A/N: Here comes a transitioning chapter connecting several different themes, and getting us ready for a rather new situation. I hope you like it and will forgive the step I take at the end of this installment.
Luna de Papel... I'm very fortunate to find you as my beta! Thank you!
Disclaimer: Not Mine.
Chapter Twenty-One - An Unexpected Messenger
"Hermione! Guess who's back!" Harry's excited voice woke Hermione early one morning.
Hermione sat up in a jolt. As she quickly got out of bed, she thought about the message she had sent to Severus the night before with the help of Phineas Nigellus Black. Who was Harry talking about? Did he meet up with Severus? Was Severus back?
She raised a hand to block out the bright sunlight when she hurried out of the tent. Squinting in the morning sun, she quickly spotted a red-headed wizard standing next to Harry. "Hi..." She smiled weakly, remembering that Harry had no idea Severus had spent Christmas Eve in their tent. "Ron... You're back."
"Hermione." Ron seemed absolutely miserable when he met the witch's gaze. "Um... Yeah, I am. I'm... er... sorry."
An awkward moment of silence fell among them. Hermione frowned when she noticed Ron's ears turning scarlet as he shifted his feet uncomfortably.
"Guess what?" Harry was the one who broke the silence. "We killed the locket! Well, Ron did it, actually. He stabbed the locket with the sword I found at the bottom of the lake. And he also saved me from drowning in that freezing cold water!" The wizard grinned happily and held up the Sword of Gryffindor to show Hermione, but not before nudging his friend next to him encouragingly. "Come on, Ron. Don't you want to show her the locket?"
"Well..." Ron scratched his head absentmindedly and handed Hermione a blackened object. "Yeah, I stabbed it. It's over now, I guess..." His voice trailed off as he grimaced at the locket. A long pause later he said uneasily, "Um... Hermione, aren't you going to yell at me?"
Hermione frowned at the young wizard before her, but couldn't help breaking into a small chuckle. "No, Ron. Why? What makes you think I'm going to yell at you?"
"You always do!" Ron shrugged. "Whenever I did something... stupid."
"Well." Hermione nodded knowingly. "I usually had to yell at you so that I could get some senses into your head. I see no reason to do that now. I think you've figured it out already, haven't you? Isn't it why you're back with us?"
"I guess..." Ron sighed. Hermione noticed the small frown never left his brows.
"And guess who else we almost met?" Harry beamed at Hermione with a wink. "He must really care about you, that boyfriend of yours. I didn't know his Patronus matches yours!"
"Do you have to talk about that right now?" Ron screwed up his face and sent his best mate a death glare. He then ran past Hermione and walked straight into the tent.
The witch turned her head and watched Ron disappear into the tent. Even though her eyes were following the wizard, she wasn't really paying any attention to him. Blinking several times she slowly turned to face Harry, with tears glistening in her eyes. "What did you just say?"
She was quite sure that she heard exactly what Harry had said. She only asked because she needed a moment to gather her composure. Harry had no idea, but his words had just filled Hermione's heart with absolute joy, and drove away all the doubt that had been eating her in the past few days. Since the day she made her declaration in a hurry, she had been second guessing herself, contemplating the reasons why Severus didn't complete his response to her love confession. What made him hesitate? Had she been too forward? Hermione was never good at dealing with not being able to get her questions answered; and it had never been so difficult when she was equally afraid to know what the reply would be.
But now, finally, she had found the answer she was hoping for.
For the longest time she thought she would only know what it feels like to be loved after hearing those three words. Slowly taking in the knowledge of the change in Severus' Patronus, Hermione realized that words are truly overrated...
"You didn't know? His Patronus is an otter, just like yours, but a bit taller. You are his happy thought! He sent his Patronus to lead me to the lake to find the sword," Harry explained excitedly. "It's just strange that he had to make it so hard for me to get it. I guess I have to prove myself to the sword, like Dumbledore once told me. But still... I wish you could introduce us."
"No." Hermione shook her head slowly, barely able to hold back her smile. "I can't. Not now." Her voice shook. She was so happy she felt she was about to burst.
"Whatever you say." Harry shrugged, but didn't seem really bothered by the secret the witch was keeping from him. "I'm sure you have a good reason."
