A/N: The only Latin in this chapter is Parvulus, which means little child. It's a word of affection.
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"I'll see you two next year, right? And you promise to write?" The two boys in front of her smiled. She gave a small glare and they nodded, nearly laughing at their friend. She smiled, though her eyes were watery, and leaped forward to hug her friends before pulling back to look at Harry. "Will you be with…"
"No." He shook his head sadly. "Dumbledore thinks I need to stay with the Dursley's." Hermione absently commented with a 'Professor Dumbledore, Harry.' He gave a mock glare. "What will you two be doing?"
"Nothing until we get you for the World Cup." Ron's grin was infectious, so when Harry turned to Hermione, he was already grinning happily. Hermione's grin only faltered for a moment, though the boys didn't know.
"I'll be traveling with my parents." The boys nodded. The three stood in silence for a moment, comfortably soaking in each others presence before they had to go. But it was only for a moment before Hermione grabbed the handle of her cart and began to back up. "Remember, you two promised to write!" The boys smiled again and waved to their friend, calling out goodbyes before she was through the barrier, taking her back into muggle London.
Hermione smiled to herself as she weaved her way through the crowded train station until she was outside. Continuing down the sidewalk, she waited until she was in a less crowded area before pulling her wand out and flinging her wand out. She smiled as, moments later, a three story, purple bus appeared. A tall, skinny boy with a puberty stricken face came out smiling.
Hermione sighed as she sat down and closed her eyes, waiting to get back to her home with Rose. Her eyes snapped open when, not even seconds after sitting down, the bus stopped again. She sat up on her knees and peered out the second story window of her seat. Her eyes widened when she spotted the familiar, greasy, black haired head of her Potions Professor.
Hermione gulped and watched as her Professor sat down on the first floor. The bus restarted. The girl couldn't help but watch her professor the entire ride and nearly didn't notice when the bus stopped. Her eyes widened even further as the dark man stood and exited the bus. She continued to watch him out her window when a voice called out.
"Hey, ain't this your stop, little miss." The bushy haired girl blinked her muddy eyes down at him before giving a small nod and slowly made her way down the stairs and out the bus. As she stood on the road, trunk beside her, she watched her silent professor quickly make his way down the road, even as the bus behind her disappeared. She was still rooted to her spot when Rose walked onto her porch.
"Hermione!" The girl was snapped out of her daze as she turned to the old woman. "Get in, you need to pack. You want to see Adelais, right?" Hermione smiled and ran, or tried, with her heavy trunk to her house. She hugged Rose as the woman began to help with pulling the trunk into the home.
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It was dark when their cab pulled up at the large, beach front mansion. The bushy haired girl was out and had the trunk open by the time the driver came out. He gave a little yawn as he pulled the trunk and bags out. Rose, whom had just come out of the cab, paid the man and began to help Hermione drag the luggage to the front door. Arriving there, Hermione began to knock loudly on the door, nearly pounding it. Rose chuckled.
"Hermione, dear, it's," She looked at the old, antique watch on her wrist. "4:30a.m.. You don't want to wake everyone!" She chuckled again as Hermione scowled at her before turning back to look at the now open door. A tall man with long, dark, graying black hair stood in the doorway and smiled.
"Now, who would she wake up, Rose? You know my workers get up very early and you know I've been awaiting your arrival." He smiled at the two before him. The girl, whom he had grown very found of, looked up at him brightly. "Parvulus, you know what to do." She smiled and nodded. Stepping off the porch, she ran around the house and up the shadowed path to the now overgrown garden.
Rose looked up and locked her piercing green gaze onto that of her friends warm blue eyes. He simply looked down to her with a serious look. A conversation seemed to flow through their eyes before they dropped their gazes and walked silently into his home.
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Bushy hair now thrown up into a messy ponytail caught onto a thorny vine. Carefully, though irritated, Hermione gently extracted her calmer bushy hair from the vine, recognizing it to be one of the poisonous ones she had taken care of earlier in the morning. Smiling, Hermione walked around the swaying vine with her now free hair. Smiling, she jogged down the path to the mansion.
She was startled though, when Adelais met her half way down the path. She slowed to a stop in front of him and smiled, though in confusion. She didn't think they were going to begin their lessons until later in the day.
"Hermione, I believe we should start early today." The girl nodded, though in confusion. Adelais paused for a moment before spinning on his feet and walking back up to the garden. Hermione blinked before falling into step behind him. They were silent as Adelais lead her deep into the massive garden until they were in the very center. He motioned for her to sit beside him as he lowered himself to the ground. After doing so, crossing her legs, they faced each other.
"Do you know how to meditate, Hermione?" She blinked before slowly shaking her head. "It's time you learn. There will come a time when the skill is needed." He watched as she tilted her head at the odd comment. But he didn't answer. He knew Voldemort would rise again, it was inevitable. But he didn't wish to tell her. For now, he would give her subtle hints.
