Last chapter hit 300 reviews, which is insane, thanks guys.
El.
}{—-}{—-}{
"What in Merlin's beard was that about?" Lily stormed into her room, hair sparking with anger.
Hermione closed her book in confusion, turning in her seat to face her twin.
"What was what about?" She questioned.
Lily put her hands on her hips, disbelief colouring her face. "Black!" She snapped
"Oh" Hermione breathed, opening her book up again. Sirius hadn't stuck around for long, desperate to get away from Snape.
Lily snatched the book out of her hands, "I'm being serious Hermione" Lily said, annoyance in her green eyes.
"Why are you so upset?" Hermione asked, puzzled "I was doing you a favour"
"By going on a date with that bully?" Lily raised a brow
"Yes" Hermione nodded. "Look, I made a deal with Sirius. Three dates and he leaves Severus alone for the rest of the school year"
Lily's look of disbelief only grew, "how on earth does that help Sev?" She demanded.
Hermione frowned in confusion, "by giving Severus a reprieve from the bullying, he could-"
"Stop thinking that Muggle Borns are useless, magic stealing vermin?" Lily cut her off.
Hermione balked, "he doesn't think that" she objected, "does he?" She frowned. She barely knew Severus but he wasn't like the other Slytherins, he didn't use derogatory words or attack innocent students.
Lily's anger slightly dimmed, "no" she frustratedly conceded "but his friends do" she snapped "and if he's alright with his friends thinking that, then maybe…"
"Maybe he thinks that way too" Hermione sighed.
Lily sat down on her bed, her shoulders hunched in defeat. "I can't believe things have got this bad" she sighed.
"What changed?" Hermione asked, "at the start of the holidays, you were determined to remain friends with him and now your…" her sentence petered out, unsure of how to say what she wanted to without offending Lily.
"I'm not giving up on him" Lily shook her head. "But I spent an entire day listening to him go on and on about Rosier, about how I should be careful when we get back to Hogwarts"
"And?" Hermione questioned, not seeing the issue.
"And, he still considers Rosier a friend" Lily chided "he knows what he says, what he believes, that he could hurt me and that's not enough for Sev to walk away from him" she heaved a sighed "so no offence but getting Black to stop bullying him isn't going to change much"
"I was only trying to help" Hermione shrugged.
A dark glint appeared in Lily's bright green eyes "help who?" She asked, a strange tone in her voice.
"What?" Hermione questioned
"You're not stupid" Lily shook her head, "maybe this was your way of getting to date Black without any hassle from me?"
Hermione's eyes widened and a spark of righteous anger swirled in her stomach, "that's the stupidest thing you've ever said" she declared.
"Is it?" Lily demanded "first the Marigold's and now this"
Hermione shook her head at her, "You're being stupid. Just because your angry at Severus, doesn't mean that you can take it out on me"
Lily huffed, rising from her bed.
"Lily" Hermione called after her but she was out the door before she could even finish.
Hermione sighed, confused on exactly how she'd ended up wasting her time on petty arguments and Sirius Black when she had much bigger things to worry about.
}{—-}{—-}{
"Is this what having three daughter's is like?" Henry joked
Four pair of eyes glowered at him and he all but wilted in his chair. "Alright, not the morning for jokes" he awkwardly coughed.
Hermione's lip twitched as she tried to contain her smile. It was only a few days from Christmas Eve and the Evans household was lacking some Christmas cheer. Petunia was still moping over Nicholas and Lily and Hermione weren't on the best terms. It was odd for Henry and Viola, who had never seen the twins in any sort of argument before.
Hermione had clustered herself in her room, she was sure she knew exactly what went wrong with the watch, the only problem was that although she could minimise the damage to the wearer, it was all but impossible to do the same to the watch. Which meant that she now had the added problem of having to continuously create them, a rather grim prospect when the world was headed for war.
"Ahh!" Petunia shrieked, flinging her fork in fright. The Evans family jumped in surprise at the sound but quickly calmed when they identified the source of distress as an Owl at the window.
"Honestly, Tunie, it's only an Owl" Lily admonished, getting up to open the window.
"It's a vile little creature" Petunia growled, her face distorted in a mixture of fear and rage.
