Chapter Six: The Truth In Her Dreams
Ron shifted in his sleep, just becoming aware of the hard floor he was snoozing on.
“She’s a bit different…” echoed the nurse in his dream.
His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he smiled at the sleeping Hermione next to him. Events of the previous night rushed back to him in surges of fury.
Hermione broke the agonizing silence of his thoughts. “But Dumbledore…no witch or wizard can be raised from the dead, no matter how powerful they are,” she said with an actual look of confusion on her face.
Ron looked at her, obviously talking in her sleep, and shook her gently.
“ Of course I won't tell anyone, Dumbledore,” she said quietly before she woke up.
Ron smiled at her, covering up the pain he felt inside. A familiar phoenix swooped down upon them, one wing actually touching the two as it perched on the windowsill.
“Fawkes!” exclaimed Ron.
In the bird’s beak there was a tiny bit of parchment. Ron took the small note from the bird and opened it. Inside was a short letter addressed to him and Hermione, in a slightly slanted handwriting he thought he recognized, but he couldn’t quite place it.
Ron and Hermione,
You must find Harry and Ginny. Believe her story. Hermione, trust your dreams.
Ron read the note aloud to Hermione, who stared at a wall with her ‘thinking’ expression on. She closed her eyes for a moment, deep in contemplation. Ron shook his head as if to wake himself up. “Hermione, we have to find Harry!” he yelled.
Hermione snapped her eyes open. “Yes that’s what Dum…what we should have done” she added quickly.
“We have to go home and tell Mum and Dad” he exclaimed, exasperated, and two loud pops followed his sentence.
“MUM, DAD,” shouted Ron as he burst open the door to the Burrow.
“MR. AND MRS. WEASLEY,” yelled Hermione, running through the house.
“WHAT?!?!” Mrs. Weasley screamed back at the two.
Ron yelled, “Ginny’s a Death Eater!” at the same time, Hermione screamed, “They have Harry!” so it sounded something like, “Ginarrys a death have eater!”
Mrs. Weasley looked utterly confused before Hermione murmured, “ The Death Eaters have taken Harry, and Ginny’s a Death Eater.”
Mrs. Weasley fell to the floor in disbelief, much the same as Ron’s earlier reaction, and half cried, half screamed, “ARTHUR!” in a mess of tears.
He ran down the stairs, expecting to see someone lying on his kitchen floor, dead, by the way his wife had called his name.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in between Mrs. Weasley’s big, wet, sobs.
“Ginarrys a death have eater!” she wailed, in a non-understandable way.
Hermione answered again, “The Death Eaters have Harry, and Ginny’s a Death Eater.”
Mr. Weasley’s face betrayed the many emotions he felt upon hearing Hermione’s statement: confusion, disbelief, disappointment, frustration, sadness, and anger His little girl a Death Eater? How could this be? First Percy, now this? He disappeared with a loud pop and in five minutes, came back with most of the members of the Order, and quickly explained the situation. Tonks gasped and buried her head in Remus Lupin’s chest, who gently patted her back. Kingsley Shacklebolt closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, as if he were taking a huge blow to the stomach. Professor McGonagall took in a sharp gasp of air, nearly choking on the amount of oxygen she had just inhaled. Just as she was about to speak, a loud pop interrupted her. All eyes weren’t to center of their circle.
Harry Potter was sprawled out on the floor, clutching Ginny’s lifeless body, as he stood up and turned to face Ron. One arm was underneath her neck, her head swaying limply towards the floor, and his other had a strong hold underneath her knees; he found it hard to believe that last month he had carried her up to her bedroom like this after she had fallen asleep while attempting to stay up all night, talking to him, Ron, and Hermione. Mrs. Weasley’s wailing broke his train of thought as he set Ginny’s empty figure on the couch. When he finally spoke, the whole room was nearly in tears.
******
Ron and Hermione listened intently to Harry’s more detailed version of the story. Hermione’s best advice was to sleep on it; Professor McGonagall had already performed a preservation charm on Ginny’s body.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione were fast asleep on the floor of the Weasleys’ living room. Ron was snoring rather loudly, but there was no other noise--except the faint murmur of Hermione, talking in her sleep.
“Blood sacrifice…mixed with tears,” she whispered.
Suddenly an ear splitting scream struck the icy cold silence, Everyone in the house was now downstairs, watching Ron shake Hermione as she repeatedly let out scream after piercing scream. When she awoke, she had a vacant expression on her face, and her eyes were cold. Her breathing was steady, but very heavy, and sweat had erupted from every pore on her body. In one swift motion, her hands sped to her own neck, and grasped it firmly. She tightened her grip on herself, and made choking noises, gasping for air. Ron tackled her, wrenching her own hands away from her neck. He pulled as hard as he could, but every time he managed to yank them away, her hands forced themselves back to her neck. Ron tugged frantically, and finally got her arms securely pinned down to the floor, despite Kingsley Shacklebolt’s cries of, “Don't touch her, she’s cursed!”
Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head, really awake this time. She broke into tears and collapsed into Ron’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Mrs. Weasley ordered everyone out of the room except for the trio.
Ron pulled Hermione away from him softly and wiped the tears from her face. “It’s-M-M-Mal-Malfoy,” she wailed, “H-H-H-He’s being t-t-tortured!”
Ron felt a pang of sorrow for him, but Harry wondered why this would be such a bad thing. A few seconds later, he felt guilty because he remembered Hermione screaming, and crying, and nearly killing herself.
Why was she screaming, and crying, and trying to kill herself?
He looked lovingly at Hermione’s tear-stained face before asking, “If that happened to Malfoy…why were you screaming?”
Hermione didn’t answer at first, but then stammered, “They’re not just dreams--they’re visions--I can”er”possess people, feel their pain, their feelings. I was Malfoy.”
Ron and Harry gawped at Hermione. Her eyes opened wide as she murmered, “Blood sacrifice mixed with tears.”
At this point, Ron and Harry were completely lost.
“To bring Ginny back! Mix your blood with…” Hermione sighed deeply and conjured a glass phial. “Harry…I think…Ginny’s…dead.”
Harry’s knees grew weak and a buzzing sound filled his ears. His heart melted away as his tears for Ginny streamed one by one down his face. He felt Hermione’s phial brush his cheek and heard her voice echo somewhere in the background, “Harry, it’s okay, I just needed a tear of love for Ginny.”
Harry quickly stood up and brushed his face off.
“And the lover’s blood…” Hermione continued.
Harry held out his left arm as she traced a small line across his vein with her wand. She let exactly seven drops fall into the small phial before retracing the cut to close it. She shook the phial and ran swiftly into the room where Ginny’s body had been laid. She quickly removed the charms off of her body. Hermione’s hands softly parted Ginny’s lips and she forced the mixture into her mouth and coaxed it down her throat. She clawed for Harry’s shirt and yanked him over to Ginny’s lifeless figure.
“Kiss her!” she exclaimed, looking down at Ginny’s still body.
Harry looked at Hermione with a disbelieving expression, then back at what remained of Ginny. He softly pressed his lips against hers, tasting his own blood, before he slowly pulled back, not knowing what to expect. When she stayed as still as she ever was, Harry placed his head gently against her chest in a hug and closed his eyes.
“You know what my heart says, Harry? It says don’t break me…”
“Ginny…tell your heart I won't…I love you, Ginny.”
As his memory faded away, he was greeted by a familiar pattern. His head calmly moved up and down: the rising and falling of Ginny’s chest. His ears seemed to explode with noise as soon as he heard the faint thump thump of her innocent heart.
The heart I promised not to break.
Only two things left to do: save Ginny, then kill Voldemort and save the rest of the world.