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Hermione couldn't see anything but darkness. It was as if her eyes were closed, so black were her surroundings. She had a distinct feeling that she was supposed to be doing something, but she couldn't remember what it was. Scanning her thoughts she tried to recall something terribly important. Nothing. All she could focus on was the never ending dark.
Then, Ron was there.
"Ron!" she called in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
She rushed forward, her arms outstretched to touch him. She was suddenly filled with such relief to see him, as if he had been gone for ages.
"Don't you already know?" Ron replied. His voice sounded far away from her and she took a step closer to him. As she did, he moved back just a pace. "I've come for you."
"You have?" Hermione's voice was filled with wonder, her whole being hypnotized by the image in front of her.
"Course," Ron replied. "Don't you remember, the Sylvan Court?"
Hermione nodded. She did remember. Right, she was here because of the Sylvan trial; she was being tested. But what did that have to do with Ron? Hermione opened her mouth but Ron interrupted her.
"There's one more task Hermione, and it's not going to be easy."
She didn't understand. How did Ron already know what it was?
"We can do it together," Hermione said in a small voice.
Ron shook his head slowly, a look of pity on his face.
"We can't Hermione. We have to make a choice. This isn't going to end well and somebody has to lose."
"What do you mean?" Hermione whispered anxiously.
"One of us is going to die."
Ron said it simply, as a matter of fact. Hermione's hands flew to cover her mouth, willing the words unsaid. It couldn't be. She wouldn't accept it.
"No. That's not true."
Ron nodded stoically at her, as if it was already done. Without another word, he turned and walked away from her.
"Wait!" she shouted, chasing after him. "Where are you going?"
She picked up her pace, but no matter how quickly she moved, she couldn't get closer to him, even though he was walking at a smooth steady pace.
"Come back here, Ronald Weasley! Don't you dare walk away from me!"
He ignored her cries, continuing on, always out of her reach. Suddenly, a giant stone figure appeared, blocking Ron's progression, and Ron was finally still. Speeding up even more, Hermione neared the scene in front of her. Is that a chess piece? The magical object made no sense to her, but her questions were halted as the piece raised a large, menacing sword. She turned to look at Ron, to see if he had any understanding of what was going on. Hermione froze upon looking at Ron. In one swift move he had stepped forward, walking openly into the path of the falling sword. The weapon impaled him in an instant and Hermione felt a shriek pulled out of her.
Ron dropped to the floor, a pool of blood forming underneath him. Hermione fell to the ground where he lay, screaming as she went. When she landed, however, Ron had vanished. Her hands scrambled, trying to find him. She had trouble seeing through the wall of tears in her eyes. She heard a movement and snapped her head forward. There stood Ron once again, standing straight and seemingly unharmed. Hermione let out a shaky breath of gratitude.
"Ron! Ron, come back!"
Hermione rushed forward again, ignoring the illogic of Ron being slain before her and then standing ten feet from her a moment later. As she drew close to Ron a second time, grinning at the relief of seeing him alive, her vision was obscured by a giant, black beast dropping from the sky. Hermione jumped out of the way and looked up to realize it was a type of spider. An acromantula. Relief flooded Hermione's senses, despite the frightening creature. Ron's afraid of spiders, he'll turn and run. Instead, Hermione watched in horror as Ron quickly rushed the acromantula. The massive spider easily flipped him on his back, leaping on Ron's chest and attacking.
"Noooo!" Hermione screamed as she ran. Her feet were moving but it was taking her an impossibly long time to reach Ron. She kept her eyes glued to the scene, watching as the acromantula's fangs pierced Ron's neck over and over, the venom flooding his veins. He looked pale and he was losing consciousness. Hermione sobbed and ran as Ron's eyes slipped closed and he became frighteningly still. Finally, she reached her goal and leapt to throw herself in the middle of the struggle.
Once more, Ron was gone. She slammed her fist on the ground in panic, confusion, rage and fear pulsing through her.
"Ron…Ron, where are you?"
His shout alerted her attention and she saw him there, finally, a short distance away from her and fighting with some sort of beast. The pair were wrestling on the ground, Ron grunting as he tried to fight off…was that a dog? Hermione moved quickly, but it felt like she was trudging through quicksand. The animal was hurting Ron. Something about it seemed familiar. It's shaggy, black hair reminded her of something she had seen before. Didn't Sirius look like that in his animagus form? That didn't make sense. What would Sirius be doing here and why would he be hurting Ron? And there was something else, something she was forgetting. Hadn't something happened to Sirius, hadn't it been a while since she'd seen him to begin with. What had happened to him?
