IMPORTANT: a. This is part TWO of Chapter Seven.
b. This chapter is Hermione and Harry focused
c. Names have been change: Draco = Ace
Hermione = Abigail <- narrator
Harry = William
Ronald = Theodore
d. Italics = Dreams
Normal = Story
Nothing Gold Can Stay | Dreams Part II
It was a warm spring morning when the first body was found outside the school. His particular gift left him in tune with different types of animals; horses were his favorite. He was said to have been heading towards the stables, and never got there. According to a teacher he was found just a few feet from the horses burned from head to toe. After that, classes were suspended and all older students as well as instructors were left to search through the archives to find out what exactly had happened. Some brought up the idea of spontaneous combustion but immediately ruled that out because in order for the theory to be correct there had to be a spark of heat which the human body was physically impossible to create. William, after many nights of debates with myself and other students, brought back the theory insisting that if the student was hit by magic maybe a certain spell could create the spark. Of course the stupid prat had to come up with another brilliant idea but who can blame him?I am only book smart, all his intellect is natural. We spend the next few hours searching for a spell that could perhaps spark this internal fire. Ten hours after the first body was found, a fifth level student found a cluster of first level students all clawed to death by some animal. After a quick inspection of the slashes it was determined that an unknown being had killed the children. The Headmaster become desperate knowing that something had to be done and sealed off the grounds with a barrier, in hopes that the danger was on the other side of the barrier.
It wasn't and would eventually be our own downfall.
The research team of students and teachers were now divided into two teams, one searching through spells and the other searching through texts about creatures we know and that were just thought of as myths. Some time after lunch the next day over twenty bodies were found, all killed by various means, none were explainable by our knowledge. It was aggravating to everyone; even Will with his high level of patience was getting exasperated.
We were all forced by the Headmaster to stop our search and get something to eat and to try and calm down a bit. We had been at it all day and even though it was a wise decision to keep the students that were still alive and healthy, I still wanted to object. It wasn't that his decision wasn't wise or the circumstances didn't call for a break but I didn't want to hear about anymore dead bodies or find one myself. William and I were walking back to the dormitories, neither of us were hungry and were just on our way to sleep when we heard voices arguing.
"We should have told them what we know!" Sarai yelled.
Will and I looked at each other before running up and peering around the corner to see Ace and Sarai in the middle of the argument.
"And what good would it have done? We are all going to die here tonight Virginia and there is nothing that anyone here can do. We tried to tell out house head and she wouldn't listen. Insisted that it was childish dreams and we can never get to the Headmaster because he is always around that damned McGonagall! Just what do you think we could do? It isn't supposed to happen now!"
William and I looked at each other; they knew what was going on?
Ace whirled around and immediately spotted us hearing what was supposed to be their private conversation. Instead of denying anything he sighed and gestured for us to come forward.
"Since this is the second time you have been listening in to our conservations," Sarai said her tone dry but her facial expression letting us in on her amusement.
"Why do you find this while thing funny?" William asked angrily.
"Because after thinking about what Ace said, he is right; we are all going to die."
"Why?!" I questioned desperately. I hadn't married William yet, had his children and gotten old together. We were not supposed to die when our lives were just beginning! I could see neither Ace nor Sarai were happy with the news they delivered but I realized I hated them both right then and there.
"I hate you both." I said quietly. In the silence my words easily reached the ears of everyone in the room.
"Abigail," William started but I pulled away from him, I wasn't going to change my mind.
"How dare you?" I asked them both, "You know what was going to happen and you just sit there debating with yourselves on what should be done. If you really wanted to change what was going to happen you could have easily found a way to do so! Now you're telling me that I am going to die and I can't do anything about it?! How can you sit there so calm and tell me that everyone is going to die? What gives you the right?"
"We didn't ask for this." Ace replied to me.
"We tried," piped up Sarai, "I've been trying for years and Ace has been trying for almost his whole life. What is going to happen here tonight is unavoidable. The Headmaster may have protected us from the outside world but not tonight."
"What is going to happen?" William asked Sarai.
"Dark Magic has been growing stronger in the past couple of years." Sarai answered, "This is one of the few schools that still support what is now known as white magic, or magic with sacrifice or without evil intention. We, unfortunately, are the strongest and are going first."
"Why us first?" William asked, perplexed, "Shouldn't they go after the weaker schools then us?"
"And have us ready for them?" Ace asked matching question with question, "If this school falls the rest will follow."
Before any of us could answer the ground beneath us started to rumble.
"Is it an earthquake?" I asked. I had read about them in a book but never experienced one. I hope from what I'd read of the natural disasters that it wasn't.
