Harry Potter and the Black Secret

Chapter Eighteen

Ateranima

Ron looked around him in total bemusement. There was nothing but empty space as far as he could see, total black nothingness. It wasn't dark though; nothing was hidden by lack of light. He could see himself, and that was all. It all looked eerily familiar.

He had been here before he realised, but not long enough for it to make an impression. It was a place in between places. The barrier in-between the physical and psychic worlds. A blank canvass to be crossed.

But he didn't know how to cross it.

He had visited this place in his visions, albeit for a millisecond before he moved to consciously exist on one plane or another. It wasn't a sentient act on his part to move through the dimensions, it just happened.

"It's a strange place here isn't it?" said a too familiar voice.

Ron didn't want to turn around, because he knew what it was he would see. That voice, he knew who it belonged to. He had wished for years to hear the sweet sound again, but now that his wish had been granted, he didn't want to believe it to be true.

He did turn of course, and he did look upon the proverbial face of a girl he once knew.

"Delta," he said choking on her name.

She smiled kindly at him, curly red hair as perfect as it ever was on top of her nine year old face. She was wearing the same pink jeans and white T-Shirt that she always had. The same as she had been before.

"You've grown up really well," she observed.

"You haven't changed at all," Ron said to the little girl.

"I look like you remember me," Delta explained, "I can look any way I want. Would you like to see how I would now?"

Ron shook his head, not able to take his eyes off her.

"I want to remember you the way you were."

She smiled understandingly.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked.

"I think so," Ron said slowly, "But I don't know why. What happened?"

"Can't you remember?" Delta said encouraging Ron to think back to his last few moments of memory. As soon as the images were recalled the darkness disappeared and he was back in the Great Hall.

He looked into his own face and then into the face of the girl who held him at knifepoint. She moved to whisper in his ear, and Ron remembered the words that had caused him to relinquish hope.

"Can't have you seeing where we are now Red," Kristine said so only he could hear, then the blade cut.

The scene vanished and he was back between dimensions faced with the child of his past.

"Am I dead?" he asked her solemnly.

"Yes," she answered, "But it isn't as simple as that. We need you Ron, you're our only hope."

"Whose we?" Ron asked confused.

"I think that will be too much information right now. We are who watch over the living. We are who send you the visions. We are who keep peace when darkness threatens existence," she said.

"Why you?" Ron asked.

"I am your guardian," she explained tenderly, "I can't explain more than that to you, you're not ready to know the mechanics of existence. Just know that I'm here to help you help them," she said gesturing around her as the space once again became full of images.

He saw Hermione; blooded and bruised, tears streaked her face as she dug through rubble. He reached out a hand to touch her face and the image shimmered away to another girl.

Ginny. She was unmoving, but breathing as a very sombre looking Lockhart gathered her up in his arms. The usual smiling face of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was pained, both emotionally and physically.

Another sequence of well-known faces past by, some digging like Hermione, some injured, and some dead. He recognised the faces of students, teachers, some he couldn't recall at all. It made no difference. The suffering shone like a beacon. Then one final face appeared in front of him.

Harry.

Unconscious. Bound. Dried blood scarred his naked chest and old arid sweat plastered his hair. His glasses lay just out of reach on the cold stone floor on which he laid, his arms trussed to the equally cold stonewall exposing his wounded form. Then he was gone.

"What can I do?" Ron said half panicked, half determined to do something. Anything.

"You'll know what to do, just let me show you. You need to understand everything. It isn't their fault," Delta said.

Ron knew to whom she was referring and the thought of them awoke a vast range of emotions. Shock, grief, confusion and anger. The winning feeling however was bitterness, which partnered very well with sarcasm.

"Oh right, because she didn't mean to slash my throat and leave to die on floor. It was all an act. A mistake. Well, that makes everything okay then!"

"Do you want to help your friends and save the world or not?" Delta snapped.

Ron laughed in spite of himself, and then gazed upon the red haired girl.

"I really missed you," he said sorrowfully.

"You'll see me again," she said certainly, "But not for a long, long time! Okay?" she added forcibly.

