Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
Round 2 Where are we going?
Task: Use the location assigned to your position as the setting for your story.
Team Pride of Portree
Chaser 3: Ilvermorny
Optional prompts:
3.(song) I Believe in a Thing Called Love — The Darkness
6.(poem) Don't Go Far Off — Pablo Neruda
9.(word) past
Word count: 2797
Betaed by Jessica, Morna and Oni. Thank you.
"I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
It says 'I love you'
So please
Don't go far off, not even for a day or an hour
It couldn't take it.
And even if you leave me
I'll follow you.
'Cause you have my heart
And I promise you today
I will be waiting for you
Until the end of time."
Severus Snape lay panting in the soft soil of the clearing. He cursed himself for being such a sentimental fool. After all, he knew better than most just what was at stake. Logically, he knew he should have stood by and maintained his cover as a spy. He glanced at Hermione, who knelt next to him and refused to leave despite the Death Eaters surrounding them.
"Protecting a Mudblood, Snape? How shameful. The Dark Lord will be most displeased." Lucius Malfoy's eyes gleamed as he watched Severus try to stand.
Severus grasped at his neck, his fingers catching nothing. He swore inwardly. If only he could get hold of the time turner. Albus had entrusted the artifact to Severus, and he had stupidly lost it during the scuffle.
"I've been waiting for you to slip up, Snape," cackled Bellatrix. "A traitor should feel pain, don't you think?"
"Severus, no!" Hermione shouted tearfully. She pushed him out of the way and the Crucio dissipated harmlessly into the ground.
Harry and Ron appeared, their faces red from running to catch up with their friend. Hermione tried to stand and pull Severus out of Bellatrix's line of fire again, but her foot caught in something and she fell to the ground, half covering Severus with her body. She glanced down to see a chain, half an hourglass and glittering dust covering the sole of her shoe.
"Avada Mysterio El Mundo!" Bellatrix screeched, and Hermione knew only darkness.
Hermione awoke feeling a sense of wrongness, as though something was missing. Something, or someone? She couldn't be sure. She blinked as she looked around the unfamiliar room. Somehow, though, it was also familiar.
Hermione shook her head. No...her name wasn't Hermione...it was...Hermia Jane Gravestone? No...that couldn't be right.
She had memories of Hermia's life: Hermia's family and friends, her life before Ilvermorny, and everything she had learnt since she arrived. She still knew deep within her heart that she was Hermione Jean Granger.
If that wasn't shocking enough, apparently she was a student at Ilvermorny, which was in the United States. It didn't make sense. The last thing she remembered was Harry and Ron screaming as she fell onto Severus. How could she have memories of Hermia's entire life when she'd only just woken up?
"No!" Hermione felt a crushing pressure in her chest. Bellatrix had cast a spell that drove the victim insane and trapped them in an imaginary world. If that was true, though, she should be raving and mindless. Her mind raced with possibilities. Perhaps the presence of the time turner had altered the outcome of the spell.
Her hair fell in silky, dark strands around her face, and her eyes were bright blue, but she was still Hermione inside. When she entered the cafeteria, her mind superimposed the image of a ceiling that looked like the night sky and four long tables. Her heart ached with longing for Hogwarts. Even though she knew that she couldn't have been here more than a day, Hermia's memories told her that she'd been at Ilvermorny for years.
Then she saw him. Hermia knew him as Professor Sebastian Starstone, but she instantly knew he was also Severus. Memories of her past flooded in, bringing tears to her eyes.
"Hermione, stop! We can't do this! You're my student!" Severus gasped, breaking their kiss and pushing her away.
"I know in my heart that I love you, Severus. I believe in that love. Besides, you didn't do anything wrong. I kissed you."
Severus shook his head.
"No, I'm the adult. You can't know what you're doing. You're too young. Find someone, anyone but me."
Hermione closed the distance between them, looking as though she expected to be pushed away again. He stood there looking miserable as she put her arms around him and held him tightly.
"You're right. Our relationship, or whatever you want to call this isn't moral by any means, but I don't care. I know myself. I know that I love you; it's not just a schoolgirl crush. I will wait for you however long it takes to be with you, to kiss you...to share the rest of my life with you." Her smile was bittersweet."So you see, I don't care what anyone thinks, but I will wait until you are no longer my professor, if that's what you want."
Hesitantly, Severus wrapped his arms around her.
"Promise you will never leave me," he croaked.
Hermione steeled herself. First, she needed find out if her hunch about the Ilvermorny Potions professor was correct. Then, she had to look for Harry and Ron, though they were probably trapped in different-looking bodies as well. She could only hope that her hunch was correct.
Gathering her Gryffindor courage, Hermione walked across the Ilvermorny cafeteria to the teacher's table.
