Curse of the Dark

“Hermione!” said Harry, a bit more frantically. “Hermione, wake up!” He touched the smooth skin on her cheeks that was no longer rosy, but a pale white. It too was cold. She didn’t move. Quickly, he pulled the covers down to her waist so that he could lay his hand down on her chest over her pajamas. He wasn’t sure if he could feel a heartbeat or not, everything was so still about them. Laying his other hand over the one on her chest he leaned down next to her ear. “Hermione! Hermione, you have to wake up. Hermione, come on!” She didn’t move and it finally hit him. Burying his head down, face first in her stomach, he began to slowly cry. “You can’t die, Hermione. Don’t do this to me. Not now, when I need you more than ever! Hermione!” He began to glow, softly at first and then brighter and brighter as his chokes grew louder and more insistent. Not noticing, Harry kept his face buried in her stomach, eyes screwed shut. Soon, he overpowered the light shining in through the windows and the torches on the walls until he was a blinding fire, crouched over a dark figure in the room, the only thing alive in the whole world, for all he knew.

“Ouch, Harry. That hurts.” Hermione’s voice was soft, yet reproachful. “And turn out the light. You’re blinding me.” She spoke with the air of someone being woken too early by an alarm clock and not of one who had just been snatched from the grip of death.

“Hermione?” Harry looked up, hopeful.

“Hi, Harry! You’re back!” She reached out suddenly and hugged him with all the little strength she had. “You gave me a scare, you know that? Running off and leaving me all alone with Dumbledore. I thought you were dead!”

“I’m sorry,” he said, meaning it and hugging her back. His glow was dying out.

“Don’t be. I don’t care what happened as long as you’re back now and safe.” He smiled up at her. “What about Ron? Is he okay?” For the first time, Harry remembered Ron and turned over to the neighboring bed. Reaching out his hand, he noticed that Ron, too, was colder than usual. Fighting to keep his composure, Harry laid his hand on Ron’s chest and began to focus his mind on waking Ron up.

“Ron?” he whispered. “Ron, wake up.” Hermione gasped as he began to glow again and then suddenly Ron sat straight up.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” he yelled which made Harry jump back in surprise and then forward again as he grabbed Ron around the neck in a best friend hug.

“Ron! You’re okay!”

“Were you worried?” Ron asked with a lopsided grin.

“Immensely,” said Hermione, smiling back at him. Harry looked between them at the smiles they gave each other. His heart began sinking in apprehension. What had they done while he was gone? He cleared his throat which broke the two of them away from each other’s gazes.

“Hermione? Ron? Where is everyone?”

“What do you mean, Harry?” asked Hermione quizzically.

“There’s no one on the grounds or in the Common Room or in any of the classrooms and I don’t know where any of the teachers are. The paintings aren’t even in their frames.”

“Are they in the Great Hall? It is about lunch time,” said Ron, rubbing his stomach.

“Can’t you think of anything besides food?” scolded Hermione. “This is important and Harry needs our full support on this.”

“We need help too if we’re to find out where everyone’s gone. They can’t have just disappeared,” said Ron. Suddenly Hermione’s eyes widened.

“The tower!”

“What?” asked both boys in unison.

“The tower,” she said again. “Well Ron ought to know. You weren’t there, Harry but Professor McGonagall took us to a tower after you left that went up miles and when we got there, it was the Order of the Phoenix. It was really hard to get into though so I don’t know if we can get up to it.” She sighed.

“Now what do we do?” asked Ron.

“I don’t know, Ron!” Hermione glared at him while Harry laughed.

“You two fight like an old married couple,” he said, still laughing. Then he immediately realized what he had said and stopped. Neither noticed; they had heard it before.

“Now what is this?” said a voice from across the ward. All three looked up. “Harry Potter? What are you doing here?” Madame Pomfrey came bustling into the room over to where they were sitting. “Everyone is out looking for you in the forest! The entire Order of the Phoenix! And here you come into this Wing as if nothing has happened and then you wake up your friends and you’re all having a jolly good time without realizing what you’re putting the whole world through, what with taking their magic and then running off as a werewolf.” She scolded them quite sternly, though she didn’t look as if she meant it.

“I’m sorry, Madame,” started Harry, “but I just got back and I really have no clue what is going on.”

“I’ll let Professor Dumbledore explain it to you but first things first.” She took him by the hand as if he were merely four instead of a teenager. “You two stay here,” she said to Hermione and Ron, and she led Harry out of the ward and into her office. He had never been here before, and it was rather interesting. The walls were lined with boxes and bottles of different colored potions. Behind glass cases were all sorts of books on magical healing and in the center of it all was her desk. She led him over to where there was a small, glass globe, about the size of a golf ball. Taking out her wand, she tapped it twice. “Professor Dumbledore? It’s Madame Pomfrey.” The globe started to swirl a mix of colors and then back came another voice. The Headmaster.

“Poppy? Any further developments with the children?”

