A/N: Sorry that's it's been so long since I last updated any of my stories. Life's been a pain. Between assignments and work I didn't get much free time over the holidays. Then, just to top it all off, I got back to uni and got ill, which killed my motivation. I'll try and update again soon. The next update's (in no particular order)
Home Is Where The Hurt Is
The Butler, In Closing
Hayley Potter
The Passage of Time
Again, sorry for the late update. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Happy new year!
-RR13
Chapter 7: A Hell of a Day
Hermione glanced out from behind the statue to ensure the corridor was clear. All thoughts of her perfect transfiguration essay had left her mind. The only thought running through her head now was "Oh my god! My teacher's a death eater, and she's going to help Selene kill Dumbledore and Cyrus!". She dropped the roll of parchment that she had been carrying #, and quickly ran after Selene. The dark haired girl was currently on the next floor up, in the charms corridor. Hermione skidded around the corner, and called after her. "Selene!". The girl stopped, and turned to look at her.
"Oh, hello Hermione. What's up?" she smiled, pleasantly.
"I know what you're planning Selene." Hermione said, glaring at the other girl. "You and Professor Delacour.". Selene stared at her for a long moment, then the pleasant smile slid off her face, and was replaced with her trademark cruel smirk. She slowly sauntered over to the girl. "I overheard the two of you talking in the corridor." Hermione said, trying not to let the nerves creep into her voice, though she was failing quite badly at it.
"So, you overheard our little conversation in the corridor the other day then?"
"Yes."
"You know I remain loyal to the Dark Lord?"
"Yes."
"And you know Fleur is a Death Eater?"
"Yes."
"And what exactly are you going to do to stop us?"
"I'll tell. I'll tell everyone."
"And who will believe you?" Selene laughed. "Let's say, you do go running to Dumbledore, or the Potters. What will you say? Professor! The big mean girl wants to kill us all!". Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but promptly closed it. What exactly could she say? Selene smirked, cruelly at her. "All I have to do is put on a sweet little pout, crocodile tears and say 'Daddy, what's she talking about? I don't want to hurt anyone anymore.' and they'll trip over themselves rushing to protect me. How does that feel, mudblood. Knowing that all your friends, and allies will believe me over you?"
"That's a l-lie." Hermione stammered. Selene chuckled, cruelly.
"Is it? Your faith in authority is truly sickening. Do you honestly believe that everyone will believe you, just because you're the little goody goody two-shoes Hermione Granger. The teachers pet? You're just as pathetic as I first thought.". Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but before she could speak, they heard footsteps and voices heading towards them.
"I've still got the fourth year essays to mark." came the voice of Lily Potter.
"C'mon Lils, you've got ages to mark them." replied James Potter. "You can take a weekend off. It's for Selene.". Hermione looked at Selene, a smug smile on her face. Selene returned the smile in kind. Hermione stared at the girl in shock, as Selene raised her left hand, and smacked herself in the eye, hard. The dark haired girl shrieked, and fell to the floor.
"What's going on?" Lily cried, running around the corner, closely followed by James. "Hermione? Selene?"
"I, uh, I..." Hermione began, not quite able to form a sentence.
"Selene?" James said softly, crouching next to the girl. "Are you okay? What happened."
"She punched me, Daddy. She said I was an evil bitch that you should've killed in Godric's Hollow graveyard, then she punched me."
"Hermione?!" Lily cried, turning to the bushy haired bookworm. "That's an awful thing to say."
"No, I didn't-" she began, but Lily cut her off.
"I don't want to hear it. Go to your common room. 50 points from Gryffindor. And I'll be speaking to Professor McGonagall about this.". Hermione glared at the three of them, then turned around and began making her way back to the Gryffindor common room. Selene had been right, they had chosen to believe Selene, over her. She was considered the brightest witch of her age! And they had sided with some Death Eater tramp!
Transfiguration, Hogwarts, First Floor
Fleur was sat at her desk, marking the fifth years transfiguration assignments. "T, T, T, E, A, E, D, E, Hmmm, this is definitely worth an O… But you're a mudblood so, that's an E. Let's see, E, D, A, T, D, A, A, E, T, T, T, D, A.". As she was marking them, the door opened and Selene walked in. Fleur glanced up at her, then back to the assignments. Then, back at Selene, frowning.
"What happened to your eye?" asked Fleur, placing her quill in the inkwell.
"Granger punched me in the eye." Selene replied, perching herself on Fleurs desk. "Wanna kiss it better?"
"What really happened to your eye." Fleur sighed.
"I punched myself to frame Granger for punching me in the eye." Selene shrugged.
"I suddenly feel less sorry for you."
"So, no kiss to make it better?"
"You made your bed, lie in it."
"I can't kiss my own eye." Selene pouted. Fleur ignored her. "Fine. I'll suffer through it."
"What do you want, Selene?" asked Fleur. "I'm fairly certain you didn't come here just to beg for a kiss."
