Tracking

Minerva turned Hermione around to face her. Vibrations were emanating off Hermione's body in little shock-waves. Minerva knew she had to bring Hermione back to earth, now. "Hermione." She whispered.

Hermione snapped her head towards Minerva so sharply that it scared her. She took a step back, but held onto Hermione's shoulders. "Hermione. Listen to me. Calm down, let's hear what Poppy has to say before you end up doing something you may regret." Minerva could tell that she wasn't dealing with Hermione anymore as she watched the woman she loves spread her arms wide and let out the most piercing shriek she ever heard. All over the castle – students and staff alike were covering their ears at the sound. Hermione's cry of pain could be heard from every corner of Hogwarts.

"You think you know…what you are…what's to come. You haven't even begun."

Dumbledore and the Weasleys were attempting to track Cedric in his office when they heard the inhuman scream. Molly covered her ears and yelled over the din, "What the hell is that?" Then just as soon as the shriek began, it ended. The three uncovered their ears and Dumbledore said, "It's Hermione." Dumbledore knew what a Phoenix sounded like, although he never heard one that could reverberate off the walls – it was still most definitely the scream of a Phoenix in pain.

With a flash of green, Minerva and Poppy came through the floo into Dumbledore's office – both panicked and out of breath. "What happened?" Molly demanded. As if she even needed to ask – she knew that Poppy went to inform them of Cedric's departure with Morgaine, she knew how unstable Hermione's magic was.

"She's gone." Minerva said breathlessly. "She was gone in a flash of gold – it was blinding."

"No one can apparate in or out of Hogwarts…" Molly began.

"Hermione has grown so powerful that there is no limit to her magic now. Normal spells and charms will not work on her – she is no longer bound by the natural laws of magic." Dumbledore said gravely. "Not even the Dark Lord can apparate into Hogwarts."

The gravity of that statement was unsettling to everyone in the room, but they knew that they had no time to waste. Too many lives were on the line – Hermione's, Morgaine's, Cedric's – and God forbid anyone who tried to stand in Hermione's way.

"Ok." Dumbledore said. "This is what we need to do. We have not been able to track Cedric or Morgaine – he must have used a cloaking charm on the both of them. Something tells me that won't be able to stop Hermione for long though – so we need to track her instead. I don't see this as a problem though, because I don't think she has her wits about her enough to cloak herself. Something also tells me that she doesn't care to put one up either…I think she wants to be seen, and her strength has reached a level that she probably doesn't believe that we can stop her – so she sees no use in hiding." Dumbledore didn't even have to lift the crystal to scry for Hermione – the second he touched its string the crystal stood upright – by itself – on the map.

"My God." Molly whispered.

"We need to call the aurors in." Dumbledore whispered.

"Albus, no!" Minerva cried.

"Minerva, I'm sorry, but we have no choice right now. Do you see this?" Dumbledore pointed to the crystal which was now rotating itself on the map so fast that it was burning a hole right through it. "This is how strong she has become – and that kind of strength can only lead to destruction! It is not our intention to harm her – we want to keep her from harming herself and others. Our first priority is to get to her before she tracks down Cedric – and we need all the help we can get."

Minerva looked at Albus with suspicion as she said, "And how do you think they will stop her, Albus? You know that some of them act first – then ask questions later."

"Which is why we are only going to involve aurors who are in the Order, aurors that we know. Arthur, please locate Tonks, Remus, and Kingsley. Bring them here." Dumbledore requested. Arthur nodded and left through the floo to the Ministry. "We must try some sort of binding spell on her. We have no choice but to attempt to bind her powers." Dumbledore said.

"Seriously, Albus? You don't think that could possibly work on her!" Molly cried. "She was at half the power she is now when she stopped us all with her barrier spell 9 months ago – there is no way that we can bind her."

"Not if is one of us doing the binding, but if we all cast at the same time – our collective power may do the trick – giving us the time to try and reach her." Dumbledore said.

"Albus…" Minerva whispered.

