Connected

Chapter 38 'Beginning Of The End'

Chapter 38 ‘Beginning Of The End’

Evanna slowly opened her eyes then abruptly shut them as sunlight struck them forcefully.

“Ah! I told them to draw the curtains!” came Madam Pomfery’s voice.

Sound of hurried footsteps came and everything went dark behind Evanna’s eye lids and she opened them again.

“How are you feeling?” Madam Pomfery asked.

“I feel quite good, thank you,” Evanna replied as she tried to sit up.

“Steadily, steadily,” Madam Pomfery said as she helped her sit up straight, “Now, tell me. Do you feel anything unusual anywhere?”

Evanna kept quite as she thought for a moment. The pain was gone and she was feeling quite fresh but there was something unusual. Something very unusual, very strange and surreal. Her heart felt very heavy, felt a bit empty and the Dark Mark wasn’t feeling the same as well. It felt like it wasn’t even there but she knew that it was.

“No, everything is perfect,” she replied a concerned Madam Pomfery. “For how long have I been here?”

“Oh, two days. Today is the third one,” Madam Pomfery replied as she prepared a solution for Evanna.

She presented it to her, “Don’t look at it. Don’t smell it. Just hurl it down. It will give you strength.”

Evanna followed her orders and ended up making a sickened face, “Yuck!”

“Well no need to complain about it. It’s a wonder.”

“Yes, most certainly,” Evanna said sarcastically.

Madam Pomfery gave her a disapproving look and left as Dumbledore entered.

“Ah! Good to see you’re awake. How are you now?”

“Much better.”

Dumbledore sat on the corner of her bed, “That’s good.”

“Why are you still here, professor?” Evanna whispered as she leaned forward.

“Ah! I see you’re very happy to see me,” Dumbledore said wittily but as Evanna kept her expressions grave; Dumbledore replied her answer seriously; “I will leave soon. I promise.”

Evanna relaxed and smiled but then turned serious again; “It was dark magic, wasn’t it, professor?”

“Yes, it was.”

“I could feel it. It didn’t let me go unconscious even when I had let go of all my willpower. It wanted me to keep feeling the pain but… but who could have done it?”

“It was not done on you and it was not done on purpose.”

“Ah, I see. It was the connection working again…”

“But, I am confused a bit. It should have been fatal for you but it wasn’t. It didn’t do much harm on you than it did on Draco. How?” Dumbledore was deep in thought and so was Evanna when she suddenly remembered the night at Borgin and Burkes. The crusitic (ßcheck) curse didn’t pain as much as it used to. Evanna briefly described it to Dumbledore who listened intently.

“…It was weird. I didn’t feel as much pain as I expected, as I used to.”

“That means it’s breaking,” Dumbledore spoke at last.

“But how?”

Dumbledore took his time and then spoke, “He’s broken your trust, hasn’t he?”