Note: Chapter done…There is some violence here.
Chapter 14: Letters and Visions
"Stop it!" She screamed, backing up. She tripped on her own feet, and stumbled down against the wall. She looked around the darkened room for a way out, but there was none. There were no windows. There were no doors. Just an endless dark room full of boxes…And shadows.
"Get over here!" The deep voice growled, reaching it's dark robed arm up and pulling the girl up by her dark hair. A deep red liquid began to flow down from her scalp. It dripped slowly down her cheeks, mixing in with her tears, and slid onto her bare shoulder.
"Please, let me go!" She sobbed, writhing under his tight grasp. She was big herself, but incredibly inadequate against the fierce hold. Another cloaked figure appeared, and grasped one of her arms, pinning it up against the wall.
"Tell us," she snarled, stepping on the girls' toes.
"I-I don't know w-what you want from me!"
"Knock the act off!" She yelled, kneeing the girl in the stomach. She choked on her breath and would have fallen back down if she was not being held up. The woman brought her hand up to the girls' neck and wrapped her long fingers around tightly.
"Not yet!" The male voice hissed. "Do not waste her yet!" He pushed the girls' naked legs open with his own foot, and grinned a nasty grin at her.
"Again?" The woman grumbled, letting go of the girls' neck.
"Now, would you like to tell us what you know?"
"I don't know!" She cried. "Please, not again. Not again. A-anything else but this-" Her voice turned into a loud scream and her brown eyes widened in terror. Those eyes…Very familiar…
Ron suddenly sat up as soon as his eyes opened, his entire body covered in his own sweat. He was panting and about ready to keel over and be sick. His head was running in shambles and spinning rapidly.
"Ron?" Hermione asked tiredly, following him up. Ron saw the familiar darkness and let out a scream, his body convulsing on the bed.
"Eyes, brown eyes…"
"Ron?!" Hermione asked again, more awake now and taking in how her boyfriend looked. Ron scrambled into his pants, and jumped out of the bed, running as fast as he could to the nearest bathroom, which did happen to be the girls bathroom. He vomited into the nearest toilet as soon as he got his head over it. Then he rested his head against the stall wall and tried to get his thoughts in order. What had he just seen? Someone was getting attacked…And they had brown eyes…Those eyes were sticking inside his brain like nothing had ever done before. Bright and clear…
"Hermione!" He suddenly shouted, getting to his feet again even though his mind was still racing.
"Ron, I'm right here!" Hermione entered the bathroom, just wearing her night robe. There was fear spread all over her face. Ron gripped her shoulders and stared right into her eyes.
"What is it??"
"You were getting attacked!" He yelled. But then the vision played out again in his mind, and he realized it wasn't Hermione. Hermione didn't have black hair, and she wasn't nearly as big as the girl had been.
"What??"
"NO! It wasn't you! It was…I don't know who she was, but she was getting attacked, Hermione! And not just attacked, they were…doing other things to her! It was dark and she was crying! Screaming for them to stop! But they wouldn't! It was horrible…"
"Ron, you are scaring me," Hermione's face turned lighter.
"I saw it!"
"Like a dream?"
"Yes! But no! Only…only more vivid. It was like I was there, watching the whole thing from behind! I saw it all with my own two eyes!" Hermione's face now turned as white as Ron's. In fact, Ron's face was so white his freckles nearly disappeared.
"W-Who was it then?" She asked faintly.
"I don't know…" Ron suddenly ran back into the stall and vomited again. He didn't want to have this in his head, but the horror struck face of the girl was engraved there. Who was this? Someone he knew? She was young, maybe his own age…
"You should go talk to Dumbledore about this. It's nearly two in the morning, but I don't think he will really mind," Hermione suggested gently.
"I can't tell anyone, they will think I have gone completely crazy!" Ron wiped his mouth. He waited for her to say that he had gone crazy, but she didn't.
"You can't keep this to yourself…what if it's really happening?"
"It was just a dream," Ron tried to sound sure of himself as he threw cold water on his face. Wasn't it? It was clearer than day, but seemed too horrific to be true.
"How about in the morning, when we see him at breakfast? I really think you should tell someone, it's not natural to have these sort of visions that seem almost true…"
"It's normal to have dreams though."
"Yes, but I thought you said it seemed more vivid than a dream? It's not necessarily ordinary to have visions, but it is completely possible"
"I did say that…And it was…"
"So maybe it is more."
Ron stared at her for a minute, trying to figure out what exactly she was getting at.
"In the morning then," he finally gave up and agreed with a sigh. "Maybe I'm just over tired."
"Come back to bed with me then?" Hermione asked. "I don't want you to be alone right now."
"I was going to ask the same thing. I've spent the night so far away from Harry and I am in no mood to pay a visit to him now," Ron replied bitterly. Hermione ran her cool hand over his warm face gently, and moved his hair from his forehead. Then they tip-toed back into her bed, trying not to wake the other sleeping girls up. Ron couldn't help but do a quick look over the room at all the girls, trying to see if one of them happened to be missing. But they were all there.
"I meant to ask you before," Ron murmured as they got back into their normal position. "How come I am allowed up here now? Remember the time the stairs turned into a slide?" Even in the darkness Ron could sense Hermione blushing.
"I had a part in that," she giggled. "I wanted you to be able to come up here, and Lavender always wanted to get some guys up here as well, so we both…Took the charm off the stairs. It took nearly a week worth of research to find the right spell to remove it completely. The first time we tried it was a mess, even the girls couldn't get up here!" The un-Hermione thing to do made Ron feel like laughing, but all he could muster up was a grin.
