772Ok...so I know most of you hate me...and I'm sorry...but this is part two...the continuation of That Fateful Summer...
Be warned however...if your new to the story and not one of my faithful readers than go back to my page and read That Fateful Summer because you wont understand a damn thing...
Anyway...on to the story...enjoy and review please...
Disclaimer: Still not mine...
Surrender
New Beginnings
It was almost three thirty in the morning when Mrs. Weasley burst into Harry and Ron's bedroom at Grimmauld Place. She seemed frantic about something as all the lights were lit and she had their mattresses flip them right onto the floor.
"Oye mum!" Ron cried as he hit the floor.
"Get up both of you and get dressed immediately."
"Why! Tomorrow's the day we go back." Ron said ready to get back into bed.
"Ronald Weasley you get up this moment!" she said and both Harry and Ron stopped to look at her.
She was dressed in a bright jumper and a pair of blue jeans. Her hair hadn't been combed and she looked as if she'd just been woken up. She was frazzled and seemed a bit frantic. Harry knew then that something big had happened.
"What is it Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked calmly.
"We have to go to the hospital." And that was all she said before she hurried from the room again. Ron and Harry looked at one another. The hospital? Was someone injured? Or was it something else, had they finally found her?
Both boys were up in an instant throwing on their clothes. They were moving just as frantically as Mrs. Weasley had been. There was no time to waste, if she was the reason they were going there was nothing more important.
They were in the foyer in a moment, Sirius' mother screeching behind her curtain. No one bothered to quiet her down for there was no need. They weren't going to be staying.
It wasn't only the Weasley family and Harry that stood there, but most of the Order. Moody along with Tonks were there, ready to lead the group while Lupin and Professor McGonagall were going to accompany. Mundungus was there hanging about as was Hagrid. They were all anxious. The adults seemed to know just what was happening; yet at the same time they seemed worried and frantic. It was as if a small disaster had occurred that everyone expected, but hadn't prepared for.
"Why are we going to the hospital Mum?" Ron asked as he and all his brothers filled out after her. Harry was walking beside Ginny who seemed to be worried into a shocked state. The last visit the Weasley's had to St. Mungo's hadn't been good.
"Be quiet Ronald." Was all that his mother said.
They walked down the dark sidewalk in almost military fashion. Yawns and low mumbling were the only sounds that came from the weary group. The night air had a crisp fall chill to it that shocked some. Harry felt the slight breeze and it sent a shiver down his spine.
The only thoughts running through his head were of Hermione. He knew that was why they were heading to St. Mungo's, she would be the only reason. But he wasn't sure whether to see her there was a good thing or a bad one. Was she just there getting checked out after finally escaping Voldemort's grasp or was she there barely clinging to life? The answers to his questions would come, but not soon enough.
They caught the Knight Bus a few blocks away from the Muggle houses and took that all the way to St. Mungo's. They entered the hospital and passed by all the witches and wizards waiting. But they passed other things as well, things Harry never remembered seeing there before. The magical police swarmed all around. It seemed as if they were trying to secure the hospital.
They were led up a few floors to a very special and very empty waiting room. There were just enough chairs for everyone to sit in, though some refused to sit but to instead pace up and down the row. Harry couldn't stand the waiting. He couldn't stand not knowing and was ready to demand answers when the door opened and the former Minister of Magic appeared.
"Arthur." He said softly.
"Fudge, what's happening?"
Everyone looked up at Fudge expectantly. He held the answers that Harry was ready to kill for. He knew the information that everyone sitting and standing there was dying to know. It turns out that everyone had received the same summoning, yet knew not why.
"She's been found."
Molly broke down. She began to sob uncontrollably, as did Ginny. Hagrid was blowing his nose on the big spotted handkerchief while McGonagall dabbed at her eyes. Everyone seemed overwhelmed with happiness that they couldn't hold back their emotions, or in fact decide which emotion to feel.
However Harry, through tears of joy, stated clearly, "I want to see her."
"In due time Mr. Potter. She's still unconscious."
"Tell us everything Fudge." Lupin said calmly though his eyes were watery.
"She was found in an alley just outside the Leaky Cauldron. Her clothes were the same that you described her in the last time you saw her. After we were contacted she was immediately brought here to St. Mungo's. They've been running tests and have discovered that she's under a sleeping spell, it's quite powerful, most likely done by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They've been trying to remove it for almost an hour now."
"Will she wake up?" Ron asked his eyes wide.
"That is unknown at this moment young man." Said a new voice from the doorway.
In walked a tall man wearing thick glasses. He looked to be in his mid forties for he was slowly loosing his hair. His eyes were dark and seemed tired as he looked toward Harry. He noticed that this mans eyes flicked up toward his forehead before turning away to land on Fudge.