Albus looked up at his deputy headmistress. "I know your feelings towards each other, Minerva…which is why you may be our best hope to get her back once she is bound."

"How?..." Minerva asked.

"Everyone knows, Minerva. We were just waiting for you two to realize it on your own – it was not our place to interfere." Molly said quietly, arms crossed – looking at the floor.

Minerva looked out the window. The sun was setting a beautiful orange and red color – much the way Hermione's eyes looked. She wondered if it could be done. She never saw so much rage, so much grief and pain – all at the same time. Hermione was spilling over in her sitting room and Minerva wondered if she had what it would take to bring her back. Minerva's face went from sad to resolved as she made up her mind that there would not be a "what if" – she was going to find a way…she had to…they just found each other.

While plans and decisions were being made in Dumbledore's office, Hermione found herself searching all of Cedric and hers old "haunts". Cedric had a surprisingly strong cloaking charm shielding he and Morgaine from Hermione's sight. He was not of Morgaine's blood though, so the cloak would not last forever – and its life expectancy decreased even further given Hermione's intense desire to find her child...her cub. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she the shield would come crashing down. Though she was overwhelmed with rage, the anger this time was being fueled with fear. She knew that Morgaine was still unprotected from Lucious Malfoy – and she feared she would not get to Morgaine before he did. She feared what would happen if she were to come upon Lucious once more – what would happen to her child? Hermione knew she had to push her fear aside in order to be there for Morgaine – so she traded the fear for fury…

"From now on we won't just face our worst fears…we will seek them out."

Every now and then Hermione would stop and close her eyes, arms outstretched – attempting to track Morgaine's essence. She finally got a trace on it when she was in the Scottish countryside – in a green field full of sheep that she and Cedric spent many a lazy summer day in. She knew that she was at least going in the right direction. At first she was traveling to places they frequented at random, but now she was able to narrow it down to the few surrounding areas around her. Hermione meditated for another moment – judging which direction her child's essence was calling from. South. Something told her that they were south. She tried to think of where they had been that was south of her location. It was a difficult task because after Cedric came of age, the pair of them apparated all over Europe – finding places to make different memories – special memories – that they could always travel back to in order to mark special occasions. A location came to mind and Hermione found herself apparating to - Devon – to a beach that they frequented. She sensed that she was getting closer, but she knew that her daughter was not in Devon – she was further south.

Suddenly it hit her – she knew where they were. Cornwall. Where she and Cedric first made love – in an abandoned castle. They used to joke about coming back one day to fix it up and make it theirs – they would be lord and lady of their own little niche in the world. She spread her arms and closed her eyes – directing her energy to Cornwall, hoping that she would be able to pick up on their exact location. Her concentration was broken when she sensed another essence – an essence that she loved…and one she expected to turn up sooner or later. Hermione lowered her arms, and without turning around she said "I knew you'd come." She held her hand out to the side, knowing that another hand was only a few feet away from slipping into hers. She felt the hand capture and squeeze hers gently.

"Of course." Minerva said. "I will always find you – like I promised."

"You may withdraw your guard, Minerva." Hermione said – without even looking around, Hermione knew that there were others present – though they chose not to reveal themselves the way Minerva did.

Earlier, in Dumbledore's office, a plan was discussed on how to bring Hermione, Morgaine, and Cedric back home. Since they didn't know where Cedric was, they had no choice but to track Hermione. Once her location was discovered, they would remain at a distance – unless they were needed – so Hermione could lead them to Morgaine and Cedric. Minerva would attempt to get through to Hermione while Albus, Molly, Arthur, Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley would lie low – ready to spring into action if need be. They came to the consensus that if Hermione was becoming too big of a threat – or out of control, they would hit her simultaneously with a magical binding spell. They hoped that Hermione wasn't so far gone that 7 wands would not be enough to bind her powers.

"They are only here for protection, poppet." Minerva said gently.

"I would never hurt you…" Hermione whispered.

"It's not for my protection, Hermione. I can protect myself. The protection is for you, for Morgaine – and possibly for Cedric…" Minerva said.

