold feeling in his stomach.
Hermione virtually whispered the answer, "The one with the scar must be sacrificed..." Her words hung in the air as everyone turned to look to Harry.
He swallowed hard, "Did she say anything else?"
"No, she just kept repeating that until she grabbed the letter opener. Her hand seemed to be moving on its own. It was like it knew the opener was in the drawer of the nightstand..." Hermione rubbed her temples and closed her eyes for a moment. Ron reached out under the table and placed his hand on her knee gently. She gave him the faintest of smiles before continuing. "I don't think she even knew what was going on exactly...it was like she was in a trance...then Ginny started screaming and Michelle seemed to come out of it. Then everyone woke up and well, you know the rest."
"Hermione...what was Michelle doing with the letter opener..." Harry could feel the cold spreading throughout his body now.
"She tried to stab herself with it..." Hermione winced as she finished speaking. Unable to keep it in any longer, she too started crying. She leaned into Ron and wept into his shoulder. The rest of the Weasley family all grabbed their coats and stepped outside to clear their heads. Harry went upstairs to check on Michelle.
