Author's Note: To inform you of how crazy I am, I finished this chapter in one day. Excuse me if I'm awfully proud of myself right now. Anyway, as you know, since I typed this up in one day, this is horribly unbeta'ed. So yeah, not my fault. *hides from the angry readers*
And…my shamelessly pimping section! I know you all love these. So I have two new stories out. The Big Apple—AU oneshot. Insurgence of Obscurity—a multi-chaptered fic that I have already completed (for a Secret Santa fic exchange). It will be updated once a week. The next chapter of TANK is out as well…so yeah. Plenty to read for you! Shoo. Go read those.
Of course, thank you to all my reviewers, subscribers, followers, and readers in general. I really appreciate your comments and feedback. In case you didn't get the memo—I've finally gotten off my lazy butt and have started review replying again. So if you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to send them to me and I'll try to reply as fast as possible.
Anon, Mighty Ruler of Gummi Bears, UniCryin, Double R Starr, AMUTOforever305, reader204, werevampluvr, IamBellatrixLieutenantofVold y, BigTimeGleekBTR, Anon, Dodge1989, Stylus, Sabi1994, Kate Elizabeth Black, Lumere97, Yuuki Kuchiki, Anon, KAYKAY22PRINCESS, Diane Potter, Ryn Thaliowen, Daughter of Oceanus
"Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss." The Great Hall quieted down considerably. Orion Black glanced at his brother, but Cygnus looked just as confused as he was. Orion glanced over at his best friend, Abraxas Malfoy, but the boy seemed to be determinedly looking everywhere but at the Headmaster. Orion frowned slightly.
Tom knew something, Orion could tell. The way he sat, the disinterested look in his eyes informed Orion that Tom knew more than Dumbledore was going to tell them. Asking, however, was a pointless waste of time; there was no way Tom would tell him anything. Tom considered himself above everyone. He refused to converse with anyone.
Except Hermione, that is. But Hermione herself was strangely missing.
"Nicolas Porter, was, as you all know, exceptionally hard working, infinitely fair-minded, and most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend." There was a buzz around the Gryffindor table. Ronald Weasley and his friends suddenly looked very alert. Nicolas Porter, like Hermione, was missing as well.
This was such a strange speech.
"Therefore, I feel you have the right to know exactly how he died. Yes, Nicolas Porter has parted with us today." There was a loud wail as Lily Evans, who was rumored to have went out with him to make her boyfriend jealous, collapsed to the ground. Ronald Weasley turned pale as he shook his head, as if trying to reassure himself that what the Headmaster said was not true.
Orion glanced back at his brother. Violetta, who was sitting next to him, looked like she was about to cry. Cygnus was busy comforting her, but he did look up at his brother and mouth, 'Hermione.' That's right; Hermione was still missing from the dinner. Perhaps she had learned of her friend's death before they had, and she had decided to skip the meal to gather herself in her room.
He would have to investigate her room later. Normally, he did not go into the girls' dormitory—the girls usually came to his—but this was an exception. The death must have hit her hard. Even though they had been sorted into different houses, the tight bond between Nicolas Porter and Hermione had been evident.
Orion glanced at Tom and Abraxas, so sure that he would see surprise on their faces, but he got nothing more than an angry scowl from Abraxas. Orion had never seen his friend so angry before. As for Tom, he didn't look surprised at all.
There was something fishy going on.
"You see," Dumbledore continued after the noise had died down. The Gryffindors were still dabbing at their eyes furiously with handkerchiefs. There was a somber mood in the air. At least Avery and Lestrange decided to keep their mouths shut for once, though by the way they were trading grins, it was obvious that they weren't particularly distressed by the news.
"Nicolas Porter was murdered by Gellert Grindelwald." A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.
Violetta reached over and gripped his hand for reassurance. Orion himself felt kind of nauseous. He had just seen Nicolas Porter just yesterday. He was still himself—annoying, yes, but still alive. The fact that Grindelwald killed him must have meant that the Dark Lord had been somewhere near Hogwarts. How did he get in? Did he have spies? Were they all in danger?
"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. But not to do so I feel would be an insult to his memory. Now the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, and, reminds us, that though we may come from different countries and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of the recent events, the bonds of friendship made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Nicolas Porter will not have died in vain. You remember that, and we'll celebrate a boy who was kind, and honest, and brave, and true. Right to the very end. "
Even Lestrange and Avery were not chuckling any more. Everyone was silent, the fact that Nicolas Porter had been killed and the fact that Grindelwald was rising to power striking fear in their hearts. Even Abraxas had the decency to look slightly frightened, though he hid it well underneath a cold mask. Orion knew his friend well, though. He had seen the way his eyes twitch slightly to the left when he was nervous.
