Eservanix

Chapter seven - Going back?

We all looked at each other, stunned. Then Ron, Hermione and Harry looked at me.

I realized what happened.

"Lavender...Madam Pomfrey must not have been able to identify what was wrong with her and sent her to the hospital."

Then, what happened over the past few months became totally clear.

"That's why that dark figure was around! It was picking students who were infected!" I said eagerly.

Realization formed on Ron, Hermione and Harry's faces.

"That makes sense! But the question is, how did they all get infected with whatever Lavender has?" Hermione mused.

"And all at once?" I added.

Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley were watching us.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Weasley asked slowly, eyeing each of us.

I launched into the whole story.

During the story, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley sat down next to Harry and Ron across from us. Fred and George also joined us at the table.

"Good heavens!" Mrs. Weasley cried, raising a hand to her mouth. "I had no idea!"

"We were all hoping it was just a nightmare, but it wasn't," Hermione added.

"How could people get infected all at once?" Mr. Weasley mused.

"Only if they all shared one object," Hermione said, simply.

"What's at the front of the train that they could all come in contact with?" Ron mused.

There was a silence.

For the first time in several months, another premonition came over me. The flash went off before my eyes. I saw the inside of the train. I saw Lavender, Parvati, Cho, Chris, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle sitting in the first two compartments. Then I saw Draco pull something out of this bag. It looked like a wand. He passed it along to Crabbe and Goyle, then once it was back in his hands, he got up and walked out of his compartment. He went into the compartment just behind his and entered it. Cho, Parvati, Lavender and Chris were sitting there.

This time, I heard voices speaking:

"...Dad got it for me from a shop over in Africa called Zomebe's Magical Wand Shop. It's illegal to buy stuff from there, but Dad got it for me anyway."

That was Draco's voice, which was filled with pride.

"Why?"

That was Cho's voice.

"Cause I was tired of going to Ollivander's," Draco's voice said, airily.

"No...why are you sharing this with us?" a boy's voice, Chris, asked impatiently.

"Cause I wanted to show you all. I know you can't afford something like this," Draco's voice taunted. "You can hold it, look at it, but then that's it."

He smiled sweetly at Cho.

He passed it around them and then headed back into his own compartment.

"What a git," Lavender's voice came next angrily. "He loves to show off."

"Yes, he does," muttered Cho.

"I can't stand him," Parvati said next.

The flash vanished. I jumped as though someone poked me with a sharp object.

"Are you alright, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, worriedly.

"She's fine," Ginny said.

"I saw what caused it...or I believe to be what might've spread it to them," I said, staring at Ron, Hermione and Harry.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Draco's father had gotten him a new wand from somewhere in Africa. He passed it along to Crabbe and Goyle, then went to show Lavender, Parvati, Cho and Chris his new wand," I replied.

"So this wand must've been infected with the virus! It must've been on the surface! Then, they must've someone rubbed their eyes or something and it entered their system!" Hermione said, eagerly.

"Okay, suppose that theory is right? Then if it was on their hands, what if they touched other things? It could've spread a lot further than we know!" Ron cried.

I nodded.

"What is going on here?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

I told her about the premonition.

"Ah. I've heard of that wand shop. They get a lot of wood and ingredients for their wands illegally. Who knows where that wood came from," Mr. Weasley said, nodding.

"If that's true, how on earth will we know if that virus or whatever it is spread further?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously.

"There isn't," Ron said grimly.

"You lot didn't come in contact with any of them, did you?" Mrs. Weasley asked, peering around at us.

Then, I realized I had. I had grabbed Lavender's ankles to try and stop her from falling.

I meekly raised my hand.

"I was holding onto Lavender's ankles when she had fallen out the window."

"But it's possible that the virus was already in her system. There's no way Holly could've picked it up that way, unless she touched Lavender's blood or anything," Hermione offered.

"Do you feel sick, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

I shook my head. "No. Although, Lavender really didn't seem to show signs until three days later."

"We're going to have to keep an eye on you," Mr. Weasley replied.

At that moment, to relieve the tension that filled the air, Fred let out a raspberry. Ginny giggled and soon we all laughed, but it was forced.

I was sharing a room with Ginny and Hermione. Ron and Harry were in Ron's room.

We all fell into troubled sleep.

The next morning at breakfast, I trotted downstairs to find the rest of the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry at the table eating. I sat down between Ginny and Fred.

"Morning, Holly," Harry said, brightly, winking at me.

