Dranex

"Dranex."

Chapter seven-destroy

I screamed.

The Dranex was violently tugging at Ron's body. It dug its claws into Ron's chest and dragged them across it. His robe was blood soaked and there were small puddles on the floor near his body. I wanted to lunge at the Dranex, but Harry was holding me back.

The Dranex got off of Ron's body and took its place beside the other two. After a few moments, Ron's wounds healed and he sat up right.

"Ron? He's okay, Harry!" I cried, struggling to break lose.

"No! That's not Ron! Hermione, Ron's dead! That isn't him!" Harry said.

Ron turned his eyes onto us. He grinned and shortly, he changed into a Dranex.

"Nooooo!" I wailed.

"Come on! We've got to hide some place and think of a way to kill them!" Harry cried, grabbing my hand and he tugged me.

We took off running. The four Dranex's took off right after us. Two were galloping on the wall, breaking through torches and pictures. The other two were galloping on the floor.

We found the Room of Requirements and hid in there. The door locked behind us.

"Okay...the Avada Kedavra spell doesn't work. Hermione, you know about werewolves...what's several ways to kill them?" Harry asked.

I was too busy pacing the room, biting my bottom lip and sobbing.

"Hermione," Harry said, as he grabbed my shoulders.

"Ron's one of those 'things', Harry! Don't you care?" I cried.

"Of course! But there's no way to bring him back! Right now, we've got to find a way to stop them from killing someone else!" Harry said, as I saw tears in his emerald green eyes.

I burst into tears and wrapped my arms around Harry's neck. I buried my face into his shoulder. His arms wrapped around me pulling me closer against him.

"Listen, I won't let anything happen to you...okay? I love you," Harry whispered.

The tears just streamed down my cheeks as I pressed my face against the soft cloth of his robe.

"I love you too," I whispered back.

Harry pulled back from the embrace and gently took my face in his hands. He stroked my cheekbones with his thumbs, wiping away the tears. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment before he moved his face closer and tilted his head slightly. Our lips met. He kissed me softly and gently. I kissed him back the same way.

We pulled apart.

"Okay. Now what are several ways to kill a werewolf?" Harry asked, as he began slowly walking around me in a circle.

"Well, there's really only one way. The Muggles use the silver bullet method," I said.

"I don't think there's anything like that here in the castle...anything else?"

I frowned.

"Well, anything silver would do it," I replied. "Like a silver knife, dagger or anything like that."

At that moment, I glanced outside the window. Across from the window was one of the turrets of the castle. I saw a dark shape clinging onto the outside of the turret.

"What is that out there?" I asked, frowning.

Harry peered out the window.

"I don't know,"

Suddenly, I got a clear view of it.

"Harry, get away from the window!" I screamed.

The next thing we knew, one of the Dranex's leaped from the turret and came soaring through the glass window of the Room of Requirements. Glass showered the floor of the room. Harry stood in front of me protectively with his arms out at his sides, blocking me. The Dranex landed gracefully on all fours inside the room.

It snarled and took several steps toward us.

Suddenly, I spied a silver sword lying on the mantle piece of the fireplace.

"Harry! There's a sword there! Get it!" I screamed.

Harry lunged for the sword and grabbed it. In that split second that he was not in front of me, the Dranex lunged for me. I screamed as two paws slammed into my chest, knocking me backwards. I landed on my back as the Dranex stood on my chest.

It was horrible. It pulled back its top lip exposing white and decaying canines and incisors. The eyes were now a milky white color. It snarled. I shut my eyes, praying for it to be quick.

I heard it snarl again...I waited for it to kill me...

Nothing happened. I opened my eyes. Harry had swung the sword at it and the blade ended up decapitating the Dranex.

The Dranex's body lay beside me. Shortly, the wolfish-dog body vanished and the body of a boy replaced it. It was Neville's body.

Scooting back further on my rear end, I backed away. Harry helped me to my feet.

"Are you okay?" he demanded anxiously.

"Yeah...you?" I asked, dusting my robe off.