"That's brilliant Hermione," he pulled her closer to his chest.
"I know," she simply replied, snuggling her head closer into Ron's chest. For the longest time Ron didn't dare close his eyes, he stared up at the ceiling, even as he heard Hermione's breathing even out. He was tired, but the nerve inside of him didn't want to let the dream/vision thing come back.
Someone is getting hurthe thought to himself. But who? And by what? All these questions helped ease Ron's mine into sleep, and before he could stop himself, he was gone…
The blood was so dark, almost black, as it rolled down her legs and formed a dark puddle on the hard cement floor. The laughter and the screams were getting mixed and echoing off the walls in the room. The laugher was so cold, so evil. Again she begged her innocence, and again the threatening voices responded with a violent act, most commonly a kick in the stomach.
"This is not working," the woman griped.
"Just be patient," came a cold but slightly familiar voice.
"I told you that you got the wrong person, she is not going to be any use to us, no matter what we do to-"
"Shut the fuck up already!"
"Both of you be silent!" An unrecognizable voice hissed… The shadow turned back to the girl. "Now, tell us who he is…"
Ron awoke gasping for breath, his hands were wrapped tightly around the edge of the bed, causing his knuckles to nearly bend off.
"Hermione…I saw it…again," Ron cried out, wiping the warm sweat from his face. Hermione woke up in an instant, not paying attention to the blanket that fell from her chest, and looked to her watch.
"No classes on Saturday, thankfully. Maybe we can get this all sorted out. Come on Ron, it's just after ten. let's get some breakfast, Dumbledore is bound to be around," Hermione responded swiftly, pulling her robe back on and removing the charms from the curtains. Ron wanted to protest, but he knew he shouldn't keep this to himself. The room was already empty of the other girls as Hermione began to grab her weekend clothes.
"I am going to shower, Ron, I would advise you to do the same thing. Meet me in the common room in twenty minutes, you hear me?" Hermione said in such authority in her voice Ron could have sworn it was McGonagall talking to him. He was tempted to ask if he could join her in the shower, but he thought against it.
"Yeah," was all he replied as he hurried down the stairs and into the Common Room. A few students that were playing chess in the corner gave him a grin, but he ignored it as he ran up the boys' dormitory stairs. He stopped outside the door and prayed that Harry wasn't in there. It was childish to avoid him, but right now was not the time to have another row with him. He peeked inside and heaved a great sigh to find the messy room empty. Harry's bed was still unmade, but looked slept in. Ron grabbed some random clothes from under his bed and entered the boys bathroom…Just as Harry was leaving, wearing only a towel around his waist. They collided and Harry nearly stumbled over.
"Oh, sorry," Harry apologized dully, not looking up at Ron.
"Sorry," Ron mumbled back, trying to stop his shaking hands. They paused for a moment, but then Ron went his way, and Harry went his.
"Bullocks," Ron muttered as he took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and searched for any sign of hair growth on his chin, which had not started to grow in yet. After having changed into his clothes and about to leave the bathroom, it hit him again. He fell to the floor in pain and gave another cry.
"Kill her!" The unfamiliar voice ordered in a loud roar. "She is no use to us anymore!"
"Let me do it!"
"Hey, it's my turn!"
"Back off already!"
"No, please!" the girl begged, struggling to pull her pants up from her ankles. She managed to stumble away when all the eyes left her as they began to argue for just a moment, and huddled behind a large bookcase.
"Get her!" It was the same woman from earlier yelled. "Stop her!"
"Don't let her get away!"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" A loud voice yelled.
"Fuck!" Ron shouted, unrealized tears running down his face. They weren't from his emotions, but from the intense heat he was feeling inside his blood.
"Ron?" Harry had dashed back into bathroom after he heard Ron scream. His face turned the colour of milk as he looked down at Ron crumbled up on the floor and crying.
"Harry, I-I'm seeing it again!" He yelled, trying to get back on his feet. "THEY ARE GOING TO KILL HER!"
"Who's killing who?!" Harry asked, alarmed. Ron grabbed onto Harry's arms so he wouldn't fall back over. He then remember that this was Harry, the same Harry that had insulted him and Hermione. The Harry that he was beyond mad at.
"N-Nothing," Ron let Harry's arms go and ran from the bathroom, despite a bewildered look on Harry's face.
Hermione was waiting for him on the couch, just showered and smelling amazing, which Ron could already smell as he descended down the stairs. He tried to collect himself by taking a few deep breaths. Hermione did not need to know about the vision he had just had in the shower. She smiled up at him, but her smile faltered a bit when she saw how red his face was.
"Are you all right, Ron?" She asked.
"Um, fine. Just had the water on a bit too hot," he lied, running his hand through his still-wet hair.
"Did you have another vision?"
"What?" Ron didn't hear her as they started to head to the Great Hall. His mind was still lost in all the previous visions.
"Another vision," Hermione repeated. They walked silently for a minute as Ron tried to decided if he should just tell her about it.
"Oh, no," he lied again. Hermione looked a bit skeptical, but she dropped the topic as they sat down at the table. Ginny was no where in sight. A few of the Gryffindor's that had tried out for the Quidditch team looked at Ron restlessly, waiting for him to tell them who was on the new team. He realized that they had never had the meeting last night, but that was Harry's fault. He's the one that went off on everyone, and he's the captain. It's his job to figure this out. Ron smiled smugly to himself, and folded his arms.
