Not my world. It belongs to J.k. Rowlings.
Note at the end.
0o0o0o0 Always 0o0o0o0
Chapter 8
Landing on the driveway of my parent's house I stood there a moment trying to gather my thoughts. The sun was slowly rising so the chill that had been in the air was slowly fading. I looked up at the two-story house that my grandfather had built for my grandmother. It had a history. It had been given to my father as a gift when he had married my mother all those years ago. He had written a will before the war ended stating that the house and everything thing else they owned had been left to me.
I slowly made my way to the house. A couple of feet away from the door I felt the wards I had told Draco to put up react to my presence. I felt the pull the pull as they let me in. I put my wand in my back pocket as I opened the door. Walking into the foyer I had barely taken two steps when I came face to face with Draco Malfoy. He had his wand pointed directly at my face. "What did you do to me in the third year.?" he asked as he gazed down at me.
I walked right up to him. "I punched you," I said as I walked around him and into the hallway, "Whose wand are you using?"
I heard him following me towards the stairs. "Why didn't you tell me that Severus was here? You do know he's a Death Eater right. Not a good one, he was Vol-HIS favorite follower. As well as the highest ranked Death Eater." I stopped midway up the stairs. "I know everything and more than you know, Malfoy. He isn't who you think he is. He had always been on the side of the light but stands in the shadows." I left him there and walked towards my room where I had left Snape in. I opened the door to see Narcissa Malfoy sitting in one of my grandmother's velvet chairs.
I stopped as she rose up from her perch on the seat. "Miss Granger, thank you for giving us sanctuary." I looked coldly at her. "Don't thank me yet Mrs. Malfoy. There is a reason why you are all here." Glancing over to Snape I realized that he was awake and had a bit of color to his face. He was still pale but he was naturally pale so that wasn't much of change. His eyes didn't have the glazed look in them anymore and he seemed to be breathing easier.
"Miss Granger, what happened.?" I ignored him and walked over to my closet. His voice had sounded a bit rough but otherwise seemed to sound the same. I pulled out a gray hoodie with black pants. "Granger, I have brought two others with me. Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. They didn't want any of this just like us. I only brought them since I don't know where Pansy is at." I looked over at the boy's standing behind him. One had dark skinned and handsome features. I remember seeing him around Malfoy a lot but he had never spoken to me. The other was actually near my height. He had dark black hair that curled a bit at the end and had dark green eyes. He was looking at me as if waiting for me to throw him out.
I nodded slowly, "I'll let Harry know about it so that he can tell Kingsley as well." I was about to enter my private bathroom when I heard Snape growl loudly. "Drop them, Granger." I stopped and looked at him without saying anything. "Drop them!" Everybody in the room except for myself jumped. "I can't drop them," I said without dropping his gaze. He had a frown on his face and was clenching his teeth hard enough we could hear them grind painfully together. "Drop what?" asked Draco as he walked over to Snape.
We both ignored him. "Have you told them the truth Snape?" I asked as I set my clothes on the desk which was right next to my bathroom door. He looked at Narcissa then at me again. "I have told her that I was a spy all along but not anything else." Draco gasped and moved back, "You were a spy, godfather?"
Snape nodded but kept his gaze on me. "Drop them, Granger. Now." Narcissa was also staring at me hard, "Why do you sound off, Miss Granger?" She asked. I glanced at her to Snape. "I'm occluding. I have my shields up. That is why I am not killing any of you in my grief," I looked at Snape calmly, "I have done what Dumbledore has wanted me to do." His eyes widened and before narrowing into slits. "Drop your shields! Do it before you push yourself to the point of no return!" He shouted at me.
I closed my eyes and tried doing that. I tried doing what he said but I couldn't seem to care enough. I balled my hands into a fist as I pushed again. "What did you do to push yourself so far into yourself, Granger?" asked Snape. Opening my eyes I noticed that he had gotten off the bed and was holding onto the bedpost. "I had to kill and trade a life for another. I had to save those that needed saving but I had only begun my task and I could already feel my soul tearing savagely. I didn't think it would affect me so hard.