Taking a deep breath Hermione decided she should change the subject, so that she wouldn't scream like a silly teenage girl in front of her friends. "What's up with him?" Hermione suddenly remembered the red-headed wizard.
"Oh..." Harry hesitated. "Well... He... I... I think I should let him explain it to you. Just be patient with him, alright?" He looked at Hermione pleadingly. "Yeah... talk to him... talking will be good."
"Okay." Hermione frowned and shrugged. Whatever that was bothering Ron couldn't be that bad. She decided she would follow the red-headed wizard and have a chat with him. Afterall, she was very glad to see him back again.
Ron was sitting by the table across from the two bunk beds. When Hermione walked in the tent, he looked up briefly, sending the witch a saddened glance.
"What's all the misery?" Hermione asked cheerfully. "I thought we should celebrate! You found us, and you destroyed the locket. Why's the frown?"
Ron looked up at Hermione and grimaced. A long pause later he finally asked, "Do you really love him?"
Hermione arched her brows at the unexpected question, and couldn't help grinning at her friend. "Why do you ask?" She blushed.
The young man let out a sigh as he found the obvious answer from her smile. "Well... it's just..." He swallowed. "Let's just say, if he's ever mean to you, I'm going to kill him."
Hermione's eyes widened in surprised. "Oh." She slowly realized the signs that she had missed. She was so preoccupied by her feelings for Severus, she had overlooked her best friend's affections towards her all this time!
"Yeah." Ron ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "Harry told me all about him - how he helped you two when Harry was injured, how he got the cup, and how he led Harry to the sword." He let out a miserable laugh. "And all along I was jealous of Harry!" He shook his head and said quietly. "You must think I'm really stupid."
"Oh, Ron." Hermione hurried to the young wizard's side and sat down at the table across from him. "I... I didn't realize... I didn't know. But you're always my best friend! You and Harry are the brothers that I never had! I love you both like family. And I never thought you would... I'm so sorry."
"Well..." Ron shrugged. "You shouldn't apologize. It's my own problem." He fell silent for a long moment. "I guess I got a bit confused by my own feelings, after spending so much time together... all these years... And the locket definitely didn't help, either." He frowned.
Hermione nodded in agreement. Looking at the darkened locket on the table she sighed, "I know what you mean. It almost felt like his evil soul is determined to destroy our friendship." She looked up at Ron and reached for his arm. "You do know I care about you and Harry very very much, right?"
He gave her an uneasy smile and nodded. "Yes, Hermione. I know. And I'll remember that. Are you mad at me now?"
"No, I'm not." A relieved smile spread across the witch's face. "Come here, let me give you a welcome hug. You see, you just didn't realize it, but I'm definitely more like family to you than a girlfriend. Do you think you would always want to worry about your girlfriend being mad at you? You are thinking of me more like a sister. I just hope you're not confusing me with your mum."
The young wizard's ears turned scarlet upon hearing her words. "Merlin! Hermione!" Ron grimaced. "Don't you ever say things like that again! I'm embarrassed enough as it is. Now I think I need to find a hole in the ground to hide in..."
Harry entered the tent when he heard Hermione giggling inside. "Good." He smiled at his two best friends in relief. "Looks like everyone's happy again!"
"Yep." Hermione gave Ron a gentle pad on the shoulder and turned to Harry. "Do you have the sword? We should probably get rid of the cup before breakfast, don't you think?"
"Good idea. I have it right here." Harry held up the sword of Gryffindor. "Let's take care of it right now."
Hermione pulled the golden cup out of her beaded bag and set it on the table, but she stopped Harry before the young wizard made his way to the table.
"May I do the honors?" She asked with a small smile hanging on the corner of her lips. "That cursed locket did awful things to my mind. Since you two took care of that, I'd like to unleash my revenge on the cup."
"Well..." Harry hesitated. After witnessing what the locket did to Ron, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see his other best friend dealing with a cursed object. "I guess... But... it's going to put up a fight."
"Put up a fight? The cup?" Hermione arched her brows and asked curiously. "How is a cup going to put up a fight?" She shook her head and took the sword from Harry's hand. She was quite surprised when she turned around and saw Ron looking at her with great concern. "What?" She challenged, "You can't honestly be thinking that I'm not strong enough to run the sword through it?"