Lily sighed at her, as she untangled the newspaper tied to it's leg and came to sit back down, "it's perfectly harmless" she retorted.
Hermione's eyes scanned the front page, a sigh of relief escaping as she realised that there was no sign of the green skull and snake that was always displayed when an attack happened. Voldemort's attacks had increased over the holidays, but they were erratic and strange, with no clear target. The Ministry still didn't know who was behind it all.
"Someone broke into the Ministry!" Lily exhaled
Hermione frowned, confusion sweeping over her. She leaned closer to see what passage Lily was reading.
Ministry Break In. Read the headline.
Although the Minister for Magic, Eugenia Jenkins has denied a break in, anonymous sources, tell us that there was indeed a break in last night. From reports we have deducted that a masked individual wearing a hooded robe, the same individuals that have been seen behind the recent attacks was behind the break in. Although we cannot figure out what was taken, as the Ministry refuses to cooperate, we can tell you that whatever it was, it was in the Department of Mysteries.
Hermione's blood ran cold.
"Department of Mysteries?" Lily frowned "what could possibly be in there?"
"Hermione?" Viola said with worry, "are you alright, dear, you're looking a little pale"
Hermione turned to face her. Heavy dread settled in her stomach as a tidal wave of memories tried to batter at her walls. "I'm fine" she managed to get past her throat. "I'm suddenly not feeling very well, I think, I'm going to go lie down" she rose out of her seat and hurried out of the room.
She threw her door open and then slammed it shut. She quickly ducked down and reached underneath her bed, where she'd hidden two of the watches she'd bought back from Hogwarts. She pulled out the small grey box and quickly stuffed it into her bag.
Whilst she was stuck at school, Voldemort was out there, killing innocent people and creating an army and it was driving her mad.
She grabbed her coat, along with her bag and wand and quickly walked down the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Viola suddenly asked.
Hermione skidded to a halt, stopping in front of the dining room door.
"Benjy's" Hermione said truthfully.
"I thought you weren't feeling well?" Viola pushed
"I'm suddenly feeling better" Hermione replied, Viola opened her mouth but Hermione beat her to it, "Bye, guys" she said and with a wave she was off, ignoring Viola's cries, she ran out the door and down the driveway, her wand out before she'd even reached the end.
The Knight Bus appeared in an instant, the conductor opening the door with a swish, "where will it be, Miss?" He asked
"Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Fenwick, Residence" she replied, grabbing a seat by the windows and tightly holding onto the railings. With a lurch, the bus shot off at speeds far too quick for the naked eye.
Although she didn't have any solid proof on why Voldemort would break in to the Department of Mysteries, she could certainly guess, it was exactly why he'd broken into it back in 1995.
The Hall of Prophecy.
However he'd learnt of the prophecy, he either hadn't heard it all or he wanted to hear it again. For her own sake, Hermione hoped that it was far more obscure than Harry's prophecy had been.
With a lurch, the Knight Bus came to a sudden halt in front Benjy's House. Hermione quickly handed over the right amount of galleons and then exited the bus.
Benjy's house could hardly be described as a house, it was huge, with five floors and a gate that went all around the estate. Hermione tapped the cat ornament that was decorated at the centre of the gate with her wand, for just a moment, it's eyes flashed blue, indicating that someone on the other end was listening, Hermione leaned in and whispered her name.
The gate opened with a click, slowly swinging inwards and Hermione walked in, making her way through the fields that surrounded the Fenwick estate. Unlike most wizarding families, the Fenwick's were rather new to both the magical world and their vast amount of wealth.
Benjy's grandfather Isaac Fenwick had been a Muggle Born. He'd had a modest position at the Ministry and went on to marry a Half Blood, his one and only child had been Cecelia Fenwick, who'd eloped and married the Pure Blood Benjy Selwyn. Cecelia was both brilliant and beautiful, going on to make a fortune for herself. Her attributes however hadn't been enough to keep Benjy Selwyn, who'd walked out on her when she'd been carrying their child.
Although the tabloids were filled with over dramatic stories about Benjy and his Dad; rumoured arguments they'd had and over heard screaming matches with other members of the prestigious Selwyn family. Hermione was one of a handful of people alive, that knew the truth.
Benjy had never met his Dad and until Christmas back in her second year, he'd never received anything from the man.
