AUTHOR UPDATE: Really? One review?!

Well clearly there is no interest for this story. It's going to be on hiatus while I deal with other stories and my real life.

Chapter 14 - Death and All his friends

'It burns!'

'Everything - everything burns!'

'I can't move...it hurts too much...but I hear voices...they call to me...'

He could feel the heat rip through him, like a knife cutting him into a million pieces.

'I can't think, it hurts too much - just make it stop!'

Nate felt his eyes open.

He couldn't control his movements. He felt like an invisible observer watching his body move on its own.

This is wrong.

Everything is wrong.

Ron ran the length of the corridor.

He had to get to her, he had to see the woman who had hurt Nate. He felt tears fall down his face and rubbed them aside in annoyance.

Nate was hurt and it was his fault.

"Dad?"

Ron froze.

That voice.

"He's awake. Dad please, he needs you..."

Ron felt his body tense up as his eyes roamed the corridor.

"Ron!"

He jumped when someone touched him. He turned to see Ginny beside him, her eyes red.

He briefly wondered why she was so upset, he had gotten the impression that she didn't care much for Nate.

"Ron," she paused before adding, "Hermione."

She didn't need to say anymore.

Hermione.

Hermione needed him.

Revenge was...not in him. He was angry, furious, but he couldn't - he needed to protect his family.

Ron felt his heart jump.

'Nate, I meant Nate...' he thought as he ran back to the hospital with Ginny by his side.

'Yeah...you didn't mean...'

The doors opened and Hermione was instantly in his arms.

He felt his arms move from his sides to hold her tightly.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into her bushy hair.

He heard her sniff and he felt the wet tears seep into his shirt but other than that she didn't respond.

Ginny watched her brother lead Hermione over to a bed and they both sat down. She wasn't sure what he was saying but Hermione was nodding and placed her head on his shoulder.

She moved her eyes away when Harry walked over to talk to Ron.

Harry.

She sighed and instead walked over to Nick.

"You okay?" she questioned him, they hadn't really spoken since dinner.

He looked at her but his eyes seemed clouded.

"What's wrong?" she said concerned when he didn't reply.

"Nate..." he said before trailing off.

She looked over at the bed where Nathan lay. Sam was standing over the bed scanning Nathan with the device on his wrist. He was frowning as he moved over to Marie's bed, he scanned her as well.

"What happened to you guys down there?" She asked looking back at Nick.

Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath as though it hurt him to remember.

"Nate," he said once more this time his voice sounded as though he were about to cry, and this surprised her.

"I thought you hated him?" she said softly, feeling ashamed at herself as the words left her mouth.

It was true that Nick had shared some stories of their battles in the future, and from those stories you'd think that Nate was always cold and stern with them, more so with Nick. But she had seen Nate with them, when they thought no one was watching, he....well he acted like a father. He may not have been openly warm with them and maybe their childhood had contributed to that but anyone watching him knew Nate loved his friends - his family dearly.

She felt something twist inside of her as she reflected back on her behaviour towards him. She hadn't exactly been nice to Nathan, and Nick was really the only person that knew why.

'Nate reminds me too much of...'

She glanced over at Harry who was now sitting beside Hermione.

All three had serious expressions on their faces, but Harry was talking quickly, she couldn't hear what he was saying but Ron and was nodding his head as though in agreement. Hermione was frowning clearly arguing with Harry.

She gritted her teeth and returned her attention back to Nick. He was standing leaning against one of the bed posts, his shoulders sagged and his arms folded across his chest. She reached over and touched his shoulder. He started but then regained his composure when he looked into her eyes. He took a moment before he spoke.

"Nate, all this time, I thought he hated me..." Nick looked away from her when his voice trembled, "But all this time, he's been protecting me...protecting us all."

"Protecting you?" she wondered aloud, "From what?"

Nate held his head in his hands for a moment before looking at her.

"From ourselves."

Ginny frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"They're moving!"

The sun was setting and Marie was playing with her toys on the window sill.

She smelled the fresh apples her mother was baking. She smiled up at her mum when she walked towards her with a tray with a freshly baked apple pie and tea on it.

"Apples! My favourite," she said happily as she jumped off the window sill.

Her mother leant down and kissed her on the forehead. She could smell the apples and cinnamon on her mother's auburn hair as it brushed past her face.

"Shall we go outside for tea?" Her mother asked her.

"Oh yes please," she said already half way towards the door.

She had her hand on the door knob before she heard a crash.

Her mother had dropped the tray. The tea pot and plates lay broken at her feet. She walked towards her mother. She looked white as a ghost.

