Omerta means «gag order», so you know ; )

Thanks for reading!


Chapter 5

Headaches and nightmares

Their noisy entrance was rewarded by a well-deserved frown from Mrs Weasley, but when she saw Hermione's wobbly walking, Harry's glazed eyes – even if Firewhiskey did not have anything to do with it –, she looked troubled.

When Mrs Weasley intently sniffed the twins' breath, she understood and she screamed in horror, «UP TO BED. RIGHT NOW. YOU SICKEN ME! I'LL DEAL WITH ALL OF YOU TOMORROW! THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!»

They all went upstairs in a cattle-like frenzy and in his drunken haze, Harry saw Ron lead a loudly shushing Hermione to her bedroom. Harry pushed the door to Ron's room and soon, his clothes were flying around the place as he crashed on the mattress.

Harry fell into a heavy, dreamless slumber. He woke up to a thundering headache. The strong, blistering sun that was warming his face did not help to ease the pain. His mouth was scorched and he felt like he was burning alive, even if his bed sheets were rolled and twisted around his waist. His stomach grumbled loudly and Harry appreciated the true meaning of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey's catch phrase: «Enjoy the present »

Because tomorrow you'll feel like you're dying.

Ron was sitting on his bed, holding a glass of water in his left hand, and two small white pills in the other. Angry shouting, coming from downstairs, could be heard through the boys' door. Harry blinked as he recognized Mrs Weasley's furious voice.

Ron said, shoving the glass in his hand,« Here.Muggle remedy, but Bill said you would need it.» Harry put his glasses on and wearily took the pills and the glass of water. Ron looked at him with a wry smile as Harry was swallowing the tablets. Ron quietly said,« Mum's going to kill you guys. She's been screaming for at least twenty minutes. Fred and George are going deaf, down there.»

Harry raised a hand to his forehead as he was thinking about what happened last night: the strong caramelized taste of the liquor –something moved in his stomach and he hastily swallowed – the fire's warmth, the mellow grass, and moonlight touching Ginny's face.

Ginny.

Harry raised his hand to touch his lips as he drew himself up on the pillows, weakly asking, « So, how are Hermione and...er.. your sister this morning?»

Ron bit his lower lip. Harry thought Ron looked somewhat unamused as he chuckled, « Hermione has the mother of all headaches but Ginny looks annoyingly cheerful. She probably did not drink as much as you guys did. The twins look okay, though. Mum is furious because she thinks it means they have indulged before.» Harry scratched his head and rubbed his eyes: Ginny drank as much as they all did.

Harry winced as the most stupid thought flew through his mind.

Maybe there is something true in the old saying about purebloods holding their liquor better.

Ron was absent-mindedly scratching a scar on his freckled arm. Harry grabbed Ron's wrist and turned it over so he could observe the fine, long grazes that disappeared under his sleeves.

Harry felt like he was given a cold shower: he was acting like an idiot, drinking Firewhiskey and playing Quidditch and…being kissed, when his life, their lives had been endangered and the war was raging. This was the time to prepare himself, to grit his teeth and to face his destiny, not to crawl under the Burrow's security blanket.

His head still pounding but cold running through his veins now, Harry broke the silence, « Do they hurt? I mean, your brothers really should not joke about this. That was a nasty attack.» Ron shrugged, leaning on his elbows. «They'd joke about Vol-» he stuttered but pulled himself together as he breathed, «Vol-Voldemort, if they could. The scars don't hurt as much anymore. The healer at St. Mungo's told me that they would eventually fade. But Hermione…» Ron paused and Harry thought that he looked struck by lightning.

Harry let Ron's wrist go and impatiently said, «What, Hermione?»

Ron pressed his hands on his thighs and looked down. His red hair was furiously shining under the harsh light that was coming in. Harry pondered on Ron's worried expression: was that it? Was Hermione sick? Why didn't they tell him? Anger started to flow in his chest as Ron answered, « She did not want us to tell you.»

Harry was tempted to retort something very mean, but the concern on Ron's face looked genuine. Harry muttered, «Since when do you listen to her?» As if he had not heard him, Ron whispered, « She still has those…attacks. It only happens at night: she screams in a way that would make your blood freeze and then, she's really hard to wake up. When she does, she says she has a sharp pain in her stomach. Blimey, it's scary.» Ron shivered as he incredulously added, «Didn't you hear her scream last night?»