In the end, it was Mr Selwyn's loss. Benjy was a one of a kind soul, he was the only person in the world she trusted to try out the latest versions of the watch and although his house didn't have the strongest of wards, they'd have to do as a test run.
She climbed up the steps to the great marble doors, to see Benjy already waiting for her. He was lean and tall, his curly hair had grown just past his ears with a bright yellow headband keeping it away from his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Benjy asked, a suspicious glint in his blue eyes.
Hermione grinned "so suspicious" she said, "can't one best friend just visit another best friend?" She asked
"Normal best friends, yes" Benjy conceded with a nod "but you" he said wagging a finger at her "are not normal" he smiled.
Hermione grinned, "I need your help" she admitted.
Benjy's lip twitched as he tried to stay firm but he was soon wearing a matching grin. "Come in" he sighed, walking into his house.
Hermione followed after him, coming to a sudden halt at the entrance of the lounge. She hadn't expected the house to be empty but she also hadn't expected the see the brunette reading on the couch.
"Babe" Benjy called and the girl that Hermione vaguely recognised looked up at him with a smile. She caught sight of Hermione and the smile faltered before she caught it and stretched it out, looking more like a grimace than the smile, that Hermione was sure she'd been going for.
"This is Hermione Evans" Benjy introduced "Hermione, this is Tiffany Kim, she's a sixth year Gryffindor"
"Hi" Hermione smiled, walking further into the lounge, finally realising where she knew the girl from "you're the Quidditch team Beater aren't you?"
"Yes" Tiffany awkwardly said, putting her book down and rising from her seat, "nice to meet you" she said, extending her hand out, Hermione warmly shook it but the warmth clearly wasn't reciprocated.
"Tiff, I'm sorry" Benjy said "I promised Hermione that I'd help her with homework"
Hermione's eyes widened, incredulous at the lie and she wasn't the only one.
"Homework?" Tiffany questioned, scanning Hermione from head to toe with a critical eye "she need helps with homework?" the she came out rather cold, with a dark edge that made Hermione feel uncomfortable at what was clearly about to become a lover's tiff.
"Hermione isn't as clever as she'd like everyone to believe" Benjy smiled, throwing his arm around Hermione's shoulder. Hermione tried to step away, very much aware of Tiffany's ire but Benjy seemed uncaring.
"I thought we were going to spend the day together?" Tiffany demanded.
"Another time, babe" Benjy grinned and Hermione was sure that there would never be another time if Benjy didn't do some serious grovelling.
With a glare aimed rightfully at Benjy, Tiffany grabbed her book, stomped over to the fireplace, took a handful of floo powder and entered the fireplace, in a matter of seconds she was gone, engulfed in green flames.
"Did you not like her?" Hermione curiously asked.
"Oh, no, she's fucking perfect" Benjy grinned, ruffling Hermione's hair, sending her curls into a further state of disarray. Hermione smacked his hand away from her hair and then tried to pat it down in a semblance of order before quickly giving up.
"If you like her so much than why did you treat her that way?" She questioned
"Because I love pissing her off" Benjy beamed, his chest puffed out in pride.
Hermione shook her head at him. "If anyone ever treated me that way, I'd never speak to them again" she informed him
Benjy shrugged, non plussed "she likes when I grovel" he said with a smirk. "Anyway, you're not here to discuss my strange love life, you're here for my help, so how may I be of service?"
Hermione hesitated and then shook off the nerves, grabbing the small box from her bag. "I've sorted out all the kinks" she promised as she opened the box, Benjy leaned in and then jumped back when his blue eyes landed on the watches.
"No, no, no, no" he shook his head.
"Nothing, will go wrong" Hermione promised.
Benjy glared at her, his jaw tightening in anger.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "I'll do this with or without you" she warned, "but if I do it without you and something goes wrong, there will be no one around to take me to St Mungo's."
Tension coiled through Benjy's body, "why can't you just wait until we get back to Hogwarts?" he questioned
"Because time isn't a luxury that I have" she answered. It was half the truth, Hogwarts meant Dumbledore and she really didn't want to deal with that old man.
Benjy's shoulders slumped in defeat, "fine" he said with a shake of his head. He held his hand out for a watch.
