Black Rain
It is a hellish problem to be stuck in one place for too long. To be laid up and being unable to fend for oneself. The lost of freedom destroys more than any sickness." -JPM
Thunder crackled stirring Harry from his light sleep. The flash of lightning that followed the rumble pushed its way through his eyelids causing him to squint until it subsided. He then opened his heavy lids enough to see out in the room. They shot open in surprise when he didn't recognize where he was. Green irises shifted around the room, taking in everything until they landed on a form laying heavily on his chest.
Hair, deep brown and tangled like vines, splayed out over the sheets that laid over him, and covered the girl's face. He watched as her shoulders rose and fell in a constant rhythm, and allowed his eyes to wonder from them, following the curve of her shoulders, her pale arms, and to the delicate fingers that sat slightly curled over the wrinkles of the sheets.
Lightning flashed as the sound of rain pelting off the windows echoed in the quiet room causing Harry's eyes to shift to the window pane. The window was streaked in muddy water, the droplets running winding paths across the glass, leaving a trail of blackness in its wake.
A deep breath told him the girl had woken up and he turned his attention back to her, watching a shiver run down her spine, her body convulsing slightly to the sudden touch of cold. He moved to place a hand to her, but found that he still lacked the strength to do so, so settled for a soft word.
"Hermione?" He called, his voice low compared to the pounding rain. When no answer came he began to repeat himself. "Hermione are yo - "
"Hmm?" The sound was lazy, a call through the fog of sleep.
Harry smiled. That dreamy 'hmm' made him feel better than he had in a long time. Though, the smile quickly disappeared, as the familiar calling of his bladder found its way to his brain. He looked at her for a moment, his mind running thought his choices. It was going to be embarrassing to ask, but he didn't have any other choice, unless he felt like wetting the bed or something along those lines. Which, his mind told him, would be much more embarrassing.
"Uh, are you awake by any chance?" He asked and Hermione turned her head slightly allowing an eye to peak out above her arm.
"Yeah, somewhat. Why?" She asked, that one eye looking him over.
"Well, um, you see . . ." How the hell was he suppose to ask this? He can't very well ask her to help him aim or anything, but he can't do it himself in the state he seemed to be in. Why couldn't life ever give him a break? "I, uh, have to use the, erm, facilities." Facilities? He must have hit his head or something.
"Wha-?" She began as she lifted her head up and sat up straight, her brow was raised slightly. Seconds later a look of understanding crossed her face and her cheeks grew a hint of pink, and a hand slapped gently against her forehead. "Oh, of course, I'm sorry, um. . . ." She trailed off as the lights flickered in time with the rolling thunder. "Duh, Hermione . . . I can't believe . . ." She began to look around the room as she continued to berate herself.
"Oh, that should work." She said in offhand sort of way. , Harry watched as she placed a finger tip to her lips as her eyes stared off into the distance. The tip tapped lightly against her bottom lip and Harry couldn't help but be reminded of how cute she was when she was mulling over a problem. "Yes, that would work I think." She turned back to Harry. Her eyes fixed on him. "I'll be right back, just hold on." She said with a smile and made her way out of the room.
"Hold on?" He said with a chuckle. Of course he was going to hold on, even if his bladder exploded on him. He moved himself up slightly to be able to see the window better and the rain that was falling outside. It was black.
The rain stood out against the backdrop of gray clouds, giving the world outside the window a doomsday feel that Harry had only seen in a movie. The darkness seemed to seep its way into the room, pushing back the light of the electric lamps that continued to flicker.
The lights finally turned off with a rolling thunder, leaving Harry in darkness, the silence was deafening, and he began to search around the room. Something was wrong.
He knew it, he could feel it in his very bones, that something was very wrong with how this darkness seemed to prevail against the light until they flickered out. A flash of lightening lit up the room, or rather lit up Harry and the bed he way laying on. The darkness didn't run from the flash of blue like it should have, instead it stuck to the walls and the floors like a second skin.
