Here I leave the chapter 3, I hope you like it.
A bit obvious I was inspired by the soundtrack of Fantastic Beasts The Crimes of Grindelwald, the song, The Thestral Chase.
A little longer the chapter, I hope you do not mind.
Thanks for following my story.
.
The Prelude of an Obscure Time
Chapter 3: The Thestral Chase
On the morning when Harry left his room, the first thing he did was to stand in front of Hermione's room, ready to knock on the door. "They've already left." It was what Ron had said
So now, Harry was standing next to Ron, in a bad mood, walking to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement "I don't know why you are so upset, you should expect such behaviour from the woman who left us for eleven years" Ron raised an eyebrow, opening the door for him "The best thing is for you to prevent yourself from behaving like this from now on"
"Shut up Ron," he muttered. "I just thought that she could at least go with us on the way to the office, was it wrong for me to think that?" he asked sarcastic
"Definitely" Ron agreed
"... So it's an honour for me to report that Miss Granger will be the head in this case" Kingsley said, pointing to Hermione next to him
They listened to the applause of the other Aurors from their cubicles, surprised murmurs and congratulations did not take long to appear, while Hermione smiled somewhat uncomfortable of all the attention she was receiving. "Thank you very much, but I think we should start with our case now" She began to stop their excited compliments and questions that were for her, she had no intention of answering anything about her personal life "This problem starts to get bigger with time that is wasted with banalities like this, so I wish the head of the department could recount the facts and investigations we have about the scenes and the murderer "all around were dissatisfied, but they returned to sit in their cubicles" Mr. Potter, could you please?" she pointed to the papers that were found in her cubicle
He blinked confused, that professional way sounded so bad and strange coming from Hermione
Mr. Potter?
He felt a nudge of Ron from behind him.
Harry turned to see him for a few seconds as he grimaced and made signs for him to do what Hermione said. Still somewhat dazed, he walked to Hermione, clearing his throat while taking several pictures and levitating them "Engorgio" he murmured, making the images grow "There are only four places where the homicides have been"
Hermione frowned. "Four places for twenty-seven dead wizards?"
Harry nodded "He chooses the same places to kill them, possibly because it makes it easier to erase all the evidence" Then he tried to do the same thing with another pair of photographs, this time, of the victims "There's no point showing you the others, everyone has died the same way" he looked at her, curious about her reaction.
But he was more curious to see there was no reaction, Hermione's face was still so calm. When he had seen the mutilated bodies the first time, he could stop himself from being horrified by the brutality in which they had been killed "It's not about any beast" he heard her murmur
Harry looked at her strangely. "Of course it's not about a beast, why would you say that?"
Hermione looked at him sternly, probably because that comment had made her sound like she was some kind of fool or psychopath "Have you ever seen a spell do something like this?" She asked back
Listening to the laughter of the other Aurors made him feel like a complete idiot "What about a werewolf?" He heard one of the Aurors say
Hermione looked at him, it was no other than Blaise Zabini "It could be, although they tend to be very messy, then there should be some trace or scratches, they usually lose hair under attack"
"Unless someone is cleaning their mess for them" He tried to refute her
"It's a big probability" She agreed "Anyway, that would leave us standing in the same place, after all, Who would take the trouble to feed a werewolf with wizards? That would attract a lot of attention"
"You're right Granger if they were Muggles, nobody would have bothered to do it" Blaze got up from his seat, walking to her desk
Harry tensed at his words, remembering that they had only noticed the death of Hermione's parents because they had looked after her. Would Zabini have said it with the intention of annoying Hermione? Looking at his face, Harry found no trace of enjoyment. Instead, there was a seriousness and companionship towards her that bothered him
"But here we have twenty-seven wizards of which twenty are Aurors, killed in only less than four months, we have our own priorities, do not you think?" He placed a couple of other papers in her hands. She raised an eyebrow but he simply ignored her and returned to his cubicle "Those are the proofs of the last murder, they were analysed and delivered this morning to me"
Hermione flipped through the papers, frowning "Justin Finch-Fletchley?" Justin Finch-Fletchley? The only one who was petrified with her in the second year? A muggle born?
