Hermione woke up feeling as if someone had struck her with a stinging hex she was that eager to get moving. All the little hints, the details that made sense in her dreams, forgotten when she woke came flooding to the forefront of her memory. Ignoring that it was predawn, she hurried through her morning routine, bundling her hair into a hasty knot as she pushed her feet into her boots. Grabbing her cloak, she nearly ran for the castle entrance, slowing only to avoid the patches of ice in the courtyard and ran down to the Forbidden Forest.

A Point Me spell gave her the proper direction and she managed to find her way to Riddick's clearing and his tree. He was crouched defensively under the tree roots and the phrase 'lying in wait' popped into her head. There was no way he was as unprepared as he looked. The moment he saw her step into the clearing he stood and shook his head, smirking at her teasingly. "Sweetness, you all right? Damn early for you to be up."

"I had a dream," She told him excitedly. "Actually it's more of a recurring dream, because thematically they were all similar and that's an indicator—"

Riddick's reaction to her babble was to scoop her up and bring her into his little tree cave, wrap her in quilts and furs and kiss her gently. "Right. You've been having dreams."

Hermione sighed, Riddick had the ability to calm her down and rile her up at the same time. "Hmmm…the first one, I had it while I was drifting in and out of consciousness after the attack. I was in a land I'd never seen, in a field of mass graves. There were mountains with smoke tops and two moons. And a woman."

Riddick's voice had turned worried, "Did she touch you? Hurt you?"

"You know who she is," Hermione realized as she looked at his grim expression. "Why are you so worried?"

"Because if you're dreaming of Shirah and she touched you," He took a deep unsteady breath and held her closer. "It's her handprint on my chest."

"She touched my chest, right over my heart, and my belly," The Witch admitted slowly. "But she didn't mark me. You've seen my body; I don't have any palm prints." She cupped his jaw in her hand, feeling the muscles flex with tension. "She said that she Woke you."

"Yeah, you could say that's what she did. Woke the Wrath," Riddick growled. "Hurt like fucking hell and I damn near died the first time it unleashed. Which was right after she 'woke' me."

"She didn't hurt me love," Hermione shook her head. "She's…I dreamt of that world and her, three different times now. She always calls me Sorceress. She says I'm bound to someone, a Mage, which means you I would guess. And she keeps saying that we'll renew Furya. That it needed a man to avenge it, but a woman to bring it back to life. It's weird…it's like… we've been talking about finding Furya… but she's been in my mind all this time…showing me the world. I think there's something she wants me to understand…but I'm not sure what it is yet. And she says there are more. Other people we need."

"O-kay." Riddick clearly hadn't been expecting that. "She say anything that'll help us find these people?"

"She said that I know them. Well," Hermione rolled her eyes. Riddick's lack of respect for Shirah was a bit contagious. "She said the answers were found within myself. Or something like that. She gave me a couple of names, Sorceress, Brightest of Her Age, Queen of Magi, or Mage's Queen." The Witch smiled up at Riddick, "I guess that would mean you, since we're married by your customs."

"Well that's something at least," Riddick grumbled. "If I hear boyfriend to describe me one more time… I'm not a boy and we're not friends. Not just anyway."

She tugged his head down to hers and kissed him, "I know. I'm sorry. It's only until we find the way to Furya. No one here would believe it anyway."

His grumbling subsided under her kiss though she could tell he still chafed at being called her boyfriend. "So what other names did you give you?"

"The Chosen. That could mean Harry. The One Who Sees," Hermione frowned as she remembered last name. "The Fey Lady."

"So most likely, two men and two women." Riddick nodded, "Makes sense that the One Who Sees would be Neville. He doesn't get noticed much but he sees a lot."

Hermione nodded, "I'm trying to think of who the Fey Lady could be, and the only person I know who qualifies…would be Luna."

"Well Harry was planning on asking her to come," Riddick mused. "Wonder if that means Neville's girlfriend won't?"

"Or she just isn't as important to Shirah for some reason." Hermione frowned, "If there are four of us, two male, two female…there are four cardinal points to a ritual circle. With you in the center maybe?"

