A/N um...yeah. sorry its been forevers. Ive just been totally buys lately. And i've sort of been obsessed with the HP next generationlately and I've written a couple of fics for that. But i don't own anything.
"This is getting ridiculous!" Draco exclaimed.
"Something is bound to work eventually!" Hermione said.
"Nothing has worked! No spell, potion or charm has changed me in any way! This is hopeless!" Draco cried.
"Well, maybe if you told me everything you know about the curse, but you won't! So how can I help you when I don't know all the details?" Hermione said just as loudly. "All anybody ever tells me is that some strange witch cursed you! I know there must be more to it!"
He froze for a second. "Okay." He said slowly. "I'll tell you everything."
She nodded and sat back down in her chair quietly.
"It was my twentieth birthday and Blaise threw me a surprise party and I hate surprises so I left in a terrible temper. This little old witch was trying to beg some money off of me, and I kept refusing her. Finally, she cursed me to be as 'hideously ugly outside as I am on the inside'." Draco said bitterly.
Hermione thought for a second. "Did she say a strange incantation of do anything differently?"
Draco frowned, "She transformed from the hag to the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Like honestly, she was like, other-worldly beautiful. Angelic looking, even. She-"
"I get it. She was pretty." Hermione said angrily.
Draco rolled his eyes. "And she performed the curse on me without using a wand. She waved her arms around and it made me feel like I was on fire and getting torn to pieces at the same time. I swear, it was more painful than the Curicatus Curse. And then she just... disappeared. She just faded away slowly. It wasn't like she Disapparated. It was all so strange." He finished quietly.
Hermione frowned, deep in thought.
"Is that it? Is there anything else?" She asked.
Draco looked down for a second before slowly saying, "No. That's it."
Hermione didn't leave the library for the rest of the day. She didn't eat and fell asleep at the desk. This pattern continued for another week before she found something.
The book was decrepit and ancient and shoved behind the bookshelf at the far end of the library. Hermione found it completely by chance. A quill she was holding rolled away from her under the bookshelf. As she was reaching for the quill, she found the book. Its cover was bone white with a vivid black title. Vetus Veneficus. Hermione knew from her studies that it meant 'Old Magic' in Latin. Curiously, she opened it. Gently she flipped through each disintegrating page. The entire book was in Latin, but she knew enough Latin, thanks to her training at St. Mungo's, that she could easily understand it. One chapter caught her eye. Roughly translated it said The Most Magical and Dangerous Ange de la Terre.
Earth Angel...
Eagerly, she read the rest of the chapter. She had never heard of an Ange de la Terre before. As she read further, she recognized several of things Draco had told her about his mysterious curser.
"Morning, Hermione." He said easily as he walked into the room yawning. They had gotten into the strange habit of calling each other by their first names.
"Draco! Come look at this!" She cried. Sensing the urgency in her voice, he hurried over to her.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I think I know who cursed you! It as an Ange de la Terre!" She exclaimed.
"A what?" he said with a smirk.
"An Ange de la Terre is the offspring of a wizard and an angel!" She said.
He had a stunned expression on his face, "What do you mean?"
"Way, way back in time, angels would come down from Heaven and... be with wizards or witches. Their children are half angels, half magical humans. They were first discovered by a French wizard name Gérard Chevalier. Ange de la Terre is French for 'earth angel'." Hermione said, still clutching the book.
"Whoa." Draco said, shocked. "Tell me more."
"Ange de la Terres don't mix in with society of any kind. They can't be in Heaven because they have too much mortal blood and they shy away from mortals. Most wizards don't even know they exist. But back then, Ange de la Terre's would appear to mortals more often and mortals would ask them for help. And sometimes, the Ange de la Terre's would help. They never die and they can't reproduce. They stop aging when they are grown but not old yet. They have young, beautiful faces forever. There are around fifty Ange de la Terres in existence. Or at least, no more have been seen by wizards." Hermione said, reading from the ancient tomb.
"That's so odd!" Draco said. "How come one decided to speak with me then?"
"Well apparently, they feel they are obsessed with protecting the Human race. They can also see into the future, and know the outcome of certain events. They also can be invisible at will. And their magic is much different from Humans. They don't need a wand to channel their magic. Like wizard children, it just explodes out of them. But they have total control of it. Sometimes, they reveal themselves to Humans. They don't try to change big events, but sometimes they help certain people if they can sense good in them. That's how people think everyone has a Guardian Angel. It's the Ange de la Terre. They are also obsessed with people who are alone or rejected by society. They can relate to them. They also deal a lot in matters of the heart. But when they help people, there's always a trick. There's always consequences. They help people but you have to pay the price. Before you, an Ange de la Terre hasn't been seen for four hundred years!" Hermione said.
