Disclaimer: Ah, if only I could say I own the Potterverse, wish I did, but I don't. Potterverse © JKR. And the Song, Can't Smile Without You is © Barry Manilow, a God among mortal men.

A/N: Hey, you're getting a two for one deal again. How LUCKY are you people? Okay, I give up. . . I can't figger out how to bold, italicize, or underline. . . or even center. I have tried a thousand different ways, and they won't work. IF you know how, then don't hesistate to tell me. My writing would certainly benefit from it. And now, on with the Show!

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Chapter Thirty-One

Charlie sighed, he certainly didn't feel like going to dinner, for once, his voracious appetite was nonexistent, and even his brother's charm or threats of violence couldn't get him to stir from the self-imposed stupor. Poppy had told the other six that he was suffering from a severe form of shock and depression, and that the best thing for him was rest. Lots and LOTS of rest.

He curled deeper and deeper into his bed, adopting the fetal position he assumed when something was troubling him. When he had first returned to Romania after his stay in the States, he had adopted the fetal sleeping position for an entire week. That's when he first thought he had lost her forever.

It wasn't until the first strains of music weaved it's way about him did he even realize that the remaining Quads had been to see him. They had probably left him their CD player, their cure for depression always revolved around some type of music. It was a thoughtful gesture, but probably wasted on him. That was until he heard the words.

You know I can't smile without you

I can't smile without you

I can't laugh and I can't sing

I'm finding it hard to do anything

He sat up straight, what in the world had they left him?

You see I feel sad when you're sad

I feel glad when you're glad

if you only knew what I'm going through

I just can't smile without you

Something broke within him. He felt hopeless, like he could never live again. He had been told that men weren't supposed to cry, but he sat there, unshed tears in his blue eyes. He felt himself shiver.

You came along just like a song

and brighten my day

who would of believed that you where part of a dream

now it all seems light years away

He listened to the words intently, his whole attention focused with a manic sort of raptness on the song that was weaving a silent spell about him. The words seemed to echo the lonely sort of pain inside him. Here was someone who understood exactly how he felt!

And now you know I can't smile without you

I can't smile without you

I can't laugh and I can't sing

I'm finding it hard to do anything

You see I feel sad when your sad

I feel glad when you're glad

if you only knew what I'm going through

I just can't smile

now some people say happiness takes so very long to find

well, I'm finding it hard leaving your love behind me

and you see I can't smile without you

I can't smile without you

I can't laugh and I can't sing

I'm finding it hard to do anything

you see I feel glad when you're glad

I feel sad when you're sad

if you only knew what I'm going through

I just can't smile without you

The music slowly faded out, leaving an empty silence in its wake. 'Wow' He thought, 'that was. . . beautiful.' He sank back into the bed, the silence somehow more bearable, the ache that had once been all-consuming now just a dull pain. He WOULD get her back. He couldn't smile without her.

***

Hermione glanced worriedly up at the Head Table, her eyes scanning the worried face of Bill Weasley, and then the thoughtful face of Lupin and pensive face of Sirius. Her cousins were in a similar state of quiet distress, and it seemed to her that the whole Hall was eerily and ominously silent. Conversations were few and far between, and even the laughter was hushed. It seemed as if the very air was waiting for something.

Earlier, they had all planned what they were going to do. . . who was going to go, and who was going to stay. It seemed as if Vincent and Gregory were rather disgruntled to stay behind to keep an eye on Melody, but they didn't dare argue with Draco.

Pansy and Ginny were to be the scouts, since they, besides Harry, were the nimblest on their brooms, and the lightest. Draco would be leading them to Surrey, at least, that's where he was reasonably sure she was being held. It was the Riddle Estate.

Hermione was quickly and efficiently running the plans through her head when an audible collective gasp surprised her from her musings. Miffed, she glanced around, but what she spotted made her sick to her stomach.

Danielle was the first on her feet, followed quickly by Skylar and Raya. As a unit, they ran to the girl standing in the door. Hermione felt her breath coming in sharp gasps as a bile rose in the back of her throat.

The three girls stopped a few feet from Elizabeth, shying away at the last moment.

Elizabeth stumbled forward, her eyes rolled back in skull. How she managed to stay on her feet was a mystery to Hermione. The auburn headed girl stopped, a strange sort of maddening smile playing about her lips. Blood was crusted on her face, livid bruises covered almost every inch of her exposed skin, and even crept underneath the sheer white shift that barely clothed her. She clutched her stomach with one hand, the other held out before her. For a moment, Hermione thought she was hallucinating, that the stress and weariness finally had its way with her mind. . . but only for a moment. Only until she heard the strange mewling sound that echoed in the deathly still Hall.

"Gods. . . Elizabeth." Raya whispered, her voice soft with pain, but laced with steel-edged anger. "What happened?"

Elizabeth sank to her knees, her legs finally giving out on her. As she toppled over, the shift worked its way up her legs, showing bruises, but no blood, which surprised Hermione, for all the girl looked like a stereotypical rape victim. The rational side of her brain was cataloging the smallest detail even as she was leaping from her seat to get to her beloved cousin's side.

It took a moment for the shock to register, and then all hell broke loose. A collective wail spread through the Hall like wildfire, for up on the bewitched ceiling, clear as day, the Dark Mark burned a sickly green, casting a shadow over all the Professors' faces.

Dumbledore stood, "Silence!" A deadly silence echoed eerily. "The Prefects will lead their houses to the Common Rooms. Immediately!"

Everyone scrambled to do as Dumbledore requested, even as the Professors rushed toward the stricken girl. Hermione watched dumbly as Danielle cradled Elizabeth's broken body, her mind began shutting down, even as the rage built in her. Her body started an odd tingling, and she felt the familiar tug of power, but someone beat her to the punch.