"So if you've got the exact ideal amount of Witches and Wizards for a ritual, maybe that's part of how we find Furya." Riddick suggested.

"I wonder," Hermione was considering that. "Luna's father was killed during the war. I wonder if the Rookery is like Grimmauld or Longbottom Hall?"

"Only one way to find out," Riddick's hand moved as if to play with her braid and encountered the messy chignon. "First though, can't have people saying I don't take care of my woman." He unbound her hair from the knot and began to finger comb it. "You came out with wet hair? Woman you have no sense in your head."

"Sure I do. It just…goes…when I have something to do." She protested weakly.

"Uh huh," He huffed gently in her ear and began to twist her hair into small braids winding back from her face. "Hope you don't mind; this is the only way I know how to braid. Let my hair get long when I was stuck on that ice rock. Only way to fuckin' keep warm."

"You keep your face and head shaved now though." She murmured, half hypnotized by the feel of his hands gently stroking and tugging on her hair. "You aren't cold?"

"You weren't around to see me back then." He chuckled, "And I'm vain enough to know I look better this way."

She giggled, "I can't imagine you with hair on your face. On your head if you got cold, as long as it wasn't shaggy, sure."

"Well maybe I'll try it for a bit, see what we both think. Honestly, part of it's because of the Slams I've been in. Your hair gets too long you could end up with your own ecosystem." He sounded more than a little disgusted at the thought and Hermione shuddered in revulsion.

"Yeesh."

"Yeah. Nasty." Riddick agreed.

Hermione sighed happily, leaning against him as he braided her hair, his warmth and the exquisite feeling of safety had her nearly drifting into sleep again. Riddick's mouth on hers brought her out of her doze, his laugh wicked against her lips. "Wake up sweetness. Sun's over the horizon."

"Hmm…did you sleep at all love?" She stretched against him, smiling as he pulled her closer.

"Nah. Don't need much sleep. Played with your hair and messed around with some hides." He helped her sit up and folded away the quilts and furs he used as bedding. "Like to see if I could get some of that dragon hide. I got this craving to see your ass wrapped in leather."

Her shocked look made him laugh and he cupped her ass in his hands, pulling her body to his as they stood. "My little innocent," He teased. "Just as well you're so covered up when you're in classes. The boys might get ideas and it'd be a shame to get blood on the floors. The house elves work so hard to keep things clean."

Hermione could feel her cheeks turn blazing red at his teasing even as part of her found it flattering. "I could always do some Muggle shopping and find a pair of leather pants."

"Fuck yes. Do that." He growled, tucking her cloak around her more tightly before he pulled on his coat. "Those boots are damn good though. Shitkickers if I ever saw 'em."

"Dragon hide," Hermione smiled as he wrapped his arm around her and began guiding her out of the forest. "Hungarian Horntail. Harry insisted. They're my birthday present. Along with a voucher for a bookstore."

Riddick grinned down at her, "See, even your brother knows you look good in leather."

"Harry has no idea how my ass looks Riddick." She poked him in the side, keeping a wary eye out for anyone coming at them over the pristine snow. Even her footprints from hours before were obscured by the wind blowing the snow into small drifts.

"He better not." Riddick's growl was a warning and a reminder both, that she was his and no one had better test that.

"He's not interested in me love." She reminded him gently. "I'm his sister, in everything but blood. And I honestly think he'd make me his sister by blood if we could."

"He's still male and you aren't related. Which means he's noticed you, he just put you in the friend/sister zone." The large man was still half growling. "Why women think that men are capable of being platonic friend with them is one of the great mysteries of the universe. Sex always comes up. Harry just decided that you were more important."

"Which makes him a good guy and this concern of yours a nonissue." Hermione retorted. Riddick's grumbling subsided slightly as they entered Hogwarts but it was clear that he didn't exactly agree with her.

By now fairly used to his ways Hermione simply looked around the Great Hall for Luna and beckoned for her to join them at the Gryffindor table.

