DISCLAIMER: see previous chapters. . .
DOUBLE TROUBLE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Hermione stared about her in wordless agony, pain ripping across her body, flaring into a stream of obscenities. Melody hovered near her, eyes screwed shut, hands pressed to the side of her head, her childish mouth bit back against a wail.
"Huwt." Melody uttered, collapsing on the ground, her chest heaving with ragged breaths, her body shivering. "Lossa huwt. Bad Da." Her ramblings held the edge of lunacy as her baby body tried to cope with the overwhelming pain descending upon her from the ethereal realm, her cobalt eyes unfocussed.
"Ari." The simple name seemed to calm the child. "It's fine. . .tell me. What do you see?" Hermione spoke through the haze, her mind reeling as yet another flash of white-hot pain burned through her.
Melody turned her large eyes on Hermione, tears filling them as her face twitched in horror. Blood poured out her nose, staining the pristine nightgown Hermione had dressed her in not four hours previous. "Da. . .vewy bad. Huwt nice lady. Nice, nice, nice." The childish affirmation only fueled Hermione's anger. The girl was too young to be plagued with this sort of malady!
"Shhhhh. . .it's okay, hun." Despite the aching in her joints, Hermione pulled the child to her, ignoring the flashes of pain, intent on only relieving Melody's.
With a sluggishness unknown to the bookworm, she pulled the shield of magic about her, coalescing it into a web of protection and warmth, assuaging both their hurts. For a moment, Hermione took the time to look around since she had tumbled from the castle's wall, and ran off in a vague direction through the Forest.
Both she and Melody lay in a very open clearing, trees ringing them from all sides, hiding the view of anything else but forest, which deeply disturbed Hermione, because she hadn't felt that she had run that far.
Melody reached a hand up to brush her cheek, wiping away the tears that stained her pale skin. She was staring at the corporeal magic as if entranced by the web that wrapped about her.
"And what do we have here?"
The voice sent chills up Hermione's spine, the whispered words bringing back memories of a balding, pathetic man begging a thirteen-year-old kid to spare his life. In a sudden movement, Hermione rolled over so that she was atop Melody, preparing to protect her with anything she had.
*~*~*~*
"Harry! Ron!" Lavender skidded to a halt in the boys' dormitory, her eyes wild and frantic. "Get up, now, this instant!" She ran to the bed she knew was Ron's, jumping in it quickly and shaking the ginger-haired teen awake.
"Ron! Now, it's a matter of life and death!" That woke the boy up faster than her screams.
"Wha-?!" He jumped from the bed, grabbing his wand as if ready to fight off a thousand Deatheaters.
Draco awoke too, sitting straight up, his blonde hair mussed and standing on end. "What's wrong Lav?"
"Hermione. . .she's. . ."
Harry yawned. "Huh?"
"She's gone, and she took Melody with her!"
All three boys started at this revelation. "WHAT?!?"
Draco was the first to recover, bounding out of his bed, throwing off his clothes quickly, to which Lavender blushed. "Where's Pansy?"
The barked question seemed to fuel both Ron and Harry, as they too started throwing off nightclothes and pulling on regular clothes.
Lavender screwed her eyes shut. "She's in the dormitory. She actually slept through it all." Draco gave a fond smile. "But I woke her up and she's now in a panic. I think she might have went to wake Ginny."
"Okay. I want you to go to the Quads rooms, then to Charlie's, Bill's, Remus', and Sirius'. They have to be told, and tell them to meet us in the Entrance Hall. If I'm not missing my guess, I would say that my father." He spat the word father, his gray eyes narrowing. "Is somehow behind this. Which means that if he is, he is with Voldemort, and we must get to them as quickly as possible."
Lavender nodded, running off, her brown eyes worried. Draco turned to Harry and Ron, his expression murderous. "He's gone too far this time, and I refuse to allow him the satisfaction of thinking he's won. It's time for the Order of the Crimson Dragon to come together and strike. We will not wait for them."
Harry nodded, chewing his lower lip, ignoring a sudden flash of pain through his scar. "It's time we finished this, once and for all!"
Ron jerked up his head. "I need to get Fred and George! I'll meet you down there!" Without another word, he ran off, speeding through the hall to the seventh year dorms, his blue eyes flashing with worry.
"FRED, GEORGE!" His bellowed cry woke both the twins.
"Oi, what is it?!" Fred complained, before sitting up straight at his brother's look. "Ron, what's wrong?"
"It's Hermione."
George's face paled, his hands clenched in his sheets.
"She's gone, and taken Melody with her. Something is wrong."
Without even changing his clothes, George grabbed his wand, an expression of anger and fear crossing his face to be replaced with a dawning murderous gleam.
