"Look at me!"
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"I feel better now, Headmaster. Thank you." I let out a deep breath through my nose and picked up my cup of tea. "I just needed to cool off for a minute or two I think." I shook my head to clear my thoughts and drank the warm liquid.
"I just can't believe that little witch would try to swoop in on Harry like that— as if you two were broken up or something!" He shook his head and stared at his desk. "Just you wait until the end of the year feast when Ravenclaw falls short on house points, I don't want to hear a peep of shock from her-"
"I'd say that's not very fair, but I think I'd do a lot worse to her-"
"As you should!" Dumbledore furrowed his brows behind his crescent moon-shaped glasses and kicked his feet up on the desk, reclining slightly in his chair. "Maybe Fawkes could leave a few droppings on her homework, and we could pretend— Oh, why not? You're always down for a challenge!" He turned towards the red and gold bird that was screeching behind his desk in a scolding manner.
"I think Fawkes is right... that might be a little much..." I sighed, crossing my hands over my stomach and closing my eyes as I rest in the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"I think you ought to get the new Quidditch team to give her a run for her money in their match." The sorting hat spoke up from his dusty shelf.
"New team? They've already replaced us?" I felt a sense of grief linger in my bones.
"Yes, yes. I hear things around this castle before you'd even imagine them to be true. I know Ginny Weasley is the new seeker— an excellent trade for Potter, it seems. I'd be surprised if he ever gets his position back— if he gets the lifetime ban lifted, of course-"
"Who else? Did they find a chaser? Or beaters? Who is-"
"Miss Evans, we just got you to relax. Let us not work ourselves up over Quidditch positions." Dumbledore pushed my cup of tea towards me again across the desk. "I do say, however, that-" He cleared his throat and sat up in his chair so swiftly that his feet knocked a few quills off the edge of his desk as he moved. There was a rapping at the door and he gave me a bewildered look that I responded to with a shrug just as frantically. "Come in!" He called shakily, trying to hide the evidence of our late-night hangout to make it appear as if we had been discussing important business.
"Ah, Professor McGonagall and... ah..." I turned in my seat to find Harry in disarray while Ron followed behind him with an uneasy look. Ron looked at me and started mouthing behind Harry's back things like 'losing it,' 'dreaming again,' and 'off his bloody rocker.'
"Potter has had... a nightmare?" Professor McGonagall sounded unsure of herself as she looked at the Headmaster in front of me. "Miss Evans, fancy meeting you here so late into the night." She narrowed her eyes as I gave a sweet smile.
"Minnie! You look so beautiful! Is that a new pair of glasses?" I chuckled awkwardly as Harry spoke up in a panting voice.
"It wasn't a nightmare!" All attention turned back to him now. "Well, I... I was asleep, but... it wasn't an ordinary dream. It was real, and I saw it happen!" I felt my body soften as I watched Harry's terror. I always knew when he was telling the truth, and this wasn't a time for laughter anymore.
Just looking at him, I started to get a feeling I hadn't gotten in a while. A tightening in my chest that felt similar to heartbreak— or a heart attack?
I couldn't put my finger on it. There was something wrong. Not just because of Harry's panic or because he was explaining to Dumbledore that something had happened to Arthur Weasley as I stared at him, but because I had this gut feeling about something that was coming.
Maybe it was just my disparity of what Harry was describing as Dumbledore frantically moved around the room and ordered off the portraits of the previous headmasters to check on the situation.
But I didn't think so.
Siri always said it was anxiety. My dad said I was a worried kid going through a lot of changes. Ron once tried to blame it on my "lady's days"— a blithering idiot. But I knew what I felt just as much as I didn't know what I felt.
"Everare and Dilys were two of our most celebrated heads. So celebrated, in fact, that they have portraits hang in other Wizarding institutions and they are free to move between them so they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere-"
"Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!" Harry said. He ran a hand back through his hair and looked beyond exhausted.