Conversations with Luna never tended to go the way Hermione anticipated. The first thing the delicate blonde did when she sat down was stare at Riddick intently and then smile. "Your Mage is finally opening his eyes Hermione." She looked at the Witch and her smile grew wider. "And your Wrackspurts have cleared up enough that you're finally paying attention to your dreams."

Hermione blinked and stared at the younger girl for a moment. "I suppose you're right. Though I hadn't thought of it that way." A glance at Riddick gave her the impression that he was slightly bemused by Luna's insight. But then he wasn't used to many people paying any attention to him besides getting out of his way. She took a deep breath. "Luna, I wanted to ask you a question about the Rookery."

"Oh," Luna's smile tilted a bit sadly but she nodded. "It's old. Older than the Burrow or the Diggs. Daddy didn't like how boring the house looked so he made it change."

"Is it all right now? There was a pretty big explosion when we went to see him," Hermione asked as gently as she could. "He had a dangerous potions ingredient very close to the stove…and then the Deatheaters…"

Luna nodded, "Daddy was never the same after my mother died." Her smile faded but reappeared as she answered Hermione's question. "When I went home after the Battle the Rookery was rebuilding. It's taking a different form, but I think I'll enjoy a little cottage with a living roof and clover blooming on it. The rooks can nest there."

"So it's like Longbottom Hall and Grimmauld Place," Riddick's rich voice was a low murmur. "Tied to the Faery realm?" His eyes were intent upon Luna's face and anyone who didn't know him, or didn't have Luna's panache with strangeness, might have found that silver gaze offputting.

Luna's bright laugh rang out through the hall and she nodded, "Of course silly. Where else do you think I would see all the animals Hermione doesn't think exist?"

Hermione blushed slightly and shook her head, "Luna you know it's not that I don't believe you."

The little blonde nodded sympathetically, "It's hard for you to understand if you don't have a frame of reference. I'd be happy to show you some day. I think you'll like seeing what a Nargle actually looks like."

The Muggleborn nodded, "I'd like that I think." She looked at Riddick who nodded and sipped his tea before fixing silver eyes on Luna again. He seemed to be taking Luna and her oddities in stride, as easily as the little blonde witch was taking his, and Hermione found herself smiling absently. It was always nice when two people she liked got along without her having to chivvy them into a cordial relationship.

"Was wondering if Harry'd had a chance to talk to you? About the future?" He pushed a mug of tea towards Hermione in a reminder to eat and drink something and she sighed and took a sip of the morning brew.

"He hasn't asked me if I'd like to come with the four of you yet," Luna shook her head with a tender curve of her lips. "But he's very…shy yet. About his feelings. He still doesn't think I'd say yes."

"I think maybe you ought to talk to him," Hermione suggested. "He'll need your help. We think Potter estate might also be like the Rookery. But Harry doesn't know where it is."

Luna nodded, her usually serene face saddened. "Potters Wheel was destroyed in the last war. That was when his grandparents were killed. But by now the Wheel would have reformed." She thought a little bit, "The Goblins might know where it is. I thought it was somewhere in Devon."

Hermione nodded, "That would make sense, that's where most of the clay deposits are in Britain. Though there are some on the Isle of Wight which is close by, relatively speaking."

"Could the elves find it?" Riddick wondered quietly. "Or don't elves talk to each other?"

Luna was staring into space with the dreamy look she got when she was thinking of something particularly difficult. Hermione usually dreaded that expression because it meant Luna would end up saying something that would confound everything Hermione thought she understood. Sure enough, Luna did not disappoint.

"The Hall, Grimmauld and the Rookery should know where the Wheel is." The fey girl said softly.

"Luna…" Hermione really was feeling out of her depth and she didn't like it. Riddick's hand slid up her spine to squeeze her nape and she relaxed minutely. "I…don't understand." She admitted finally and with no small amount of irritation.

The younger girl nodded, "Well you wouldn't. You haven't grown up knowing your home was alive around you. Muggles don't build out of living earth. But I've always known the Rookery was alive. It's not the same as we are, it's…more like a tree than a rabbit. And every tree's roots touch another's."