"I'll kill the Son of a Bitch!"
The declared threat was as much a war cry as anyone needed, all three running down to the Entrance Hall to meet up with the others. There was going to be bloodshed that night, and it was not going to be pretty.
*~*~*~*
Raya snuggled closer to Remus, before a sense of utter wrongness twisted her features into a frown. Something, she couldn't put her finger on it, seemed. . . bad.
A rapid knock on Remus' door confirmed her suspicions. She rose, pattering over to the door, opening it to admit a wild-eyed Bill.
"Hermione's gone!" His voice was grim.
Without a second glance, Raya ran out of the room, down the Hall to her shared room with her sisters.
*~*~*~*
Danielle quickly pulled on clothes, dressing in a hurry, her body shaking with suppressed wrath and fear.
"What do you mean I CAN'T GO?!?" Elizabeth's voice tore through the darkness.
"You're in no condition . . ."
A snarl met her ears as the door banged open, Elizabeth standing there, green light surrounding her. With a sudden shock, Danielle realized that her stomach was emitting a lighter green aura, the bump throbbing with magic.
"Oh gods." Her whispered exclamation resounded through the stunned silence as Elizabeth, with sleek grace, pulled on a robe.
"I will go." Her voice sounded oddly thick to Danielle, who was staring at her in amazement. Only one word came to mind.
"Gaia."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, as did Skylar.
"What?"
"Elizabeth you're. . ." Earth mother, Danielle finished silently, watching as the girl ran a hand over her stomach.
*~*~*~*
Pansy and Ginny stood anxiously in the Entrance hall, fidgeting. "What happened?" Ginny's voice cracked as she nervously ran a hand through her hair.
"I'm not really sure." Pansy admitted, her dark eyes filled with determination as a slight blush stained her cheeks. "I'm a rather heavy sleeper."
Ginny nodded, before looking up and spotting an entire entourage. Harry, Draco, Vincent, Gregory, Ron, Fred, and George came stumbling through the hall just as Lavender, Elizabeth, Skylar, Raya, Danielle, Sirius, Remus, Bill, and Charlie entered through another direction.
Once the adults spotted the teens, they all tensed. "You are NOT going!" Charlie began, rather upset that Elizabeth was going despite his wishes.
Draco gave him an appraising look. "Do try and stop us." His words sent a shiver through Pansy as the Draco she once known, the determined leader, broke through his kindness.
From his pocket, Draco fished the portkey he had been given by his father those many months ago, reactivating the spell and reversing it to the intended destination. "Now is not the time for arguments."
Harry stepped forward. "As acting leader of the Order of the Crimson Dragon, I give the declaration of war." His voice was solemn, filled with anger and grief. "We go to rescue two of our own in the hands of Evil. If there is so much as one hair out of place, I will personally hunt every last one down and send them to Hades myself."
"Order of the Crimson Dragon?" Confused looks graced the adults face.
Harry turned. "You are not the only ones with a secret society." His expression turned sardonic. "We are not children, and we do not answer to you. We are a law unto ourselves, and as such, we avenge our own."
Ginny felt her body growing cold, "If we are to save them, then we must leave now."
Draco nodded, stepping forward. "Eighteen of us, so, if you cannot touch the portkey, then I suggest you grab the nearest person." Once everyone had managed to grab something, he began the countdown. "Five. . . four. . . three. . .two. . ."
They all felt the familiar yet nauseating hook behind their navel. . .
*~*~*~*
"How nice of you to join us." Hermione exclaimed in a high falsetto. "Now, would you kindly leave?"
The pain redoubled and she gasped.
"Uncomfortable?" Peter glared at her, barely making her out through the web of magic. "Does it hurt much?"
Hermione felt as if her body was going to collapse in on itself. "How are you doing this?" Her words were ground out between her closed teeth.
"If I told, then that would be telling." Hermione glared at him. "Now come, you are scheduled for a very important meeting with my Lord."
"I will not go anywhere with you!" Her hissed proclamation brought a pain through her that made her cry out, the protective web about her shattering in her lack of concentration.
"I would suggest you comply, even as the pain doubles for you, so it does for the child." Peter gestured with malicious glee at the very still Melody.
Hermione squeaked in sudden realization. "You Bastard! She's a child!"
Peter strode forward, wrapping his metal hand in her hair, jerking her roughly to her feet. "Now now, no reason to be rude."
He carelessly picked Melody up, slinging her across his shoulder. "Now, we must be off."
Hermione felt the tingle of disapparition as the clearing dissolved about her.
*~*~*~*
A/N: I've called in the calvary. And I've updated soon. I'll prolly update on the morrow also.. . .so do the good thing and RR.