"How do you know? Maybe I'm desperate?"
"You're never desperate, and begging's beneath you. What do you want?"
"Granger overheard our conversation in the corridor the other day. We need to wipe her memory."
"She overheard our… Oh, shit..." Fleur muttered to herself. "I'm no expert in memory charms. If I mess it up, I could end up wiping years from her memory."
"So?" Selene shrugged. "Maybe if she acted younger it would get rid of the stick up her-"
"It would create too many questions!" Fleur exclaimed, cutting Selene off. "Dumbledore would be able to trace it to me in a heartbeat! Can't you do it?"
"Sorry, I don't know the first thing about memory charms."
"Really? I thought you studied all area's of magic?"
"I'm an assassin." said Selene pointedly. "I kill people. Memory charms are kinda pointless to someone in my line of work."
"What if you're caught, or seen?"
"I'm a very, very good assassin. I'm never seen. I don't get caught.". Selene stopped, and looked around. "Usually. This is a one-off."
"So, we either wipe years from her memory, kill her, or let her go on knowing what she know's?"
"I vote for number two."
"It might be the most sensible choice." Fleur nodded. "If you can make it look like an accident?"
"Wait? You're agreeing with, and supporting the idea of killing her?"
"Selene, my cover cannot be blown! This is an ace for us! If she blows the whistle all my work will be for naught!"
"Okay, I get it. I'll figure something out."
"Maybe you should talk to Snape?"
"Snape? You think he'd help kill a student?" Selene asked, shocked. Fleur shrugged.
"NEWT level potions are notoriously hard. And notoriously dangerous."
Potions Classroom, Hogwarts, Dungeons
"Severus?". Snape turned around. Selene Lestrange was stood in the doorway. She had her arms folded and was staring at him in such a way that sent a shiver up even his spine.
"Miss Lestrange? Can I help you with something?" he asked.
"Yes. Fleur's covers going to be blown very soon. We need to ensure that doesn't happen."
"How?"
"Kill the whistleblower." replied Selene."It's that simple."
"And just who is this whistleblower."
"Hermione Granger."
"You want my help in killing a student? That's insane! What about my cover?"
"I'm not asking you to whip out your wand and AK her in the head, Sev. We need to make it look like an accident. Worst that'll happen to you is you get pulled in front of a board, and a short suspension. Dumbledore would never let anything happen to you, would he?"
"That is not the issue. We are talking about a student. A child! She's sixteen!"
"If Fleur's cover is blown, her entire mission will be over. She's brought us some useful information, but there's so much more we can glean from the Order morons."
"What about the Dark Lord's rule? Do not harm children."
"Granger made herself a problem, and it's my job to take care of problems." Selene shrugged. "If she'd kept out of it, then she'd have a very long life to look forward to. Well maybe a few years."
"I want it noted that I'm not comfortable with this."
"Duly noted, and disregarded."
"When?" Snape asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. Selene thought for a moment.
"As soon as possible. Next lesson?"
"Very well. Friday morning we'll brew the Draught of Living Death." Snape nodded. "If she were to add Dementor blood to that mix, it would create and extremely volatile, acidic mixture."
"Which would kill her?"
"If she's lucky."
"What do you mean?"
"If she's unlucky, it will simply drive her mad."
"Drive her mad?"
"Indeed, Dementor blood is a very uncommon ingredient in potion making, mostly due to the fact that it is such a volatile and temperamental substance to work with. It is commonly only used in potions that induce madness and suffering."
"And if the inside of her cauldron were to be coated in Dementor blood..." Selene smirked.
"Indeed." Snape snapped. "Friday morning, Miss Granger will suffer an unfortunate accident."
"Thank you, Severus."
Hogwarts, Potions Classroom, Friday Morning, 10:45
"The instructions are on the board, you may begin." Snape finished, waving his wand at the board, causing the chalk to quickly write out the instructions. The class all made for the potion stores to grab the ingredients, and began preparing them. The first step was to add the African sea salt to a beaker of water. Selene deliberately avoided looking at Hermione. She focused purely on her own work. This potion was extremely difficult to brew. Hermione meanwhile, was currently grinding her root of Asphodel. She had been in a foul mood ever since her 'talk' with Selene. The two-faced bitch had turned her friends and family on her in such a short space of time. Her! The brightest witch of her age. She was the smartest witch in all of Hogwarts, and one day, she would be the strongest. She had to protect Cyrus. He clearly didn't know any better. His sister was as dark as they come. She'd show them. Satisfied that her root of Asphodel was ready, she grabbed her beaker of salted water, and began simultaneously pouring the two into the cauldron.
That was when it happened.
There was a loud explosion.
A shriek of agony.
Then, a ringing.
Finally, a silence.
