Chapter Four: A Vision In Blood

The screaming in room four on the Janus Thickery Ward had finally come to a stop. Shaking, Magntra Spectus closed the door and collapsed against it, her limbs shaking in relief. With a cluck of sympathy, the senior mediwitch, Electra, came over to her and handed her a mug of tea.

“Is this your first time having to deal with that?” she asked, patting Magntra’s shoulder. “You look a bit pale.”

“They never prepared us for anything like that in the training,” Magntra admitted. “I’ve never had to deal with anything like that before. She was so calm, but she was so cruel.”

Electra nodded. “She gets in that mindset. Sometimes she spends more time crying than she does trying to kill you.”

“I don’t know which would be worse,” Magntra said, pushing away from the wall and walking towards the stairs. “I’m just glad I’m going home.”

“Well, you did well for your first day on the job. Most of the first-time nurses run screaming from Kathleen Bobertruss’ room after a few hours.”

Mangtra straightened her shoulders and looked over at Electra. “Was that some sort of sick test?”

Electra shrugged. “You’re the newbie on the floor. We have to know you can handle anything.”

“Crazed women attacking me with their own medical equipment <and?> muttering Unforgivables at me is not just ‘anything’! I am not trained to deal with crazy people.”

There was a series of loud crashes coming from room four. Electra and Magntra both took off running, bursting through the door. The room was in shambles, the windows and every picture frame broken, as though a Bludger had been let loose. In the middle of the room, laying on the floor, her head tilted at such an odd angle that Magntra knew right away her neck had been broken, was Kathleen.

“I was just here!” Magntra exclaimed. “She was alive! There was nothing to… She was restrained! I double-checked! There’s no way she could have done anything to hurt herself, I swear it.”

Grasping Magntra’s hand, Electra paled and swallowed. “It’s all right. I know you did your best to ensure her safety. At this point, hospital procedure takes over, which states that we leave the area as untouched as possible. We don’t go any further in.” She drew in a deep breath “We’re going to have to call the M.L.E.S. They’re going to want to know everything they can about the patient, the type of restraints used... what medication we were giving her that might have caused an accident like this....”

“This has to have been an accident, right?” Magntra asked, grasping her superior’s forearm. They dealt with death every day, but never before had she witnessed something so brutal and efficient at the same time. “No wizard kills like this. It’s too barbaric!”

“No, but Muggles do,” Electra said quietly, wiping her hands on her cloak in an air of determination. “I’ll Floo the Ministry. I imagine they’ll be here quickly. We’ll just sit here and keep other people from going in, I suppose.”

Magntra sank to the floor, resting her back against the wall. “All right. Go Floo the Ministry. I’m going to sit here and catch my breath.”

**

After the war, Ron Weasley had joined the Magical Law Enforcement Squad because he’d been tired of hunting down Dark Wizards and wanted to help more people directly. Originally, his help in defeating Lord Voldemort had gotten him an entry-level position. His tactical skills and quick intellect, as well as his street-wise vocabulary, had endeared him to many of his peers and superiors, and he’d risen quickly in the ranks. He was now the Chief Investigative Officer for the Ministry, rarely doing the actual fieldwork himself, but supervising many investigations at once.

“Mr. Weasley?” There was a timid knock on the door, followed by the appearance of a bright-eyed youth, still fresh on the job, Archibald Grindlock. “Um, I’m supposed to tell you that there’s a case you might want to give your personal attention to.”

Ron sighed, pushing his chair away from the desk where he’d been furiously notating the investigation of the Malfoy family residence. None of the Malfoys had survived the war, but there was an ongoing investigation into the artifacts left in the home and the connections they had to other known and unknown Death Eaters. “Who sent you?”

“It was Jordan, sir. He said you would want to look at this one yourself. Crazy lady over at St. Mungo’s.”

Ron raised an eyebrow. “Really? They’re sure it’s not a suicide.”

“No, sir. I mean, they’re pretty sure it’s not, sir. The way the body was laid out makes that pretty impossible, and I don’t know of many people who can snap their own necks. Sir.”

Ron tapped his quill against the file impatiently. “So… she’s lying in bed, asleep and restrained?”

“Actually, no. She’s only crazy at night, apparently.”

Ron stopped tapping. “Come again?”

“She’s a victim of the Cruciatus Curse. Perfectly sane during the day, can remember the time, the day, the year, that sort of thing….”

“So she’s at least better off than the Longbottoms,” Ron muttered.

“Sir?” Archibald asked.

“Ignore me. Keep going,” Ron said, leaning forward over the desk.

“It’s just at night. She used to get stuck on reliving the night that it happened. The nurses tell me it was really bad. They had to use restraints, otherwise she’d try to kill anyone that got in her way. Anyway, Magntra, the nurse on duty that night…”

“Magntra? Really?” Ron asked, his voice incredulous.

