Hermione and Birch-Lock sat in his office, the silver strand now safely back in the crystal phial. Hermione had made use of his waste basket twice more and kept it close at hand. Her stomach would not settle. They had gone back in, stopped the memory at the exact moment Hermione saw the face, if you could call it a face. There were eyes, there were teeth. Hermione shuddered, it wasn't human this face in the mist.
"We need to get those other memories." Hermione said, Birch-Lock had ordered them tea, he looked pale.
"Can Bella give us some?" Birch-Lock asked trying to nibble a corner of toast.
"She told me the only time the mist reached out to her was that memory. She didn't tell me about Mad-Eye." Hermione fought down the wave of nausea that overwhelmed her for a moment. "She told me something else."
"What's that?" He said passing Hermione some dry toast and weak tea.
"That the mist, if it makes a shape, like with Tonks, if it touches you. You go mad."
"You go mad how?"
"Just mad, you eventually only want to be in that veil and you won't stop until you get it."
"So it only happens to some people, What's the thing that stops it? It didn't reach out to either of us. It didn't reach out to Bella like a shape only as mist."
Hermione shrugged, "Maybe it only takes shape if you believe it. If you believe what it tells you."
"Did it tell you anything?"
Hermione shook her head, "Just whispers that I couldn't make out. You?"
"I didn't hear anything." Birch-Lock said grateful to have been left out of that particular phenomenon.
They both sat in silence at a stalemate looking at the map on the wall, the photographs, the lines, the files. Dolohov was dead, Lucius was missing though really at this point Hermione was presuming he was also dead. Her eyes fell to Percy who claimed he had no memory of meeting with her.
"Birch." Hermione said pulling him out of thought.
"Yeah?"
"We need to go to Azkaban tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Percy Weasley."
"Kid doesn't remember anything."
"He doesn't remember me coming to meet him but he will remember the archway. They extract the threads but they don't obliviate them after, they can't it would mess up their research."
Hermione glanced at the clock. Birch-Lock saw her. "Go, go I'll get you clearance for tomorrow."
Hermione saw Bella a few meters ahead of her, she was there, beautiful and whole. She held bags from the shops and turned to smile when Hermione approached.
"Hello Pe-" Bella's words were cut off, "What happened?" She asked as she set the bags down and wrapped her arms around Hermione. "Pet you're not well." Bella said, "I knew you weren't earlier. Sit down." She said leaving Hermione sitting with the bags as she went into the apothecary. She came back out with the healer and a fizzy drink.
"She was flushed earlier and now she's very pale." Bella said as the healer looked her over. "Do you see how pale she is?"
The healer nodded, "Here my dear drink this." She said, her hand moving across Hermione's head.
Hermione sipped the fizzy liquid and nodded stating she felt better. They sat for a moment and then Hermione shook her head and got sick in the potted plant. The healer went back into the shop and came out again. "Give her these drops twice a day, should take care of it."
Bella took the drops and put them into the bag. She spoke quietly to the healer who nodded several times and returned with a phial of clear liquid. Hermione didn't hear the directions; her head was spinning.
"Can you manage her dear or would you like a medi-elf's assistance." The healer asked as Bella supported Hermione to stand. "I think I can manage her if they could manage the bags." Bella said, the elf arrived a moment later taking the bags.
"Alright Pet, hold onto me and don't get sick ok?" Bella said pressing her lips to Hermione's clammy forehead. The elf, Bella and Hermione touched the portkey from the healer and Hermione covered her mouth against the spinning.
They landed with a stagger, Bella catching Hermione from falling. The elf set the bags down in the kitchen and left with a pop. Hermione was vomiting into the bushes.
Bella bathed her and put her to bed feeding her dry toast.
"What happened today Pet?" Bella asked breaking off a piece of toast and pushing it into Hermione's mouth.
Hermione began to cry as she spoke about the memory.
"Oh my love. You've had such an upsetting day." Bella pulled her in and laid Hermione's head on her chest. "I'm alright dearest, see, I'm here holding you. I- She pressed a kiss to Hermione's head.
Hermione continued to cry, her mind replaying Bella's reactions, the words that were said to her. The baby crying. Hermione's head pounded.
The light hurt Hermione's eyes the next morning so Bella closed the drapes to keep the room very dark. She gave Hermione the drops but she vomited a few minutes later.
"You can't go in today Pet, you're too sick." Bella said wiping her face with a cloth.
"I have to; I have to interview Percy today." Hermione said enjoying the feeling of the cool cloth on her face.
"It will have to keep until tomorrow love." Bella said brushing away a stray curl from Hermione's forehead. "I'll floo Birch-Lock alright?"
Hermione nodded and laid back against the pillow, her entire body ached as she rolled over to watch Bella talking to Birch-Lock. He said he would go talk to Percy and hoped Hermione would feel better soon.