Tom, however, was still as easy to read as a rock. He sat up in perfect posture, not looking very bothered. Perhaps he wasn't. Orion had seen him torture countless number of innocent people before. Death was not new to him.
However, even though it was no secret that Tom hated Nicolas Porter and would have killed him himself if he had a chance, Orion was shocked that the threat of Grindelwald's rise to power didn't even faze Tom.
Eleanor Bletchley was sitting next to him. She and Abraxas had gotten their relationship started, but she had been complaining over the past few days that he seemed to be troubled. He was always angry and scowling, though he wouldn't tell her anything.
She told him before Dumbledore began his speech that tonight, however, Abraxas seemed particularly furious. He frowned at everything and jumped at the slightest movement. She refused to sit next to him during dinner, but he looked like he was too preoccupied with glaring at the wall to notice.
Now, she was nudging him gently with her elbow. Then, ever so slightly, she tilted her head in Tom's and Abraxas' direction, informing Orion that she too had noticed something suspicious about the duo. Orion nodded, and Eleanor understood that the two of them would have to talk later.
"Remember Nicolas. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Gellert Grindelwald. Remember Nicolas Porter."
He looked up, and at once, it seemed like the truth hit the hall at full force. The entire Gryffindor table seemed to simultaneously burst into tears, their crying echoing through the hall. Even the people who didn't know him that well from the other houses shed a few tears. Violetta was openly crying, ignoring the disgusted looks that she got from her housemates. Even Eleanor bowed her head slightly as a sign of respect.
The noise was reduced to quiet sniffling when Dumbledore raised his hand. "That is not all the bad news, I'm afraid." It didn't look like the others could handle any more news. Their eyes were already red and puffy, their bodies pale and delicate. "There were two more people involved in the incident. Only Nicolas Porter's body was found, so we can only assume that they were taken." He paused. "Taken by Gellert Grindelwald."
Orion's hands tightened into fists. No, he thought. No, no, no. He had just seen her yesterday. They had been on the Quidditch field. They had joked around like normal. How could she be gone? No, he thought. It wasn't her. It was someone else who was taken. Anyone but her.
Tom didn't look worried at all, despite the fact that his girlfriend was not present at the table and the Headmaster had just announced that two people went missing. Orion wanted to punch him in the face. Cruciatus be damned, he'd take any punishment as long as he got to mess up Tom's poker face.
"Eileen Prince was discovered missing this morning. There are no clues on her whereabouts." There was not as big of a reaction as the announcement of Nicolas Porter's death. Maybe it was because she was declared dead, but merely missing. People knew deep down that being kidnapped by Grindelwald could be worse than death, but they reasoned with themselves that at least she was still alive.
Or perhaps it was because unlike Nicolas Porter, Eileen was not as well loved. She spent most of her time hidden in the library and rarely conversed. In fact, the only person Orion had seen her talk to was Hermione.
Hermione, he thought. Dumbledore would only call out one more name. There were so many students in this school. There was no way he would call out her name.
However, as Dumbledore opened his mouth, he turned to look over at the Slytherin table, and Orion knew that she was the other person to be declared missing. The Headmaster barely glanced at him, though, and slid his gaze over to Tom. The boy just regarded Dumbledore evenly, his lips curling up slightly.
Maybe, while he was punching Tom, Orion could use Legilimency on him as well. He sometimes wondered what was going on in that head of his.
"Hermione Granger is also declared to be missing." Orion almost didn't recognize who that was. 'Granger.' It was weird that he didn't even know her last name. Was she a muggleborn? It definitely was not a pureblood last name. It suddenly struck him how little he knew of her private life. She never talked about her family, or her past. He didn't even know why she chose to transfer here.
And now, it might be too late.
"Oh no," Violetta whispered, burying her head in Cygnus' chest. Cygnus took a deep breath and shot Orion a stricken look before burying his face in Violetta's hair. Normally, it would have bothered him that the two of them were so in love, but now he could not think of anything other than Hermione.
How could she be missing? She wasn't particularly wealthy or powerful. She was just a girl. Maybe she had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Orion wanted to shake Abraxas. Not a hint of remorse or guilt was on his face. What was wrong with him? He had been acting rather weirdly, not just with Hermione, but in general. They had been friends for so long. It felt so weird not to know what Abraxas was thinking.
He supposed that he should be used to Tom keeping secrets after so many years, yet it still managed to irk him.
