Chapter Seventeen
Yell
Before Harry, Ron, or Hermione could react, Mrs. Weasley had stepped into the kitchen, her arms full of vegetables.
"Ginny, can you help me with these? I need them chopped for dinner tonight-" Mrs. Weasley looked up and saw whom Ginny was with. She dropped the vegetables, her mouth agape.
"You three-?" She stammered.
"Um…." Ron began.
"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!"
Without further ado, Mrs. Weasley swept the three of them into a bone-crushing hug, making Hermione feel very suffocated.
"Gah!" Ron exclaimed.
When she finally let go of them, Hermione swept her hair out of her eyes and looked up.
"I thought-you're all right! Oh my God, I was so worried…are you hurt? You don't look hurt?"
"Uh…" Harry seemed speechless.
"I was SO WORRIED! I'm so glad you're alive! I-I- how could you do that? How could you just disappear on us like that? Do you have any idea what your father and I went through? What we all went through? How on EARTH COULD YOU DO THAT?"
Hermione could now see Mrs. Weasley was working herself into righteous rage. Harry cut her off.
"Mrs. Weasley, this is all my fault. I'm the one who wanted to leave because I knew the Death Eater thing at the wedding was my fault. Ron and Hermione wanted to come along, but I really should have tried harder to stop them. I'm really sorry."
Mrs. Weasley stared at Harry, her lip quivering. For a second, Hermione thought she was going to yell again. But instead, she scooped Harry into her arms, breaking down crying.
She let go of him wiping her eyes. "You must be starving…I'll get you some food."
Ginny, who had been watching the whole thing in bemusement, now rolled her eyes, while the trio exchanged stunned looks.
Before Hermione knew it, she was sitting at the table next to Ron, while Mrs. Weasley prepared ten kinds of food. She let loose a stream of admonishments at them while she cooked, but she wasn't yelling. As she shoved the plates at the table, Ginny sat casually next to Harry, making him look uncomfortable and dig into his tripe with more relish than was absolutely necessary. Ginny complicated matters even more by pressing her arm against his and Hermione couldn't help but smile. But as Mrs. Weasley was telling Ron that Hogwarts was opening late this year, a week from now at the beginning of November, Ginny noticed something.
"Um, Harry, why are you using your fork with your left hand?"
Hermione's head snapped up immediately. "What? Harry, it's been a week, your hand is supposed to be all right by now."
"It is!" Harry assured her. "It's just-um not quite, as well as it could be yet…"
"But it's SUPPOSED to be. It's supposed to have gotten better!"
"It is getting better! It's just taking a while!"
"It's taking too long!"
"What are you talking about?" Ginny interjected.
"Harry hurt his hand, Ron and I fixed it, it was supposed to be better by now," Hermione said shortly.
"It is better!"
Mrs. Weasley had joined the group now, looking slightly shocked. "Use your fork with your right hand then."
"Er…" Harry tried clumsily to pick up his fork, managed to spear some food on it, but as he tried to bring it to his mouth, his fingers slipped and he dropped it on the plate.
"All right, you lot, let's get this checked out," Mrs. Weasley said briskly. "Off to St. Mungo's, come on."
"It really is getting better," Harry said. "It's just taking a bit longer…"
"We were going to check it out anyway remember?" Hermione said. She turned slightly as she thought she saw something flash in the corner of her eye. "Hmmm…"
The five of them crowded into the fireplace, and before they knew it, they were in St. Mungo's waiting room, which was filled with people.
"Now, we'll just get this checked out. Maybe you two need to be checked too, I have no idea what you've been doing…" Mrs. Weasley muttered.
"What have you been doing?" Ginny whispered to Hermione.
"Stuff to stop Voldemort," Hermione whispered back.
"Can't you tell me?"
"You'll have to talk to Harry about that. I think we should tell you. I'll try to get him to."
"Okay, thanks for the letters, by the way," Ginny said in a normal voice. "Mum would've gone spare without them." She turned to Ron. "Notice you didn't send any."