Love,
~Me~
DOUBLE TROUBLE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Hermione stared about her in wordless agony, pain ripping across her body, flaring into a stream of obscenities. Melody hovered near her, eyes screwed shut, hands pressed to the side of her head, her childish mouth bit back against a wail.
"Huwt." Melody uttered, collapsing on the ground, her chest heaving with ragged breaths, her body shivering. "Lossa huwt. Bad Da." Her ramblings held the edge of lunacy as her baby body tried to cope with the overwhelming pain descending upon her from the ethereal realm, her cobalt eyes unfocussed.
"Ari." The simple name seemed to calm the child. "It's fine. . .tell me. What do you see?" Hermione spoke through the haze, her mind reeling as yet another flash of white-hot pain burned through her.
Melody turned her large eyes on Hermione, tears filling them as her face twitched in horror. Blood poured out her nose, staining the pristine nightgown Hermione had dressed her in not four hours previous. "Da. . .vewy bad. Huwt nice lady. Nice, nice, nice." The childish affirmation only fueled Hermione's anger. The girl was too young to be plagued with this sort of malady!
"Shhhhh. . .it's okay, hun." Despite the aching in her joints, Hermione pulled the child to her, ignoring the flashes of pain, intent on only relieving Melody's.
With a sluggishness unknown to the bookworm, she pulled the shield of magic about her, coalescing it into a web of protection and warmth, assuaging both their hurts. For a moment, Hermione took the time to look around since she had tumbled from the castle's wall, and ran off in a vague direction through the Forest.
Both she and Melody lay in a very open clearing, trees ringing them from all sides, hiding the view of anything else but forest, which deeply disturbed Hermione, because she hadn't felt that she had run that far.
Melody reached a hand up to brush her cheek, wiping away the tears that stained her pale skin. She was staring at the corporeal magic as if entranced by the web that wrapped about her.
"And what do we have here?"
The voice sent chills up Hermione's spine, the whispered words bringing back memories of a balding, pathetic man begging a thirteen-year-old kid to spare his life. In a sudden movement, Hermione rolled over so that she was atop Melody, preparing to protect her with anything she had.
*~*~*~*
"Harry! Ron!" Lavender skidded to a halt in the boys' dormitory, her eyes wild and frantic. "Get up, now, this instant!" She ran to the bed she knew was Ron's, jumping in it quickly and shaking the ginger-haired teen awake.
"Ron! Now, it's a matter of life and death!" That woke the boy up faster than her screams.
"Wha-?!" He jumped from the bed, grabbing his wand as if ready to fight off a thousand Deatheaters.
Draco awoke too, sitting straight up, his blonde hair mussed and standing on end. "What's wrong Lav?"
"Hermione. . .she's. . ."
Harry yawned. "Huh?"
"She's gone, and she took Melody with her!"
All three boys started at this revelation. "WHAT?!?"
Draco was the first to recover, bounding out of his bed, throwing off his clothes quickly, to which Lavender blushed. "Where's Pansy?"
The barked question seemed to fuel both Ron and Harry, as they too started throwing off nightclothes and pulling on regular clothes.
Lavender screwed her eyes shut. "She's in the dormitory. She actually slept through it all." Draco gave a fond smile. "But I woke her up and she's now in a panic. I think she might have went to wake Ginny."
"Okay. I want you to go to the Quads rooms, then to Charlie's, Bill's, Remus', and Sirius'. They have to be told, and tell them to meet us in the Entrance Hall. If I'm not missing my guess, I would say that my father." He spat the word father, his gray eyes narrowing. "Is somehow behind this. Which means that if he is, he is with Voldemort, and we must get to them as quickly as possible."
Lavender nodded, running off, her brown eyes worried. Draco turned to Harry and Ron, his expression murderous. "He's gone too far this time, and I refuse to allow him the satisfaction of thinking he's won. It's time for the Order of the Crimson Dragon to come together and strike. We will not wait for them."
Harry nodded, chewing his lower lip, ignoring a sudden flash of pain through his scar. "It's time we finished this, once and for all!"
Ron jerked up his head. "I need to get Fred and George! I'll meet you down there!" Without another word, he ran off, speeding through the hall to the seventh year dorms, his blue eyes flashing with worry.
"FRED, GEORGE!" His bellowed cry woke both the twins.
"Oi, what is it?!" Fred complained, before sitting up straight at his brother's look. "Ron, what's wrong?"
"It's Hermione."
George's face paled, his hands clenched in his sheets.
"She's gone, and taken Melody with her. Something is wrong."
Without even changing his clothes, George grabbed his wand, an expression of anger and fear crossing his face to be replaced with a dawning murderous gleam.