"I just want my baby back." Hermione said, allowing tears to stream down her face. Minerva was hoping that if she could tap into Hermione's sentimental emotion – it may lead her away from the rage – it may ground her magic.

"Think about how you want to go about this, dear." Minerva said sternly. "We will find her, but we will find her the right way. Cedric will be handled in the right way."

For the first time, Hermione turned her head to look into the face of her mentor, "And what way is that, Minerva? To bring him back to Hogwarts, to give him detention?"

"He will be dealt with, love – you need to trust us!" Minerva exclaimed.

Hermione pulled her hand away from Minerva's. She saw Hermione's eyes flare as she shot back, "I don't want him 'dealt with' – I want him PUNISHED!" Hermione screamed. She backed away and raised her arms, about to apparate when Minerva called out "Hermione!..." Hermione halted for a moment and looked at Minerva who continued, "…Evil wakes in vengeance… be careful what you choose…" and in a flash of gold, Hermione was gone.

Minerva walked back to the group and sighed. "Do you know where she went?" Molly asked. "Because for some reason, I can't track her anymore – I can feel her, her anger – but I can't seem to pinpoint her location."

Minerva rubbed her face in exhaustion – a full day of apparating was taking its toll on everyone…everyone except Hermione that is. "Yes. She went to Cornwall. I could sense it when we touched – as though she wanted me to follow." Minerva said from behind her hands. She lowered them and said, "…to an abandoned castle where she and Cedric…shared a memory."

"Well if that is where Cedric is, then we have to go to them now – before something happens." Tonks said.

They all began to hold hands so they could apparate to the location that Minerva saw in her mind when they head the distinct "pop" of apparition. They drew their wands and scanned their surroundings to see Severus Snape gliding towards them. "I have been tracking you for 2 hours now!" He said crossly. "I was only able to catch up to you now."

"What is it Severus?" Albus asked with trepidation.

"We were all called by the Dark Lord several hours ago." Snape began. "He sensed a great power. One that was fueled by rage, by fury. He sensed this power was moving all over Europe, and doing so quickly – without the laws of magic standing in the way. He knows that it came from Hogwarts…he knows that it can travel in and out of any type of ward…and he knows that it is Miss. Weasley. Lucious sensed Morgaine the very second that Cedric removed her from Hogwarts – and he told the Dark Lord how Hermione's magic changed – how strong she was in the graveyard."

It seemed as though no one was breathing, as they waited for him to continue. "The Dark Lord sees her as a threat. She has power that he does not – and he seeks to take it from her."

"He's going to kill her…" Minerva whispered.

"No." Snape said – looking directly into Minerva's eyes. "His specific instructions were for Lucious and Bellatrix to bring the Weasley girl, and her baby – back alive."

"Wait, wait!" Albus cried. "I personally took Bellatrix to Azkaban! She is locked up!"

"She is…" Snape said, "not…anymore."

Everyone stood, mouths agape. "I'm sorry I cannot provide you with more, my absence I fear has not gone unnoticed from the Manor." Snape turned and with a "pop" he was gone.

There was no time for the shock to sink in, action had to be taken. Everyone linked arms, Minerva closed her eyes and with a swirling sensation, they found themselves at an abandoned sea-side castle in Cornwall. "Where is she?" cried Molly.

"I don't know." Minerva said breathlessly as they tried to orient themselves to their surroundings. "But we have to find them and get them all back to Hogwarts fast."

Unfortunately, because of Snape's information session, Hermione had a 5 minute head start over the others. When she landed in Cornwall, she walked with purpose to the place she knew Cedric and Morgaine to be. She walked over the small hillside and down to the beach. Just as she expected, Cedric was sitting on a blanket, holding Morgaine. He watched Hermione as she came down the hill – as though he knew the precise moment when she was going to show up. He could see her eyes glowing, and feel the heat emanating off of her as she approached. He stood and held Morgaine in front of him. Even in the state he was in, he knew that she would bring no harm to her child. He was, in effect, hiding behind Morgaine.