"Figure Hermione wrote enough for all three of us combined," Ron shrugged.
One again, Hermione thought she saw something yellow at the corner of her eye. The room seemed dimmer…she looked around. Ron was looking at his feet, Ginny was talking animatedly, and Harry was listening to something Mrs. Weasley was saying in confusion… nothing yellow…
Then she saw it. The eyes. She gasped and jumped back.
"Hermione?" Ginny asked.
"Eyes…" Hermione muttered. "Must've imagined them."
"Huh? Hey, what's with Harry?"
Harry was not staring at Mrs. Weasley in shock, backing away slightly. Ron was tugging at his pant legs.
"What's with you-?" Ginny began, but suddenly there was a flash of darkness and yellow eyes were in front of her. Hermione began to scream, but as soon as she started, it was gone, a bemused Ginny in it's place.
"Oh my God! Hermione, your arm! It's turning green!"
Hermione looked down and saw Ginny was right with a jolt. She remembered seeing her skin looking slightly greenish after fighting off the yellow-eyed projection of her fears…she had thought little of it…
"Oh no," Hermione muttered. She looked at Ron who was climbing up on a chair, and Harry whose face was getting whiter and whiter the more Mrs. Weasley tried desperately to ask him what was wrong.
"Ginny…I think…we've been…cursed…" Hermione managed to say, before the redhead was plowed down by a yellow eyed monster.
"GINNY!" All was dark. The monster snarled at her. Somehow through the pitch black she could see blood dripping from it's fangs.
"AIIIIEEEE!" She let out a scream.
"Get them…hospital…sedatives…cursed…"
The monster was ripping off someone's head, was it Harry's or Ron's?
"Harry! I don't hate you! …I AM NOT SIRIUS! Ron, stop, there's no dead hands…Hermione! Bloody knock them out already!"
"RON! Dear, wake up! Hermione! Harry!"
The monsters breath was on her face, she couldn't move…. she could see everybody, everybody she cared about down it's throat…waiting for her to join them…she couldn't see…she was helpless…
"HELP!" she cried.
"You heard her!"
Everything was darkness now.
I wouldn't have died if it weren't for you…you tried to save me, but you ended up killing me. You were too angry, too selfish, too shortsighted. NOW LOOK AT ME.
Slimy dead hands, grabbing his ankles pulling him down. The hands were connected to torsos…faces…sightless dead faces…yet they looked familiar…
Teeth gnawed at her skin…foul breath stung her nostrils…she was useless against creatures…she was useless…where was everyone…
Death followed you since the day you were born…death follows you wherever you go…you can't win…
Sightless, eyeless, thoughtless…Harry? Hermione? Mum? They all stared blankly…dead…pulling him down…
Everyone was gone…she was all alone with the monster…so many mistakes…she hated mistakes…she was the last one. And she was going to fail.
You should have tried harder. You don't think this will keep going? Everyone will die. Everyone who knows you. I learned that the hard way. You can't stop it.
Dead flesh…made his skin crawl…everyone…he was being pulled down into a living graveyard…
Blood…everywhere…blood…dead…she couldn't see it…she couldn't fight it…if only she'd said goodbye…
You think you can stop me? You're just a kid. You will fail. You know you will.
You
Will
All
Fail.
Hear a sound
No.
What?
No.
No.
Okay, then.
You are so weird.
Ron?
Hermione?
Harry?
DEATH.
Shut up!
You okay?
Cured.
Cool.
DIE!
STOP IT!
Hermione woke up, her breathing shallow. She was in…snow? No, it was just a white room. St. Mungo's!
"Hello," A Healer was standing over her.
"Oh…hi…what happened?"
"You were victim of an advanced curse. We weren't sure exactly what it was. But it looks like we cured it."
IWe?/I Hermione looked down at her arms. They were no longer green in any way. "What about-?"