I had to push myself with everything kill. I might not have done it directly but I made it happen. I saved Fred Weasley in exchange for his elder brother Percy. I saved Lavender Brown for Hestia Jones. I also saved Remus Lupin for Hannah Abbott. I saved his wife Nymphadora for Colin Creevey," I heard Narcissa gasp at the mention of her niece. "I knew I couldn't do any of them without some sort of consequence but I didn't think it would be like this."
Snape had gotten paler as I talked. "I did what had been asked of me. Now I don't know how to come back from it all." I said hollowly. He stared hard at me and raised his wand at my head, "Finite Maximus Leto." One moment I'm protected inside of my head when I felt something hit my shields so powerfully that I didn't get time to react in time to fight it. I felt my emotions hit me like an exploding dam. They washed over me until they engulfed me whole.
The pain of losing the one man in my life who I had always counted to be there for me. The man who I had always dreamed of walking me down the aisle. My father was gone! I screamed inside of my head as well on the outside. I fell to my knees and grabbed my hair in my fist. I pulled several chunks of hair and I screamed again. My magic was swirling out of control along with my emotions. My mother was probably dead as well. Not my mother either please I screamed helplessly. I felt somebody grab my hands I screamed again before pushing them away with my magic. I whimpered as I heard Percy screaming, Hestia's neck snapping, Hannah's shocked face as she fell off the ledge and Colin's pain filled eyes as his chest compressed inward.
"Make it stop!" I screamed again as I crawled on the floor. I didn't know where I was going but I need to get away from all the death. I dimly heard somebody say, "Dermeus." Everything went black after that.
0o0o0
I heard snoring first. Somebody was snoring really loudly.
I opened my eyes slowly, the room was barely lit but it still hurt my eyes. The lamp on my desk was on and the outline of a body was on the chair next to me. I laid there for a bit longer trying to process my thoughts. Closing my eyes, I searched my mind as everything started sinking in with startling clarity. My father was dead, it didn't hurt as much as it did before. I pushed harder when I realized that it was blocked, not confined but just blocked. I hadn't done that, somebody else must have done it so I could function without falling under the crippling pain.
I realized that I could breath easier without the pain crushing my chest. I opened my eyes again and noticed that the room didn't seem to be as dark as before. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It was barely going to be six-thirty. I sat up slowly but nothing ached so I took that as a good sign. I looked around for my wand which I found to be lying next to my pillow as well as my beaded grab. Grabbing it I flicked it towards the light switch beside my door.
As the light turned on I looked over at the figure which had been snoring earlier beside my bed. It was Blaise Zabini. He seemed to be in deep sleep so the light didn't wake him up. I moved to the side away from him and looked down in surprise. I was wearing a black nightgown. It covered me from my neck to my knees and had long sleeves on. Narcissa must have changed me into it but the nightgown screamed Snape. I headed towards my closet to grab clothes. Grabbing a baggy long sleeve shirt with black jeans as well as undergarments. I headed towards my bathroom.
Washing up quickly I changed and slipped on some sneakers before walking out. The chair where Blaise had been sleeping was vacant. The sun was barely rising so the room was brighter. I turned off the lights and headed downstairs.
I walked into the dining room. Narcissa and Malfoy were sitting down and the rest seemed to be in the kitchen. I nodded towards them and walked into the kitchen to see Snape talking to Blaise and Theo looking out the front windows. They stopped and turned to look at me. Theo froze as well and turned to slowly look at me too. I looked at each of them in return before speaking, "How long was I out?" Snape walked towards me, "Two days." he said. I nodded before moving around him and towards the opened window above the sink. Gazing out into the trees I hadn't realized that I had been rubbing my arm until I heard Snape ask, "Why do you keep rubbing your arm? I thought you only had one wound?" I looked down at my arm.
"It's an old one," I said and was about to turn back towards the window when he walked up to me and grabbed my arm. He raised the sleeve up and hissed. "Who did this?" I looked over at both Malfoy's. "Bellatrix did it when Harry, Ron and me got caught by the snatchers. It didn't look like this at first but it changed shortly after. I was going to ask about if it grew bigger."
