Tears fell endlessly down Hermione's face as her wand remained trained on Ron. It continued to shake in her hand as he walked forward slowly. I have to kill him, Hermione thought. I have to kill him. She continued to repeat this sentence in her mind, over and over, sobbing uncontrollably as she did so. She knew it was true, she knew she had to kill him. But she just couldn't. The longer she stood there, staring at his handsome features, his red hair falling messily into his eyes, the more she knew she wouldn't be able to do it. She had to do it now and stop procrastinating it. She had to do it! Then why wasn't her wand remaining steady? Why was her mind blank while trying to remember spells?
"Hermione, run!" Harry suddenly bellowed. Hermione's tear-flooded eyes looked at Harry as he sat, helpless, behind Ron—who was still advancing. "Hermione, forget it! Get out of here! Run!" Hermione's blood felt like it was made of cement. She would've thought so if her hand wasn't still shaking. Her mouth refused to open. Her legs refused to move. She couldn't cast the spell that was needed, and as the handsome man before her stopped inches away from her, she couldn't turn and run anymore, either.
Ronald Weasley ran one of his hands down her cheek lovingly, and that one touch lit up every nerve in her body. Her veins felt like they were shooting electricity instead of blood—or cement. She'd forgotten what his touch felt like, it had been so long since she'd last felt it. Harry's shouts and pleas for Hermione to run faded into nothingness, almost as if he weren't there at all. The room dissolved around them, and it was just Hermione and Ron, alone, her wand still pressed painfully into Ron's stomach. He didn't move back, nor did he move forward. He ran his hand through Hermione's smooth hair, resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.
"I've missed you, Hermione. I always knew you would join me." His voice was soft and kind, full of love and happiness. He sounded exactly like she remembered him. He wasn't an evil monster whose only goal in life was to destroy the order of humanity. He wasn't the man who'd gone out and killed all those witches and wizards to rid himself of their threat. No. For that one, blissful moment, he was the man she had fallen in love with.
"Where are our children?" And just as soon as it had started, the trance ended, and Hermione was back in the room, Harry still yelling from behind Ron.
"It's not Ron! Hermione, get out of here!" Hermione looked down at her wand, still jabbed into Ron's stomach, and she began to cry again.
"Stupefy." She said in between sobs. Nothing happened. "Petrificus Totalus." She sobbed again. Nothing happened. Her heart just wasn't in it. She didn't want to do anything to this man.
Ron's hand travelled down Hermione's side slowly, and he gingerly pulled the wand from Hermione's hand. She merely watched, crying, as the wand slowly slipped from her grasp. And then, Ron held her wand, and Hermione collapsed to the floor, sobbing violently into her hands.
"Hermione! Leave her alone! Don't touch her!" Harry hollered. Ron ignored his restrained friend, bending down in front of Hermione. She didn't look up as she felt his presence, she merely continued to cry. Ron ran his hand through her hair again.
"It's all right, Hermione. I never expected you to be able to do it. Harry couldn't do it, either. I suppose I should be thankful for our friendship." He hugged her lovingly, kissing her forehead. Harry half-expected Ron to burst into tears as well, insisting he was sorry and he wanted to change. But alas, this was not the case. Before Harry could even decide what to yell out, Ron pointed Hermione's wand at her, and a blue light shot into her.
"Hermione!" She became limp in Ron's arms and he stood up, holding her beneath the knees and shoulders. "Ron, how could you! Let her go!" Ron walked into the room Harry was in, placing Hermione gently on a bed that had suddenly appeared.
"I want her to stay with me. She still loves me." Ron whispered, running the back of his hand lightly across her cheek.
"She loves Ronald Weasley! You're not him!" Ron turned angrily, facing Harry. Harry's chair suddenly slammed backwards. Harry cried out as he hit the floor sideways, still tied to the chair. His arm burned painfully, and he bit his tongue until copper-tasting blood flooded his mouth, trying to ease the pain.
