Chapter 16: Whisper
"No! We were so close," Prof. McGonagoll buried her face in her hands. There was a giant screen in Dumbledore's office where it showed Faye slamming the door in Ron's face. Dumbledore clicked it off and sighed.
"At this rate, they'll never get along in time," Snape said from his chair.
"I agree. This calls for The Trial," Dumbledore said pacing.
McGonagoll leaped out of her seat. "Albus, you can't! They're just kids."
"They're not just kids. They'll be fine. It has been done before, remember?"
"You can not compare the four founders of Hogwarts to six teenagers!" she said hysterically.
"One teenager. The rest are . . ." Snape was interrupted.
"I know what they are! Even then, didn't one of the originals die? Even if all five get past this, how is the other one going to? We don't even know who it is yet!" she started to rant. "Their parents don't know where they are or what's going on. I don't even know where they are. Bloody hell, do you even know where they are?" She yelled.
"In all honesty, yes. But I couldn't tell you. I'm not the secret-keeper. Severus, what do you think?"
Snape sat there thinking, when all of a sudden Fawkes came swooping down and sat on his lap. She looked at him and chirped. Snape petted her head and nodded Dumbledore numbly nodded. McGonagoll sat down, nodded, and buried her face.
*~*~*~*~ The Next Day ~*~*~*~*
Draco rolled out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and got ready for the day. It was only after he got out of his shower, he realized he hasn't seen Faye yet. He knocked on her door and tried to open it but it was locked.
"Faye, Faye!" Draco started to pound on the door and there was no answer. Mia appear, groggily at her door.
"Malfoy, what the hell are you doing? Maybe she doesn't feel like talking. After yesterday, who could blame her?" Then, she saw Draco's ring turn clear. "Malfoy, the ring. What does it mean?"
Draco looked at the ring and in a fit of fury, kicked the door off it's hinges. Revealing what Draco suspected all this time, she wasn't there. "It means she's too far away for it to work or somebody put a spell on it. Did you see anyone else today?"
"No."
"It's another fucked-up trial, then. Let's go eat."
"Weasley, how can you think of eating at a time like this?!" Faye glared at him. Bad enough, she was in a shack with no doors, no windows, no nothing, but her worst enemy was there.
"I'm hungry, Newman. I get hungry when I'm worried." Ron retorted.
"You get hungry, no matter what happens." Faye looked at him in disgust and plopped in one of the chairs. *This is going to be a long day*
Ron went to the kitchen and sighed. He was beginning to get a headache. *What trial is this? See how long until we kill each other? This blows.*
"This blows." is what Ginny had to write on a piece of paper for Harry. Because like Ginny, Harry lost his ability to hear anything. "Yes, it really does." he wrote back. In silence, they walked into the kitchen and ate cereal.
"Malfoy, we have a problem." Mia stopped in her tracks. Draco bumped into her and growled. There were no stairs.
"Wow, we are so screwed."
"We've been through trials before. It can't be that bad," Mia argued. Draco looked at her.
"Granger, we're alone, stuck downstairs, we don't know what we're supposed to do and I don't know where Faye is. Let's be real, if we didn't know about these random trials, you would be dead by now."
"Me? You are the one that would be on the floor in pain, jerk."
"Ha! You forget, I'm a Malfoy and I work out. You . . . "
"Are a lowly Mudblood?" she supplied, crossing her arms.
"Would go down in a second." he finished.
"Really? Bring it on."
"Ryan, I'm cold. And I don't feel well," Faye staggered in to the kitchen a few hours later.
"It's Ron. You call me 'Weasley', Newman," Ron said confused.
"Newman, I feel bad." Faye slummed down in the chair across from him.
"You're Newman, Faye. I'm Ron. Crap, I have a even bigger headache now."
"Hey, Rob, I'll trade you: Your sweater for an Advil I saw somewhere here earlier."
"Sure. Anything, just . . . whatever." Ron muttered. This headache was beginning to bother him. But it wasn't that bothersome until Faye slammed an Advil on the table. He took off his maroon sweater and gave it to Faye. Faye yawned and went to the couch to sleep.
Ginny and Harry were watching movies with the caption on. They were waiting for their dinner to finish cooking. It was a easy trial, so far. All they did was watch movies. When they got hungry, they made chicken and rice. That was simple, too. Ginny cooked the chicken and Harry took care of the rice. It was all good until Ginny smelled something burning. She motioned Harry to smell and he nodded his head. They went to the kitchen in time to see the rice exploded.