"What are you thinking?" Asked Hermione.
"Just about how Harry has this whole Quidditch thing to figure out on his own," Ron replied.
"You are part of the team, you have to help him out with the decision," Hermione said lightly, poking at a piece of bread on her plate.
"I don't have to help him with anything," Ron retorted, sticking his fork fiercely into a piece of waffle. Hermione sighed, putting her piece of bread back down.
"I think you should talk to him about this," she finally said, looking in his eyes.
"What is it with you and wanting me to talk to everyone?" Ron said sarcastically, putting his own fork down as he realized he had no amount of hunger in him. Instead of looking hurt, Hermione looked annoyed.
"Oh honestly Ron, you can't go on holding a grudge against him. I mean, I thought it through and I am ready to talk to him about it."
"He called you a bitch!" Ron shouted, causing Dean and Seamus to glance at them from the end of the table.
"He actually just said I was bitchy, but yes I know what he called me," Hermione countered. "And I know he didn't mean it."
Ron held in a surprised gasp as she swore.
"How do you know? Maybe he has felt these things about you all the time! And what's with the way he looks at you sometimes? He has my sister, and there's lust in his eyes when he talks to you!"
"He's never looked at me like that," Hermione said, blushing against her will. "Never the same way that you look at me." Ron's heart did one of those back flips as he felt it melt all over again like it always did whenever their love came up.
"How do I look at you?" He asked gently, his attention focused entirely on her face.
"Like that," she let out a giggle and moved her eyes into a deep, penetrating look into his.
"And is this the same look I see in your eyes right now?" Ron said, not even paying attention to how dumb that sounded coming out of his mouth. Hermione didn't think it was dumb at all.
"Yes," her cheeks turned deeper pink. Ron felt like he could fall into her soul when he looked into her beautiful eyes like that, and it suddenly came to him. This was his look. She never looked at one other person with this look before.
"I hate fighting with people," Ron grumbled, his mood shifting slightly as he left her gaze.
"Me too," she agreed, touching his knee. Then they were quiet. But it was that kind of comfortable silence, where nothing was needed to be said. Sitting next to Hermione had a more powerful effect than any words ever could possibly have.
Dumbledore entered the Great Hall from across the room, walking along side McGonagall. Fred and George were walking with them, and Fred was waving his arms around in crazy gestures. He was pale, and looked as if a cold or a fever was hanging over his head, about too attack. He obviously hadn't slept that night, and his hair wasn't groomed. There was still even a bit of red hair poking out on his chin. He must have found out the truth about Angelina. Bill, who Ron just noticed entered the Hall, joined his brothers and the Professors. Ron couldn't understand what they were saying, but Fred looked sad and determined and frightened all in one as he continued to wave his arms as he spoke.
"I should go see what's going on with them," Ron stood, touching Hermione's shoulder one last time.
"I'll be right here when you return," she smiled at him, touching his hand on her shoulder. He started to jog over to the group, where they had moved farther away from the anxious ears of the students.
"I should be with her!" Fred declared, stomping his foot on the ground.
"Mr. Weasley, the term has just started. You are already back here repeating a year, you sure as well cannot leave now!" McGonagall lectured, her lips pursed into a thin line. Bill wrapped an arm around Ron's shoulders that seemed to say "I'm glad you are okay."
"What's going on?" He asked curiously.
"I should be with Angie right now, that's what's going on!" Fred yelled, his hair flopping around as his head bobbled.
"You know?"
"Yes, she told me last night! I can't believe no one bothered to tell me this!"
"I just found out yesterday," George and Ron said as one, George lying.
"Where is she?" Ron asked.
"They took her to St. Mungo's," Bill answered, looking sympathetically at Fred. "She will be there for awhile."
"Professor McGonagall is right. I am afraid you cannot leave now," Dumbledore brought up. "You need to focus on your studies for the time being. But I do promise, you will be able to take trips to see her occasionally. Now, if everyone would please be seated, I have an important announcement to make." His tone meant business as he made his way to the front of the hall. George was saying something to Fred, trying to calm him down as Ron and Bill walked back to the Gryffindor table.
"Shouldn't you go sit up there?" Ron asked, nodding at the direction of where the Professor's were all gathered. He noticed that they all looked pale and ill, and Ron suddenly wondered if it was something with the food. No, worse. Much worse. Even Snape was the colour of chalk, a shade of paleness lighter than his usual tone.
"I can sit with you for this," Bill replied. "I want to be with you when you hear."
"Hear what?" Ron asked, looking at his brother with confusion. "Do you know what Dumbledore is going to say?"
"Yes," Bill said shortly.
"What is it?"
"Just wait." The conversation changed as Bill scooted into the bench across from Hermione.
"Oh, good morning Bill!" Hermione smiled at him.
"Morning Hermione," Bill smiled back. He looked around for Harry and Ginny.
"They are over there," Hermione nodded her head to the opposite end of the Gryffindor table, where Harry and Ginny were staring intently at each other, obviously deep in conversation.
"Have a row?" Bill asked. Ron snorted into his water glass.
"Yeah, you could say that."
"After this you guys won't have any hard feelings, trust me," Bill said grimly. "It would be almost wrong to think angrily towards each other…"
"Just tell us what it is already!" Ron begged.
"You'll hear for yourself in a minute," Bill didn't give in. Ron quickly told Hermione what Fred was discussing with everyone when there was an amplified voice of Dumbledore clearing his throat filling the room. The candles all dimmed, and the Hall immediately hushed. Dumbledore looked lost for words as he looked out at his many students.
