Disclaimer- Still not JK Rowling and I do not own Harry Potter. Just playing with him for a while.

Out of all the chapters I have written(remembering that I have completed this story!) this is my least favorite chapter. I have tried rewritting it but I could never make it 'right' There are some important things that happen in this chapter... but it still the one I like the least. Hopefully you don't give up on me and can bare to make it through! The next ones are better! In my humble oppinion anyway! :)

Chapter Twenty-One

The Madness Within?

Taylor was sitting in the Great Hall finishing her supper along with the rest of the school. Ron and Harry were stuffing their faces with as much food as possible, as usual. Hermione and Ginny were talking about a new potion that Slughorn had shown the sixth and seventh years. Taylor was glad to be back, not just from the hospital, but also with her friends. It had been a long three weeks since she had told Harry about her 'detention', and saving Snape. This past week in the hospital she had done a lot of thinking about Snape, the cup that they had found, and the curse guarding it. Hermione had told her about the curse the day after she woke up, against Harry's wishes. She could still see the look that he had on his face when Hermione had told her! If looks could kill, well if they could Harry would have killed her a long time ago, but poor Hermione. At least reading through the books that they brought to Taylor, along with her school work, had made the week in the hospital go faster, even if she hadn't found anything that she thought might help.

"Taylor, did you read that chapter for Professor Sprout yet? I want to finish that essay for Herbology right after supper so we can still have time to get to the library before curfew," Hermione said as she finished her supper, and brought Taylor out of her thoughts.

"No, but I only have a couple of more pages to read and I'm half way through the essay, so I should be finished in about an hour. I still have that Transfiguration home work to do, but I need to go to the library to do that anyway," Taylor said. She was almost caught up from all the schoolwork she had missed while she was in the hospital, with Hermione's help of course.

"Yeah, well I can finish up my essay in the library, that way we can all go, right Harry?" Ron said as he looked at Harry and grinned. Hermione rolled her eyes and got up from the table. What Ron really meant was, Harry and he would take their work to the library and Hermione could help them.

An hour later, Taylor was just finishing her Herbology homework. They were all in the crowded common room taking up one whole table. Ron was still doodling on the same piece of parchment he had taken out of his bag a half hour ago. Hermione was just allowing her Herbology essay to dry and trying hard not to glare at Ron. Harry was trying to correct a mistake on his essay with a Quik-Correction quill. Ginny was seated in a comfy chair nearby reading her DADA book.

A commotion over by the entrance to the girls' dorms drew the interest of the five-some. Two fourth year girls were yelling at one another, with wands drawn. Hermione quickly got up and went over to see what was the matter. She was after all Head Girl.

Taylor watched as things were going from bad to worse, and fast! Suddenly the common room was full of hexes and curses as the two angry girls started to throw spells at one another and anyone within sight, so it seemed. Taylor was instantly off of the chair she'd been sitting on, and crouched behind a nearby sofa, wand in hand. One of those curses had landed too close for her comfort. Harry, Ron and Ginny were doing the same. The common room was filled with screams as students scurried to get to cover. Hermione had taken cover behind a desk with three first years.

Harry, his eyes narrowed, knew this wasn't just some normal fight between witches. This was something more. He glanced over to where Taylor was crouching and their eyes met. He nodded his head, sure she was thinking the same thing as him. Together they sprang to their feet, wands pointing at the two troublemakers and silently, just as they practiced in their 'research sessions' with Professor Shacklebolt, with a slight flick of their wands, dropped them in their tracks.

The common room fell silent as students realized that the fight was over. Then the buzz began again as questions began to fly around the room as thick as curses had moments before. What had just happened? Why? Was anyone hurt?

Ron got to Hermione first and helped her to her feet, "Are you okay?" He asked as his eyes raced over her as if to reassure himself that she was.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Are you?" Hermione asked, then turned to the three frightened first years she had pulled behind the desk with her. "Are you okay?" They all nodded their heads. "What happened? Who stunned them?" Hermione asked Ron as she looked over to where the two fourth years lay on the floor.