"No..." Ron shook his head and protested immediately. "It's not like that. But Harry's right... It can be really nasty. If it's like the locket, it may..."
The wizard didn't get to finish his words when the tent suddenly seemed darker. Hermione looked down at the cup before her with alarm. Maybe she should have listened to her friends before walking up to the cursed cup with the sword. Maybe she shouldn't do this. Frowning at her own hesitation, she quickly held up the sword, with its blade aiming straight at Hufflepuff's cup.
Hermione took a sudden step backwards when the cup shook violently on the table. White fog surrounded the object, making it almost difficult to see the cup itself. When the fog slowly subsided, a figure slowly emerged from behind the table, and quickly grew into a black-haired boy who couldn't be older than a first-year student at Hogwarts.
Harry and Ron looked at each other in confusion - they couldn't recognize the boy, and didn't understand why Hermione was staring at the boy, with tears glistening in her eyes.
"Hermione," Harry held on to the witch's arm and shook her urgently. "Whoever that is, he's not real!"
Ron pulled out his wand and pointed it at the figure that was slowly approaching them from behind the table. "Back off!" He bellowed.
The black-haired boy ignored them both, with eyes only on Hermione. "Hi, mom." He smirked. "Remember me?"
Harry and Ron were so shocked by the boy's greeting they didn't know what to say, other than looking back at Hermione wide-eyed.
"My baby..." Hermione whimpered as she fell to her knees. "Toby... sweetie... come here!" She could barely talk between her sobs. "I've been missing you... so very much!" She dropped the sword and held out both hands, desperately trying to reach for the boy.
But the boy suddenly stopped in his path and hissed, "How dare you! You are not worthy to be my mother. What kind of mother would leave her son? What kind of mother couldn't even tell her son who his father is? How dare you even call me your son?"
Hermione covered her mouth with a shaking hand. "How can you say that, sweetie?" She struggled to hold back her tears. "I love you. You know mommy loves you..."
"Don't talk to me like that!" The boy snarled, his face suddenly looked hard and mean. "You are only a filthy mudblood! Don't pretend you know how I think of you! I don't love you! Nobody loves you! My father certainly does not love you! It's all your wishful thinking. Have you ever heard him say he loves you? He's ashamed of you! You are worthless to him!"
Hermione frowned as she listened to the rant of the boy before her. He looked just like Toby, and sounded almost like him, but Toby would never, not in a million years, talk to her like this. And then when he started making statements about his father, a realization suddenly hit Hermione. She closed her eyes and let out a miserable laugh.
"You think you can pretend to be my baby?" When she opened her eyes again her voice was cold as ice. "You've got it all wrong." She shook her head and said sternly. "You have no idea what love is, do you? Toby's father loves us. He loves me. He doesn't need to say it. I know."
The black-haired boy sneered at the witch viciously; but Hermione was not going to give him the chance to say another word. She quickly picked up the sword and got back on her feet, before walking straight to the table. Tightening her grip on the sword she raised her arms, and aimed at the cursed cup with narrowed eyes. And then with all her might she plunged the sword into the cup. A bloodcurdling scream filled their ears. Within seconds, the fog, the boy, and the scream all disappeared.
Hermione let out a sigh and dropped the sword on the table. She took a few steps backwards and glared at the blackened cup.
"Blimey. Who was that?" Ron whispered.
"You have a son?" Harry's eyes were as big as saucers.
Shaking her head slightly Hermione sank into the sofa. "No." She answered quietly, but couldn't stop her tears from gushing down her cheeks. "That wasn't..." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "That wasn't... real."
Severus couldn't remember when it was the last time he felt so tired.
It was a quiet evening in his office. He was only about an hour into his reading, which was nothing compared to what he would typically do at night. He didn't have a headache, and certainly didn't feel sick. For some reason however, he had a difficult time keeping his eyes open.
Rubbing his temples with his fingers he considered summoning some tea from the house elves. But as he closed his eyes to concentrate on the pressure from his fingers, a wave of tiredness took over. He had no choice but to slump over his desk and gave in to the paralyzing power. When he struggled to open his eyes again, he noticed a light mist had invaded his office... or should he say, his dream?