"We do it exactly the same way" Hermione explained as she handed over one of the watches. "You walk past your wards, leave the watch on the ground and walk a few feet away" she instructed, seriously.
Benjy nodded, "give me ten minutes" he said in a clipped tone, striding out of the lounge.
Hermione shoved down the guilt as she watched him walk away. She wasn't sure who'd been kind enough to lead Benjy Fenwick into her life, but she thanked them nonetheless.
When the ten minutes were up, Hermione strapped the watch to her wrist, an undercurrent of fear clawing it's way up her throat. She heavily breathed out, steadying her hand as she reassured herself. The calculations were correct this time, she'd realised that she'd slightly screwed up the Kempura potion but minor alterations should make the watch work as it was suppose to.
She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, if it worked, it would be the first meaningful step in changing everything.
"Here goes everything" Hermione muttered, mentally bracing herself as she clicked the crown of the watch. A sudden pressure slammed into her, sweeping her off her feet and propelling her into the unknown.
This wasn't like the first time, when she couldn't even take a breath let alone concentrate. It didn't feel like she was free falling into oblivion, instead, it was more like, flying through the unknown. Everything was a mishmash of blurs, the scenery going by so fast that she couldn't make anything out.
The air ferociously whipped past, stinging her face and blowing her hair in every direction and then she hit it. The wards, it wasn't like hurtling into a wall like she'd expected or squeezing through a tiny tube, it was like sinking through Devil's snare, soft and springy, until she was suddenly on the other side, free falling straight towards the ground.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Hermione came to a stop mere feet from the ground and was gently lowered down. Her stomach wasn't very pleased, twisting and turning so much that she had to actively focus to not hurl all over Benjy, who'd run over as soon as she was safe on the ground.
Benjy's blue eyes scanned over her with concern, his eyes landing on her wrist. He suddenly reached out and grabbed it, bringing the watch closer to his face. It was utterly destroyed, burn from the inside out, but it worked.
It actually worked.
"You need to work on your landing" Benjy scolded, releasing her wrist.
Hermione nodded in agreement, too breathless to speak. She unstrapped the watch, letting it fall to the ground, she looked over her wrist, it looked a little pink, so she did a quick diagnostic charm, which thankfully showed that everything was as it should be.
"It worked" she said breathlessly, a slow grin forming on her face.
"You risked your life and years worth of Hogsmeade trips for a Portkey that can go through wards" Benjy stated unimpressed. "You can't even sell it" he huffed "because ward breaking and unregistered Portkeys are both illegal" he hotly emphasised.
"I don't want to sell it" Hermione grinned.
"Then what are you going to do with it?" Benjy demanded.
Hermione shrugged, looking away from him, "who knows" she said "maybe it'll come in handy one day"
}{—-}{—-}{
Hermione's argument with Lily came to an abrupt end, a day before they were due to go back to Hogwarts, courtesy of the Daily Prophet.
After the break in at the Ministry, attacks seemed to take place every day, Muggles, Squibs, Half Bloods, Muggle Borns, everyone except Pure Bloods seemed to be a target. Voldemort's skull and serpent sign seemed to be plastered all over the news.
The Ministry was beside itself and there were calls for Eugenia Jenkins to resign, the magical world hadn't cared all that much when it was defenceless Muggles and Muggle Borns disappearing and being slaughtered but now that they were being targeted, the issue demanded serious action.
"He's got a name" Lily declared, holding the Daily Prophet in her hand.
Hermione raised her head from her book, to see Lily standing by her bedroom door.
"Oh, are you talking to me again?" Hermione wondered, genuinely curious.
Lily's opened her mouth to rebut but simply sighed and came to sit besides Hermione on the bed.
"I'm sorry" Lily apologised.
Hermione thought of holding a grudge but it was a silly argument that should never have had happened in the first place.
"You're forgiven" she conceded.
A soft smile appeared on Lily's face, "thanks" she said quietly.
Hermione shrugged it off and asked "who's got a name?"
Lily handed her the Daily Prophet, it was early in the evening, so it must have only just arrived, "Voldemort" she declared.
Hermione flinched at the name, eyes going wide as she took in the headline.
Voldemort's Reign Of Terror Begins as his Death Eaters set Diagon Alley Alight and right below it was a picture of Diagon Alley half destroyed, surrounded by robed figures wearing familiar white masks.