"Ouch, get off!" Mia started to squirm but it was hopeless. Draco's grip was too tight.
"1,2,3,4, I just won thumb war!" Draco let go of her hand and started his victory dance. "Go me, Go me!"
"Shut up! It was one game, only!"
"Someone's a sore loser" he started to sing. So, there he was, singing and dancing. Mia couldn't help but laugh. And that's when they landed in a room.
Harry turned off the oven and then, he slipped in the rice. As he got up, he pulled the oven door open, revealing that the chicken was now on fire. Ginny grabbed a fire extinguisher and cooled down the chicken. They looked at each other in relief. The worst was over and all that was left was to clean. Harry got up and gave Ginny a high five. Then, a glob of rice, that was stuck on the ceiling, fell on his head. Then, everything went dark.
Ron still had a headache when he walked into the living room. Faye was snuggling with his sweater on the couch, still sleeping. He sat down next to her and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She shot up. She looked deeply puzzled.
"Where am I? What's going on? I don't like this. Stop this! Stop this now!" she screamed. Ron's headache flared but he didn't mind it right now. She put on the sweater and hugged herself. Rocking back and forth, she started to whisper "No, no, no. . ." She clamored on Ron's lap. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. "No. Stop this. No. . ." That's when he realized Faye was going insane.
"This is my house." Mia was really confused.
"Looks like no one's home." Draco pointed out. "Why are we here?"
Mia shrugged. "Let's go upstairs." As they went up the stairs, Draco looked at the pictures. Pictures of her parents, her grandparent, and what seemed like her other family members. Something was missing.
"Granger, where are you?" Mia turned around and immediately saw what he meant. She wasn't in any pictures. None, not even the family reunion one.
"What? Where am I?" She turned around and ran to a room. She flew open the door, revealing an office. She started to fall but Draco was there to catch her. She looked at him, rattled. "This is . . . was my room. I . . . I don't . . . " She looked away, she couldn't finish it.
So, Draco finished it for her "You don't exist."
"No! We were so close," Prof. McGonagoll buried her face in her hands. There was a giant screen in Dumbledore's office where it showed Faye slamming the door in Ron's face. Dumbledore clicked it off and sighed.
"At this rate, they'll never get along in time," Snape said from his chair.
"I agree. This calls for The Trial," Dumbledore said pacing.
McGonagoll leaped out of her seat. "Albus, you can't! They're just kids."
"They're not just kids. They'll be fine. It has been done before, remember?"
"You can not compare the four founders of Hogwarts to six teenagers!" she said hysterically.
"One teenager. The rest are . . ." Snape was interrupted.
"I know what they are! Even then, didn't one of the originals die? Even if all five get past this, how is the other one going to? We don't even know who it is yet!" she started to rant. "Their parents don't know where they are or what's going on. I don't even know where they are. Bloody hell, do you even know where they are?" She yelled.
"In all honesty, yes. But I couldn't tell you. I'm not the secret-keeper. Severus, what do you think?"
Snape sat there thinking, when all of a sudden Fawkes came swooping down and sat on his lap. She looked at him and chirped. Snape petted her head and nodded Dumbledore numbly nodded. McGonagoll sat down, nodded, and buried her face.
*~*~*~*~ The Next Day ~*~*~*~*
Draco rolled out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and got ready for the day. It was only after he got out of his shower, he realized he hasn't seen Faye yet. He knocked on her door and tried to open it but it was locked.
"Faye, Faye!" Draco started to pound on the door and there was no answer. Mia appear, groggily at her door.
"Malfoy, what the hell are you doing? Maybe she doesn't feel like talking. After yesterday, who could blame her?" Then, she saw Draco's ring turn clear. "Malfoy, the ring. What does it mean?"
Draco looked at the ring and in a fit of fury, kicked the door off it's hinges. Revealing what Draco suspected all this time, she wasn't there. "It means she's too far away for it to work or somebody put a spell on it. Did you see anyone else today?"
"No."
"It's another fucked-up trial, then. Let's go eat."
"Weasley, how can you think of eating at a time like this?!" Faye glared at him. Bad enough, she was in a shack with no doors, no windows, no nothing, but her worst enemy was there.