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"Hermione, do you know how to detect if someone is lying?" The girl blinked in surprise and her foot paused in mid air before she continued walking beside the tall man.
"Well, I mean, if they check out with the evidence presented, I guess they are telling the truth." Adelais was silent as they continued to walk. Hermione looked up at the man, curious as to what he was going for.
"Maybe you should find a different way to discover the truth." Hermione waited a few moments before nodding once more.
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"Come along Hermione, it's time we go." Hermione thought for a moment before smiling and nodding. She leaned down to the orange cat in her lap and gave him a gentle kiss and stood. Setting Crookshanks on the plush couch, she followed Rose and Adelais to the back of the house.
"Where will we be arriving?"
"Directly at the Burrow." Hermione smiled and nodded. "Well, shall we go? Get over here Rose, I can't apparate you if you are not over here." The white haired woman glared before walking swiftly to her friend. Adelais hooked his arm with both his friend and the young girl he was becoming attached to and turned on his heel. Hermione opened her eyes after the nauseating feeling passed and looked upon the tall, narrow home of the Weasley family.
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"HERMIONE!" Adelais looked around him in panic. He had sent Rose with a portkey back to his home just moments ago, but now he couldn't find Hermione. His breathing picked up as he ran quickly through the grounds of the screaming people. A curse of a brilliant crimson hue shot over his shoulder.
He spun in anger and raised his wand. The Death Eater froze in surprise at the tall, angry man pointing a wand at him. The Death Eater rose his wand and through another curse. Adelais growled to himself.
"Protego!" The curse of his enemy slammed into the ground, creating a crater. "Bombarda!" Adelais grinned in malicious joy for a moment as the Death Eater screamed in agony, gripping the place where his arm had been only moments ago. Adelais contemplated staying for a moment before shaking his head and ran off again. He paused and held his chest after only a few minutes of sprinting.
He growled to himself as he bent over, holding himself up on his knees. A hand touched his back. He jumped and spun around, wand at the mans neck and the beginning of a spell on his lips before he recognized the man.
"Prof-Adelais?" Though the boy had grown since he was a young man, he was still recognizable. His long, greasy black hair, dark eyes, large, hooked nose, and pale skin. Severus Snape. His apprentice. He smiled for a moment, forgetting where he was, happy to see the man he had grown found of.
"Severus." A scream in the back ground broke his happiness and he suddenly remembered where he was and why he was out of breath. He desperately gripped the younger mans shoulders as he stared into his eyes. Severus blinked in surprise as the man began to speak. "You must help me. I'm looking for a girl. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She's short. She's about fifteen. She may be with Harry Potter and a red headed boy." Severus scrunched his brow.
"Miss Granger? How do you know her?"
"That doesn't matter! Just look for her, damn it!" Adelais pushed away from the door and began running again, looking for the girl.
Severus was frozen in shock for a few moments before he slowly began to jog. His mind was far away as he looked for the familiar heads; one with messy black hair, one with bushy brown hair, and one with flaming red hair. He was only here on Albus's orders, and now he was wondering how Adelais knew the girl and why he seemed to be so interested in her.
Quickly catching up to Adelais, he saw the three teens they were looking for surrounded by a group of Ministry officials. The two dark haired men looked up and saw the Dark Mark. Severus gulped in fear of the dark memories coming back to him. Severus turned back to the angry man next to him and saw him pull out his wand. Severus, seeing Arthur Weasley arriving leaped forward and held his old teachers arms behind his back. The man struggled and growled, keeping his eyes locked onto the three teens.
"Damn it, Severus, let me the fuck go! They're going to hurt her!" Severus held the man tighter.
"Adelais, look, they're going to be ok. I promise you." The man paused in his struggles to focus back in on the group of people in front of him. The officials were running off, away from them. And the teens, Hermione included, were following Arthur Weasley of to their right. When Adelais had completely calmed, Severus carefully let him go. The man continued to stare off to where he had seen Hermione disappear to before speaking in a soft, quiet voice.
"Severus, how do you know her?"
"She is my student." Adelais turned to look back at the younger and shorter man with a look of surprise.
"I never took you to be the teaching sort, Severus." Adelais turned away again and the silence stretched between them again. Adelais closed his eyes and tried to calm his still racing heart. He was surprised, he hadn't lost his composure like that since he was a student himself. He wondered what it was about the girl that had him all worked up. He glanced from the corner of his eye to see Severus still standing silently behind him. "Watch her, protect her for me, will you?" Severus glared for a moment. "I'll pay you." Severus glared again before looking away. Adelais sighed and looked forward again, disappointed that he couldn't have someone watching her while he was away. Therefore he was surprised when Severus spoke.
"How much?" Adelais smirked.