"Found in the forbidden forest of Hogwarts where he was an Astronomy professor" Zabini continued with his explanation "Mutilated like the rest of them, found by a couple of centaurs who only agreed to deliver what was left of him without any explanation and then they disappeared"
Hermione looked at the picture more closely to the discomfort of Harry who also approached her but not without making a pair of grimaces "There are a couple of bites here, but they are not from any werewolf"
Zabini nodded "They are not, I had to send them to analyse so I could reach that conclusion "he was amazed at her insight" How are you so sure they are not?"
"I've seen a couple of werewolf attacks up close, I know how to differentiate them" Still analysing the photograph she just shrugged "Also, my parents were tooth doctors" She bit her tongue to not say dentists, they would not understand it anyway. And she stopped looking at the image to turn it to the other Aurors, who seemed disgusted to see it "And these marks of Finch-Fletchley's body are of human teeth"
"Human teeth? You're crazy! "Ron who until now had been quiet was shocked to even say it "What kind of person would bite someone else?"
Everyone around them seemed equally terrified, the murmurs and denials in the room began to get stronger, louder
A snap of Tzeentch from the back of the place silenced everyone, who looked at the elf suspiciously "I'm not crazy Ronald" Hermione rebuked him sternly, making him contract from his place and keep quiet again, she took a breath before continuing "In the muggle world there have already been incidents where people eat others" That did nothing to calm the Aurors in their places "Anyway, there is another probability here, we do not necessarily talk about cannibalism among wizards"
"Cannibalism?" Zabini asked curious
"The term Muggles use when one person eats part of another," Hermione explained, several nodded. "As I said, there could be another explanation, but I personally need to go to the place where the murder happened."
"Do you want to go to the forbidden forest?" Harry asked dumbfounded
Zabini laughed "I definitely want to see that, I'll go with you"
"That's fine with me" Hermione agreed
"Have you lost your mind Hermione? You're going to kill us there. "Ron raised his voice again
"No one is asking you to go Ronald" she pointed out
"Probably afraid," mocked Zabini
"I'll go too" Harry said
Hermione looked at him, seeing that he was so stubborn that she would not change his mind "If that's what you want" she shrugged
Ron sighed "Well, I'm going too"
Hermione crossed her arms to him. "I don't want to hear any of your whining Ronald, so if you plan to go with us it's better to keep quiet during the whole trip"
Ron opened his mouth to answer, but when she raised a threatening eyebrow he closed it again, nodding only
Waiting for Hermione to try to fight him again, but instead, she looked back to her desk, took the papers and then turned her face to the front "The five of us will then go to investigate the forbidden forest, the others of you need them to divide to watch the four places where the murders were" The rest of the Aurors nodded to Hermione's authoritative voice "If it is true the killer chose those places strategically, he will return"
Everyone got up, beginning to talk to each other about how they would separate
"We should go now" she murmured looking at Harry and Ron "Zabini" she called him, walking towards him
"Is there a problem, boss?" He asked cheerfully
She shook her head "Ready for some adventure?" She smiled at him
"Of course, I read so much about your adventures that I can't wait to be part of one of them" He confessed
"Spying on me all these years?" She raised an eyebrow, a little self-conscious of the recent information. How much did he know of what she had done during these years?
"Only from the last three years, a legend narrator who was entrusted with your story of those years" he shrugged
She almost let out the sigh of relief that caused him "Okay, those were the good years of my life, nothing you missed," he assured her.
"The bad things that happen to us, unfortunately, are the most exciting" he said simply
She nodded "Time to go Mr. Zabini"
"I am here for anything you are ready to offer Miss Granger" offered his arm
But she subtly rejected it
They both smiled before Harry and Ron approached them, asking with their eyes what all that mystery between them was, but both ignored them
"Very good gentlemen, take your hands" she said taking one hand from Harry and the other to Tzeentch, who had already reached them
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked curiously. "You can't make an apparition in the ministry."
"Just do it." She shrugged off his words, then Harry took Ron's, and reluctantly cursed, he took Zabini's
And the five disappeared.
.
.