"We have to talk," Eleanor murmured. "Abraxas is not usually like this. He's trying to act like he doesn't care."
"I know," Orion said, feeling rather annoyed with everything around him. "I've been his best friend since we were in diapers."
Eleanor didn't appear to hear him. "We just need to find out what. It had to be fairly serious if he's like this. I've never seen him do anything like this before."
Orion wanted to add that she barely knew Abraxas, but held back. He didn't have anything against Eleanor; he liked her quite fine. They played Quidditch together, and he knew she made Abraxas happier. However, right now, he wanted to tear up the whole room and toss a table at both Abraxas' and Tom's head. He wasn't feeling particularly patient at the moment.
Violetta had stopped crying by now, and he was thankful for that. He felt…nauseous. He felt so sick and angry and disgusted with everything around him. His temper was short and explosive. Had Violetta kept up her whimpering, he was afraid he would've lost control of his body and thrown something in her direction.
He needed some quiet. He could not keep sitting in this room, listening to the quiet mourning. He could not deal with the aching feeling inside him. He could not continue to sit there, knowing just across the table, Tom and Abraxas knew what had happened and would not tell him.
Everyone annoyed him now. Even Hermione, for leaving and not letting anyone know. Even at Nicolas Porter, whose death seemed to start this whole thing. There were so many missing pieces of the puzzle and he did not know a single one of them.
He quietly excused himself to the bathroom. But everyone was either so busy mourning or frankly just didn't care that no one heard him. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe he could be like Hermione, fade into the shadows and just disappear.
ஐ
Hermione twirled in the forest, practicing her usual, dangerous dance. Her father hadn't understood why she still trained. She knew how to use a wand now, so there was no reason for her to still need to fight using pathetic, muggle means. However, she knew that no matter how good she was, there was still the possibility of losing her wand in a duel. It was better to have other tricks up her sleeve.
Her mother had given her her first knife at the age of two, and her first gun only a year later. Grindelwald, of course, had not been pleased with his wife's actions, but a mother always knew best. She continued giving Hermione her weapons and allowing her to be trained, not caring that punishment always followed.
Of course, it wasn't particularly easy. Her mother, while she had weapons, was not skilled at using them at all. Hermione mostly trained by herself, but it was hard in the beginning. She was clumsy with her weapons, and often ended up hurting herself with them.
As time went on, however, it got easier. Once she read up on the basics, all she needed was practice. And practice she did. She set up targets in the woods to hit. She hacked at human dummies. Everything that she could do given the things she had, she did.
There was very little to do at the mansion. Her father was not yet comfortable sending her out to do missions, so she stayed at home. There wasn't very much to do. Her father—unfortunately—had locked up all the books in the library. If she did something well, he would give her one. If she didn't, he would take away one. They were meant as rewards, which Hermione didn't like. She thought that books should be free for everyone.
However, she wasn't going to argue with him about that.
Since she had so much time while she was in the mansion, she often snuck away to train. Once in awhile, her father asked her to deal with some of his victims. She found out that she hated those days the most. At first, it was only because she did not have the day to herself to train. Unlike all of Grindelwald's other minions, she did not look forward to torturing other people because it simply took away her free time.
Grindelwald did notice his daughter's lack of excitement when she was given a job, but he must have assumed that it was because she had gone soft-hearted. That was not the case at all.
"Hey there."
Hermione whirled around, jamming her knife at the intruder's neck. She was breathing heavily from a combination of hard work and surprise. She dug the knife in more—not enough to kill the person, but enough to draw blood.
It was a boy she had never seen before around the manor. Then again, her father had hardly allowed her to meet anyone. He kept her sheltered, away from the rest of the world. The only people she saw on a daily basis were her parents. Everyone else came and went so fast that she barely had time to memorize their names.
The boy had shaggy blond hair and, despite having a knife being held under his neck, an easy grin was on his face. He looked relaxed, like the two of them were just having a civil conversation in the middle of nowhere.
It struck Hermione how blue his eyes were. So clear and so deep.
"Sorry for scaring you," he said easily, not looking concerned that Hermione was holding a knife aimed at him. Beads of blood began to form from the wound Hermione had made, but if he noticed, he didn't show it. Instead, he just continued smiling that stupid smile of his. He probably did it to show that she could trust him.
Too bad she wouldn't trust anyone.
"Why are you out here?"
"None of your business," Hermione said bluntly. She removed her knife from his neck, but still kept it up in case he decided to attack her. He made no move to do so, but it could all be a deception. Her father deceived people at his will. It was only natural that he trained his minion to do the same.
