Chapter 10
Hermione's Curiosity
Hermione sat alone on her bed in the 3rd year girls dormitories. It was Sunday night and they had a test tomorrow in Transfiguration, even Ron had gone to the library with the others. Transfiguration was Hermione's best subject and she had already spent the entire week buried in her books. For the first time in a long time, she just wanted to sit and think, not read, not write, not study, just think. So much had happened in the last two weeks that she was overloaded with thoughts running through her mind.
She was mad at herself for not figuring out that Sage was Snape's nephew. It was so blatantly clear to her now that she did not understand how she could have missed it. She was certain she would not have missed it if Sage only had long hair, but hindsight is always clearer.
They look a lot alike, I'm so stupid for not noticing. They have such similar features other than their eyes. Even their mannerisms are similar, but I suppose that could be learned so maybe I'm not that slow. It just seems so obvious now.
As she continued to shake her head at her lack of perception, she thought she heard something coming from downstairs. She brushed it off and went back to her thoughts. She was even more aggravated with herself for not figuring out that Sage's special gifts that all the professors kept referring to were those gifts of the true magi. Not just a wizard or a witch, but powers of a true magi. She marvelled. It was so interesting and lucky that she would have the experience of going to school with one, she could learn a lot from him. A true magi was like a wizard with limitless powers, although few true magi ever got to that point, but it was at least possible for them.
Everything must seem so simple to him, he must have been doing all of this for ages. And with Professor Snape as his uncle and his teacher, he had to have been driven in his studies. Gods, he's probably one of the smartest people here and no one even looks twice at him, talks to him. All the boys are concerned about is what cool things he can do, but think of all the practical things he must know, all of the magic. One day he could be as great as Merlin! That's just so incomparable.
She kept thinking about the wonder of being a hand wizard, but she did not think of any of the drawbacks. Any of the pain that goes along with being the only one of your kind, of not being able to find answers to simple questions about your existence, about being tortured through visions, or pained with death all around you. Hermione did not think about the heightened senses that came with being a true magi, and in a world full of a lot of pain, heightened senses were a curse. She really did not know anything about him, anything at all, and she certainly did not understand him, but she wanted to.
The days of darkness were marked by torment for all those who went against the Nag, the order of supporters of the Pharaoh and God, Ra. His symbol was a great red eye, the all seeing eye, because there was nothing that could escape Ra. The icon of the all seeing eye would cause all present to fall to their knees with their faces to the sand. Even the eye caused the fear of death in the people. All had the greatest fear of the Dark One. Some of those who had seen him never spoke again, but were lost into the throws of madness.
His evil was unmatchable, his thirst for power, like a thirst for water in the midst of the desert. Ra cast curses upon families that would cause the worst imaginable sicknesses and torment. Boils that would itch so badly that the person would claw them off their body until they eventually bled to death from the gaping holes in their skin. People were flayed alive or their skin burned off. Through this Ra would sit and watch, his face motionless, his eyes piercing.
Beside him always was the one that the Nag were named after, the man who was called by no other name but Nag, Egyptian for "the snake". He too was as frightening to the people as Ra. His face ghostly white, unhuman looking, his hair as black as his empty eyes, his ornamentation a large black cobra's head that spanned from his shoulders and ended with the fangs of the snake just over his forehead. Nag himself was said to have fangs. He had grown up with the pharaoh and had learned of his powers. Nag always knew that one day he would be beside Ra and would exploit those powers to their gain. Nag was the only man that Ra would speak to, but it was said that Ra's voice was such a torment itself that it sounded like an unhuman rasp that could pierce the eardrums.
Nag had gained supporters for Ra early in their youth, Ra named them The Order of the Nag, or The Nag as was common. The Nag were all dark wizards who bore the mark of the all seeing eye on their left bicep. They held meetings amongst fire and asps in the catacombs, where Nag would tell them the word of Ra. The Nag would bring their leader and connection to the God Ra a sacrifice, a woman. Nobody spoke of how the sacrifice was performed or of how Nag killed her, but the Order never dared to defy him or their God and Pharaoh Amun Ra. They would then go forth and bring down Ra's wrath on all those unworthy. They conquered all of Egypt and enslaved millions of people. Enslaved those who were considered beneath them, people who were not capable of any wizardry.