Harry shook his head: he had not been in a suitable state to be a witness to Hermione's cries.

Ron's eyes crossed Harry's as he confided, his voice slightly shaking, « Ginny came to get me. She couldn't wake her up. I went to see her.» Harry silently looked at him and Ron added, a little flustered, « I sat beside her. I held her hand. Sometimes it works, but this time I had to shake her a bit and I had to talk loudly to her. She finally woke up, and her eyes, Harry, her eyes…»

Ron's eyes widened and concern crept in Harry's stomach. Ron had lost his nonchalant way of speaking now as he was reminding himself, « She looked like she'd just seen hell. She was shaking so much Ginny had to lie to her side to calm her down and Hermione grabbed her like she was a Portkey.»

Harry knew Hermione had been hit last spring with a vicious hex, but Madam Pomfrey was quite adamant that she would recover. He slowly said, now sitting upright on the bed, trying not to lash in anger at his friend for not telling him this before, «Did she went back to St. Mungo's? Do her parents know?»

Ron gnawed on his nails as he answered, «The healers said they would have to wait for the hidden hex to come out to do anything.» Harry frowned as Ron paused. After a heavy silence, Ron continued, « Yeah, they think there was another spell hidden in the first one, they say that dark magic can conceal that. I know Mum is brewing potions for her and Hermione says it helps. Professor Lupin is reading about hexes and Hermione is going through Dad's old books to read about this. But she did not want to tell that to her parents because,» and Harry thought Ron did a good impression of Hermione as he vehemently said, «honestly, what could the Muggle healers do more?»

Even if Harry was furious and his head threatened to burst open any minute now, he was somehow reminded that he almost lost everything that night. He lost Sirius to the dark veil (his stomach twisted and he urged himself to calm down) and Ron was badly hurt, Hermione was still dealing with the residual of the spell and Ginny, Luna, Neville, Tonks, Lupin, even Professor Dumbledore could have been…He shook his head.

Don't even start to think about this

He swallowed hard, « Why didn't you write to me about this?» Ron indignantly snapped, «I wanted to write, you know. I learned my lesson. Last year, you got so furious with all that secret Order stuff I told Hermione you would go through the roof if you knew she was hiding something. She said it was not hiding, it was keeping silence on something.» «Yeah, there's a world of differences, » retorted Harry.

Really trying not to address Harry's anger, Ron pat his arm, « And you, mate, are you okay?»

Harry took the time to think about this, about what he learned about the prophecy and what his life meant now. He resolved himself to say a few words that were burning his lips, « I'm okay. I think a lot about Sirius though.» He lifted himself from the comfy mattress and picked up his trousers. Ron watched him get dressed, waiting for him to continue. Still turning his back to him, Harry peeked by the window and he shrugged, «Sirius was the only person I considered my family.»

From the corner of his eye, he could see Ron unfold his lengthy frame and soon, their elbows were touching as they were looking out the window, peering at the sunny sky. Harry fought the tears that menaced to moisten his eyes and he cleared his throat. Ron looked away as he murmured, « My family is yours, you know that. You'll be always welcome here.»

Harry nodded: Ron was always so generous with him when he should have been obsessively protective about his family.

Isn't it the most precious thing?

Harry wondered what he had brought – directly and indirectly - to the Weasleys.

Bad news, Percy's voluntary exile from the family and an awful deal of near-death injuries.

«I know, Ron. T-thanks,» said Harry in an awkward manner. As they looked at each other, they heard a knock on the door: Ginny's face peeked in the room and Harry squinted as he saw her radiant smile and her peppy face, suddenly feeling faint.

This is almost insulting. Looking so nice and fresh and lovely and

Ginny smiled at them with a small twinkle in her eye, or so Harry tried to convince himself. « Sorry to disturb, kids, but Mum's waiting for us downstairs. Get ready for a scrub.» Ron rolled his eyes to the sky.


« I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS…MY OWN CHILDREN…WHAT HAVE I FAILED…THIS IS UNEXCUSABLE…HERMIONE, WHAT WOULD YOUR PARENTS THINK….HARRY, GOOD LORD…» Mrs Weasley was shouting and her voice broke as she looked at Ginny. «Oh Ginny, my baby girl, what did your brothers do to you?» she wailed, grabbing her only daughter as Ginny accepted the maternal embrace with a sigh.

Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were standing beside the dinner table where were already sitting a falsely stern Bill and an annoyed Mr. Weasley. The twins had a bored look on their face and Ron was explaining he had nothing to do with this mess. Harry was trying to hold his thoughts together as he could not help glancing at Ginny.

Why isn't she looking at me?

Hermione's face was pallid: she wavered and Ginny grabbed her arm as Bill quickly got up to his feet to help her to a chair, « Hermione, you should sit now. You don't look well.» Hermione uneasily sat on the chair and she held her stomach as she was in pain. Mr Weasley looked concerned and he poured her a glass of pumpkin juice, « Are you fine, dear?» Hermione drew her hands to her face and her muffled voice came behind her fingers, « I had a dream. A bad dream.»

Harry was happy Mrs Weasley stopped shouting: she rubbed her hands together and Harry saw her cast an uncertain glance to her husband. She called, turning her head towards the living room, «Remus, have you found something?» Harry was surprised to see Remus Lupin emerge from the room with a moth-eaten book in his hand. «Superior remedies against jinxes, hexes and spells», read Harry on the torn leather cover.

Lupin's face slightly betrayed his irritation, «I'm working on it, Molly.» He dropped the book on the table and pat Hermione's hand as he sat beside her, « Now, tell me what was your dream about. Was it like the others? What did you see?»

Bill snorted and Harry heard him say, in a very deep and low voice, «Pulling a Trewlaney, Remus?»

Lupin did not hear that, or perhaps he decided to ignore Bill: he watched Hermione take a quick sip of pumpkin juice. She raised her head and her haunted eyes disturbed Harry: the Hermione that was looking at him now was miles away from the laughing, charming, drunk-to-her-eyes girl who leaned on him yesterday evening.

His anger dissipated quickly: hesitantly, he rested a supportive hand on her shoulder.

Her voice quivered and Lupin took her hand in his to comfort her, as she started to tell him, trying to assure her voice, « The dream is…I'm in a huge room with very high ceilings. It looks like Hogwarts, but I'm pretty sure it's not. Ron and Ginny are there…and Luna Lovegood.» A wrinkle creased her forehead. «Neville too, I think. I feel I have to find Harry, it's hugely important that I do so, but he's nowhere to be found. I hear screams coming from all over the place. And then I see him…Harry. He's standing in front of a strong…a bright haze. He's talking, he's saying something but I don't understand a word…He takes a step into it and I can't see him anymore. I'm screaming, I'm running towards the haze that is getting darker, I want to go fetch him, but there is a voice…»

Hermione kept silence for a moment. Harry felt his head violently pounding as his pulse accelerated. « The voice said I couldn't go there. I could hear this terrible, horrible laugh and it becomes blurry after that. I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I want to conjure something, but nothing comes to mind, my mind is blank…» Her voice rose sharply in panic as she said the last words and she abruptly ended her sentence. Harry was getting jittery.

Bright haze, not coming back...fits the profile. Hermione has been dreaming for weeks now that I'm dying.

«And then you wake up,» murmured Lupin, stroking her hand, furtively glancing at Arthur Weasley. Hermione nodded and Harry heard again Bill's deep voice, «Severe post-hex trauma…don't look further.»

Lupin wiped the tear that fell on his hand from Hermione's eye and Harry could not help noticing that all the eyes in the room were alternately looking at his friend and at him. Ginny lowered her eyes, as she was tightly pursing her lips.

Hermione swallowed back her tears and she asked Lupin with haste, «Do you think I'm dreaming about the future or the past?» Lupin shook his head and gently scolded her, «Now Hermione, you know better than this. Dreams are dreams. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't go looking for something that isn't there. Maybe your body is trying to liberate itself from the spell.»

After that statement, Harry thought that was quite paradoxical that Lupin asked, « Do you remember anything else?»

Hermione frowned and Ron poured pumpkin juice in her glass again. She added, «The thing is, the voice is not trying to scare me. It's sad, really soft but so sad…what scares me is not seeing Harry. I know I'm dreaming but I get caught in it because it feels so real, I can touch people around me…I feel defenseless, I feel like Harry is d-» She stopped and hid her face again behind her hands.

