Tested In Fire

For O'Malley the alley cat, my own beloved feline, who happily sat in front of my computer screen, forcing me to work blind. Blame any typos on him.

Chapter Fifteen: Other Things

"Well," Professor Dumbledore sighed, "we don't really have much of a plan right now. The spell I used to rescue Ron was a variation of the full body-bind spell that requires an enormous amount of energy. I'm afraid my brain and body are very tired."

"Professor Dumbledore, if you could just waltz right in on Voldemort and grab Ron, why didn't you try to defeat Voldemort?" Ginny asked, confused and frustrated.

"Miss Weasley!" Professor McGonagall rebuked.

"No, she has a point. I'm afraid that it is most impossible to duel Tom or kill him at this point in time."

Everyone in the room blinked.

"Excuse me?" Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"For magic to work properly," Dumbledore began in a very serious tone of voice, "there has to be balance. An equal amount of power must be distributed between those wizards whose allegiance lies with the Dark Arts, and those whose own preference is the Light. Voldemort has corrupted the balance. If he were to be destroyed without something being done about all the power he's gathered for the Dark, I hesitate to think what would happen. Unleashing all that energy without a way to contain it would have serious consequences. Storms, random transfigurations, there'd be no way to hide our existence from Muggles- if we lived through the release. Voldemort's power has only recently reached this level. If only we had managed to... But I digress."

Sirius rose quickly. "We've got to work out a way to stop him that won't cause a stir."

"Seems to me we ought to banish him," Anna suggested. "That way we could contain the energy in a tangible object."

"That is easier said than done, Professor Black," Dumbledore said. "I was only able to locate Voldemort this easily because of the Tracking Charm I have placed on every student here at Hogwarts."

"Locating Voldemort should not be that hard of a task," Sirius said. "You have spies, don't you?"

"Spies who are in grave danger and who have already lost much of their credibility with the Death Eaters, yes," Dumbledore responded. "Banishment is a very good idea, Professor Black, but we would have to banish and kill him at exactly the same time, as well as securing the power. It would be difficult, and there isn't a spell that does that in existence."

"Spells can be written," said the Arithmancy professor.

"True, but that takes time," Sirius shot back. "Most spells, if I recall, took decades to write."

"Decades that we haven't got," Remus agreed.

"Harry and Ginny are in the most danger because of this prophecy, right?" Mrs. Weasley asked, and when everyone nodded, she continued. "Then we must concentrate on protecting them and finding the second prophecy. Surely that's not too much to ask of the Order, is it? At least until we can get this spell written and worked out."

"The second prophecy should be able to give us some ideas on how to defeat Voldemort, if it follows the pattern of the first," Anna mused. "Though it would be helpful if we had the third," she said and trailed off hopelessly.

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand harder, and she nodded.

"There's something we need to tell you all," she said.

"What is it, Miss Weasley?" Snape asked irritably.

"We- I mean Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I, we have the third prophecy."

There was silence in the room for a minute. Anna cursed softly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, we were going to, it only happened this afternoon, and..."

"What only happened this afternoon?" Mr. Weasley asked gently.

"I only gave the third prophecy this afternoon." As she said this, Ginny leaned back against Harry's leg and closed her eyes. "Lord Voldemort definitely has the second prophecy."

Hermione stood up and reached into her bag quickly. "I have a written copy of the whole thing, sir."

Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Thank you, Miss Granger. That may be the single piece of good news I needed to cheer me up."

"Let's have it, then," Sirius said.

Professor Dumbledore took out the copy and began to read. As he did, each in the room reacted their own way. Sirius paced back and forth as Anna tapped her fingers, and Remus closed his eyes in concentration.

"Love and loyalty to friends seems to be the theme in this one," Professor McGonagall said as she rubbed her eyes. "It says nothing about spells to defeat the Dark Lord, as these prophecies so aptly name him."

"If only we'd paid more attention," Harry spat. "Maybe we'd have realized that..."

"No. There was no way you could have known that Voldemort was going to take Ron, so drop it," Ginny said violently.

Everyone in the room blinked, but they were even more taken aback when Harry sat down. "You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right," Ginny responded haughtily. "Honestly."

