The Weight of the World

Chapter 11 - The Foe-Glass

Harry woke up to find Hermione lying asleep next to him on the bed. She was right up against him and he had his arm around her. It startled him at first but he didn't want to move and suddenly wake her up. He just laid there for a few minutes and listened to her breathing. Her head was on his chest and he could smell her hair because her head was just below his nose. He could tell that it was still really early, but he had just gotten the best nights rest he could remember. The dream was gone. He needed to talk to Dumbledore about what had happened. He needed to tell Ron and Hermione about the dream too. But for some reason, he didn't want to move. Something deep inside him made him stay right where he was. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't really experienced any physical affection, other than the occasional hug from Ron's mom. Hermione was just his friend though. Why did he feel so happy when he woke up and realized they were holding on to each other?

Harry didn't want to think about it anymore. He just wanted to enjoy this feeling. The dream being gone was a weight off of his shoulders. And he couldn't help but admit that he wasn't disturbed with Hermione lying there with him too. He closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

An hour or so later Ron quietly opened the door to the fifth year dorm room and peeked inside. He stared in disbelief at what he saw. Hermione and Harry were in the same bed. They had their arms around one another and were both asleep. He couldn't help but just stare at them for a minute longer, before he quietly closed the door and went downstairs to grab some breakfast. He was really confused. He wasn't sure if he should be worried, jealous, mad or maybe even happy for his two best friends. Right now he was just feeling really confused.

Later that morning, Hermione woke up and found herself cuddled up against Harry, and he had his arm around her. She raised her head and saw that he was sound asleep with his head just above her. She didn't know if she should try to get up or not because she wasn't sure what she was going to say if he accidentally woke up and found her in bed with him. But he had his arm around her. He had to have already known that she was there, and he obviously didn't mind it if he had his arm around her right? Despite the potential embarrassment, she couldn't help but let a smile creep on her face. Harry was sleeping and sleeping soundly. She was almost sure that this particular nightmare problem was gone. But she was still stuck. She didn't know what to do about her situation. She had to admit that it felt almost comfortable having her head on Harry's chest and his arm around her. For some reason she felt like she was keeping him safe and he was doing the same for her. But it was all very confusing. Half of her wanted to stay right where she was. The other half wanted to get out of the room fast without being noticed. But Harry's breathing changed suddenly and she knew that he must have just woken up.

"Hermione? Are you awake?" Harry said

She felt his arm that was around her tighten just a bit. She was stuck. She didn't have time to think about what to do anymore. She wanted to pretend that she was still asleep, but then she knew she had to face him at some point.

She looked up and caught his eyes. She had never really noticed how green they were. He was smiling at her.

"Hermione, I had the dream again. Dumbledore was right. He was trying to warn me. He said he won't be back again."

"Harry, that's great," she said quietly still sounding half asleep. She wanted to ask him more details about the dream but the awkwardness of the situation stopped her.

Hermione rolled away from him and looked up at the clock. It was 10:30 in the morning.

"We slept a long time Harry. Did you sleep okay?" she asked him.

"After the dream, I slept great. I haven't had a night's sleep that good in a month," he said.

Hermione stood up and grabbed the book she was reading last night off of the table. "I'm going to go change, and then I'll meet you down for breakfast," she said as she headed for the door.

"Okay, see you in a bit," Harry said.

Harry sat there in bed for a minute. His heart was racing. He wasn't quite sure how to read Hermione. Was she mad at him, or upset with herself for falling asleep with him? He really hoped that she wasn't. He didn't want to jeopardize their friendship and he especially didn't want things to be awkward between them. He got up out of bed and changed out of his pajamas. When he went down to the common room Ron was sitting there reading the Daily Prophet.

"Anything good in there?" Harry asked stretching.

Ron looked up at him for a second then back down at the paper.

"Nope. Not really," he mumbled.

"Well?" Harry asked Ron expecting him to ask about the nightmare.

"Well what?" Ron said plainly.

"Don't you want to know what happened with the nightmare?" Harry asked him.

"I figured everything went fine. I went to check on you this morning and saw you and Hermione asleep. You didn't look like you were having a bad dream at all." Ron said.

Harry felt his stomach drop for a second. He wasn't quite sure what to say. Ron had seen them and it obviously bothered him. But Harry wasn't going to apologize and he felt a bit annoyed that he was getting a cold shoulder from Ron.