"Please, join Miss Evans, all three of you." Dumbledore gestured for the other chairs next to me. Harry finally looked at me, a hesitant look in his eyes as he glanced at the chair beside me. "They may not be back with any news for serval minutes," Dumbledore explained. I gave Harry a small nod and looked at the chair to my left.
Dumbledore stroked Fawkes's golden head with one finger as Harry shuffled his feet and sat down. Ron followed behind sheepishly and Minnie made herself at home.
"We will need a warning," Dumbledore told the bird quietly before a flash of fire replaced where Fawkes had once been.
"H..." I cleared my throat and saw how he fought the urge to look away from me. "I- uh- Are you okay?" I asked quietly. "You look a bit peaky..." He gulped and looked down at his knee that he was bouncing restlessly. His fingers curled into fists around his nightshirt.
"I threw up... in the dorm... after- uh- y'know... after I had to watch that snake do that to... to..."
"Arthur's going to be okay." I kept my voice down so Ron wouldn't hear more discussions about his father. I didn't want to worry him any more than he already was. "You didn't do this to him-"
Just as I placed my hand down on Harry's arm, I jolted out of my chair with a gasp. It had me wondering if that lightning bolt on his forehead did have an electric current.
"Miss Evans?" Professor McGonagall looked at me. Her voice was a mixture of scolding to sit back down in the office that was already full of commotion and concern for the noise I had made.
"Did you feel that?" I asked Harry in a rush. "Did you see that?!" My voice was a low hiss that I kept the others from hearing. Harry looked just as startled as he had when he first came in here. Surely, he knew what I was going on about with that look in his eye!
"Rubes, are you okay?" Harry stared up at me in bewilderment. "You're acting weird." His voice was worried.
"Don't tell me you're gonna start having an episode, too— my little sugarplum Potter over there is enough for me to take care of, and now my dad might be-"
"I'm not having an episode!" I snapped with more bite to my words than I meant. I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ronnie. I didn't mean to be like that."
"S'cool. Don't worry." He gave me one of his infamous heartwarming smiles when I opened my eyes back up and extended his hand toward mine. I linked our fingers together as I sat down and could feel him trembling, even though he tried his best to hide it.
"You really didn't feel it?" I asked in a breath as I squeezed Ron's hand and looked back at Harry's dark eyes. He shook his head enough that it ruffled his outgrown hair a bit.
"Unless you're talking about the spark that runs through my chest every time I look at you, then no. I'm afraid I have no clue what you're talking about, my dear." Harry tugged on his shirt collar like it was choking him and started bouncing his knee again.
"Aren't you my deer, stag boy?" My lips have the softest hint of a smile as he rolled his eyes at my joke. "But I saw-"
"Yeah, I've been seeing shit too apparently." Harry covered his mouth with his hand and propped his elbow up on the armrest as he stared at Dumbledore's desk with a glossiness to his eyes. The portraits started their shouting again, making Professor McGonagall rise from her chair as she and Dumbledore discussed the important matters. The room started filling with arguing voices that made everyone's anxieties rise again.
"Professor McGonagall, see to it that the rest of the Weasley children are brought here immediately," Dumbledore spoke through the jabber of voices muttering about Arthur and his physical state.
"Sir?" Harry rose from his chair and his sweaty forehead gleamed in the firelight.
"They've taken him to St. Mungo's, Dumbledore... They carried him past my portrait, and it looks bad-"
"Professor?" Harry tried again to get his attention in the chaos. Ron sucked in a breath and grabbed my hand as I took a step towards Harry, making me look back at him over my shoulder. His eyes were rimmed in red and the churning of panic in my stomach grew tenfold.
"Sis..." His voice broke at the end of the word. I glanced back at Harry who was entering his hysteria as I spread my fingers so Ron could interlock them. He dragged me back a step, almost knocking me off balance as I sat on the arm of his chair. "What about mum?" Ron's voice wasn't his own anymore. He was terrified, and I couldn't blame him.