"Morning 'Arry. 'Ermione, Mr and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny," I said.

"Morning!" Fred and George cried.

"Sleep well?" Mrs. Weasley asked, softly.

I nodded, grinning.

They were watching me as if I was a bomb.

"I feel fine," I said smiling, correctly interpreting their looks.

They nodded and Mrs. Weasley placed a plate full of eggs, sausage, bacon and toast in front of me. I hungrily dug in.

"I just really appreciate you letting me stay here," I said to Mr and Mrs. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley sat down next to Mr. Weasley.

"Of course dear! We weren't going to toss you out with the lawn gnomes!" she smiled.

I smiled back.

"Where is your father?" Mr. Weasley asked tilting his head.

"He's on the Irish National Quidditch team and he works a Muggle job afterwards, which has him away for long hours," I replied, biting into a piece of sausage.

"Really?" Mr. Weasley asked, eagerly, his eyes lit up with interest.

"Careful, Holly. Dad loves anything to do with Muggles," George grinned.

"I don't mind. He works as policeman," I said.

"Wow. He carries a goon?" Mr. Weasley asked, alert with interest.

"Gun. Yes," I smiled.

"And he uses it often?"

"No...only when he needs to. The gun isn't something you want to mess with. It's exactly like a wand, only the gun's damage can't be repaired that fast like with a wand," I said.

Mr. Weasley nodded.

"I just realized something else," Hermione said, slowly. "We were completely wrong before assuming that death was targeting those who were supposed to die in the crash. It was really taking those that were infected with this 'virus'."

We all nodded.

"Yes. The case in 1908? Could that have been something like this now? With a virus or something?" Ron asked.

"It's possible," Hermione said.

Just then another owl arrived with a parchment. Ginny let the owl in as it landed on the table, narrowly missing a large glass of orange juice by Ginny's plate. Mrs. Weasley relieved the owl of the letter and put a Knut in the little pouch around the owl's foot. We all recognized it. The Hogwarts seal was stamped on it. She carefully unfolded the letter and began reading.

"What's it say, Molly?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"It's from Dumbledore. He says that the hospital sent him a letter, stating that Lavender's behavior has become irrational and wild. It's almost as if she's gone mad," Mrs. Weasley said, raising her eyes to look at us. "The Healer's aren't able to help her, as they still don't know what's causing this. They still can't identify this virus. They're looking at Muggle viri now as well."

"Blimey," Ron breathed weakly.

I began to think.

"I've read a Muggle medical book once. The only thing I read that causes madness, foaming and erratic behavior is Rabies, which comes from dogs. But I don't recall if rabies causes the person to vomit blood. Then, there's the Drendelon Plague."

"Drendelon? What's that?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"It's a plague which wiped out 15^th century Paris," I explained. "The people were infected via contact, which made it a 'contact plague'. They either rubbed their eyes, or somehow put their fingers into their mouths at some point and it entered their systems. They showed signs of infection three days later."

"I think I read about that," Hermione offered thoughtfully. "They foamed at the mouth, vomited blood and acted mad."

I nodded.

"Those are the exact signs Lavender showed, or the one symptom I saw," I said.

"She definitely is acting mad. I dunno about the foaming though," Mr. Weasley said, scratching the back of his head.

"That's weird. That totally sounds like what's happening," Ron said.

"If that's the case, how are we going to stop it? Or help Lavender?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny, I don't think there is a cure, other than death," I replied grimly.

Ginny fell silent.

"On one hand, I'm glad we were wrong," Harry said, quietly. "But on the other hand, I'm worried. If we're not allowed back at Hogwarts, what are we going to do?"

"I wouldn't worry too much. Lavender really didn't get sick at Hogwarts. She got sick on the Hogwarts Express," Mr. Weasley said.

"That's true. Are they going to search the school?" Ginny asked.

"I suspect St. Mungo's will send a team to the school, kind of like the muggle CDC," Mr. Weasley said knowledgeably.

"CDC?" Fred asked, curiously.

"Center for Disease Control. They go in if there's an unknown virus or biological germ," Mr. Weasley said brightly.

I grinned.

"Mr. Weasley, I'm impressed. You certainly did learn a lot about Muggles."

Mr. Weasley beamed.

"Besides the plugs and electricity," George muttered.

Ginny giggled.

The rest of the evening went wonderfully. Fred and George entertained us with funny jokes and imitations of Professor Umbridge, which went over well with Ron, Hermione, Harry and I. George pretended to pass gas, and turn and blame it on Crookshanks, who just looked up at us with his big, yellow eyes and tilted his head. We were all laughing.