"I'm hungry, Newman. I get hungry when I'm worried." Ron retorted.
"You get hungry, no matter what happens." Faye looked at him in disgust and plopped in one of the chairs. *This is going to be a long day*
Ron went to the kitchen and sighed. He was beginning to get a headache. *What trial is this? See how long until we kill each other? This blows.*
"This blows." is what Ginny had to write on a piece of paper for Harry. Because like Ginny, Harry lost his ability to hear anything. "Yes, it really does." he wrote back. In silence, they walked into the kitchen and ate cereal.
"Malfoy, we have a problem." Mia stopped in her tracks. Draco bumped into her and growled. There were no stairs.
"Wow, we are so screwed."
"We've been through trials before. It can't be that bad," Mia argued. Draco looked at her.
"Granger, we're alone, stuck downstairs, we don't know what we're supposed to do and I don't know where Faye is. Let's be real, if we didn't know about these random trials, you would be dead by now."
"Me? You are the one that would be on the floor in pain, jerk."
"Ha! You forget, I'm a Malfoy and I work out. You . . . "
"Are a lowly Mudblood?" she supplied, crossing her arms.
"Would go down in a second." he finished.
"Really? Bring it on."
"Ryan, I'm cold. And I don't feel well," Faye staggered in to the kitchen a few hours later.
"It's Ron. You call me 'Weasley', Newman," Ron said confused.
"Newman, I feel bad." Faye slummed down in the chair across from him.
"You're Newman, Faye. I'm Ron. Crap, I have a even bigger headache now."
"Hey, Rob, I'll trade you: Your sweater for an Advil I saw somewhere here earlier."
"Sure. Anything, just . . . whatever." Ron muttered. This headache was beginning to bother him. But it wasn't that bothersome until Faye slammed an Advil on the table. He took off his maroon sweater and gave it to Faye. Faye yawned and went to the couch to sleep.
Ginny and Harry were watching movies with the caption on. They were waiting for their dinner to finish cooking. It was a easy trial, so far. All they did was watch movies. When they got hungry, they made chicken and rice. That was simple, too. Ginny cooked the chicken and Harry took care of the rice. It was all good until Ginny smelled something burning. She motioned Harry to smell and he nodded his head. They went to the kitchen in time to see the rice exploded.
"Ouch, get off!" Mia started to squirm but it was hopeless. Draco's grip was too tight.
"1,2,3,4, I just won thumb war!" Draco let go of her hand and started his victory dance. "Go me, Go me!"
"Shut up! It was one game, only!"
"Someone's a sore loser" he started to sing. So, there he was, singing and dancing. Mia couldn't help but laugh. And that's when they landed in a room.
Harry turned off the oven and then, he slipped in the rice. As he got up, he pulled the oven door open, revealing that the chicken was now on fire. Ginny grabbed a fire extinguisher and cooled down the chicken. They looked at each other in relief. The worst was over and all that was left was to clean. Harry got up and gave Ginny a high five. Then, a glob of rice, that was stuck on the ceiling, fell on his head. Then, everything went dark.
Ron still had a headache when he walked into the living room. Faye was snuggling with his sweater on the couch, still sleeping. He sat down next to her and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She shot up. She looked deeply puzzled.
"Where am I? What's going on? I don't like this. Stop this! Stop this now!" she screamed. Ron's headache flared but he didn't mind it right now. She put on the sweater and hugged herself. Rocking back and forth, she started to whisper "No, no, no. . ." She clamored on Ron's lap. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. "No. Stop this. No. . ." That's when he realized Faye was going insane.
"This is my house." Mia was really confused.
"Looks like no one's home." Draco pointed out. "Why are we here?"
Mia shrugged. "Let's go upstairs." As they went up the stairs, Draco looked at the pictures. Pictures of her parents, her grandparent, and what seemed like her other family members. Something was missing.
"Granger, where are you?" Mia turned around and immediately saw what he meant. She wasn't in any pictures. None, not even the family reunion one.
"What? Where am I?" She turned around and ran to a room. She flew open the door, revealing an office. She started to fall but Draco was there to catch her. She looked at him, rattled. "This is . . . was my room. I . . . I don't . . . " She looked away, she couldn't finish it.
So, Draco finished it for her "You don't exist."