“Yes, sir. She was the nurse on duty that night and she told me that she was as bad as the rest of the staff had told her she would be. When she left that night, Mrs. Bobertruss was still in her restraints. She’d exhausted herself, apparently. She and Hobbs, the Head Mediwitch, were standing outside of the room having a bit of a tiff when they heard this crash….”

“They both heard the crash?”

“Yes, sir. They both heard the crash. They ran into the room and they found Mrs. Bobertruss just like I’d described, you know. Legs spread out with her neck snapped.”

“Do we have photographs of the crime scene yet?” Ron asked, rising to his feet.

“No, sir, we don’t, though Jordan authorized bringing Creevey in on this one. I thought you’d want the best.”

“Mrs. Bobertruss have any friends? Family? Anyone slated to visit her in the next couple of days?” Ron was busy clasping his cloak.

Archibald cleared his throat. “Actually, sir, she was slated to receive only one set of visitors this month.”

“Who was that?”

“Harry and Ginny Potter.”

**

Harry had been sleeping peacefully until Ron’s voice roused him from his bed. He would have ignored the Floo, except Ron seemed quite insistent. Rolling over and wincing as his feet hit the hardwood floor of the master bedroom, he padded his way to the fireplace, groping blindly on the mantle to find his glasses. He was certain that was where he’d left them last. “Ron. Ron, will you shut up for just a minute? This is the first night of decent sleep Gin’s got all month and I want to take advantage of it. Give me a minute and I’ll Floo you from the fireplace down in the living room.”

Without waiting for an answer, he quenched the flames and jogged down the stairs to the living room fireplace. Throwing in some Floo powder and whispering the address of Ron’s office, he only had to wait a moment.

“What’s so bloody important you had to wake me up at four o’clock in the morning?”

“Harry, I need you to be completely honest with me. Do you know a Kathleen Bobertruss?”

Harry rocked back on his heels, finally dropping all the way to a floor. “Not in a manner of speaking.”

“Dammit, Harry. This is serious.”

Harry knew the full implications of what Ron Flooing him meant. Kathleen Bobertruss was seriously injured, if not dead. “She was a friend of mum’s. We were supposed to go meet with her tomorrow to see if she had any idea what was causing these dreams of Ginny’s.”

“You’d never met her before in your life.” It was a statement, but Ron’s eyes were hard. Harry grimaced. Ron was in full cop mode.

“No, I’d never met her before. Remus was the one who mentioned her to me. I was put out, actually. I didn’t know that any of mum’s friends had survived the first war.”

Ron nodded. “I’d always got the impression that only your dad’s friends had survived. Well, that at least helps. If you can come into my office tomorrow, I’ll want your official statement.”

“Yes, of course,” Harry agreed. “I don’t want to keep you from your investigation at this point, I suppose.”

Ron looked over some photos an invisible aide had handed him. “I know you’re really busy with Quidditch and all that….”

“Pfft. It’s the off-season.”

“I’d like your help with this. I’ve got a bad feeling this is going to drag some skeletons out of the closet. The initial magic residue scans show extremely high dark magic marks, but I can’t recognize any of the curses they used. Harry, this is your area of expertise.”

Harry sighed. “I suppose I can run down there and take a look. She was a friend of mum’s, after all. I just was really hoping this would solve the nightmare issue Ginny’s been having. She’s going to be sleep-deprived enough as it is when the baby actually gets here.”

“Something about that has always rubbed me wrong,” Ron admitted. “Maybe we can put some of the pieces together without Miss Bobertruss’s help.”

“Maybe,” Harry said. “I’ll get dressed and meet you… where?”

“Meet me at St. Mungo’s. I’ll give you security clearance. They should let you up there without any problem. Don’t know why I bother anyway, Harry Bloody Potter.”

Harry grinned. “Thanks, mate. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

**

Ginny was paralyzed by the dream. Trapped in the body of Lily Potter, she was unable to do anything but bear the pain of a woman in labor. Her efforts to wake herself up were to no avail, and Harry hadn’t tried to wake her up yet, either.

“Lily. Lily, love, I need you to focus,” a patient midwife was instructing her. “Bear down when you feel the contraction hit, all right?”

Huffing and puffing, Lily was only able to glare at the woman until she got her breath. When she was finally able to say something, it was not anything to be repeated in polite company.

When the next contraction hit, carrying her to a place beyond sensation, she bore down, pushing with all her might, the edges of her vision blurring. There was only Lily, the baby and the driving need to get him out.

“I can see the crown of the head, Lily! Push!”

Dimly, she could hear the door open and the sound of James inquiring how she was doing. The midwife gave him a terse answer, and he closed the door again, heading back out to guard the perimeter of the house. He would have liked to be present for the delivery, as was becoming the trend, but they were still too afraid of an attack by Death Eaters for him to risk her safety.

At this moment, though, safety be damned, she wanted her husband. He’d got her into this situation, he needed to be here!