Harry could not believe they really were in the forbidden forest, however, looking to the sides, he could verify it by the large, dark and gloomy place "And how do you plan to find the place where Fletchley was killed? Nobody has managed to walk the forbidden forest completely!" Ron complained one more time
Hermione looked around, nothing had changed since the last time she had been here "I thought I told you before leaving the ministry I didn't want to hear your whining"
Ron crossed his arms "Yeah, Well, that was before I knew you did not have any plan to look around"
"We could ask help from Hagrid" Harry tried to help
"It's not necessary," Hermione stopped, looking for something from the inside pocket of her dark trench coat. "I have a plan" she said annoyed, lifting the strange, golden object from her hand to Ron who just rolled his eyes from his spot.
"What is that?" Zabini asked
"The Muggles call it a sundial compass, a combination of two instruments" Hermione explained as she levelled the instrument and placed it in the correct position to prevent the hinges moving from their place, turning them around. "It's a bit complex but very effective, although I also modified it for a different purpose, which is to be a dark detector" Once the shadow of the clock was in the correct position, Hermione levitated over her hand
"A dark detector?" Harry murmured.
What had Hermione done to create such a thing from a simple Muggle object?
Hermione was a brilliant witch
The brightest witch of her era
He remembered she was always described that way, but there was something that didn't fit now
After all, despite being always ready to learn she had been cautious with the risk and cost with which some spells were conjured
That's why she, while they were searching for horcruxes and even knowing the Fiendfyre was a curse that would destroy even the Horcrux, because of its dangerousness, Hermione had refused to use it.
And now, making a dark detector was not something that any ordinary magician would do
It was strange
He watched as the device lit up a bright blue, then, after a flash, a trail of magical energy began to trace a path through the forest. "Come on," Hermione ordered, running ahead of them.
Tzeentch and Zabini behind her while Ron and he ran backwards
Harry looked around but could not notice anything in particular, treading underbrush, bushes with thorns and the occasional muddy puddle. A road almost impassable
They probably walked for about an hour
He heard Ron curse, probably upset about the place too.
Then his head hit Ron's back, who had suddenly stopped "Yeah, the same thing happened to me with Zabini" he heard him say, patting his shoulder
"What's wrong, why did we stop?" Harry muttered in confusion, walking to where Hermione was standing in front of a huge dark cave.
"Damn, I was right" Harry was surprised to hear Hermione curse as she bit her thumb and wandered a bit from one place to another
"What is it?" Zabini asked, taking out his wand
"Something very annoying that we needed our wands ready to use" Hermione agreed, also taking her wand out of her leather shoulder holster from inside her trench coat
She pointed her wand at the cave "Revelio" murmured and the huge stone that covered it opened on both sides, leaving the path uncovered "Lumos" and the tip of her wand lit up
Hermione walked inside her with determined steps "Lumos" she heard also say to Harry and Zabini while they followed her
"Are we going to walk inside just like that?" Ron again complained scared "What if there are spiders?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, tired of hearing him complain "Shut up Ron, if you do not want to come inside then just go back to the ministry"
Ron snorted with frustration, taking his wand in his hand "Lumos" he said and started walking with fearful steps "I do not-I'm not afraid if that's what you think" he tried to respond with courage but the tremor in his voice gave him away
"Of course you are not," Zabini replied sarcastically
Ron ignored him, still worried about the darkness of the place
What if there were Acromantulas?
"There are no Acromantulas in this place" Hermione replied suddenly, how did she know what he was thinking? "They would not be exposed to the creatures that are here"
Ron opened his eyes more scared than before
What kind of creature frightened the acromantulas other than the Basilisk?
"What kind of creatures are we looking for?" Harry asked
Then Hermione's foot suddenly sank into the water, only a few inches, completely wetting the boots she wore
"We are here" Hermione sighed
"I do not see anything" Zabini said, suddenly, his leg was thrown from under the water, submerging it towards the deepest waters
"Zabini!" Harry yelled
Then, from the water began to come out corpses, dead bodies that had been bewitched by the dark art of necromancy "those are Inferi" Harry said stunned
"Oh, for Merlin's beards!" cried terrified Ron, as he pulled away one with a swipe of his wand
The last time he had seen one of these was in the Horcrux cave
And the last time, Albus Dumbledore had saved him from them
But Dumbledore was not here anymore to do it
"Protego Diabolica" He heard Hermione murmur to his side, then with her wand she pointed the whole place around them, conjuring a ring of blue fire that grew every second more, incinerating all the Inferi who touched it completely
Even burning all the water "Wait, Zabini is still there!" Harry tried to deprive Hermione of her spell that seemed to transcend beneath the water "He will burn!"