Her thoughts felt sluggish. She only knew she had to get to Ron. The beast upon him ripped mercilessly at his throat and Ron screamed in pain. Hermione echoed his wails, sobbing herself as she struggled toward him. When she at last threw herself over him, he once again disappeared just before she should have reached him.
"Oh God!" Hermione wailed. She couldn't take this. Ron was dying over and over and she couldn't save him. It was more than that. Ron wasn't getting out of the way. Why did he keep throwing himself in the way of danger, damn it? It was as if he was…sacrificing himself.
She saw him then, walking a straight line away from her, his back toward her. Hermione ran again, with all she had, making slow work of shortening the distance between them. As he walked, Hermione saw a goblet materialize in Ron's hands. He drank down the contents without hesitation, his step immediately faltering. He staggered as he walked and Hermione saw foam forming at his mouth. Poison. He's been poisoned. She kept running, screaming at him to stop. He kept moving, this time jerking forward for a moment. He hit the ground and began convulsing, the poison foam still spilling from his mouth and blood gushing from his shoulder. The shirt was torn there and Hermione saw a chunk of his flesh missing, almost as if he'd been splinched.
"Stop the bleeding…stop the bleeding!" Hermione cried as she ran. Her arms were outstretched, the better to touch him as soon as possible. But then he vanished, the force of it pulling Hermione to the ground. She sobbed into the floor, knowing Ron would be gone once more when she looked up.
"Please," she gasped into her fists. "Please no more!"
Her cries echoed around her, drowning her in a sea of agony. She felt like retching, but knew she had to find Ron. He was gone and she had to get to him before he could be hurt yet again.
"Bring me the mudblood."
Hermione's head snapped up at the sound. It was said in a low growl, so unlike any other voice on Earth. She knew its owner in an instant.
Bellatrix Lestrange stood twenty yards away. In front of her, so close within the maniacal woman's reach, was Ron. Upon hearing Bellatrix's demand, Ron dropped to his knees in front of the witch.
"No," he said, his voice a forceful plea. "You can have me. Take me."
With that, Bellatrix turned her wand on Ron and yelled in a loud, piercing voice, "Crucio!"
Ron's body hit the floor in a constant spasm. Hermione's screams echoed his as she ran, ran blindly. Bellatrix rained a stream of curses on him, never ceasing, and Ron's body jerked with each moment. He was writhing on the floor and Hermione couldn't get to him, her screams the only thing that could reach him. Bellatrix continued her assault, each curse seeming to bring Ron more pain. Finally, the witch pulled her wand back far behind her head, throwing her arm forward again as she screamed in a venomous voice, "Avada kedavra!"
Green light shot at Ron and Hermione hurled herself through the air, giving up on trying to keep her feet on the ground. The magic swirled toward Ron, and Hermione came near enough just in time to see the curse hit, his blue eyes, so alive and full of warmth, going still and cold.
Hermione hit the ground and her body rolled. She curled her limbs in around herself, the sobs coming in constant waves. Her whole body shook and it felt as if she would never be still again. Her bones felt bruised, her head felt shattered. She could focus on nothing but the pain and the cries that were being torn from her, one after the other.
"Shh," a soothing voice said. "Shh, it's all right."
Hermione felt a cool hand stroking her scalp and heard more whispered words. Someone was holding her, she realized. Opening her eyes, desperate to see if it was Ron, she stared through blurry eyes to see Ginny there. Her friend was rocking her gently on the ground, holding Hermione's arms tight so she couldn't get away.
"Boggarts, remember?"
A shudder passed through Hermione as Ginny's words sank in. Oh thanks heavens. It wasn't real, none of that was real. The realization only served to make Hermione cry harder now, weeping in relief.
"Oh God, Ginny!' Hermione wailed.
"I know, I know." Ginny kept stroking Hermione's hair, desperate to provide some comfort. "It's over, it's all over."
Hermione looked up again to see the other girls standing over her, expressions of sympathy on each face. Looking back at Ginny, Hermione realized her friend had been crying as well.
"I can't take anymore," Hermione said seriously. "I-it's too much."
"We have to keep going," Ginny said, her voice warm with sympathy. "You know that."
It was then Hermione noticed yet another door, placed directly behind where the group now stood. Catching where Hermione was looking, Olivia walked forward and pulled the heavy door open. The girls began to walk through as Ginny helped pull Hermione up to a standing position. Accepting her fate, Hermione walked through last, secure in the knowledge that whatever lay behind the door, nothing could be worse than what she had just faced.