"It seems to me that the prophecy itself isn't sure who will win the final battle," Professor Sprout tossed in.

"That's quite likely," Anna replied. "Very rarely will a prophecy specifically predict the outcome of an event, but rather give the 'what-ifs'."

"Serving only to confuse us," said someone in the background, though no one was quite sure who it was.

"Sometimes I think so," Anna said with a grin.

"Night is falling on the world," Professor Dumbledore quoted, and looked up at the group. "What an understatement. According to this, we have a traitor in our midst. Who is it, I wonder?"

Everyone could see how tired the headmaster was growing, as he kept voicing his thoughts out loud.

"I think that it's referring to Wormtail," Ginny mused. "I can't say why."

"I would trust your instincts," Anna reassured her. "After all, you are the one who gave the prophecy."

"Yes, but I can't remember any of it."

"I would be concerned if you could."

"We already know that Peter is a traitor," Sirius growled. "It's not new information."

"Maybe there is more to Mr. Pettigrew than we thought," Professor Dumbledore said. "The night grows long, and there are those among us who are tired. There is nothing to be gained by staying here any longer and pounding this into the ground. I suggest we adjourn and let Molly and Arthur see Ronald, while the rest of us get some sleep. There will be another meeting soon."

**

Hermione made her way out of the sixth year girls' dormitory and crept slowly down the stairs, ignoring the disapproving glare the Fat Lady was giving her. She was grateful that Harry hadn't asked any questions when she'd wanted to borrow his invisibility cloak. That was one of the wonderful things about Harry. He just trusted you to know what you were doing.

Ron had just woken up, but Hermione had not been able to visit him. She was going to tonight.

The way to the hospital wing was one she had memorized, so there was little chance that she would get lost, but she consulted the Marauder's Map (another thing she'd borrowed from Harry) just to be sure.

When she reached the door, she pulled it open quietly. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight. The only person that seemed to be awake was Ron.

Ron's parents had already left, as Mr. Weasley had to go to work in the morning, but Mrs. Weasley would be back in the tomorrow for a more permanent stay. At least a week, Ginny had told Hermione.

With one last look around, Hermione padded over to Ron's bedside and sat down on the bed. Ron looked startled at the shift of the bed, but when Hermione removed the cloak, he smiled painfully.

"Ron," she whispered. "You're awake!" She'd known that already, of course, that was why she had come down to see him, but that wasn't the point. He was alive, he was well, and he was hers!

"Hermione," he responded, looking elated. "You're really here!"

"Of course I'm here. Honestly, did you think I was going to let you sit in here alone for very much longer?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't."

"You scared me half to death," Hermione whispered seriously. Did one tell one's boyfriend that one loved him desperately as he sat in a hospital, paralyzed, Hermione wondered.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Ron said suddenly.

Hermione looked up, her eyes darting across Ron's face. "What do you mean?"

"You know that disconnected feeling you get..." Ron tried, and then stopped. "When Voldemort was cursing me, the only thing that kept me sane was you." He wet his lips with his tongue. "Hermione, I think I love you."

Hermione grinned, touched. Even though they had been technically boyfriend and girlfriend for almost six months, they had never expressed their feelings this way. "I know I love you, Ron."

She leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, and they intertwined their hands. They both closed their eyes and listened to the sound of the rise and fall of their breathing, which was strangely in unison.

"Hermione?" As Ron said her name, her eyelashes fluttered up and she stared directly into his eyes. "Would you mind terribly if I kissed you right now?"

Hermione shook her head, and Ron pressed his lips close against hers. It was like the very first time they had kissed. As the kiss deepened, Hermione reflected that Ron was an amazing kisser.

When she felt Ron's tongue graze across her lips, she didn't hesitate to let him in. She felt Ron's strong hand muscles flex in hers, and almost grinned in pleasure. This was a kiss. Unlike anything she had ever experienced.

"You're thinking too much, Hermione."

"You're an amazing kisser," Hermione responded, a light twinkling in her eyes that Ron didn't see often enough.

"Hmm," was his only comment before he started doing something amazing with his tongue, and Hermione couldn't think at all.