"Sleep now Pet." Bella whispered and pressed a kiss to Hermione's stomach.
"Well it's no surprise the stress of her job Bella. I mean the poor thing was so flushed yesterday." Andromeda said in the kitchen. Tonks and Teddy had gone ahead to Sweden, Andromeda decided to stay on a day or two before joining them. "If she's pregnant the stress can be terrible for the baby."
Bella sipped her tea and leaned against the counter, "I got a test from the healer but we haven't taken it yet. She wouldn't be sick already from a baby?" Bella asked, she only had her own pregnancy to go by in which she was never sick.
"I was sick with Dora a couple weeks after I conceived, it has to do with the magic in the baby from what the healer told me. It puts too much magic into your body sort of like an overload and you get sick until your body adjusts."
Bella nodded, she had heard of that.
"Well we would have known if it was from Beltane." Bella remarked dipping a biscuit into her tea.
"Maybe but sometimes women get sick after a couple of months. Might be Beltane, you did the spell then obviously."
"Yeah we did." Bella leaned against the counter to stretch for a moment. "It lasted for, hours."
"That's why so many virgins get babies on Beltane." Andromeda stated with a smirk.
"How many times have you done the spell with her?" Andy asked thoughtfully.
"Dunno, three times I think. Not often." Bella said, the little phial of clear liquid on the counter.
"And each time?" Andy asked raising her eyebrows in question.
"Yes." Bella said picking up the phial and turning it over and over again in her hands.
"When was the last time? With the spell I mean?"
"Couple of weeks at the most." Bella took in a breath and released it slowly.
"Well if the drops aren't helping Bella, she's with child." Andy said with a definite nod and a small smile.
"Hi Pet." Bella said coming in the room with the phial. "Feeling any better?"
"Less dizzy." Hermione said sitting up, her eyes were still sore. "Is Andromeda here?" Hermione asked confused.
"She was; she's gone home now. You were asleep we didn't want to wake you."
Hermione nodded looking at the phial in Bella's hand and smiled. "I don't think it's our sweet baby Bella."
Bella laughed slightly, "Oh I think it is Pet. Sometimes sweet little babies can cause all kinds of trouble."
Hermione laughed, "Trouble maker already. I like that." Her hand moved to her stomach with another laugh, "Just like her mum."
She sat on the bed and took Hermione's hand kissing her fingers, "It's just a little drop it won't hurt."
"Then what happens."
"We wait."
Hermione swallowed and looked at the phial. "What if we aren't." She whispered a little sadness creeping in.
Bella set the phial aside and kissed Hermione. "Then we aren't. So we need to be ready for both answers. Do you want to wait to take it Pet?"
Hermione shook her head no and held out her hand.
Bella pricked Hermione's finger and put a small droplet of blood into the phial, she then pricked her own finger to add a droplet as well and they waited. "Sometimes it will pick up one parent and not the other so both drops are required to get the right result." Bella explained as she put the stopper back into the phial to seal it.
"How long do we wait."
"An hour." Bella pressed a kiss to Hermione's forehead. "Sleep pet, I'll wake you up when it's ready ok?"
Hermione nodded and closed her eyes, her stomach felt as though it were working in reverse.
Bella turned the phial over and over again in her hands. Andromeda had left and said she wanted to know either way. Bella had asked her to stay but she insisted, news like this was for couples only.
"You know that won't make it show you any faster right?" Hermione said leaning against the wall in the hallway.
"You should be in bed." Bella said setting the phial down and coming over to her.
"I feel much better." Hermione said as Bella helped her sit down.
"You look better Pet. Your colour is normal again."
"It's- I am completely fine now. Sore but I'm fine. How long did I sleep?"
"About three hours." Bella said quietly. "I know I was going to wake you Pet but you were too beautiful."
Hermione wrapped her fingers together and bit her lip, the phial sat on the coffee table.
"What-what colour does it turn?" She whispered, her eyes locked on the phial.
Bella picked the phial up and held it up. "Purple."
"Oh." Hermione said, disappointment showed on her face and in her voice as the colour in the phial had gone back to clear.
"We have to open it up to see the colour, the clear lets you know it's working." Bella said giving the phial a little shake.
Hermione leaned against Bella and slipped her arm under her lover's.
"We can wait." Bella said, her hand resting on the stopper, she grinned at Hermione who stared mocking shock and then smiled back.
Bella took a breath and pulled the stopper out. She held it up and they watched as the clear liquid in the phial turned a deep purple then evaporate leaving a golden date along the side, 1st of May. Beltane.
Hermione stood with Birch-Lock waiting to see Percy Weasley, Birch-Lock had gone two days before but Percy was not cooperating. Hermione sighed, Percy had insisted on seeing her.