"I'm sure there's a plan. Besides, she might already know. You know how that clock of hers works. She would know if one of you sneezed funny." I gave him a weak smile with my joke, but he still looked impassive as he hid his face in the side of my leg and sniffled. "Ronnie..." I soothed, rubbing down his hair.
"What's going on?" Ginny was the first to burst into the room, and Ron still didn't budge. "Harry, what— Professor McGonagall said that you saw Dad hurt." The twins looked just as disheveled and shocked from being woken from their sleep, but the terrified look in their matching eyes was all the same.
"H, come sit down," I reached my fingers out towards Harry who was still breathing heavily, his eyes wide and alert as he looked around. "I think you're having a panic attack, and I get them, too, but I can't help if you don't come sit down." I extended my fingers a fraction closer to try and get to him, my opposite hand still stroking the back of Ron's neck as he sniffled some more.
"Your father has been injured in his course of work for the Order of the Phoenix. He has been taken back to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."Dumbledore spoke as Harry stared at the Weasley's his mouth parted as he drew in shallow breaths like he wanted to say something. "I am sending you back to Sirius's house by Portkey where you will meet your mother." Dumbledore indicated the old kettle sitting in front of us on his desk. "I just need to wait for Phineas to come back to his portrait and give the all-clear-"
"Sir?" Harry tried again. I released Ron and stood when Ginny joined him in my place.
"They need to make it quick, Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall warned. I grabbed one of Harry's arms and his jaw locked as he looked at me, his entire body tense like I was an intruder. He relaxed, barely, as my eyes flickered back and forth between his.
"The Dark Lord failed to require it-"
Harry's eyes fluttered shut as he inhaled a shaky breath through his nose, his shoulders shuddering as he rolled his neck and pulled from my grasp. A gasp escaped me as I staggered a few steps back, running into the chair Ron and Ginny sat on, nearly toppling to the floor before Fred caught me by my elbow.
"Look at me!" Harry shouted, making the room fall into silence as our eyes lingered on him. I shivered from the cold that ran down my spine, the same chill you feel when looking into the face of danger. Harry's harsh breathing was the loudest noise in the room when he gained the attention he had been wanting.
He blinked once or twice before he looked around at our faces. His eyes shined in the dim lighting as he saw Fred holding me upright, looking up towards my frightened face, and back towards the Headmaster.
"What's happening to me?" Harry's voice cracked. A flash of the firelight caused the room to stir again, reminding us that we were on a time crunch.
"That's the warning from Fawkes. She must know you're out of bed." Dumbledore rushed towards his desk as the Weasleys all shuffled on their feet. Fred let go of my arm and my eyes still hadn't moved from the side of Harry's face as I walked towards him with more caution now.
"H?" I whispered, my throat dry and my heart rate still inclined. "Did you see something?"
"What?" He turned towards me like his guard needed to be up.
"H, I'm not mad anymore. We can talk about our fight later." I raised both of my hands defensively to show I didn't want to hurt him. "I just want to know if you saw something when-"
"Come here then, and be quick" Dumbledore motioned for us all to join him around the desk.
"Harry," I placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. His breathing caught for a moment before everything slowed down. "I'm right here. It's okay." My voice was higher than usual, but the fear and adrenaline moving through my body were heightened.
"Rubes." His voice resembled the broken one Ron had earlier. He looked towards the Weasleys that were on the move before he grabbed my free hand.
"We're okay. It's all okay." I whispered, pulling him towards me. "Let's just get out of here." We shuffled towards the others before I gave them all a nod that we were ready. Harry lingered as close to my side as he could get, his hand holding mine like it was a lifeline. Each of us grabbed onto the blackened kettle and waited.
"On the count of three then," Dumbledore looked at us. "One... Two... Three..." It was only a fraction of a second before a familiar pull came from behind my naval. The ground vanished beneath my feet and Harry's grip on me felt like it was breaking all of my bones and ripping my insides apart. My head burned like it never had before as we were pulled onward.