"He's got a name" Hermione agreed, heart rapidly beating in her chest and her palms going sweaty.
"Death Eaters" Lily scowled, a dangerous spark in her eyes, "how many Slytherin's are going to be calling themselves that now?" She wondered aloud.
They both knew what Lily was really worried about - how long until Severus Snape called himself one?
}{—}{—}{
Back at Hogwarts, all anyone could talk about was Voldemort.
It was rather odd for Hermione, who'd never known a period where his name was bandied about so readily. He was all anyone wanted to discuss, they were all enthralled with a monster that wanted to rid the magical world of impurity.
"Why would he want to break in to Ollivanders?" Arlo mused aloud, pouring over the Daily Prophet, "I'd go straight for Gringotts" she declared.
Hermione tried to block out the conversation as she sat in the Great Hall for breakfast. It was only their third day back and she was thoroughly sick of hearing about the attack on Diagon Alley.
"That's because you're sane" Marlene said, "Voldemort clearly isn't. I mean who gives a shit about Ollivander's register, what in Merlin's name could he possibly gain from that"
Hermione raised her head, her interest piqued.
Arlo threw a look at the Slytherin table, their was a jovial mood there, an energy that the rest of the school lacked and in the middle, sat as the centre of attention, was Tony Rosier.
"The Slytherins are saying that he can use it to track Muggle Borns" Arlo tried to whisper, throwing Hermione and Lily who sat next to her, a guilty look.
"That's absurd" Hermione sighed, leaning over to take the Daily Prophet from Arlo. She tugged it out of her reluctant hands and scanned over the page, it was a small article, detailing personal belongings that had either been destroyed in the carnage or were presumed to be stolen. Amongst them, as Arlo had said, was Ollivander's register. It contained the name of every Witch and Wizard that had received a wand from Ollivander.
Why would Voldemort want that? She wondered.
The bell ringing, cajoled her out of her thoughts.
"Come on" Lily urged, a thrum of excitement in her voice, "it's time to meet the new Defence Professor"
Hermione groaned but dutifully followed along, it wouldn't do to skip out on the first lesson. Duelling classes were officially over, which meant the Gryffindor fifth years were back to Defence lessons with the Slytherins.
When they reached the fifth floor, they were met with a large group of students waiting around outside the classroom door, Slytherin's on one side of the door and Gryffindor's on the other.
"The Professor must not be here yet" Lily frowned.
"Hey, Snivellus!"
Hermione turned along with the gathered crowd to see James and Sirius with Peter and Remus trailing behind them, walking past the Slytherin's.
Severus drew his wand out of his pocket, tightly holding it in his hand. James opened his mouth but then Sirius wrapped his hand around his arm and with a brisk "leave it" tugged him away.
Lily raised a brow at the sight, "he's actually sticking to it" she said bemused.
"Sticking to what?" Arlo asked
"Nothing" Hermione quickly replied, perhaps a little too quickly, because Arlo gave her a funny look.
The door to Defence suddenly swung open and a Witch with long brown hair, perhaps in her mid thirties, with hazel eyes, stepped into the hallway.
"What are you all doing out here?" She demanded, "get in, all of you, quickly."
The fifth years shuffled in, the two Houses sitting as far from each other as possible.
The Professor frowned at the sight, her eyes lingering on the row of empty chairs that separated the two sides.
"Welcome!" The Professor smiled, the chalkboard behind her coming to life. The chalk levitated and of it's own accord began writing on the board "I am your new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor, Professor Meadowes" she introduced herself, "now I know a new Professor in the middle of your Owls year isn't ideal but unfortunately your previous Professor proved himself to be rather negligent" she shrugged, her eyes moving across the room and stopping on Hermione.
Although it seemed nothing more than a cursory glance, Hermione mentally flinched as for the first time in fifteen years her mental shields rose up, shoving out the foreign magical signature.
"Hermione?" Lily whispered in worry, her green eyes on Hermione's tightly balled fists.
"I'm fine" Hermione whispered back, her eyes firmly on Professor Meadowes, who gave no indication that anything was amiss.
