Winter-Kill

Prologue-

Everything happened so quickly.

Usually, when humans try and decipher the word quickly, they begin to believe that perhaps things would also end quickly as well. In this case, it was far from the truth.

Why or how it happened, no one knew, not even the famous Harry Potter. In fact, Harry was on of the ones who handled the situation the worst. It seemed that every one's dreams of graduating were now close to crushed, even for the first years. The hopes of getting Hogwarts back to the way it was were futile. Now that the trio was in their seventh year, failure seemed to continue to press them harder into the ground.

It was over. Dumbledore had mysteriously fled two months ago without a sign of if he would even return, chaos reigned from the students as McGonagall tried to calm them down, and a lunatic from the Ministry of Magic named Eiffan Crow had come in to rule the school. Eiffan slowly but surely began turning Hogwarts into a prison, de-assembling the flying charms on the grounds and allowing no students or teachers to leave or have any contact with the outside world, and now Ronald Weasley was locked up in the Astronomy Tower, charged for a murder he didn't commit.

'How could Hogwarts possibly get this way?' you wonder. 'How could Dumbledore possibly let this happen?'

Well... I'll tell you how...

~*~*~

Chapter 1- The Fun Begins

Hermione felt the warm sun tickle her back as her eyes fluttered open. The beautiful sky blinded her for only a second before her vision leveled out and she was able to see the clear blue water of the lake.

She had fallen asleep.

Hermione lifted her head off her Advanced Transfiguration textbook and sat up, looking down at her uniform only to see grass stains imprinted down the front of her white shirt. She cursed under her breath and grasped the free locks of hair that were dancing with the early October wind and tucked them behind her ears. She grabbed her wand that lay between the pages of her textbook and quickly cleaned herself up.

The afternoon had been so peaceful that Hermione didn't even realize she had been falling asleep. Drifting off while doing some free-time studying was a nasty habit she had begun to develop.

She stood up and walked to the shore of the lake. She stepped into the cool water and let it caress her feet as she reached down to splash water on her grass-stained shins. She watched the green muck drip away and walked back up to her study place. She looked at her watched and sighed with relief as the dial read a quarter past three. She had only been asleep for a half an hour.

She picked up her book and wand from the grass and her shoes from under a nearby willow tree and looked up to see her boys playing catch with a Quaffle. She also recognized her fellow Gryffindors Dean, Seamus, and Neville with them as well. Hermione giggled as she watched Neville's attempt to catch the ball before he tripped over a sapling trunk and fell flat on his face. The rest of the boys had a laugh and Harry reached down to help Neville up. The round-faced boy got to his feet and Harry dropped his hand. He looked up, met Hermione's gaze, smiled, and waved her over. She smiled back. She began to walk over and the wind caught her skirt, causing her to use her hand and pull it down.

Hermione joined the boys in a game of catch, and enjoyed every trip she had taken, every bruise she had received on her arms for catching the Quaffle wrong, and she even enjoyed the tackle Ron had given her.

For the first time in her own Hogwarts history, things were just normal. Harry had defeated Voldemort over summer (the details were so extravagant that they aren't for this story) and most of his followers had also been destroyed. Life was relaxed and fun, like a young witch or wizard's life should be. She couldn't imagine life going back to the way it was. Ever.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione walked back to the castle, and she knew she could finally let her guard down to be herself wherever she was. She could fall asleep on the Hogwarts grass without fear that some arch-enemy of Harry would attack her.

She was safe in the arms of her two best friends. Nothing but that mattered right now.

Two months into the future, Hermione would have slapped herself in the face for ever thinking something so foolish.

~*~*~

Seventh year duties were as simple as ever, and even with Hermione being Head Girl, she found that it wasn't even as hard as past years. Luckily, in the running, Justin Finch-Fletchy had beaten Draco Malfoy for Head Boy. Hermione and Justin got along very well.

The date was October 9^th, and Hermione and Justin were having a meeting in a special classroom Professor McGonagall had set up for them that year. The professor had seen the two, especially Hermione, work throughout the past six years at incredible speed and accuracy, so she decided that they deserved a room of their own.

The classroom had been newly furnished with a fireplace and sitting pillows. There were desks with vital papers spread across them, and the two were allowed to leave the classroom this way since it was forbidden to all other students.

At this point in the meeting, both were sitting on pillows discussing the topics of activities to keep the school alive this year. Hermione lay on her stomach, and Justin sat in an un-formal position with his back against the stone wall.

It had been a pretty un-lively conversation with no worries about students' safety, no fears of evil entering Hogwarts grounds, no Tri Wizard Tournaments to chat about, or no evil professors to plot against. The topic had casually led onto Quidditch.

"Who do you think will win the cup this year?" Justin asked Hermione.

"You know," she replied as she smirked and looked up at him.

Justin laughed. "Yeah, actually, I think Gryffindor is going to win it too.

Hermione gave him wide eyes. "Really?"

"They're the only incredibly good team this year, although I hate to admit it," he replied. "Please, don't try to hide that you haven't noticed Hufflepuff slipping down the scale."