"No." Sarai and Ace answered at once.
William and I managed to look at each other and then the other two again. Will yelled over the rumble, "How do you know?"
"We know," was the response. Just then the rumbling stopped and all four of us breathed a sigh of relief. We all managed to pick ourselves up, the rattling of our bones making it slightly difficult but we did it.
"I am going back to the library." I announced it loudly. I did it mainly to assure myself and everyone else that I was fine, that it would all be okay. But somehow seeing the looks that Ace and Sarai gave each other I knew it wasn't going to be. But I'd be damned if I was going to go down without a fight. We walked into the library solemnly, two of the four of us determined to last longer, if not to live until we were old and wrinkly. The sight that greeted us in the library was probably my own breaking point.
"What the hell happened to them?" Will asked pulling me to him so I wouldn't see the bloody mess of bodies. He turned to Ace and Sarai and asked, "Well?"
Ace and Sarai were looking anywhere but at us or the bodies.
"Answer him." I demanded. I had hoped my face was menacing enough.
"They infiltrated the caste." Sarai said simply dropping to her feet, "What is going to happen tonight isn't going to be stopped."
"The shields!" William said suddenly after a few minutes of silence, "What about the shields?"
Ace shook his head. I'd never thought I'd see such a proud man look so defeated, "They have ways to get through them."
We were silent again. Looking back it amazed me how I used to enjoy silence, the calm it could bring. Now I couldn't stand it, I didn't want to hear the words they were speaking to me. It was suddenly easier to understand why Sarai kept to herself, knowing a secret no one believed and knowing she would have to die so young. I would've kept myself closed off too.
"If they can get in then we can get out." William asked desperately.
Ginny shook her hair, "It's the nature of the shield. It takes less power to get in than to get out. Getting out requires strong magic we don't have."
"With the four of us; why can't it be enough?" I asked, "We know enough of our studies."
"The spell you are thinking about requires trust." Ace turned away.
Incredulous William asked, "And you don't trust us?"
"No." Sarai injected, "You don't trust us."
I started to protest but at a look from Sarai, I closed my mouth. She was right, I knew I didn't trust either one of them and that was saying a lot. Between the two of us, Will and I, I was the more trusting one. If I didn't trust them how can I expect William to?
"There is nothing more we can do." Ace said sighing. He grasped Sarai's hand and with a last look they walked away.
There was nothing else to say. I don't know how long William and I stood there.
"Abigail." He started to say. I turned to him and smiled, "I don't want to die William."
He grabbed my hand, "We won't!!! I refuse to die without a fight."
"We aren't going to get out of this one." I said squeezing his hand, "So much for those three kids."
"We have to have faith that things will get better." Harry said enveloping me with a hug, "Things are going to get better. I promise."
I took a deep breath trying to get his scent into my head, "Do you think we'll see them again? Do you think we'll see Sarai, Theodore, and Ace again?"
"You won't see them again." A voice said.
We both whirled around and caught sight of a small wrinkled man with long white hair. That was all they could really see, the shadows concealed the rest of his features.
"Headmaster?" Harry asked.
The man shook his head no. "Someone who has seen what is to come."
"What happened to Ace and Sarai?" I asked, my palms starting to sweat.
"They have…passed on. They unfortunately have not fulfilled their duty but their duty will be passed on to you. You both have a decision to make."
"What decision?" I asked, "What duty?"
"To change the world. I predicted this occurrence many years ago and gave the task of defeating it to a few of my students. Two of my students remembered and four didn't. The ones that remembered carried out what they could in this life. I have enough power to stop what is happening now but the world will change. You, woman, make the decision."
"Why me? Why not William?"
"He's dying. In a few minutes his heart will stop and you will be the last living person in this building. Ten minutes later after he's dead, you will die. Your decision will change history for all of our kind."
I felt my heart stop as I looked at William. He was sweating; I could see the perspiration start to form across his face and neck. I looked back to the man and shook my head. How could he expect me to make a decision when the love of my life was dying in my arms.
"I am not qualified to make this decision. You will have to find someone else alive. Leave us alone, I don't want to make history. I just want to be with him."
Zabini jerked awake gasping for air. He knew he was seeing more than the others were but he didn't understand why things were the way they were. Confusion never suited him, he hated not going what was going on, and what was going on wasn't helping. Granted sleeping with Kaida didn't exactly help and not seeing her for two days wasn't the best thing either. But he would've done it again and again. Not exactly the best thing to do when everyone else in their house suspected she was a Death Eater. There was a knock on the door and after a moment Hermione let herself in.
"There's a meeting downstairs."
TBC