Waves Crashing Against the Shore

by cloneserpents

Standard Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters are property of J K Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Books, Arthur A. Levine Books, Raincoast Books, Scholastic publishing (et al.) and are used without permission. This work was written purely for noncommercial entertainment; no money is being made.

WARNING!

This is a dark horror fan-fiction containing graphic violence, gore and major character deaths for mature readers.

Chapter Two

When he was just a small child, before he understood what a ghoul actually was, Ron was terrified of the loud noises coming from the attic above his room. The little boy would throw his blanket over his head to hide every night as the thing bashed and banged around in the space over his bed. He did not know the creature was relatively harmless and the noises frightened him. His young mind whipped up one terrifying scenario after another: the thing banging around planned on taking Ron's Mum and Dad away and he'd never see them again; or it would take him away and hurt him and let him starve. Often, he would picture the thing breaking through the ceiling. The thing, which was nothing more than a shadow in a twisted human form in his mind, would snatch him up and carry the screaming boy through the window and into the dark forest behind the Burrow where it would do unspeakable things to him. The fear fed by his imagination used to fill him with such dread. His hands would shake and tears filled his eyes. It made him so cold he would shiver as he hid under the blankets.

Now, as he stood in the Lovegood home, Ron felt that same dread. He had to shove his hands deep into his pockets to stop them from shaking. He tried telling himself that he was overreacting. Harry and Hermione were still the friends he knew and they were just a little off. Despite his attempts, Ron failed to convince himself and the dread nestled in his heart.

Hermione was walking, skipping and jumping around the parlor and kitchen like a hyperactive child. When the brunette decided to pretend to walk a tightrope behind the couch, putting one foot directly in front of the other while holding her arms straight out for balance, Luna asked her what she was doing. Hermione replied, "I'm walking around. I'm not used to having my legs not wobbling and shaking. A benefit of not having them repeatedly broken and shattered and whatnot, I guess."

When he Apparated outside the Lovegood home, Ron heard Luna give a shout of fright and he rushed into the house to find Hermione hugging the blonde witch. Harry with his ever-present scowl stood behind Hermione and Luna like a statue.

"Shh, shh," Hermione hushed, stroking Luna's hair, "it's okay. We're so happy to see you. Isn't that right, Harry? We love lovey Luna Lovegood." Sniffing Luna's blonde locks, Hermione asked, "Have you always smelled of lavender?"

Hermione closed her eyes and held Luna tight. The blonde tilted her head and gave Ron a quizzical look. Then Hermione held the younger witch at arm's length and asked, "How are you, Luna? It's been ages since we've spoken."

Suddenly pulling her attention away from Luna, Hermione's head shot this way and that, as if she was watching an insect only she could see flying around the room. Turning around, Hermione walked away from Luna and began bounding and skipping around the parlor. Harry kept his attention fixed on her, watching her, guarding her. When she started to walk the invisible tightrope, Luna shuffled to Ron's side.

"What's wrong with them?" she asked.

Ron unconsciously wiped a thin layer of sweat from his brow before answering, "It worked, your spell worked."

Luna cocked her head to the side. "But you told me you don't remember anything from the future?"

Cheering excitedly, Hermione proclaimed, "Look, Harry, books!" She scampered over to the over-stuffed bookcase and began running her finger along the spines of the books. "Words upon words. Word after word. So many words. Dull, boring, useless words."

Taking her eyes away from Hermione, Luna looked to Ron.

"The reason why I don't remember is that I'm dead. Or will die. Or should've died." His brow furrowed and his eyes squinted. "Damn, this is confusing." He shook his head. "Sometime in the future, we get… or got… captured by You-Know-Who."

Luna gasped. Covering her mouth with a delicate hand, she looked between Harry and Hermione. The raven-haired wizard stood in the exact place where he had Apparated. His whole body was tense — the lean muscles of his bare chest constricted as if he was ready to strike at a moment's notice. His face, which Luna usually found handsome, was twisted and mangled into a mask of rage and hate. For an instant, when she looked into his emerald eyes, Luna thought he was a falcon eyeing its prey as he watched Hermione. However, there was something in his eyes beneath the anger: a sparkle of compassion, a hint of love. Hermione, who was in her bedclothes like Harry, was busy pulling one book after another from the shelf before tossing them to the ground muttering, "Worthless. Pointless. Waste of time." Shortly after she started emptying the bookcase, Hermione looked up at a crack in the ceiling. She continued throwing the books to the floor as she eyed the crack. Without even looking at the books much less reading their titles Hermione kept mumbling, "Joke. Pitiful. Worthless. Absurd."

"What happened?" Luna asked.

"We got… they got tortured," Ron said with a sad sigh.

Hermione tipped one book from the shelf and it fell on top of her bare foot. She yelped. Harry was at her side in an instant, his arms around her. "It's okay, Harry. I'm fine. There's no reason to be mad at the book other than being filled with worthless, boring words that is."

Harry let her go and Hermione returned to pulling the books from the shelves and letting them drop to the floor.