"Grew bigger?" asked Narcissa as she moved over beside Snape and gazed down at my arm. She gasped once she looked closely at it. "It wasn't like this before! Bellatrix must have done more than just carved into your arm." I nodded, "I feel it pulsating when somebody uses Dark Magic around me. It also seems to enhance my use of hard magic."
Snape was frowning as he examined the wound. He looked tired but not deathly tired. He was moving around without difficulty and seemed to be able to talk without much effort. His neck was a little visible above his robes but nothing seemed out of place. The Phoenix Tears must have worked a lot better than any of the potions I had given him.
"I'll look more closely at it later," he said as he let go of my arm. I waved my hand, "No need. As long as it isn't killing me I'll deal with it, Snape. We need to wait for Harry to send word of what has been decided about the Malfoy's and you. I have already told Harry that I need you three specifically but I don't know exactly what the conditions will be. Right now I am more focused on finding my mother." I tried not to think about my father. It only made my head hurt since the pain would try to fight its way through the shields that have already been placed on me.
Just to be sure I need to bring up my own shields but not to the point where I couldn't bring them down. I know knew that my limit would be if my shields felt like they would break and shatter but in reality it had been my emotions themselves sever from me completely.
I was going to bring up the shields when I saw an owl land on the window ledge which held flowers. Dead flowers that is. A slice of pain ripped through me and I stiffened. My mark was surprisingly silent. It only seems to react around Dark Magic. The owl was Pig, Ron's owl. He had a large rolled up piece of parchment on its legs and it was not balancing well on the ledge. I untied the parchment. It flew away, dropping a feather on the pot of flowers outside.
Walking around the small table in the middle of the kitchen I headed out towards the living room. I sat down on the sofa facing the fireplace. Blaise and Theodore sat on one side while Narcissa and Malfoy took the couch on my right side. Snape leaned against the fireplace. I opened the parchment and noticed Harry's writing right away.
Hermine,
I hope you're safe. I wanted to speak with you directly but things have been very hectic here at The Burrow. I'm staying with them for now but I wanted to tell you that Molly wants you to come stay here. I have spoken with Kingsley and he says that the trails will be held a week from now. The Death Eaters that are already in custody will not have trails but will be sent to Azkaban awaiting the Kiss. If you can tell me where exactly you're at I could pick them up for it. I will be speaking for them as well as Snape. I know that Snape will have to pay for killing Dumbledore but if I show them the memories of what actually happened it might sway them a little. I can't forgive him for doing what he did but I can try to understand.
Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, The Malfoy family and Severus Snape will be the first few getting trails.
Just be careful Hermione. Kingsley as well as everybody else in the Order wanted them to get the Kiss. The public thinks that we have them already but only Kingsley and I know. Tonks has become the head for the Auror's for now and will be letting me know the time and place for the trails. Don't let them out in the public and please reply back to me. Ask them for a list of all known Death Eaters as well as anybody else affiliated with them.
Love,
Harry
I reread it again and looked up at Snape. He was looked intently at me. I got up and handed him the note. "Trails will be a week from now. I will owl Harry the location we're at and he will be taking you." Draco was sharing a look with his mother and Blaise was looking down at his hands. Nott was staring at the ceiling and twisting his hands together. "What exactly will you be doing, Granger?" asked Snape as he finished reading the note.
Grabbing a couple of parchment pieces I handed them to him, "I will be hunting for my mother and those that murdered my father." I said without batting an eyelash as everybody turned to look at me. "That is why you are here. I need resources and information. I have a week to complete this. I know the chances of my mother being alive is slim but I will find her." I said with cold intent.
I had to. She was the only family I had left. If she is really dead…
0o0o0o0 Always 0o0o0o0
Sorry for the totally late update. I had somebody dear to me pass away and I almost stopped writing this because of it. I am sorry for that. But I can't stop writing it.
Again sorry for the delay and hopefully you're still around to read this till the end.
~Nessa