"What do you mean by that Ron? You think something is up with me and Hermione because we fell asleep together?" Harry said sternly.

"You didn't just fall asleep together Harry. She was under the covers with you, and you had your arms around each other," Ron said still looking at the paper.

"Ron I had the bloody dream. She was probably worried about me. I didn't even know she was there until this morning. She probably just didn't want to get too far away from me in case she had to throw water on me. Then she probably got cold and just fell asleep. What's the big deal?" Harry said coolly.

"No big deal at all Harry. None at all. I just thought if you liked each other you would at least have said something to me,” Ron said.

"I don't like her Ron. I mean, I do, but ... You are really making me mad. I don't understand your problem. It's not like we were up kissing all night last night. We agreed she was going to stay in there remember? You're acting like she's your girlfriend or something,” Harry said.

Ron didn't say anything. He just kept reading his paper.

Harry wanted to change the subject. "Where's Meagan?" he asked.

"With her mom somewhere," Ron said quickly.

Harry didn't want to push this anymore. He needed to get something to eat. He was well rested and his appetite was coming back in full force.

"Well I'm going to get something to eat and then I need to go see Dumbledore. I know he wants to hear about my dream. I'll see you in a bit," Harry said.

Ron was still pretending to read his paper and didn't look or speak to Harry.

Harry just shook his head and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. After he walked out, Hermione slowly walked back into her dorm room. She had been standing just outside it listening to Ron and Harry's conversation. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to go down and eat breakfast, but she didn't want to be confronted by Ron especially how he just treated Harry. She also didn't want to hurry past him because that might upset him even more.

She stared at herself in the mirror for a few seconds.

"This is stupid!" she said to herself in the mirror. Harry was right. They had just fallen asleep together. She was cold. She got under the covers. No harm done.

She walked down the stairs and into the common room and said good morning to Ron.

"Good morning," Ron said, "Sleep well?"

"I didn't get much sleep at all Ron. I stayed up so Harry could have his dream remember?" she said coolly.

Ron didn't say anything and the silence was very uncomfortable. Hermione decided to break it and hopefully get out of there.

"Well I am going to get some breakfast. You want me to bring you anything back?" she asked him.

"Oh, no thanks. I got up hours ago and ate breakfast. I didn't sleep in like you and Harry,” Ron said smartly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Oh nothing. I was just saying I didn't get to sleep in like you and Harry," he repeated again.

Hermione fumed. "I know you saw us asleep Ron, but you don't have to be an ass about it," she said furiously.

"An ass? What do you mean? How am I being an ass? Did I say anything? No!" Ron said throwing the paper down on the table.

Hermione threw herself down in the chair across from Ron. "It was an accident Ron. I didn't mean to fall asleep by him."

Her voice was quivering and Ron knew that he had upset her and that wasn't his intention.

"Hermione, its fine. I don't care. Really. I just thought you guys would have told me, that's all," Ron said.

"Told you what Ron? I just told you. It was an accident. He was having the dream last night and I got really scared. I laid down beside him because he was shaking so bad. The next thing I knew, I woke up this morning and we were both asleep."

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it, I swear, I was just a bit mad because I thought you guys were trying to hide something from me I guess. It's really none of my business anyway,” Ron said.

"Of course it's your business. You're our friend," she said. "I am just really confused Ron. I hope Harry isn't mad at me too," she said in a worried voice.

Ron thought for a second and then shook his head.

"I'm not mad at you. And I would bet that Harry isn't either. He's probably mad at me though. I was an ass to him," he said with remorse.

Hermione stared at him for a second then looked down at the floor.

"Ron?" Hermione said softly. "He talked to me last night, about what happened."

"About the dream?" Ron asked.

"No, about that night. The night when Cedric died," she said softly.
Harry used the secret passage down to the kitchen and got a few pieces of toast and a large goblet of orange juice. Harry ate it while Dobby made Winky model the clothes that he had made and given her for her birthday. It was a robe that looked as though it had been made with about fifty different colors of cloth. Harry talked with them both for a few more minutes expecting to see Hermione come in for some food. After he decided she may be running late, he decided to see if Dumbledore was in his office. It was time to go and tell him about the nightmare.

