Author's Note: This has been the hardest chapter to write, so far. I originally planned to burn Hogwarts down in this chapter, but after several arguments with my beta-reader, I decided that this route would probably be best. It took me 4longwks to get my application accepted and I'm glad that it did. Special thanks to: SexyTexy, Tink18, Moose, Swtpinay, Shawnpickett, KypDurron, Coolone007, HarryP5874, and all the other readers!
Chapter 6:
Many Lies, Many Die, and Many Cry
Harry woke up in a hurry. He'd heard something a collision or something. He checked his watch, five-thirty a.m. He grabbed his glasses off of the night table and climbed out of bed. He was shocked by what he saw. The Creevy brothers, Dean and Neville were all standing around Seamus's bed. They blocked the actual view of Seamus.
"What's going on?" asked Harry as he approached the group. "I thought I heard something. Is there something wrong with Seamus?"
The boys all turned around. They were all white in the face. Dean stepped forward holding something behind his back. "Yes, Harry. Something is wrong," Dean said his voice cracking and tearing up with every word. His voice softened and Harry tried to read the faces of the other boys. Dennis was fidgety and trying to avoid eye contact. Colin was white and looked as if he were about to puke. Neville, looked hurt and on the verge of a stroke.
"What's going on?" asked Harry concerned.
Dean walked all the way up to Harry and took his hand off from behind his back. In his hand he held a knife dripping with blood. He handed Harry the knife. "Yes," said Dean his voice full of pain. "Seamus, my best friend, is dead!" The other three boys stepped aside and Harry got a full view of the very dead Seamus. Harry looked down at the knife in horror and read the name on the blade, Malfoy!
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Stephanie Curry awoke early. It was six o'clock a.m. Sunday morning. She was the first was the first to awake in her dorm. She was a bright and beautiful seventh year Gryffindor. She had to get up early, so she could have some time to herself on the Quidditch pitch before everyone else did. She opened up her curtains and she stepped out of her four-poster. She yawned and put her hand over mouth. When she opened her eyes, a horrible sight greeted her.
There were four words made of complete blood hanging in mid-air next to Ginny's bed. She read the words. But, they didn't make sense. They just didn't make sense. She ran over to Ginny's bed and snatched open the curtains.
A corpse greeted Stephanie's eyes. Stephanie gasped quietly. She wanted to scream, but no sounds escaped her lungs. She slowly backed to the door of her dormitory she opened it not taking her eyes off the corpse and the blood-words as she opened the door left, finally turned around and ran all the way to Dumbledore's office.
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Draco awoke Sunday morning with a strange feeling. He hadn't slept very well all night. He felt unsure about what to do, so he got up and reached for the Malfoy Jaded Blade. The knife had been passed down through the Malfoy family since at least the sixteenth century. But, during hard times the tradition had been dropped.
It had been his grandfather, Alistar Malfoy, who had revived the tradition of the Malfoy blade. He had been a firm believer in pure-bloods and Dark Magic.
Draco got out of bed and walked over to his trunk. After rummaging through his things for several minutes he discovered that his knife was gone!
Unbeknownst to Draco, his knife was lying on Albus Dumbledore's desk at that very moment.
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"How do you know that Draco actually did it? Did you see the culprit? What time did you make it to the crime scene? How do we know that you didn't do it?" asked Snape not giving Neville the chance to answer. It was six-thirty in the morning. Snape, McGonogall, and Dumbledore had questioned all five boys for the last hour. Neville was the last. Harry had run and woke Dumbledore up. Dumbledore had sent Fawkes to get McGonogall, Pomfrey, and Snape. Pomfrey had taken Seamus to the Hospital Wing where she'd examined the body and owled Seamus's parents.
"I don't know! I don't know! I just don't know!" yelled Neville frustrated and scared.
"That'll be enough, Neville," said Dumbledore as he sat quietly in his chair. He hadn't said much during while McGonogall and Snape had questioned the students. He was still in a bit of shock. Over the last few years, Dumbledore had been accused of being senile and incapable of being headmaster of Hogwarts many, many times. But, in the past few years the accusations had been increased and so had his fears that his accusers might actually be right. In the past years Hogwarts had been broken into several times, exploded (sixth year), the students had been on the verge of death, and a million other things and all this time and his decisions cold have really put the faculty and students at risk. In November, Fudge had insisted that he take some time off or at least allow some type of security at Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had vehemently refused. Now, look what had happened. Another death. Seamus Finnigan. An innocent teenager with his whole life ahead of him. "You may go now Neville."