"Okay," Ron said quietly, smiling sadly.

"Are you ready? There's a lot you have to see," she said.

"I'm ready," Ron said.

"Just one more thing Ron," Delta said, "Tell Percy to never give up. There's always a light at the end of the rainbow."

Ron looked confused.

"Don't you mean a light at the end of the tunnel or a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?" he said.

"Just tell him," Delta said smiling, "Take care of yourself little brother," and then she was gone and Ron was standing in the gardens at Hogwarts.

A loud crash alerted him to the three people standing with him.

The sound had been made by Draco's flying form smashing the concrete seat. He lay unconscious on the ground a scowling figure looking disgustedly down on him.

Lucius Malfoy turned attention away from his only son and onto the girl staring horrified at her boyfriends crumpled body in front of her.

"You've cause me a lot of hassle my dear," Lucius said slimily, "But I always knew I'd catch up with you in the end. I'll be honest though," he continued pacing towards her slowly retreating form and wrapping his long fingers around her bare arm, "I didn't expect to find you making gooey eyes at my son."

Kristine fought against his grip but to no avail. He wrenched her towards him wrapping an arm around her wait, pulling her tightly against him.

"Feel free to struggle," he said nauseatingly, "I quite enjoy it," and he used his free hand to caress her face.

Ron watched the scene being played out before him knowing that he was watching the past. The night of the ball. He didn't need to make a move to help Kristine to know that he would pass straight through them. He knew instantly that being non-corporeal was not something he was going to enjoy.

He watched helplessly as Lucius pushed his thin lips over hers and she struggled just as helplessly against him. It turned out that she wasn't as helpless as she seemed though. For a second it looked like she had given up as his tongue invaded her mouth, but then a chunk of concrete from the broken bench sailed through the air and collided with the back of his head.

His grip on her faltered, but the force of the strike caused her to be thrown to the ground.

There was no hope for her though, Ron knew this and watched aggrieved as Lucius recovered quickly, pulled out his wand and spoke the word that plunged her into pain.

"Crucio."

Ron blinked and found himself in yet another location, this time he had no idea where, although it looked oddly familiar.

Then it struck him. He had seen Harry here; this was where Harry was being held.

He corrected himself. Would be held.

Draco and Kristine were chained to the wall. Kristine was blindfolded. No doubt to prevent any more telekinesis. She couldn't move what she could not see.

Lucius entered the room and walked casually over to his son. He took his face in one hand and forced Draco to look into his eyes.

"You've been a very stupid boy Draco," Lucius said with revulsion, "You could have had everything. Power. Wealth. Free will," he said this last gratuity with emphasis.

Ron shuddered.

"I'd rather be a beggar on the streets with Kristine than a Lord in a mansion without her," Draco spat at his Father.

"Of course you would," Lucius said sardonically, "because you love her and she loves you. How touching.

I wouldn't worry about being without your precious girlfriend Draco. The Dark Lord has big plans for both of you. You're going to be together, just not in the way you imagined," and with that cryptic message he snapped his fingers and two hooded men hurried into the room.

"Take him," Lucius ordered, "Entertain yourselves for a couple of hours," he said as they removed Draco from the wall and dragged Draco's limp body towards the door, "I'm going to have a little fun of my own."

Ron didn't like the glint in his eye as he looked at Kristine.

The setting changed, and Ron hated himself for feeling relieved that he would not have to watch what it was Lucius was going to do.

He was in another room, lavishly furnished this time, but still no clues as to its location.

The room became unimportant however as Ron saw who stood in the centre of the room. For six years he had been by Harry's side, but this was the first time he had looked upon the face of the man the Wizarding world feared above all others. Lord Voldemort himself.

He looked remarkable...normal. His eyes gleamed red and his skin was waxy as if it had not seen sunlight for many years, and Ron reminded himself, it probably hadn't. Somehow the image of Lord Voldemort sunbathing just didn't comprehend itself as possible.

But the man himself, looked like a man. No doubt due to numerous magicks and spells. The aura of death still hung around him though. The air of cruelty and mercifulness. Looking human certainly didn't make him so.