"I'll kill the Son of a Bitch!"
The declared threat was as much a war cry as anyone needed, all three running down to the Entrance Hall to meet up with the others. There was going to be bloodshed that night, and it was not going to be pretty.
*~*~*~*
Raya snuggled closer to Remus, before a sense of utter wrongness twisted her features into a frown. Something, she couldn't put her finger on it, seemed. . . bad.
A rapid knock on Remus' door confirmed her suspicions. She rose, pattering over to the door, opening it to admit a wild-eyed Bill.
"Hermione's gone!" His voice was grim.
Without a second glance, Raya ran out of the room, down the Hall to her shared room with her sisters.
*~*~*~*
Danielle quickly pulled on clothes, dressing in a hurry, her body shaking with suppressed wrath and fear.
"What do you mean I CAN'T GO?!?" Elizabeth's voice tore through the darkness.
"You're in no condition . . ."
A snarl met her ears as the door banged open, Elizabeth standing there, green light surrounding her. With a sudden shock, Danielle realized that her stomach was emitting a lighter green aura, the bump throbbing with magic.
"Oh gods." Her whispered exclamation resounded through the stunned silence as Elizabeth, with sleek grace, pulled on a robe.
"I will go." Her voice sounded oddly thick to Danielle, who was staring at her in amazement. Only one word came to mind.
"Gaia."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, as did Skylar.
"What?"
"Elizabeth you're. . ." Earth mother, Danielle finished silently, watching as the girl ran a hand over her stomach.
*~*~*~*
Pansy and Ginny stood anxiously in the Entrance hall, fidgeting. "What happened?" Ginny's voice cracked as she nervously ran a hand through her hair.
"I'm not really sure." Pansy admitted, her dark eyes filled with determination as a slight blush stained her cheeks. "I'm a rather heavy sleeper."
Ginny nodded, before looking up and spotting an entire entourage. Harry, Draco, Vincent, Gregory, Ron, Fred, and George came stumbling through the hall just as Lavender, Elizabeth, Skylar, Raya, Danielle, Sirius, Remus, Bill, and Charlie entered through another direction.
Once the adults spotted the teens, they all tensed. "You are NOT going!" Charlie began, rather upset that Elizabeth was going despite his wishes.
Draco gave him an appraising look. "Do try and stop us." His words sent a shiver through Pansy as the Draco she once known, the determined leader, broke through his kindness.
From his pocket, Draco fished the portkey he had been given by his father those many months ago, reactivating the spell and reversing it to the intended destination. "Now is not the time for arguments."
Harry stepped forward. "As acting leader of the Order of the Crimson Dragon, I give the declaration of war." His voice was solemn, filled with anger and grief. "We go to rescue two of our own in the hands of Evil. If there is so much as one hair out of place, I will personally hunt every last one down and send them to Hades myself."
"Order of the Crimson Dragon?" Confused looks graced the adults face.
Harry turned. "You are not the only ones with a secret society." His expression turned sardonic. "We are not children, and we do not answer to you. We are a law unto ourselves, and as such, we avenge our own."
Ginny felt her body growing cold, "If we are to save them, then we must leave now."
Draco nodded, stepping forward. "Eighteen of us, so, if you cannot touch the portkey, then I suggest you grab the nearest person." Once everyone had managed to grab something, he began the countdown. "Five. . . four. . . three. . .two. . ."
They all felt the familiar yet nauseating hook behind their navel. . .
*~*~*~*
"How nice of you to join us." Hermione exclaimed in a high falsetto. "Now, would you kindly leave?"
The pain redoubled and she gasped.
"Uncomfortable?" Peter glared at her, barely making her out through the web of magic. "Does it hurt much?"
Hermione felt as if her body was going to collapse in on itself. "How are you doing this?" Her words were ground out between her closed teeth.
"If I told, then that would be telling." Hermione glared at him. "Now come, you are scheduled for a very important meeting with my Lord."
"I will not go anywhere with you!" Her hissed proclamation brought a pain through her that made her cry out, the protective web about her shattering in her lack of concentration.
"I would suggest you comply, even as the pain doubles for you, so it does for the child." Peter gestured with malicious glee at the very still Melody.
Hermione squeaked in sudden realization. "You Bastard! She's a child!"
Peter strode forward, wrapping his metal hand in her hair, jerking her roughly to her feet. "Now now, no reason to be rude."
He carelessly picked Melody up, slinging her across his shoulder. "Now, we must be off."
Hermione felt the tingle of disapparition as the clearing dissolved about her.
*~*~*~*
A/N: I've called in the calvary. And I've updated soon. I'll prolly update on the morrow also.. . .so do the good thing and RR.
Love,
~Me~