Few wizards dared to defy Ra, because the penalty was swift and fast and horrid. Too horrid even to mention. Those who did defy Ra were driven underground into tombs and forgotten temples. There they sat and waited, trying to figure out how to kill the true magi, how to kill the supreme hand wizard Amun Ra, and how to bring back the light. As the followers of Ra worshipped the snake, the followers of the light worshipped the pheonix. The pheonix was the only means they had to sustain life, so many of them had been cursed by Ra. The tears had saved many of them. The Order of the Pheonix, as they were called, had little hope of defeating Ra as the powers of a true magi were far beyond those of any mere wizard. They could not hope for another true magi to be born because there had never been two at one time and there had only been one before Ra. All the Order of the Pheonix had was one man, the wise man and great wizard called Fawkes.
Sage sat down the scroll and sat back in his chair. Shock and confusion might have been appropriate to describe what he was feeling, but he was really passed that. If anything, he was even more confused with what any of the stuff in the leather case meant. There was one connection that he was beginning to make… the was something similar about the Death Eaters and the Nag, the worship of snakes, the obedience to their dark lord, the mark of the all seeing eye and the Dark Mark. After reading about Ra, Sage was at least glad that he was the Magi and not Voldemort. Voldemort no longer seemed as scary or as evil after reading about Ra. Afterall, Voldemort had only been around for fifty years, Ra had reigned torment for a thousand years. He also had a new found appreciation for all the rules he was forced to live by, it was now clear why his uncle was so protective of him; it was clear why Voldemort would love to have a pet Magi.
The one thing Sage missed out of his reading of the scroll was why many people were afraid of the Magi, why the Minister of Magic had been so careful about what to do with him. In the span of history, only one true magi ever went to the dark, thousands of years prior, only one, Amun Ra. He had inspired so much fear that he was treated as a God and called a God. The fact that only one had ever gone bad is what saved Sage from an immediate death, the fact that Merlin was a true magi and was the beacon of wizardry was the reason that gave people hope about what he was capable of. But being only fourteen, he almost completely missed the big picture.
The sullen, pessimistic feeling that came over him was too much to ignore. He had to stop reading, he was getting the sick feeling that he generally got before one of his visions. He suddenly had an epiphany, he didn't just feel sick before and after he had his visions, he felt sick before anything bad happened, when he was around anyone evil (like Lucius Malfoy), or when he was contemplating horrible things. It was like his body had an aversion to evil and was extra-sensitive to suffering and pain. Growing inside of him was an aggravation that he had to feel these things, that he had to feel so much pain, that he had to have headaches and feel sick. He realized that his uncle was right, it was never over, he was never fine, and it made him feel even more alone.
Hermione jumped out of her thoughts when she heard the sound coming from downstairs again. It was vaguely familiar, but very strange to be coming from within Hogwarts. She opened the door to the girl's dorms and ventured out with jeans and a sweater on. She followed the sound downstairs and then to the other side of the Gryffindor dorms, to the boy's side. It became clearer and stronger.
"It seems like every day's the same
And I'm left to discover on my own
It seems like everything is gray
And there's no color to behold
They say it's over and I'm fine again…"
Someone was singing. Besides that, and the thing that was so hard for her to believe, someone was playing a muggle guitar. Playing a muggle guitar and singing in Hogwarts, it suddenly reminded her of being home and listening to the radio. To the strong strumming and angsty songs on the popular radio station. She walked closer to the music, passed Percy's room, and she stopped dead in her tracks. It couldn't be. Could it? She continued to listen to his voice coming through his closed door.
"…Try to stay sober feels like I'm dying here
And I am aware now of how
Everything's gonna be fine
one day Too late, I'm in hell
I am prepared now
Since everyone's gonna be fine
One day too late, just as well."
With a jolt the music stopped. Hermione stood outside of the door, waiting to see whether it would continue or not. The door flew open.
"What do you think you are doing?" scowled one angry Sage Snape.
"I, I just heard you playing from upstairs. I'm sorry, I just, well, love muggle music and I never get to hear it here and I just wanted to know who was playing it. I, erm, feel so stupid for invading your privacy like that."
"Invading my privacy indeed!"
"I'm sorry, Sage"
"You should be sorry!" he exclaimed before muttering to himself, "If I would have known that anyone was here, I would have put sound charms around my damn room. Gods, just great, just great."
"I just, well, you play really wonderfully."
He just answered with a grunt still apparently aggravated with her intrusion.
"It was really rude of me."