Ron sat and listened to Hermione recall the story that Harry had finally told her the night before. She knew that Harry probably wanted Ron to know the details, but she also knew how hard it was for him to recall it. She didn't think he would mind if she took that burden off of him. Ron almost didn't blink the entire time. When she got to the point where Harry was hit with the Cruciatus Curse, Ron looked down at the floor in utter disbelief. Hermione could tell that it was more than Ron had expected, and she stopped for a second.

"Dad told me that Wormtail took a knife and cut his arm open and used a cup of his blood to resurrect You-Know-Who. They said that it was a very powerful dark magic that he used that blood for. Dad said that Dumbledore thinks he is probably more powerful now than the night he fell,” Ron said.

"Ron, Voldemort made Wormtail give Harry his wand back so they could duel,” Hermione said.

Hermione went on with the rest of the story word for word, exactly how Harry had told it the night before. When she was done she and Ron stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. They had both finally known what their best friend had gone though and it was horrible. Ron didn't think he could look at Harry the same way. He wasn't sure if he felt pity, horror, or even admiration for what he had experienced. He wondered what he would have done in the same situation, and he couldn't help but think that he would have probably died. He would have been scared to duel with most of the seventh year students, much less Voldemort. He felt very foolish and guilty at the way he treated his friend just a few minutes before. He knew that what Harry needed more than anything was understanding and most of all patience and he didn't give him either.

"Harry left to go get some breakfast then he was going to see Dumbledore to tell him about the dream. Do you know what he found out?" he asked.

"No, other than he did say that it was over and he knew it wouldn't be back. I am going to go look for him. You want to come?" she asked him.

"I think I'll just wait for him to come back Hermione."

Ron felt so badly about the way he acted towards finding Hermione and Harry asleep together. He had been thinking about it all morning and he had decided that what made him mad was the fact that he thought they had been hiding something from him, but that turned out to be not true at all. He believed the fact that they didn't plan any of that. He smiled to himself for a second. He thought about how nice it would be to wake up and see Meagan sleeping beside him.

Harry had made his way up to Dumbledore's office, but he wasn't there. He went back down the staircase and when he got there Moody was waiting for him.

"Any more of those dreams Potter?" Moody asked.

Harry was a bit surprised, but then he realized that it was possible that Dumbledore had taken the warning seriously and had already informed Moody.

"Um, yes sir. Actually I had one last night and I was coming up to tell Dumbledore about it,” Harry told him.

"Dumbledore had to take care of some business this morning. Do you mind coming to my office? I would like to hear about this dream," He said with what resembled an attempt at a smile.

Harry just nodded and had to slow down his walk a bit to pace with Moody. He could tell that this Moody didn't get around quite as good as the fake Couch-Moody that was around last year. But the magical eye moved around just the same and it still gave Harry the creeps.

"Potter, I have your map you know. I found it hidden in my trunk. I assume that Crouch took it from you when he was walking around pretending to be me. I took it to Dumbledore and he told me that your father and his friends made it years ago. I have seen what it does and I would love to be able to use it for the summer if you don't mind," He said in almost a growl.

"No problem at all sir,” Harry said.

"Don't call me 'sir', Potter. Do I look like a knight to you Potter?" he asked.

"Um, no sir, I mean Professor, sorry," Moody said.

"I ain't really a professor either Potter. You can call me Moody if ya like," He said.

When they got to Moody's office he stood outside of the door and was obviously looking inside with his magical eye to make sure that no one was hiding on the other side of the door. When they were finally inside, Moody sat down at his desk and motioned for Harry to do the same.

Harry told Moody all about his dream and how Cedric had told him that it was a last favor to Harry. Moody didn't seem too interested in the sentimental parts of the story, or even amazed at the fact that someone who was dead had contacted him in a dream. He was extremely interested however, in the fact that someone was planning on coming to the castle to kill him.

"Bloody Death Eaters. They are nothing more than the weakest of all us wizards Potter,” Moody said.

Harry had always considered the Death Eaters powerfully evil. He was scared of what they could do, but he had never considered them as weak before.

"It takes a weak mind and a weak soul to let someone push you around the way those bloody Death Eaters let Voldemort do them. They had no idea what they were getting into. At first they just thought they'd get a shot at being powerful and thought they would get to rule villages and people and such. They had no idea that they'd be nothing more than pawns in his game. Now they are all too afraid to break away from. You know. You seen em. They probably messed themselves the moment that ink spot on their arms went black. It's true some of em got to have some fun every once in a while. But he always hurts em, and humiliates em in the end. If it were me, I'd rather die than let any man tell me how to live my life."