There were other people in the room, all obviously Death Eaters apart from two. Ron had no indication of the time that had elapsed, but from the state Kristine and Draco were in, a month seemed feasible.

The Death Eaters stood encircling Voldemort and the two captives. They both looked exhausted, kneeling before the evil wizard not out of honour or penitence, but out of the pure inability to stand.

"Pick her up," Voldemort commanded to two of his servants, who obediently stepped forward and heaved Kristine up off the ground.

"I've been told some very interesting things about you Miss Black," Voldemort said stepping forward to lift Kristine's chin with a hand that had caused so much pain and death, "I had intended to use you as bait. Corny I know, which is why I'm so glad to have discovered this most intriguing fact about you. I do hope no mistake had been made, not that your indispensable, I don't you to be actually alive to say so, but if my servants are correct," a twisted smile finished off his sentence in a way words never could.

He raised his wand to point at her chest, and said casually as if he was doing nothing more than ordering drinks.

"Avada Kedavra."

A flash of green light illuminated the room, trademark of the killing curse. But as the light subsided, Kristine still stood. Alive.

Voldemort smiled contentedly.

"There is Vampire blood in your veins Miss Black, a most unexpected bonus. It seems you and young Malfoy were destined to be together after all," Voldemort said coolly, " Avery. Macnair. Prepare the spell."

Two of the Death Eaters moved away from the circle and over to a cauldron. Ron couldn't see exactly what they were doing. Everything was becoming hazy. Events occurred quickly, time skipping minutes at a time. He would be leaving this place soon. He could feel it. Ron moved towards the circle of Death eaters.

He saw them force a tick red-brown liquid down Kristine's throat, causing her to choke. Draco was thrown ungraciously to the floor and administered the same concoction.

Chaos engulfed the room. An invisible storm surrounded Voldemort, Kristine and Draco. The twisted look on Kristine's face, the pain in her eyes was all Ron could focus on. It was as if she was burning from the inside out, some force in her blood pushing its way to the surface. Her hair was purged from root to tip in vile ink. Tears streamed down her face.

Someone was chanting from a book, but he couldn't make out the words. It sounded Latin, possibly even pre that. Ron tore himself away from her face to try and read what he was saying. It was difficult to remember that he could bump into the man and he would not feel a thing. He managed to see the name of the spell.

Ateranima - To Blacken ones soul

A flash of black light and the screams eradiating from Draco and Kristine echoed in his ears as he awoke with a start on a cliff top.

Confused as to what had happened he stood up slowly, and then he recognised the location. It was the same as ever. The vision that haunted his dreams, never getting clearer or revealing anything useful.

He saw the girl standing over Harry, only this time he recognised who she was and understood the look on Harry's face.

But then he saw something new. He saw further into the vision, it felt easier this time, he couldn't feel the pain that usually accompanied the pictures. He saw Harry again, standing defiant against Voldemort, a long sword encrusted with ruby stones and a name imprinted on the blade in his hand, and Ron knew what he had to do.

*

Hermione darted around the hospital wing, doing her best to help those that she could. She had to keep busy. She felt as though if she stopped for a second then she would fall to pieces, but then again, every time she ran past the bed in which he lay, all she wanted to do was cry.

It was a miracle that he was still alive. As soon as was physically possible she had been at his side amidst the calamity that had once been the Great Hall of Hogwarts. People were dragging themselves out of their hiding places and trying to help those who were trapped.

The hospital wing was packed with students who were unconscious or seriously injured along with the seventh years who had studied healing magic part one last year, and that included Hermione. Madam Pomfrey and Professors McGonagall, Lockhart, Snape, Sinistra and Trelawney were doing the best they could to protect the more able students. Lives had been lost, both professors and students, it was amazing that the fatality rate was as low as it was considering what had happened.

At least everyone had been accounted for, even if only their bodies had been found. Hermione could currently count the dead on her fingers, and she prayed it would stay that way.