Hermione tapped her nails on the table while Percy was brought in.
"Hi Hermione." He said with a smile.
"Percy." She answered, she was not amused as she sat down. "You told Mr. Birch-Lock you wanted to see me and would speak only to me."
Percy's smile turned into a serious nod.
"Why?"
"He's there Hermione." Percy whispered conspiratorial at her.
"Who is where Perc?" Hermione asked, Birch-Lock scratched notes with his quill.
"Fred, he's-he's at the archway that Birch-Lock asked me about. He's fighting Voldemort in the archway."
Hermione nodded encouraging him to talk more.
"He's stopping Voldemort from coming out of the archway. I have to help him. We have to help him Hermione. If-If Voldemort gets out…" Percy shook his head, "He's back Hermione. I saw Voldemort leave the archway and then, when I went last week, Fred was fighting him. He was fighting him and he needs help. He asked me for help. He's getting tired of fighting."
"How are you going to help him?" Hermione asked, she wondered what Tonks had seen Remus doing in the archway.
"Go and help him. He needs us to go. He asked for help. I told mum and Ginny that we need to go help."
"But how can you help him with your wand?"
Percy shook his head, "I have to go to him, Fred needs strength to keep fighting. He needs lots of strength."
Hermione's blood went cold, the image of the face with the teeth flashed in her mind, Mad-Eye's leg mutilated by the archway.
"So we can help him by going to him, in the archway?"
Percy frowned at Hermione, "You think I'm crazy." He said shaking his head, "You think I'm crazy he's there Hermione. Voldemort is there and we can stop him. I'm not crazy." Percy said pulling against his chains, "I'm not crazy, we can stop him. We have to stop him. Fred said it was the only way to keep Voldemort in the archway. Fred needs strength."
The Auror stepped up and poked his wand against Percy, the affect was nearly instant, he calmed down and his eyes started closing, "He needs us Hermione…he-….Fred." Percy's eyes closed.
Birch-Lock was still furiously scribbling notes as the Auror levitated Percy out of the room still in chains back to his cell.
"Oh Merlin." Hermione ran out of the room and threw up. Birch-Lock followed her and held her hair back as she was sick again and then he patted her back rubbing it in a small circle.
"Beltane babies." He said with a smile, "Happened to my wife every time."
Hermione stood and braced herself against the wall. "How long does it last?"
"The rest of your life." Birch-Lock said laughing, Hermione groaned and pressed her forehead against the cold stone wall.
Hermione read over Birch-Locks notes, they had waited to retrieve the memory when Percy woke up. Hermione's eyes closed and she rubbed her head, "So it needs strength so my guess, it feeds on souls."
Birch-Lock nodded after a moment. "Would make sense. Compel the person, draw them in and then take their soul."
"For what purpose?" She asked, putting the notes away.
"To eat?"
Hermoine stretched, they had been in the pensieve all afternoon, they had looked through Bella and Percy's memories and two more that Birch-Lock had managed to retrieve of Dolohov's. The last one showed Dolohov talking to Voldemort, or a version of Voldemort. It was the memory of the archway right before he had broken out of Azkaban. Hermione was chilled her hear her name whispered by the archway and Bella's. Birch-Lock had ordered Hermione not to go near the Department of Mysteries or the archway again.
"No it's not food…" Hermione said slowly flipping through a book on ancient portals and finding nothing.
"Strength like Fred told Percy. "
Hermione grabbed Birch-Locks notes, "He said he watched Voldemort leave the archway. We didn't see that in the memory."
Birch-Lock checked over the notes he taken after they went into the pensieve. "No, just we saw Fred in the mist and Voldemort from Dolohov. Seems to change for each person like Bella said."
"What if it eats souls and it causes it to be able to move around outside of the archway. What if Percy did see a version of Voldemort walk out because that is what Percy was afraid of. What if Voldemort walked out and talked to Dolohov or led him to our cottage because Dolohov craved Voldemort's return or favour…" Hermione stopped her thought, the mist didn't go beyond the platform.
"I like your thought process Black, so the more souls or whatever it takes in the stronger it gets. We need those memories from when they first got the damn thing. Maybe it got stronger over time."
"Whatever is in there, whatever that face is." Hermione shivered.
"We need Tonks back." Birch-Lock said with a nod. "She's sane, we don't let the mist touch her. We keep her on the benches watching see how far it can reach."
"What no I'm not risking her for a theory." Hermione said quickly.
"It's fear Hermione, it thrives on fear and hate." Birch-Lock said staring at the photograph of the archway. "I agree with you, it's moving around freely, limited but freely."
"By the biting of my thumb something wicked this way comes." Hermione muttered under her breath.
"What?"
"No nothing, just Shakespeare."
"Who's Shakespeare, an Auror?"