"Master Severus!" A woman's urgent voice sent a jolt down his spine.
"Who's there?" Severus sat up straight in his chair and reached for his wand. He noticed he was now in the center of a white marble room, with a light mist filling every corner of his surroundings.
"Master Severus!" A young woman dressed in a long white gown suddenly came into view. Severus couldn't recognize her as anyone he had known currently residing at Hogwarts; although her long black hair and pale skin did remind him of someone he once saw in an old family picture his mother used to keep in her bedroom drawers.
"Who are you?" Severus sneered at woman. "I've never seen you at Hogwarts. What's your business in my office?"
"Master Severus, Hermione Granger requires your help, as soon as possible." The woman answered breathlessly. "I'm afraid my power is limited. This is all that I can do, sir. My apologies..."
Before her words could register in Severus head, the woman's image began to flicker.
"What are you saying?" Severus shot up from his seat and tried to reach for the woman's arm. Before his hand could touch her however, she popped out of existence like a soap bubble. Severus lost his balance and stumbled forward, only to find himself startle awake in his quite office.
The only sound he could hear was the ticking of the grandfather clock on the far wall. As he surveyed his surroundings in alarm, he could feel the hair stand up on the back of his neck. The sleepiness he was feeling earlier that night was completely gone. The young woman's warning was still ringing in his ears. It simply was too realistic to be a dream.
Severus abruptly got up from behind his desk and marched across the room, and found the portrait Phineas Nigellus Black snoozing quietly in his chair.
"Why are you here?" Severus woke the wizard with a low but urgent voice. "Didn't I tell you to stay with Miss Granger and only return to me if she needs a message delivered? Why did you leave her? How long have you been sleeping here?"
"I beg your pardon, Headmaster!" The wizard in the portrait was clearly annoyed by Severus' questions. "Are you suggesting my service to the school should be conducted under a contract quite similar to slavery? Am I not allowed a moment of rest? In fact, I demand to do whatever I please, especially when my health is threatened. Don't you think I could provide better assistance when I am not suffering motion sickness?" He looked down his nose and glared at the young headmaster.
"I don't appreciate your attitude or your excuse." Severus hissed. "How on earth can the health of a portrait be threatened?"
"Well," Phineas Nigellus arched a brow. "Imagine yourself being put in a very dark room, while the room was shaking violently without warning. Tell me Headmaster, how should an old man like me tolerate such mistreatment?" Narrowing his eyes at the young Headmaster the wizard cleared his throat and continued. "I was minding my own business in my portrait in Miss Granger's charmed bag this afternoon, when she suddenly threw her entire household into the bag and started running. It was as if I was forced onto a saddle carried by a wild horse, all the time being blindfolded! I detest this assignment of sticking around with these thoughtless teenagers. Their madness is certainly not going to benefit my health!"
"Stop your pathetic whining immediately!" Severus snarled at the wizard in the portrait. "You will return to Miss Granger right away and you will return to report to me their current conditions. Either that, or else!"
"How could you talk to your Slytherin colleague like this?" Phineas Nigellus' eyes were widened in surprise.
"My dear Phineas," Dumbledore's portrait chuckled from the opposite side of the room. "I suggest that you follow the Headmaster's request without further delay. We all know if one were to make a Slytherin's life miserable, another Slytherin would be the best for the job!"
Phineas Nigellus' jaw dropped as he sent murderous glares between the old wizard in the portrait and the young wizard before him. Couldn't find his voice, he only grunted in reply before hastily dashing out of the portrait.
Severus spent the next few minutes pacing nervously in his office. He couldn't explain why he would think so importantly of an apparent dream. However, something about that young woman's words shook him to the core.
His worries were quickly confirmed when the wizard in the portrait returned with a breathless report. "Merlin helps us! Headmaster! I have no idea what can be happening, for my portrait in Miss Granger's bag is still in the dark. However, I could hear Miss Granger screaming on top of her lungs. It sounded as if..." He hesitated with a short pause. "It sounded as if Miss Granger is being tortured by the unforgivable curse!"
"What?" Blood drained from Severus' face. "Who's torturing her? Where are they?"