"Bloody hell, motherfucker, shit-" I hissed as I landed on my butt and clutched my head, trying to ease the headache I don't remember from the last Portkey I had used. I let out a pained groan before I cut myself off and snapped my eyes open from the pained cry next to me. "Harry?" I panicked, looking at him as he hissed words similar to mine under his breath and held his scar, his eyes pinched shut and a whimper parting through his lips.
"What's going on?" Sirius screeched as he rushed to help Ginny up.
"Harry, come on. You have to sit up. Open your eyes." I told him quietly as everyone was still distracted from the pain of his scar. I knew how much he'd loathe having to answer questions about that as well as everything else. "I know it hurts, but they're going to ask questions. Come on." I stayed bent over his chest, my knees at his side, with our faces tucked into each other's necks. His breaths were pained and soft cries as he put a hand in my hair.
"Ruby, it-" he sucked in a sharp breath, "it hurts."
"Are you two snogging?!" My father's voice yelled from across the kitchen before footsteps boomed closer. "In front of everyone! In this state of commotion!" I latched my arms around Harry's neck and forced him to sit up with me, shooting daggers toward my dad as I looked up from the floor.
"We are not snogging! He's upset, you cockroach!" My eyes tingled as I felt the flames light inside of them, the blue glow reflected off of my father's eyes. Sirius let out a bark of laughter that he covered with a pathetic cough when he remembered where and why we were all here.
"Ruby Jade, do not light up those eyes at me." My father warned with a pointed finger, making me pull back on my growing powers as Harry squeezed me tightly one last time.
"Your hair is making me tingle..." He mumbled against my neck, making butterflies fill my stomach from the gentle reminder as he hugged me. "I feel better now, love." He sniffled once and hugged me with both arms, hiding a kiss against the skin of my shoulder that peaked out from the collar of my shirt before he sat up straight.
"What happened?" Sirius asked again. Harry stood from the floor and brushed himself off, offering me his hand to help me.
"Ask Harry," Fred said.
"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself." George agreed, pulling out a wooden chair at the table and taking a seat. Harry cleared his throat and pulled me towards the table as we all sat down in silence. He told them all about what he had seen during his dream, tightening his hold on me every so often. No one made a sound as they stared and listened.
"Does mum know?" A pale Ron asked again. The same question he had asked me in Dumbledore's office.
"I suspect Dumbledore is alerting her. It's a good thing you all got out of there before Umbridge could interfere." Sirius said.
"We have to go to St. Mungo's." Ginny stood abruptly, causing her brothers to follow her lead.
"Hang on, you can't just go running off-"
"'Course we can! He's out dad!" Fred interrupted Sirius as they all broke out into a fight. Harry was slumped back in his chair as I turned to face him. I brushed a few strands of his hair away from his forehead and read his tired expression.
"Hey," I whispered, leaning forward enough that I could gently kiss the scared skin above his eyes. "Can you and I talk?" I leaned back to look at his face again. He peered up at me through his lashes, the brim of his glasses barely blocking his green eyes.
"I think we better," he sighed as he sat up straighter.
"These are things worth dying for!" Sirius shouted at the Weasley's drawing our attention back to them.
"Easy for you to say, stuck here! I don't see you risking your neck!" Bellowed Fred, making my dad suck in a breath. All of the color in Sirius's face turned a deep shade of red, and I expected him to cock back his fist and give Fred a good blow to the nose.
"Fred!" I scolded. He turned towards me with a scowl on his face. "That's not fair and you know it," I warned with a deeper tone.
"I know it's hard for you to understand, but we have to act like we don't know anything yet," Sirius said in an awfully calm voice that was frightening. "We will wait until we hear from your mother, but until then, let's all have a drink and calm down a bit." He shut his eyes and released the breath he had been holding to keep himself calm. "Accio Butterbeer." Sirius raised his wand and bottles flew out of the pantry and landed in front of us at the table.