"Mummy?"

In an instant her mother was beside her. She scooped Marie up and carried her towards the back of the house. She could feel her mother's heart racing.

"Mummy? What's wrong?" she was getting scared now, and she clung tightly to her mother's apron.

"Shhh, its okay," her mum whispered back as she grabbed a stick from her apron and waved it around.

Marie thought she saw something shinny appear from the stick but it disappeared before she could get a good look at it.

Her mother hugged her tightly to her chest.

They were headed towards the backdoor but then a loud crashing noise could be heard outside their house and her mother stopped. She spun around and ran back to the kitchen.

She threw open the cellar door and ran down the steps.

She opened a cupboard door and placed Marie back on her feet.

"Stay here," her mum said in a hurried whisper.

"But - "

"It's okay, I've called someone to come help us."

"Mummy I'm scared," she grabbed her mum's hand when she stepped away from her.

A loud banging noise echoed down into the cellar and she could hear shouting above them.

"Just stay here," Her mother kissed her once more, "Ronald Weasly, remember that name. He will come save you."

Marie nodded her head even though she didn't want her mother to leave.

Her mother bit her lip before grabbing the stick from her wrist once more. She made a slashing motion and cut one of her wrists. She placed the wrist to Marie's lips.

Marie cringed but her mother forced her mouth open.

Her mother had done this once before. Marie had had a fever when she was six, her mother had given her some of her blood and Marie had felt better the next day. But why did she want her to drink her blood now?

Before she could ask, her mother stepped back and closed the door.

"I love you," she heard her mum say.

She could hear a scrapping noise before she heard sound of her mother running back up the stairs.

Marie felt tears fall down her face. There was no light, and she hated the dark.

She crawled back into a corner of the cupboard and hugged her legs to her chest.

She heard screams and loud explosions above her head. She blocked her ears with her hands and prayed for someone to help her.

'I'm scared. I'm scared...'

Another scream and she hugged her knees closer to her body.

'I'm scared - I'm scared...mama where are you?'

Marie froze. Someone was there. She could feel them. She could feel their energy.

But she wasn't afraid of this person. She felt safe and warm - was this the Mr Weasly her mother had told her about?

Her heart raced when she felt more energy. But the energy for these other people were not nice, they wanted to hurt her.

'Stay still,' she begged, 'Don't move. If you move they will see you.'

She sensed how close they were to the person. If he took even one step they would see him.

'They're gone,' she let out a breath when she felt their energy disappearing.

A horrible pain ripped through her body, but the pain was not her own.

An image flashed before her eyes.

Her mother was fighting with someone, using that strange stick like a weapon. But the person had a dark cloak on and she couldn't see who it was. But her mother did, she could feel the pain coming from her mother.

'Mummy?'

This had happened before. The last time her mother had given her her blood, they had shared a telepathic link for days. The things she was able to hear her mother thinking were not all nice.

Her mother had started crying when she asked about a man who she saw in her mother's mind. She could only guess that it was her father. But his face...it was so cold and his eyes cut through her like ice, how could her mother love someone like that?

Another sharp pain cut through her thoughts. Her mother was in pain. She began to shake in fear. Maybe this person wasn't here to save her. Maybe she had been wrong.

'Please don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me...' another image of her mother being strangled flashed her mind.

Her heart began to race erratically when she heard the scrapping sound just outside the cupboard door.

Then a creaking sound as the door was opened.

'No! Don't hurt me!'

She felt a strange power rise from within her, deep within her, it felt as though it came from her blood, her bones, her very soul. It hit the person who had opened the door and sent him flying.

'I'm not going to hurt you - I want to help you!'

Her eyes widened when she heard his voice inside her mind. But she didn't move, didn't dare.

'I'm Nathan - my family is here, they want to help you.'

It was a boy, not a man. He had dark blue eyes and red hair. She felt rather than saw him move towards her. He was warm. She could feel his energy reach out towards her.

'My grandpa Weasley will -'

'Weasley?' she thought her fear slowly disappearing.

"My mum told me to go with the Weasleys," she said as she felt his warmth grow stronger as it now enveloped her like a warm fire.

"Then come with me," he said holding his hands out to her. His eyes sparkled at her like two bright stars.

She nodded her head at him.

"Wait till I move the wine rack," he said moving over to the side to try to push it.

Marie saw him struggling and walked over to push it out of the way for him. She had always been physically strong, her mother said it was her special ability, her secret special ability.

She ran over to the boy, her skin felt cold when she had stepped away from him and she wanted to feel his warmth once more.