**

When she arrived at her dormitory, Ginny felt that she had just been through the longest day of her life. She heaved a giant sigh of relief that it was over, and settled down to rest, praying that her sleep, at least tonight, would be dreamless.

The room was dimly lit, and comfortable shadows fell across the wooden floor of a home that Ginny had never visited. Ginny, for once herself in this world of her subconscious, walked carefully, curving her feet so as to make the least amount of sound. It seemed to her that the silence was almost reverent as she walked up a set of stairs to a bedroom.

In fact, the stillness was almost that of the dead, but there wasn't the cold fear that Ginny usually associated with these dreams that ended more often than not in terror.

"Be at peace, Virginia Weasley. If any harm were to come to you in the place, I would not be the one to commit such a sacrilege."

Ginny turned, quite suddenly. The voice was familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. The woman standing in front of her was beautiful indeed. Red hair that curled and swayed covered her head. Slender and graceful and long, she made Ginny feel like an inadequate midget. Then she looked and saw the eyes, and knew instantly who it was.

"Lily Potter!" she gasped, instinctively respectful.

"The flower who wed the stag," Lily said with a bemused smile. "That was James and me. I'm glad you recognized me.

"However, that is not the point. The point is that you and my son are in very grave danger, and I have little time to spend with you. We must use it wisely, though I would love to spend hours just talking with you."

"What are you? I mean, you're dead." As she said it, Ginny blushed, but Lily laughed.

"That I am, and no spell could return me to the plane of the living, nor would I wish to return. I'm something of an echo, actually."

"I know we're in danger," Ginny said crossly, "and it seems as though everyone is going out of their way to make sure we know it."

"They're just doing what they need to do to be good friends. If they acted like there was nothing wrong at all, you would be concerned."

Ginny smiled. "You're right, of course."

"We need to talk about the second prophecy. At the time James and I discovered it, neither one of us could make heads or tails of it. I think you and Harry will."

Ginny could hear the love in the tone of her voice when she said the names of the men in her life, and that reassured her as nothing else would. "I think we'll try."

"Again, I strayed off the topic. Professor Trelawney is not the only one who had a copy of the prophecy. I, of course, made one."

" 'Search in places very close for something that the flower wrote,'" Ginny quoted.

"Exactly." Lily clapped her hands twice. "You have an excellent memory. I must remember to tell James that you're intelligent.

"I can't be too specific about this, it would be breaking rules, but I'll give you a hint. In all of the years between my terms at Hogwarts and yours, not much has changed. What you're looking for is five stairs up and to the left in a little closet."

"Five stairs up, to the left, not much has changed," Ginny responded. "I think I've got it."

"Good, because we have no time left. And Ginny?"

"Yes?" Ginny raised her voice as they were both fading away.

"Remember this, dear. James and I approve of what little we've been allowed to see of you.! Never doubt your love for Harry, never! It will be what will get you through these next two years. Tell Harry we love him!"

Ginny smiled, but then there was no Lily in front of her anymore. She felt almost heartbroken. Muttering to herself, she tried to memorize everything that was said so that she could tell Harry. It didn't seem fair that she was the one who got to talk to Lily, she thought. Sitting down on the bed, she waited patiently for the dream to end, but it didn't.

After a few minutes, Ginny got up and began to pace around the room.

"Goodness," an amused voice said behind her, "don't you ever slow down, youngling?"

Ginny whirled. "Grandma? What are you doing here?"

"Well, it seemed to all of us that you needed cheering up, love. Ron will be fine, you know that. So why do you worry so?"

"I have five other brothers to worry about, and it sounds like Voldemort is targeting us."

"Well, why shouldn't he? We may not have money, dear, but that doesn't mean that we haven't been a very powerful family. What we have to say has a lot of clout, and if I didn't know any better, I'd think that Voldemort knew that."

"What?" Ginny was lost.

"Never mind, that's a lesson for another time. Rest yourself, rest your mind. Remember what that teacher told you about turning off your gift. If you wish for more sleep at night, it is best to turn off your reception, hmm?"

Ginny bit her lip. "Oh, I see! Thank you, Gram..."

But the older woman was gone. Ginny shrugged, and feel back into a blissful and deep dreamless sleep.