Chapter 8: The New Dark Lord
Ron stared at Hermione's sleeping face. It was so angelic, so perfect, like porcelain. He couldn't believe how he hadn't noticed it before. He could feel a deep, aching feeling that he was sure was love for her. Of course, it could be something to do with being trapped in a dark cage.
To make matters worse, Ron and Hermione had tried everything to break free. The cage had all kinds of charms on it, from the charm that kept people from Disapparating, to the charm that made the cage indestructible. Ron and Hermione had not been able to break out. All they could do was hope that the Order had seen and understood the Patronuses and was coming to help.
With a groan, Hermione rolled over in her sleep so that she was facing the opposite side of the prison than Ron. Ron lied down; he supposed that he should get some sleep for a fresh attempt to break out in the morning.
Before he could so much as close his eyes, he heard footsteps coming down the hall to the room with their cage. Ron shook Hermione to wake her up. He couldn't deny that the sheer simplicity of touching her made him nervous, but pleased.
She woke up suddenly, quickly, and fully- as if she had been up for hours already. She didn't need to be told why he woke her up, for by now the door was opening and in stepped Harry flanked by Snape, Malfoy, Crabb, and LeStrange.
"Aaaaah, my friends. I'm so happy to see you're well," Harry said in a mocking tone of voice. This time Ron noticed that Harry's eyes were out of focus and his breathing was a little heavier than regular.
"Come on, Harry, we all know that you're under the Imperi-" Ron started but stopped when Hermione gave him a fierce jab in the ribs.
"What he means is… uh… you're not acting like yourself. Are you sure that you don't have a cold or something?" she said feebly.
Ron snorted, "That must be one hell of a cold."
Harry fixed Ron with one out of focused eye, and said, "Crucio."
Ron fell to the floor writhing and shrieking in agony. He clawed at his face as if that would relieve the pain. His whole body was being torn apart, burning, and freezing at the same time. He felt as if people were stabbing him all over with blunt knives and tearing him up from the inside out. The pain wasn't receding.
"Levicorpus!" Hermione cried, tears streaming down her face. It was the first spell that had come to mind. But it had the desired effect, Ron stopped twitching and layed motionless on the floor
Harry was hanging in midair as if on an invisible string. Snape's eyes were flashing dangerously. He said the counter jinx and Harry fell to the floor, but righted himself instantly. Of course Snape would know the counter jinx; he had invented the spell.
"Why you stupid little-" Harry began but before he could finish, the Order of the Phoenix came bursting into the room.