"Yes, yes sir," said Neville quietly and he got up and left the room.
"Albus, this is ridiculous! Draco could've never murdered Finningan!" said Snape as soon as Neville had left.
"Oh, that's hogwash, Severus! You as well as I know, that Malfoy is destined to follow in the steps of his followers!" screamed McGonogall passionately banging her old wrinkled hand down on Dumbledore's desk.
"Don't you dare take that tone with me Minerva! Sure, Draco has had some mishaps, but he'll never be anything like Lucius Malfoy! Ever! And if-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" said Dumbledore angrily. He was about to speak when Stephanie burst through his office door. Out of breath.
She'd waited for thirty minutes for someone to emerge after realizing that she didn't know the password. She'd nearly knocked that kid down. She ran all the way up the stairs disregarding their escalator like uses.
"Miss Curry, what are you doing here?" asked McGonogall sharply.
"I, I, I," Stephanie paused as the horrible scene flooded back into her head. Tears came to her eyes as she bent over trying to catch her breath.
Snape eyed the girl. Then he said, "Oh dear god!" He then spun around and face Dumbledore. "Albus, there's another body!"
"Who?" asked Dumbledore standing up.
"According to this girl she just found Ginny Weasley dead less than an hour ago!"
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Madame Pomfrey walked over to Hermione's bedside. Her mind was set on Seamus. She had dealt with many dead
bodies over the years, but Seamus's body had literally mortified her.
She shook the thought away took a strand Hermione's hair and dipped it into a green liquid.
She was trying to figure out if Hermione had caught any kind of disease as a result of defective magic. So, she was testing her for every magical disease possible.
The green liquid she was testing now was a disease named Colemras. CO/ LEM /RAS. If the liquid turned pink, she had the disease, colemras. Colemras was a fatal disease. If it turned blue she was okay. The test took a total of five minutes to work, so Madame Pomfrey went to check on Seamus's body.
He was in a private room that was used in case of deaths. She'd checked him at least six times since she'd brought him in an hour earlier. She guessed that his dead body reminded her of the way her son looked when he had died. He'd been a baby, but sometimes she imagined how he would look if he were older. She'd been hers and Argus's. She'd never told Argus about the baby. She'd simply taken a leave of absence and ran off and had him. He'd been so perfect. But, he'd died minutes after being born. Madame Pomfrey had been devastated.
She'd never ever told Argus about the baby. She'd felt so horrible. She'd returned to Hogwarts a broken and bitter woman. She and Argus had broken up, but finally had gotten back together after the Dark Lord had risen again (when Harry first arrived at Hogwarts.)
Madame Pomfrey looked at her watch and realized that she had been staring at Seamus lost in her thoughts for over fifteen minutes. She walked back to Hermione's bedside and looked at the liquid. The color had changed into…
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Harry sat on the couch in the Head Dorm with his head in his hands. It was only six-forty-five. He slowly moved his hands up his face and ran them threw his hair and took a long sigh.
"I can't believe it," said Ron sitting in the chair. "I just can't believe that Seamus is dead. We shared a room with him for six years and now," his voice trailed off. He couldn't finish his sentence it was too painful.
"I know. It was so horrible. I mean. When Dean handed me that knife," Harry's voice also trailed off and he shuddered as the scene went through his head.
"Poor Dean. They were best friends," said Ron sadly.
"I know. I don't what I'd do if I lost you or Hermione," said Harry.
Ron looked grateful. "I just wish I knew the son-of-a-bitch who did it!" yelled Ron getting up angrily.
Harry looked down at the floor guiltily.
"Harry, is there something you haven't told me?" asked Ron sensing that he hadn't got the whole complete truth. Dumbledore had instructed all five boys to keep quiet about Malfoy's name being on the knife, but Harry knew that if he saw Malfoy he'd burst and make the s-o-b pay for what he had done to Seamus.
Harry wanted to tell Ron, so badly. After all Ron was his best friend. He just couldn't keep this secret. Of course he could talk to the other four about it, but they weren't the same as Ron or Hermione. "Yeah there is. There was a name on the knife, Ron."
"Whose name?" Ron asked suspiciously.
Harry paused as he tried to think this through. "The knife said: Malfoy."
"WHAT!?"
"Yeah," said Harry calmly.
"That sorry bastard will pay for this," said Ron rushing for the door.
"Ron, wait!" said Harry getting up.