"There is no easy way for me to tell you this, so I guess I should just tell you the facts. You all deserve to know. Wednesday, at sometime after dark, a Hogwarts student went missing." Dumbledore's voice seemed to echo around the room as a dead silence followed him, every single pair of eyes in the room were wide. Hermione was pushing her fingers deep into Ron's arm.
"A Slytherin." All the eyes leapt over to the Slytherin table. The Slytherin's were without their usual glares and sneers and smirks, and they all looked horrified. Even Draco was showing a bit of tension on his cold face. Ron tried to figure out who was missing, but he couldn't figure it out. The Malfoy's were there. Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Greengrass, that Blaise kid…Hermione suddenly choked on her breath, and tightened her grip.
"Millicent Bulstrode!" She said at the exact same time Dumbledore did. A collective gasp rang out, and all the panicked voices began to shout out many questions. Ron heard the Phantoms being brought up. Someone suggested that she ran away. Another said He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was here himself and took her.
"We just SAW her that day with Laura Lovegood, remember?" Hermione hissed at Ron, and he nodded weakly. Then it came to him, just like that. The visions…The larger girl with dark hair and dark eyes…The one that was being killed! He felt he might be sick as he teetered on the bench, about to fall off the back.
"It was her, in your visions!" Realization hit Hermione just as it hit Ron. "Ron, say something!"
"You're having visions?" Bill spoke up, looking intently at his brother. "When? What about?" Ron ignored them both and waited for Dumbledore to speak again.
"Miss Pansy Parkinson said the last time she saw Miss Bulstrode was after classes on Wednesday, and she didn't show up for dinner and she wasn't in her bed that night. Many just assumed this was some sort of a joke, but now that she hasn't returned three days later, and Professor Snape has found this down in the dungeons…" Dumbledore paused before holding up a ripped rob, showing the Slytherin badge. There were many holes and tears, and even with it's dark colour, a soaked-on red could be seen. There were more gasps and a few screams. The throbbing in Ron's head only intensified as he saw Millicent wearing that robe that day when she was poking fun of Laura Lovegood, and then the image changed to the way she was in his visions. Crying, screaming, all in pain. But what happened after his last vision, after someone shouted the death curse at her?
"If anyone has any information, please take it upon yourself to let me or any of your teachers to know about this at once," Dumbledore's voice waved a little, and his crystal eyes were wet. "I am afraid it has started." And with that, he stepped down and walked swiftly down to his chair next to McGonagall. Ron was holding on to the table edge and sweating again, his eyes closed in some attempt to almost bring a vision upon himself to see what had happened with Millicent. But nothing came.
"Ron, you have to go tell Dumbledore right now!" Hermione urged, swatting him on the leg.
"I-It might not be her," Ron argued, even though he knew darn well that it was.
"It is. You know it is!"
"Ron, what are you seeing?" Demanded Bill again, grabbing on to his brothers' arm from across the table.
"I saw them beating her and raping her and doing all this stuff to her, okay?!" Ron burst out at his brother. Bill's face hardened, and his eyes were much darker than normal.
"Who's 'them'"? He asked, maintaining a sense of calmness in his voice.
"I don't know," Ron scrunched up his face. "There were a lot of them…Most were male, but there was a female, I think…They were so cold and cruel, very powerful. A-And dressed in black."
"Death Eaters??" Hermione said loudly, shivering at the thought. "Were the Phantoms involved in any of this?
"Yes, that's it!" Ron declared. "I don't think there was anything with the Phantoms, but it was Bellatrix Lestrange, that female voice I heard!"
"Dumbledore, right now" Bill flew up and motioned for Ron to follow him. He did, and Hermione stayed put, still lost in a bit of a daze. The conversations among the tables were low, and students were actually looking with pity to the Slytherin table.
"Professor, Ron knows something about Millicent's disappearance," Bill said directly, trying to keep his voice low. Both McGonagall and Dumbledore looked at Ron with question. Dumbledore put a quick Silencing Charm on the area around them. He waved for Snape, who sauntered over quickly. Ron wondered why he was there, but then he realized that Millicent was one of his House students after all. He looked loathingly at Ron for a brief minute, but his face wasn't lodged into its normal smirk.
"I think Severus has the right to hear what is to be said," Dumbledore pointed out. "Now, Mr. Weasley, what is it?"
"I…saw Millicent…getting hurt…and stuff," Ron said quietly, pulling on a loose string on his sweater.
"What do you mean you saw her? In person?" McGonagall asked.
"No, I had a vision last night. Then another after I fell asleep again. Another when I was taking a shower," Ron felt embarrassed about all this. "But it was the same setting and people and everything, just split into a few…different visions." The four Professors stared at him attentively, as if trying to read his mind. Ron thought he saw a bit of a knowing look in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Where was she?" Asked Snape coolly.
"I dunno, but it was a huge dark room filled of boxes and no doors or windows. I think the people that have her are…Death Eaters. They were doing things to her, horrible things."
"Like what?"
"Things," Ron repeated, not able to bring himself to describe the horror. "There was blood, a lot of it. She didn't have any clothes on…Screaming and crying and yelling…" McGonagall had now gone the colour of Sir Nicholas, and Dumbledore even showed a hint of dismay in his eyes. Bill was touching Ron's arm encouragingly, while Snape looked to be in disbelief.