"Yeah. There's still two more out there," Harry replied.

"I know. We're going to have to go out and find them and kill them," Harry said, gravely.

I sighed.

Harry took my hand and clutched it tightly in his. We carefully left the Room of Requirements and we were now vulnerable out in the open. We began slowly making our way down the corridor. Everyone else was safely in their beds unaware of what was going on outside their rooms.

"I can't believe that Ian's school would do something so horrible and dangerous? Imagine, combining DNA from different animals, including werewolves, the most dangerous of them all!" I said, stunned.

"I know. But why would he come here in the first place?" Harry mused.

"That I don't know either...maybe to make more like him? Why else would you go some place totally different where no one knew you? To spread out of course," I replied, peering around the corner.

"Yeah. I just don't believe it all around," Harry replied. "Right now we've got to destroy all of the Dranex's and find the cure for Professor Dumbledore. There is a cure...right?"

I bit my bottom lip.

"Yes, but we're going to need the help of Professor Sprout and Professor Snape. It requires a lot of herbs and special potions mixed,"

"Snape..." Harry shivered.

"I know...but he and Professor Sprout are the only ones that will be able to help us cure Professor Dumbledore," I said, earnestly.

We began walking down the next corridor. The entire castle was eerily quiet and silent. The only thing that could be heard was the gentle cracking of the lit torches lighting the corridor. An orange glow reflected off the walls and the floor.

"It's too damm quiet. I don't like it," Harry whispered.

Just then, something loud like several bangs, erupted. Harry and I froze. We looked up on the wall and saw one of the Dranex's galloping toward us. Harry held the sword and prepared to swing it. As it went to leap toward him, he held the sword out. The tip of the silver blade was embedded in the Dranex's chest. It let out a howl...or it sounded like a howl that made the hairs on my arms stand straight up. The howl didn't sound like a normal wolf howl.

It fell backward off the blade dead. A few moments later, Malfoy's nude body replaced the Dranex's. I turned my eyes away.

"We still have one more," Harry said as we continued to walk down the corridor.

We heard toenails clicking on the floor behind us. We whirled around. There was nothing there. Just darkness. We turned back around and continued walking. Again, we could hear the toenails clicking on the ground. We stopped walking. Harry narrowed his eyes and clutched the sword. Suddenly, he whirled around at the same time the Dranex jumped for him. The already blood stained blade sliced into the Dranex's abdomen. It fell to the floor dead.

"That's all of them...right?" Harry said, breathing heavily.

"Ian...he's one too!" I cried.

"Right now, we've got to go find a cure for Professor Dumbledore," Harry said as he grabbed my arm and we jogged down the rest of the corridor.

We went to Professor Snape's office and told him what happened. Then, we headed to Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall. We got Professor Dumbledore into the hospital wing and he lay down on a cot.

Professor Snape and Professor Sprout went to work on the Tryent Potion. It was the only known potion that was said to counter effect the virus.

But it would take 12 hours to complete and the virus took half of that to complete it's cycle. If the potion wasn't ready by 3:00 AM, Professor Dumbledore would turn into a Dranex and be exactly like Malfoy and the rest were.

Harry and I were sitting beside the cot where Professor Dumbledore was lying.

"I do hope he is okay," I said, quietly. "We wouldn't be able to get through school without him...especially with Lord Voldemort."

"I know..." Harry's voice trailed off.

"Where is Ian though?" I mused.

"Maybe he left for good?" Harry mused.

"I hope so," I shivered.

Harry wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. I rested my head against his shoulder and kept my eyes on Professor Dumbledore.

Just then, the door to the hospital wing opened and Ron stepped in.

Harry and I jumped to our feet. Harry immediately pulled out his wand and aimed it at Ron.

"Harry...it's me," Ron said, as he took several steps toward us.

"Stay back," Harry said, as he brandished his wand in front of him warningly.

Ron continued to take a few steps toward us.

"STAY BACK!" Harry yelled.

"Harry...it's me...why are you holding your wand at me?" Ron asked, sounding hurt.