"That's a lot to take in." Draco murmured. "But if they hide away so much, how does that book have so much on them?"
Hermione smiled sadly, "That's the sad part. Apparently, four hundred years ago, an Ange de la Terre revealed herself to a mortal man since he was shunned from society because he was always trying to prove new spells or potions that didn't work. People thought he was crazy. She fell in love with him and told him all her secrets. Desperate to prove himself a great sorcerer, he published her secrets in a book," She held up the ancient book she was holding and continued, "and she was so angry, she convinced all of the Ange de la Terre's never to speak with another human again. They left the mortals to solve their own problems and eventually, wizarding society forgot about them."
Draco was silent for a minute. "But why did she talk to me? They should've been with Potter and not me. He's a good person and I'm not."
"But I think that's the point. They help people who are shunned from others and have good hidden deep within. They draw that goodness out. And since Harry was always good, they never came to him." Hermione said.
"That's fascinating." Draco whispered, "Do you mind if I borrow that book?"
"Of course. It's your family's library after all. I have to get back to searching for a cure. I've been neglecting it in favour of finding out who your curser was all week." Hermione said and stood up.
She went back over to the desk in the corner of the library that was covered in books about curses. Now that she knew about the Ange de la Terre, it inspired her even more to find the cure. She worked day and night, hardly ever stopping. She barely ate once a day and slept for about four hours every night. It was around ten o'clock at night and she was listening to her iPod when Draco interrupted her.
"What's that?" He asked, pointing to her iPod.
"It's a device to hold music. You can keep hundreds of songs in one of these." Hermione said, explaining it to him.
"That's ingenious, it really is." Draco said and put the earbuds in his ears and played it. He looked so unusual wearing the muggle iPod that Hermione laughed out loud.
"What's so funny, Granger?" He asked, mildly offended.
"No – it's just... you look really funny wearing an iPod. Almost... cute." She said softly.
He looked too surprised to say anything back. The silence was awkward so she quickly said, "I've been brewing some Polyjuice Potion. Go get your hairbrush and take a hair from before you were changed. I think it will make you take the appearance of your old self."
Draco quickly ran upstairs and came back down with a silver comb with a few strands of pale gold hair in it. Hermione dropped a strand of hair into the bubbling, mud-like substance and it immediately turned striking silver.
"That's beautiful." She whispered. "Almost like unicorn blood."
He drank and grimaced in distaste. They both waited with bated breath, but nothing happened.
"Why isn't it working?" Hermione finally cried. "I was so sure! This isn't fair!"
She could tell Draco was disappointed. "It's alright. Maybe next time."
"No! I've been working so hard! It – it..." And before she knew it, Hermione had fainted.
She awoke hours later in her ivory and lilac covered room to see Draco's horrid face leaning over her.
"What – what happened?" She asked groggily.
"You blacked out from exhaustion. You've been working yourself too hard. You need to relax." He told her, a frown etched across his face.
She sat up against the pillows and said, "I'm fine, really."
"No you're not. Now drink this." He said and handed her a smoking blue potion. She drank it and her throbbing headache went away.
"Oh good! You're awake!" Andromeda said as she bustled into the room. "Here have some chocolate. Draco, go get her some water!"
Hermione nibbled the chocolate as Draco left the room.
"Are you sure you're okay, dear?" Andromeda said, worried.
"I'm fine." Hermione said with a slight smile.
"Draco was so worried about you." Andromeda said, smirking. "He didn't leave your bedside this whole time. And he carried you up here. You must mean a lot to him."
Hermione didn't know how to reply. She tried t ignore the butterflies in her stomach and eat her chocolate, but her mind kept coming back to a certain beast.
A/N sorry its been forever in updating. Okay a few quick things, draco didn't tell Hermione about the love part of the curse, you'll see why later. I just didn't want anyone to think i forgot about it. And im sorry if i offended anyone about the Ange de la Terre. I didn't meant to you. This fic isn't necessarily religious, the angel part just fit in. I really didn't meant to offend anyone with my angel offspring, and if i did, i really am sorry. Please, please, please review!