"Wait!? Malfoy killed Seamus! He could've killed you, me, hell he might even have been the one who attacked Hermione yesterday," said Ron rattling it off quickly. He then stopped dead in his tracks as his last statement settled into his head.
"He could have been the one, who attacked Hermione," said Harry slowly and numbly letting the words wash over him. "Let's go get that BASTARD!"
He caught up with Ron and Ron opened the door only to find Stephanie Curry with her hand raised to knock on the door.
"Ron, I just found your sister DEAD in our dorm. I just came from Dumbledore's office and he wants you to meet him in the Hospital Wing!" said Stephanie frantically.
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Luna awoke bright and early and checked her alarm clock. Seven o'clock on the dot! She climbed out of bed and hummed a sweet tune to herself.
The day before had been magnificent. Mrs. Weasley had owled her and told her that almost all the wedding arrangements were done. Her father had told her that he'd hired a photographer the Daily Prophet take the wedding pictures. The Weasleys' yard had been magically expanded to form a small outdoor chapel. Her great aunt Sally was willing her and Ron her fortune to get the young family started off and she had gotten rid of the mud-blood for her master. And if had followed through on what he had told her about what he planned to do to the rest of those freaks, she'd be celebrating today.
She thought of the master. Shudders went down her spine as thrills of pleasure crawled up it. He had big plans and the best part was that those pathetic meddlers wouldn't even suspect who he was!
She didn't feel bad for them. Not one of them. They all deserved it. Except, Ron. She'd really grown to love him. She could see who… had seen in him. But, the rest deserved it.
She giggled with mad delight at her thoughts. The great Harry Potter, DEAD! The pathetic Ginny Weasley, DEAD! Soon even that mud-blood would be dead, too! Ron would come to her for support and he'd fall in love with her just as he had loved…
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Dumbledore and the others bound into the room. They stopped dead in their tracks as they viewed the words and gasped. They ran over to the body and to their discovery it wasn't Ginny Weasley at all. It was girl who looked just like her, Antoinette Hardy.
"Oh dear," said McGonogall.
"This isn't Weasley!" said Snape.
Dumbledore gulped. If his fears about being a bad headmaster were big before they were now giants.
Just then in another bed another girl climbed out of her bed. Ginny Weasley opened rubbed her eyes and opened them and looked wide-eyed at the scene. The body, the blood, the people, and finally she looked at the bloody words floating in the air.
Her bottom lip trembled for half a second before she let out a blood-curdling scream leapt out of her lungs and filled the Gryffindor girls' dormitory.
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Draco entered the Great Hall for breakfast, the eerie feeling still surrounding him. People were whispering loudly, but abruptly stopped when the people became aware of him. All eyes were on him. There were no teachers at the staff table.
Thinking that another horrible story had filled the front page of the Daily Prophet. So, he yelled out, "You people are pathetic! Mud-bloods, tramps, muggle-lovers, and orphans alike! You believe every damn thing that you read in that paper!"
"No, but what I do believe is that murdered Ginny Weasley and Seamus Finnigan, you bastard!" yelled Dennis Creevy standing up.
The rest of the Great hall cheered him on while the Slytherin table fell silent.
"What are you talking about you filthy, mud-blood?" asked Draco angrily. What was this twit going on about?
"Oh yeah, as if you didn't know that I along with four other boys found Seamus dead this morning with a knife with the name Malfoy in his chest. Or that this morning that Stephanie Curry didn't wake up and find Ginny Weasley dead!" yelled Dennis as Stephanie stood up.
Draco felt as if this wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Ginny couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be! But, the knife! Creevy had found the knife. His knife. Only a selected few of Slytherins knew about that. He searched up and down the Gryffindor table for Ginny, Weasley, or even Potter. But, he didn't find any of them.
"Or that you didn't attack Hermione Granger yesterday!" yelled Parvati from down the table.
Draco shook his head violently. "I, I, I didn't!" he stammered.
"You bastard," said Justin Finch-Fletchy. He then threw his food at Draco and soon, the rest of the Hall followed. Draco soon found food flying at him from every direction he tried to move out of the way, but found that his feet were plastered to the floor. He looked on while the other students attacked him.
His Slytherin buddies skulked out of the Great Hall after being thrown food at, too.
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Luna felt pissed as she walked around the lake. She'd just left the Great Hall. (Before Draco had arrived.) She couldn't believe that her master had screwed up.
She was overjoyed that Ginny gone, but Harry was still alive! Damn him!
