Hey everyone!
I've had the beginning of this written for a while and wanted to start posting it. It will only be about 2 or 3 chapters, so not long at all. But I've enjoyed writing it, so I hope you guys like reading it too!
Inspired by Who Are You Really by Mikky Ekko.
It was around five in the morning on the eleventh of July and the Burrow was quiet. Most of the inhabitants were sleeping, the only exception being Hermione Granger who sat awake in the kitchen. This wasn't unusual, in fact it had become quite common; she had been staying at the Burrow since the end of June and with everything that had been going on she had been suffering from a little insomnia.
It had been eleven days since Dumbledore died, six days since the funeral, and with every day the war was getting worse. Harry still remained at privet drive and would until the order chose to move him, but until then Hermione had to make do without his presence.
This wasn't her first stint of insomnia, nor did she think it would be her last, and having had them for the best part of half a year, she was getting a little familiar with it. That, of course, didn't prove to help her constant exhaustion, nor the boredom which accompanied it. She'd taken to giving up her attempts to catch that all elusive sleep when it got to these early hours in the morning; choosing instead to drink tea and nibble chocolate from the stash which Remus hid behind some jars in one of the cupboards.
In the mornings Hermione had spent in the kitchen she had discovered all sorts of secrets and oddities. In addition to Remus' chocolate stash and Ron's pack of cookies on the top shelf, Hermione had found some things which were more intriguing. There was a boom cupboard which was hidden behind the door to the scullery when the door was open, which it usually was, and for that reason she hadn't paid the broom cupboard much mind. Inside there were numerous shelves piled high with jars and bottles which reached up to the ceiling. But hidden surreptitiously behind a few of these other jars was an old metal tin. When Hermione attempted to open it, the lid yielded only 1 inch before a giggling sound came from inside and the lid would be snatched back from her grip. Similarly when lifted off the shelf, a dark patch, which reminded Hermione of a shadow, was left on the wood; when the tin was taken about ten cm from the shelf, this patch would lunge towards the base of the tin pulling it back to its original spot.
Hermione had considered this tin for a couple of mornings, before owling Luna for her peculiar ideas. While this didn't seem to be the most reliable source of information, the distinct lack of books in the Wealsey house was making any proper research impossible, and if she was being honest, it was making her a little restless. But Luna's prompt reply said that she thought it was a Niaculis though what that was Hermione still had no idea.
But now, having explored every inch of the kitchen she sat resigned with her tea and a chocolate frog, waiting until yet another day would arrive.
After half an hour, Hermione heard something strange. Having been at the burrow for so long and known the Weasleys for the years that she had, she was familiar with the sounds each person made as they walked around. Each individual had a different pace and sound, and might be accompanied by the scuffing of toes or a tapping of curious fingers. Some people, like Moody, had a very distinctive walk, the thud of his wooden leg being heard wherever you were in the tall house.
But now as she heard the front door open an unfamiliar tapping of feet came from the living room. Hermione thought that they sounded hesitant, as if unfamiliar with the layout of the building, yet still had a certain finality about them, an almost purposeful sound, filled with a sort of arrogant self assurance. Looking back on her deductions Hermione considered that she may be too presumptuous to think she could get so much about someone's character just from the sound of their footsteps.
All these thoughts took but a second as she moved swiftly into the living room, quickly summoning the stranger's wand out of their cloak and pointing her own offensively at the unfamiliar face.
The man in front of her was taller than her, she estimated that he was about 6 foot, and appeared nothing like she expected.
He looked a little older than her, perhaps around twenty-two years old, and had a kind face with soft features. His dark hair was straggly, as if he'd let it grow out a little longer than usual, almost falling into his eyes. His skin was tanned, and Hermione thought that he looked to be at least partially Italian.
The man's dark brown eyes were wide as he watched the wand which Hermione had pointed to his face. He raised his hands in surrender.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
He looked like he was trying to laugh a little to lighten the mood; he was clearly uncomfortable.
Her stare hardened.
"Hey, hey!" he objected, "My name is Adriano; I was given the address and told to come here when I arrived."
She didn't waver.
"I swear it! I was an informant in Sicily until a week ago, they saw through my cover."
"On whose authority?"
"Moody's, he can confirm this, my supervisor was in contact with him."
Hermione waited a second, unsure of how to proceed, before flicking a quick spell to deafen the stranger as a precaution and yelling up the stairs.
"MOODY"
The distinctive thud of Moody's wooden leg sounded from a few floors above almost instantly, accompanied by a familiar set of faster, lighter feet, and another heavier yet still agile pair.
It took only a few seconds for Moody, Ginny and Remus to arrive at the bottom of the stairs. Ginny took one look at Hermione's offensive stance and instantly took to her side holding her wand up in a similar position before watching the two other adults for instruction as for what to do next.
Remus stood confidently watching the situation as he analysed it quickly before choosing a course of action. "Who's this?" he asked Hermione.