Hermione ignored him for a few more seconds but pushed her wand away from the flames. "Hermione?" he tried to call her
Why was not she listening to him?
Was she trying to kill Zabini?
Then they heard a loud noise, it was the deep voice of Zabini who tried to take a breath since his head finally came out of the water
Harry looked surprised as Zabini swam to get out of the water from the flames, without them doing any harm
Ron extended a hand to Zabini to help him out, both of them looking just as bewildered as he was.
What kind of spell was that?
Hermione definitely needed to teach him how to do it
"Too much adventure for you Zabini?" Hermione raises an eyebrow
"What was that?!" he asked excitedly "¡Amazing!" he praised her despite almost drowned
Harry wanted to know too
Hermione's jovial attitude darkened softly "Something you should not do"
The remnants of the flames suddenly went out with a strong blow of wind, darkening the place almost completely again, except for Ron's wand "We have not finished yet," said Zabini, "Accio wand" He summoned it with his right hand, trembling slightly when the cold began to become more intense
From the top of the cave, a lot of well-known gliding and wraith-like dark creature descended towards them
"Dementors" Ron said as the other three pointed their wands at them
"Expecto Patronum" it was Harry's turn first as he struck with his stag a pair of Dementors away from them
"Expecto Patronum" Zabini said while his wand released a Black Stallion patronus
With one hand, Tzeentch completely burned several Dementors who tried to approach Hermione, realizing she seemed to hesitate for a moment "Móðolfr" he called her
Hermione raised her wand to two who were heading towards her "Expecto Patronum" she said with decision as out of her wand began to form the figure of a creature
But it was not an otter
"For Morgan, not you too" Hermione silently cried her loss, her heart squeezed regretfully inside her chest
A Corporeal Thestral patronus pounced on the Dementors in front of her
Even her otter no longer belonged to her
What more did she have to lose now?
"Granger!" Zabini tried to make her react
"Expecto Patronum" Ron moved away with his patronus other Dementors as well
"Móðolfr, there is no point crying for what is already lost" reproached Tzeentch, making ashes other Dementors
He was right, she did not have time to feel sorry for herself; this was a dangerous place where anyone could die if they made a mistake
Although she was still a little bewildered to see a thestral as her patronus, she raised her wand up again, summoning it again "Expecto Patronum"
Unfortunately it was not enough, hundreds of other Dementors began to appear, probably all those who remained alive even after the war
Hermione knew, she had another option to disappear them all at once
She sighed, probably others would freaking out, but what the hell! "You all behind me!" she yelled at them to get their attention
"What?" Ron asked confused
"Just do it, hurry!" she shouted again Harry and Zabini looked at each other and followed Tzeentch, pulling Ron to do the same as them, stop invoking their patronus and standing a few paces behind Hermione
Immediately, the Dementors began to feed on them, their peace, their hope and their joy
Whatever Hermione had in mind, it was better that she did it now before the Dementors made them like them
Hermione retook air, calming her breath, closing her eyes and raising her wand again
Harry tried to listen the spell she would make, thinking that she might do the same thing she had done earlier with the Inferi.
But he was wrong, he did not even hear her say a word
Instead of the blue flames from before, a red and demonic fire came out of Hermione's wand, followed by a loud roar
"¡Hermione!" Harry was now the one who was shocked that she used such a dangerous curse with them inside the place
Had not Hermione been the one who had refused to use Fiendfyre before because it was too dangerous and unstable?
