Ch. 25— Triad Resonance
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Hermione felt Lucius at her side. She allowed him to take her arm and lead her to face Michael's chair. Severus was on her other side, his hand just brushing the curvature of her waist.
She studied Michael; the first time she had done so since she had gagged him. He had not moved from his position in the chair, had not been able to do so. He looked around taking in her arithmantic equations, her formulae for the spell she was to perform, and then his eyes met hers, pleading with her as he shook his head.
She did not want to remove the gag to hear him beg; he looked as if he wanted to beg.
Reminding herself that even now she would be a squib if not for some very unlikely intervention in the pair of wizards to either side of her, she leveled her wand at Michael's forehead with a steady hand and felt Severus and Lucius's hands cover her own.
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Lucius reached over and placed an arm across Severus's shoulders. Severus likewise reciprocated the movement across Hermione's shoulders so that they were all three connected, bound repeatedly to one another by touch.
The witch still had her other hand free so that she could help cast the current of power the three of them would invoke.
Severus tried very hard not to think of what would happen should something go wrong. The example of Gilderoy Lockhart in the Janus Thickey would be the least of it should something catastrophic occur, and that would not only be for them, but for all of the minds the spell touched.
Instead, Severus centered himself and made his intention clear. He was to be a conduit for the witch nestled securely at his side. He was going to channel the power of this place to her, and through her, the spell she cast would take effect and become global.
She could do it. He had faith.
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Lucius, too, became centered and focused in what he was going to do.
Severus had demonstrated how to be able to tune his magical energy to that of the nexus. It was at a higher magical frequency than Lucius was accustomed, and therefore required more focus and energy to maintain. Once he did, however, he felt the power of the place resounding in his veins, his blood, his very soul, singing to him, calling to him with the ability to build him up or shake him apart.
It was nirvana.
Lucius drew a deep, calming breath and squeezed Hermione's hand where she held her wand while he met Severus's gaze.
It was time.
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Drawing a deep, steadying breath, Hermione slowly let it out, and holding up her other hand, began to call the power forth to cast the spell.
Immediately a tide of energy assailed her almost crushing in its intensity and panic quickly overwhelmed any other thought.
But even as she felt it, the tide eased as she felt Severus at her side, his touch strong and sure, grounding her—and the feeling receded as he began sharing the burden of the energy that was even now coursing through her. She felt Lucius as well, holding to them both, distributing the energy evenly, keeping them tethered amidst the wellspring of power now at her disposal.
As she waited, the energy became more controlled as Severus and Lucius continued to regulate it. From her periphery, she could now see a shimmering silhouette of both men as they held her while the power of the wellspring surged and coursed through them.
She felt Lucius squeeze her hand and Severus her shoulder, and she knew it was time for her to begin to conceptualize the focal point of energy that she needed. Slowly, she began to picture the wellspring rising to her will until it became a precision-point stream of power exactly as she imagined it to be.
Both Severus and Lucius held firm as she began to envision the modified obliviate spell, setting her intentions clear.
A missed wand movement or hastily spoken word at this juncture could mean disaster.
And knowing this was as grounded as she was going to get, Hermione began to cast, feeling like she was surfing the crest of a gigantic wave.
It was incredible. It was awe-inducing.
It was terrifying.
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Teeth gritted, Severus watched as the witch began to cast, feeling the energy of the nexus rise through him. He curtailed it, just as he felt Lucius doing, meting and feeding it to the little witch between them in measured doses, being careful not to overwhelm her as she cast the complex wand movements and said the correct incantations necessary for the spell to be effective over large distances with multiple persons involved.
And then, a thick gray rope of smoke began to twist from the tip of her wand into a helix pattern, winding insidiously over to the muggle. Severus watched as the bastard's eyes widened, his face a study in terror. He should be afraid. If she missed one consonant, one incorrect wand movement, his brain would liquefy to mush before their very eyes. The additional protections she had included secured the bastard's safety, however, and should hold provided she correctly performed the spell.
The smoky helix drifted until it surrounded his head like a halo, twisting and roiling like a snake, and then suddenly, small finger-like curls of smoke sprouted from the helix, reaching and probing deep into his mind, and the bastard grew blank-faced and slack-jawed, his eyes rolling back in his skull as his head tipped forward.
At once, numerous shafts of gray smoke shot out from the smoky helix, going through the wards to pierce the minds of each and every muggle surrounding them. As one, they all froze stock-still in astonished confusion. And then in a flash, Severus watched bolts of gray strike out from each of them and shoot off determinedly into the horizon.
And he knew their mission had been a success.
The thick, snake-like rope with shafts of gray smoke dissolved into nothingness, and Severus saw the little witch between them tremble, her wand arm now less than steady. Moving closer, Severus grabbed for her to keep her upright, but soon realized he could no longer touch her.
He looked over at Lucius whose eyes were panic-filled. His arm was still across Severus's shoulders, but they could no longer feel Hermione between them.
They were intangible once again for the energy of the nexus had been spent.
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Hermione finished the incantation and closed the spell, giving Michael instructions for his new occupation and identity.
As far as everyone was concerned, Michael Jessup Fortenbrass the fourth died in a freak storm with his wife and two year old daughter nine years ago.
Lance Lester, however, was a recent immigrant to the United States from Great Britain and had no greater ambition in life than to teach high school environmental science at a school for underprivileged youths. Lance was told to go to Seattle, Washington, where he could complete his education and realize his fondest wish to put an end to the effects of global climate change that had, in essence, taken the lives of his young wife and daughter.
She quickly removed the gag and unbound him from the chair, and cleaning him up the best she could, minus the missing teeth and dirt-encrusted mark on his cheek, she released her wards and sent him walking.
As Hermione looked up, she saw the muggles surrounding them lay down their weapons in confusion and begin to walk away.
Nobody spoke as each of them found they had some place more pressing to be.
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A/N: If you've liked what you've read, want to flame me in effigy for leaving you like this, or just plain want to drop me a line, please do so. I love hearing from you, my readers. And who knows, I might just (always) reply back. ;D
Another update posting soon.
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