Chapter 22: The Shai

The Opposite

Chapter 22: The Shai

Everyone stared in utter shock at what had just occurred. Ron's arm fell limply to his side. His wand was rolling around by his feet. One of the Death Eaters was still writhing on the ground, and then the body stopped moving. Ron stared down at Hermione's body. Her eyes were staring up at the ceiling. Fionnula and Drake opened the door and gasped at the sight they saw.

Aurora was first to recover from the stupor of shock. She closed her eyes and thought quickly. The Death Eater who had been holding Hermione began to shudder uncontrollably. He fell to the ground, and then stopped moving altogether. Aurora opened her eyes. She'd killed him. They all looked at Ron, who was standing there, still in awe of what he'd just done. Harry walked over to him. He grabbed Ron by the shirt and began shaking him.

"Why the fuck didn't you kill me! I told you to bloody kill me!" he yelled frantically. Ron just stood there, not really hearing Harry at all. Ginny walked forward as Harry sunk to the ground. He felt as if his legs couldn't support him any longer. Ron was still in his state of shock. Ginny had tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly, Lucius Malfoy caught them all off guard. He observed the scene before him, and then saw his wife and Bellatrix. Draco saw his father first and pulled his wand on the man.

"Don't even try it," Draco said, his voice dangerously low. Lucius raised an eyebrow.

"You'd really hurt your own father, Draco?" he asked, pulling his wand out of his staff. Draco held his wand tightly.

"You better believe it. I did that to my own mother," he paused, gesturing towards Narcissa, "and I won't hesitate to kill you; not after what you did to Neve," Draco said in a noxious tone. Lucius's eyes narrowed at his only son. Aurora looked confused, and Neve looked down.

"What? What are you talking about, Draco? Neve? What did you do to my sister, Malfoy?" she asked, looking from each of the three frantically. Draco's eyes never faltered. "Would somebody please tell me what the fuck is going on?" Aurora yelled slowly losing her patience.

"He raped Neve," Draco said as if the words tasted disgusting.

It took a minute for the words to sink in for Aurora. Aurora looked at her sister with pleading eyes. It was like she was asking for Neve to say it wasn't true. Neve nodded slowly. Then Aurora turned her gaze to Lucius. Everyone noticed how abnormally cold it had gotten. Harry looked up from his place on the ground next to Ginny and Ron. Aurora was starting to lose control. Draco looked at her, finally turning his gaze away from his father. Lucius was also occupied at Aurora's display.

"Voi il bastardo inimmaginabile..." Aurora said. She began glowing blue, and her irises and pupils disappeared. Draco took a step back from her. Neville grabbed Neve and pulled her to the ground as Aurora threw her head back and screamed. Every piece of glass within a 100-foot radius broke. Everyone was thrown a considerable distance away from her. She looked back at Lucius, who was trying to stand up. Everyone watched with wide eyes.

Outside, Dumbledore and Voldemort looked up from their duel. Voldemort's eyes flickered around quickly, looking for the source of the amazing power that had just been dispensed. Dumbledore also looked frantic. Voldemort smirked and took this time to Apparate to the source. Dumbledore silently swore and followed suit. They appeared a considerable distance from Aurora.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Draco asked Harry. Harry shrugged nonchalantly. He didn't care one way or the other what happened at this point in time. One of his best friends was gone.

"Voi muore adesso. DÉTRUIRE MORTALE!" Aurora yelled. A jet of blue light flew from her hand. Lucius dodged to the side. Aurora dropped her hand. Her aura disappeared, and she fell to the ground, totally spent. "I did all of that and missed," she said weakly and half smiled. Aurora passed out. Neve ran forward to her sister. Draco stood up and pointed his wand at his father.

"Insolent brats..." Lucius got ready to kill both Neve and Aurora. Draco beat him to it.

"Dolore Mortale!" he yelled. Lucius stopped moving and watched as the curse hit him. He looked back up at his son. Narcissa's eyes widened in horror. Lucius fell to his knees. Draco walked forward as he kept the curse on his father. He watched his father squirm for a minute and then lifted it. Lucius lay on the ground, his mouth hanging open. A white fluid began dripping from it.

"NOOOOO!" Narcissa yelled, the sound of tears in her voice. She struggled in her binds, and then she looked at her son. "Why, Draco? WHY?! Why didn't you just kill him!" she screamed, crying hysterically now. Draco looked back at his mother.

"He didn't deserve to die for what he did. Death would've been too great an honor to bestow upon him," Draco spat in a rather diplomatic voice.

Suddenly, everyone noticed that Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Voldemort were gone. They all looked around at each other, downright mystified.

"Where in the bloody hell did they fucking go?" Harry demanded, standing abruptly. Dumbledore shook his head.

"He slowed time down to disappear with the two ladies. He escaped," he said. Harry sighed.

"It's not over," he whispered in a tired voice.

That was when reality finally set in for Ron. He looked over at Hermione's body. It seemed strange. This was the part where she was supposed to be talking about their recklessness and patching them up. He went over to her and fell to his knees, looking down on her. He ran his hand over her face, closing her eyes. He felt nothing but anguish. Ron then turned towards Harry and stood. He went over to him and punched him.