"So you're saying we could use the three places we know, to find the fourth, like triangulation." Riddick received a blank look from the Pureblood witch at that, and Hermione admitted privately it was nice to see that Luna didn't know everything. Riddick just took it in stride and proceeded to explain the process which they'd only briefly touched on in their Arithmancy classes.

Luna nodded afterwards, "In theory that should work. We know where the other three homes are. And if we find Potters Wheel then we'll have all four cardinal points. We'll balance nicely, two houses of grey, one light and one dark."

Hermione frowned thoughtfully, "I know that the Blacks are dark, but which houses are grey and which is light?"

Luna's laugh was gentle, "Contrary to what Dumbledore always told Harry, the Potters have always been grey. They're the shadows. The Longbottom's are Light. And the Lovegoods are grey as well. We stand between the candle and the darkness."

The Muggleborn smiled slightly, "That's another thing you should tell Harry. He might feel less guilty about not being perfect if he knew that."

The petite blonde nodded, "He does insist on being so hard on himself."

Riddick chuckled and stroked Hermione's braids, nuzzling her exposed neck affectionately, "Lots of that going around. Can't think of everything, know everything Mya, nobody's perfect."

"Not even you?" Hermione teased him gently and was rewarded with a wicked smirk.

"I'm hurt sweetness. You don't think I'm perfect?" She could feel his smirk against her neck as he breathed in her scent.

"Close..." She shivered under his mouth and he chuckled, dark and hungry in her ears.

"I'll take it," His mouth captured hers in a kiss that sent fire through her veins and informed everyone within view that she was his.

The elves that had found them were many and varied in skills and experience. At last count Winky and Kreacher had found two dozen who were willing to take a chance on a new world. They bound themselves to whichever one of the Witches or Wizards, or Mage in Riddick's case, to whom they felt an affinity, and began to help with the Room of Hidden Things.

Hermione was busily searching through the books, grateful one of the elves had experience with libraries. He was an interesting character, the first elf she'd seen to wear spectacles, by the name of Bibs and he'd taken to cataloging the books of the Room with an eagerness that rivaled that of Madam Pince.

Neville's elf Maisie had come back with the news that the elves could move the Hall easily. That any home bound to the Faery realm could easily be 'reset' so that the door opened to a different world. After all, what was bound could be unbound. And at one time the Hall hadn't been bound to the Earth as it's 'front door'. The elves even knew how to do it. That was the good news. Or as Harry called it, 'the pudding'. The 'vegetables' was that none of the elves had any idea how to find a specific world. They could venture across Faery lands and hope, but none of them knew how to find one spot amongst the millions of possibilities.

So now, every waking moment, and a few that should have been spent sleeping, Hermione was pouring through tomes looking for a spell or ritual that would help them find Furya. The Room of Hidden Things needed someone to anchor it besides the elves, so that no one else would come in and try to use the Room of Requirement. So she was using one of the divans the elves had found and cleaned up to sit and deal with piles of books.

The door to the Room opening drew her attention and she offered a hopeful smile as Harry entered. "Any luck?"

He nodded, grinning. "You and Luna were right. It was in Devon. And once each of us linked to the wardstones of the Rookery, the Hall and Grimmauld we were able to pinpoint it."

"And the kids?" Hermione made a note as she shut the book and set it aside before picking up the next. "Riddick said he was going to talk to a few that were in a foster home near London today."

"I just talked to him. He and Snips were going to drop some things at Grimmauld before they came back here. The kids he talked to are going to stay at Longbottom Hall," Harry explained as he took a seat. "Once we found Potter's Wheel Luna and I Apparated over there and found the house. Right now it looks small but it's plenty big on the inside. It has a kiln attached to it though, apparently that's always been part of the house, no matter what form it takes."

Hermione nodded her understanding. "How'd the kids react? Any of them even more freaked out?"

Harry shook his head, "After most of them lost their families...were lucky to escape with their lives, the idea of not having to live in a society that condones that... Riddick said they were pretty grim, but willing to relocate."

The Witch sighed tiredly, "Have you talked to Andromeda?"

