Nightmares of Veils
A/N: Hello! Thank you for the great reviews... You all make me so happy! Here's the chapter I was so anxious about... Hope you guys like it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Um... No. Just the plot.
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The only sound that broke the stillness of the place was the cluttering of metal doors opening, as a girl stumbled out of the telephone box, panting and crying. She was out of breath and sweaty from all the running, even though she had ended up apparating right in front of the 'normal' Ministry entrance. So many memories sprung from the shadows and threw themselves at her, overwhelming and vivid! Hermione leaned against the nearer wall to regain oxygen and closed her eyes, waving her hand as though scaring a fly away.
"Go away... Stop..." she whispered, trying to protect herself from the ghosts that insisted on haunting her... She couldn't stay in the Atrium any longer. Wiping her eyes with her eyes she blinked, clearing her view, and walked towards the dreaded elevator. Her shaking finger pressed the button and the door opened immediately; the shadows sneered at her, daring her to get on. Well, she did, and they laughed mockingly at her useless bravery. As she found the button with the nine on it she could almost see half of the DA standing beside her; she could remember the icy feeling in her stomach when she stood next to Harry, thinking that Sirius was in danger... The thought that Harry's nightmare had not been real; the uncertainty of what was waiting for them behind those doors.
"Department of Mysteries."
Silence preceded that statement. There were no more memories, no more ghosts, and no more guiltiness. A dark corridor and a black door, those were the only two things invading her mind. She was lured out of the lift by that powerful force that taunted her to find the courtroom... As though someone had pulled a string around her stomach, Hermione began to run towards the doors with a crazed look, barely noticing how the torches hanging from the walls flared every time she went pass one... She stopped dead in her tracks, staring up at the closed door, and, before she could even touch the wood it was made of, it opened as though Hermione had kicked it.
With a strangled gasp she stepped inside the circular room, which had not changed one bit since her fifth year. Hermione was not scared anymore, but the sight of the blue fire and the doors unnerved her. She closed the door that lead to the lift and closed her eyes tightly as the room begun to spin; soon the sound stopped and she opened her eyes, looking around. Which door to choose? She couldn't go trying them all- too much precious time would be wasted. Was there another way? Hermione was absolutely certain that none of her friends would find the note until tomorrow, or much later tonight, and she'd be long dead by then... But she didn't want to take anything for granted. Maybe... If she... "Courtroom?" The empty room amplified her small voice; for a couple of seconds nothing happened. Then, a door at her right silently opened. Covering her mouth, Hermione moved forwards, stepping through the doorframe... The door closed itself behind her. She was standing in the top benches, staring down at the sunken pit as her eyes got adjusted to the dim light of the place.
Hermione just stood there in silence, suddenly at loss of what to do. It was not that she already knew- It was only the realization of what she was about to do. She lowered her head as she stepped done one bench after the other like a robot, not daring to look up. After what it felt like a lifetime, her feet found no more benches, no more steps; and she let the silence envelop her as she slowly opened her eyes. Through the oceans of sorrow that streamed from her eyes, Hermione saw it.
Saw it...
None of her steps were doubtful or faltering. Whispers reached her ears clearly; telling her of things which she could not understand but were needed. Faint and faded words of comfort and guidance... Long lost voices which Hermione could recognize and wanted to hear again. Her eyes were fixated on the dais; her body moved towards it inevitably, attracted by some powerful and unavoidable force of inertia-
The voices and whispers become stronger and anxious; they meshed together and Hermione couldn't decipher what they said. They, the people in there, they were happy she was here... Someone waited to see her, even talk to her... Someone in there still loved her, despite all the things she had done. Hermione managed to crack a small smile at the whispers. "I'm coming," she whispered hoarsely, and the Veil fluttered in anticipation. Hermione's trembling hand reached out to touch the stone (somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered herself telling Harry not to it); the voices grew and grew, and the whispers became a sort of soft breeze, a powerful lullaby... And her fingers touched the dais.
The stone was freezing to the touch, and for a couple of seconds a silence so thick fell that it was almost palpable. Hermione's mouth opened but no sound came out, and her eyes widened. Her fingers wouldn't lift from the hard surface of the dais, and the Veil quivered impatiently. Beyond the fabric (if it was a fabric) lay a darkness so profound and real- it looked like the very essence of black; the lack of colour, the lack of life. Hermione's heart beat in her throat, and snakes started moving inside her stomach.
With tremendous effort to tear her sight from that blackness, Hermione looked down at herself. She took her wand out of her back pocket and, with some effort, released her other hand from the magnetic force of the dais to retrieve the vial from her other pocket. With the same hand she held her wand she ripped out the small badge the lift had given her, letting it fall to the floor. Hermione placed her wand on the floor and uncorked the vial with quivering fingers. Feeling nothing but hollowness inside, Hermione bent down to retrieve her wand. She didn't know if it was the Veil or herself, but she wanted to see the darkness that rested beyond the Veil again. Hermione closed her eyes as she pointed her wand at herself, and breathed in deeply.
"Ego mutare meus corpus ob vestrum," she recited emotionlessly, in a quiet yet booming voice. The whispers coming from the Veil did not disturb her anymore... From the tip of her wand a white substance crawled out, momentarily encasing Hermione in a warm yet cold mist which faded seconds after it had appeared. She reopened her eyes and let her wand drop to the floor; she sighed longingly and, tightly clutching the vial, drank the potion inside in one huge gulp.
The vial fell to the floor and broke into a dozen shards which flew in every direction, glistening innocently in the cold light of the torches.
