Chapter 11 The Coffin
Ron looked at the coffin. His imagination tried to fill it with the worst creature that could fit into that space. He looked over at
Hermione, whose body was tense. Ron, wanting to comfort her enclosed his hand around hers. He gave it a squeeze. She turned her head and smiled lovingly at him. Her chocolate brown eyes catching his attention, Ron felt as though he could be lost in them forever. He felt her body relax a little. His job was done. He had let Hermione know that he would protect her. Ron dragged his eyes away from Hermione and turned his attention towards the coffin. He would have to ascertain what was inside in order to protect her.
“What do ya think is in there?” Ron asked with a shrug.
Harry let out a breath he had been holding since the door slammed. He relaxed his clenched fist. His instincts told him that something had to be in that coffin. Harry tried to remember this room in his dream, hoping that he could solve what was in the coffin. He remembered the coffin, but couldn’t place what was inside of it or even if it had opened for that matter. The suspense was driving Harry mad. He just wanted to find out, defeat it, and get to Ginny as fast as he could. Harry couldn’t wait any longer; he was going to take it by surprise.
“Come on, let’s open it,” Harry whispered to his friends.
They quietly made their way over to the coffin. Ron prepared himself at the foot of the coffin and Hermione at the head. Harry grabbed the edge of the lid. He stood in the middle.
With a glance at his friends he mouthed to them to open on three. Harry lipped his count. On three, they all heaved the weighty lid up and open.
Ron stumbled backwards as the coffin lid swung open. His hand covered his mouth and his face was pale. He could only walk away hoping against all hope that his eyes were deceiving him. That what he saw was not true. There had to be an explanation, but nothing came to mind. He could only stare with horror. Ron stood plastered to the wall, his stomach upset. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Hermione screamed and instantly burst into tears. Her mind filled with horror of what would happen to them. She panicked and began to sob uncontrollably. Hermione glanced at Ron who looked as though he would die from shock. She wanted nothing more at that moment except to be enveloped in his arms. A few quick strides across the room and she flung her arms around his shoulders. He pulled her in tight and she began to cry on his shoulder. Hermione felt safe there but the pain was not gone.
Harry stood over the dead body of Ginny Weasley. Her face was pale and lips white. Ginny’s hair was still radiant but now colored with blood that gushed from her forehead. She had been alive not too long ago. Harry shook with anger and deep depression. He blamed himself for stopping to explain his dream to his friends. If he had just ignored their demands then Ginny might have still been alive. He slammed his fist into the ledge of the coffin. The force disturbed Ginny’s lifeless body. Harry hated himself more for causing her unrest. He looked at her and tears began to pour down his face.
It was as if his whole world was falling apart. Ginny was gone, there was nothing to live for, he couldn’t live without her. He needed her to survive. Harry decided that this was the end for him; he could never continue to live in a world where she would not be there at his side. Tears streamed down harder as he thought he would never hear her laugh again, that she would never smile at him again. Her precious life was over.
She would never fulfill all the dreams that she had told him about that summer. She would never be able to start the family she had always wanted. Ginny would never be able to sit with Harry and watch the sunset again.
Harry looked away from her. Not wanting to remember her with a big gash in her head, the darkened eyes, the white lips, and pallor face. He wanted to remember her being alive, smiling, laughing, and full of vibrant energy like always. His eyes fell on Hermione and Ron who cried on each others shoulders. His heart felt the greatest pain in his life as he realized that Ginny would never again be there for him when he needed her. Harry dropped to the floor, pulled his knees in and cried uncontrollable.
There was nothing for him to live for. His mind instantly replied with a, yes, there is something more. Bellatrix. She had to die. She had to feel the pain that he felt at that moment. He had to hunt her down and make her pay for the deaths of two people he loved the most. Harry stood up, anger seething through his body. He pulled out his wand glaring at the door with hate as though Bellatrix stood on the other side.
Ron shouted out something that caught Harry’s attention. He turned as the word slowly registered in his mind.
“Riddikulus!” Ron’s face was full of determination, hope and fear. He had only one hope as he shouted those words. He waited what seemed like eternity to him. What would he tell his mother if Ginny was dead? He would blame himself for the rest of his life. Ron knew he would never feel complete. This was his only hope. It couldn’t be Ginny in that coffin. It just couldn’t be.
Hermione stood next to Ron aghast. She watched and waited staring at Ginny, hoping that Ron was right. Her eyes had skipped over Harry. She did notice that she had never seen his face filled with such hate or anger. But she didn’t have time to worry about that. Ginny was all her eyes could see.
Harry stared at Ron for a moment and then turned to Ginny’s dead body. He looked over the coffin edge watching her. Harry held his breath, waiting, and hoping that Ron was right.
Suddenly Ginny’s clothes began to change. She now wore a long black and red cape. She grew fangs like a vampire.
Harry blinked as he watched the wound on Ginny’s forehead disappear. The thought came to him that she looked like a ridiculous but beautiful vampire. He stared at her for a moment more, only to rethink that it wasn’t Ginny. He let out his breath. It felt as though a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Ginny was alive somewhere out there. He didn’t know if she was safe, but she was at least still alive. His heart was full of joy and complete happiness. It was a boggart, not Ginny. A boggart left by Bellatrix. More anger flared up. He was furious that Bellatrix had tricked him. Livid that his emotions were tricked into thinking that Ginny had died. He should have known that Ginny wouldn’t have given up so easily. She was a fighter. Harry looked determinedly at the body.
Hermione slammed the coffin lid shut. Harry jerked up his spine rigidly and stared off into space. She angrily wiped the tears off her face. Hermione chided herself for not thinking of a boggart sooner. She tried to calm down her emotions and remind herself that Ginny was still alive. Hermione slowed down her breathing, and tried to turn her thoughts on something else. Her mind was reeling once more. It must have been Harry who had caught the boggarts attention. Or was it her fear, maybe even Ron’s greatest fear. Although Ron’s afraid of Spiders, Hermione was sure that his sister’s death was more frightening to him. Yet what stumped Hermione the most was why did Bellatrix leave a simple boggart to scare them to death. Boggarts would not be even near the list of dangerous creatures. Hermione rub her forehead with frustration. None of it made sense.
“Why?” Harry asked venomously, staring at the coffin lid. Hermione shrugged. Ron walked and shook his head slowly.
“Bellatrix is playing some sort of game,” Ron replied distantly. Hermione approached him and hugged him again.
“She’ll pay for this,” Harry promised with hate.
“She won’t pay for anything if we don’t find her or Ginny,” Hermione reminded him. “We need to keep going.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer to try and figure out what Bellatrix is after?” Ron questioned.
“We don’t have enough pieces to solve the puzzle,” Hermione simply stated.
Harry looked away from his two friends. He had an inkling of Bellatrix’s plan. Yet he couldn’t tell his friends. Harry was sure that they would laugh at him. Maybe they wouldn’t believe him. And if they did believe him, then what would they do? There was no way to stop it from happening. Besides it wasn’t a very logical plan. It had flaws and maybe that was what would save them all.
“Shall we?” Ron shrugged pointing to the door across the room.
Harry nodded. He would find Bellatrix and Ginny. If Ginny was hurt at all he would make Bellatrix pay for everything. He walked forward and grabbed the door knob. Suddenly he felt as though there was a hook in his navel pulling him. Harry knew that the doorknob had been a portkey. He wondered what would happen to Hermione and Ron. We’re they right behind him? He figured that Bellatrix had finally gotten what she wanted: Harry all alone. His mind raced wondering where she was taking him now. He didn’t care, just as long as he would find Ginny and see her one last time before he would die for her. That was how his dream always ended.