Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Chapter Five: Advanced Leglimency

"Miss Milan! Miss Milan, you're not supposed to be out of bed--much less out of your room!" a Healer cried out frantically. Layla did not have time for such trivial frets. She had much more important things to do, such as figure out what was wrong with Ron Weasley. She stormed at full speed through the corridors of St. Mungos with two Healers trailing behind her.

Where are you, Ron? Layla thought helplessly.

She wasn't about to go stomping up to the front and bother that woman again. She was too humiliated already in her white, hospital gown. She had jumped out of bed, thrown her robe over the gown, and slipped on her slippers before walking right out of the door, much to Remus's dismay. Right now, all she cared about was what was happening to Ron. She could feel a sting of pain and she put a hand to the side of her head. She was getting closer.

Ron, where are you? Layla thought again.

Oh, gods, help me, Layla! Get them out of my head! Get them away! I can't take it anymore!

There was a very sharp pain and Layla stumbled. She put a hand against the wall to regain her balance. The Healer behind her panicked at the sight, but before he could get to her, Layla took off once again. She could hear the Healer and Remus shouting after her behind her, but she was not paying them any attention. Ron was in trouble; he needed her help badly. She bumped into another Healer.

Room 213, Ron Weasley's Ward.

Thanks for the information, Layla thought dryly to herself. She pushed the door open and the sight she received was quite a shock.

Ron was lying on the bed, still in the clothes he'd been in at the abandoned house, but he was not lying silently on the bed; instead, Ron was thrashing around the bed like mad, screaming and crying out in pain at the same time. His limbs were flailing around and his eyes were closed very tightly. It appeared to Layla as if Ron was having a seizure. Healers were surrounding his bed, trying to calm him down.

"Stop it! Leave me alone! Get out of my head! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Go away! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Is he having a seizure?!" one Healer frantically yelled over the noise.

"No, I don't know what's wrong with him!" another Healer shouted back.

"Oh, bloody hell, get out of my way!" Layla snapped at them. All of the Healers looked back at her as she stormed over to them. They started to question her as to why she was here--still decked in her hospital gown, but she also paid them no mind as she shoved them out of her way. And seeing as how they had no control over the situation and didn't even know what was happening, they let her do so. Ron was still flopping around like a fish out of water. She grabbed his hand and he squeezed it very tightly. She pushed the hair away from his brow and she laid her cool hand on his burning forehead.

"Layla..." Ron gasped. His eyes were still closed tightly, but his limbs snapped back as a reaction for her grabbing his hand and putting her other hand on his forehead. He was shaking.

"I'm here, Ron," Layla said soothingly. She closed her eyes. I'm here for you, Ron.

"It's hurts..." Ron moaned. "They won't leave me alone. He won't leave me alone!"

"Who won't leave you alone, Ron?" Layla asked coolly.

"I don't know! I don't know his name!" Ron cried out, sounding to be in great pain. "He was the man that tried to kill us after you sent us away! I had to kill him! I killed a man and now he won't leave me alone! Tell him to leave me alone, Layla, please, I'm begging!"

Layla began to whisper in Latin a plea, her eyes closed, as the Healers merely watched on in terror, confusion, and amazement.

Ron's back arched and he gave one last scream before he dropped back onto his bed with a great sigh. He let go of her hand and she opened her eyes slowly, taking deep breaths herself.

One of the Healers stepped forward meekly. "Is he...?"

"Dead?" Layla prompted. The woman Healer nodded her head rather nervously. The others were whispering. "No, he is fine. He's okay."

"What was that?" That had been Remus's voice. Layla looked up to see the Healer that had been chasing her and Remus standing beside the door, gawking at Ron and her. She pulled her hair back and gave a sigh. Ron's eyes suddenly fluttered open and he took a deep, shuddering breath. It was now that Layla knew that her theory had been confirmed: Ron, indeed, had the ability of Advanced Leglimency. His eyes landed on Layla.

"W-what happened?" Ron stammered, slowly sitting up.

"I need to speak with Ron," Layla said, and she gave everyone else in the room a very pointed look, "alone, please."

Remus frowned at her, but she gave him a hard look. After a moment's hesitation, the Healers left the room, except the one that had chased her. "But Miss Milan, you must get back to--"

"Oh, no, I'm not leaving anywhere," Layla stated, crossing her arms across her chest. He gave her a stern look, but when he saw that she was not budging, he sighed in frustration and left the room, grumbling things under his breath. Remus glanced at Ron and then left the room. This just left Ron to gawk at Layla.

"Layla?"

"Ron," Layla began slowly, sitting down, "have you ever had something really weird happen to you? Like...you hear someone asking you a question so you answer it, but then they say that they didn't say anything--"

"--but they were going to ask?" Ron finished curiously. Layla nodded her head. He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, a few times, I guess, but that's not really weird; it's normal. All wizards use magic without realizing it or trying to."

"It's not normal," Layla said darkly. Ron gave her a confused look. "Two nights ago--before I blew my cover--did you notice anything out of the ordinary? Didn't you see that no one else noticed that we were talking--that we were practically shouting at each other?"