Orla Quirke, the Ravenclaw Draco had killed; Kevin Whitby, a Hufflepuff who suffered a fatal head wound; Lavender Brown and Natalie McDonald of Gryffindor; Gemma Hawthorn and Peter Layton of Slytherin had also been lost; and then there was Professor Flitwick who had died whilst saving the life of new first year Hufflepuff; and finally, Dumbledore. Of all the eight deaths he was the greatest shock.

Hermione felt the girl she was holding a cold flannel to move.

"Ginny," Hermione said gently, "Ginny, wake up, it's me. Hermione."

Ginny's olive eyes fluttered open and she groaned as the light hit her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Can't you remember?" Hermione said.

Ginny thought for a moment and then shook her head briefly, she may have been awake but she had a horrendous headache.

"Last thing I remember is the sorting," she said and then she took a better look at Hermione and scanned the rest of the infirmary, "Oh God, what happened?"

"Just rest Ginny," Hermione said tears stinging her eyes, "Your memory will probably come back in time, please don't worry about anyone else, we need you to get better," and with a forced smile Hermione moved over to where Ron lay.

She picked up his hand and willed him to wake up.

"Come on," she begged, "Please be alright, I need you to be alright."

Hermione lent over and kissed him gently on the lips and a tear fell from her eye and landed on his cheek.

Just then a group of people entered the infirmary, several of whom Hermione recognised instantly.

Molly Weasley ran over to her daughter's bedside and hugged her tightly obviously relieved. Then she saw Hermione sitting next to another red head and all the relief she had felt left her as she walked over to the bed, knowing that what she saw wouldn't be good by the look on Hermione's exhausted face.

She looked at her son sleeping peacefully; seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him. He had a bandage around his throat, which had been magically healed as best it could. He was disturbingly pale due to the tremendous loss of blood. Molly stroked his face gently, not allowing the tears she had welled up inside of her to fall. Now wasn't the time.

She turned to Hermione and looked at the young girl who had matured years in the last few hours. She hugged her son's girlfriend tightly and Hermione returned the embrace gratefully, trying as hard as she could not to cry.

Arthur Weasley came and stood by his wife's side putting a comforting arm around her shoulders and Hermione acknowledged the rest of the party.

Percy Weasley was doing his best to comfort Ginny who had now spotted their brother's unmoving body in the bed opposite her. Fred and George were asking Madam Pomfrey what they could do to help, and grateful for the assistance she pointed them to a group of students who possessed flesh wounds.

She was sure she had seen Bill and Charlie as well, but they had disappeared along with Lockhart and McGonagall, no doubt to deal with those students who were currently in the Ravenclaw common room.

The rest of the group Hermione could only vaguely recall seeing before as close allies of Dumbledore's opposing Voldemort. A woman who Hermione knew to be called Arabella Figg was talking with Snape and a man...Mundungus Fletcher? But it was the two other men Hermione fixed her gaze on. Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black.

Sirius noticed Hermione looking at him and walked over.

"Is it true?" he asked her quietly, trying not to choke on the words.

Hermione's resolve not to cry failed and she nodded as she began to sob. Sirius took her in his arms and comforted her, doing his best not to cry himself. He didn't know whether they would be tears of joy a having Kristine found alive, anger at what she had done or had done to her, or hopelessness.

Then Hermione noticed another woman who had been standing behind the others She looked oddly familiar, but Hermione couldn't place her face.

Suddenly Molly Weasley shrieked startling everyone in the room. Hermione looked over to see what had astonished the older woman and she had to refrain from crying out herself.

She dashed over to Ron's side where impossibly he was sitting up and trying to get out of bed.

"Ron!" she cried and threw her arms around her boyfriend and then pulled back quickly to look at him. He smiled cheekily at her.

"Were you worried?" he said.

"Ron, how? I mean you were...how?" Hermione stammered in disbelief.

"I don't have time to explain everything," he said, "Not now, we have to stop Voldemort."

"You said his name," Hermione said dazed, "You never say his name."

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," Ron said quoting something Hermione had said a long time ago, "And I'm done being afraid. This is it, the final battle, and I for one am not leaving Harry to face it all alone."

"How did you know Harry had gone?" Hermione asked getting more perplexed by the second.

"I know everything," Ron said simply shrugging his shoulders and grinning.

