Chapter 5
Gone Between
Ron dropped his wand and caught Hermione right before she hit the ground.
"Hermione!"
Harry jumped up and helped Ron support her.
"You-hoo, Hermione," Ron said while gently slapping her on the face.
Hermione twitched but didn't wake up.
"Come on, let's get her back to our room." Ron said as he shifted his position to support Hermione better.
Harry nodded and did the same. "Master Robinton?" Harry looked at the man questioningly. Robinton was staring at Hermione with a peculiar look. It took a moment, but Harry realized he'd seen that look before. Snape had been giving it to him during their second year, right after everyone found out he was a Parseltongue.
"You two seem to have this under control, if you'll excuse me." Robinton turned around and strode off quickly.
"They're all hopping mad." Ron muttered as he quickly bent down to retrieve his wand.
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While Ron and Harry were laying Hermione on her bed (another side effect of the wand incident was they suddenly had all the furnishing they could ever want), the Masterharper was in the Weyrleader's room waiting for them to return.
"What happened?" He asked quickly when F'lar and Lessa finally walked into the room.
"There was a mating flight." Lessa said softly.
"Brekke? Did she lose control of Wirenth? Did she gorge?" The Masterharper's words came out in a rush.
"Brekke didn't lose control." F'lar said firmly, almost proudly. "Prideth rose too, Kylara didn't bring her away from the Weyr before Wirenth's flight…" F'lar trailed off.
Robinton knew what was coming. "Which went between?" Robinton knew one of the dragons had to have died and gone between during the flight, otherwise the dragons at Benden would not have cried out as they did.
Lessa whispered, "Both."
"No!" Robinton gasped. "How did that happen?"
"The dragons fought, both lost." Lessa said simply and sat down heavily in a chair.
"This would certainly explain the girl." Robinton murmured mostly to himself.
"What girl?" Lessa asked vaguely rubbing her forhead.
"The one that appeared on the hatching ground, Hermione."
Lessa and F'lar were instantly alert. "What about her?"
"She fainted."
"So?"
"Right when the dragons cried out."
The room became completely silent.
"But… She can't!" Lessa said, first slowly, then defiantly. "They aren't from here, they don't understand! They just don't understand…" She trailed off.
F'lar was keeping eerily quiet; he seemed very disturbed by this new revelation.
"Historically..." The Masterharper started, but then stopped when he realized no one was listening too him.
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Coincidentally, at the same moment the Masterharper trailed off, Hermione awoke with a start.
"You okay?" Ron asked. He and Harry had been anxiously hovering over her.
Hermione glanced at them confused for a moment, and then remembered what had happened. She sat up sharply. "Were we attacked? What happened? Is your head okay?"
Ron grabbed her shoulder and forced her to lie back down.
"We're fine, but something strange is going on here." Harry said.
"What do you mean?" Hermione ask as she reluctantly lay back down.
"It's been quiet as a tomb since we got you back up here." Ron explained. "You passed out just as all the dragons roared, and then everyone and everything seemed to just stop."
"How long have I been out?" She asked, making another futile attempt to sit up which was once again foiled by Ron.
"Nearly an hour," Harry answered. "Are you sure you're okay? You were really pale when we finally got you up here." Harry's worried tone made Hermione stare.
"I'm fine. Oh Ron stop it!" She said and managed to sit up.
"Hermione are you sure?" Harry rested his hand on her shoulder (mainly so he could help Ron force her back down).
"I'm fine!" Hermione batted Harry's hand off her shoulder and stood up. "Will you two stop it! I'm fine, I was probably just dehydrated or something."
"What about the dragons?" Asked Harry, he and Ron were positive the dragons' roaring was somehow connected to Hermione's fainting.
"What about them? They seem to like roaring. No big deal." Hermione was getting irritated.
Ron opened his mouth to say something just as there was a knock on the door.
"Now what…" Hermione muttered as Harry walked over to open it.
Harry opened the door and Master Robinton, F'lar and Lessa entered the room.
"You're awake, excellent. Are you alright?" Robinton asked.
Hermione gave a genuinely forced smile. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"Good. We have much to discuss."
Robinton, F'lar and Lessa sat down at the table in the room. After exchanging a glance, Harry, Ron and Hermione joined them.
"Earlier," the Masterharper paused and cleared his throat. "Earlier two dragons," he paused again. "Two dragons went between." Robinton shuddered slightly.
Harry raised an eyebrow. Hermione stared blankly.
Ron took a slightly less diplomatic approach.
"So?"
F'lar and Lessa stood up sharply.
"How dare you!" Lessa said sharply.
"What?" Ron backed his chair away from F'lar. "Didn't you say they went between all the time going places?"
"But then they come out!" F'lar growled.
"F'lar, please." Robinton had grabbed the Weyrleader's arm and more or less dragged him back down into his chair. Lessa, frowning, sat down stiffly.
"Yes, dragons do pop in and out of between constantly, but they always come out. When a dragon dies it goes between, and stays there." Robinton explained.
"So they just vanish?" Hermione asked.
"Yes."
"Is that why all the dragons called out earlier?" Ron asked curiously.
"Yes, whenever one of their kind goes between, they mourn." Robinton replied.
F'lar rested a hand on Lessa's arm as she gave a small shudder.
"But, did the two go at the exact same time?" Harry was wondering what all this had to do with them.
"They were both queens." Robinton replied.
Ron opened his mouth, probably to say "So?" but Hermione kicked him under the table and he kept quiet.
"One queen rose to mate. During the mating flight a second one appeared. They fought. Then they went between together." Robinton closed his eyes mournfully.
"Are the riders okay?" Hermione asked, slightly pale again.
"Brekke is alive, she can hear all dragons like I can," Lessa replied, "so the shock might not be as horrible for her." Lessa's face darkened, "Kylara lives."
"Will they get new dragons?" Harry asked.
Robinton breathed in sharply and looked at Lessa and F'lar.
"Re-impress?" F'lar asked slowly, he looked at Lessa significantly.
Lessa returned his gaze but said nothing.
"That," F'lar said looking away from Lessa, "That has never been attempted before."
"Your probably wondering why we're telling you all this." Robinton said quickly. "You fainted exactly when the dragons went between." Robinton said, staring hard at Hermione.
Harry and Ron glanced at each other, silently congratulating themselves.
"What's that have to do with anything?" Hermione said failing miserably in her attempt to keep a tremble out of her voice.
"When a dragon goes between riders occasionally pass out from the sudden anguish felt by their dragons." Robinton's eyes never left Hermione's as he spoke. "However, occasionally, those who have not impressed a dragon pass out too. On those rare occasions the person in question always impresses."
Harry and Ron both turned slowly to look at Hermione, who, in Harry's opinion, looked at risk of passing out again.