Potter had to pay! He just had to! Luna shuddered as she thought ahead to her afternoon meeting with her master.
He'd take it out on her. Oh how she'd grown to dislike him. With all of his preaching about how the Malfoys were the only true pure-blood family in the family.
He was always telling her that they had never had a muggle in their family, ever. She shuddered to think how he would punish her and blame her for his mistake. It wasn't her fault that he hadn't killed Potter. It wasn't her fault that he was such a screw up that he couldn't kill Potter.
Her thoughts were interrupted by his dark cold voice inside her head.
"Nah, uh, uh, Luna. You mustn't that way about the master. I shall have to punish you later. Now, I need you to do something for me. You must out a memory charm on that nosy mud-blood."
"Yes, master," said Luna softly. "Will there be anything else?"
"No, that will be all."
Luna was so afraid to think or move or do anything. He was inside her head!! She begin to have trouble breathing. Out of fear she fainted dead on the spot.
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Harry, Ron, and Ginny sat in the Head Dormitory Common Room. Ginny was as white chalk.
She was shaking back and forth violently. Dumbledore had tried to make since of it to Ginny, but it was a horrible experience for her. She and Antoinette had switched beds the night before, because Antoinette was having back problems. Dumbledore had told Stephanie to go to the Great Hall after she'd delivered the message. (This was before they had made it to the room and discovered Antoinette's body.) He'd let the other boy's do as they please since it had been so early.
"Oh god, I'm just so thankful that you're okay Ginny," said Ron as he poured his sister some orange juice. They had just passed the Gryffindor portrait of the Fat Lady when they'd heard the scream.
Ginny refused it. She didn't even realize that this was the first time she and Ron had been within five feet of each other in a month.
"Why is this all happening? Just when I thought that we were home-free, all this stuff happens. Who is doing this? Who wants to kill us?" asked Harry blankly as he sipped a strong cup of coffee.
"I'll tell you who," said Ron. "Draco Malfoy!" he said throwing the pitcher of orange juice across the room violently. "That son-of-a-bitch! It'll be a cold day in hell before I let that bastard getaway with this!"
"You got that right, we oughta go down there now and beat the crap out of him!" said Harry.
"No! No! No! NO!" exclaimed Ginny. "You won't touch one single hair on his head and if you do, I'll make you pay!" she screamed before storming out of the room leaving a shocked Harry and Hermione in her wake.
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Luna awoke in the hospital wing.
"Hello," said Madame Pomfrey as she walked over to Luna's bedside.
"Oh, Merlin's Beard what happened?" Luna asked drowsily.
"You fainted by the lake and was bought in, Filch," said Madame Pomfrey sharply.
"Oh."
"I have to go check on the other body," said Madame Pomfrey.
"You mean, Ginny Weasley's body?" asked Luna gleefully.
Madame Pomfrey noticed this and remarked, "No, it's Antoinette Hardy."
"What?!?" asked Luna in shock.
"Yes, Antoinette Hardy and Ginny Weasley switched beds the night before.
Luna gasped. "Did, you by any chance have any role in this?" asked Madame Pomfrey.
"No," said Luna trying to maintain an innocent voice.
Madame Pomfrey did a dry laugh and said, "I wouldn't put it pass you," and she turned on her heel and walked off.
Luna didn't let this announcement sink in. She didn't want to be punished anymore than she would already be, so she hurried over to Hermione's bedside and performed the memory charm and left the hospital wing.
Madame Pomfrey walked out and looked around for her. "Well at least that god awful banshee will be gone, when the Grangers get here." She then looked over at Hermione and shook her head in sympathy.
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Draco's face and clothes were a mess of food. He couldn't even see out of his eyes anymore. But, he didn't care. He was hurt far beyond the physical realm. The fact that Ginny was dead, by his knife nonetheless.
He suddenly felt his legs again, but he was hurting so much that he was frozen by his emotions.
He then felt the food stop coming. He could hear someone talking off in the distance, but his ears were crammed with scrambled eggs.
He felt himself being dragged out of the Great Hall then pushed up against a wall. Then, all of the food disappeared and standing before him was Severus Snape.
"Professor Snape! Thank you for saving me," said Draco.
"Oh, I haven't saved you Draco. I don't think Merlin himself would be able to save you!"
"What?!?" asked Draco.
"In case you haven't noticed you have been accused of murder!" said Snape sharply.
"But, I didn't do it! I didn't," he said but was cut off by Snape.