"Not to worry" Professor Meadowes smiled, her eyes back on the class "I've spent the past five years in charge of running the Auror program at the Ministry" she said, "I've read all of your school reports and I'm certain that if I can turn young men and woman into seasoned warriors, then I can get you all through your Owls" although it sounded harmless enough, their was an undercurrent of determination, her eyes once again resting on Hermione.
The chalk finished it's writing, "your next topic for this term" Professor Meadowes said, indicating the board behind her. Written in bold, right at the top of the board was the word 'Patronus Charm.'
"Now who can tell me what a Patronus is?" Professor Meadowes asked.
Various hands rose up, including Lily who sat next to Hermione.
"Ms Evans" Professor Meadowes said.
"The Patronus c-"
"Not you Ms Evans" Professor Meadowes stated, cutting Lily off.
Confusion rippled through the class as everyone raptly watched the exchange.
"The other Ms Evan" Professor Meadowes said.
The classes eyes landed on Hermione, who sat with a small frown on her face.
"I didn't raise my hand" Hermione said, stating the obvious.
A predatory grin appeared on Professor Meadowes' face "I am aware of that Ms Evans" she said "but you do know the answer" she claimed.
Hermione's frown deepened.
Professor Meadowes flicked her wand and a roll of parchment appeared in her hand, with a lazy flick the parchment unfurled, expanding until the bottom of it rested on the floor, it was at least six feet long.
"Brilliant but lazy" Meadowes read, her eyes flickering to Hermione before continuing "Ms Evans shows an aptitude for magic, the likes of which I have never seen before, however, her arrogance and disregard limits her talent. She does the bare minimum that she can get away with, often missing class, she asks for no extra work and has no wish to test her limits, her laziness is an unfortunate hindrance"
The Slytherin side of the class burst into laughter, Tony Rosier the loudest of the lot.
"Do you know what this is?" Meadowes demanded of Hermione.
"My school report" Hermione said in a clipped tone, not at all amused.
"Precisely" Meadowes smiled, the parchment disappearing, her eyes sweeping across the room, the look in them silencing the Slytherins. "My job for the remainder of the year, isn't to just ensure that you pass your Owls" she said "it is to push you to your limits, to break you and then build you up again. I will not tolerate laziness or wilful disobedience" she warned "if you know an answer to a question, you raise your hand" she tersely stated.
"Now, Ms Evans, please tell the class what a Patronus charm is" she demanded.
Hermione sat, her shoulders tense, anger radiating off of her, but she answered nonetheless "it's one of the most powerful defensive charms to exist" she breathed "however it's only effective against Dementors"
"Well done, Ms Evans" Professor Meadowes said, "Now, who knows what a Patronus looks like?"
Far more hands went up in the air this time, Meadowes raised a brow at Hermione, who begrudgingly raised her hand along with the class.
"That's more like it" Meadowes grinned.
By the end of class, Hermione wasn't the only person to be publicly humiliated, Meadowes wasn't like any Professor they'd had before, she was relentless and unethical, with an unusual interest in Hermione.
"Ms Evans, could you please stay behind for a moment" Meadowes asked
Lily hesitated as the class shuffled out of the room.
"She means me" Hermione sighed.
"Indeed I do" Meadowes grinned.
"I'll be right outside" Lily told her.
When the class emptied out, Hermione grabbed her bag and reluctantly made her way to the Professor's desk. "Yes, Professor" she asked.
Just like the first time, there was no warning, no indication, but whilst Professor Meadowes' first attempt had been nothing more than a soft touch, a glance at most, this time it was like a sledge hammer hitting her head as foreign magic tried to rip her shields to shred, all subtlety went out the window.
Hermione had spent years mastering Occlumency in the worst conditions one could imagine, her shields weren't paper thin, her mind wasn't a box one could just unlock, it was a fortress, with secret passages, cursed walls, boobytraps and monsters the like of which people dared not to think of.
She was a Legilimens worst nightmare.
Professor Meadowes flinched as she was thrown out of Hermione's mind, her hand coming to rest on her temple.
The air was thick with tension as Professor and student glared at each other.
"Is that all, Professor?" Hermione asked.
Meadowes' brown eyes gave nothing away, she plastered on a small smile and said "yes, Ms Evans"
}{—-}{—-}{
See you next week.
El.