Hunted AIAOY 3

Chapter 21

The days passed so much quicker with quidditch through, Rebecca found.  Even though the time usually set aside for practise was filled in with examination preparation, the final touches to Buckbeak's case had been done over and over until nothing more could be and the date had been sent to Hagrid a few days earlier: Buckbeak's final hearing and sentencing would take place on the last day of exams.

As exams loomed closer and closer, Hermione was pushed to new levels of elevated stress.  Rebecca found her asleep with a book in her hands or asleep at her desk more often than she did in her bed!

Rebecca was in a similar state of exhaustion that hadn't let up in weeks, her sleep only growing more disturbing in the time that had passed.  Her dreams felt more like the one she had before the incident in the Forbidden Forest their first year with every night that went by.  Whatever had been holding the looming, overwhelming feeling of these dreams seemed to have run out.  

Now, Rebecca saw flashes of Hogwarts or the woods.  All meaningless, all brief, momentary glimpses.  Words accompanied the images though: "Swing.  Double.  Rat.  Dog.  Dark.  Friend."

Hermione and Ginny had noticed the increase in the repetitions of those words, whether all together or fragmented.  Whispers had turned to the occasional speaking, the occasional raised voice speaking one of the words.  Nearly every morning Rebecca was holding her head.

The weekend before exams were to start, however, brought with it a new bout of terror for her roommates.  Behind Rebecca's eyes, the glimpses were staying longer and longer while the bursts of pain that usually accompanied them and then faded, remained.

Hermione still sat at her desk, not nearly finished for the night, when Rebecca caught her attention.  The chant of words was pouring out of Rebecca's mouth in a constant whisper.  "Swing, double, rat, dog, dark, friend.  Swing, double, rat, dog, dark, friend.  Swing..."

Ginny sat up in her bed, curious as to why Rebecca hadn't said them once and stopped.

Rebecca thrashed in her bed, growing louder.  "Swing, double, rat, dog, dark, friend.  Swing, double, rat, dog, dark, friend..."

"Hermione?"  Ginny called, swinging her legs out of bed and standing up.  

"I know."  Hermione turned in her chair, waiting for Rebecca to fall farther asleep.  "It'll-it'll pass.  it always does."

But this occurrence was difference than any before--It didn't pass.  The minutes seemed to pass slower than usual, Rebecca's movements only growing harsher and her voice more strained.  Deciding to go against her previous advice about not waking Rebecca when she was like this, Hermione knelt on her bed and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Rebecca's eyes opened, startling Hermione back a step.  Inside, Rebecca saw no more meaningless flashes.  Instead, she saw only a distorted scene of Ron lying in a pool of blood.  A horrible, frightening shout left Rebecca and she began to shake and jolt.

"HERMIONE!"  Ginny shouted out of fear, out of worry.  "What do we-"

"What's going on?"  A voice demanded from outside their room with an accompanying knocking.

"Go get McGonagall!"  Hermione shouted to Ginny, reaching over Rebecca to try and catch a flailing limb and still her.  "Now!"

Ginny threw the door open and pushed through the growing crowd forming in the hall, breaking into a sprint as soon as she was able to.  Angelina heard the commotion and hurried through the tunnel left by Ginny, stepping into the room everyone was whispering about.

Katie shooed students away from the immediate doorway--all that she could do, really--and went to try and help Hermione as Angelina was, though none of the girls really knew what to do.