Ron was clasping his hands, clearly hesitant to touch her. Harry saw Lupin articulate in silence to Mr Weasley something that suspiciously looked like «Order of the Phoenix». Molly Weasley tenderly stroke Hermione' s bushy hair and said slowly, «Shush, sweetheart. It's only a dream. Harry's here. You're all taken care of.»

Suddenly, the front door opened and Nymphadora Tonks came in, holding the longest french bread Harry had ever seen in his life. «Wotcher, guys, » she chirped as she added with an amused frown, «Yikes, Harry, you look like you boozed your brains out…» She held what she was going to say, as she watched Hermione silently sobbing in her hands.

Lupin rested his chin in his hand and slowly said, « This cannot go on. The poor girl is afraid of sleeping now. Arthur, we should bring her back to St. Mungo's.»

Bill was scratching his scruffy cheek and he slowly spoke, « I just thought…could she had been hit with a contamination spell? I've seen those on embalmed bodies in Egypt, but it's as old and nasty dark magic as it can get. I wouldn't be surprise to see this coming from a Death Eater. I am not sure I've seen any on these conjured on alive beings, I mean, alive human beings. But when you want to do a lot of damage, those kinds of spells can do a lot of harm. »

Tonks opened her already large eyes and shrieked, « CONTAMINATION SPELL! Man, those are nasty buggers and they're tough to sort out.» Harry would have been amused another day to see her hair go from shocking pink to lemon yellow, but she looked dead serious as she asked, «Who's got hit with a Contamino? Hermione?» Lupin shook his head, «It's only an assumption. The Healers at St. Mungo's have no idea. We should get back there for more tests.»

Tonks dropped the bread on the table and shrugged, «Contamino has a counter-spell, but it's a bloody tough one to conjure. I don't remember what it is…Bill, does Pazlumina make any sense to you?» Bill corrected, suddenly animated, «You mean Paxlumina. Yeah, I heard about it. »

Hermione clearly wanted to hear more from Tonks, but Mr Weasley, in a surprisingly harsh voice, inquired to the young Auror, «How do you know about those spells? They don't teach you that in Auror training, do they?» Tonks looked bewildered, as she answered back, "Well… Arthur…Er…No. They don't really dabble into that, but Mum has a huge collection of dark magic books since she needs them for her work. I read a few of them, a long time ago. I guess it must have stuck in my memory.»

Harry felt uneasy: Mr Weasley was looking at Tonks with a very serious face and Mrs Weasley was fidgeting, looking at her husband, her face frozen in a stern demeanour.

Hermione calmed down and Harry could not help but shake his head when he saw her intently listening to Tonks, «Potions can help to make the spell go away, but sometimes, it needs to be extracted from you in another way. Healers specialized in dark magic can do that. But even with all the hoopla about gender equality hiring at St. Mungo's, it's getting tougher to find a female Healer.» Lupin scratched his head and bluntly asked, « Why a female Healer?»

Tonks sat besides Bill and she retorted, her eyes contradicting her scornful tone, « My, my…Good ol' fashioned male chauvinist, are you, Remus? To my knowledge, only women, witches can extract a contamination spell by using the Paxlumina. Ah, don't worry, Hermione; I think it only leaves a small crescent shaped scar. Mum works sometimes with those dark magic Healers and she told me once this incredible story about a male Healer who tried it and the poor chap got a lump as big as a Quaffle in his stomach. He died. Not good. »

«Bearers can do that too,» Bill spurted out, looking almost surprised he had spoken up.

Lupin looked at him with an unusual impatience, snapping, « A Bearer? Where do you think you're going to find a Bearer?» Bill pulled on his ponytail with a distracted hand and he murmured, somewhat unconvinced, «I have no idea.»

Tonks fished in Bill's plate for a piece of toast, « Remus, this could be so much easier that you think. You know, there's an Auror who happens to be a Bearer that works for the Ministry. She's not a Healer but maybe she'll…» Harry jolted when Lupin soundly clapped his hands together. His eyes were gleaming a warning to Tonks. She startled and she then intently munched the piece of toast, exchanging a covert look with Bill. Fred and George wailed at the same time, «What's a Bearer? What are you not saying?»

Adults exchanged knowing looks but they did not care to answer. Harry clenched his fists when he understood that the omerta was falling again on the Burrow.


To be continued...