"¡I Know!" Hermione replied
"Then why? The old Hermione that I know would not do something irresponsible like this" Harry reproached
Hermione took her wand with both hands "With the time people change Harry and the old ways, serve us no longer" She looked at him a second before returning her attention to the immensely powerful fire in front of her. "Get them out of here Tzeentch, I'll finish this on my own!" She shouted at the elf
"What? No way!" Harry yelled back "Hermione you can die!" He tried to make her come to her senses while in agony he tried to hold back his tears
Refusing to lose her again
"Do it now before the fire gets bigger!" It was Hermione's order again
Tzeentch nodded, grabbing Harry and Ron's shoulders while Zabini grabbed Harry's wrist and the four appeared outside the cave
Harry freed himself furiously from Tzeentch, trying to re-enter but Tzeentch appeared some magical ropes with which he tied him. With another click he closed his mouth to keep Harry from screaming
The deadly fire started to come out of the cave, scaring Ron who took a few more steps away
A loud roar, followed by a gigantic chimera made of fire came out, rising towards the sky where it then began to gradually disappear
After that, everything was quiet
Only the desperate sounds Harry made to break free were heard
Zabini and Ron looked into the cave, waiting for something to happen
And it happened, she came out from inside the cave.
Filled with ashes, even in her hair. A very dirty and partially wet Hermione appeared, wearing a shy smile towards them while she shook her wand and then put it inside her leather shoulder Holster
"A true adventure undoubtedly Granger" Zabini commented, relieved that the madness inside the cave had finally ended.
She laughed lightly
Tzeentch gave another snap and Hermione's clothes were fixed, returning to look as impeccably neat as before they left the ministry. Looking down, she found Harry tied on the floor. She then looked at the elf with a silent question mark her face.
"He tried to enter again" He answered simply
Hermione opened her mouth, trying to replicate
Then they heard a loud sound in the sky, followed by a bright flash that spread over the clouds
In a bright green colour, the dark mark appeared
"A Death Eater" Zabini said, his hand was raised in the sky, pointing to the trail of the curse "It comes from among those trees" was not a good way to see it completely, but they could probably follow it while the trail was still visible
"Come on," Hermione ordered again, taking out her wand again, she disappeared.
"How will we know where she went to?" Ron asked confused.
Tzeentch unleashed Harry "Take your hands" he took Zabini's arm and appeared them in the same place where Hermione was
A few meters from Hagrid's house while she pointed a wand at a man in front of her
"Asking for help? Something very inappropriate of you Mudblood. As my father told me, going on your own always made you an easy prey" The man mocked
Hermione narrowed her eyes, something about his words became very familiar
Then, just a couple of seconds, she understood "You're Avery's son" she confirmed
The grip on the Death Eater's wand tightened even more. "The pureblood man you murdered"
Hermione's grip on her wand also became stronger
The two men behind her were her dilemma
"Did you kill Avery?" Harry blinked in surprise.
Ron gasp at his side
The Death Eater laughed "Not so innocent, right? Miss war heroine"
Hermione tensed even more. "No one who has been part of a war is innocent." Her gaze for a moment turned to Harry. "He was the one who killed my parents, he took the werewolf to their house and tried to kill me" she tried to explain
Harry seemed more confused by that explanation because when the Aurors went to investigate the place there was nothing but the werewolf, then…
What had Hermione done with Avery's body?
"Yes, and you should have been an easy prey and just die that day, because you will die, now!" He cast a spell on her, which was easily avoided by a slight movement of Hermione "Crucio"
Before the curse hit her, Tzeentch stood in front of her, summoning a golden shield that caused the spell to return to him.
The Death Eater shouted at the intense pain that dared his entire body
Hermione looked at him as he trembled on the floor, deciding what to do with him, then, she raised her wand "Petrificus Totalus" Then, the curse hardened her limbs, to prevent him from moving again.
Ignoring the Death Eater now, she turned her head back "Thanks Tzeentch, I do not know what I would do without you" she gently patted his shoulder. The view of her then went to the other three "We should take him to the ministry to interrogate him" she said, referring to Avery who was standing on the floor with his eyes open, looking everywhere.