"Good morning, Professor!" she said, searching his eyes for some recognition.
His green eyes glittered, and she could feel herself falling into them.
"Don't leave me for a second, my dearest,
because in that moment you'll have gone so far,
I'll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?"
Hermione turned to see Severus had been watching her sing.
Severus looked surprised. "You like Pablo Neruda?"
"Yes, I do. And I believe that this poem is fitting. 'Don't go far off,' that's exactly how I feel when you leave for a Death Eater meeting."
There was no doubt. He was her Severus.
"Good morning, Miss Gravestone, " he said, relief evident on his tanned face for only a split second, before he hid it again. "We need to talk," he added quietly, glancing around to check that nobody was listening.
"I know. But I need to find… a couple of things I brought to school with me." She gave him a knowing look. "May I find them and come to your office afterwards?"
Severus nodded. "That would be...acceptable. Remember, Ilvermorny is a dangerous place. Also," Severus leaned closer and lowered his voice. "MACUSA has severe punishments for those who...break the law."
"Severus," Hermione started, "I-"
He glared at her, silencing her.
"I know. But I also know that they would not listen to our explanations. They would arrest first and ask questions later. They have a very strict policy and we must respect that. Also, you must address me as Professor or Sir, just like any other student here."
She nodded. "Thank you, sir."
Hermione left the cafeteria and searched her memories. Hermia had two friends named Harrison and Ronaldo, and though they looked completely different to Harry and Ron, Hermione knew she had to try to find them. Ilvermorny was so different from Hogwarts. The halls had few paintings, and it seemed so impersonal and cold in comparison.
She stopped to look at one of the few portraits, which featured Isolt and James, the Founders of Ilvermorny. Luckily, Hermia knew everything about the school's history.
"Hermia!" Two shouts rang out behind her and she turned. She knew those voices.
"Harry? Ron?" she asked, unsure if they were really her friends, even though her heart told her they were.
They both nodded and motioned for her to follow them. To her surprise, they led her directly to Severus' quarters.
"We have to be careful, Hermione, the walls have ears." Harry stated.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"What he means," said Ron, "is that the paintings are a bunch of snitches, and not the golden kind, either."
"Who told you this?"
They couldn't have been here longer than she had been, right? Otherwise, how in the world could know that she was Hermione?
"No one told us. Harrison and Ronaldo know. And Hermia should too, as well as Starstone."
"I don't remember anything suspicious," Hermione said carefully.
"I knew it!" Harry exclaimed with anger in his voice. "They made Hermia forget!"
"What? What do you mean?"
They didn't answer.
"We saw you talking with Snape earlier. Did he say anything strange?" Harry asked.
"No. We just arranged to meet later. What's going on? What do you know?" she asked.
"So, what did you talk with him about?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"We were going to meet at his office, that's all," Hermione said defensively.
"Are you sure, Hermia?" Harry asked, his blond eyebrows furrowing.
"Harry, I'm Hermione,"she said, a sinking feeling filling her stomach.
The boys jumped back as if they had been electrocuted.
"I am so very sorry Hermione. I, just- my Harrison memories took over for a second." Harry looked embarrassed.
"No, it's okay. I'm glad we're still friends here, wherever here is." Hermione said, smiling faintly.
"Ilvermorny," supplied Ron.
"Haha, very funny. I meant this world, wherever it is. It's quite heartwarming that we are friends despite the fact that there was no mountain troll."
The boys smiled.
"Agreed," said Harry, "but do you remember our friendship?"
Hermione's smile faded.
"No, I do not," she said, realising how true the words were. In her memories she had never interacted with the boys outside of classes, but Hermia identified them as close friends nonetheless.
Ron started pacing. "What's the point? They took all the information we had."
"No," said Harry, "we can't give up. We are not them, Ron. We're better than that. We're a team. And if we're together I'm sure we can win." At Hermione's questioning gaze he continued. "Basically everything in this world is the opposite of ours. You may want to take a seat. The story is a bit long."
Hermione nodded and conjured up a chair while Ron remained on his feet, keeping watch.
"First of all, there is no Hogwarts or, for that matter, any magical school in the United Kingdom. I'm not even sure if there is a magical population in Britain. The Founders' split was worse in this universe than it was in ours. They built the school together and taught the new generations of witches and wizards for a few decades. But when they finally fought, everything was destroyed. Now, there is nothing left where Hogwarts once stood. Nothing. Not even ruins. All of their students, teachers, parents…the school itself. They all died."
Hermione was horrified.
"At least that's what the history books say. But certain events have led us to believe that Salazar Slytherin survived and came to the States to create his own magical school," continued Ron.