"I should think so!" He must have said it just a little too loudly and a little too abruptly because Hermione jumped about a foot in the air. Sage shook his head slightly. She looked like she was about ready to cry. He didn't want to be a git. He hadn't quite perfected the art of being mean like his uncle had, but then again Snape had a very good reason to act that way. She must have seen his facial expression soften because she ventured to say more.
"You should play more often and let people hear you. You're really talented."
"What!" He said exasperated. "Nobody has ever heard me play before. Why would I want them too?"
"Not even your uncle?"
Sage's eyes opened wide and he blinked in surprise. "My uncle, Gods no, the second I got the thing, he was busying me with a lecture about how he did not comprehend why I would spend my time in such trite, muggle endeavors that were quite beneath me. Then, he taught me a soundproofing spell so that he wouldn't have to hear it. The word 'guitar' has become quite blasphemous in the household."
Hermione smiled and took a step forward. Sage crossed his arms as if discouraging her from coming any closer. He stood up a little taller and stared down at her blue eyes blazing.
"I bet if he heard you, he'd like it."
Sage let his arms drop down and then waved them around as he said, "My uncle? Are you talking about my uncle, Professor Severus Snape or are you confused? It sure sounds like it. He hates anything muggle. He surely wouldn't like it and has completely no interest in it."
"Well I like to hear you play."
Sage took a step forward. "And why would I care if you like to hear me play? Especially when I don't want anyone to hear it and you go sneaking around outside of my door."
"What is the matter with you?"
He crossed his arms across his chest again and growled, "What? Am I supposed to like girls sneaking around me asking me a thousand and one annoying questions and invading my privacy?"
Hermione's mouth dropped open and any trace of the smile that was once on her face was now gone. "You can be such a git, for being such a high and mighty mannered pureblood. You are an prat most of the time. Don't you want any friends or do you just want to push everyone away?"
Sage stepped forward and stood a few inches in front of her, trying to dominate the situation with his looming height over her. She didn't move back.
"If I'm such a git why are you talking to me then, why are you standing outside of my room?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"Because Sage Snape, I was giving you a chance. I thought, maybe, just maybe you were different than what you let on. That it was just all you've been through that made you that way and that you'd warm up. I tried to be your friend before we all knew about your powers, I respected you because you work hard and have more of a brain than most people here ever will. I didn't care that you are Professor Snape's nephew. I did not judge you like everyone else. I tried to be nice and help you. What do I get in return? You ignore me, stare at me, push me away, and you're almost nastier than Malfoy. Or maybe that runs in the family too. Apparently I was wrong to think you were any different, maybe you do belong in Slytherin."
He stared down at her like a statue, she stared back with as much acid in her look as she could manage. He was so close she could feel his hot and angry breaths. She kept looking up into his stare, he was a lot taller than Ron and Harry, but she was not that intimidated. A few moments later she blinked and looked away. Staring was hard work. When she looked back up, his eyes were less mean, and his mouth less pursed.
"I'm not going to apologize for being angry about my privacy being invaded."
She looked up defiantly. "Well then, what are you going to do?"
She had gotten to him finally - his weak spot, being associated with his rude, ignorant, arrogant cousin, Draco Malfoy.
"I said it because I am angry, that's all. We are all given to exaggeration when we are angry." He leaned against the wall
Hermione also leaned against the wall. "Does that mean that you don't want me to be mad at you?"
"Yes, I suppose."
"You suppose? Well, I suppose that you will not be mad at me as well then?"
"I suppose not."
Hermione stood back up, with Sage leaning if she stood up she was face to face with him. His glare had completely softened, it wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't mean. The slight flush had faded from his cheeks.
He sighed uncomfortably, he wasn't enjoying this. For some reason, she had really made him feel completely horrible. He felt so vulnerable and normally the only person he ever felt vulnerable around was his uncle.
"Now, does this mean that you do want to be my friend?" She said this fighting the smile from off of her face. She was winning.
"I guess so." He said apathetically.
Hermione put her right hand on her hip. "You guess? That doesn't sound so convincing to me. You are going to have to do better than that after your lovely displays of sarcasm and bitterness the last few weeks."
It was his turn to stand up. He folded his arms again. She giggled inside because it was so like Professor Snape. It was his power position, the standing up with his arms crossed. She found it both cute and endearing.
"Errr, fine." He moved away from the door and put his arm out towards it as if motioning her inside. She stood there frozen with shock. She definitely hadn't expected this, especially since he had been so mad over her listening in the first place.
"Well, do you want to listen or not?"
She walked into his room without answering.