"So you don't know where she is?" McGonagall choked.
"No," Ron whispered. "It didn't look familiar."
"Death Eaters," Dumbledore shook his head. "Now that they have all found some way out of Azkaban the faithful are returning to Voldemort and rebuilding their trust with him. There's no telling what is to become next of them. Or the Phantoms for that matter. For all we know they could be all be gathering together." Ron suddenly wondered if Snape was still faithful to Voldemort, despite the numerous times it had been mentioned that Snape was fully against him and in Dumbledore's full trust.
"Sir, how did they get into the school to get Bulstrode in the first place?" Snape inquired.
"That I do not know, Severus," Dumbledore looked to Ron. "Any ideas?"
"No," Ron said, wishing he knew more, but yet the same time wishing he knew nothing about this at all.
"Minerva, alert the Order of Mr. Weasley's information, maybe someone has heard something about this," Dumbledore began giving orders.
"Severus, contact Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. I think it would be wise to set out some Aurors around the school, no?"
"Yes," Snape nodded and strode off with McGonagall, who couldn't find the words to reply.
"Thank you for telling us," Dumbledore said sincerely. "I only hope we aren't too late. If you find out anything else, anything at all, I trust you will alert me?"
"Of course," Ron gave a weak grin. His stomach was in fits as he walked silently back to his seat with Bill.
"I'm going to go help Severus," Bill touched Ron's arm one last time. "I'll see you later." He was off before Ron could reply. Harry and Ginny were now seated across from Hermione, and they were all talking as if there was no tension between them at all. Dean and Seamus had moved a bit closer to hear what the conversation was about. Fred was sitting with his cheek resting in his hand, and George was talking quietly with Lee.
"Ron," Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all greeted him as he stood in front of his seat.
"Aren't you going to sit down?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know," Ron couldn't keep the displeasure out of his voice.
"Stop being an arse and just sit already," Ginny demanded, pointing at the space next to Hermione.
"Who are YOU calling an arse?" Ron shot back, but he did sit down.
"We have more important things to talk about than this kind of rubbish again," Harry interrupted, looking from Ginny to Ron to Hermione.
"Of course Harry, that's you, always trying to bring peace and calm into our conversations," Ron scoffed.
"Ron, why didn't you tell me you had another vision in the shower this morning?" Hermione asked, sounding a bit hurt.
"It wasn't that big of a deal," Ron shot Harry a venomous look. Couldn't he keep his mouth quiet?
"And you never told me you were having these visions in the first place, I could have helped you with them," Harry brought up.
"I just had the first one last night," Ron argued back. "And I don't need your help with anything."
"Look, I'm sorry all right? I didn't mean anything I said to you when we were out on the Quidditch field, and I didn't mean anything I said to you or Hermione last night when we were in our room. I was worked up out on the Quidditch field because I was mad that something good had finally happened to me, you were right. I wanted that Quidditch captain more than anything, and when I finally got it…It just felt wrong because of what happened to Angelina, that it took that for me to get it, you know?"
"I guess," Ron mumbled.
"And last night, before Ginny and I came to your room, we had a run in with Draco. We were coming back inside and he came up to us and spat out his normal words of hate and all that shit."
"But you know what else he said?" Ginny suddenly brought up.
"What?" Asked Ron.
"He pulled me aside and said he wished he could have a go at my rack and my arse, and then suggested that if I was ever in the mood for any fun, Tom Riddle was probably still waiting for me down in the chamber," Ginny spat irritably, her face turning red.
"What?!" Ron yelled, searching around for where Draco had gone. Even if he was annoyed at his sister, he still felt the protective older brother role kicking into high gear. That was beyond fucked up. Draco was beyond fucked up.
"That's why I was in such a foul mood last night," Ginny replied in a calmer voice.
"Me too," Harry agreed, his hands still clutched together in anger from Ginny's story.
"I didn't mean what I said about you changing Hermione or anything, I was just thinking about how…The relationship I had with Tom Riddle seemed to change ME in a way," Ginny said. "And I took it all out on you."
"And I realized that 'bitch' was what I was thinking of Tom Riddle," Harry alleged. "You know that I don't think of either of you as any less than my best mates. Closer than that, actually."
"Oh," Ron mumbled.
"And I am happy for everything that has happened to both of you, whether it's the Prefect duties or your relationship-"
"Okay Harry, I get it," Ron said, and his voice wasn't cold or angry anymore. Inside he was actually glad that the anger had faded and he had his sister and his best mate back. Ginny and Harry looked nervously at each other.
"Really, it's fine," Ron continued. "Just thanks for…telling me about all this."
"Okay," sighed Ginny.
"Wait, one more thing," Harry held a hand up. "The reason I…talk to Ginny more about things is because of the way we are...almost connected."
"We have both seen Tom Riddle up close and personal, and we have talked to him…Shared things with him. This has been giving me quite a lot of trouble sleeping, from dealing with my own experiences and helping Harry with his…"
"Really?" Ron felt slightly doubtful that Harry talking to Ginny was very good for either of them.
"Yeah. And Harry's not putting anymore strain on me by talking to me, if you are thinking that."
"Of course not."
"I have been having these nightmares for years now, I just never told anyone…Except Mum and Dad of course. When I said you never had time to notice me this summer, because you were with Hermione…Remember? About the Quidditch thing? Well, actually you probably didn't see much of me because a few times a week I was off talking with Mylandria Tonks. She's a long lost cousin of the Tonks we all know. She helps me sort through my thoughts so I don't go completely nutter from everything"
"So you two feel you really connect in that way?" Hermione said.