It was Harry's turn to sigh. "Yeah. She's willing to come with. I think she could have taken losing her husband, or losing her daughter. But both? She's done. And having Lucius Malfoy free to roam is a bit more than she can stomach. Draco she could handle I think; she doesn't mind him so much. Mostly because he helped you and he was obviously forced into taking the mark. But Lucius is a Deatheater and he's alive. And Andromeda's husband is dead, because he was Muggleborn."

Hermione shook her head sadly. "I'm glad she'll come with. I just wish it didn't feel like we're salting the earth behind us."

Riddick entered the room and strode straight towards her, picking her up and kissing her hungrily before sitting with her in his lap. "Smell sad sweetness, you all right?"

"Just...making no headway with finding a way to actually find Furya," Hermione leaned against him and let herself just enjoy the feel of his body cradling hers while Harry explained their conversation.

Riddick's hand rubbed up and down her spine as he listened and gave her concerns some consideration. "Don't know that we're really salting the earth sweetness. People here have plenty of chances to change. They can have more kids, they can make new laws, even immigrate to other countries if they need to. They got a whole world. Nothing to stop them fixing things."

"They won't know something's wrong," She shook her head. "They never know when something is wrong."

"That's not your fault. Not your problem either." Riddick reminded her. "You two solved their mess once." He tugged on her braid, tilting her head back so he could look into her eyes, "Unless you've changed your mind? You want to stay and try to fix them?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head, "No. No I don't want to stay." The tense lines around his mouth eased and she traced his lips with her fingertip. "If we couldn't get the laws changed, couldn't change attitudes this year, so soon after the war ended, then we'll never be able to."

Harry spoke up then from his seat in a very ragged overstuffed chair, "Mya, you remember history class in Secondary school? We had to learn about the Roman empire, and how they pretty much took over everything between here and Italy?"

"Of course," She nodded wondering what his point was. "They built roads and aqueducts all across Europe."

"Yeah. And they were so powerful and huge that they couldn't communicate effectively." Harry reminded her. "And they'd been in power so long the government became corrupt. And eventually the whole thing collapsed."

Hermione sighed as what he was saying sank in. "You think this is just...nature taking its course?"

"I think that three wars in three generations without any change to prevent a fourth is madness. And us leaving is just letting Darwinism have a chance." Harry shrugged, "I've had enough of this. You're exhausted trying to find this ritual or you wouldn't even be thinking about it. You're just tired enough that you're feeling guilty about not solving all their problems."

Her laugh of agreement was rueful and she leaned against Riddick with a sigh. "You're right. My brain is just on overload. I'm starting to wonder if anyone has ever even done this before. If it hasn't been done there wouldn't be any sort of ritual or spell for it."

Riddick made a thoughtful noise in his chest and shifted, leaning back with her still in his lap. "Hmmm..." One big hand rubbed the back of her neck, easing the stiff muscles there. "Guess we gotta figure out how to do this ourselves."

Hermione nodded, "We're going to need to lean on your genius with Arithmancy love. It's integral to spell creation."

"Hey, speaking of Riddick and Arithmancy. If Riddick can use magic, how is it that spells don't effect him," Harry asked curiously.

Hermione shrugged, "We're not sure exactly. But we think it has to do with intent. Riddick's magic knows when a spell has malevolent intent. It automatically...absorbs the spell's energy without allowing it to harm him."

"But you said he took a curse from Ginny meant for you and it burnt him." Harry pointed out. "How could it have hurt him?"

"Made a decision to block the curse with my body," Riddick sounded almost bored. "Knew it might hurt. Figured it was worth it."

"So because you decided to take what you knew was a curse, it had some effect, just not the intended result," Harry looked at Hermione. "And when you cast spells to help Riddick, warming charms or the one for his eyes, they're intended to be helpful so they actually work. What about when he's asleep?"

"Same thing," The Furyan told him. "Magic's always awake I guess."

"Hmm..." Hermione kissed his cheek. "We should do that ritual I found, before we try to invent any spells. If something goes wrong..." She shivered. "I can't lose you."

"You won't." His growl was reassuring even as he held her closer. "But you're right. No reason to wait on that."

Hermione smiled at him and looked at Harry. "Want to be a witness?"