"You're a seer Ron, you're not omniscient," Hermione replied smiling in spite of everything that had happened, and then she became serious again, "Ron, how are we going to do anything? Dumbledore is gone, Harry had been kidnapped, Hogwarts is in ruins, and Kristine evil! What can we possible do?"

"Its not her fault," Ron said forcibly, "Look, you're all going to have to tryst me on this," he continued looking around at the now rather large crowd that had surrounded his hospital bed, "I know what to do and I know where to go, but I need help if there's even a chance that we can stop this.

We've been sitting around waiting for Voldemort to make a move, well, now he has and I've lost three friends because of it, and I'm going to get them back."

Hermione looked quizzically at Ron as he continued to speak, giving orders to the group of adults at least twice his age that obeyed quickly. Three friends?

"Hermione?" Ron said, and Hermione realised that he had been speaking to her.

"Sorry," she said, "What did you say?"

"I need you to come with me to the library," Ron said getting out of bed as if he had suffered nothing more than a nasty scratch, "I need to know everything about the Ateranima spell. We'll need to get into the restricted section, not that that's going to be a problem, I doubt Madam Pince will expect us to have a note from a teacher," he rambled as Hermione followed him bewilderedly, "Oh and one more thing, he said stopping and turning to face Hermione, "I love you," and he kissed her deeply before taking her hand and leading her towards the library.

They searched the restricted section for at least two hours before they found what they were looking for.

"Ron are you sure this is what you saw," Hermione asked, feeling a little more at ease no that Ron had filled her in on what he had seen, "It says here that in order for the Ateranima spell to work the subject needs to possess inhuman genetics, they need to already have some sort of demonic energy within them."

"Would being part Vampire cover that requirement?" Ron asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what's needed, the inhuman part of that person is accentuated and brought to the surface in order that that person can adopt the traits of the whatever demon is inside of them, so you see this can't be the spell you saw, because for it to work Kristine would have to be part..." Hermione trailed off a she saw the awkward look on Ron's face, "Oh Ron, she's not..."

"She is," Ron said.

"Oh bloody hell," Hermione exclaimed, "What about Malfoy?"

Ron shook his head.

"Not as far as I know, although now you mention it, he is very pale," Ron said.

"Draco isn't part Vampire," Snape's tired voice said as he entered the restricted section of the library, "He's part Veela."

"That explains an awful lot," Ron said, actually managing to raise a smile of Snape's face.

The potions master sat down slowly at the table with the two Gryffindors.

"Did you find it?" Ron asked Snape.

Snape nodded.

"It's in safe hands, I only hope you're right about this, because if you're wrong, all we're going to do is really piss Voldemort off," Snape said.

"I can't believe that no one ever told us about Harry. Do you think he knows?" Hermione said, referring to the crucial discovery that they had made earlier on. It was lucky that Dumbledore had confided in McGonagall otherwise their plan would be seriously flawed.

"I doubt it," Snape said, then he changed topic to the relevant matter, "I just heard what you were two were up two," he explained, sliding the book over and scanning the pages.

"Can it be reversed?" Hermione asked cautiously as Snape read the page, not yet used to this cooperative version of Snape. He had become much more introverted since the ordeal over the summer. He was blind in his left eye and still walked with a bit of a limp, but he refused to let anyone help him. He wanted to be treated the same as before, but that was very difficult seeing as he wasn't the same person he had been before.

"Honestly? I don't know," Snape said sighing, "The spell is very complex and there are very few accounts of it being performed, and the few reports I have read all state clearly that the transformation was undergone voluntarily, meaning that it has never been reversed."

"So there's nothing we can do?" Hermione said quietly.

Snape studied the head girl's defeated face.

"Hermione," he said, the use of her first name making him sound actually kind, "So much has happened over the last few months, granted I can't remember a large chunk of it, but something has been made clear to me. We are not alone. I don't know how, but I honestly believe that everything will turn out all right in the end. Please don't give up hope."

Hermione and Ron saw the Slytherin head of house in a whole new light at that moment.

Hermione looked at Ron and smiled, because at that instant they both realised something.

They were going to win.