"Yeah."
"So that's how we help each other out," Harry said. "But the nightmares are not very fun though, trust me. I have a bit of my own. And it seems you do too, Ron."
"Wow," Ron and Hermione said in unison. They all stared at each other for a few minutes, until a smile started to play on Harry's lips. Ron didn't know what was so funny, but he suddenly found his own smile forming on his lips. A giggle escaped from Ginny's lips, then one from Hermione's. This was probably the worst time to be laughing, but the four of them just broke out into fits of laughter. A few people shot them looks of infuriation, probably because the whole rest of the Great Hall was still grim from the news of Millicent Bulstrode, and just the news in general that the war was now started.
Breakfast was over quickly as people hurried out of the Hall, anxious to get back to their houses and gossip. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all went back to the Common Room. Harry and Ron decided that it was time to finally hold their Quidditch meeting so they could finally put this team together and get practicing. They rounded up Fred and George and gathered near the back of the room.
"Okay," Harry said, pulling out the clipboard Angelina had left. Fred took one look at her clipboard and began to sulk again.
"Should be with her," he muttered.
"Angelina took quite a few notes down here, and it seems she already planned out who the team should consist of. She has Ginny marked down as definitely. So do you guys agree with making Ginny a Chaser?"
"Of course," said Ron.
"I do, but everyone will probably just say she's on the team again because the four of us are," said George.
"Gah, oh well, they will see how good she really is when we play," Harry circled Ginny's name on the parchment. "Now, either of the Creevey brothers?" Fred, George, and Ron all snorted.
"I'm sorry, but their Woollongong Shimmies are nothing to cheer about," Fred perked up a bit at the thought of Colin nearly falling off his broom.
"We could use our new creation, Weasley's Sticky Ickle Glue, named after you Ron, to keep him on his broom," George suggested.
"We don't want to permanently attach the broom to his arse," Harry grinned.
"Could be useful," Fred pondered. They all laughed as Harry crossed Colin and Dennis off the list.
"That third year was pretty good, what was her name?" Ron asked.
"Natalie McDonald," Harry replied, looking down at her name. "Angelina has her name circled on here."
"Angelina has good intuitions, so let's go with her," Fred suggested.
"Okay," Harry put another circle around Natalie's name.
"I don't know who else to suggest," Ron admitted, staring at the clipboard in Harry's hands.
"Dean or Parvati, that's what I say," George said.
"Hah, Parvati," Ron exhaled. "Are you sure she wouldn't be more concerned with not breaking a nail than with trying to score a goal?"
"That's more Lavender," Fred said.
"She was better than Dean," Harry pointed out. "Angelina has Dean as 'good', and Parvati as 'what a great surprise.'"
"We could make Dean a back up for one of us," said Ron.
"That's a good idea," Harry agreed, marking that down on the parchment. "I guess we have our team."
"All girls again as Chasers," George wiggled his eyebrows. Harry made a big sign announcing the new team and the first practice one week from today, and he stuck it up on the announcement board, right next to "Get your free Weasley Shock Nugget with a purchase of two or more Weasley Fizz Bombs!"
"Hey, if we can't have our joke shop anywhere else we might as well have it here!" George defended himself as Ron and Harry looked at the twins with amusement.
"Just don't let Hermione catch you," Ron warned.
"Aye, aye Prefect Ronniekins," Fred saluted him before running off with George. Harry and Ron sat down to began their piles of homework, soon joined by Hermione and Ginny.
"Congrats Ginny, you are now a Chaser," Ron grinned at his sister, who was beaming. His attention was moved to the Quidditch notice on the board. Parvati was bouncing around in happiness, hugging Lavender.
"I made it, I really made it! I need to go tell Padma!" She squeaked, running out of the Common Room.
"Are you sure about that one?" Ginny smirked. Harry and Ron shrugged at each other.
"She was pretty good, but we'll see," Harry admitted, scribbling something down on his Potions Essay. Natalie McDonald came over to them after seeing her name on the board, and said thank you to Harry. She had a really quiet voice, and she was really tiny. Her short blond hair was tied in two braids, and she had bright blue eyes. She didn't look much like a Quidditch player here, but out on the field she seemed to transform. Harry had replied with "You're welcome, you're really good," and Natalie let out a choked laugh and ran off, dropping one of her books but not bothering to pick it up.
"The Boy Who Lived gets another girl," Ron joked. Harry threw his quill at him and laughed. Ron decided he definitely liked this relationship with his mate better than being angry and sullen towards him.
Things were quiet again as they worked on their own homework. Ron had a Potions Essay, a Charms Essay, a chart thing for Transfiguration, and Bill wanted them to make a list of the proper way to do a Patronus, which everyone but Harry was clueless about, for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ron was copying bits of his essays from Hermione, who reluctantly agreed after he smothered her with kisses.
The day after that was pretty much the same. Lunch and Dinner were both quiet, and Snape and Bill were absent from both of them. With their homework complete, Ron and Harry enjoyed a game of chess, while Hermione wanted Ginny to tell her more about her Chaser moves. McGonagall entered the Common Room just after the sun went down, when it was as crowded as ever. The look on her face was unreadable as she hurried over to Harry.
"Harry, would you please come with me? There is someone here to see you," she said breathlessly.
"Who is it?" Asked Harry curiously.
"No questions now, come along."
