A/N: Sorry for the entended wait for this chapter compared to the previous ones. This chapter was rediculously hard to write for me, oddly enough, and I'm still not even remotely satisfied with it.
Chapter 9
The Rising
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"We've been on this boat for two weeks… Are we nearly there?"
"We're looking for a magical, submerged, ancient island, Phoebe." Hermione muttered, looking up at Phoebe. "It's not an exact science…. However, yes, I do believe we are close." Phoebe sighed and leaned against the ship's wooden railing.
"How are we supposed to get to it if it's underwater?" Phoebe inquired, wondering for the first time why she had never thought to ask this before.
"You let me worry about that." Hermione answered, not looking up from her maps, charts, and books this time. "It shouldn't be too hard to… wait… Harry, stop!" Harry, standing beside the ship's wheel a deck above her, tapped the ship with his wand and it immediately halted. The others, who had been gathered below decks, emerged upon feeling the ship stop.
"Why did we stop?" Ginny asked. Hermione pointed out over the sea. "That's why." Barely a hundred feet away, the water had begun to churn.
A single tower burst forth from the water, followed by a series of other, much shorter structures. Then a mountain was revealed, upon which the buildings sat. Trees, hills, other buildings, people… an entire island had risen from beneath the waves.
"Is… is that…?" Paige began, sounding awestruck.
"Atlantis, yes." said Hermione.
"But how did it surface?" Harry asked. "You said it couldn't reemerge unless the heir of the goddess was brought here." Hermione smiled.
"Yes, I did said that… and we do, in fact, have the goddess's heir here with us. Please, all of you, sit down and make yourselves comfortable… I'm going to tell you everything."
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Once everyone had gathered below decks in the small living area, Hermione stood before them, working up the courage to begin speaking.
"You remember, Harry, when the Source started the Second War and my father came to the manor… we called Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. Piper told you that she saw something…"
"In your eyes… yeah, I know… and we've been over this. Unless you are ready to tell us…"
"I'm ready to tell you because I don't have a choice. We've reached a point that we cannot go back from. What Piper saw… was this. This day. A day that I have known since the age of eleven would come." Hermione paused, took a deep breath, and said, "I am the heir to the Goddess… Aurora." Several moments passed before Harry spoke.
"Why wouldn't you want to tell us this?" he asked. "What's so bad about it?"
"The punishment." Phoebe said, staring at Hermione, her eyes full of tears. "That's it, isn't it?" Slowly, Hermione nodded.
"Don't you all remember?" Phoebe asked. "In that book Ancient Island Nations… it told of a terrible punishment for the one who could restore Atlantis. It said the heir of the Goddess of the Sea must give up everything she cares about… her family, her friends, her home… her life…. If she wishes to claim the power of a god and gain control of Atlantis. This is what you've been hiding from us, isn't it? You're leaving us." Hermione sighed.
"I may have to." Harry stood to his feet.
"No." he said sternly. "Hermione, you can't just drop this bombshell on us and then leave. What about our girls? They need a mother."
"I didn't say I was staying… I said I may have to. Listen, Dumbledore's gaining power rapidly. Terellia contains a great power… it could be enough to stop him. If it is, then… I don't have choice… none of us do."
"Hermione…" Harry began.
"Dumbledore has to be stopped, Harry!" Hermione shouted, fury in every syllable. "He has to be stopped." she said again, her voice now barely a whisper. "I won't allow my children to grow up in a world like the one we grew up in, Harry. We fought a war when we were just kids. Our girls aren't going to have to do that… no matter the cost. It's bad enough Danielle and Miley have had to go through what they've gone through."
"But Hermione, I…" Hermione raised her hand, looking murderous. Phoebe ran to her side and held her back.
"Do. Not. Test. Me." Hermione said, her voice cold and dripping with anger.
"Hermione, you don't want to blow him up." Phoebe whispered in her friend's ear. As Phoebe's lips brushed against Hermione's ear, the younger woman lowered her hand and looked up at Harry sadly.
"I'm sorry." She said guiltily. "This place… being here… I think it's doing something to me."
"It's okay." Harry said, although his expression clearly said that none of this was okay.
"Maybe we should go ashore." said Paige. "I mean, these people must know how their island was raised… that you've come back, Hermione. Maybe we should go speak with them." Hermione nodded. As Harry moved away to help the others gather what they thought they might need on the trip inland, Hermione turned to Phoebe.
"Thank you." she said softly.
"For what?" Phoebe asked.
"For whatever you did that kept me from blowing him up."
"I didn't exactly do anything." Phoebe said, turning to gaze out of the newly surfaced island.
"Yeah," Hermione muttered, running her index finger around the rim of her ear. "I suppose you didn't."
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The trip inland took nearly two hours. They traveled through thick foliage and knotted vines. At long last, they reached a tall iron gate, flanked by a pair of pillars topped with clay mermen, holding spears with glowing tips. They approached the sealed gate cautiously… those mermen looked oddly alive.
"This is the Outer Gate." Hermione told them, consulting one of the books she had brought with them.
"How do we open it?" Harry asked, his voice distant. He and Hermione had spoken only twice since they had left the ship. One of those times had been when Hermione had asked Harry for the book she now held. Harry had shoved it roughly into her arms without looking at her. Hermione knew he was furious with her, and she had to fight back tears whenever she looked at him. Harry had never once acted like this with her before and he either didn't know what his actions were doing to her… or simply didn't care. Either way, once she got him alone she was determined to make very certain he understood exactly how she felt.
"It should open for us if I…" She stretched out her hand and gave a gentle waving motion. The gate instantly swung open. A brilliant flash of white light illuminated the area before them, and a tall, dark skinned man appeared. He had large eyes and thinning, gray hair. He wore a black tunic and matching robe. He locked eyes with Hermione and bowed.
"My lady, I am pleased that you have returned." he said, maintaining his bow. "You have been gravely missed. My heart is happy that you are with us again. My name is Jerrod. Please, follow me." Phoebe caught Hermione's eye, who shrugged uncertainly and began walking after Jerrod, who had turned and was now hurrying away into the trees. The others fell into step behind him. They walked for nearly fifteen minutes before they came across another gate. This one, however, was nothing like the first one. This one was at least ten feet tall and made entirely out of glistening jewels. A green-hued wall extended to the left and the right. Beyond the gate, a sprawling plaza was visible. People walked this way and that, going about their daily business. A pair of armored guards flanked the gate. Jerrod nodded to one of them and he quickly opened the gate. Both guards gazed at Hermione as she passed, their stances at full attention. Jerrod led the group through the plaza, down a wide, cobblestone street, and to the base of a staircase that led up to a massive, domed palace.
"Welcome, my lady," Jerrod said, holding his arms open wide. "to the proud city of Terellia!"