"I think he has said enough for now," Harry cut her off. Hermione looked at him, waiting for him to finish speaking. "What did you do with Avery's body the day you were in Australia?" The doubt was killing him, he hoped it was not something bad
The doubt in Hermione's eyes was reflected, just for a few seconds before returning to a serious expression "The same as the Dementors, Fiendfyre, at least just enough to disappear the body" she answered honestly
"Why would you want to disappear his body?" Ron asked horrified
"I did not want to see his nasty face for another second" she murmured tense
The death of her parents was a very unpleasant subject for her. Moreover, the man who murdered them and tried to kill her also
Harry saw her discomfort, no one could blame her for doing what she did "Fiendfyre is a too dangerous curse Hermione, you said it yourself" but even so he rebuked her
"I learned how to control it, thank you very much" She reproached back to him
Harry frowned but he did not say anything else
"And what was that creature coming out of the fire? A lion? I'm going to throw up if it's something about you little weird Gryffindors" It was Zabini's comment, while pretending a pair of retching sounds
Hermione smiled, appreciating his way of comforting her "It's a Chimaera, a creature with a lion's head, a goat's body and a dragon's tail" She answered in her best know-it-all voice
"Do you know everything? How is it she knows everything?" Ron muttered more to himself than to others
Hermione rolled her eyes "Let's get out of here" she walked to the body lying on the ground, being followed by the others. On one knee, she took Avery from his wrist while her other hand took Tzeentch's "Come on ladies, this needs to be done today," she told Ron and Zabini who looked at each other with displeasure, refusing to hold hands.
Upon hearing Hermione's complaints they had to do it one more time reluctantly.
.
.
Appearing again at the Aurors office. The place was empty, the Aurors probably in the places of the crime scenes
"I will take Avery with Kingsley, probably we will be able to question him until tomorrow" Said Zabini levitating the body of the ground, turning to Hermione "You should go home now Granger, tomorrow will be a long day trying to make Avery talk, besides we can no longer do anything for today" he patted her shoulder
"You're right, thank you Zabini" she nodded her head
"Take Weasley and Potter with you, I've seen them enough for today" he shook his head
She laughed "I'll do it, I'll give you the break you need"
He nodded "See you tomorrow" he said goodbye, leaving the place with Avery floating behind him
When Zabini was out of sight, Harry was the first to speak. "Are we going home then?" He asked Hermione excitedly.
"Yes, I have a couple of things to occupy me there" Hermione explained
Her words killed all hope in Harry, since she would probably lock herself in her room
"I'm hungry, we have not eaten anything since this morning and it's almost night" Ron said rubbing his stomach
"Ron is right" Harry agreed "We can go home, while you take care of the things you should do, I can prepare something to eat for all of us" Harry tried to convince her
Hermione looked at Tzeentch seeing that he was nodding "Okay, let's go home then" she took Tzeentch's hand and then she held out her hand to Harry
Harry smiled at her as he took his hand and then Ron's
They disappeared after that without any other word
.
.
"I'll go up the room to take a rest Móðolfr" was what Tzeentch said after a while they were in the Drawing room inside Grimmauld Place, She looked at him and they both had a silent discussion about leaving her alone with Harry, after Ron had retired to sleep as well.
"Good night, Tzeentch," Harry said, unaware of that.
Tzeentch looked at him seriously for a while before nodding "Good night Harry Potter" and then disappeared
Hermione really expected Tzeentch to go to sleep, he needed it; he had not slept well for the last three months
"Does he hate me?" Harry suddenly asked.
Hermione came out of her thoughts, looking at him "No, he doesn't" she answered
"He always seems to be examining me with his stern, rather intimidating look" Harry commented, playing with the cup of tea between his hands.
"He's just trying to judge you, he does that with everyone," she explained.
That answer intrigued him. "Did he do that with you?" Harry asked, hoping she did not try to put herself on the defensive and flee
"I guess the first time he saw me he did it, although I'm not sure" she shrugged
Again, there was an uncomfortable silence
One that Harry could not stand for a longer "Why did your Patronus change?" The question ruminated his mind from the problems they had this afternoon
That darkened Hermione's mood even more "I do not know exactly, the last time I did it, the otter was there nine years ago, after that I didn't have to do it until today, besides, I had to change my wand, it could also be one of the reasons"
Harry frowned. "Did you change your wand?" He asked confused. "Why?" He had not noticed the change of her wand, well, he had not paid attention to the wand at all
"It broke" Hermione looked at him "The day I met Tzeentch he was under a strong curse, turned into a stone. I knew a couple of breaks curses and I did it, unfortunately, my wand could not stand it and it exploded" Hermione's gaze went down to her right hand, where there were a couple of scars, Harry looked at them too, probably the cuts were from the pieces of the wand. "I had to buy a new one, but it was different. The length of the wand and the wood were the same as the previous one but the new one had a different nucleus "seemed anguished
"What kind of nucleus?"