"300 galleons a month." Severus raised a brow, even as he smirked. He nodded his head and stuck his hand out to accept the deal. Why Adelais felt the need to pay him so much, he would never know. But he did know he wasn't about to pass up on the opportunity. "Well, goodbye." And with that, Adelais was gone with a 'pop'.
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Hermione froze in her seat as the Headmaster yelled for Harry once more. Looking down at the frozen teen beside her, she realized she needed to get him to go before the Headmaster grew angry. Pushing against his back, she tried with all her might to get him to move. She growled to herself and leaned forward.
"Harry, go!" When he continued to stay frozen, she doubled her efforts. "Harry, for goodness sake, GO!" She hissed harshly into his ear. Finally, getting the message, Harry stumbled down the hall to go to the Champions chamber.
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Hermione sighed happily as she laid down on the ground inside her garden. She looked up to the clear, starry night as the humid air blanketed her. Her eyes began to droop as the minutes passed. Allowing the night to claim her, she closed her eyes and began to drift, thinking about her recently fed creatures and watered garden. With the image of the sweet Jobberknolls in the forefront of her mind, Hermione fell asleep.
A dark man walked forward from his spot behind a tree and made his way slowly to the sleeping girl. He sighed and sat beside her. Looking down at the girl beside him, he wondered what had possessed him to accept Adelais's offer. Oh yes, he thought to himself, the money.
He sighed again and closed his eyes, deciding the girl should have a few hours of sleep before he woke her up.
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"YOUR WAND, HARRY! USE YOUR WAND!" Hermione looked down to the old Quidditch pitch, watching as Harry leaped behind a boulder as cover from the flames of the dragon. Hermione gripped the railing in front of her and leaned forward, shouting once more. And she thought, for a moment there, that Harry looked up to her, for a moment later he raised his wand and shouted.
Moments later, long after Harry had disappeared on his broom with the dragon hot on his tail, he came back, broom shaking and dropping, the end with flames. Hermione couldn't help the smile and began to cheer as her friend leaned down from his broom and picked up the golden egg.
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Taking a deep breath, Hermione peeked around the wall to the people below. Her eyes immediately found the Durmstrang boy, Viktor Krum. And then, she saw Harry. And Ron. She gulped again and pulled her head back. Leaning against the wall, she took another breath before forcing herself to step out. She began too walk down the stairs.
The sound below her grew softer, whether this was the people quieting or her own ears blocking all sound out, she wasn't sure. She smiled a crooked smile as she reached the bottom of the stairs and breathily took the Bulgarians offered arm. He smiled down to her and walked her to the ballroom. Looking to her two friends, she couldn't help the giddy smile, not noticing the angry expression on her ginger friends face.
Severus continued waiting in his corner by the stairs, even after most of the teens had left for the ballroom. The image of the girl still burned fiercely in the front of his mind. She had grown from the eleven year old, bushy haired, buck toothed girl he had first met. She was now a young woman in the making, long, curly brown hair, intelligent, muddy brown eyes, a confident walk. And, unfortunately, he had just noticed this.
He growled to himself and marched into the ballroom.
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Hermione sat in her garden the night after Christmas. A Jobberknoll sat on her knee, occasionally nipping at her jeans. She thoughtfully held her wand in hand, quickly casting 'Cor Flammis', and watched the dancing flames as they brushed gently against her arms. Taking off her robes to reveal a green t-shirt, she let the flames touch her bare arms.
Severus sat against a tree once more and watched the girl, whom occasionally cast a spell, though nothing happened. He wondered, to himself, if she knew that Dumbledore was going to use her as Krum's boon for the second task.
He paused in his musings as the girl blew up a tree with a screech. He nearly chuckled to himself before looking around her garden and thinking about the creatures below them, making a mental checklist of what he needed. speaking of the animals, he remembered her ingenious creation that periodically fed the creatures everyday she wasn't here, perfect for the summer.
Hermione, once more unaware of her visitor, was musing over Adelais's strange words. 'Hermione, do you know how to detect if someone is lying?'. She thought to herself on how exactly she would go about discovering if someone was lying without being obvious or making it permanent. Not only did she have to think of how to do that, she had to find the words for the spell, and she had to make the result of lying something that could be explained in the magical world while being obvious. Fire! And suddenly, a chant that the kids at her old elementary school use to chant floated across her mind.
'Liar, Liar, pants on fire'
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Looking back at the cheering crowd, Harry took a deep breath and faced the scary, misty bushes in front of him. He closed his eyes and calmed himself before walking into the dark maze.
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A/N: Ok, do you guys like this chapter more than the last one? I agree with everyone else, the last chapter really was the worse, and I'm not that proud of it, but I needed it for the flow of the story. Anyways, the next chapter will be a major chapter, so I hope everyone will enjoy this!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.