AN: Sorry for the long time between chapters. The next chapter required me to do some serious research, and I need the two to meld so this chapter was delayed a bit. (I also had a bit of real life show up and delay things, but that's another story.)
Also, I'm experimenting with some new page breaks…none of my original fonts or spacing show up when I post…
Chapter Twenty-One
Hermione splashed water on her face and made sure the silver charm around her neck was covered by her robes. She knew Harry and Severus would be here as soon as they could. It didn't keep her from worrying. How long until the moon came out…how high did it need to be for Martin to seal the ritual? It was hard to tell with the rain outside. It wasn't dark yet, but it didn't look far off.
She glanced in the mirror. She looked ruddy awful. She rinsed her mouth again, wishing for her wand or a toothbrush…she nearly giggled. If she had her wand, she'd have better things to do than brush her teeth.
She was stalling. She wondered briefly how long it would take Greengrass to blow the door off its hinges if she simply locked herself inside….
She debated it for a full minute, but she decided that she would probably be in a better position if she didn't make him angry, especially when it was such a simple matter to blast the door with magic. Even after she made her decision, she didn't want to leave the bathroom…
Martin Greengrass was so very reasonable, so calm, so sincere. But she remembered her horror when she'd gone to her garden nine weeks ago and found a dripping, bloody heart nailed to the fence. She had a gut feeling that there was no magical reason why he had to send her the hearts…that removing and sending the hearts was something he needed to do…not because of magic, but because it fed something dark within him.
She heard him rap lightly at the door. She cleared her throat and called out. "One moment please."
She pulled back her shoulders and left the white-tiled bathroom with her head held high. She was a Gryffindor after all.
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Severus arrived within moments of Harry, along with Draco and what looked like the entire Auror department, half the department of mysteries, and a quarter of the LE office.
"Wards?"
Harry sighed. "Greengrass was the best ward cracker in the last seventy years…"
Severus nodded. "This is an old family estate, which means that some of these spells have been active for generations…the ones at Hogwarts are damn near sentient."
"Bloody Brilliant."
"Indeed."
Harry couldn't help but admire the cool detachment in Severus' voice. You'd never know that someone he cared for was just beyond those wards…unless you knew him well, then you might noticed his grip on his wand, the unholy light in his eyes…Harry shuddered.
"Rodgers, get to work on those wards."
Severus prowled around the edges of the work while Draco moved closer to Harry.
"Potter."
"Malfoy."
There wasn't any warmth in the exchange, but there was no heat in it either.
Malfoy looked bored, but Harry knew that 'bored' was the blonde's 'blank face'.
"He's going to kill him." Malfoy said it as if it didn't matter.
He was looking over the grounds that none of them could reach because of the wards.
"I hope she survives whatever is going on in there. If she does, he will, if only for her sake."
Harry tried not to think about it, and failed miserably. "She will."
Harry took a long sip of coffee from a cup that someone had brought at some point. "But if she doesn't…I won't keep him from killing Greengrass, unless I do it first."
Malfoy smirked. "I never heard you say that Potter. And if anyone asks, it was purely self defense."
Harry Potter grinned at the man he'd hated since he was eleven years old.
Malfoy shrugged. "If she's dead or mad, I don't care what the coroner says…he was like that when we found him. We'll have plenty of witnesses I assume?"
Harry nodded. He hoped, truly hoped, it didn't come down to that. But if it did…it was good to have Draco Malfoy on his side.
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Greengrass looked at her, the picture of concern.
"Hermione my love, you aren't eating."
Of course she wasn't eating. Only a madman would expect her to…
"I'm not feeling well."
He nodded. "Some of the soup might help you know…my bouillabaisse is rather good."
She took a deep breath. It smelled wonderful. That alone alerted her that some magic might be at work.
"Thank you, but no."
He watched her as he ate, his eyes intense.
"Potter is outside my wards."
He said it like he was bringing up the weather.
"He won't get in of course. Even I couldn't break these wards, at least not in time. We'll head out to finish the spell in about an hour. Are you sure I can't get you something to eat? As soon as the spell is set, we won't have much time…though I'm sure when we arrive…"
Hermione looked at him in alarm, her heart beating wildly. "We're going somewhere else?"