"Miss Granger?". Snape ran over to where Hermione had been stood. The girl was curled on the ground, shaking. "Miss Granger? Can you hear me?". The girl didn't respond. Her eyes darted around, as if trying to take in everything around her all at once. "Miss Granger!" Snape yelled, waving his wand, and vanishing the potion that was still clinging to her.
"What's wrong with her, Professor?" asked Ron, running over to her.
"I don't know Mr. Weasley." Snape lied. "She needs to go to the Hospital Wing."
Hospital Wing, Hogwarts, Fourth Floor
"Poppy!" Snape called. "We need you!". The mediwitch came hurrying out from her office, flustered.
"Severus, whatever's the matter?" she asked. "I was busying amending some records."
"You're about to have another to amend." Snape said, curtly. "Miss Granger suffered a potions accident. She's been curled up, and shaking ever since."
"What happened?"
"We were brewing the Draught of Living Death. I can only assume that she's added something that would react in such a manner."
"What could she have possibly added to cause such a reaction?" asked Poppy, a thoughtful frown on her face.
"The only thing that would have caused such a reaction is Dementor Blood." Snape replied. "Poppy, please take care of her. I must inform Albus, and no doubt the Minister."
"The Minister?!"
"Yes, as you can see, a child has been driven mad within our walls. There is no true cure for such an incident. We can only make them… comfortable. We will need the Minister's input.". Madam Pomfrey didn't look satisfied, but she nodded. Snape swept from the room. Somewhere along the History of Magic corridor, he heard a voice.
"Snape!" a voice hissed, and someone grabbed the potions master's sleeve and pulled him into an empty classroom. Selene was stood directly in front of him, her wand jabbing into his throat. "Why is Granger still alive?"
"It would appear that Miss Granger is more resilient than we gave her credit for. She survived the explosion, however her mind did not."
"She'll live?"
"If you can call it that." Snape shrugged. "She'll be little more than a raving lunatic for the rest of her days. Excuse me, I have to inform the Headmaster, and the Minister.". Selene glared at him, but nodded, and let him leave.
Hospital Wing, Hogwarts, Fourth Floor
Dumbledore, McGonagall, Fudge, the Potter's Ron and Selene were stood around Hermione's bed. The girl was lying in the hospital bed, writhing, her arms flailing, as if pushing back some foe, invisible to the rest of them. "Albus, what can we do?" McGonagall asked, tearily. Dumbledore merely shook his head, sadly.
"I don't know, Minerva." he all but whispered. "I fear that there is very little we can do for Miss. Granger.". Ron slowly approached the bed.
"Hermione? Can you hear me? It's me, Ron?". The girl looked over at him, and quickly looked away, as if she had lost all interest in the boy. Hermione's eyes rolled over the group before, before settling on Selene. There was a spark of recognition in her eyes, and faster than they thought possible, Hermione leapt from the bed, and launched herself at Selene. The two fell to the ground, Hermione grasping at Selene, desperately trying to claw and gouge the girl. All the while, she was screaming.
"FILTHY! FILTHY! FILTHY! LIAR! TRAITOR! FILTH!". The bushy haired girl lunged forwards. And pinned the girl to the ground. "FILTHY! LIAR! KILLER! KILLER! KILLER! TRAITOR! KILLER!"
"Get her off Selene!" Lily cried. James and McGonagall stepped forward, and tried to pry the screaming girl off her prey, but Hermione shrugged them off as if they were nothing.
Fudge stepped forward.
"Now, look here Miss. Granger." he began. Hermione looked up, and sniffed.
"FILTHY! MONEY! LIAR! TRAITOR! SHOW ME! GIVE IT TO ME! LIAR!" she cried and lunged at Fudge. She wrapped her legs around Fudge's waist, and grasped each side of his head, and bit down hard on his ear. Fudge screamed, as her sharp teeth tore through the cartilage. Dumbledore drew his wand and stunned the girl. However, as she fell from Fudges body, there was a loud wet, ripping sound, and Fudge's right ear came away with her, the organ hanging limply from her mouth. Fudge screamed in agony and glared at Dumbledore.
"What are you playing at Dumbledore?!" he shrieked.
"I assure you, Poppy can fix that, I wanted to give her a chance, before resorting to such drastic measures." he explained calmly.
"A chance." Fudge scoffed. "She's blown that. I'll have her sent through the veil for this. You mark my words. Hermione Granger, or whatever's left of her, is going through the veil. Tonight!"
"The veil?! Albus? She's a kid." said McGonagall. The room was silent, until Snape finally broke the silence.
"Given her current state, perhaps it may be for the best."
"Severus?" McGonagall stared at the man in shock. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that it may be for the best if Miss Granger were to go through the veil. The girl you once knew is gone, Dementor blood has no counter agent. Her mind is gone. It may… End her suffering."
"We don't even know if the veil will kill her!" McGonagall snapped. "Even if it does, we don't know if it's painless or not."
"We don't know if any death's are painless." said Selene pointedly. The rest of the room turned to look at her. "Sorry, time and place."