"Let's go save mommy," she said grabbing onto his hands.

She could feel his warm energy flow through her as their hands intertwined.

"Should we try the window again?" he asked her but she shook her head. She knew those scary people were still walking around outside.

She shook her head,

"No – I think they stopped."

She wanted - she needed to get to her mother. She hadn't been able to seen any images of her mother since she saw the boy. And she was scared of what that meant.

She reached the front door and was about to open when he screamed at her.

'Wait!'

She halted and turned to look at him.

He stared back at her.

"Did – you…did you hear that?" he asked her.

She nodded at him.

"Wow, that is so cool," he replied.

A scream pierced the air.

Marie felt the blood drain from her face and even the warmth of the boy beside her couldn't help her.

"Mama!" she screamed when an image of her mother covered in blood flashed before her eyes.

She ran out the door, her body instantly going cold when she was away from the boy. She knew there were other people around her but she weaved around them, jumping over obstacles in her path.

Her mother's energy called out to her.

'Hurry, my darling, hurry!'

'Mama!'

She ran through the woods near their home. She screamed when someone grabbed her.

"Mama!" she cried when she realised it was her mother.

Her mother didn't speak and Marie could feel her energy draining. Her face was covered in blood and her clothes were ripped.

Her mother grabbed her hand and ran with her down towards the dock.

'Water,' her mother's voice echoed in her head.

She looked up at her mother. She knew what that meant.

'No,' she shook her head but her mother jumped into the lake before she could stop her.

"Trust me," her mother said.

A loud explosion shook the pier. Marie looked back towards their house and she saw the smoke rising from where their home should be.

"Marie."

She looked back at her mother. Tears fell down her cheek but she nodded her head and jumped into the lake.

Her mother held her close, and they both held their breath as they dove under the surface of the water.

Her mother's energy was almost completely gone. The water turned red around her and she could feel her body begin to tingle.

'Mama,' she repeated over and over, 'Don't leave me.'

'I love you...' was the last thought her mother had before her life energy disappeared completely.

Marie's eyes flew open and she jumped out of the bed.

Hermione jumped up from her seat next to Nate.

Nick and Sam pulled out their guns and pointed them at her. She could already see Sam tense up and knell on the floor as though preparing another shield charm.

But they needn't have worried. She wobbled on her feet for a few seconds before collapsing.

Hermione stood up and began to walk towards her but Harry stepped in front of her.

"Wait, we don't know -- " His words were cut off when Marie began vomiting.

Marie looked up at them and Hermione saw that her eyes had returned to normal, no more blood red, even the memory of it gave her chills.

"N-Nate?"

Hermione blinked then turned around when she heard a noise behind her.

Nate was moving.

"Nate?" she said leaning over him.

He opened his eyes slowly.

She couldn't help the smile that instantly appeared on her face.

Her joy didn't last however.

Nate sat bolt upright in the bed and screamed.

Screamed as though he were in excruciating pain. As though a hoard of Death Eaters were using the cruciatus curse on him at the same time.

She tried to reach out to touch him but Harry grabbed her arm to stop her, and she was lucky he did because Nate's screams became even louder when they moved closer to him.

"Silencio!" Tonks screamed, hitting Nate in the chest.

Though no noise could be heard, he was still screaming. It was the most horrifying thing she had ever seen.

She heard something crash to the floor. She turned to see Remus had fallen to the floor and in the process dragged a vase of flowers with him. He was staring at Nate with wide eyes, his face if possible even more paler than usual and he had his hands over his face.

"Remus!" Tonks said in alarm running over to him when he too began to vomit.

"What's wrong?" the witch questioned him, looking from Remus to Marie who had now backed herself into a corner of the room, staring at Nate in fear.

"...ugh...the smell..." Remus managed to say between breaths, "I have to get out of here."

"Nate! What's wrong with him?" Ron said from beside her.

"Here we go," Madame Pomfrey seemed to appeared beside the bed with a vile of steaming red liquid.

Nate jumped away from her when she tried to touch him.

"This won't work if you don't drink it," she replied her brow creasing.

"Stupefy!"

"Harry!" she said when Harry stunned Nate but other than opening his mouth wider and pulling at his hair, the spell appeared to have no affect on him.

Ron looked around at them desperately. He grabbed the potion from the nurse and grabbed Nate's face.

Nate's eyes became wider and tried to move away but not before Ron had forced the entire contents of the vile down his throat.

"What...?"

She heard Harry say from beside her.

She couldn't say anything, she just stared.

Nate's face, the exact place where Ron had touched him - had turned black.