"Do you wanna take ours someplace else?" I asked as I popped the top off my drink. Harry rolled his tongue over the inside of his teeth before he started to stand with his bottle.
"Yeah..."
"Where are you two going?" My dad asked with a suspicious brow.
"Oh, Danny, let them snog if they want-"
"Stop!" I shrieked at Sirius, making my face heat up and his laugh fills the air.
"I'm never going to get enough." Sirius sighed as he wiped his eyes. "Embarrassing you is one of the best parts of my life, Spitfire."
"Raising a devilishly handsome carbon copy of your best friend is at the top of that list, right?" Harry joked weakly with a smile so smile it was hard to believe.
"Sometimes, you're so much like James, it pains me." My dad shuddered. "Especially when your hand is on my daughter's lower back! Paws off, Potter!" My dad shouted as Harry steered me out of the room.
"Sorry, Danny Boy. Can't hear you!" Harry shouted as the door shut behind us. Harry kept his hand on my back, making my skin prickle as we quietly climbed the stairs toward my room.
"Where shall we start?" I asked as I put my Butterbeer down on a nearby table. Harry sat down on the bed and pushed all the air from his lungs.
"I would never pick Cho. I would never pick anyone over you." Well, I guess that's where we're starting. "I'm sorry that happened, and I know how bad it must have looked and how much it upset you, but nothing happened in that room. She stayed behind to ask me some questions about Cedric, and she didn't even make a move until we were in the hallway." His voice was raw and pleading as he looked at me across the room. "I didn't mean what I said about you running from all of your problems. That was a low blow because of everything that's been happening, and you don't deserve it when I say stuff like that because you treat me better than anyone out there." He took a deep breath. "I hope you forgive me." He swallowed to ease the scratchiness of his voice and looked at me.
"I was going through a hard time because I didn't feel like the person that treated you better than everyone else. I felt like a monster who has the potential to hurt anyone around and I hated doing what I did to you. I needed time to understand how to balance all parts of my life, including my powers, and I know I'm still working on it, but I've felt a lot more comfort in being able to control it thanks to Dumbledore-"
"Wait, Dumbledore's been helping you?" Harry cut me off. Shit.
"Well... he asked me not to tell anyone... and that kind of slipped out... don't be mad at me, I just wanted to be able to get better for you-"
"I'm not mad at you, baby." Harry sighed as he leaned off of the bed and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards him. "I'm annoyed with Dumbledore that he's hardly given me a second glance since last school year, but seems to be interested in everyone else around me." He explained in a gentle voice as I sat sideways across his lap.
"Do you forgive me for the last few weeks?" I leaned my head against his shoulder and glided my finger over the soft fabric of his t-shirt.
"Do you forgive me for what happened with Cho?" He countered.
"Yes." I gave in as I buried my face in his neck and closed my eyes.
"Well, it's a good thing I forgive you, too." He gave a breathless laugh as used his hand to make soothing circles on my back as he held me.
"Okay, now can you tell me about what happened tonight?" I sat up straight to look at him head-on.
"Rubes, you've heard me tell the story half a dozen times-"
"Not that part. Sort of." I furrowed my brows and bit my lips. "I- I know this is going to sound crazy, but you know how I've always gotten those weird feelings in the pit of my stomach before something weird or bad happens?" I asked him quietly like we weren't the only two people in the room.
"Like an intuition?" He cocked a brow.
"Well, yes and no. Everyone always said I just had really bad anxiety and worried too much, and I do, but it's always felt like it was more than that." I told him. "Back on the day of your trial at the ministry, I had this bad dream and woke up in a panic and told Sirius about it, and I thought it had to be a dream because everything ended up being fine... but..."
"What was the dream of?" Harry asked curiously, a hint of fright in his words. He knew plenty about nightmares to understand.