"How dare you." Hermione seethed. "How dare you. Give me my child."

"Hermione, please, calm down and listen." Cedric said.

"Why have you done this? What could you possibly have been thinking – you know she is traceable!" Hermione shrieked.

"I know, Hermione." Cedric said. "It's just – well, I knew that with the way your powers have grown – you would get here first…and we would be able to talk."

Hermione didn't even know what to say, she was overcome with rage and disbelief. "You chose to put my child in mortal danger because you want us to talk? This is what you meant, isn't it? This is what you meant by 'you'll be sorry'! Isn't it?"

"No." Cedric said firmly. "That isn't what I meant by it…"

"Then what? No…wait – you can tell me when we get back to the castle, we are leaving NOW!" Hermione yelled as she stepped forward to claim her baby who was now starting to fuss.

Cedric recoiled, not allowing Hermione to scoop Morgaine from his hands. "Listen for just a moment – THEN we will return, I promise!"

Hermione weighed her options and knew that he would not give in until he was heard. She was not about to use magic on him while he was holding her days-old infant.

"I cannot tell you how much it sickens me that you are using my baby as a shield – it makes me want to vomit. You had better speak quickly, Cedric – or I will take my chances on using magic with you." Hermione said. She became extra vigilant to the senses and sounds of her surroundings while she let him speak…

"I knew you would come here." He said in an excited voice. "I knew that you would find me here – that you probably tracked me through all of our old spots – to end up here, where we first made love."

"Get on with it." Hermione growled through clenched teeth.

"Don't you see, Hermione? You went to all of these places because they meant something to us! They were so important that they drew you here…you were able to sense me, where I was – because you still love me and want to be with me!" Cedric words took on a hysterical tone.

"Have you COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND?" Hermione screamed. In one swift motion, she swept Morgaine away from Cedric and cradled her in her arms. She began to back away, preparing to apparate – but Cedric approached and held onto her arm, tightly. She looked at his face and could clearly see that he was on the brink of insanity.

"You don't love someone for 6 years and then decide that you no longer love that person – you don't suddenly wake up and say 'I love women today'. You were running away from us, Hermione – but look – I led you to all of these places – and you followed! I led you to me! And you came back to me – because you know we are meant to be together!" Cedric spoke at such a fast and jumbled pace that Hermione barely understood him – there was more than one screw loose here.

Hermione pointed her wand at Cedric and he backed off. "Let me make this perfectly clear. I am here for my child, not for you. Morgaine led me to all of these places – not you. Hear me carefully, because I will not say this again – I am no longer in love with you – and I cannot believe the lengths that you have gone, the danger you have put us all in – because you are trying to force me to admit that I still love you. You make me sick and I never want you to come near us again. I don't want to see your face, I don't want to hear your voice." Hermione began to back away – preparing to apparate once more.

Meanwhile – the "rescue party" made their way to the top of the hill. They heaved a collective sigh of relief as they saw all three witches and wizard still safe and sound. They could hear Hermione yelling at Cedric, but were unable to decipher the words until they were halfway down the hill. They saw Hermione backing away – wand still pointed at Cedric. She said "How long were you going to carry this out until I found you? How far were you willing to go…" She turned and saw Minerva halfway up the hill. She felt instant relief, and instead of apparating, she chose to join the rest of the group to return home.

"Hermione, wait!" Cedric called.