"I will allow them to see her. We have decided to give the spell a little more time to wear off before continuing our counter curse methods. But only a few at a time."
"This is Hermione's doctor, Doctor Henter." Fudge said softly. "He's the best in St. Mungo's."
The man merely nodded then turned away to head back inside.
"Harry Ron, you two go first." Arthur said softly. The others seemed to agree as Harry looked about the room.
As Harry stood he wondered if this wasn't one of the many dreams he'd had since her abduction. Was this merely what he wanted, but not what was happening? Or was he about to see his best friend after being without her for so long?
His legs were unsteady as he moved with Ron beside him toward that hospital room. He hadn't been this scared any time he'd run into danger to save the world yet again. He'd always had his friends there, but now that he was about to go into a room where one of his friends was lying, unconscious, with a chance of never waking up, Harry was terrified.
His eyes watered as his he opened the door and entered the small bare hall that separated the waiting room and the hospital room. Ron was by his side and he could tell that he wasn't the only one fearing this meeting.
They moved down the small hallway cautiously as if waiting for the trap to be set. But there was no trap. There was nothing hidden except the fate of the girl in the bed. Her well being and health were the only things that were uncertain now.
The door loomed before them. Harry reached out and turned the knob, turning to look at Ron. The red head beside him seemed to be a nervous wreck. His face was white and his eyes were filled with fear and unshed tears. Harry knew that there was a chance that Ron would breakdown in there, for it had hit him hardest that Hermione was gone.
He'd always suspected that there was something deeper between the two, but neither had ever made a move. But now Harry could see the love in his friend's eyes and knew that it was for the girl in that room, the girl just beyond the door whose handle he now clutched.
"Open it." Ron said giving a nod.
Harry turned the knob and pulled at the door.
Draco sank down into his armchair his head resting in one hand. His head was reeling from what he'd just helped do. His head was throbbing and every sound seemed to echo ten times louder than normal in his mind. Nothing seemed right. Everything seemed haloed and hazy as he stared at it. It was like he was suddenly growing sick.
Flashes of her body, clothed in blood soaked rags lying on the wet and muddy pavement appeared behind his eyes. He couldn't seem to make them stop. But he also couldn't understand while he was seeing them. What was making him see these images of Hermione?
Was he feeling guilty? There was nothing that he should feel guilty for. He couldn't stop what happened, there was no way. He'd be punished if he'd even tried. But yet something within him was obviously not right with it.
"She'll be fine though. The Dark Lord wouldn't let anything happen to her." Draco said trying to reassure himself.
He lifted his head and looked out the window. It was still quite late. His body was tired, his muscles weak, but his mind was wide-awake. He just couldn't stop thinking about her and where she was.
'I have to do something to get her out of my head.' He thought as he stood.
He walked from the room and down the hall to the closet. He grabbed his favourite cloak and headed for the back door. He couldn't stay in that house. He had to get out and let his thoughts clear from his head before he could even try to go to sleep.
He stepped outside into the cold night air. The sky was dark; not even the moon or the stars were out. It looked as if a curtain made of thick black material had been pulled before the normally gorgeous midnight sky. It was silent. No crickets or owls hooting and creating that relaxing rhythm tonight, just the pure and cruel silence that left Draco to dwell on the thoughts that continued to ravage his mind.
He sat down in the same swing that Hermione had been sitting in just that very afternoon with him. They'd been chatting about the coming of school for it was only two days away. She'd been feeling much better after the last episode that had her in bed for a whole afternoon and night and part of another day. It had been her worst yet.
They'd been sitting together talking about school when he'd mentioned how much better she seemed. She was smiling at him. It was strange now that he thought about it for it had been so long since she'd smiled at him.
"Draco, that night that I was really sick. You had a dream," she said her smile slowly becoming a frown. Draco had known where she was taking this, and hadn't wanted to tell her about it. "What was is that you dreamed?"
Draco had tried his best to avoid that subject since it happened, but there was never avoiding anything with her. Now he knew how Potter and Weasley must feel constantly. She was always on top of things and she hardly ever forgot something.
He had ended up telling her a lie because he couldn't remember what it was that he'd dreamed. He'd just picked one of his older nightmares that had woken him up in such a fashion as a boy. She'd believed it and comforted him, though it didn't help him any at all. There was nothing to comfort for he wasn't feeling terrible anymore; just curious about what it was that he'd dreamed.
As he sat there on that swing Draco remembered how excited Hermione was about going back to school. She was talking endlessly about the things that they would learn and all the things that they would get to do now that they were going into their seventh year. She even started in on his duties now that he was Head Boy. She did however seem a little put off that she wasn't Head Girl.
"I just wish I knew who it was if it wasn't me." She had said her face pouting a bit.
"How do you know it's not you Granger?"
"They would have sent the badge like they did for you." She said not looking up from the ground.