Harry thought about what Moody had said. He had never thought about the Death-Eaters that way, but it certainly made some sense. He remembered that even Malfoy was shaking from fear and kissing Voldemort's cloak when he thought that he was about to be punished. Moody took a swig from his hip flask and then stared at his foe-glass. There were several dark shadows in there. He remembered the Crouch-Moody telling him about how you didn't have to worry about them until you could see the whites of their eyes. Moody saw Harry looking into the foe-glass and his real eye lit up while the magical one started spinning in the back of his head.

"Potter, I tell you what. You let me use that map, so it's only fair for me to give you my extra foe-glass. It's not quite as big as that one. I had to get me a new one. My eye ain't what it used to be. I'll tell Dumbledore about your dream when he gets back this afternoon."

"Thank you sir,” Harry said quickly and then caught himself. "I mean, thanks," he said smiling.

Moody flicked his wand and the smaller foe-glass came floating out of one of the closets behind him. He looked at the mirror and took out his wand and quickly muttered something that ended with Harry's name. He then took it and rolled it towards Harry.

"There ya go Potter. It's all yours."

"Thanks" Harry said. "Umm, Moody? What do I do if I see someone in their clearly?" Harry asked reluctantly.

"Get your wand out and be ready. If you can see their face, and see who it is, either kill em, or stay away from em," Harry could tell immediately that he wasn't kidding.
Hermione had made her way down to the kitchen and was told by Dobby that Harry had already come and gone. After thanking them all and taking some food, she went looking for him. After last night, she knew that it was going to be a bit weird at first to talk with him. But she refused to avoid him. She knew that they were both mature enough to handle the fact that they had simply fallen asleep together. After a small search of the castle including a look in the library, she decided to head back to the common room.

Harry had used his wand to levitate the mirror from Moody's office all the way back to the outside of the common room. He was going to need help getting it through the portrait hole however. He went in and found Ron skimming through one of his new Chudley Cannons books still sitting on the same couch. Harry didn't think that Ron would be willing to help him, but he seemed to be the only one around. Ron put his book down immediately and stood up when he saw Harry walking towards him.

"Harry, look, I'm sorry about this morning,” He said quickly.

"Don't worry about it Ron. I know it probably looked bad," he said.

"No Harry, it was really stupid of me to be an ass like that. I was just a bit surprised and well."

"Ron don't worry about it,” He said again. "Can you help me with something really fast?" Harry asked him.

"Sure,” Ron said.

"Help me lift this mirror through the door outside here?" Harry said walking to the painting. "It's a foe-glass that Moody is letting me borrow,” Harry said.

Ron smiled, "Dad says that Moody has these things in just about every room of his house."

Ron and Harry angled the mirror so that it would fit through the opening into the common room. They accidentally hit the side of the Fat Lady's frame with it and she let out a large scream as though they had thrown a large bottle of magical mess remover on her. They both laughed through their apologies and sat the mirror down in the middle of the common room. It was upright and Harry had his first real look at it since it was given to him.

He saw a single shadowy figure way in the distance and it had a slow sway to it like it was slowly moving towards him. Harry got a chill down his spine at the sight of this. Ron was sitting back on the couch and Harry turned around slowly and sat next to him. Both of them sat there and looked at it as though they were watching a television set. Ron stared at the shadowed figure for a second and then looked as though he had swallowed something sick all of a sudden.

"Do you reckon that's You-Know-Who?" he asked Harry in whimpering voice.

"Who else would it be Ron?" Harry said quietly as though he didn't want the mirror to hear him.

Just then Hermione came back into the common room.

"There you are Harry!" she said.

Before she could say anything else though, she stopped and turned around to see what they were both staring at.

"Is this a foe-glass?" she asked looking at them both.

Neither one of them looked at her. They were both just staring at the glass. Ron finally spoke up.

"Yeah it is. Moody gave it to Harry,” Ron said slowly.

"I've read about these. If you see people in the mirror, they are supposed to be your..." she suddenly stopped.

She realized that there was a cloudy figure the mirror. She slowly walked backwards to the couch and sat down next to Ron never taking her eyes off of the mirror.

"That's him isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah,” Ron said.

Harry didn't say a word.