"She still loves me." Ron hissed vehemently. "She just doesn't know it yet." Ron turned towards the door, smirking at Harry. "I think I'll go tell what's left of Dumbledore that I've now got both of you. Can't wait to find out he's dead." And with those final words, he disappeared out the door with Hermione's wand clutched tightly in his hand, slamming the door behind him. Harry lay on the floor, in the dark, worried about Hermione's emotions when she awoke.
-----
As the four Gryffindors screamed, covering their heads from the falling debris, they waited for their inevitable deaths. But, their deaths never came. The rocking of the castle continued, and the boulders never found their targets. Slowly, one by one, Leroux, Talak and Vilandra dropped their arms from their faces, staring up at the boulders that hovered a few feet above them. They all turned to Rhett, who still had his hands covering his face, his eyes squeezed shut.
"You got the invisibility cloak and dad's special powers! That's it, I disown you!"
"Will you knobheads hurry up and move already!" They all turned their heads and noticed Malfoy standing at the bottom of the stairs, his wand raised, aimed at the four of them. Rhett finally lowered his hands, opening his eyes, and saw the boulders right above him.
Since none of them were moving, Malfoy slowly moved his wand to the side, bringing the boulders with him. Glancing down to see if anyone was below them, he let his wand fall back to his side and the boulders fell heavily onto the stairs below them, causing them to crumble and continue falling with extra debris.
The four Gryffindors scrambled to their feet, running back down the stairs towards Malfoy. They were all staring at him, stunned.
"You? You saved us?" Leroux asked incredulously.
"But you hate us! You spend every waking moment of your life harassing us!" Talak insisted just as incredulously as Leroux.
"Just because I think you lot are all bloody tossers doesn't mean you deserve to die." Malfoy insisted as he replaced his wand. "Besides, don't ever think it'll happen again. I just didn't want to have to walk on your old bloodstains every time I went up these stairs." His smirk had returned and the three boys weren't surprised. Vilandra was. For one brief moment, he'd lost his air of cockiness and become—almost human.
"Oy!" The three boys spun around, but Vilandra and Malfoy still had their eyes locked on one another. Kei was standing at the top of the steps, looking hysterical. "Get up here, now! Malfoy, get back to your dormitory!"
The three boys flew hurriedly up the stairs, Vilandra and Malfoy still staring at one another. Vilandra was frowning at him, and he, in turn, cocked an eyebrow, his smirk still plastered on his face.
"Lonnie! This is not a negotiation!" With that, Vilandra finally turned and bolted up the stairs, Malfoy turning around to leave as well.
Kei waited until Vilandra was ahead of her before following, the five cousins running down the corridor to their dormitory. Rhett hollered the password to the Fat Lady and her portrait swung open, allowing them all to run inside. The tower shook violently and everyone lost their footing. Vilandra fell into Leroux, sending them both crashing to the floor.
"Everyone get beneath something solid!" Kei ordered as she struggled to keep her balance while rushing further into the Common Room.
"Doesn't matter what we get under, if any more boulders come in, we'll be crushed." Rhett yelled over the chaos of the common room. He and his three friends hurried towards one of the large tables. Most of the people had rushed up to their bedrooms, but with the luck they'd been having with stairs, the four of them decided to try their luck with the table.
"This is insane!" Talak yelled as more boulders smashed through the walls outside their dormitory, reverberating loudly throughout their Common Room. "Why are we still here!"
"It's safer!" Vilandra insisted back.
"You call this safer! We'd be safer standing in the King of Darkness' living room!" Leroux hollered.
"Don't yell at me!" Vilandra snapped back angrily. "I didn't do anything!" The four of them screamed as a boulder flew through one of the windows, smashing the glass and the stone wall around it. It landed in the centre of their Common Room, smashing Rhett's favourite armchair.
"Bloody hell, stupid pea-brained gits!" Rhett growled angrily about the giants. "What are they attacking us for? We've never done anything to them!"
"King of Darkness controls them, remember?" Talak insisted.
The four of them were underneath the table for what seemed like days, but must've only been a few more minutes. As the rocking of the earth disappeared, and no more boulders flew towards the castle, the four cautiously emerged from beneath the table, wood, dust, glass and rocky debris covering their hair and clothes. Vilandra hurried to the window and looked out. The giants were gone, and the professors were flying hurriedly back to the school on brooms, some of them holding an unconscious professor between them.