She closed her eyes as she let out a trembling sigh "Thestral Tail Hair"
Had she said what he thought she had said? "Thestral Tail Hair?" he asked again, he needed a confirmation, he could not believe what he had heard
It was well known that there was only one wand with that type of nucleus
"I know what you're thinking, Elder's wand had the same core" Hermione cut his dilemma
"And you have an equal" He pointed
"The wood is different" she tried to find an excuse
"Hermione ..." Harry started "That wand can be very dangerous" he took her hands in his "I'm very worried about you, I do not want anything bad to happen to you, I have been deadly worried during all these years you left, not knowing if you were fine, if something bad had happened to you, it was a torture" his voice trembled, looking at her he could see tears in her eyes, and because of the blur of his own sight, he probably had them too "And now that I have you here with me…" closing his eyes tightly, he swallowed the knot that formed in his throat "To know how useless I am to you, to know that I could not protect you even for a day like today that Avery tried to use the cruciatus curse on you... it's a torture much worse"
"Harry" She felt sorry for his words, she did not want to give him trouble, and without realizing it, she was doing it. She let go of his hands, ignoring the rejection she saw in his eyes "I left because I needed to stand up for myself, to learn to defend myself, because after the war and the death of my parents I understood that the world would not become a better place with the death of Voldemort" she paused "Calmer perhaps, but not for that reason the danger would disappear and I needed to be prepared to face it if someday I had to do it, just like today"
But her words only frustrated him more. He gave an annoyed snort "I do not understand Hermione, All these years to flee from here just to learn to defend yourself? Hermione, for Merlin, you saved the world!"
She could not help but smile at the irony of his words, making him frown more, thinking that she was mocking him. "You have me in too confused an esteem, Harry" She shook her head
"What, what do you mean?" He asked confused
She looked at him, her steady, penetrating gaze came to bother him. A little reminded him of Tzeentch "I didn't do all that to save the world" Of course she didn't, the wizards, at least a large part of them didn't deserve to be saved, the bloody pure-blood supremacists "I did it to save you, so you would be happy and live" she confessed
Her statement made Harry's heart beat painfully in his chest, if she had done so much to make him happy, then why had she left him after that? He refused to believe her words "Anyway, I do not understand. You did and knew what to do during the war, do not you think that was enough? What else did you have to learn all these years away?" There was nothing Hermione could not learn on her own from the books, why go so far?
"Not everything" She shook her head "The war only taught me to defend myself for a short time, look for advantages and the books to counterattack them" She tensed. "But my mind was very unstable, I made many mistakes. I needed a place where I could learn to stop being so weak, where I had someone to help me correct them with ideas different from mine. Learn not to give them the opportunity to have any predominance over me"
"I still don't understand" Harry said lost
Her words seemed to annoy Hermione, who looked at him harshly. "If you don't understand, then you didn't really know me"
And that angered Harry who got up from the couch, annoyed by her cruel words, walking around the same place in front of her "So you're saying that by not accepting the fact you had a good reason to leave that makes me an incompetent friend, someone who never knew you? Because I can't understand your motives?" He narrowed his eyes at her, challenging her to dare to repeat her words. Stopping his walk
She raised an eyebrow, trying not to madden with him "You can't, or you won't?" she threw him in his face, he opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off "And just because I did not want to stay in this place seeing others pity me while I spent my time witnessing people crying over the dead people they loved does not mean that I just ran away" she stood up, her anger had grown and she refused to let him yell at her as if he was right about her. "I took my time in something profitable, did you do it Harry?" She challenged him
"I graduated from Hogwarts, did you do it, Hermione?" Harry hissed
That had been a misplaced comment, very inappropriate "I graduated, not at Hogwarts but I did it if you died to find out" she answered
That revelation was a surprise for Harry "Where did you graduate?" He could not help but ask
Hermione straightened up, lifting her chin with insolence "Durmstrang"
Harry blinked "Durmstrang?"