His wounds had healed completely except for several scars.

"Because it isn't you," Harry said, swallowing down a lump of tears.

This was tearing Harry apart. I could see it. It was also tearing me apart as well. This wasn't an easy situation to handle.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "It is me!"

"No! It's not! You're...you're one of them!" I cried also feeling a lump of tears rising in the back of my throat.

Ron continued to take steps toward us.

"STUPEFY!" Harry shouted.

A thin jet of red shot out from the tip of Harry's wand and hit Ron squarely in the chest. He wasn't stunned and kept walking toward us.

Finally, Harry shouted the words at Ron that I never thought I'd hear someone say to their best friend...

"Avada Kedavra!"

The spell hit him once again in the chest. A familiar expression formed on Ron's face. He then fell forward. He wasn't moving.

I had raised a shaky hand to my mouth. I felt nauseous and weak.

Harry tucked the wand back into his robe. He looked pale and sick himself.

"I-I think..." he began but he couldn't seem to get the words out.

All he did was spin around and throw his arms around me, pulling me against him. I hugged him back tightly.

"I-I can't believe I had to just do that," Harry whispered in my ear.

"I know," I whispered back.

We just held each other.

After a few moments, Professor Sprout, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall entered the hospital wing.

"What on earth is Mr. Weasley doing on the floor?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Harry and I released each other.

"He was one of the Dranex's, Professor. One of the 'creatures' bit him and he is now one of them," I replied, as I kept trying to swallow the nausea.

"Dranex?" Professor McGonagall asked.

We launched into the entire story from beginning to end. When we were done, the three teachers were speechless.

"I can't believe something like that would get into Hogwarts," Professor Sprout said, shaking her head.

"Yes, but it did....and now a few students are dead and one of them is on the loose," Professor McGonagall said.

I am the sun...I am air.

Of a shininess that is criminally bogus on a summer day

Of nothing in particular...you shut your mouth, how can u say, I go about things the wrong way I am human and I need to be loved just like every body else...yes.

I am the sun...I am the air

Of a shininess that is criminally bogus on a summer day

Of nothing in particular.... You shut your mouth...How can you say I go about things the wrong way? I am human and I need to be loved just like every body else...yes.

There's a park that you'd like to go to...you could meet someone that really loves you...so you go and you spend on your own and you leave on your own and go home and you cry and you want to die...

When you say it's going to happen now what exactly do you mean see I've already waited too long and all my hope is gone.

(Lyrics by Black Balloon from the TV Show Charmed)

"Where did he go?" Professor Snape asked.

"We don't know," I said, sighing wearily. "He just took off. He could really be anywhere in the castle."

"Well, once Professor Dumbledore is back to himself, we will administer a full through search," Professor Sprout

"There's no time! Suppose he attacks more students? Then we'll never be able to stop him! We must search now!" Harry said.

I could see he was close to vomiting and his eyes never left Ron's body.

"I'll check the dungeons. I'll get the other teachers to help as well," Professor Snape said as he handed Professor McGonagall a smoking goblet.

"He must get all of that potion or else it won't work," Professor Snape continued.

Madam Pomfrey had appeared.

Professor Snape and Professor Sprout left the hospital wing leaving Professor McGonagall alone with us.

"Now, what happened with Mr. Weasley?" she asked, quietly.

"We had-we had to use the 'Avada Kedavra' spell...he just kept coming at us," I said.

Professor McGonagall's color drained from her face.

Harry was pale now and weak. He collapsed onto the floor on his knees. I immediately sank to my knees beside him and wrapped my arms around him.

"We had to, Harry...it was the only way to help Ron," I whispered, pressing my face into his shoulder.

"He was my best friend...I wish it were me in his place," Harry muttered.

All I could to was throw my arms around him and hold him. The two of us just sat there on the floor while Professor McGonagall handed Madam Pomfrey the goblet and she administered the potion to Professor Dumbledore.

Harry wrapped his arms around me tightly also. I buried my face into the curve of his shoulder.

Now, all we could do was wait and see if the potion worked.