Eyes never leaving the man in front of her, Hermione relayed their brief conversation.
"An informant apparently, I didn't know we had anyone in Italy though"
Remus nods, briefly glancing around the room to check there was only the five of them present before he spoke. "We don't tell many people, but we think Voldemort is involved with a group of wizards in the Mafia. The money and influence he is gaining from them there is a little concerning."
Hermione nodded in agreement as she considered that.
While they had been speaking, Moody's magical eye had been flicking around the room, taking in the girls, the path to the door and for some reason his eye had focused for a second on the chair which was rocking independently at the other side of the lounge. But as they finished it finally came to a stop on the newcomer.
"Name?" He barked.
The man looked back at Hermione and raised an eyebrow, at which she flicked her wand to nullify the deafening spell.
Moody repeated himself, and the man instantly replied "Adriano Leggino"
"Supervisor?"
"Francesca Tilipsi"
"Codename?"
"Trick question, I'm not told my codename encase I'm captured and asked to reveal it."
Showing neither agreement nor disagreement, Moody continued his questions. "Identity spell?"
At Adriano's expectant look, Hermione handed him back his wand, and watched with trepidation as he flicked his wand in an intricate pattern mumbling hurried Latin under his breath.
A series of gold lines were drawn by the tip of his wand and stayed suspended in the air in front of them; the pattern growing until it looked distinctly like a spider's web. With a small flick of his wand, the stranger floated the web forwards, twisting it in the air towards them until it rested in the centre of the small group. Two opposite edges of the web then proceeded to fold downwards into a tunnel shape; it then lengthened and the two ends folded upwards meeting above the rest of the shape merging together to make a doughnut shape which began twisting in the air before promptly bursting into nothing.
The group stayed quite in the aftermath, looking to Moody for his approval.
He nodded stiffly, "Right, I'll get Kingsley." He then stomped off towards the window to send a letter by owl.
Remus nodded at Hermione and Ginny, indicating that they could lower their wands, before addressing the newcomer, "Sorry for the precautions, I'm sure you can understand."
Adriano nodded.
Hermione still felt uncomfortable with his presence and kept her wand raised a little longer. She frowned, looking him over as she tried to make a decision of what to do.
"Like what you see?" Adriano joked.
Hermione's scowl deepened and she forced herself to lower her wand, looking to Ginny for her opinion, but only finding a smirk rather than the distrust she was expecting.
She didn't reply to him, but promptly grabbed Ginny's wrist and dragged her into the next room, ignoring the deep chuckle that they left behind them.
She cast a muffilato charm around the kitchen before looking back at Ginny.
"Okay, wipe that smirk of your face, Gin."
Ginny paid no attention and continued looking entirely unapologetic.
She huffed in annoyance, "Don't you think there is something off with him? I know he had the spell and his information and everything, and I'm not about to question Moody, but doesn't something seem wrong?"
Hermione didn't appreciate the amused glint in her friend's eyes.
For a second Ginny looked as if she were going to contribute to the topic at hand, but promptly broke the illusion as soon as she began speaking."It's not very often that someone gets you this flustered-"
"No" she interrupted quickly, "that's not what this is. I'm serious! We need to figure out if something is wrong here before he hears anything important."
Ginny hummed in obviously fake agreement.
"You're being completely unhelpful-" Hermione broke off as a yawn broke her speech.
"That was my intension".
"Ginny!" she protested, with yet another yawn.
She softened. "Okay, maybe there is something off about him, but I didn't notice it, and I mean this in the kindest way, but you're acting a little crazy and you can't trust your instincts when you are this sleep deprived. Go and sleep, Hermione."
Hermione went to object but Ginny held up a finger to silence her.
"No," she said, "Go and sleep, and if you still think there is something wrong later then we'll talk about it." She finished the sentence by pointing out the door towards the stairs and waited there with an insistence which reminded Hermione of Molly. Seeing that Ginny wasn't going to budge, she finally gave in, walking past her and up the stairs.
She was riffling through a cupboard in the second floor bathroom an hour later when she heard the sound of a portkey from just outside the Burrow. She quickly walked over to the window and looked out to a see a bedraggled man with familiar red hair walking towards the back door in the early morning light. The door opened as he approached, admitting a happy Weasley who hugged the new arrival with a happy exclamation of "Charlie!"
Smiling, Hermione went back to her search, closing the door of the cupboard she had been looking in before and starting to search the one next to it.
It was 5 minutes and numerous huffs of frustration later, when she reached for the handle on the fifth cupboard, only to be interrupted by a kind voice.
"Don't look in that one, it growls"
She laughed and turned around towards the voice, "What?"
She stopped laughing as she saw the state of the man in front of her. Charlie was smiling as he usually did, but the rest of him was a mess. It wasn't so apparent when she had looked at him out the window just a few minutes ago because morning was only just breaking and the dim light seemed to hide the worst of it.