Hermione turned on her heel and said scathingly – "Ask me again why I could never love you, Cedric…" Her eyes bore down upon him "…because I stopped you!" She turned and nodded to Minerva. She took no more than 2 steps when there was a loud "pop" in front of her, and she was nose to nose with Lucious Malfoy. He was watching from a distance and knew the type of firepower that was down on that beach. He had a narrow window for his plan to work, and it had to be executed perfectly. He made sure to apparate directly in front of her, and once he did – he grabbed Morgaine out of her arms and apparated away once more. It occurred in less than a second – and before Hermione realized what had happened, a dozen or so death eaters closed in around the witches and wizards on the beach. Wands were drawn and spells were flying in all directions. The death eaters knew to leave Hermione alive, so the used stunners and body-binds against her…only – every spell that was cast simply bounced right off of her. The 2 death eaters attacking her looked at their wands in confusion as Hermione advanced slowly upon them – a maniacal grin on her face. She was going to destroy them. Minerva stunned the death eater she was fighting and tried to make her way to Hermione. She saw the look on her face and new that this was going to end badly…all that could be done now was damage control. Minerva pushed through the swarm, yelling "Hermione! Hermione wait!" but it did not make it over the sounds of spells and curses flying through the air. She was less than 35 feet away when she saw Hermione's body glow – the way her arms did when they were in the clearing. It was coming from beneath her skin and Minerva could see small flames dancing across her arms and legs. Hermione was not in any pain though. In human form, Minerva still retained traits that her animagus possesses – such as keen eyesight and hearing. The same went for Hermione – only Hermione was able to harness that power, and harness the flame. She wasn't able to do it voluntarily yet – as she had lost all control of her powers, so instead – the flames were harnessed by her anger, her rage, her fury. The countdown had begun.

Minerva continued to push through the crowd as she heard Bellatrix's haunting cackle and saw her come face to face with Hermione. "Hello, love!" She cried. "Miss me? Cuz I missed you, oh did I ever...I missed the filthy mudblood who used wandless magic on me. Brought my friends along with me this time – I don't make the same mistake twice. So here you are – outnumbered." Bellatrix cackled once more, but Hermione stood her ground – staring Bellatrix down, no fear in her eyes – for she knew that she had power over Bella. Bella stood directly in front of Hermione and whispered into her ear, "We'll see how brave you are…we'll see how fast you've been running."

Minerva could see Hermione growing brighter and hoped that she would get there in time…only she didn't.

The shock was subsonic and sent all who were on the beach falling to the ground. Everyone shielded their eyes as there was nothing less than a blinding supernova before them.

"These endless days are finally are finally ending in a blaze, and we are caught in the fire – the point of no return, we will walk through the fire and let it burn."

The light imploded on itself into a vast array of colors that Hermione was molding into a ball of energy between her hands. Bellatrix stood in front of Hermione once more, cackling – while Minerva was climbing to her feet, calling to Hermione – trying to get to her in time. The entire beach was in utter chaos as one by one the death eaters began apparating away. Hermione's rescue crew thought for a moment that the day was saved – that Hermione scared them off, but that wasn't the case. Minerva called out "Hermione, STOP!" But Hermione paid no attention – she was pouring all of her concentration into the ball of fire and energy that was before her.

"Be careful how you fight evil – your weapons can turn back on you."

It happened so fast – and yet looking back on it, everyone would say that it was all in slow motion. Hermione held the ball of fire in her right hand. She pulled her arm back – and as she was about to launch it at Bellatrix, something happened that no one had forseen – something that no one would have been able to, as it was a last minute decision on his part – in order to prevent anyone from seeing him coming. Bellatrix disapparated while Hermione's arm was drawn back and Voldemort appeared in her place – apparating in, at exactly the same time. Hermione's arm was already in motion as the ball of fire and energy was launched at the Dark Lord. The ball barely left her hand when Voldemort screamed "Protego!" causing it to backfire upon Hermione. She burst into flames – with sparks of blue jumping all around her – as though little bolts of lightning were striking her. She hit the ground screaming and writhing in pain. While conjuring the energy and magic of flame did not hurt her, having it used against her as a weapon did – and surely would have killed her if Voldemort didn't extinguish the flames – leaving Hermione, charred black, yet red with blood – twitching on the beach. This encounter took no more than two seconds – two precious seconds that those who witnessed it would look back on and ask themselves "what if I had been faster…a little more clever…what if…" Yet at the time, it happened in a flash – literally. They saw Hermione heave a blinding light towards Bellatrix, and the next thing they saw was Hermione red, black, and smoking on the ground – with the Dark Lord standing over her. Wands already drawn, the witches and wizards ran towards Voldemort. He threw a few quick, yet powerful curses their way – injuring each one of them until they could no longer stand to advance upon him.

