Disappearance

XI. The Curse

"Grave danger?" Harry questioned. "What kind of danger?"

Hermione frowned. "Twin flames?"

Natasha looked back and forth between the two of them. The witch visibly hesitated as if she was waging a battle within herself. She sighed, crawling back unto to the bed to sit cross-legged in front of Hermione. Once again, Natasha remained silent, just staring at her and scanning over her body. Ron's groan sounded once again.

"Again with the staring," Ron muttered.

Hermione tried to remain serious, but an amused half smirk crossed her face. Ron was never one for longstanding moments of intensity and silence. She watched Natasha roll her eyes then put up her finger. Startled, she glanced to the side to see Ron, struggling within the chair. He seemed to have been voiceless shouting. The fire in the redhead's eyes intensified when Natasha flicked her finger at him and invisible ropes seemed to bind me.

"Your negativity and sarcastic remarks isn't meshing well with me," Natasha announced, casting a dark glare in Ron's direction. "How am I supposed to concentrate when your petulant squawking of criticism over my technique clouds my judgment and clarity?" She cleared her throat as she eyed the remaining unbound and unsilenced individuals. "Any objections to my methods? I think I've been quite blunt in how I deal with objections."

Hermione spotted a ghost of a smile lingering on Harry's lips as he glanced over at Ron. It was Hendrick's reaction to Natasha that Hermione found it incredibly difficult not to laugh aloud. His eyes were wide with awe, staring at the witch like Christmas coming early.

"Your methods are indeed chilling, calculating, and bold," Hendrick said in wonder. "Is it strange that I'm secretly turned on by it?"

Natasha's mouth fell open, obviously ready with a cutting response. However, Hermione was certain Natasha hadn't been prepared for those particular sentiments. Hendrick seemed to realize that there were others in the room as he surveyed the expressions in the room. His eyes lingered on Ron's incredulous facial expression.

"I can't be the only one attracted to a bloody powerful witch," he gasped defensively.

Harry chuckled. "You're not, but your timing is spot on."

"Impeccable," Hermione added.

"Disturbing even," Natasha murmured, shaking her head. "I bloody bind him to a chair and silence him. I also threatened everyone that if anyone else objected to my methods that I'd do the same to them… and you find that a turn on."

Instead of being rightfully shamed, Hendrick just smirked then. "Fierce and merciless. What is there not to like?"

Natasha frowned then and did a double take to make certain she read him correctly. She opened her mouth to respond, but she must have thought better of it. Hermione watched the witch's attention once again was on her and the task at hand.

"Do you trust everyone in this room?" she asked, looking back and forth between Hermione and Harry.

When both Hermione and Harry nodded in confirmation, the witch looked down at the chunk of black tourmaline in between herself and Hermione. With the flick of her hand, a black cloud seemed to form around the cloud until it made a rotating sphere of energy. The ball of energy rose up as Natasha opened up her arms slightly with her hands curling slightly around the ball. She murmured a chant underneath her breath then the energy pushed out like a force field, overtaking the entire room. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized she, Harry, Natasha, Ron, and Hendrick were all encased in a black force field made of crystal.

"Are we…" Hermione murmured. "Are we inside the crystal?"

Natasha smiled. "Smart witch." She nodded her head. "Yes, we are. Not many realize that gemstones and crystals make excellent tools. In the old times, ancient rituals required these tools. Look at wands, they are tools – vehicles or vessels to focus your own personal energy. It attunes to your energy. However, the wand needs to have ingredients that resonate with your own personal vibration. We all know there is no alike wand. Yes, people can use other people's wands, but there's always that offbeat feeling." She got off the bed then, raising her hands. They watched as another solid layer of black seemed to appear to crystalize over the perimeter of the room. "This is an ancient practice that seems to have been casually set aside like it was common knowledge."

Hermione looked behind her and cautiously touched the wall of the crystal. She gasped at the energy that seemed to wrap around her. Her eyes seemed to glaze over black momentarily. In her mind, she was standing inside a whirlwind of energy with shimmering strings of golden light crisscrossing everywhere. She realized that Natasha was in the middle, sitting cross-legged suspended in the air. Her eyes were closed and she was in deep concentration. There were thousands of black funnels that seem to spout out of Natasha and connect to the outside perimeter of the black crystal.

When Hermione finally took her hand off the wall, she looked over at Natasha in surprise.

