Story: War
Chapter: 22
Rating of Chapter: R
My other Fics: Stress, Wake Me From This Nightmare, Psychokinesis, Forlorn
Live Journal: Live Journal
Beta: Cheryl
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things I own are the plot, any characters, spells etc that you do not recognize.
Author Notes: See below.
Chapter 22: Reminisce
The long black stone mirror reflected the essence of this satanic man, his visage mouldy and dry showing likeness to a scaly snake. The Dark Lord was feared by most of the wizarding world, mainly due to his unrelenting murders and his lack of tribulation when doing this.
"This war is mine," Voldemort spoke to his own reflection. "My army of Death Eaters are at full strength, my army is complete. And Potter will be dead soon enough. And you girl, had better watch you back as much as your boyfriend's, you never know who could be on my side, even at Hogwarts. If that doesn't give you a clear picture, maybe this will…" Voldemort flicked his wand towards the mirror.
Hermione was flashed back to the sitting room of her old house; it was decorated with amethyst walls and dark wood flooring. It was austere yet somewhat cosy, and Hermione had always loved it. Bookcases overflowing with books filled the walls. A grand fireplace glowed brightly from the dancing flames. Her parents were seated together on the bark toned brown settee each enjoying a steaming mug of coffee. Unexpectedly two blinding flash's of swift green blasted around them. Hermione saw her parents' alarmed expressions before the dream went blank.
*
Hermione shot up in bed breathing heavy as tears leaked from the corners of her still closed eyes. Harry startled by the movement took Hermione by the arm in concern. "What's the matter?" he asked. Hermione swallowed hard the tears now free flowing. Only a short time ago they had been sitting up in bed quietly talking after their passion filled night. Mere minutes ago Hermione had dozed off while Harry stared at her sleeping form admiring her beauty, his heart filled with love.
"V-Voldemort…" she responded. Harry closed his eyes and gritted his teeth while clenching his free hand in anger. Hermione continued "He, he…" Harry wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace. "He told me that we are both in danger of getting killed, but the worst part…He showed me a mirror reflecting the images of my parents being murdered. They have nothing to do with any of this…they are innocent." Hermione began to sob. Harry pulled her closer letting her tears soak his shoulder. This was the last straw for Harry, Voldemort had to be stopped, and now was the time. He pulled slowly away from Hermione.
"You won't have to worry for long, he'll be dead. And I'm going to do it now." He began to move out of bed, but Hermione held him back.
"Harry, you can't win this on your own, he has an army. He said so." Hermione added. Harry pulled back and looked into her tear stained brown eyes.
"An army?" Harry repeated and Hermione nodded.
"I don't know what kind, but you are going to have to be careful." Harry conceded and nodded his head in discouragement. "I have every belief in your abilities Harry, but you are going to need help. And I'll be by your side every step of the way." Harry couldn't help but smile at her.
"I know you will. He just makes me so angry I could explode, sometimes it's hard to control my anger."
"Save it for when you do fight him, build up that anger, turn it into courage and strength. Become the Gryffindor inside you. Add that to the one emotion you have that Voldemort doesn't - love, and that could win you this war. Remember that." Harry nodded his head, although he still wanted to find Voldemort and be rid of him, but he knew deep down that Hermione was correct.
*
Draco held vigil beside Ginny as she started to come around. Despite her astonishing recovery Madam Pomfrey had insisted that she stayed there for the night. Ron had been forced to turn himself in for the night but after ruthless begging with Madam Pomfrey, Draco had been able to stay for a while longer. As she began to fully wake up she smiled sleepily at him. "What are you doing here?" she yawned.
Draco stood up from his seat and backed off uneasily. "Sorry, would you rather be left alone?" She quickly shook her head.
"Actually I don't know why I have to stay here. I feel fine." He walked over to her and appeared to be about to take her hand but he nervously touched her on the shoulder. He shifted a little when she placed her hand on the top of his.
"Are you really okay?" Draco stammered.
"Yes." Ginny responded sincerely adding, "Are you?" He gulped looking ill to say the least.
Draco shrugged, trying to remove the sweat from his brow as discreetly as possible. "Yeah, what makes you say that?"
"Because you're sweating more than Neville does before seeing Snape. What's wrong?" Draco sighed and sat down on his chair next to the bed.
"This is hard for me." Ginny eyed him curiously.
"What is?" she asked softly.
Draco sighed again. "You know, showing concern and stuff. My family's never really been about love, more about business…and money." Ginny watched on thoughtfully as he continued to apprehensively show his emotions. "The only father/son moments I remember were when we would see who could kick Dobby the furthest."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it was more entertaining than being at home. If I refused to go it would be an hour of beatings." Ginny's eyes widened as she saw the lump in his throat, she had never imagined a Malfoy being emotional. "Eventually I found a way to avoid the pain, self defence. That's why I'm good at dodging your brother's punches and throwing them back."
"Didn't you get along with anybody in your family?"