She could feel her eyebrows lower in concern as she took in the rest of his appearance. He wore a long brown robe which hung all the way down to his feet, but while it looked to have originally been of a reasonable quality, sections of it were now burnt and dirty. In fact, one patch on his arm was still smoking lightly from where it had been hit by a hex. His red hair was messy and had grown so long that, were it not held back by a hair band, it would have hung far past his shoulders. Little cuts and blisters covered what was visible of his hands and arms, and he had a large cut across his forehead which looked like it had only recently stopped bleeding.
"What happened?"
He waved as if to dismiss it, "it was nothing, just a little scuffle."
She was going to ask again but he spoke before she could.
"What are you looking for, anyway?" He indicated to the row of cupboards on the wall which she had been searching through.
She pushed down her concern and answered his question. "Dreamless sleep, I can't find it."
He looked confused, "Is it not in the second one?" he said pointing to a cupboard she had already checked.
She shook her head.
He paused to think for a second before moving past her further into the room and reaching into a box which sat on the floor just under the windowsill. After rooting around in it for a second he held out a small bottle with a triumphant "ah ha!"
She took it gratefully.
"What are you doing here at the moment?" She asked, then feeling the need to continue, she said "not that we don't want you here, we do, but you don't usually come home that often..."
Charlie looked very amused at her question. "I know what you meant; I'm here because of Adriano"
She must have shown her distrust in her face because he laughed.
"I know, I thought that for a second when I heard, but he's passed all the tests. I was actually the one to recruit his supervisor too, I trust her judgement."
As he said this, Charlie had this extra dimension to his expression which made Hermione feel a little flushed. Charlie had always seemed like a distant brother, they had never been particularly close as he had left Hogwarts by the time she had arrived. But as was always the way with the Weasleys, he had a presence which she found very comforting. She couldn't help but feel happy for him when she noticed the faraway look in her eyes as he mentioned Adriano's supervisor.
"Anyway" he said, changing the subject again, "You should go and get that sleep, Hermione."
She agreed, leaving the bathroom with a wave, hearing the shower turn on as the door shut behind her.
She was starting to make her way up to the next floor, but not halfway up the staircase she stopped.
"Maybe Ginny's right, I'm not at my best when I'm this tired" She sighed, turning round and heading back down towards the kitchen for the water she had forgotten to get.
Dreamless sleep potion, though helpful in these sorts of situation, had an unhelpful side effect that it was quite addictive. Though not particularly nice tasting in the conventional sense, it had a sort of satisfying way of massaging the inside of your mouth as you drank it which left you wanting a bit more. Before Hermione had first tried it this description hadn't sounded particularly appealing, but it was pleasant in a way which was not at expected, and as much as she tried, nothing she could find had the same effect. Unfortunately, the potion becomes more addictive the longer the drinker has the taste in their mouth, so to prevent such side effects, Hermione always makes sure to drink something else straight away.
With this in mind, she made her way back down the flights of stairs and walked through to the kitchen.
There were very few people up at this time in the morning. It was about 6 o'clock, and not even Molly had risen yet. Despite Ron's aversion to the early morning, not all the Weasleys felt the same. Mrs Weasley would often wake around 7 and begin pattering around the Burrow to complete her list of objectives for the day, usually completing a few before she began the mammoth breakfast to feed the horde of individuals staying here with the order. The concoction of smells which accompanied this would usually wake the Weasleys on the second floor followed swiftly by those on the floor above them; this pattern continuing as the aromas permeated the extent of house. Hermione assumed that this was aided by magic but had never got around to asking Molly.
Of course, such simplicity in waking up would not work with Ron. He would rise last, usually after 3 of his siblings had given up their attempts to wake him, leaving the chore to Harry, who of course had had years of practice to perfect his technique. Without harry here though, Hermione anticipated a difficult morning for his siblings, in that regard.
Having reached the ground floor with no interruptions, she entered the kitchen to see Adriano, alone, leaning against the table with a mug of hot drink in his hands. She felt her shoulders tense.
"Where's Remus?"
He turned round to look at her in surprise.
"You don't trust me to drink tea by myself?" he said with feigned innocence, evading her question completely.
"No, I don't" she said clearly. "Now, where is Remus?"
He smirked at her, "He went to check on someone, he said their name was 'Tonks', I think"
She said nothing and went about fixing herself a glass of water, sending him the occasional glare as she checked that he was doing nothing suspicious.
She finished filling her glass and stopped uneasily for a second; hesitant to leave him by himself should he choose that moment to make some kind of move once she had gone.
You can't trust your instincts when you are this sleep deprived. Ginny's voice reminded her. Go and sleep, Hermione. She prayed Ginny wasn't just too trusting. Steeling herself, she walked straight out the kitchen without a word.
It will contain Draco, promise.
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