"Looks like there were some casualties." She said. The other three joined her at the window, looking out.
"Bloody hell, it's Lupin!" Rhett exclaimed panicked, motioning one of the prone figures being brought back to the castle. "You think he's all right?"
"He's got to be." Vilandra insisted, a tight knot forming in her throat. How many more people they loved would they lose in this war?
-----
"Praemium!" Rhett yelled, aiming his wand at the large boulder in the centre of the Common Room. It exploded violently, sending rock pieces flying in all directions. One particularly large piece hit a Fourth year in the face, sending him flying on his back. Vilandra ducked just in time for one to shoot over her head and smack Leroux in the back of his.
"Ow! Hey!" He spun around, rubbing the back of his head. Kei stormed angrily towards Rhett and wrenched his wand from his hand.
"You have an arse where your head should be!" She yelled angrily. "We're cleaning up the Common Room, not destroying it!" She walked off with Rhett's wand and Talak snickered into the back of his hand, Rhett turning to glare at him.
"Oh, come on. Look on the bight side, you don't have to clear anything up." Talak insisted as he waved his wand at the bookshelf, muttering a spell that caused it to remake itself and stand upright, all the fallen books returning their appropriate shelves.
Everyone who was a Fourth year and up had been told to help clean up the Common Room. All the other years had been sent to their rooms.
"I was just trying to make it easier to manage." Rhett insisted as he fell onto one of the intact couches, crossing his arms and pouting.
"That's what Wingardium Leviosa is for." Vilandra teased as she walked past him, broken pieces of stone hovering in front of her.
"But it's too simple. I wanted something more challenging." He insisted.
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Rhett." Kei appeared beside him again. "It's now your job to find all the broken pieces of stone and dispose of them." She returned his wand to him.
"What? That's not fair!"
"What in life truly is?" Leroux asked. The portrait swung open and everyone turned to it. McGonnagall rushed in, a light bruise beginning to form around her left eye.
"Is everyone all right?" There were mutters and grunts from the students in the Common Room as they continued to tidy up.
"Are you all right?" Vilandra asked concerned, motioning McGonnagall's eye. As the professor turned to Vilandra, there were tears brimming her eyes. Vilandra frowned.
"Ms. Weasley, I suggest you find your brother and come with me."
"Sure." Vilandra said uncertainly, turning to find Chaim. Her three cousins shared a look as she walked past them, climbing the stairs to Chaim's room.
She opened the door to hear all five boys laughing and yelling at one another about how scary, but fun what had just happened had been. The lumpy boy Chaim had met on his first day was sitting on Chaim's bed with him, the two re-enacting what had happened to them as they'd been returning from the Great Hall. The other three laughed as they continued, and one of them finally turned to the door. Noticing Vilandra, he turned back to the others, nodding his head in the door's direction. Chaim turned to it and saw her. She motioned him over so he stood up slowly, walking up to her.
"What is it?" He asked.
"McGonnagall wants to see us."
"Why? I haven't done anything!" Chaim exclaimed panicked.
"Don't worry, something tells me it's not about that." Vilandra couldn't shake the feeling in her stomach, and it was beginning to make her feel ill. The two of them descended the stairs and walked back towards McGonnagall. Without a word, she turned and led the way out of Gryffindor Tower, the siblings following her. They walked in silence, following a path Vilandra knew only too well. They were headed for Dumbledore's office. The knot in Vilandra's stomach tripled as they ascended the stairs to his office. McGonnagall knocked on the door.
"Enter." Came a voice that did not sound like Dumbledore's. She pushed open the door, and Vilandra was stunned when she saw it actually was Dumbledore. His voice had sounded so dead, and hurt. Without a word, he motioned the two chairs before him. Chaim and Vilandra sat down, McGonnagall closing the door as she left. They could hear her sobbing in the stairwell, and Vilandra had to swallow hard continuously to stop from crying when she didn't even know what was going on. Dumbledore let out a long sigh.
"I know both of you have received a letter from your mother not too long ago." They both nodded. "Did either of you wonder why she may have written them?"