"I admire your courage." The Dark Lord said in a velvety voice. "I know you will not give up until you are dead, and however appealing that sounds to me – I am afraid that I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment." He knelt down and touched Hermione's arm. He looked up at the group of panting witches and wizards – the 'great protectors', and said, "You are not who I am here for today." And in a cloud of smoke, they both were gone.

It took all of one second for everyone to process what just happened. Molly and Arthur broke down and Minerva screamed at the top of her lungs – cursing at the sky. Albus, ever the warrior – knew that they needed to get to safety. "We need to get back to the castle. We don't know if he will be sending the death eaters back now that he got what he wanted. Cedric – you will return with us as well – until we can figure out what to do with you. Come, we will apparate to the Burrow and floo into the infirmary – it looks as though all of us could use the attention of our healer." He was right, not a single person on that beach was left unscathed – there were many cuts, bruises, limps – and blood. Albus helped Molly to her feet and said "We will figure out what to do from there."

Everyone was getting their bearings, preparing to leave, when they heard a quiet – hoarse voice say "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

They all turned and identified the speaker as Cedric. Tonks rushed up to him and shoved him. "Tonks!" Remus cried, but he would make no effort to stop her unless she drew her wand.

"What DID you think would happen, Cedric?" she screamed. "How could you have been so STUPID? What did you EXPECT would come of this? You took Hermione's child – knowing she still has the trace on her – knowing that Hermione has been completely unstable – and you thought, what – you would kiss and make up? – live happily ever after in your castle? You pathetic child. I searched for her with you for MONTHS – looking for clues, just wanting to get her back – and here you are…putting her, her child – and everyone else at risk because you can't handle a breakup – because you can't accept someone telling you 'NO'!" Tonks backed away into Remus's arms.

Cedric's head was down as he whispered. "I'm so sorry. This isn't how they said it would happen…"

Ice water may as well have been poured down everyone's throats and into their lungs. No one breathed – no one moved. They stood there – going over Cedric's words in their minds, disbelieving that he just said what they thought he said. Minerva, who was on the top of the hill, facing away – turned her head with eyes narrowed in a fashion that read 'I'm figuring something out right now'. "What did you say?" She breathed. The others who were facing away now turned to look at Cedric – whose face was easily ten different shades of grey.

"They never said it would be like this – they told me no one would get hurt." Cedric croaked.

Remus ran forward and slammed into Cedric – gripping both of his shoulders, they both fell to their knees in the sand – hard. "Did I hear you right?" Remus questioned sternly. Cedric looked away. Remus shook Cedric's shoulders once and demanded "LOOK AT ME!" Cedric obeyed and Remus asked slowly but definitely, "are you saying what I think you are saying?" Cedric eyes were full of fear and regret. Remus's eyes grew wide – needing no further clarification, he shook Cedric violently and screamed "What have you done, Cedric? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood. Others may deceive you – you decide what's good."

Hi all! Thanks for the comments – I'm glad that I'm getting some new readers as well – it is quite exciting! I am glad that you are also enjoying the direction this story is taking – I really struggled through the last chapter as I was having difficulty making the transition from Cedric to Minerva smooth enough. I know I put clues in other chapters, but it was really hard when it came down to getting it done! This chapter came out real quick because I never write this story better than when Hermione is hurt, sad, or angry – and I seem to have the most viewer traffic on those types of chapters, so I guess that you appreciate the angst as well! You know you are doing something right when people tell you that you have brought them to tears multiple times! (That's like, multiple orgasms for writers, let me tell you!)

Anyway – please keep the reviews coming! I love all comments – positive or negative. Positive lets me know I'm on the right track – and negative allows me to change or tweak direction. Believe me, I don't want to lose my wonderful readers – so comment me up!