Draco smirked; she had her heart set on being the Head Girl. It was the highest position offered to the students and she'd worked so hard over the last seven years to get it. But now that there was a chance she didn't have it she was depressed.
"Haven't you noticed yet Granger that you haven't received anything from the school yet?"
They'd watched the sun set on that swing. They'd taken their dinner outside that evening for it was to be their last night of relaxation in their house. After the sun went down and the evening air grew cooler Hermione had gone inside. Narcissa dropped by once again to give Hermione what she thought was the usual potion to keep the illness at bay. It was really a very mild memory elixir.
She was slipped this potion because Voldemort wanted to guard against Draco and Lucius being implemented to the ministry. The potion would take effect that evening after she was already asleep. It would last at least until the morning of school, depending on the dosage and the time it was given. Voldemort did the calculations himself so it should not have been wrong.
After she took that and said goodnight she headed up the stairs to their room. Draco stayed behind to listen to the instructions that were sent along with his mother from the Dark Lord himself.
Draco was to wait until she was asleep then send a house elf to the Dark Lord's mansion. His father Macnair and Voldemort himself would then come to Everwood Manor and Hermione would be prepared for the journey. Voldemort would place her under a strong sleeping spell, so that she couldn't put up a fight and would remain in the alley until found. Then they would switch her clothes, putting her original clothes that she was taken in back on her.
Draco remembered everything that happened. Everything had gone as planned. She hadn't heard anyone enter the room nor did she wake. Draco was half hoping that she would. After everything was complete she was loaded into the car and taken away.
Draco could still feel the drop that he'd felt when he'd gotten into the empty back seat. He stared out the window at that alley as his father pulled away.
"It is done." His father had said to no one in particular. Draco had merely stared ahead.
"The Dark Lord will be pleased." Macnair had chimed in.
He pushed everything into the back of his mind. He couldn't let himself grow any more attached to her. She was nothing to him but the bearer of his children. He shouldn't feel bad for leaving her in the filth she came from.
'She is nothing to me.' He thought to himself as he tilted his head to the sky. 'Nothing.'
It was close to dawn before Draco grew to tired to sit on that swing. He could just see the sun stretching over the horizon, the pink and oranges making the sky grow lighter. He crawled into bed and shut the hangings before closing his eyes.
For some reason he felt so alone. He was used to Hermione being in the bed beside him. Now it felt so lonely and empty without her. He tried to scold himself and tell himself that those feelings were not real, but he was much to tired. His eyes closed and slowly but surely he drifted off to sleep. But his sleep was fitful much like he was while he was when he was awake.
Miles away Lucius was walking through the halls of his mansion, just arriving home from his meeting with the Dark Lord. He climbed the elegant staircase his gloved hand sliding along the expertly carved wood banister. His silvery blond hair was pulled behind him in a low loose ponytail held with a black ribbon.
He moved soundlessly, through the shadows, heading toward his bedroom. The house was silent around him, for it was dawn. He'd gotten no sleep that night but it was for a good cause. He'd completed the mission that he'd been given, sending that Mudblood away for the moment.
The Dark Lord had been pleased. When Lucius and Macnair had arrived at the mansion after the deed was done he was smiling. His red eyes weren't narrowed yet that look was just as bad as any other. It meant that Voldemort was ready to start whatever devilish plans he'd concocted.
"It is complete my Lord." Lucius said bowing his head.
"Sit tell me. Did anything go wrong?" Voldemort said gesturing to a chair.
Lucius and Macnair sat in the armchairs that sat side by side in the study where Voldemort was currently searching the shelves. He was scanning each spine, reading the title, searching for that specific book that seemed to be alluding him.
"No my Lord. Nothing went wrong. We took the girl to the designated place and dropped her off. Draco however seemed out of sorts." Macnair stated not realizing what he was saying.
"How so?" Voldemort said turning about to face the two.
Lucius shot Macnair a glare before opening his mouth to speak. He looked as if he were trying hard to find the right words to tell Voldemort, something which Voldemort saw quite clearly.
"Tell me Lucius, what it is that has been troubling you. I've been able to sense your displeasure and if does not please me."
"My Lord it's just that I believe that the Mudblood has bewitched my son. I believe that she's manipulated him into having feelings for her. He no longer treats her the way he was instructed to since birth. He's treating her as if they were friends, as if she were pureblood."
"I've noticed that myself Lucius. Do you think that Draco has developed feelings toward this girl?"
"I believe so my Lord."
"That is not acceptable. I will put an end to these feelings. He is merely to conceive a child with her that was all that was asked of him. That was his mission."
Lucius watched his master. The man was angered at the information that was just revealed to him. Voldemort turned his back on the two as his superior brain worked, trying to come up with a way to keep his plans going while at the same time destroying the feelings that Draco supposedly had for the Mudblood.