Harry felt his breath catch and the feeling of fear began to run along his spines, sending out signals for flight, and if he could have moved he might have listened to them. But instead he laid there, half paralyzed, as the darkness continued to flood into the room.
CRACK!
The sound made Harry's upper half jump, his eyes open as wide as they could, taking in everything that his brain could possibly process. Another crack made him turn his head down to his sheets. The sound, the crack was coming from the darkness, or rather, tendrils of darkness that slammed heavily onto the bed. The vines of darkness swayed back and forth as if waiting for their turn to claim a part of the bed, and slowly, each with a crack, they took a spot and began to slither along the bed.
"Hermione . . . "Harry tried his best to shout, but the word merely came out as whisper. He tried again as he felt a chill run over his legs. "Hermione . . ." His forced his voice to work, his vocal cords, battered and torn vibrated with the air of his lungs, trying to make his calls for help gain volume.
"Hermione!" Pain ripped along his throat as the horse yell traveled about the room. The coldness was beginning to travel up his chest now, and he knew that was the best he was going to be able to come up with.
He began to chant her name in his mind, hoping that she heard him, hoping that somehow she would feel he was in danger, somehow come to his rescue. He began to shiver as his mind continued to repeat her name. He looked down watching the tendrils wrap around him, binding his hands to his side, enveloping him in cold.
"LUMOS!" The voice was forceful, as if how loud it shouted had a direct correlation with how powerful the light would be, and it seemed it did, for the entire room lit up in a light so bright that Harry had to close his eyes. As he closed his eyes, he could feel the grip of the darkness release, slithering away from his skin and away from the light.
Slowly the light fell in brightness, dimming to the point that Harry could open his eyes once again. He turned his head around the room quickly just as the lights came back on.
"Nox." Harry turned to find Hermione standing armed with her wand, her shoulders heaving as if she had ran a couple of miles. She was breathing through her open mouth, her eyes darting every which way, and her wand finally fell to her side as she seemed to regain control of herself.
She looked to the floor and breathed in deeply before looking up to him, concern seated behind her eyes. Quickly, she moved from where she stood to kneel down next to the bedside and grabbed Harry into a tight hug. She was mumbling something but he couldn't quite make it out with her face buried in his shoulder, and she seemed to be . . . crying?
"Hermione?" Harry asked softly against her hair and tried to nudge her up to look at him. She slowly lifted her head, her cheeks shiny from tears, and she wiped at them as she continued to look from him.
"I'm sorry." She said, and Harry realized that she was saying that all along.
"For?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion, she just shook her head, still not looking at him.
"I shouldn't have left you alone like that, in this storm . . ."
"Why is that? What was that thing?" He asked, and he turned to face the room, looking for any hint of the darkness that had almost overtaken him.
"A Shade." Hermione said flatly, and finally looked at him. "They come in the rain sometimes, looking for people like us."
"Like us?"
"Yes, like us, us who still fight, and haven't given up."
"Fight what? I killed Voldemort, that's how I got into this condition." He paused and turned to face her. "Please tell me it isn't him."
She didn't meet his eyes once again, but the frown that formed across her lips was enough to tell him that it was. He cursed loudly and slammed his head into the pillow. Every fiber of his being burned in raw anger. After all that, after everything he had been though the bastard was still around. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to kill him again.
POP!
The first light bulb went dark, and sudden the rest followed each one going out in a more violent fashion until the last one in the room shattered and shards of glass exploded into the room.
"Harry, calm down, HARRY!" Hermione shouted, but he can barely hear her, his depleted reserves of energy had become even lower after he has lost control. His head with swimming, thoughts came in jumbles of pictures and words.
"Harry, stay with me, come on."
Harry breathed in deeply and shook his head, gaining back his bearings. He turned to her, his eyes drooped, and his mouth in a frown.
"I killed him Hermione, I saw him die."
"I know, we all thought you did, especially when we couldn't find you. I'm so sorry Harry . . ." And she hugged him again, holding on as tightly as she could.
"Umm, Hermione, I uh, still have to go." He whispered to her.
"Oh god, I forgot!" She said with a laugh.