Ron had only time to nod his head toward where Harry and Taylor still stood, before the portal swung open and Headmistress McGonagall came hurrying in followed by Professor Shacklebolt.

"What is going on here?" asked McGonagall in a tight voice, her lips white, as she surveyed the common room and the many worried and frightened faces that looked back at her. Her eyes come to rest on the two unconscious fourth years lying on the floor. Then she looked over to where Harry and Taylor stood wands still in their hands, as if rooted to the spot. "Potter, what happened here?" McGonagall demanded, again.

Harry's mind had kicked into overdrive as he tried to sort out what had just happened. Why had two fellow Gryffindors attacked one another? Was there more to this then a simple disagreement? Of that he was certain, but why? He had glanced over at Taylor and he was almost certain, when she met his gaze, that that was what she had been thinking too. Then McGonagall had come and was asking the same questions, but he had no answers. "I don't know Professor. One minute everything was okay. The next those two were arguing and began throwing curses, everywhere." Harry nodded towards the two girls who were lying on the floor.

Shacklebolt, who had quickly assessed the situation, was looking at Harry and Taylor too, but he had a better idea of what had happened, to the two unconscious girls at least. Or more precisely how they had become unconscious. He spoke quietly, but his voice easily carried in the now silent room. "Headmistress, I believe these two young witches should be taken to the hospital wing right away. And maybe a more private word with Mr. Potter and Miss Porter, might be more productive?"

Professor McGonagall glanced at Shacklebolt. She had caught the warning in his voice. So she nodded her head and pointing her wand at the two unconscious girls, she conjured a stretcher then levitated them up off of the floor. "Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, I want you to find out what is behind these two young witches' actions. Mr. Potter, Miss Porter, I want you to go to my office right now!" And with that McGonagall turned and went out the portal, with the two stretchers floating behind her. Harry and Taylor climbed out and Professor Shacklebolt was the last out through the portal before it swung shut.

Hours later, Taylor was finally crawling into her bed, her head pounded and she was exhausted. Harry and she had spent over three hours in the Headmistress' office. Once they had told McGonagall, Shacklebolt, and Moody, who just happened to arrive at the stone gargoyle when they did, about what had happened in the Gryffindor common room, McGonagall began asking them about the 'adventure' they had in the snake filled cavern bellow Hogwarts. Of course McGonagall wanted to know how they had found the cave to begin with, why they had gone down it and what had happened down there. When Harry and Taylor told her reluctantly that they couldn't tell her, McGonagall had become furious. If it hadn't have been for the calm, reasonable Shacklebolt, telling McGonagall that it was one of the Order of the Phoenix's standing orders that Harry, and to a lesser degree Taylor, remain in school, Taylor thought McGonagall might have suspended them.

What a mess they were in, and it all came down to Voldemort and those Horcrux's that Harry was supposed to find. Taylor just wished sometimes that they didn't have to remain a secret. Merlin! She wished that 'who she was' didn't have to remain a secret. She put both her hands up to her temples and tried to message the pain away.

Then when they had finally made it back to the common room, Hermione, Ron and Ginny wanted to know what had happened in McGonagall's office, and if the two fourth year girls were going to be alright. Taylor's head had already started to pound by then so she had let Harry do most of the talking. The two girls, they had heard from Madam Pomfrey, before they left the office, were going to be alright, but that they were almost certainly under some sort of spell. But it was broken now, perhaps by the stunning spell Harry and Taylor had used to stop them. That in itself had caused a great deal of concern and theories to be discussed by the group. In the end though they were no closer to finding out why the two fourth years had acted like that and neither Hermione nor Ron had turned up anything in their search of the dorm or their questioning.

When Taylor had finally stood up and said she was heading to bed, it was after midnight. What a first day back, she thought as she lay in her bed with the coverings closed and tried to shut her mind down so she could go to sleep. Every little sound seemed to go right through her aching head, the ticking of an alarm clock or even the soft snores of Lavender Brown two beds away. So she reached under her pillow pulled out her wand; gave it a wave and muttered 'Silencio'. As the wonderful silence filled her bed, her busy mind began to let go of its many thoughts, the same way the sounds had slipped from her searching ears, and she fell to sleep.