"Leave me now." He said waving the two away over his shoulder.
Both Lucius and Macnair stood, bowing before they made their way to the door. When they were out in the hall Macnair turned to Lucius to apologize for opening his big mouth, but Lucius held up a hand. Macnair was silence immediately.
"It is better that our Lord knows. He will put an end to this once and for all. Draco will return to normal, and that Mudblood will wish that she never tried to seduce my son. She will pay."
Now as he slipped into his bed, planning to get the sleep that he so richly deserved, he noticed that Narcissa was awake as well. She'd waited up for him. She was lying there, her eyes watching him ever so closely. Lucius found it annoying.
"What is it Narcissa?" he asked as if he despised her.
"Has it been done Lucius?"
"Yes. Not only that, but now our sons feelings for that retched filth will be wiped away. Our son will be back to normal, Narcissa."
Lucius then turned on his side away from his wife. He was asleep in a matter of minutes. Narcissa however remained awake. She stared at the ceiling thinking of Hermione. The girl was lying out there cold on the ground and she'd helped put her there. But then there was a lot that she'd done to Hermione that has hurt her in the past months.
She remembered the wedding. She remembered walking down the aisle, Voldemort beside her. But no, she wasn't remembering. She was seeing it as if she were a third person. But how could this be. How could she be standing there watching herself walk down the aisle? And why did she look so happy? That was not right either, for she remembered being miserable on that very day. She remembered being hungry and feeling sick. What was happening?
Whoever it was wearing that white gown that had been hers turned her way. The most evil smirk spread across her face, the face that looked like hers but wasn't.
"Who are you?" Hermione screamed at the clone of her that was walking towards Draco.
That's when she noticed him. Draco. He was standing there staring at the bride as if he was in love, the bride that wasn't her.
"I'm Hermione." The girl stated in her voice, the voice that was supposed to be hers.
"No you're not! I'm Hermione."
The other her, the one in the gown, the one that was walking toward Draco, laughed. She laughed a laugh that Hermione had never laughed before. It was a menacing laugh, one that would never come from her. But the laughter rang out through the air filling Hermione's ears. Tears filled the edges of her eyes as she watched Draco start laughing as well.
"You aren't my Hermione." Draco said walking to the impostor and taking her hand.
That single gesture made Hermione take a step back. She stared on at the couple wondering if they weren't right. Was that Hermione? If it was, then who was she?
The whole world seemed to be caving in now. The scene before her was growing shadowy, almost as if things were fading out in a movie to change to the next scene. She could feel tingles in her hands, something that had never occurred before. It was then that she realized that she was alone.
She was alone in darkness. She could feel the ground beneath her, but she just couldn't see it. She could hear only her breathing. She could see nothing, there was no difference from open eyes or closed. It was as if she were suspended in time, lost in another dimension.
Her mind was reeling from what she'd seen. She was still trying to figure out who was real because now that she thought about it she couldn't remember. She didn't know if she was Hermione anymore. Hermione would never go along with these plans. She would never have married Draco. She would never have kissed him, or had sex with him. She would rather have died.
Who was she?
The door was pushed open. It was as if neither Ron nor Harry wanted to enter. They were both to scared to see their friend lying in that bed. Harry was terrified to see what she looked like for all that he could remember was hearing Malfoy's words, she's dead. But he could see the foot of the bed and knew that if the room was empty, she was fine, just sleeping, not covered in blood.
He and Ron moved into the room slowly. They immediately saw her there; her tiny form still garbed in the clothes that they'd last seen her in. She was lying there in the bed, unmoving. It was like she was asleep, only she was pale. Her body was covered in layers of blankets and her arms were hooked to blinking and beeping machines. It was like something out of muggle television, yet it seemed so unreal.
"I can't believe she's back." Ron said aloud moving up beside the bed. He grabbed a hand gently and held it in his own, as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
Harry approached her left side and took her other hand. But he felt something quite peculiar about this hand. There were rings on her ring finger that he never remembered seeing before.
"Ron look at these." He said lifting her hand.
Ron gazed across her body at the hand with the rings. He stared at them as if he'd never seen anything like them before. Harry couldn't seem to understand where she could have gotten the rings from but knew that everything would be revealed when Hermione woke.
He laid the hand down on the bed again and stared hard at the rings. One was a simple band made if sterling silver. There was a vine carved around it that was absolutely beautiful but the one that impressed Harry the most was the emerald ring. The stone was gorgeous and shown with all the beauty that a precious stone should. The diamonds that surrounded it added a bit of show without being too obnoxious. But what he saw within the emerald ring made Harry's eyes widen. He saw hidden within the green, yet right in plain sight, a tiny black M.
Well that was the first chap...basically the same story eh? But anyway...go on now...review...
Starry