Hermione laughed dryly. "I suppose, since Slytherin didn't have children in Britain, the Gaunts never existed. However, I did see a painting of Isolt earlier that's similar to the one in the history book I have back home at Hogwarts. So some things must still be the same."
"You're right. Salazar had children here, which means that his bloodline endures. They just weren't educated at Hogwarts," said Harry with a nod.
"But where, then?"
"Ronaldo's memories say that they went to Serpent's Pit. Salazar created a Pureblood-only school where he could indoctrinate students in his sick, twisted ways."
"Yeah," Harry said dubiously. "The thing is that what our alter egos have seen here and what the history says seems to be different. Also, our alter egos visited England and we didn't find any magical communities there. And that's not all…"
"Please tell me!" Hermione cried.
"We will. After Professor Star- er, Snape arrives."
"Since when did you decide to start calling him Professor?" Hermione asked.
"We decided he deserved a bit more respect now that you two are... well, you know," Harry said sheepishly.
Seeing her perplexed expression, Ron added, "We aren't that oblivious. You're basically a sister to us both. We noticed when you fell in love. So… for your sake we tried to withhold our judgement. We may not necessarily agree with what you are doing, but we trust you. So, yes, unless he breaks your heart like an utter bastard, in which case we will both make sure to tell you that we told you so, we'll call him Professor."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you."
"You're-" Harry started.
"Apparently, my quarters are the new popular place to be," a sarcastic voice interrupted.
"Severus!" Hermione exclaimed happily.
"Professor Snape!" Ron and Harry exclaimed together.
"I see you've found some minions already." He arched an eyebrow.
"They know. About us, Severus. They said that they're okay with it."
Severus stared at them in shock.
"Yes we are, unless you give us a reason not to," said Ron, pulling a piece of parchment from one of his pockets. "But that's beside the point. You both need to know what's been happening here at Ilvermorny for the last two years. All we know is that they're looking for a bunch of rare books. Harry and I wrote down the titles based on the memories from our alter egos. We believe that it's connected with Hogwarts' fate, and I believe that we're here to fix it. We just don't know how or why we were chosen."
"Perhaps because we have similar names?" Harry said thoughtfully.
Hermione facepalmed as Severus groaned in irritation.
"I don't know everything that you guys know, but I can deduce a few things based on what I know and from Hermia's memories," Hermione said, finally. "I think we were chosen for our powerful friendship. Harrison, Ronaldo and Hermia obviously discovered that Salazar Slytherin survived to create Serpent's Pit, and now his descendants are planning to take control of this school or are already in the process of doing it. They must have met in this room with Professor Starstone while Hermia was with him. The memories get fuzzy when I try to remember, but I recognize the titles of those books from Hermia's memories. She and Professor Starstone were researching something together. I just...can't remember what it was."
"These descendants, whoever they are, must have Obliviated Hermione and myself. They must have tried to find something in these books, and I have a vague feeling they got interrupted," Severus postulated. "If my alter ego is as careful and paranoid as I am, there was probably some sort of spell or trap to keep them from getting what they wanted."
Hermione nodded. "I didn't mention it earlier, but I think we're all here because the time turner and the time sand that got combined with the spell that Bellatrix hit us with."
"That makes a scary amount of sense," said Ron, and the others nodded in agreement. "But why here? Why us? Why are we stuck in these bodies?"
"What if our memories of our other selves are delusions and we really are Hermia, Harrison, Ronaldo, and Professor Starstone?" Harry mused.
"No." Severus shook his head and took Hermione's hand in his. "Our memories are real. Our bond runs deep. Our love is real. I believe in that love," he said, echoing Hermione's words from long ago. He looked at her and she smiled in return. "If there is one true thing I know, it is that I love Hermione."
"Oh! I know why we are here!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly.
Three heads turned to stare at her.
"This world is like this because the other three Founders didn't survive and Hogwarts was destroyed, but we all carry the core attributes of the Houses in spades. Think about it! Ron, you're loyal to the core. Harry, you are the bravest of us all. Severus is more ambitious and powerful than anyone I've ever met. And you all know that I'm clever and obsessed with pushing the limits of my understanding."
"We represent the Founders," stated Severus.
"Yes, exactly. We have to find out what is happening and reverse it. We can use our alter egos' memories and fix things so that we can return home."
"And," added Severus, "I doubt that there are many people in this world who are safe to tell about our predicament if our suspicions are well-founded."
"You're right," Harry said, finally. "We have to help them. But never in a million years would I have thought that we could compare with the Founders."
Hermione smiled. "Yeah, well, in any other situation, I wouldn't have, but with what I know and what you told me, I made the connection. Don't you see? We're capable of anything if we just work together."
"Right!" Harry exclaimed. "Now, then, let's start working on saving the world and finding our way home!"