"All right," Harry shared a confused look with Ron as he left in the middle of the game. Ron finished the game by himself and gave a cheer when he…"won"…obviously.
Harry followed McGonagall silently down the long corridors, all the way down to the entrance of the castle. Standing there was someone whom he recognized immediately…
"Professor Lupin!" Harry let out, walking quickly towards his old Professor. He hadn't seen him since that day he left the train station with the Dursley's.
"Hello Harry," A grin formed on the man's tired face. Harry noticed a long gash running all the way down his face, and another just below his chin. He walked with a bit of a limp towards Harry. They hugged awkwardly for a moment until Lupin placed both of his hands on Harry's shoulders and took a good look at him.
"You are looking good," he said, looking Harry right in the eye.
"So…are you," Harry replied. Lupin laughed.
"No I'm not, you can say it."
"Why are you here, Professor? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but…"
"I have told you may times now to call me Lupin, or Remus if you'd like," Lupin said, a twinkle in his eye.
"Er, sorry…Remus."
"I came with some of the Aurors, they are going to be standing guard around Hogwarts from now on. The Order also has a bit of a situation to discuss with Dumbledore in a few minutes."
"Millicent?" Harry guessed.
"Yes, that among a few other things. But I really wanted to see you first, I have something to give you."
"What's that?"
"The name is Tonks, buddy, and that's all!" A familiar female voice interrupted. Harry looked over Lupin's shoulder and saw Tonks turning the corner, with a young looking man, presumably an Auror. Her hair today was spiky and a shade similar to Ron's, only a bit brighter.
"Harry!" She waved as she walked by, pulling the young man by his sleeve. "No time to talk, you know how these pesky Auror's are, they don't know a darn thing! Good to see you though, you are looking good!" Her voice echoed as she rounded another corner. Lupin shook his head and smiled.
"Anyways, it's this." He pulled a piece of crumpled parchment from his pocket and handed it to Harry. Harry looked it over, and looked questionably at Lupin.
"It's from Sirius. He wanted me to give it to you if anything was ever to happen to him," Lupin answered his confused look. Harry's whole body tensed up at the mention of Sirius's name, and he felt the liquid rushing to his eyes already.
"Oh," was all he could get out.
"And Harry, I do want you to know…That's Sirius's name has been cleared, he's no longer seen by many as a murderer. You know that?"
"T-That's good then," Harry replied, glad that his godfather would now be a free man…If he was still alive.
"I need to go now, but please take care. If you ever need to talk to me about anything, just let Dumbledore know and he'll get me to you somehow, okay?"
"Yeah," Harry shifted his weight to his other foot. "Thanks." He hugged Lupin again, and this time it wasn't awkward. Harry knew that Lupin had suffered a great loss with Sirius' death as well. They parted and Lupin ran his hand across his eyes.
"Bye, Harry." He left Harry standing there alone. He shoved the letter in his pocket, and made his way back to Gryffindor Tower quickly.
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all looked up at him keenly as he walked in.
"Who was there?" Asked Ginny.
"It was Profe-I mean, Remus," Harry answered, feeling for the parchment in his pocket. "He gave me something to read. F-From Sirius." Their eyes all widened and Ginny made the motion to get up and come over to him.
"I just want to read it alone right now, okay? I'll see you guys all in a bit." Harry dashed up the stairs before they could say anything. He flopped down on his bed, and pulled the hangings shut. He opened the parchment with unsteady hands and began to read:
Date: I don't know right now, nor do I really care.
Dear Harry,
I guess that if you are reading this right now, then I'm dead. Hopefully Remus gave this to you like I asked him to do. If not, well this whole thing was a waste. I only wish that I got to speak to you before it happened, and that death didn't hurt as much as I've heard it does. If you detest me for leaving you like this, go ahead, that's your right. If you want to carry that forever, then that's your right as well. I know that it seems that the people that care about you in your life always seem to leave you, and now I will just become one of them. And maybe if I'd just listened to Remus and stayed behind instead of coming after you, I'd still be alive, and you wouldn't be reading this goddamn thing and feeling the way that you do. But what's done is done and you can't change the past, no matter how much you want to.
But I have to go. I can't stand sitting around in this house any longer. It is killing me slowly, and painfully. Not just because of the terrible memories I feel being here, or even the loneliness, because you know I don't have many options in that area, but because I'm stuck here like a bloody prisoner and I can't help you like I had once. That's what I've been to you recently, Harry. I've been useless, as a friend and a godfather. And just someone to talk to about everyday things.
"You were never useless to me," Harry whispered as he stopped reading for a minute, feeling the tears sting his eyes deeper. He knew that the scars on his heart from Sirius' death weren't healed, and reading through this letter he suddenly felt that they never may be.
That's not the only reason I've gone, of course. I've left because I'm sick of this bloody house and being told what to do and being so careful all the damn time. This isn't living. I ate rats and lived in caves for a year, but at least I was open out there. Maybe I have a death wish after all. At least dead, I'm free. I don't have to stay locked up and quiet.
That's selfish of me, isn't it? Yes, it is. But I've spent all those years locked up, first surrounded by Dementor's and then by my mother's portrait and Kreacher (I'm still debating which is really worse). Death can't be worse than that, can it? I have a feeling it will be better. Anything without Kreacher can't be half bad.