“James!” she yelled when the next contraction hit. They were like waves now, one coming upon another before it had finished.

The room itself seemed to shake with the power of the next contraction, rending Ginny from Lily. She was floating above the room, watching her husband being born.

Lily, her knees pushed up to her chest, suddenly snapped her eyes open in a moment of clarity. She looked straight at Ginny. “Run.”

**

Ginny woke with a start, panting and grasping for Harry. She found a warm spot where he was supposed to be. A note on the pillow in his typically awful handwriting told her that he had gone to help Ron with a case. Furiously, she sat all the way up and stalked to the kitchen, wiping tears away from her eyes.

How dare he not be here! Why didn’t he try and wake her up? They had an appointment to see that Bobertruss woman today, and…

The doorbell rang. Ginny waddled to the door, uncaring of her appearance. When she opened it to reveal Hermione, she was overcome by a wave of relief.

“Ginny!” Hermione looked shocked and enveloped her in a hug. “What happened?”

Sniffling, Ginny led her inside and told her all about the dream. “Then I wasn’t her anymore. She looked straight at me and told me to run.”

Hermione shivered, wiping Ginny’s face with a tissue. “And of course, Harry the great prat wasn’t here, was he?”

“No. He left a note. He’s out helping my brother solve a case. Harry said Ron needed his expertise with dark magic.”

Hermione nodded. “Harry’s wasted playing Quidditch. He’s a great player, that’s for sure, but he’s great at so many other things.”

“We’ve been talking about him maybe going back to teach at Hogwarts after he’s done playing professionally,” Ginny admitted. “He doesn’t admit it, most days, but he loves sharing his knowledge with other people. Especially if it means that they’ll be better able to protect themselves.”

“Still doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t wake up his pregnant wife to tell her where he was going. Insensitive git.”

“Agreed,” Ginny said, and both girls dissolved into a fit of giggles. “I’m so glad you came today. These dreams have put me off-kilter. I don’t whether I’m coming or going most days.”

“What did the mediwitch say when you went to see her yesterday?”

“She said that some women have strange dreams during the last month of their pregnancies and I shouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“Bullocks,” Hermione said firmly. “It’s true some women have strange dreams, but most women don’t have such disturbing nightmares they can’t sleep at night.” At the look of protest on Ginny’s face, Hermione clucked her tongue. “Harry keeps us up to date on what’s going on. We’re all very worried about you.”

“Well, we’re supposed to go see a friend of Harry’s mum this morning. Maybe she’ll have some idea of what’s going on.”

The back door near the kitchen opened and Harry and Ron entered, both looking utterly exhausted.

“Ah, Hermione,” Ron said, holding out his arms and folding her into himself, “I had a feeling I’d find you here.”

“When you sent me that owl telling me that you’d stolen Harry away, I knew Ginny would need my help.”

“I’d better owl St. Mungo’s and let them know we’re not going to visit that woman this morning,” Ginny said. When Harry blinked at her, she shrugged her shoulders. “Obviously, you’re too exhausted to go. We can wait.”

Ron shifted on his feet, his eyes moving about the room, resting anywhere but on his sister and her expectant gaze.

“Was that the reason you needed Harry this morning? Was it her?” Paling, Ginny sank onto the bar stool.

“I’m afraid so,” Ron said, fisting his hands against his sides, obviously uncomfortable. “She was found dead this morning at St. Mungo’s.”

“Murdered?” After a moment, Ginny stared down at her lap. “Of course she was murdered. Otherwise you wouldn’t be paying much attention, right?”

“Yes.” Harry knelt down in front of her, resting his palms on her knees. “I… I guess we start back at square one trying to figure out your nightmares.”

Ginny blinked furiously, keeping tears for a woman she’d never met out of her eyes. “I guess so.”

“Ginny,” Hermione began, only to be cut off.

“No, it’s okay. I’m fine. Harry… will you come lay down with me? I didn’t get much sleep last night and I think we all need rest.” Without waiting for a response, she scooted off the stool and headed up the stairs to the bedroom.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a quiet glance and locked hands before Ron spoke again.

“I know I need to recharge before I attempt to do any more thinking. I’ll Floo in about six hours, okay mate?”

“Take care of Ginny, Harry,” Hermione said earnestly.

“I’ll do my best,” Harry said very seriously, leaning in to squeeze Hermione’s hand and touch his cheek to hers.

“We’d better go, Hermione,” Ron said firmly, tugging a little on Hermione’s hand. “Six hours, right?”

Harry nodded, his thoughts already up the stairs with his wife. “I’ll see you in six hours.”

**

A/N: Oh, what fools ye mortals be, that think 5 chapters is long enough to tell a LadyChi story. Obviously, we won’t be resolving this one in the next chapter. I tried my best, but… no. Many thanks (again) to Kat Morning and Daily Prophet Reporting. A better beta team no author has ever been blessed with.