"YOU MADE ME DO IT! I DID IT TO SAVE YOUR BLOODY ARSE! IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Ron yelled. He punched Harry with every syllable. Harry just stood there and took it until Ron tired himself out and sank to his knees. Ginny walked over to her brother and hugged him. For the first time, Harry saw Ron openly cry. Everyone stood around in silence. Then, Ginny looked up, wiping the tears away.

"Ron, where's that box that that Sofia lady gave you?" she asked anxiously. Ron looked at his sister as if she'd gone mad.

"What?" he asked. Ginny sighed, her face turning red.

"Ginny, what are you on about?" Harry asked.

"I can't explain it right now. I know a way we can save Hermione. Where is that box that the Seer gave you?" Ginny said urgently. It finally registered in Ron's mind what she was talking about.

"Come on," he said, standing up. He pulled his sister along, leaving everyone staring after them with confused looks on their faces. They ran all the way to Ron's room. Ron practically knocked the wooden door down. He ran to the desk and opened the drawer. Pulling out the red box, he opened it. A string of jewels was in it. Ron pulled it out. A note fell out of the box. Ginny picked it up.

Ginevra Weasley,

Lorelei Braun

Ginny looked at the string of jewels her brother was holding. She put it around them.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" Ron asked, confused at her actions. Ginny sighed.

"Just stand still, Ron. This will only take a moment." She began concentrating.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione before the Death Eaters came. Ron, Harry, and Hermione before the Death Eaters came... Ginny thought over and over again. Ron looked around and suddenly saw a flash of light. They appeared in the hallway by the hospital wing. Ginny removed the Cordicella from around them and looked around. Harry was running down the hallway.

"Ginny, what in the bloody hell just happened?" Ron asked, looking around in an awed manner. Ginny sighed and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure how she knew what to say, but she said it anyway.

'Pare tiempo,' she thought. Opening her eyes, she saw that Harry had stopped moving. Ron looked utterly confused. Ginny turned toward her brother.

"To answer your incessant questions, I separated our minds from our bodies and went back before Hermione was killed. This is what my power is. When we were outside talking to Voldemort and before Bellatrix Apparated to Draco's room, a woman named Lorelei Braun appeared. She is a Time Keeper. She stopped time in order to speak to me. She told me what my power is called. I am a Shai," Ginny said quickly. Ron looked at her with a blank expression.

"What the fuck is a damn Shai? Sofia told us about this Lorelei bird you speak of," Ron said, looking thoughtful. "Why didn't we see this?"

"Are you really that thick, Ron? She's a TIME KEEPER! She STOPPED TIME in order to talk to me alone! I just told you that! Bloody hell, you are really daft. Anyway, 'Shai' is the name of the Egyptian goddess of fate and destiny. That's why people like me are called Shais. Basically, I can control the fate of people and change their destinies at free will. She also told me how to use it on my own. Because we are in the past like this, they cannot hear or see us. Now, if you are done asking dumb questions, we need to figure out a way to save Hermione. Tell me exactly what happened before I start time again," Ginny said quickly. Ron looked dizzy for a moment and then blinked back into reality.

"Ooohh," he said slowly. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Well, Harry came running down the hall after I took all the Death Eaters I captured down this hall. He said Dumbledore was fighting Voldemort now. Harry and Hermione were facing me because I was standing against the wall. That's when the two Death Eaters appeared and grabbed them. How are we supposed to change that?" Ron said shrugging. Ginny thought for a minute. Then she snapped her finger, startling Ron.

"Oh, stop being so jumpy," she said.

"It comes with training to be a Magus. What is it?"

"We need to tell Harry and Hermione to stand on either side of you. They shouldn't be where the Death Eaters will Apparate. That way, the Death Eaters can't grab them, and you three can defeat them. Everything else should fall into play after that. When we get back, no one will remember anything. The only difference will be that Malfoy doesn't drive his father to insanity. Let's go." Ginny closed her eyes.

'Empiece tiempo,' Ginny thought. Ron's eyes widened as Harry contiuned running. Ginny and Ron followed him. They saw Harry and Hermione hug. Ginny walked up closer.

"Won't they see us?" Ron asked, following closely behind her. Ginny rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You don't listen to shit, do you? They can't hear or see us, nitwit! The only way we can connect with them is through telepathy. It's also a one-way type thing. They can't connect with me. Now, watch me work," Ginny said. Ron nodded.

"Ginny, the Death Eaters will appear when Hermione finishes talking. Whatever it is that you need to do, do it now," Ron said urgently. Ginny nodded and closed her eyes.

Hermione, Harry, stand next to Ron. Two Death Eaters and getting ready to appear behind you. Move now, she transmitted with all her might. Ron watched as Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Ron didn't remember seeing them doing that. They both walked over to stand next to Ron. Suddenly, the two Death Eaters appeared. All three drew their wands. Ginny opened her eyes and sighed. She put the Cordicella around them. Return, she thought. Ron watched with wonder. Then he blinked.

Opening his eyes, he was standing next to Hermione. Harry was seething because Voldemort had gotten away. Dumbledore was talking. Ron couldn't understand why he felt as if he'd just been somewhere else, somewhere far away. He looked over at Ginny, who was standing next to Harry. Ginny winked at him, and Ron honestly didn't understand why. Ron then realized what Dumbledore was talking about. He tuned back into them, still feeling like he missed something.

Voi il bastardo inimmaginabile = You unimaginable bastard.

Voi muore adesso = You die now.