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Two loud pops made Harry turn around quickly, wand out, its tip alight. A red eyed Ginny and a white Ron stared at him, also taking their wand out quickly. Why, they did not know... Maybe, the memories that this place brought, at this time of night, had left permanent scars in them. The three nodded at each other in silence and ran towards the elevator; Ron pressed the button and they waited... Waited... The door opened and they stepped inside hastily, Harry started hammering the number nine and cursed under his breathe at the slowness of the closing doors. The elevator rattled downwards and Harry's anxiousness heightened to indescribable heights.
Please, Hermione... Let me find her. Please, let us find her before she does something stupid...
The lift came to a halt and the doors opened again, revealing that wretched corridor. The torches burned peacefully, hanging from the walls. "Come on!" Harry urged, running out of the elevator with Ron and Ginny behind him.
"Hermione!" Ginny suddenly screeched as they ran, "Hermione, don't do anything!" The passageway amplified her plead but did not communicate it. Harry pushed the black door open.
"Hermione??" He called. "Hermione, stop!" He begged, looking around widely, expecting Hermione to come through one of the dozen doors, crying and scared, but alive. Maybe she would hear their voices... The black door closed and the room spun around them with that amazing speed, the blue fire momentarily blinding him.
"Which one? Which one?" Ron desperately murmured, glancing at each of the doors. "Hermione, where are you?" He tried.
"The courtroom!" Harry bellowed, staring at all directions, waiting for a door to open. "There!" He exclaimed, pointing just behind them. Ron and Ginny scrambled inside, again shouting Hermione's name. When Harry entered, the memories almost made him physically recoil from that place. He did not want to be there, he wanted to go away; he didn't want Hermione to be in there... And then, as if someone had thrown cold water down his neck, realization dawned down on him.
She wasn't there. But that could only mean... It could only... No... No. Please, no...
"Her- Hermione?" Ginny squeaked as she went down the benches, probably imaging that her friend was hiding. Below them, on the dais, the Veil jittered. Harry and Ron followed Ginny down towards the pit without a word, too scared to speak... Too empty to form a coherent phrase. Harry let his eyes wander through the room, feeling slightly light headed... It was hard to believe that he was actually there, in that place, staring at the dais... Ron circled the Veil and shook his head, his eyes looking strangely bloodshot. Harry gazed at Ginny bending over to lift something, and started sobbing again. Harry stepped closer to her and caught sight of what she was holding.
Hermione's wand.
His view became slightly blurry, but he wasn't crying. His heart had stopped beating, but he wasn't dead. His body was heavy and tired, but he was not sleepy... His feet faltered and he stumbled to his side, feeling slightly drunk. Ginny's cries were like buzzes in his ears, and Ron's mouth was moving in slow motion... Harry tried to speak, but his voice was lost... He stretched out his arms, trying to take hold of something to keep his balance, but his miscalculated and he heavily fell, knees first, on the hard floor, feeling the coldness of the stone on his cheek.
"Haaaarry?" A carrying voice asked. "Haaaarry..." His mouth opened again, but the only sound that came out was a hoarse gasp accompanied by a silent, tearless sob.
"Harry, mate!" Ron said through the tears that fell from his own eyes. He kneeled down and shook his friend from the shoulders. Harry was shaking... "Ginny, help me!" He added, looking up at his sister, who rushed next to his brother's side.
"He's- He's in shock," she croaked fearfully. But before either of them could utter another word, Harry opened his eyes and looked up at them. His tears had left a small puddle of water on the floor.
He started laughing.
Ron and Ginny widened their eyes at his maniacal laughter, growing even more scared than before. Harry sprung up, doubling over with laughter, and stepped away from them.
"Harry-"
"She- Hermione- She told me she loved me!" Harry confessed in a high pitched voice, out of air. "She told me she loved me- And then she threw herself through the Veil!" He added, crying and laughing at the same time.
To say that the very sight of him like this was pathetically heartbreaking was an understatement.
"Harry!" Ginny sobbed. "You're scaring us!" But Harry paid no heed to her and continued laughing hysterically.
"Are you two going to kill yourselves, too?" Harry asked them, almost giggling. "Maybe the three of us should jump, too!" He told them. Ron's face was by this point as white as milk.
"Calm down-"
"Yeah, you two are also going to leave me... I know!" He exclaimed, his voice becoming an echo in the room. "Why should I care? Sirius, Dumbledore, Hermione! They're all dead now!" He added, laughing louder. Ginny stepped forwards, trembling.
"I'm sorry, Harry." And without further ado she slapped him hard on the face, making him stumble backwards. He touched his now red cheek and blinked, looking at them as if he was seeing them for the first time. His lower lip was trembling. Silence took hold of them as Harry registered what had just happened... He let his body drop unceremoniously to the floor, and just sat there without doing anything for a while, while the tears rolled down his cheeks. Ginny hugged Ron, still sobbing.
And the Veil swayed back and forth endlessly...
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They didn't and couldn't know what she did it. What drove her to end her life. There were too many lost pieces in this puzzle; pieces which she alone had the power to grab, rearrange, and understand. They only knew that it involved Sirius Black and Hermione Granger, but for the life of them they couldn't see the connection; they couldn't find the pieces that united those two persons... They had yet to discover the bridge which Hermione had crossed.
There were only nightmares of Veils and inscrutable darkness.
And yet, unbeknownst to them, this was not the end. This was only the beginning...
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A/N: Well, there you go! Ah! I loved writing this chapter. Which, I may point out, is not nearly the last one! I'd love to hear what you think of this so far... So don't forget to leave a review! On the other hand, I'm feeling very happy with the fact that this story has been hit 7030 times. Wow! I feel like I should thank you. Anyway... Hope you liked it. Until next chapter! Bye!