Draco nodded his head to the side. "Yeah, my grandfather. He was also a businessman but he saw eye to eye with me. Thinking about it, he loved me a whole lot more than my father."
Ginny couldn't help becoming more and more curious. "You talk about this in the past tense…" As she said this Draco shifted awkwardly in his seat before continuing.
"One day I had fallen out with my Dad, hell I'd knocked him flat. That was when he realised I could fight back. So I left to see my Grandfather. He had a business meeting and was due to be returning, so I was going to wait for him. When I got to the house the door was open, when I entered, my Grandfather was dead. Upon investigation it was discovered that he was killed by a dark spell that originated in France." Draco wiped his eyes with his sleeve and Ginny took his hand.
"It's okay to cry."
"I'm okay, I'm not crying, forget about it," he replied harshly. Ginny sat silently for a few moments before she turned his face towards her.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you, but whatever happened in the past is over now. As much as you don't want to hear it you have to move on." Draco knew she was right, but a girl be right and he be wrong? He shuddered slightly at the thought.
.
"What if I don't want to move on?" he responded stubbornly.
"Then I'll help you." Draco couldn't respond to that.
"Okay, you win." A slight smile developed on both of their faces and Draco climbed onto the bed and hugged her tightly.
His head moved from her shoulder to her face as their foreheads pressed together. Their breath was hot and Draco cut her breath off with a hard kiss. She tangled her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. This was only the third kiss they had shared, and Ginny felt they had some catching up to do. Draco's hands travelled up the bottom of her hospital shirt and his hands gripped her soft milky skin as he held her close. The kiss deepened and Draco rolled to one side until he was underneath Ginny. Pulling her on top of him, his hands travelled willingly over her back, bringing her body closer to his.
Requiring air they reluctantly pulled apart. Ginny looked down at him expectantly while Draco looked up in confusion he was feeling and it unnerved him. Ginny smiled closing her eyes as Draco caressed her cheek. She sighed as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear he needed to see more of her lovely complexion. "Is this love?" he queried mildly. Ginny opened her eyes to look deeply into his grey questioning eyes she was speechless.
"I wonder…"
*
Harry and Hermione were walking together towards the Great Hall when Felipe approached them, his tears, Harry noticed had become very aggrandized, as Felipe reached them. Out of good will Hermione stopped him to ask if he was okay.
"Ceci est une telle grande perte me, je ne sais pas que je le surmonterai. Lizzy était très cher me, et j'ai soigné son profondément." *This is such a great loss to me, I do not know how I will overcome it. Lizzy was very dear to me, and I cared for her deeply. *
Hermione simply smiled in response and Harry looked on in disgust, before mocking some French. "Mettre votre baguette en haut votre arrière." Felipe eyes him, a little lost for words. But after some explaining from Hermione, he left. "Did I offend him?" Harry asked hopefully as they continued towards the hall.
"Well, you told him to put his wand up his rear," she stifled a laugh as Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Really? I was hoping for something along those lines." They walked down a quiet passage and Harry pulled to a halt when he heard a slight tinkling noise from above. He gazed up but nothing could be seen other than a few old chippings and old beams. He continued on, keeping quiet so that he didn't worry her.
All of a sudden the noise grew sharper and two large black iron balls hurtled towards them from above. Harry reacted on instinct and threw Hermione to one side before narrowly managing to move his legs out of danger. The near miss caused a wobble in their breathing and Harry eyed the ball and the ceiling above suspiciously. The ball was similar to those found attached to a large ring and chain in Azakaban prison. But who had dropped it? True, this was one of the most debilitated areas of the school, and there were gaps in the ceiling where things could slip out. But what were the ball and chain doing in Hogwarts? And it seemed a bit of a coincidence that it had fallen exactly where Hermione had been standing…Harry started to wonder if Voldemort was planning more than frightening Hermione in her dreams.
Author Notes: There we have it, more danger for Hermione. I'd like to take this time to respond to some reviews. Here are the parts I would like to respond to.
By "Enter Name:" "I know you and your help will make the next chapter wonderful! I think Hermione or Ginny should get pregnant! (Just forget about what I said about sex with Draco and Ginny. It's gonna happen sooner or later!) I can't wait! DRACO AND GINNY WOULD MAKE GREAT PARENTS! I HOPE YOU USE SOME OF MY IDEAS! Keep up the good work!"
Response: I don't mean this in an offensive was at all, but have you read the rest of the story? Hermione has already been pregnant and I'm afraid I have no plans for Ginny too.
By "Tiny Dancer:" "I have one question, though: this Lizzy girl was the one who went to the ball with Felipe, right? Why did they kill her? Did Felipe do it? I don't see why they would want to kill her, she hasn't been important to the plot so far. Is this one of those things that you want to surprise us with? Right now I'm just confused."
Response: All will be revealed in time, there a lot of clues being left around but I promise that they are all being done for a reason.
Another note: I'd like to thank all of my regular reviewers and readers; your reviews mean a lot. Thank you. Also, my Live Journal is now up, so go there if you would like to keep up to date with new chapters etc.