"We are within your own personal energy, aren't we?" she questioned. "You're using the crystal as a vehicle or vessel to house us. It's powered by your own energy."

Natasha nodded. "Yes. This crystal has a specific purpose and its universal properties. When you use your personal energy or 'magic' to power it, you can do some amazing things."

"Like wandless magic," Harry piped up. "You can, in a sense, become a universal tool or in some cases… a weapon."

The witch smiled at that. "I hope you remember that. You'll need to remember exactly that before the war through." Harry frowned at those strange comments, but Natasha quickly shifted the conversation. "I needed a place that nobody could interfere or hear what I need to tell you. There are ears and eyes everywhere. You're never quite alone. So I made certain, they will never know what I know and what I need to tell you." She looked deep into Hermione's eyes. "I need you to be completely honest with me. I don't particularly want to use veritaserum. I don't particularly like to force your soul to divulge things it doesn't truly wish to confess. It actually damages you in the long run. However, your lines have been tampered with."

"L-Lines?" Hermione questioned nervously. "What do you mean by lines?"

"Soul lines," Natasha told her nonchalantly with a shrug. When she was met once again with obvious confusion, she raised her eyebrows. "What in the bloody hell do they teach you nowadays? Mum was quite right in homeschooling me. I used to think I missed out on a lot, but I can see now that my education was far more educational than most." She shook her head in distain and annoyance. "We all have soul lines. Our soul is comprised of soul lines. It's like an atom. Every atom has a nucleus. Our soul is all energy – hence our own 'magic'. That's why so-called muggleborns somehow are endowed with magical powers. More advanced souls are harvesting their own personal energy and are learning how to use it without tools. Innate magic has nothing to do with blood ironically. Contrary to belief, purebloods aren't more powerful because of genetics. Old Souls and transitioning souls are understanding themselves and are realizing that magic doesn't spring up from the ground. It comes within. Some are truly advanced and will use their own personal magic with their own personal bodies as their true vessel – wandless magic. Our physical bodies are matched with several universal energy points. There are way more than several chakras, but these chakras need to function properly and cohesively to be able to do wandless magic. There are times when the chakras are out of balance and there are outbursts of energy. Anyway, these energy points are known in some cultures as chakras." She took a deep breath. "These points are connected to each other within our energetic soul body. By working on our souls by balancing our points, we can fine tune ourselves into becoming the perfect vehicle of healing, but everything has a contrast. By becoming a perfect vehicle of healing, we become a perfect vehicle of destruction."

Hermione smiled at that. "I like this theory much better than the pureblood theory."

"Slytherin would be outraged," Harry chuckled, shaking his head.

"It's not a theory," Natasha chuckled. "I've already proven it. We are inside a crystal that is powered and protected by my own personal energy, are we not?"

Hermione's eyes widened at that. "Merlin."

"I hear you're living proof of this theory," Natasha said, winking at Hermione. "You're a muggleborn and you've proved to everyone that powerful magic isn't inherited physically. Magic is spiritually inherited. It is something you always have." She patted Hermione's hand. "It's known knowledge that it helps to have evolved souls as parents or guide to help you through life helps in your progression. However, magic comes within. You learn different technique to utilize it, but you are the beacon itself."

"How does this tie in with everything though?" Harry asked.

Natasha looked over at Harry. "Soul lines aren't just within a soul body. Soul lines also connect other souls together," she explained. "I mentioned everything has an opposite – a match in a sense. For souls, it is termed as many things, but the term I used is twin flames. To put it bluntly, you are the yang to her yin. She is your true mate and you are hers. You are meant to connect and you are meant to be. Pretty much, you were made for each other."

Hermione's eyes widened at that. She tensed at that. "That's not true," she whispered, shaking her head. "That can't be true."