"Hermione!" Ginny came rushing in the room. "You're awake too! Harry and Ron just woke up as well!"
"Uhhhh…"
"The three of you were having some sort of fit. God, it was scary. They fixed Harry's hand, said it was just healing a bit slowly. Commended whoever did it. Said they reattached all the bones perfectly. Bet it was you. How did Harry get his arm cut off?"
"Er…"
"Oh, sorry," Ginny hugged Hermione. "I'm glad you're all right."
"How long were we sick?"
"Five hours. Even after you were unconscious, you were screaming and your body was jumping around…here comes Mum."
"Hermione! You're awake too, dear. All three of you woke up at the same time! How are you feeling?" Mrs. Weasley bustled beside Hermione's bed.
"Everything's normal. She just needs to rest," the Healer informed Mrs. Weasley.
"It's the same with Harry and Ron, ohhhh…" Mrs. Weasley hugged Hermione. "What on earth happened?"
"I have no idea.…" Hermione muttered.
"Well, St. Mungo's is going to keep you for a few hours. We've got the rest of the family here, well, except for Percy, we can't reach him, Charlie's going to leave as soon as we get you three home…but they should be by…. here's Fred and George!"
Mrs. Weasley swept out of the room so the twins could sweep in.
"Hermione's up!" George dumped several items from Weasley's Wizarding Wheeze's in her lap. "Presents!"
"Er, thanks," Hermione said.
"Skiving Snackboxes. Oh, yeah, that's a great gift for Hermione," Ginny said.
"I know she has a secret desire for them," George said confidently.
"So what were you doing in your leave of absence?" Fred asked. "Let me guess, you and Ron eloped!"
"Ew!"
"Why would Harry go with them, then?" Ginny rolled her eyes.
"To watch, of course. Nigh inseparable, you three."
"Yeah…" George said. "The others may have been worried about you, but we weren't."
"Nope, not us."
"They were," Ginny whispered.
"So, when are we going to tell Mum about the happy couple?" George asked.
"I wish I was unconscious again," Hermione groaned.
"She made a joke!"
"Now there's something you don't see every day. Document it, George!"
"Leave her alone you two," Bill said from the doorway. "Hi Hermione."
And every member of the family came by to visit Hermione. In a couple hours though, they were discharged, and able to go back to the Burrow. Harry's hand worked perfectly now, and Ron was okay as well. They all wanted to know where the three of them had been.
"We have to tell them," Hermione muttered to Harry.
"I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't tell anyone but you two!" Harry hissed.
"Things have changed. We can't not tell them. Mum will decapitate us," Ron muttered.
"I promised! I can't break it."
"Hmmm…" Ron mused. "I don't recall making a promise. Hermione?"
"Nope. Looks like we're in the clear," they both looked at Harry.
"They won't let us go."
"They wouldn't anyhow. We'll have to sneak out by ourselves, in a few days."
Harry was silent for a moment, looking into his cup of tea very sadly. Hermione wished once again that Harry and Ron would TALK about things. But she was fighting a losing battle.
"All right. You can tell. But just Ginny and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Harry sighed.
"Cool!" Ginny suddenly popped out of nowhere.
"AAACK! GINNY!" Ron jumped as did Harry and Hermione.
"So tell me, tell me!" Ginny jumped into a chair beside them.
"Were you SPYING on us?" Ron cried.
"No, I was just coming into the kitchen."
"Yeah, I believe that."
"Grow up, Ron. So TELL ME! You just said you would."
"You scared us!" Ron snapped, clearly still angry.
Ginny rolled her eyes and turned to Hermione. "Hermione? You'll tell me won't you?"
Hermione looked over at her friends. Ron was sulking now. Harry shrugged at her and went back to his tea.
"Okay, Ginny," Hermione began. "Now this may come as a bit of a shock, but, well, there was a sort of…prophecy…"
"Truth and belief are a stallion and a mule," –What Happened to Lani Garver, By Carol Plum- Ucci