"She went after the King of Darkness, didn't she?" Chaim whispered, looking at Dumbledore's desk instead of Dumbledore himself. The headmaster sighed, nodding sadly.
"I'm afraid so, Mr. Weasley. After Mr. Potter's capture, she knew she was the only one who could save him."
"Is he still alive?" Vilandra asked, not having heard anything about her uncle since the day he'd been captured.
"We have reason to believe that he is."
"But that's not why we're here, is it?" Vilandra swallowed hard as she finished asking this question. "This is about mum, isn't it?" Dumbledore sighed sadly, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, Vilandra. Your mother has also been captured by the King of Darkness." There was silence for a long while and Vilandra merely covered her face, crying into her hands without a sound. Chaim was leaning forward in his chair, his elbows propped on Dumbledore's desk and his hands gripping his hair tightly as tears flowed down his own face. "I cannot begin to imagine the pain you are both feeling. It can't be easy having lost your father, and now your mother. I would understand completely if you wanted to return home." Neither replied for a long while.
"I'm going to kill him." Chaim suddenly whispered. He looked up at Dumbledore, slamming both fists on the table. "I'm going to kill him!" He hollered angrily. "If anything happens to my mother, the sod is going to die! I'll destroy him! There's won't be enough left of him to barbecue!" Just as suddenly as the outburst had started, it ended, and he broke down into sobs. Dumbledore looked at Vilandra, her hand placed on Chaim's shoulder. It was as if that simple gesture had spread peace into his being, and Chaim had calmed down immediately.
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
"She's not dead, right?" Vilandra whispered. Dumbledore shook his head.
"No. Our sources tell us that the King of Darkness is keeping her alive. She is with Harry."
"How do we know your sources are correct?" Chaim asked in between sobs.
"We have someone on the inside. Someone he would never suspect to be relaying information to us. I trust this source." The siblings said nothing. Chaim merely buried his face in his hands and continued to cry. Vilandra looked at Dumbledore.
"I need to, um—" She cut off and rubbed her face with both hands, sniffing. "I-I need to—I need to check on-on Sterling." She nodded to herself, rubbing her face again before continuing. "I have to make sure that—I have to make sure he's okay." Dumbledore nodded.
"Of course. We've alerted the Ministry. As soon as the Aurors found out, Tonks volunteered to escort you to Molly and Arthur's house. She'll be waiting outside for you." Vilandra nodded.
"Thank you." She stood up and Chaim was out of his seat in seconds, going after his sister.
"I'm coming, too!"
"No, Chaim!" Vilandra turned to him sharply.
"Lonnie—"
"No!" Vilandra insisted again. She put one hand behind his neck and pressed her forehead against his. "You're staying here. You'll—you'll be safe here."
"Safe from what?" Chaim whispered to her, silent tears still falling down his face.
"Everything else." Vilandra whispered back. She kissed his cheek and headed for the door. Chaim put his hand on her shoulder and she turned back to him. He pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back.
"Be safe, all right?" He whispered.
"I will." She released him and disappeared down the stairs.
-----
Arthur Weasley threw open his door as he heard a knock. His face broke into a smile.
"Lonnie! What a pleasant surprise!" Beneath the hood of her black traveller's cloak, all Arthur could see was his granddaughter's face. He was not aware of the tears still streaming slowly down her cheeks. "Come in, come in. Tonks! Lovely to see you!" The two of them entered the house and Vilandra removed her hood, turning to Arthur.
"Where's Sterling?" His smile faded instantly.
"Good Lord, what's happened?" Tonks held up a hand from behind Vilandra, shaking her head. Arthur understood her silent language. She would inform him in a few minutes. "Sterling's in the kitchen with Molly." Arthur made his way towards the kitchen, Molly's voice ringing cheerfully in the sad girl's ears.
As the three of them entered the kitchen, Sterling let out a squeal of delight, jumping off his chair and running for Vilandra. Molly turned confused, having had her back to the door. She smiled as she saw the mane of brown-red hair, but it faded just as quickly as her husband's had when she saw the girl's tear-stained face.