It was a dream filled sleep. It started out on the sunny lawns near the lake. Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione and Taylor with a boy without a distinct face. They were all sitting by the lake enjoying the sun. The lake was still except for the occasional ripples made by the squid that resided there. It was a great spot for a snog and that was exactly what the three couples were doing. Taylor could feel the cool lips of the boy she was kissing, the warmth of the sun was shining down brightly.

Suddenly everything changed. She was no longer by the lake kissing a boy in a fantasy afternoon, instead she was in the Shrieking Shack with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Lupin, Sirius and a squealing Wormtail being held up by his tail. Sirius was telling Harry about how Wormtail had betrayed Lily and James. How Wormtail had then cut off his finger and killed all those muggles. Taylor stood rooted to the floor beside Harry, anger filling her every fiber as she listened to how a man, who was supposed to be a friend to her parents, tore the life she should have had away from her. Then slowly as the events that happened that night in the Shrieking Shack continued to unfold before her, Taylor was aware of something different, something terrifyingly different. A cold mirthless laugh was coming from somewhere, it was getting louder, but the others in her dream seemed to not hear it as they faded away. Taylor broke out in a cold sweat. Whoever was laughing suddenly spoke "Yes, Wormtail you have done a good job" then the laughter started again. Taylor tried to move, tried to speak, but she couldn't. Pure terror filled her. A flash of green light, then she heard it, the slithering of the snake. It was at her feet, she could see it as it slowly began to wind up her body. She could feel the cold smooth skin of the snake as it made its way over her wet clammy skin, up towards her heart. She could feel the weight of it, as the snake started up over her stomach. She could see the snake right in front of her face, open its mouth and swallow her soul. The tail coiled firmly around her heart. Taylor began to scream.

Hermione had followed Taylor up to bed around a half hour later, She knew Taylor was tired and even though her friend hadn't said anything, Hermione was sure that Taylor had a headache. Poor Taylor, thought Hermione as she got ready for bed, if Madam Pomfrey knew what a day Taylor put in she wouldn't have let her out of the hospital! Hermione glanced over at the coverings pulled shut on Taylor's bed and smiled wearily. It was good to have her back though. Then Hermione slipped into her bed pulled her coverings and went right to sleep.

Hermione awoke suddenly and lay still in her bed listening. She couldn't hear anything but something wasn't right. She sat up to listen better, but still she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. She reached over and pulled her coverings open to have a look and grabbed her wand, knowing that something had definitely woken her up. There was a pale light shining in through the window from a sliver of moon that hung low in the sky. Hermione slowly looked around the sleeping dorm and caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. When she turned to see what it was, all she could see was Taylor's coverings moving slightly.

"Lumos" Hermione muttered as she got up and went over to Taylor's bed. She took hold of the coverings and pulled them back. What she saw made her blood run cold. Taylor's mouth was wide open as if she were screaming, but no sound came. She was shaking like a leaf in a gale and she was soaked in sweat.

"Taylor" Hermione whispered and tried to shake her awake, but it didn't work.

"Try igniting your wand tip, that might help. Then you can lift the silencing charm,"

"Thanks," muttered Hermione as she ignited her wand tip and touched it to the side of Taylor's neck, but she didn't stop to wonder where the voice came from.

Taylor's eyes flew open and she looked up at Hermione, Taylor's eyes were full of terror and Hermione wasn't sure if her friend even recognized her but at least she had stopped the silent screams.

"Taylor, are you alright? What happened?" Hermione asked looking down at Taylor, who was still shaking. Then Hermione remembered the silencing spell and with a flick of her wand released it. She could then hear the ragged breathing of her friend. Hermione glanced around behind her to see if anyone was there. She wanted to get some help to try to calm Taylor down but she didn't want to leave her alone to do that, but no one else in the dorm was awake.

"Taylor, I'm going to get some help okay?" Hermione said, wondering just whom she should go and get at this hour, but Taylor's hand grabbed a hold of her before she could turn away.