Hermione looked away. "Yeah, I've noticed."

Justin sighed and looked away as well, and they sat in silence for more than a few minutes. Hermione looked down and began shuffling through the few notes she had made in the past half hour, and incredibly they had made no progress today what-so-ever.

Justin picked up a bottle of ink and threw it into the fire in frustration. As the bottle hit the glass broke and the flames turned blue and roared. Hermione sat up, startled.

"What in the world was that for?" she remarked. The flames began to settle down.

"That was for our boring life," Justin replied as he leaned back against the wall once more and folded his arms across his chest.

Hermione smiled and shook her head, but it wasn't a smile of happiness. It was a smile of disbelief. "So you're saying that you want Voldemort back, killing innocent people and endangering one of my best friends?"

Justin gave her a sour look. "Of course not. I'm just saying that I always thought the Wizard World was spectacular, and right now it's just... boring."

"But we're free," Hermione interrupted. "And there's no danger."

Justin sat up and leaned close to Hermione. "Are you really happy?"

She looked at him, not quite sure of what he was going on about. "Yes. I don't understand you."

He looked into her brown eyes and said something she would never forget.

"Hermione, sometimes danger is a good thing."

She jerked back, and both shock and hurt came into her expressions. "What in the gods are you..."

"I have to go," he interrupted as he grabbed his bag and stood up. "Sorry we didn't get much done."

And with that he was gone.

Hermione sat alone for a few minutes, contemplating the last words that came out of Justin's mouth. She was lost and confused.

Sometimes Hermione, danger is a good thing.

~*~*~

The shrieking grew louder inside his skull, and all he wished was for it to stop. He felt hot tears cascade down his cheeks as he saw the white-faced creature with its gleaming fangs and dark, animal eyes. It was muttering spells under its breath.

It was killing off his best friends.

Coldness rushed over him like death, and he felt like he was being violently stabbed with a million knives. The vision came clear into his head and he was on the ground looking up, watching the white crystals violently pound into the ground around him. He was in the middle of a blizzard.

The screaming hadn't stopped.

He was falling, plummeting into distant darkness. As his mind cleared the sharp images away, he realized that the screaming wasn't coming from somewhere distant.

It was coming from his own mouth.

Harry's eyes shot open as they focused on the two red heads standing over him. Where was he?

He tried to sit up, but his head felt as if it was plastered to the ground. Harry recognized other faces staring down at him and heard talking and laughing around him. He knew where he was.

He was on the floor of the Great Hall.

Harry recognized the red heads as Ginny and Ron. They both stared at him with grief in their eyes as other students looked down with worry, asking Harry questions that he couldn't make out.

"What... happened?" he managed to squeak out.

"Harry," Ron muttered.

"...You had another fit."

~*~*~

Hermione had been walking to the Great Hall late because of her meeting and barely reached the large double doors when the commotion caused her to believe that there was something wrong. At the sight of not seeing Ron or Harry, she became worried. Ginny Weasley came bounding up to her, her red curls and book bag trailing behind her thin body. Her expressions showed that something was wrong.

"Harry had an enormous fit," she told Hermione. Her tone of voice sounded deadly serious.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed her skin began to pale. "He couldn't have! He hasn't had one since Voldemort was destroyed!"

"I don't know," the six^th year continued. "But what I do know is that Ron told me to bring you up to the Hospital Wing as soon as you arrived."

"Well then, let's go," Hermione said as she turned and ran out the double doors. Ginny quickly followed and both girls raced down the halls toward the Hospital Wing. As Hermione's feet beat the ground, she felt her fingers tremble around her book bag strap. Something was wrong, and she knew it. It was dinnertime, and the darkness in the halls caused the eeriness to cling to her insides.

Hermione was so caught up in her emotions that she almost ran into a certain blond-haired Slytherin in the southwest corridor. She refocused her steps and passed him without a second glance. She heard his words behind her back and tried hard to ignore them.

"Hey Mudblood, I heard your boyfriend fainted again."

The girls reached their destination and stepped into the warm room with welcoming beds and the slight and distant smell of medical potions. Hermione locked her gaze on Ron who was sitting next to an occupied bed, and Madam Pomfrey who hovered over the red haired boy. Hermione raced to the bedside.

As soon as Harry saw Hermione he forced himself up shakily, but Ron pushed him back down. "Harry, don't strain yourself," Ron lightly said. "You're still shaky."

Madam left the four to their visiting as she scurried to her office to brew Harry another potion.

"I'm fine!" Harry said, his words glazed with fire. "How many times do I have to tell you, I fell asleep at the table and had a nightmare?"

Ron shook his head. "Harry, that was no nightmare."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. Ron looked up at her.

"He was twitching like some sort of wounded cockroach."

Harry laughed. "Was I really?"

Ron smiled. He was glad Harry was taking this so light. "Yeah you were." Ginny and Hermione both gave slight giggles.

"And then what?" Hermione edged.