"What—" Again, Tonks held up her hand as Vilandra lifted Sterling in her arms, hugging him tightly. She turned and exited the kitchen, leaving Molly and Arthur alone with Tonks.
"Why are you crying?" Sterling asked Vilandra as he leaned back from the hug, still being carried by her. He ran one hand under each eye, riding the tears from her cheeks and smiled. "All better." Vilandra forced a smile, but knew it was probably more of a grimace.
"It's always all better when I'm with you, Sterling." She said as she sat down in the living room, Sterling on her lap.
"I haven't seen mummy in a long time." Sterling pouted, crossing his arms. Vilandra bit the inside of her cheek until it bled to stop from bursting into tears again. She didn't want Sterling to know. He was too young, he would panic. She just wanted to make sure he was all right.
"Mummy's—" Vilandra cut off, a sob rising in her chest. "Mummy's been really busy." She insisted, blinking the tears from her eyes.
"It's okay, you came to see me." He hugged her tightly, smiling broadly. "You never come to see me when you're in school. Do you hate it?" He asked, leaning back again, still smiling. "Will you be with me always?"
"No, Sterling." She whispered. "I'm going back. I just came to make sure you were all right." She ran her hand through his hair.
"Gran has been feeding me a lot." Sterling clutched his stomach, pretending to feel ill. Vilandra usually laughed. This time, she didn't. Sterling noticed and frowned. He may have been six years old, but he wasn't a complete idiot. "What's wrong, Lonnie?"
"I just missed you." She whispered, and hugged him again. "I wanted to make sure you were safe."
"Of course I'm safe. You're my big sister. No one will ever hurt me." He smiled broadly as he leaned back. A clock chimed in the hallway and he turned to it. "Is it bed time now?" He asked sadly, turning back to Vilandra. She nodded.
"It's bed time." He hugged her tightly again.
"Will you be here when I wake up?" She shook her head.
"No." A tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away with one hand, the other still wrapped around her brother. "I'm going back to school tonight."
"It's nice you came to see me." Sterling said, smiling. "I liked it a lot."
"I liked it, too." Vilandra replied as she stood up and walked towards the stairs with Sterling. She brought him to his room and helped him change. He was old enough to do it himself, but he still acted very much like a three-year-old. Having been raised by a nine year old, it was hard for him to develop mentally the way other children had. Vilandra brought him to the bathroom and he brushed his teeth. They returned to the room and Vilandra tucked him in.
"Will you sing me the song? Gran isn't as good at singing." Sterling admitted. Vilandra swallowed hard.
"I don't think I can." She whispered, running her hand through her hair. Her throat felt like sandpaper, but Sterling stared up at her hopefully. She sighed sadly and lay down beside him on the bed. He turned on his side beneath the covers, staring at Vilandra with a smile.
"Hush now, my baby. Be still, love, don't cry. Sleep as you're rocked by the stream. Sleep and remember my last lullaby, and I'll be with you when you dream. River, oh river, flow gently for me. Such precious cargo you bear. Do you know somewhere he can live free. River, deliver him there. Brother you're safe now, and safe may you stay. For I have a prayer just for you. Grow baby brother, come back some day. Come and deliver us, too." Sterling smiled and closed his eyes.
"Night, Lonnie." She kissed his forehead.
"Night, Sterling." She stood up and turned off his light, closing the door behind her. She leaned against the door and began to cry, sinking to the ground and burying her face in her knees. She knew he deserved to know. She knew there was no reason for him to ever think Hermione was just neglecting him, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't tell Sterling their mother was gone. Gone, maybe forever. Just like their father.
It took Vilandra a long time to recompose herself, and she finally stood and descended the stairs. She entered the kitchen and saw Molly crying. The second she saw Vilandra, she rushed towards her and hugged her tightly. Tonks was still staring sadly at the table and Arthur seemed more angry than sad.
"Are you coming home, dear?" Molly asked, pulling back and staring at Vilandra. She shook her head.
"No, I think—the best thing to do right now is for Chaim and I to just go to class. Mum is strong, she'll—she'll be all right." Vilandra nodded to herself and brushed away her tears with the sleeve of her sweater.