Taylor still shaking, shook her head. She couldn't have spoken a word if her life depended on it, but she had to stop Hermione from leaving. One reason was because she didn't want to be alone, the other was she didn't want anyone knowing she'd had a … again nightmare didn't begin to describe it.

Hermione stood beside Taylor for a minute or two, then she sat down on the bed beside her, all the while trying to figure out what her friend was terrified of, but she didn't ask any more questions, she just gave her time to calm down some.

Taylor tried hard to overcome the fear that seemed to eat at her very ability to think or act. When Hermione had stayed beside her, relief was the first emotion besides fear that she felt. The pendant that hung around Taylor's neck was burning hot again and she wrapped her cold fingers around it. How long she lay there looking at Hermione, who had sat quietly on the bed beside her, she didn't know but after awhile she felt as if she could once again talk.

Hermione was watching the terror slowly leave her friends eyes. She had stopped trembling, almost anyway. Hermione decided to break the silence, "What happened, Taylor? Can you tell me about it?" She asked quietly.

Taylor took a big breath and let it out slowly before she answered, her voice quivering at times. "It was the sn… snake. I saw it… again. I couldn't move. It was like I was fr… frozen."

Hermione looked at her friend puzzled. What snake was she talking about? Nigini? But why would Taylor dream about Voldemort's snake, Nigini? And when did she dream about Nigini before?

"Taylor, you mean you've had this dream before? When? Did you have it while you were in the hospital?" Hermione began to wonder if it might have been a reaction from being in the cave with all those snakes.

Taylor looked at Hermione and she briefly wondered how much she should tell her. She tried to think back to that other night, in Godric's Hollow, what had Dumbledore said? Taylor was starting to think clearer now and she had questions herself, but no ready answers. "I, well… yeah I have had this…dream before, but it's like no other dream I've ever had. A nightmare doesn't even describe it. It's been awhile, not long enough, but it happened during the summer holidays." Taylor knew she wasn't very specific, but that was all she was going to tell Hermione for now.

Hermione could see the wall Taylor was stepping behind, and she knew she wasn't likely to get a clearer answer than that from Taylor, not tonight anyway. Taylor reminded Hermione of another one of her friends in this way. A black haired, green-eyed friend. "Do you think that your dream had anything to do with… Vol…demort?" Hermione whispered. She still didn't like saying his name.

Taylor eyed Hermione for a while, again considering her answer carefully. "I have a theory, but it's a weak one." Taylor paused, "I can't tell you what it is…" another pause, "please believe me… that if… or when, I am sure that this theory is correct. I will let you know."

"If you even suspect you are having a dream about Vol… Voldemort or… or his snake, I think you should tell Harry. Maybe it has something to do with that cup you guys found." Hermione said, her mind trying to work around the wall that Taylor had put up.

Taylor felt her breath catch as Hermione so wisely said the very things she didn't want Hermione dwelling on, for fear that she might put the facts together and come up with the right answers. Taylor shook her head and said "No Hermione, I am not going to tell Harry about this dream. If he knew he'd never let me help him again. You know how he gets all noble and protective. Besides, it was just a silly dream wasn't it? What could Voldemort or his snake possibly have to do with me anyway?" Taylor prayed that her friend wouldn't push this any farther tonight. She didn't like telling Hermione half-truths and misleading statements. Someday I promise you Hermione I will tell you everything! Taylor thought.

"Ok Taylor, but if Harry finds out, he will not like it at all," Hermione reluctantly agreed.

A/N And there you have it... the LAST completed chapter before Deathly Hallows came out! This chapter gave me so much trouble that even though I started it in May of 2007 I wrote and tried to rewrite it several times but never really gettting it just the way I wanted it... hopefully you didn't find it too painful! I did go on to write part of the next chapter before Deathly Hallows came out but it was really just in draft form before the seventh book came out. This chapter was why I put this story on the back burner for almost three years! Don't worry I have accepted that I don't like this chapter and contented myself with the fact that there are better ones... much better to come! :)

As always thank you for reading! Thank you for adding this to your favorites or alerts! And anyone who has reviewed thank you!

Thank you goes out to barbc, my wonderful bata!

So until next time, cytpotter