"Of course. I have an international portkey. It wasn't hard to get it set up using a fake name and a little polyjuice."
"Not when you work at the Ministry anyway."
He shrugged.
"It was very convenient."
She had a thought.
"Do you have the grimoires here?"
"Yes of course my dear. As soon as we've bonded you'll be able to unlock them and peruse them to your heart's delight. Until then, they are most regrettably, locked."
"Where did you get the spell you are using tonight?"
"Hoodoo isn't really about spells per se…it encourages innovation…which may be why there is no single school of magic for it. In any case, the foundation of the spell is a variety of very simple love, lust, and binding spells that are the Hoodoo equivalent to first or second year work at Hogwarts. The last spell is actually something a bit different. It's a combination of the principals of Hoodoo and a rather dark spell I found years ago. You needn't worry though…all will be well."
Funny, she didn't seem to feel any comfort at that statement.
She stood up, edging away from the table. Martin moved behind her, running his fingers over her waist and hips. She felt his lips on her neck as she tried to pull away.
"You'll let Snape kiss your neck…mark you, but not me?" There was a fine edge of anger under his words.
She turned to face him. "Martin, listen to me. You need to stop this. If you do, then we can get you some help…even find someone willing to soul bond with you I'm sure…"
He pulled her close and looked in her eyes. "Merlin's ghost. You fell in love with him." The light in his eyes turned manic. "Was one quick shag all it took? One little lust spell and you're holding hands with a death eater? It won't matter. After tonight, you won't ever love anyone but me, ever again."
He pointed his wand and put her back in the full body bind curse, then stomped out of the room like a petulant little boy. She fell over and bruised her ribs, but it could have been much worse.
With nothing else to do, she concentrated on trying to undo the body bind. She'd never heard of anyone doing it while actually in the body bind curse, but she would try.
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"Davis, I need an ETA on those wards."
The smallest Auror had taken over when Rogers passed out.
"They're tricky sir…they move around, they're filled with traps…I need at least another hour and that's if he doesn't have another layer under this batch. Tricky bastard."
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It wasn't long, perhaps fifteen minutes when Greengrass returned.
He looked down at her with undisguised admiration, a hit of softness, and a lot more lust than she was comfortable with. It was as if the previous conversation had never happened.
"The storm has passed. We need to get outside to get ready for the ritual."
He picked her up and cradled her to his chest. The body bind curse wouldn't let her hyperventilate, but the tenderness in his touch frightened her more than violence would. She'd been tortured before. This was totally different. Her skin broke out in gooseflesh. He noticed and wrapped a cloak around her like she was an infant.
"There now. Can't have you catching cold love." He kissed her temple. She wondered if there was anything left in her stomach to throw up.
He carried her out of the manor. She wondered, for the first time, why the spell had to be completed outdoors.
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Davis grabbed Harry's arm roughly. "Did you see that?"
"The shimmer inside the wards?"
"Good, glad I wasn't seeing things." She sniffed. "Do you think Rogers is any shape to help?" The other auror was still sitting on a low wall, wrapped in a blanket with his head listing slightly to one side.
Snape was suddenly there. "If you need assistance, I've done a bit of curse-breaking and I've worked with some powerful wards…as has Draco for that matter. The wards at Malfoy manor are some of the oldest and most complex in the world, outside of Hogwarts of course."
Davis nodded at her former head of house. "I'd be glad to have both of you working on this sir. As you can see…it's a bit of a tangled mess."
Draco ran his wand around in a complicated motion and whistled. "I've never seen anything in this…style before."
Davis took a deep breath. "Me either, but see here…" She wound her wand in spirals. "You see…the newer wards are the ones that move around, but they're tied to the older wards. I think we can sort of burrow under the newer wards."
Snape nearly smiled. "If we were still at Hogwarts Miss Davis, you would be receiving fifty house points for that."
Tracy Davis snorted. "Now I know you love her…sir."
Severus tried to glare at her, but he was too happy with having something to do.
"Right. Let's get to this."
AN: I have most of the next chapter written and an entire evening free to devote to writing (How lucky can a girl get?). Expect Chapter Twenty-Two up tomorrow, and thank you for hanging in there.