Ron stopped laughing and resumed his solemn stage. "He screamed and fell to the ground. It was horrible. You wouldn't stop screaming, Harry."

Harry smirked. "I bet Malfoy ate that up."

"Yeah, we passed him in the halls," Ginny said with a shudder.

"Stupid git," Hermione added with a sneer. There was a moment of silence, and Harry looked up at Ron.

"Did I say anything?"

Ron shook his head. "Nope. You only screamed. Several students nearly had a heart attack when they heard you."

"That's scary," Hermione quietly said.

"Do you remember anything?" Ron asked.

Harry smiled. "Yeah, but it doesn't sound horribly convincing."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Hermione could tell he didn't enjoy this and she looked over at Ron. He had no clue.

"There was this tall, skinny, evil man who was killing all of my friends off with his (Harry raised his hand and made a quote gesture) powers." Hermione gave a short laugh. Harry smiled. "Scary, huh?" he said sarcastically.

"Powers?" Hermione questioned.

"Well, he didn't have a wand, so I'm guessing that's what they were called."

Ron stared with a puzzled look at Harry. "Anything else?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I remember snow."

"Snow?" both Hermione and Ron questioned. Ginny had gone back to the Great Hall, most likely to broadcast the news to her friends.

"Yeah," Harry continued. "It was like I was lying in a field of it and it poured over me in a wild blizzard."

Madam Pomphrey appeared from her office with a purple, bubbling sleeping potion. As soon as she set it down on Harry's nightstand she clapped her hands and motioned for Hermione and Ron to leave. Harry insisted that he didn't have to spend the night, but in the end he was ruled out.

~*~*~

A Ron and Hermione left, Harry noticed the tingling on his forehead. Although his scar had disappeared in Voldemort's defeat, the skin of his forehead burned fiercely. Harry reached up and touched the spot where his scar used to exist.

~*~*~

"I'm sure it was just a glitch," Hermione said forcefully to Ron. "Harry's dealt with a lot this past year, and I honestly don't think he's overcome himself yet."

"Yeah," Ron said quietly, but in truth he knew that wasn't the case.

In the Hospital Wing, Harry and Hermione took the whole subject lightly, and Harry had even made fun of himself, but neither of them had been through what Ron had.

Ron gulped.

Neither of them had heard the shrieks of bloody murder or the looks of terror that had come from Harry.

~*~*~

Justin lay in his bed amidst the yellow and black sheets, completely confused at his own actions.

What was wrong with him? He just went off on Hermione about something that didn't make sense at all. Being a Hufflepuff most of all, he should have been on Hermione's side. It was good that Voldemort was dead. There were no more worries, and everyone felt safe in Hogwarts for the time being.

Danger? Why would he want danger? That was absolutely ridiculous. Although the threat of adventure and excitement was sometimes over-whelming, he should have never let that come between his natural, conservative senses, especially in front of the Head Girl.

But Justin couldn't ignore the aching sense inside of him that he was lying to himself. There was an uneven balance inside of him, and he knew it.

Then there was the urge. It was tugging at the back of his mind. It had been growing stronger all day, to the point where he couldn't ignore himself anymore. He closed his eyes and for a fraction of a second saw a white faced man in the eerie shadows of a dungeon room, green light surrounding his face. He was looking at Justin. He was motioning for him to follow. Justin felt his hands reach up and pull the covers off of himself. He was unable to control his own actions.

What was happening to him?

Justin let out a high, whisper-like laugh that sent shivers up his own spine, but the snores of his dorm-mates didn't subside. He sat up in bed and crawled to the edge, where his trunk lay. Justin flipped open the hatch and lifted up the lid. On the top lay his Nimbus 2000, and he quickly took it out and examined it. Being on the Quidditch team did have its advantages, like the need to have your own broom. Justin gave a wicked smile and stood from the shelter of his canopy. He walked to the window and silently opened the window.

The night was moonless and dark, and the stars seemed to not sparkle that night. Justin used the butt of his broom to lift himself up onto the window ledge. He brought the broom between his legs and looked down. He smiled.

A Wronski Feint looked very welcoming at that moment.

Very welcoming.

Very dangerous.

He stepped to the edge of the windowsill, preparing himself to take the plummet. It would be fun, he forced himself to believe. It would be fun, and he would enjoy it thoroughly.

The ground swayed for a moment, and he staggered.

Reality hit Justin like a hard rock and he gasped and gave a near-silent moan. His legs unlocked and his broom crashed to the edge of the windowsill and fell into the night, disappearing into the dark shadows. Justin stepped backward and fell off the ledge into the warm dorm room, landing flat on his back. He scurried to his feet and dove into his bed, hiding under the covers.

His shaking didn't subside until the moment he fell asleep, which wasn't for another few hours. Justin had nearly made a deadly mistake, and it wasn't in his control.

The man... his hideous face. He had forced him to do this. He had to follow, and there was nothing he could do to stop himself.

Justin lifted the covers from his head and drew in deeps breaths of air.

He didn't want to believe he was possessed...

~*~*~