Was not that College very selective with the purity of Blood?
"The only good thing that the war brought me was to be such an invaluable heroine I was allowed to study there despite being a Mudblood" She replied sarcastic "Victor helped me, talking with the Headmaster, my stay there was quite clandestine for people outside there" she added before seeing his perplexed look
"Krum?" He asked foolishly
She crossed her arms "What other Victor could be but him?"
"Of course it had to be Victor Krum" Harry muttered in a bad way
Harry could not hate Victor Krum any more than at that moment, after all, when he was still playing Quidditch, he had gone to watch him play, they had talked like old friends, but Victor had never mentioned Hermione, which now made sense if he was helping her hide "You studied Dark Arts there" that was a more disturbing realization. Especially with the behaviour she had today
She tensed again. "Anything else to reproach me now, Potter?"
The way she called him that way made him cringe. "Hermione please, I need you to understand me" He tried to calm her down
But she was not taking any of that, without any reassurance she added "The only thing I understand Harry, is with that kind of thoughts this case will be more impossible for you with me here than before my arrival" She sighed, trying to contain her temperament "We have both changed, you need to understand that" She tried to make him see reason "And at this point I think if we want to be friends yet, it will be better to keep our distance"
"Hermione ..." He tried to find the right words "Is there something wrong with wanting some peace in my life? Of wanting to leave everyone aside, not to remain so worried around me"
She seemed to think about his words for a second and then shook her head "There is, leaving so many Death Eaters out there who would not hesitate to go after us, probably kill someone else because of us, and if you can't understand Harry, then I pity you because eventually you will suffer" She saw him trying to answer again and she raised a hand for him to keep silent once more "Do you know Harry? It is because of this kind of thinking that I stop trusting you. Good night, Harry" Hermione said sadly and went upstairs without letting him replicate anymore
He had nothing more to say anyway
Harry heard the door whipping as more hot tears ran down his cheeks, after all, there was nothing he hated more than fighting with Hermione. But he could not help it, he needed to protect Hermione, without her, there was nothing left for him. His happiness had gone with her eleven years ago and he was desperate to have her back
Taking off his glasses, he wiped the tears from his eyes. He was not good at getting the women in his life to stay by his side for long
Ginny had only stayed with him for three months. Although he could not blame her, he had only thought of finding Hermione and she had ended up getting annoyed at being ignored by him. No one should endure the rejection he had with her.
Sighing, Harry got up from the couch
The best thing he could do now was go to sleep, tomorrow he could think what to do with his mind clear, he tried to console himself, He went up to his room, but not before taking a quick look at Hermione's room before crossing the corridor to his door.
.
.
.
Hermione entered the room in her suitcase that she knew very well. It was a cold and empty room, the only thing that lay inside was a magical circle she had made with ancient runes, over which a large armillary sphere was floating, to which she had surrounded several impenetrable spells, some dark and powerful. Inside the sphere there was another one made of crystal, one she had specially made, to catch something inside.
More precisely, An Obscurus
A dark and parasitic energy
Hermione looked at it closely, every detail of it, to which Tzeentch always referred like a Wolf pit, this kind of magic field she had made for the Obscurus. But now there was a problem "It's breaking" she pointed seriously "It's getting stronger" She sighed. She had been trying to control it for nine years and it was only getting worse. A disastrous possibility if she did not find a solution, it would be the Obscurus escaping, destroying London and she had to give an answer as to why she was carrying such a thing with her. "What should I do now?" She asked herself
But no answer came
Raising her hand, with a slight movement the crack of the crystal sphere was repaired. A solution that would not last long
Suddenly, she startled. While inside, the glass was struck with a dark hand formed from the Obscurus. And what ended up horrifying Hermione, leaving her frozen from her place was an eye forming inside, looking at her
.
.
Again.
Thanks for reading, you can comment if you want
-Raitsuki141