Whispering, Luna asked Ron, "Why hasn't Harry said anything?"

"My Smiling Man is a man of action," Hermione answered, "not words."

Gazing at Harry, Luna blinked. "He's not smiling."

Hermione gave a frown that mirrored Harry's. Then her face went slack as she said, "I know and I'm perfectly fine with that."

Before she returned once again to emptying the bookcase of its books, Hermione smoothed her hands on Harry's cheeks. "You are still my Smiling Man."

"This is horrible," whispered Luna.

"Yeah," Ron breathed, "we — they were tortured a lot."

Luna's shoulders sagged. She turned to Ron with her lip quivering and tears glistening in her eyes. "I did this."

"What? No, you didn't." When Luna's trembling lips turned into a frown, he took her by the shoulders. "Luna, you did not do this. You-Know-Who did it. Or he will do it. Damn it, was going to do." He gulped and looked at his best friends.

"Don't you see, Ronald? I did this, I was the one that brought them back." A single tear cascaded down her cheek. Sighing, the blonde continued her self-reprimand. "I tried to help, but I failed and ruined it… ruined them."

Ron put his arms around his friend in an awkward embrace.

Hermione's eyes grew wide as she glared at Luna. Snarling, she screeched, "No!"

A book flew across the room and smashed into the wall denting the plaster. Hermione shrieked, "No crying! No! It never works! Only weak things cry!"

Harry took a step toward Ron and Luna as Hermione screamed, "That weak little girl cried and it did not stop them! They laughed at her! Crying is pathetic and feeble!"

Placing himself in front of Luna like a shield, Ron blurted, "It's okay. It's okay. I'll get her to stop crying. Don't worry."

Without taking his eyes off his deranged friends, Ron ushered Luna into a small sitting room off the parlor and closed the door. He pulled Luna into a tight hug. She trembled in his arms.

"What was the journey the three of you were going to take?" Luna barely spoke. Her words told Ron that she too felt something menacing and dangerous lurking inside of Harry and Hermione, like a hungry dragon slumbering in the shadows of a cave.

"We… we were going to find a way to stop You-Know-Who." There was no point keeping the mission a secret any longer. There was no way in hell he would go searching for the horcruxes now knowing the terrible outcome. When she sniffled, Ron hushed her. "Shh, it'll be alright."

"How, Ronald?" she asked between sobs. "How will it be alright?"

He rubbed her back. "We can fix this. We can send these… these versions of Harry and Hermione away and bring back our friends. There has to be a spell out there that'll reverse it, right?"

"I don't know, Ronald. I've never heard of any spell like the one I cast this morning much less a counter-spell."

The sound of another book slamming against a wall was quickly followed by Hermione screaming at the top of her lungs, "Stupid, worthless words!"

Ron gulped and looked into Luna's large eyes. "We have to try."

She whispered, "I suppose anything's possible but we will have to research."

"I know we can do it." He hoped he was not just wishing for a good outcome. "And once we get them back, we can find another way to deal with You-Know-Who."

"We'll have to go to Hogwarts," she said. "If there's any spell or ritual that can help them, it will be in the library."

Ron looked at the wall and his friends somewhere behind it and sighed. "Maybe we should calm those two down before we head to the castle." Luna nodded and he continued, "I don't like the idea of Stunning them, but…"

"I have a Calming Draught," the blonde offered. "Sometimes Father gets very agitated, especially around publishing time. I slip a dose into his tea so that he can get some sleep."

"Good, good. We'll just give them some spiked tea and then they can take a little kip." Dwelling on that thought, he added, "And maybe we can keep giving them it until we find a way to fix all of this."

"That would probably be for the best."

Luna's trembling lessened but Ron found he did not want to let her go.

-02-

Just outside the kitchen, Hermione smiled at Harry — her tantrum long forgotten. "It was lovely seeing Luna again, but now I'm bored." She lightly touched his chin. "We could go find someone, perhaps, someone who could give us their screams."

Harry scooped her up and cradled her in his arms.

"But who should it be, Harry? Should we find a new plaything or pick one of our old ones?"

He stared at her silently.

"Oh, you're going to surprise me then?" She threw her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, "This will be grand, simply grand."

-02-

When Ron heard the crack of Apparation, his heart dropped like a rock into the pit of his stomach. "Oh, no."

Already knowing his friends had gone, Ron rushed out of the room with Luna close behind. Upon seeing the empty parlor and confirming his fears, Ron cursed.

"Where'd they go?" asked Luna.

"Dunno." He gulped. His belly twisted into a tight knot. Noticing the tears returning to Luna's eyes, he took hold of her hands. "Don't worry, okay. I think I know where they might be heading. I'll find them. You go to Hogwarts and start looking for something to help and I'll go find them."

"Ronald," she breathed. Luna looked lost and frightened.

"Listen, it'll be okay. Everything will be all right. We can do this. Okay?"

"Okay," she said and then swallowed. "Where are you going to go?"