Ron opened his mouth, but immediately closed it. He just gaped at Layla. There was nothing but silence between them. Layla raised her eyebrow and Ron leaned back into his pillows. He looked down at his hands. Finally, he nodded his head.

"I thought about it before Hermione and I fell through that door, but I was a little distracted after that," Ron said quietly. "I wanted to ask you about it, but we didn't have the time."

"That's what you were struggling with," Layla said matter-of-factly. Ron nodded his head. He wiped his hand across his cheek were there used to be a cut. "How did you keep me from your mind? No one's been able to do that before."

Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want you to know yet," he mumbled. Layla sighed and thought about it. Never in her life had she not been able to read someone's mind. Everyone's minds are always open, but Ron had been able to close his mind off to her. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he also had Advanced Leglimency. She'd never been able to read the mind of someone that could do Advanced Leglimency before; she didn't know if it was different or not. Ron looked up at her.

"Is there something wrong with me?" he asked. Layla shook her head quickly.

"No, no, in fact, this is something that is very good news," she said. He didn't do anything. "You are going to be able to contribute to this Second War very well; you're going to be able to help Harry a lot more than you think."

Ron just stared at her, confused. He didn't know what she was talking about. Layla rolled her eyes at him and she leaned in closer.

"Ron, you have the ability of Advanced Leglimency--just like me."

It was quite possibly the most silent moment in Layla's life. Ron blinked and gawked at her in complete astonishment. He didn't know what to think, probably. He was stunned. His blue eyes went very wide and he paled slightly. Layla sat up straight and sighed.

"M-me?" Ron choked out hoarsely. Layla nodded her head. "Advanced Leglimency?" Once again, she nodded her head. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, I'm not 'kidding you', Ron," Layla replied.

"I can't have the ability of Advanced Leglimency," Ron stated, sounding so sure. He shook his head and the color returned to his face. She rolled her eyes at him; if she was stubborn, then Ron was worse. "I'm just Ron--just Ron. There's nothing special about me. I'm just Harry Potter's best mate--that's it. I can't have...that. It's for smart people--for great people--not me. I'm not a person that's given something like that. You're mad, Layla."

Layla smirked at him and crossed her arms across her chest. She leaned back in the chair and threw her left leg over her right. "Oh, really, are you sure? Because it appeared to me that you could talk to me in my mind when I was not reading your mind at the time. You read my mind by yourself," she said with triumph.

"But...I'm just Ron!" Ron exclaimed exasperatedly, throwing his arms up.

"And Harry was 'just Harry' before he realized he was so much more than that," Layla said softly. Ron closed his mouth and stared at her. She was right, after all.

This is impossible, Ron thought, flabbergasted. I don't get special powers. I'm Ron and only Ron. I'm nothing out of the ordinary--just boring, normal Ron. I can't have this. This stuff only happens to Harry and not me; I'm not important enough.

Oh, Ron, but you are very important.

Layla? This is mad; I can't have Advanced Leglimency!

You're doing it right now. I'm not reading your mind. You're speaking to me freely with your mind. I am doing absolutely nothing.

"Bloody hell," Ron swore under his breath vociferously. He rubbed the side of his face with his hand; he was burning up. It was only then did he realize that his head was throbbing painfully because it gave a sharp throb. His hand flew up to his head and he was instantly reminded of Harry when his scar hurt. "This can't be happening."

"Well, it is," Layla replied, "and you're going to have to live with it for the rest of your life."

"That sounds horrible," Ron mumbled.

"Oh, it is," Layla sighed vaguely. Ron's eyes bugged out a little and she grinned. "But you get used to it after a while, and it comes in handy quite a bit."

"Are you sure I have it?" Ron asked weakly.

"You have it; there's no doubt in my mind after this incident," Layla said. Ron's shoulders dropped a little and he gave a sigh. It was hard to become skilled in Advanced Leglimency. She had been lucky enough to catch it before she started school so she didn't have to train while also studying for school. Training was very tiring and would undoubtedly wear out Ron.

"Great," Ron groaned, rolling his head. He collapsed back onto his bed. He looked over at her, looking quite helpless. "You said after this incident. What happened to me? I kept...I kept hearing that guy's voice and he wouldn't leave me alone; he just kept accusing me and stuff. It hurt like bloody hell."

Layla sighed. This was something that would be hard to explain to him, but he needed to know after what had happened to him. She'd only had it happen to her once before and it had been the most terrible thing she had experienced before Regulus's death. She rubbed her eyes, still feeling a little tired.

"Well, you killed someone out of protection, but your ability--this curse even--doesn't care about that," Layla explained slowly. Ron watched her. "When you kill someone, it sets their soul free into the world before it is taken to either Heaven or Hell, I guess. For a regular person, they would just live on, but for a person with Advanced Leglimency, it's much different."

"Like how?" Ron asked curiously. "Why did it hurt so much?"

"Most likely, you hear the person's last thoughts before they die," Layla said.