Melody stood in the center of a maelstrom of power that seemed as if it couldn't possibly be contained in her tiny body. Her blonde hair stood out from her head and her cobalt eyes were completely obsidian. The inhuman scream that issued from her throat raised all the hair on Hermione's neck. Her face didn't register shock or fright, but rather an intense pain. Her lips were tinged with blue, and the scream faltered, as she gagged and sputtered. It looked as if she was drowning.

Hermione suddenly realized what it was. If Melody was a Medium that meant that she was very much an Empath, in tune with the Elements just as much, if not more, than Hermione. That meant that she could feel the dormant Power that was buried deep within Elizabeth, which also meant that if she was connected to it, she could very well be drawn into the vortex with it. Which, in essence, would drown her.

Hermione bolted for the tiny girl, pulling her own Power as a shield about herself. Suddenly, all four House Tables lifted off the floor, whirling above the heads of everyone in the Hall. The sound of glass shattering was heard even within the Great Hall itself. Every window in the castle must have exploded. Hermione grabbed the child about the waste, hauling her bodily back across the room to the doors. The closer they got to Elizabeth, the more the child struggled and choked, and her face was taking on a deadly purple shade. Hermione, herself, felt the strange strangling/drowning sensation. In a moment, they hurtled through the door and headed for the Grounds. The farther from Elizabeth she was, the more the knot in her throat seemed to loosen.

Once they were outside, Melody suddenly drew a long, deep breath, her color returning to normal, and the strange Power that was hers suddenly faded out of existence. Hermione collapsed on the steps that lead into the school, her breathing uneven with exertion and shock. The girl in her arms sobbed uncontrollably, her tiny face streaked with tears. Hermione hugged her close, rocking her. Of course she didn't understand what had happened to her, Hermione barely understood.

A few moments later, both George and Draco burst through the doors, twin expressions of panic on their faces.

"Hermione!"

"Melody!"

Hermione turned, her eyes bloodshot, and her body weak, but a weird triumphant smile dawned on her face. She KNEW! She knew what they had used to trap Elizabeth's Power in her own body. A simple healing potion would remedy the problem.

"What happened in there?!" Both Draco and George spoke at the same time.

"It was a very powerful bit of wandless magic." Hermione replied, too tired to explain further. "Get Professor Snape, I have to talk to him."

George eyed her warily. "Are you okay?"

"Trust me, just GET SNAPE!"

"I'm going!"

Draco sat next to Hermione, his expression oddly reticent. "How. . . how did you know to get her out of the Hall?"

"Simple deduction, my dear Draco." Hermione adopted what she thought was a Sherlock Holmes posture, "If she freaked out when Elizabeth was in the Hall and she had been fine a moment before, then the remedy for the situation would be to get her as far from Elizabeth as possible."

Draco placed a shaking hand on the sniffling girl's head, his icy gray eyes holding a strange expression. "Thank. . . thank you, Hermione. She could have died, and then where would I be?"

"You'd be at the throat of the Dark Lord." Hermione answered matter-of- factly. "It's okay Draco."

"It's just that, since we've been to the Burrow, and now here, it feels as if I've been shirking my responsibilities. She's my sister, y'know. And. . . well, it feels as if I've pushed her onto you."

"Draco, she's safer with me. That's all. You know that, I know that. It's nothing personal. It's just a safety measure, right? If it makes you feel any better. . ." Hermione handed him the child. "I don't mind keeping her for you. She's like the little sister I've always wanted. I don't know. It's a weird connection, I guess. But. . . Draco, don't beat yourself up over it."

Draco smiled, holding the warm bundle close to him. "Okay. . . if you say so."

"Someone wanted to see me?" A silky voice interrupted their conversation.

***

Danielle cradled her sister close, unshed tears sparkling in her eyes. "It's okay, Beth. You're back now. . . it's okay."

"'S not okay!" Elizabeth squirmed in Danielle's grasp. "He. . . pain!" Her hand flew to a strange necklace about her throat. Danielle stared at the gold pendant, then gasped, realizing what it was. It was the Dark Mark!

"Elizabeth! Who put that on you?!"

"He. . .he. . ." Elizabeth suddenly stiffened, her limp body going rigid. Danielle didn't even wait to hear the rest, she ripped the necklace off her neck, the golden chain breaking cleanly.

Skylar stared at her, and then held her hand out silently for the trinket. Danielle deposited it in her outstretched palm, and then returned her attention back to Elizabeth.

"Enervate!" Was spoken behind her, and suddenly, Elizabeth drew a deep, shuddering breath.

"Beth. . . What happened?!"

"Oh Gods!" Elizabeth moaned, pain lancing through her body. "He. . . he didn't touch me!" She hissed in vehemence.

"Who didn't touch you?"

"Him. . .Voldemort!"

"What did he do?" Raya bent closer to her sister, anger etched in the posture of her body.

"Nothing." Her voice was thick, but gleeful. "Cruciatus. Had his Deatheaters inflict a little pain. I. . .I think my leg's broken, and my back. But he NEVER touched me! I wouldn't let him! I. . . I don't know how I escaped."

"Ah, would it not be prudent to get her to the infirmary?" Dumbledore asked kindly, though his face was grave and his expression verging on murderous.

***

A/N: Sorry so short a chapter, but Elizabeth is strong. . . no one but her was going to rescue her! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. . . I do. . . mostly because the Barry Manilow song. I do better at writing songfics, I believe, anyway. So. . . don't forget to RR. Oh, and she's not been raped. It's not that KIND of fic. I'd never do that!

Love,

~Me~