“They’re both awake. But that’s not the extent of it. They were woken up by a certain Harry Potter who is very much in a human form and who is standing right next to me.” She turned to Harry. “Go on and talk to him,” she said.

“Um…hello Professor Dumbledore.”

“Harry?!” came back the voice.

“Yeah…I’m here.”

“What? But how? Are you…?” Then a voice that sounded a bit more distant came through.

“Is he there?”

“Sirius?” asked Harry happily. “HI!”

“Hello, Harry. Are you okay? You had us all dreadfully worried.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Harry?” Dumbledore’s voice came drifting back to them. “I have to call everyone else so you stay put and then Sirius and I will be along as soon as we can. Stay in the Hospital Ward and most importantly, don’t use any magic. We’re not sure you can control it yet.”

“I already did, Professor. But just a little…,” he trailed off uncertainly.

“Well don’t use it anymore! We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Abruptly, the glass dome went milky white once more.

“Well that’s that,” said Madame Pomfrey. “Come on, Harry. I need to give you a full inspection before they come.” Harry sighed. He had been through more of those than any one person should ever have to.

“He’s back,” said Sirius in shock. A large grin spread across his face as Dumbledore began to give orders through the glass dome. “He’s back!”

“So what happened after I left?” asked Harry. He was sitting next to Hermione and Ron after a checkup that lasted several minutes too many. The search party was still not back, though.

“Well, after you left, Dumbledore took me inside and we went to his office where they called Ron in and told him. Then we went to the Common Room and after a while Professor McGonagall came and got us and took us to the tower,” said Hermione.

“You wouldn’t believe this tower! It was amazing,” exclaimed Ron. And he was off describing the tower with the enthusiasm he had possessed first telling Harry about Quidditch. Every so often, Hermione would add in, but eventually Harry got the idea.

“So this tower,” he said, “could you get back to it if need be? I don’t know if it’s on the Marauder’s Map. Seems to me at the very least Fred and George would have found it by now.”

“I don’t think so. It was very hard to get to. It’s obviously not going to be in plain sight.”

“Maybe you can only find it if you’re looking for it,” suggested Ron.

“Honestly, Ron. Not everything is possible, even with magic.”

“Only a suggestion, Hermione,” he said with sarcasm dripping out of his voice. Suddenly the doors banged open, making them all jump, and Dumbledore followed by Sirius and then another dozen or so wizards came rushing into the ward. Sirius ran over to Harry and gave him a great big fatherly hug which made Harry smile a little in appreciation.

“Hullo, Sirius,” said Harry happily.

“Harry! We were so worried about you!” scolded Sirius softly. He was like a father to Harry that Uncle Vernon never was and that his own never had the time to be.

“Sorry, Sirius. I must’ve said that about a dozen times already. Sorry everyone. Now can we get on with this?” Dumbledore cleared his throat with a bit of amusement.

“Patience is a virtue, Harry. But for the time being, I agree with Harry. Let’s get on with this.” He stood up and turned to the various wizards that had followed him into the ward. “Professor Sinistra, if you would kindly go up to the towers and tell the paintings they may return to their frames, I would be appreciative, as would they. Professor Flitwick, you can get Hagrid who should be putting away the brooms and get the students from the station. Professor Merle if you would be so kind as to alert the house elves that they may come out of hiding. I daresay you know how to get to the kitchens by now?” She nodded and the said Professors left. “Harry, you come with me and Sirius. Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley. You may join us if Madame Pomfrey deems you fit to leave.” Madame Pomfrey had indeed come in during the ordeal and ‘hmphed’ at his request. She began to coax them out of their beds and then give them a thorough checkup but, to her disappointment, they were absolutely fine.

Twenty minutes later, Harry found himself sitting in Dumbledore’s office across from Dumbledore himself and next to Sirius, Ron, and Hermione. The password had been Dragon Drops which was a new invention of the Weasley twins that turned the eater’s aunt into a dragon for an hour. Harry could just imagine going home and finding a dragon sitting in his living room that used to be his aunt. He shuddered. She had enough dragon in her already. Though…giving one to Dudley might not be a bad idea.

“So, Harry,” finished Dumbledore. They had just told him and Hermione and Ron all the details of what had happened after he left and they passed out. “Now that you have all this power, what do you want to do? I can personally teach you how to control it and, if possible, give some of it back to the Phoenix. That would be the most logical option. You already seem to be connected to the Phoenix so there is really no point in initiating you to the Order of the Phoenix. You ought to be taught how to get in to the tower, however, and I plan to do it personally.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“Now, Harry. That is one option. There is one other that may be of significance. That would be to collect more power.”

“What?!” yelped Harry, Hermione, and Ron all at the same time.