"Yeah, he was thinking, 'The Weasley brat doesn't have what it takes to take me out.' And then he gave me this horrible smirk and pointed his wand at Hermione." Ron closed his eyes and sniffed. He took a deep breath. "I said, 'I have exactly what it takes' and I killed him. That's murder, isn't it?"

"He was going to kill Hermione," Layla told him softly. "It's not murder. It's self-defense. You were protecting her; you saved her life, Ron."

"But I can't help it but feel that I murdered him," Ron whimpered, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. "I can't help but keep thinking that I cut his life short--I destroyed a man. I made a child fatherless; I made a woman a widow. And no matter how bad of a person he was, he had to have been somebody to someone out there. He'll never live again, and even if that's good, I feel like them--like those Death Eaters--because I have his blood on my hands--my hands."

"I know how you feel--I've done the same exact thing--but you can't dwell on it," Layla said firmly, "or his voice will come back to haunt you."

Ron's body tensed up. "He'll come back?" He sounded very afraid and she saw that he had paled once again. He looked sick.

"If you keep thinking about it, he will," Layla told him. "Listen; if a person with Advanced Leglimency kills a person, they are the last to hear their voice--to hear them alive--and it is forever trapped in their mind. It doesn't pipe up for a while, but when it does, it hurts terribly because death is a tragic thing. And their voice will torment you as long as it can. You can die if something is not done in time about it. No Healer can stop the voice's assault on your mind and your conscience; only another person with Advanced Leglimency or yourself can stop it."

"Is that how you stopped it?" Ron asked quietly. "By yourself?"

Layla nodded her head. "I had no one else," she replied, "and that is why you are very lucky that I have the same ability you do--and that I'm experienced. I was experienced when it first came over me so I knew what to do; you didn't even know you had this yet. You could've died from it."

Ron gulped. "Glad I didn't," he muttered. She smiled at him weakly. He sat up and leaned up against a pillow. He stared at the door in silence.

"Ron--"

"I'm not going to see my family, Harry, and Hermione over the summer, are I," Ron said, and he sounded disappointed and empty. Layla pulled her hand away from him and looked down at it. She sighed and frowned. She didn't reply to him. "Hermione and Harry were going to come over to the Burrow over the summer and we were going to have tons of fun--swimming, playing Quidditch, eating, running around, talking late at night, and just having fun in general. Ginny was going to have a lot of fun; I was going to act like her friend again--like we did when we were little when we were the only ones at the Burrow."

"I don't know," Layla sighed. "You read my mind, didn't you?" Ron nodded his head. "It's okay. That just means you're already getting the hang of your gift, but you could do so much more with it."

"We were supposed to all forget about the Second War, if only for a few weeks," Ron muttered to his feet. "It looks like I'll be reminded more of this bloody war than ever, and so will Hermione, Harry, and my family."

"Listen, Ron; I don't want to have this happen to you, but you have to sharpen this gift. Do you think it was a bundle of cake for me? I had no one. My parents locked me in my room for days at a time just so I could keep practicing over and over again." Layla looked at the door when Ron looked back at her. He looked wistful. He didn't want to do this; he didn't want to have this power. And he hadn't asked for it--just like she hadn't asked for it.

"Are you going to ask mum now?"

Layla thought about it for a few minutes. It had only been two days since the battle and she doubted that Molly Weasley would dare let her youngest son out of her sight for ten minutes, let alone two months. And Ron needed to have time with his family and friends. He couldn't just leave all of a sudden. Harry and Hermione needed Ron and Ron needed them. He needed to heal up emotionally and physically before anything could be done anyways.

"No," Layla sighed tiredly, "I won't talk to her about it now, but later I will. You can go back to the Burrow before anything happens. Ginny's going to need to see you before anything is done about this new revelation."

"I guess that's okay," Ron mumbled wistfully. He bit his lip and then sighed sadly again.

"You're going to be alright," Layla told him gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her with distant blue eyes, and she knew that she would not be able to enter his mind. He was barring her from his mind already; she could see it in his eyes. "Trust me; everything will be alright in the end. Harry will be extremely grateful of this; it will help him so much. And that's what you want to do, isn't it? You want to help Harry."

"Yeah, yeah, I do want to help him," Ron said, lightening up just a tad bit.

"You look like a mess and I doubt that you want Hermione to see you like this," Layla told him, standing up and stretching, giving Ron a comforting look.

"Hermione's coming to see me?!" Ron asked, brightening up immediately and beaming. Layla grinned at him and nodded her head. Hermione didn't know that yet, but Layla was sure that the younger girl would want to see Ron--no doubt. "Wicked! Thanks, Layla, for, you know, talking to me about this and letting it wait. I know this is important."

"Yeah, well, you being alive and well is more important to me than anything else," Layla told him with a grin. She opened the door. "I'm going to get Hermione, okay?"

Ron nodded his head and she walked out. As she started down the corridor for Hermione's room, Layla was sure that she heard Ron trying to prep himself in his head. He just didn't know she could hear him. Layla grinned. How good it was for everything to be back to semi-normal. Now Layla hoped that she would walk in on Hermione with her nose in a book.