AN: And here is the Sunday update of my story, for you my wonderful followers. I would like to thank you all for the motivation. This is so far the longest story I have ever written on my own, and it's only about half way through of so! Thank you so much for the encouragement of reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Much love,
Raven
Hermione groaned softly as she woke up, her hand instinctively touching her head in an attempt to alleviate the pain. "Fuck that hurts..." she gasped, earning herself a highly amused chuckled.
"Now now, there is no need for such language." a deep voice sounded from beside her and she blinked her eyes open, looking up at Severus who sat by her side.
"Trust you to make fun of me when it feels worse than a migraine..urgh.." she attempted to sit up but a firm yet gentle hand pressed her back into the bed.
"My amusement does not stem from your concussion, merely from such language coming from your lips. I admit I have not heard you curse in all the years I have known you." he said with a smirk, helping her take a sip from the glass of water.
It tasted fairly disgusting and she grimaced, recognising the taste of the calming draught. "Don't get used to it as I rarely get attacked or thrown around." she drawled sarcastically, hoping a bit of humour would help with the pain. Nope, it still hurt like son of a-
Severus snorted, disrupting her thoughts. "Melodramatic Gryffindors. Always rushing in, disregarding personal safety." he said and helped her get seated.
The sun was just about to peek over the horizon, colouring the little light that came through the large windows in all shades of pink and orange. "I actually had a medical shield around me. Of course I didn't count on the fact Harry would-" then realisation of why she was hurt in the first place hit her. "Oh God, is Harry alright?" she asked, sitting up a bit straighter and immediately regretting the movement with a groan.
Severus allowed himself to roll his eyes to the heavens in exasperation and pressed her back a bit lower into the pillows. "He is well and resting under Lucius' care. The magical surges stopped an hour ago and he is stabilised. It will take a few more hours for him to regain consciousness, but his body is adapting well considering all factors." he informed the brunette.
Hermione raised an inquisitive brow. "All factors?"
Severus seemed to sober slightly. "According to the newest diagnostic spells, his magic has been bound for the past 6 years."
"WHAT?" Hermione nearly jumped in her seat with shock. "Are you saying someone was using a spell or an object to keep his magical core from developing?" she asked, completely infuriated at the implications.
Severus nodded. "It appears to have been an object, rather than a spell. We suspect some sort of a siphoning device. His magic was not merely suppressed from developing, but bound and channeled. Either into the object or another person. That way Harry's magical core did not object as it still expanded, but all above minimum magical powers have been received by someone else." he explained.
Hermione remained silent a moment, her mind processing the information with the speed of light. "I could accept Dumbledore stealing from Harry, and keeping him clueless all these years to his heritage and powers, but stealing his magic and claiming it as his own?" she asked softly, still in shock.
Severus nodded. "Your brother is admittedly a powerful young wizard. If he had managed to survive attacks from the Dark Lord almost each year with only the minimum of his magical powers, I am not surprised Dumbledore attempted such a thing. It could have been none other, that is indisputable. If we present a proof of such manipulation in court, he would receive the Kiss. Siphoning devices used on a wizard's magic without his knowledge or consent are highly illegal."
Hermione contemplated the new information a moment before looking back up at the dark man who was observing her silently. "Then that is what we will do. Voldemort first, then we proceed legally against Dumbledore. At this point, I don't care if her gets a life sentence or the Kiss. What he did to my brother is inexcusable and deserves punishment." she said firmly. All her closest may know her as a humanist but this was a war, and Dumbledore had gone too far. Channeling Harry's magic could have killed her brother, and that she would not forgive.
Severus nodded. "Let us focus on more important matters at hand. May I?" he asked permission as he raised his hand towards her head, wishing to look for any further damage.
Hermione nodded and regretted the action immediately with a soft groan of pain, making the man chuckle at her antics. His long fingers were surprisingly warm as he gently turned her head from side to side, and slid into her hair across the back of her head to feel the scalp. She winced slightly when he got to the place where her head made contact with the wall but remained silent, letting the man observe her.
She only just noticed he was not wearing the customary black robe he came to dinner with, after a few hours in the lab where he needed the padded protection. His regular clothing was still black and elegant, but simple in its nature, consisting of well tailored trousers and a shirt. He had rolled up his sleeves, most likely to not get blood on them as she noticed a bowl with healing potions and cloth soaked with her life force. "Do I have a gash?" she asked.