"Look, he's trying to say something," Ron said.

Instantly several wands were pointed at Nate allowing him to speak again.

"BURNS! IT BURNS!" Nate screamed his fingers attacking his face.

He began to scream again and they all placed their hands on their ears.

And then the potion seemed to have its affect, as Nate fell backwards into the bed unconscious.

"What the bleedin' hell was that!" Ron said instantly staring at them all as though they were responsible.

Hermione turned and saw Remus running out of the room. Marie meanwhile stood frozen staring at Nate.

"What have I done?" she said in a barely audible voice.

"Indeed," she heard Dumbledore repeated.

She hadn't even noticed Dumbledore had entered the room. One of the paintings must have informed him of what was going on. He stood near them but his full attention was focused on Marie.

"What have you done my dear," Dumbledore continued.

The way he spoke it didn't sound like he was asking her a question, it sounded more like he were chiding her for her actions - as though he knew exactly what she had done and he did not look pleased.

"Grave consequences will always follow those who seek to run from Death my dear. "

She saw Marie begin to shake.

"I - I didn't..." Marie couldn't say anymore, she collapsed to the floor and began sobbing.

Nick ran over to her and held her in his arms.

"Can we do something about his face?" she heard McGonnagal ask.

"I've never seen anything like this," Madame Pomfrey replied, "I suppose a basic healing potion should work."

Tonks walked over to Dumbledore and whispered something to him. Dumbledore continued to look grave and nodded his head.

"I think you all need a good nights rest," he held up his hand when Ron opened his mouth to protest, "Answers will come tomorrow, but with Nate unconcious there is very little that you can do."

"We can't just leave him here," Sam said instantly though Hermione noticed that he still remained a few feet away from Nate's bed.

"I agree," Dumbledore replied a sparkle reappearing in his eyes, "What did Nathan tell you to do?"

Sam thought for a moment before looking over to Nick. Nick narrowed his eyes, before nodding his head and turning away.

"He said we should stay here, we should stay close to you all, to protect you."

Hermione felt as though her chest was being squeezed.

'That's the exact thing Harry had said earlier. He wanted the group to stay at Hogwarts, but she didn't want that, it would be too dangerous, for all of them. But Nate was thinking the same thing.'

"He - that's the last thing he said to you?"

"Yes," Sam replied before explaining, "he was able to tell us quite a lot actually, the telepathic link works differently than normal communication."

Hermione filed that little piece of information for another day. She turned and looked at Nate.

"His last thoughts were of you," Sam continued after a silence had enveloped the room.

She felt a chair being pushed under her just as her knees gave way.

She turned to see Ron standing behind her. He squeezed her shoulders and she shivered.

'This feels strange - like dejavu...' Hermione felt a shiver run through her as the thought crossed her mind, 'Or maybe its because I know this won't be the first time we will see someone we care about hurt and on the brink of death.'

Her hand moved forward and she desperately wanted to squeeze Nate's hand but Ron stopped her. She knew he was right, direct contact seemed to hurt him - but why?

"What are we doing?" Nick questioned the old man standing in front of them.

He had helped Marie to a chair in the Headmaster's office, and though they didn't like leaving Nate alone, they didn't want to be around him either - not now - not when he was...

"If you plan on staying at Hogwarts, you will have to be sorted."

"The hat?" Sam questioned.

"Yes the sorting hat," Dumbledore held in his hands what looked like a brown rag.

"Sam, scan it," Nick said as he pulled off his jacket and draped it around Marie.

She still seemed to be in a state of shock and hadn't spoken a word to them since they had left Nate with Ron and Hermione in the infirmary.

Once Sam looked satisfied and nodded at him. Nick looked back at the old man.

"Marie?"

She looked at Sam when he called her but she didn't reply.

"You're choice Nick, if neither Marie or Nate can..."

"Yes, alright, we shall be sorted," Nick agreed, though he wasn't happy about it.

"Alright, then lets get sorted," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

This seemed to amuse the old man for some odd reason but Nick couldn't understand the joke.

"Gryffindor!" the hat screamed before it had even touched Marie's head.

He thought he heard Harry, who was in the room with them, chuckle at this.

"Ravenclaw!"

Sam returned the hat to the old man.

"Lady Luna was in Ravenclaw I think," Sam said pleased with the sorting hats decision.

"Lady Luna?" Harry said as Nick walked towards the sorting hat.

'Here we go then,' he thought to himself before the hat was placed on his head.

"Hmmm," a strange voice spoke inside his mind, "Very interesting...."