I don't know why, but something tells me it is a better place. Maybe I'll get to see James and Lily and I'll be able to tell them all about you, how you've grown into a man, how you've taken on more responsibilities than you deserve and yet you're still standing strong and brave. Maybe I'll even be able to see you every day, though you won't know I'm there (if I can see you every day, I promise not to spy on you if you're snogging any girls). Maybe I'll be handsome like I used to be, and be surrounded by beautiful women who want to do naughty things with me. Hell, if that is true, death sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
Well, all except the part about leaving you behind. I don't like that part at all, and I don't like knowing that I can't be there to help you beat the shite out of Voldemort. But I know you'll do great in the end. I'm not telling you that everything is going to be smooth sailing, but I have faith in you. You'll beat Voldemort, and you'll live a long, happy life with that special woman you find and marry one day. You've got a great group of friends who won't let you down, I've never seen anyone so loyal to another before. And I've never met anyone with more talent, or heart, or unending courage than you. You're a great wizard, one of the best I've known (And I've known many) and you're going to be an even better man. The best honor of my life was not being James Potter's best friend, but being godfather to his son. I only wish I could have done a better job, and I could have known you longer than I did. It's all just so unfair.
Take care of yourself, Harry. You're going to be fine, and so will all of your friends. I just know it.
Love,
Sirius
Harry's vision was now completely blurred as he crumbled the piece of parchment in his hands. He didn't want to cry, he'd been doing too much of that. Or maybe not enough? He cried to Ginny about his parents not long ago. He cried to her for Sirius once already as well, and she made him feel better...but she wasn't here right now. A tear slid down his cheek and he let it fall. There wasn't really any stopping them now.
"I never got to tell you goodbye," Harry whispered, realizing this is what hurt the most. "I never got to tell you how much you meant to me and how happy I was when I was with you." He started to punch his pillow in anger, cursing out Sirius for being so selfish and wanting to die like that, leaving him all alone like everyone else in his life did. But then he realized he still had Ginny. And Hermione. And Ron was still with him, even though Harry had treated him the way he did. And that just made Harry start tearing up his pillow until the feathers inside started to pop out, tears unwillingly falling down his face. He looked down at the letter again, and felt his anger toward Sirius turn into sadness and loneliness. Of course he was never really angry with Sirius.
"Harry?" Came Ron's quiet voice from just outside his bed. Harry wiped at his eyes, and swallowed the deep lump in his throat.
"I know you said for us to leave you alone, but we just wanted to…Uh, make sure you were all right." The tears that Harry had just wiped away came flying back at the concern in Ron's voice. He pulled the curtains away and looked up at Ron. Ron looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment, and looked ready to run from the room.
"I'll just go get Ginny, she'll help you. And Hermione," he started to back out of the room.
"No Ron, don't leave me!" Harry cried out, standing up and running over to his mate.
Harry grabbed Ron's sleeve and pulled him back into the room, and Ron didn't have the slightest idea what to do. He had never seen Harry this way before. His eyes were red and tears were falling from his eyes freely. He handed the piece of parchment over, and Ron read through it quickly. He felt his own eyes getting watery as he read it.
"Harry, I'm sorry," was all he could say.
"I never got to say goodbye to him," Harry whispered, still clutching Ron's sleeve. "I didn't get to tell him that I still need him."
"I'm sure he knew," Ron replied. "He knew that he was important to you."
"I shouldn't treat you the way that I do sometimes, Ron. You are probably the closest thing that I have left, and I shouldn't yell at you."
"I told you that it was fine," Ron said quickly, suddenly feeling bad about the grudge he had earlier against Harry.
"If I do again, you have the right to smack me, okay?" Harry joked lightly, wiping his sleeve over his eyes.
"Or give you a detention," Ron joked back, causing Harry to grin.
"Just not with the Malfoy's, all right?"
"Deal. But Harry, you know that, uh, everything Sirius said in that letter is the truth? You are going to be okay in the end, and you are going to win. No matter what happens to anyone else, YOU are going to make it."
"I don't like the thought of anything happening to anyone else," Harry replied quietly. "But I know something else will happen. It's just the way that Voldemort works."
"Those won't be your fault," Ron repeated the common phase he often heard himself saying to Harry. "Maybe I'll keep having visions of these things and I'll get to people before anything bad can happen." That thought made Ron want to be sick, but he kept it together.
"But what if something happens to you?" Harry suddenly brought up. Ron felt his stomach fall.
"Let's not talk about that," Ron said quickly. "Things will be okay. You know me, I will probably be around to annoy everyone for years and years." There was another silence as they looked at each other, when Harry unexpectedly leaned in and wrapped his arms around Ron's tall frame. Ron stood still for a moment. He and Harry had never really hugged before, only those quick little manly pats. He put his own arm around Harry's shoulder awkwardly and patted his back.
"Are you going to kiss me, too?" He joked. Harry laughed.
"That's okay, I'll leave that to Hermione. And besides, you have really bad breath."
"Do not!" Ron laughed, swatting Harry over the head. They pulled apart and Harry wiped his face one last time. Then he put Sirius' letter in his night table, and headed back down with Ron. But before they entered the Common Room, Harry spoke up.
"Ron?"
"Yeah Harry?"
"Thanks for listening," Harry said genuinely. Ron felt himself blushing.
"Well, thanks for talking to me." And with that, they joined the girls again, who were both anxious for information.
Note: Okay, I know. Fluff overload. But who really cares! In the next chapter, the truth will be told about Ron, and the O.W.L. results will be in…And yes, I know that they are supposed to arrive in July, but there will be a reason they are late…Thanks for reading! And sorry for the time it's taking to get these chapters out, but finals have started in school!