“There is some reason why you were able to collect and store all this power. Most wizards could not. In fact, I don’t believe any could at all, excluding Voldemort. Not even I could. But you once again defied death and were able to control it to save your friends. The reason would probably be because you are destined to use it. If you are to use it, you might want to get as much as you can easily control to fight what I presume would be Voldemort himself. That may not be the case, however. I don’t think you would need several centuries worth of magic in order to fight one not quite mortal but I cannot think of any other force you would need to fight. Tread carefully, Mr. Potter, for you are frolicking with the Devil during dangerous times in Hell.” Harry looked at him quizzically. Dumbledore smiled back at him. “It takes a great mind to control what you have. You have an extremely strong will, Mr. Potter. Use it well. And you two,” he said, looking at Hermione and Ron, “will need to help him. Do be careful, though.” Harry got the sense that the meeting was over for the three of them so they each bid Sirius and Dumbledore a quiet ‘thank you and goodbye’ and they left.

“What does that mean?” Ron asked as they rode down the spiraling staircase.

“What?” said Hermione. “What does what mean?”

“‘You are frolicking with the Devil during dangerous times in Hell.’ What does that mean?”

“I think it means that I’m messing with the magic that controls the very core of this world in a time that it shouldn’t be messed with,” said Harry quietly.

“Oh,” said Ron, but it didn’t look like he understood.

The rest of the school returned that evening, just in time for dinner, giving Harry odd looks the entire time, but he didn’t mind, as long as Hermione and Ron were by his side. The three of them had nearly the entire side of the table to themselves as no one really wanted to sit near him. Not many people knew the real truth but sometimes the rumors were worse than the truth. This was one of those times.

“Do you think Dumbledore will tell them about everything that happened?” Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione. “It does involve a lot of things that he probably wouldn’t want many people to know about the Order of the Phoenix. And it was hard enough with Lupin being a werewolf. How do you think they’ll take it if I’m one too?”

“We don’t know that you are a werewolf, Harry,” said Hermione sternly. “We just know that you were one. You did change when there wasn’t a Full Moon which means that you probably weren’t an honest to goodness bona fide werewolf. There’s no proof that you are a werewolf full time.

“Do you always need proof, Hermione?” Ron asked incredulously.

“No, Ronald, but I would like to - that’s it!” She slapped her hand to her forehead. “I’ll be back later! I have to go the library!” She got up and rushed out before either one of them could say a word.

“You know, I really hate when she does that,” said Ron.

“Me too. But she’s always got something worthwhile afterwards,” agreed Harry. Ron nodded.

Harry and Ron were sitting in the Common Room waiting for Hermione to return. It was nearly one in the morning and the castle was nearly silent. Ron yawned, then Harry, then Ron again.

“I think I’m going to go to bed now,” said Ron sleepily.

“I’m going to go check on Hermione. She ought to be back by now,” said Harry.

“Do you still have the map?”

“No, Dumbledore took it last year, remember? I’ll just take the Invisibility Cloak. Be back in a while if I can’t find her.”

“Alright.” They made their way up to the dorms where Ron collapsed on his four poster. Harry took the Invisibility Cloak and opened the Portrait where he nearly tripped over Hermione who was sitting outside.

“Hi, Harry,” she said sleepily.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“Who else would open the Portrait and not be there?”

“Good point. I was coming out to look for you. We were getting worried.”

“The Fat Lady left so I was stuck out here since Madame Pince kicked me out of the library. I’m glad you came to rescue me.” He took the Invisibility Cloak fully off himself so that Hermione could see him. She smiled up at Harry who was still standing in the Portrait Hole, holding the empty frame open. He could feel his insides getting mushy and his knees started to quiver.

“Anytime, Hermione.” She laughed in a gentle way.

“You’re everyone’s hero, aren’t you, Mr. Potter?” she teased, standing up.

“I try.”

“You’re cute when you blush, you know that?”

“I didn’t realize I was blushing.”

“You are now. It’s cute.” Harry blushed. She laughed again. Then she sobered up. “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for some time now. I was going to tell you when we were on our walk but then the werewolf came and…I just haven’t had the chance to say anything since.” She reached up and threaded her hands through his messy, black hair. Leaning forward slightly, she kissed him gently on the lips. Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. But, try as he might, he was unable to kiss her back. He seemed frozen in place. He couldn’t even put his arms around her.

Is this magic or nerves? But-but I love her. Why can’t I kiss her back? If it’s magic shouldn’t I be able to break it? And it’s definitely not nerves because I want to kiss her. Damnit! What’s wrong?

Slowly, Hermione backed away. She looked as if she might cry. He wanted to run to her and tell her that he loved her, but he was frozen in place.

“I just need to hear you say that you love me or at least tell me that things won’t change for the worst between us,” she whispered. “That’s all, Harry.” He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

“Hermione, I can’t,” he said after a few minutes. He had been unable to pronounce three simple words which they both needed to hear.

“I understand,” she said softly. Tears welled up in her eyes and she pushed past him through the Portrait.

“Hermione, wait!” he called. He would break this if it took him the rest of his life. But she didn’t look back as she climbed the stairs to her dorm. Running after her, he could hear her choked sobs echoing down the circular stairs and then a door slamming and when he got to the top of the girl’s dorms, all he could see was stone and a closed door. He climbed back down and then up again to his own room and the last thoughts before he collapsed on his bed were, my life really sucks.