Severus nodded. "I have stopped the bleeding and the potions closed it. You gave us quite the scare for a moment." he said teasingly, but noticed he slight embarrassed blush. "It is covered by hair and should not scar, if that is your concern." he said and nodded, finishing with the examination before washing his hands at her bedside.
Hermione shrugged. "I've lost count of scars after the 5th year. It doesn't bother me anymore." she said honestly, her hand caressing the one on her forearm, caused by the shattered glass at the Ministry.
"It is true I have never considered you vain in nature, unlike some of your peers." Severus offered, surprising her with the observation.
"Well I could hardly care about make up and short skirts back then, with Umbridge breathing down our necks and Voldemort back at large. Times change however, and this summer was a good example. It did Harry and I a world of good to take a week's holiday, to sleep, read in a moment of quiet and indulge a little." she returned honestly. "I'm sure you could use a holiday yourself." she smiled.
Severus snorted. "I wish that was possible."
"Is it not?" Hermione asked. "Harry will need a few days to recover, Lucius will be dealing with Draco, and you have no master calling you. Perhaps you could enjoy some time to rest yourself." she suggested and pushed the duvet down, slowly standing up from the bed. She was a little unsteady and accepted the helping hand to get her legs working again.
Once Severus was satisfied with her balance, he gathered the potions and bowl to leave. "I shall give you privacy to change and see your brother if you wish. Send your Patronus if you are in need of my assistance." he offered and walked to the door.
"Thank you, Severus." she smiled. "What about my proposal for a holiday?" she asked.
Severus opened the door and turned to look back at her with an amused smirk. "I might consider it." were his parting words, accompanied by the sound of Hermione's soft laughter as he closed the door.
In the room beside her own, Harry was waking up slowly, instantly aware of the pain that vibrated in every cell of his body. He tried to grit his teeth and work through the pain, but even that proved to hurt too much and a soft pained whimper escaped his lips. He felt a warm hand gently pulling at his chin and almost choked the next instant when a liquid was slowly poured into his mouth. But by then the hand had moved to his throat, massaging it skillfully and helping him swallow.
It took a moment, but the relief came and Harry sighed softly in appreciation as the pain left him only feeling tired. His eyes were resisting but he managed to slowly blink them open and focused on the figure sitting by his side on the bed..his bed, here in the Manor. And he looked up at the blond, astonished that it was not Hermione taking care of him for a change but Lord Malfoy himself.
"Lucius..." he tried, but his throat was yet too tender after the strain of pained screams of last night.
The man hushed him and lifted his head to help him take a sip from the glass of water already prepared for Harry's waking. "Try not to talk, it will take a moment for your vocal cords to recover." he instructed in gentle tones as he got Harry comfortable once more.
He ran a few diagnostic spells over the young man's form and nodded, before pressing the back of his warm palm against Harry's cheek and forehead. "You do not appear to have a rise in temperature and your body will take a couple of days to heal but otherwise you are well." he said, smiling a little at the young man.
Harry blinked a few times, still a little unfocused before nodding at his words. He raised a questioning brow, hoping Lucius would understand his request for an explanation to the pain without having to attempt speaking.
Lucius did not disappoint and nodded. "You have exhausted your magical core getting rid of our marks, which caused you to come into your magical inheritance a little early. It was quite the sight as you received the power for over two hours. Hermione tried to help you, but your magic was too strong and rejected her presence." he noticed the instantly panicked look in Harry's eyes soothed him with his next words. "She is unharmed, Severus saw to that. And I am guessing she will be visiting you soon. For now, I will not give any more details. You need to heal, and the rest can wait. If you would allow, I will leave a dreamless potion at your bedside, which your sister can administer after her visit. It should give you 12 hours of uninterrupted rest."
Harry relaxed back into his pillow and closed his eyes a moment, relief flooding his veins at hearing no one was harmed. He was not quite sure what it meant to come into his magical inheritance, but maybe he could ask all of this later. For now, he opened his eyes again and nodded, letting Lucius know he welcomed the opportunity at uninterrupted sleep. Merlin knew he had had very little of it for in the past few years, and refused the dreamless sleep potion due to its addictive nature.