" Oh, really you don't think I don't know that? I have been arguing with McGonogall all morning that you didn't do it. But, the evidence is stacked up against you!" exclaimed Snape.
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Harry walked into the Hospital Wing and was shocked to be greeted by, Dr. Granger and Dr. Granger.
"Dr. Grangers?" Harry asked concerned. In all the years that Hermione had been at Hogwarts, the Grangers had never showed up. Through every single accident, they had only sent their condolences. Harry knew this and he knew that the only way muggles could come to Hogwarts was if the Headmaster invited them and Dumbledore would only invite them if it was something he extremely wrong.
"Harry!" said Jean Granger and she got up and hugged Harry as her husband followed.
"Hello, Harry," said George Granger.
"Oh, Harry ! What can you tell us about Hermione? Madame Pomfrey is attending to something else," asked Jean.
"Well, she was attacked by someone, yesterday and I guess if you're here something else has happened," said Harry.
"Oh, god!" said Jean becoming hysterical as she turned and laid her head in her husband's chest.
"Attacked? By who?" asked George firmly.
"Um, we don't know. She was coming back from the library going to her dorm when it happened. She was alone," said Harry feeling guilty about not telling them about the other events going on at Hogwarts.
"I told you, Jean. All those years back when we first got the letter, I told you we shouldn't have let her come to this god forsaken place!" said George.
"Don't say that, Dr. Granger! Hogwarts is a great school and I'll protect her," said Harry.
"Yeah right! You can't promise that! Everywhere you go, there's danger around the corner! I wouldn't be surprised if you're behind my daughter's accident!" said George.
"That'll be enough," said Madame Pomfrey coming into the waiting room.
Jean took her head off of George's chest and the three walked over to Madame Pomfrey. "So, you must be Madame Pomfrey?" assumed Jean.
"Yes. Yes I am and I'm afraid that Hermione has a fatal disease," Madame Pomfrey.
"What is it?" asked Harry.
"Hey kid, I ask the questions around here," said George looking at Harry. He then looked back at Madame Pomfrey. "What is it?"
Madame Pomfrey gulped. "I'm afraid that Hermione has a disease, that comes from defective magic or it can be given to a person through an old Dark Curse. Her disease is called Colemras. What it does is slowly eat away at her major organs. This disease is very painful, it comes and goes, in other words she'll go through moments of extreme pain where it would hurt her to even blink and at other times she'll have an amazing amount of energy. Sadly, it also prevents it's carrier from having children. It is fatal, the longest anyone has everyone has ever lived with the disease is twelve years. Hermione could die."
Jean gasped and then burst into tears. "My poor baby!" she yelled.
Harry was about to say something when they heard a voice come from the infirmary.
"Madame Pomfrey! Where are you?" asked Hermione loudly.
"That's Hermione!" said Harry thrilled by the sound of her light and beautiful voice.
The four ran to Hermione's bedside. "Mom? Dad? Harry?" she asked weakly.
"Yes, sweetie we're here," said George.
"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione.
Madame Pomfrey slowly recounted the disease and when she was done all Hermione all she could do was shake her head and cry.
"Sweetie?" asked Jean. "Is there anything you want us to do? Because if you want your father and I can take you home."
Hermione burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. "No! NO! NO! Just go away!" she yelled.
"If that's what you want sweetie, with the help of Hagrid, we've made arrangements to stay in Hogsmeade," said George and he his wife began to leave. Harry stayed behind as Madame Pomfrey walk the two to the door.
"Leave, Harry just go!" Hermione said fiercely.
"Hermione, you can scream, shout, yell or do whatever you want. But, I'm not leaving until you talk to me."
"About what? About how I can never give you children?" she asked tears rolling down her face. "Or how I'm going to die?"
"Hermione, I love you more than life itself! I would never ever let you die! And as for children, I don't care as long as I have you by my side. Hermione, you're my world! You complete me! You're the sweet smell of a rose on a spring morning. You're the smile and grin on every baby's face. You're the beautiful sunrise that gets me out of bed each morning. Lub beat that completes my heart's lub-dub. So, don't turn you back on me now. Not, now when we need each other the most."
Hermione smiled. She couldn't resist him and those beautiful words. "I love you too, Harry!" she exclaimed outstretching her arms. Harry ran over to her and kissed her passionately and held her close to him and at that moment no matter what her parents said, no matter if she lived or died or anything else, they were truly together. For their love was true and pure and beautiful.
To be continued…