"H, are you positive you didn't notice anything when I touched you in Dumbledore's office? Either time?" I did sound crazy. I felt crazy. This was ridiculous.
"Nothing other than the usual tingle of butterflies you give me." A small smirk found its way onto his pink lips as he squeezed my hip with his hand. "What happened when you touched me? Other than the fountain rushing between your leg-"
"Harry James Potter!" I clamped a hand over his mouth, squealing when he licked my palm to get me to let go.
"Ahh, how I love when you call me that!" He dramatically exclaimed, making me giggle as he tickled my sides and smiled the first real smile I had seen from him in mouths. His white teeth sparkled in the dim candlelight and I found my smile reflecting it.
"I saw something... And it scared me because it felt really real." The air around us sobered as his eyes matched the uncertainty in my own. "The dream and the stuff I saw, there's always a door... and tonight it was different because there was more to it. I saw what you told everyone else happened, but instead of watching the snake do that Arthur-"
"You were the snake, too?" He asked me breathlessly. "Ruby, were you the snake? I keep thinking I'm going crazy because there's no way I did that to him-"
"Harry, you didn't do anything." I cupped his cheek in my hand. "But I only saw those things when I touched you, but it wasn't like a dream, not really. It was like I was there in a way." I gulped. "The second time...you've started doing this thing ever since he came back... I've noticed it a few times, but you always tell me it's nothing, but I touched you, and I felt him, and then you did it... And I don't understand." I put my hands on my forehead and closed my eyes. "You aren't you when you do that thing-"
"What thing?"
"That twitch thing..." I looked at him like he had to understand. "You look like you've been shocked or something... your eyes roll back and you close your eyes, and you roll out your neck like it's stiff, but you look so comfortable while it happens..." I explained.
"I don't remember developing a twitch in the last few months." He chuckled at me as he placed a kiss on my nose.
"You don't know what I'm talking about?" I felt like a moron. Someone hex me to rid me of this embarrassment. "But why could I see what you saw in your dream? And how can you see those dreams, too?" I queried.
"Maybe we both have the all-beholding inner eye." Harry teased in a dreamy voice that resembled Professor Trelawney.
"I have one last question." I huffed, despite his jokes. "After all of that, when we were holding hands with the Portkey, did something else happen before we left?" I asked, making him roll his eyes.
"You're so good at the game 20 questions." He teased. "I don't know. I looked at Dumbledore when he counted down, and he looked down at me for the first time in months— like, really looked at me— and then we left and when we landed, my scar was burning again." His voice started to trail off.
"But that's the thing, Harry. I was touching you and only you when we went through the Portkey, and I could feel everything. Like my soul was on fire, but like I was freezing. And my head burned right in the same spot where your scar is, and it didn't let up until I let go of your hand to cover my forehead. Suddenly, I wasn't in pain anymore. It's like I had only felt it when it had happened while I was touching you-"
"What? So, you think it's like an actual lightning strike, and anyone in contact with me is doomed to feel the electric current?" He snickered at his question.
"Well, I won't lie, I also thought that at first-" Harry laughed harder as he threw his head back, making me feel flustered. "I don't know what I'm saying, Harry. All I know is that none of it is making sense and it's making me feel like I'm going mental." I sighed and covered my face with my hands.
"No one thinks you're going mental." He grabbed my wrists and pried my hands from my face. "Nothing about you comes as a surprise to me, babe. You're as special as they come. If you say these things are happening, then I believe you." He looked deeply into my eyes and for the first time all night, I felt nothing but comfort and relief. "We'll get it sorted out. We always do." He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and rubbed his thumb across my cheekbone.
"You think Mr. Weasley is okay?" I whispered, crawling off of his lap and laying down at the top of the bed where he followed me.
"I hope so." Harry hooked one of his arms around my waist and hid his nose in my hair as he pulled my back against his chest. "I've missed you so much, love." He mumbled against the back of my head. I muttered out a response as I drifted back asleep from all the exhaustion.