Just then Hermione knocked and came in with a smile, seeing her brother up. "May I come in?" she asked.
Lucius stood from his position and cleaned up everything but the vial on the nightstand for her. "I
shall leave you to your visit." he said and turned to leave.
"Thank you." Harry said quietly, trying not to strain his voice, but saw the man pause and turned to nod in acknowledgement before leaving them alone. Hermione crawled into the bed beside him and Harry smiled, lifting the duvet to let her share his warm cocoon. She looked tired and had a small bruise on her temple. "I'm sorry.." he spoke softly again.
Hermione got comfortable and shook her head. "Don't be silly, it's not your fault. I'm just glad you're okay. What is the potion Lucius left behind?" she asked.
"Dreamless.." Harry turned on his side, facing the young woman resting on the pillow beside his. "Will you stay? You look tired." he said and gulped a little as his throat begun to itch.
Hermione nodded and reached across him for the potion, helping Harry drink it and herself falling back asleep soon after, not realising how tired she actually was in the peaceful morning hours. Neither saw Lucius opening the door a little to check on them, leaving with a smile after seeing the siblings sleep.
Severus was just finishing his third cup of coffee. As neither have slept more than two hours the previous night, they knew it would be a long day and the elves kept popping into the dining room with a fresh pot of the brew every few minutes. "Are they both asleep?" he asked, not even turning to look around. He knew Lucius' quiet footsteps well after years of being friends with the man.
Lucius took the seat across from him and picked up his own mug, adding a little more milk into it. "I wish we could get our rest as well. But Draco is on his way back and we should discuss this." he said and handed the dark man the fresh copy of Daily Prophet.
Severus took his time finishing his cup before bracing himself and opening the the front page, instantly knowing this could be the work of only one person they all knew and loathed. Rita Skeeter.
THE RISE OF A NEW DARK LORD?
by Rita Skeeter
It appears that the general public of Magical Britain has lost all hope for their savior returning from his honeymoon to take his responsibilities seriously once more. Unfortunately the location of the fresh couple's love nest has not yet been discovered, by no means due to lack of resources on our part here at Daily Prophet. What however worries this reported even more is the rumours of the Harry Potter's latest political agenda.
As we have informed you in several of our previous issues, Lord Potter-Black has gained his assets before the accepted year of maturity in our lands and soon disappeared with his new bride, Lady Hermione Potter. It is however rumoured that he may be in contact with William Weasley, the eldest son from his former adoptive family. While he continues to persecute several members of the Weasley family for financial retribution that has yet to be confirmed by another party other than the Goblins at Gringotts, he appears to be forming ties with other members of said family while on vacation. This reporter has to wonder whether Lord Potter-Black is getting a taste for his power and decided to show it openly by splitting a family. Is it due to financial differences, or are political leanings on both the Weasleys' and Potter's side in question? Was that not one of tactics You-Know-Who used in the first war? Separating families and using ideological rift for his own purposes? Do we have a new Dark Lord in the making?
For now, Lord Potter-Black appears to be a silent, yet we have good cause to question his next move, both political with his newly gained titles, and the ones pertaining this war. This reporter will do her utmost in finding out the answers for you, our dear readers.
For an interview with Ronald Weasley, turn to page 2
For a brief statement from William Weasley, turn to page 4
Severus looked across the table at his friend incredulously. "Please tell me I have fallen asleep over our breakfast and am having the most bizarre of dreams." he drawled, looking over the article again before turning the page. Of course Ronald Weasley talked about the mistrust in the boy who was once his best friend again, riding out his 15 minutes of fame as long as he could, and in the process undermining Harry's reputation. When he looked at the brief statement from William, he nodded in appreciation that at least the man knew how to handle himself. He denied any claims of coercion or political planning, merely said he had visited with Harry to discuss business of financial retribution between their families. Nothing more, nothing less. He would be a great asset.
Lucius waited patiently until Severus folded the paper again and poured them each another cup of the rich brew. "She will have to be dealt with. Or we will have to suggest containing the media in a different way once Harry and Hermione are well enough." before he could however proceed with further elaboration on his plans, the flames in the fireplaces turned green and a pale Draco stepped through the floo.