"Like I said, Headmaster, my portrait was still in the dark. I don't have that information!" The wizard in the portrait replied apologetically. He looked down for a brief moment to gather his thoughts, and suddenly struck by something else he had heard. "Although I believe I did hear a witch's voice saying, 'watch carefully Draco, this is what you do with a mudblood.' And she also seemed to want to know how Miss Granger had stolen something from her vault."
Severus didn't need to hear another word. He immediately realized whose curse was torturing his witch and where he would be able to find them. He had no doubt the only reason for the Dark Lord not to be present was because Bellatrix was ashamed to admit that her vault was not as safe as she had boasted in front of her idol. However, if they had Hermione, they must also have Potter. Bellatrix knew better than to delay informing the Dark Lord about the capture of the Chosen One. Severus took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm his nerves: he didn't have much time.
In a few long strides he walked across the room and looked out the windows towards the darkening grounds, contemplating his limited options. Turning to the Order for help was out of the question. Having lost contact with the group for almost a year, and witnessing the members either attacked by Death Eaters or being placed under heavy surveillance by the Ministry controlled by Voldemort, Severus had no idea which one of them was up for the task. Even if he could find an available Order member for a rescue mission, without the assistance from an insider, no one would be able to get through the complicated spells guarding Malfoy Manor. He would be the only one who could offer the help, yet he certainly had no time to explain his secret role to anyone right now.
If there was no one else he could call upon, Severus quickly decided he would be the one to rescue the trio. However, casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself was also out of the question. Severus knew the charm would be far too weak for a plan involving walking straight into a dark wizard's home, let alone engaging in duels with dangerous dark wizards and witches. And not knowing who else were present, appearing as himself seemed like a poorly strategized gamble. Narrowing his eyes he looked into the distance, watching the shadows of the forbidden forest swaying in the Black Lake. In the dim moonlight the shadow had merged with the forest, making it difficult to tell which part was the water, and which part was the forest. An owl suddenly flew out of the thick trees, gliding through the night sky with an impressive wing span. Watching the bird's silhouette disappearing into the darkness, an idea slowly formed in Severus' head.
With his mind set, Severus ran down the corridors leading to his private quarters like a swirl of wind. Fortunately it was already after curfew, and the Carrows - who were patrolling the castle that night - were nowhere near the dungeons. Before he reached his quarters, he made a quick stop at his private store, and picked up a vial of Polyjuice Potion. As soon as he got in his rooms, Severus warded his door and ran straight into his bedroom and opened his wardrobe, and quickly found the shirt he was looking for.
It was one of his dress shirts claimed by Hermione when she spent the summer with him. She had found the large piece of garment comfortable to be in while lounging around in his temporary rental; while he had found her looking incredibly sexy wearing nothing but his shirt. He didn't have it cleaned after she last wore it, and was almost ashamed by the sentimental reason. He felt as if having it there in his wardrobe somehow was his way to keep her closer to him, and remind him from time to time how he would wake up to her humming a song in the kitchen making breakfast, wearing nothing but his shirt.
He had never expected he would find such a use in the memento. Holding his breath he ran his fingers carefully down the linen, and only let out a relieved breath when he found what he was looking for: a single strand of the curly golden brown hair that belonged to no other than Hermione Granger.
Drawing in a deep breath Severus walked to the mirror, with a vial of now golden liquid in his hand. "Forgive me Hermione." He murmured, before taking the potion with a tip of his head.
A few minutes later, a swirl of black smoke descended from the night sky. When the remnant of the smoke subsided, someone dressed completely in black landed quietly outside of Malfoy Manor. The silver moonlight revealed a young witch with long brown hair. With her wand in her hand, she waved her arm at the black iron gate, and watched it open without a sound. With determination burning in her eyes, she made her way towards the mansion down the dirt road, only to be stopped by a low voice coming from behind.
"You might've gotten yourself a good disguise. But you can't fool me!" A wizard slowly emerged from behind a bush, with his wand pointed straight at the back of the young witch. "You are most certainly not Hermione Granger. Who are you!? And what have you done to her?"
Slowly the witch turned to face the wizard and said, "Who's the one rushing to conclusions this time, Sirius Black?"
TBC
I did promise action, but only delivered drama. My apologies... I suppose there is only one way to correct this? =) Happy Halloween!