"If you ever want to come home, you can stay with us, all right?" Molly insisted. Vilandra nodded.
"Thank you, Gran. I should be heading back now."
"We won't tell Sterling." Arthur said. "We don't think he should know, and I'm sure you don't think he should, either." Vilandra nodded.
"Take care of him, all right?" Vilandra whispered. Molly hugged her again, tightly.
"Not to worry, we will."
-----
Leroux sat staring into the fire that blazed before him. Chaim had returned to the Common Room in tears, and it was enough for Leroux to know what had happened. Hermione was gone, now, too. How much more suffering would there be for their family this year? How much pain did Vilandra, Chaim and Sterling deserve?
As soon as the twins had found out what had happened, their father's capture came back full force and they'd retreated to their room for the rest of the evening. Kei and Alca had spent hours with Chaim, trying to reassure him, and Leroux had just sat down in front of the fire. He hadn't moved from that spot for close to five hours, and he wasn't going to move until Vilandra returned. She was always there for everyone, and now, she needed him. He would be there for her like he'd never been there for anyone before. She didn't deserve everything she went through, and he found himself hating the higher being everyone believed in.
How could anyone think that she deserved all this pain? She was nice, she was caring, she thought of everyone but herself, and yet everything bad that happened always happened to her. Of course, Harry being taken was harder on the twins than it was on Vilandra, but the fact that he was family reminded her of her father all over again, and it had been hard for her to put on a sympathetic face around the twins when Harry's disappearance had struck so close to home for her.
Leroux whished there was something—anything—he could do for her. If there was a spell or potion to make her life not be as horrible as it was, Leroux would've gone to the end of the Earth and back to find it for her. But there wasn't, so he could only find solace in being there for her, and helping her through this. He knew it wouldn't be good enough, he knew that nothing he did or said would ever make it all right again, but he had to try. He couldn't let her live her life hating every second of it.
He looked away from the fire as he heard someone approach him. Jase sat down beside him, looking at him concerned.
"Are you okay?" He shook his head.
"Not really. The King of Darkness has got Aunt Hermione." Jase stared at him stunned.
"Poor Lonnie." She whispered, averting her eyes from Leroux. He nodded.
"Yeah. Poor Lonnie."
"Have you spoken to her?" Jase asked.
"She never came back from Dumbledore's office. I'm waiting for her."
"Now's probably not a good time." Jase began to stand and Leroux grabbed her arm.
"You don't have to go." She turned to him. "You can stay." She shook her head.
"No, really, what I wanted to talk about can wait."
"No, I want to hear it." Leroux insisted. "I haven't spoken to anyone in five hours, I think I'd like the company." Jase nodded and sat back down. She rubbed her face with her hands and sighed.
"I just—I wanted to talk about us." Leroux's eyebrows shot up.
"Us?"
"I knew this was a bad time." Jase jumped to her feet but Leroux grabbed her arm again.
"There's an 'us'?" He asked. Jase turned to him.
"I want there to be." She replied in a whisper. "I know how you feel about me, and I feel the same way about you." Leroux was taken aback. Any other time he would've jumped at the occasion to date Jase, but now—now just wasn't a good time. Leroux let go of her hand and looked back into the fire, wishing he'd let her go when she'd said it wasn't a good time.
"I'm sorry, Jase, but—you're right, now's not really a good time." Leroux whispered. Jase nodded.
"I know."
"I mean, I fancy you—" He cut himself off, cursing silently about how stupid and corny he sounded. He continued, anyway. "It's just, Lonnie's going through a lot and…" He trailed off.
"You want to be there for her." Leroux nodded, turning to her.
"Yeah."
"It's sweet." Jase insisted with a smile.
"I'm sorry." Jase shook her head.
"Don't be. I understand." The portrait swung open and Vilandra entered the Common Room, her eyes red-rimmed and tears still falling down her cheeks. Jase turned back to Leroux. "When you're ready—I'll be waiting." She returned to her room as Leroux stood up and went to Vilandra, hugging her tightly as she cried into his shoulder.
-----
A/N: The River Lullaby lyrics come from the movie The Prince of Egypt.