"They said something about playing with Neville," Ron said as he headed to the door.

-02-

The moment they arrived at their destination, Hermione's head spun around, pivoting in every direction trying to determine where Harry took her. They stood in front of a secluded white cottage with a thatched roof at the end of a very long walkway. The homes of the closest neighbors were nothing more than tiny dollhouses far away. Pots of lilacs and begonias lined the edge of the cottage. "This looks familiar. Is it Bulstrode's. No, that place had daffodils growing in pots by the door. Wait, I remember something about lilacs… Where are we, Harry? Tell me."

He gently set her down and pointed to the front window. She glided up to the cottage. Hermione bit the tip of her tongue and laughed manically when she saw through the window a wall covered with fluffy cats painted on decorated plates. In a singsong whisper, Hermione began to chant, "I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies."

Harry took Hermione by the hand and led her to the front door.

"I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies."

With a wave of his wand, the front door clicked and silently swung open. The eyes of the cats on the plates followed the pair as they slinked down the hall.

"I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies."

Harry gave Hermione a knowing glance and the witch swallowed her lips. It would ruin the surprise if their plaything heard them coming.

As they slinked through the house, a sound of a quill scratching against parchment reached Hermione's ears. She almost gave a cheer at the thought of the screams about to come. She had to bite her tongue once again when they entered the study to stop the happy shout that threatened to spring from her mouth.

Their plaything had not yet realized they were there. The fat, toad-like woman had her back toward them, focused on whatever she was writing. Harry looked to Hermione giving her permission to announce their presence. Letting out a gleeful titter, Hermione cried out, "Good morning, High Inquisitor!"

Dolores Umbridge spun around so fast that she nearly knocked her chair over. In an instant, the fat woman got over her surprise and her face darkened in rage. "What in the devil's name are you two doing in my home?"

"Is it still High Inquisitor? Wait, wasn't that title stripped?" Hermione seemed to ask the air. "I suppose it doesn't really matter."

Umbridge stood and stomped over on her thick legs toward the two invaders. "Get out at once or I will call the authori—"

Harry's fist slammed into Umbridge's gut, ending her threat and sending her crashing to the floor. The woman whimpered in pain. Harry flicked his wand and Umbridge's wand flew into Harry's open hand. Then he snapped the witch's wand in two before tossing the pieces to the far corner of the room.

Hermione squatted next to Umbridge's head and said, "Now, the last time we were here, I wasn't myself." She tapped the side of her own head adding, "I wasn't all there, if you catch my drift. That was back when I couldn't even think. I was empty and hollow. So I don't remember how Harry made you scream, but I do remember your screams."

Another flick of Harry's wand pulled Umbridge's hands and feet far apart, pinning her spread-eagle to the floor. Hermione clutched her hands to her bosom and swayed. "Your screams helped me so much, Dolores, so very much. They healed me and filled me and helped me to start thinking again."

Harry waved his wand and invisible hands tore Umbridge's clothes from her body leaving her naked and exposed. She grunted and fruitlessly tugged at the unseen ropes holding her in place. Harry threw one leg over Umbridge to straddle her bare body.

Leaning close to Umbridge's ear, Hermione whispered to her plaything, "Harry's never admitted it aloud — or said anything aloud for that matter — but I'm certain he enjoyed your screams as much as I did. Now that we've been awarded this marvelous opportunity to revisit our playthings, we will both revel in your screams."

Hermione stood and Harry pushed the tip of his wand into Umbridge's fleshy gut.

"I'll see you two rot in Azkaban for this!" the naked witch screamed.

"You'll see us in Azkaban? You know what, Harry? I do believe that's a lie." Hermione giggled. "And you know what we do to liars."

Harry dragged his wand down Umbridge's round belly. She screamed as her skin tore open and blood flowed from the wound. Hermione looked into the gash and saw fat and sinew. She said, "I…"

Harry moved his wand a little to the right and dragged it through her skin to write joined letters. Hermione shouted over Umbridge's cries of pain, "Must…"

Harry continued writing and cutting the plaything's belly. Each letter her wrote tore an inch or so deep into Umbridge's back. The blood flowed like a creek and her screams ripped at her throat. Hermione gritted her teeth in a broad smile before she completed the phrase Harry wrote, "… not… tell… lies!"

After inspecting the words ripped into their plaything's back, Hermione placed a peck on the tip of Harry's nose. "It's beautiful, Harry."

"Please… please stop," Umbridge whimpered.

Hermione pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow. "Why would we do that? We just started, you silly goose."

"I know… I know I've mistreated you, I can see that," Umbridge pleaded. "But you're both good people."

Hermione threw back her head and laughed. "There were a few lies in there, weren't there, High Inquisitor? Harry, I don't think she's learned her lesson yet. You'll have to drive the point home."

He nodded in agreement and pushed his wand into Umbridge's skin. While the fat witch screamed and begged and pleaded, Hermione chanted like a lunatic, "I must not tell lies! I must not tell lies!"

TO BE CONTINUED