Pig, Hedwig and Sam were released from their cages and happily flew around, eager to stretch their wings. After a while, Sam landed on my shoulder and folded his wings. He hooted and affectionately nipped at my ear. I reached up and stroked him. Hedwig landed on Harry's knee and stayed there. Pigwidgeon was still zooming around the ceiling and finally landed on Ron's lap with a soft 'thwump'.

"This owl's a menace! I swear his battery doesn't run out!" Ron muttered.

We giggled.

It was finally time for bed. Before we went though, Mrs. Weasley pulled me aside.

"Holly...is your dad around a lot?" she asked, softly.

"Sure!" I said, brightly.

She watched me intently.

I understood what she was getting at.

"Yes. He is," I said, softly. "He just works a lot. Being a police officer requires long hours. Plus, on the weekends, he's off for the Quidditch, practicing. He does love me though. I know it."

Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"I'm sure he does," she said. "But if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask Arthur or me. Okay?"

I nodded, grinning.

She gave me a hug and I headed up the stairs. Halfway up, a sudden flash went off before my eyes as I clutched the banister.

I saw Harry, Ron, George, Fred and I outside playing a game of Quidditch. I had landed and was talking to Hermione and Ginny, who were watching. As I was talking to them, Harry was speeding straight for Hermione. He frantically tried to stop, but I'll never forget the look of horror on his face as I grabbed Hermione and shoved her out of the way. I felt the tip of the broom slam right into my chest. I was thrown up in the air, then came crashing down on my back. I felt warm liquid filling in my mouth. I spit it out.

The flash vanished.

"Did you have another premonition, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, worriedly.

I couldn't tell her. I just shook my head and continued up the stairs.

The next morning, another owl came. This time, the letter stated that Lavender had died and St. Mungo's was sending a team to Hogwarts to investigate. From the look of things, it didn't look like we would be going back anytime soon. Christmas Eve was tomorrow. Everyone was solemn and anxious. The atmosphere inside the Burrow definitely was not happy. I finally forced myself to tell Hermione. When I did, she gasped.

"We can't let them play," she said.

I nodded.

"Mum! We're going out for a game of Quidditch!" Ron called as he grabbed his Cleansweep and Harry had his Firebolt. Fred and George had Comet Two Sixties.

I guess they were trying to keep their mind occupied.

"No!" Hermione and I cried in unison.

But it was too late. They were already heading out. Hermione and I glanced at each other, before we tore out after them.

They were already on their brooms and rising. They were a good 50 feet above the ground and they were tossing a medium sized ball back and forth. Hermione and I stopped, panting as we looked up. We shielded our eyes from the sunlight. So far, it seemed alright.

"So far it seems okay," Hermione said, uncertainly.

"Yeah. But we can't be too sure," I replied, keeping my eyes on Harry.

Suddenly, Fred's broom started acting up.

"Fred!" I whispered, shocked. "In my Premonition, it was Harry!"

But then, we realized Fred was goofing around, pretending to lose control of his broom.

"What a prat," a voice said, behind us. We turned. It was Ginny.

Suddenly, Harry's went into a dive, coming straight toward us, along with the ball.

I went to grab Hermione, but then Ginny had grabbed her and shoved her out of the way. I saw the same look of horror on Harry's face, as I had in the premonition. The front of Harry's Firebolt slammed into Ginny's chest, tossing her up in the air like a rag doll. She ended up hitting him in the face. She came crashing back down to earth on her back. Harry pulled up out of the dive and stopped, he let his Firebolt drop to the ground with a soft thump and rushed over. There was blood on his collar.

Hermione had dropped to her knees beside Ginny. Fred, Ron and George landed and came rushing over. Harry stood, completely white and shaken.

"Get mum!" Ron cried.

George ran inside.

"Ginny? Are you okay?" Ron demanded anxiously.

Blood had started flowing from the corner of her mouth.

"GINNY!" Mrs. Weasley cried as she rushed out of the house, with George on her heels.

Harry was still shaken and pale as a ghost. I could see him trembling violently.

"Get her to St. Mungo's! NOW!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed.

"I don't think we should move her!" I said, remembering the Muggle medical procedures.

"I'll risk it!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed.

So, George, Fred, Ron, and Hermione carefully carried Ginny into the house. I went over to Harry.

"What happened?" I asked.

All he could do was look at me with a shocked expression and sick.