Natasha eyed Harry, but he remained silent in obvious deep thought. "Hermione, I know this is going to be very difficult for you to understand," she said slowly as if she was considering her words carefully. "When you were younger and you met Harry, you instantly had feeling a familiarity - recognition. That's why you latched yourself to him tightly. That's why you would follow him to the ends of the earth. It was easy to turn to Ron, because he is a part of your soul family. He is a soul mate to both of you. You three are part of a bigger soul family tree." She sighed then. "The reason why the connection didn't quite cement fully in your youth was because you were headed in different directions. You had different agendas, hopes, and dreams. You still needed to grow individually. Some twin flames pass each other in the night like ships without ever knowing the truth." She stopped, glancing over at Hermione. "Sometimes, one twin knows before the other and they question intensity of their affection. They've recognized something and they suffer in silence so to speak." Hermione blushed then and she felt Harry's eyes burning into her. "However, some twin flames are fortunate to meet as well as connect. When they connect finally, there is usually a moment of clarity. They recognize what they are in each other. An intimate moment or rather act consummates the twin flame bond that is more powerful than a marriage bond. Whatever timeline their soul was following is now null and void after this. After this consummation, it is very difficult for twin flames to part without devastation, excruciating pain, misery, heartbreak, and feeling like you lost something. This consummation is a binding soul bond, which is more powerful than a blood bond or even an Unbreakable Vow."

Hermione was about to protest again, but it was Harry that spoke aloud.

"I remember the moment of clarity," he told Natasha. "Hermione was standing outside after a stupid night of drinking away my sorrows at the time. She had confessed her feelings for me and something inside of me just clicked. I can't explain it. It's like a lightbulb turning on finally in my head and body." He paused as a small half smile touched his mouth. "As for the consummation, it happened that same night. She left for almost a decade after that night. I can attest to all of the things you've mentioned that accompany with parting with a twin flame."

Hendrick cleared his throat then. "She used to call out Harry's name in her sleep. Even though she hid it, the pain and all of it was always beneath the surface-"

"Hendrick, stop."

Hermione shook her head.

"Hermione, I remember. I remember you calling out for him. I remember your nightmares, the crying, and waking up with that brokenness on your face." Hendrick sighed, looking into Hermione's eyes. "You called out his name, Sweets, not mine. Every time. It had always been his."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Hermione blurted out, attempting to divert the conversation. She didn't want to hear this. She may be feeling like herself more than ever, but she didn't believe one bit that she was Harry's twin flame. "How about we get back to the issue at hand?"

"It does tie to the issue at hand in a very big way," Natasha told her. "You can be in denial all you want what Harry and you share. However, you are only harming yourself and him by fighting it." Hermione's eyes widened as a sense of déjà vu seemed to rush through her as flash of Lily begging her not to fight it. She remembered regret and guilt that shined in Lily's eyes as she regarded James at the mention of only harming herself and him by fighting it. "Bellatrix must've understood that your connection was more unique than both of you realized at the time. She made you believe that you were not worth anything. It seems as though she casted dark magic to attack your soul and what makes you so strong. She wanted to destroy your strength." She paused. "There's only one ancient dark curse known that can impact a person in that way. It's a slow killer and gets worse over time until you driven to extreme heights of psychological delusion and paranoia. It leaves your soul in fragments. Spritus Raptor Mortifer. It means 'Robber Of Life, Bearer of Death'. It's like the killing curse but for the soul."

"Spritus Raptor Mortifer?"

Hermione had whispered those words aloud. She tensed, realizing it had been those words that Bellatrix had hissed at her in the beginning just before the crazed witch started hacking into her arm. She remembered her laughing manically and sinisterly as she cackled out: "Imperio!". She shuddered, remembering all the vile things Bellatrix instructed her to think of herself.

"Hermione?" Harry whispered, touching her arm.

She glanced at Harry then at Natasha. She licked her lips nervously as she continued to consider this new flash of memory.

"What if the curse was mixed with effects of the imperius curse?" she forced herself to ask aloud.

Harry blew out a breath of air. "You-You remember?"

Hermione swallowed, looking over at Harry. "Y-Yes." She nodded her head and looked to Natasha. "Spritus Raptor Mortifer was the first curse and she followed up with the imperius curse."

"How do you stop the curse?" Hendrick asked Natasha.

That caught both Hermione and Harry's undivided attention. Natasha sighed, looking deep into Hermione and Harry's eyes before she slid off the bed. She started to pace back and forth before the desk. In doing so, she must've spotted Ron, still rooted to the chair and staring at them. She sat on the desk then and flicked her hand. Ron sagged in the chair in relief.

"It's a long tedious and painful process," she told them. "The only way to stop the Spritus Raptor Mortifer curse is for the natural merging of twin flames. All this fragmenting and shattering Hermione's soul has left her weakened. She needs to resolve and knock down years of built-up cemented poisoned ideas of self, which was fortified by the imperius curse."

"But it is possible?" Harry spoke up.

There was silence. Heartbeats seemed to hammer away.

Natasha nodded her head finally. "Anything's possible."