This boy, however, was surprisingly young. He looked to be around the same age as her. She had never seen any other kids in the mansion. He looked rather carefree, not looking like he was hanging around Grindelwald's mansion. Perhaps he was just a little kid in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If that was the case, then she would have to kill him. 'Leave no witnesses," her father always said. ' You cannot guarantee they don't talk.'
The boy raised an eyebrow at her harsh tone. "It is my business," he argued. "This is my woods. Since you're in here, it's my business. If you don't want me bothering you, go to another place." He sat down stubbornly on the rock.
Hermione felt her temper rising. "Your woods?" she asked shrilly. "I've been practicing here for years! This is not yours. This is my woods." She plopped down across from him, still keeping herself alert in case he decided to attack her while she was sitting. "You go somewhere else."
The boy winced slightly at her harsh tone. "What's your problem?"
"I don't have a problem. You're the one invading my personal space!" She huffed. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Nicolas," he said cautiously, watching as she waved her knife around. "Nicolas Wilkes."
"Wilkes?" Hermione's eyes widened. "You're the son of the woman who Grindelwald killed last summer!"
Before she could do anything, he lunged forward toward her. Caught by surprise, she managed to deflect the blade he dug out of his pockets. However, once his and her knife collided, they flew into the distance. Hermione grimaced as Nicolas knocked her to the ground, temporarily stunned.
Once she regained her bearings, she was about to reach up to throw him off of her when surprisingly, he got up himself. He sat back down on his rock and took deep breaths, burying his face in his hands.
Hermione sat up, noticing that the knives were behind him. Could she somehow edge around him and get them before he noticed? He had his eyes covered, after all.
However, before she could reach it, he stood up again and went over to gather the knives. Hermione nearly had a heart attack and mentally prepared herself for his throw. However, it never came. Instead, he just gently handed the knife back to her and pocketed his again. Hermione, still slightly suspicious, watched him warily.
"Sorry." He let out a shaky laugh. "I guess I'm still not over it. It's only been a couple months." He leaned back against the trunk behind him. He took in her bruised arm that he had crushed underneath his weight. "Sorry about that."
Hermione just shrugged. She didn't dare to pocket her knife, but the boy looked harmless. Besides, he had the chance to attack her before and he hadn't done so. She didn't see a reason for him to start now. Hesitantly, she sat down opposite of him, mimicking his position.
Hermione thought he fell asleep, but then he asked, "What's your name?"
He looked so peaceful there, so innocent. It made Hermione wonder if he truly knew the details of his mother's death. Grindelwald, of course, had forced Hermione to learn every detail. But how could Nicolas be in peace after what had happened to his mother? Hermione knew that she herself would never get over it if her father killed her mother.
"Hermione," she said cautiously.
He opened his eyes and smiled slightly. "Do you have a surname, Hermione?"
Hermione hated bringing out the daddy cards. She didn't want people to associate her with her father. She was her own person. She wanted to be known for her own strength, not for relying on something passed along to her.
Hermione just shrugged. "Not really."
"Not going to tell me?"
"Nope."
"Pity." He stood up. Hermione instinctively took on a defensive stance again, but Nicolas just laughed.
"I'm not going to attack you," he said, and surprisingly, Hermione trusted him. "I'm going to leave now. You can have the woods for yourself again." He bowed slightly, his eyes shining. "Nice to meet you, Hermione."
And then he was gone.
ஐ
Ronald Weasley stomped over. It seemed that his face was even redder than his hair was. Behind him, an uncertain Lily Evans was trailing. She kept looking around anxiously, like she thought the professors were going to stop Gryffindors and Slytherins from talking to each other.
Unfortunately, the bathroom trip had not helped clear his mind. In fact, it had only made it worse. It had been much too hot and the air had been too dense; he felt like suffocating while he was in there. When he came back, nearly nothing had changed. Tom and Abraxas were still eating like there was nothing wrong, while Cygnus continued to devote his whole attention to Violetta. Eleanor was eating quietly by herself, ignoring everyone else completely.
Avery started jeering across the table when Ronald Weasley came over to the table, but the Gryffindor paid him no mind. Instead, he leaned toward Orion and sneered, "What have you done? You've crossed the line."
Orion regarded him coolly. "You're quick to start with the accusations." He was aware that the noise in the Great Hall was dimming again, and everyone's attention was focused on them. "Do you have any proof?"
"You're Slytherins," Ron said bluntly. "You always do things like this."
"Weasley." Cygnus seemed to only then notice that Ronald Weasley was standing at their table and looked up from Violetta. His voice was cold and his eyes were murderous. It appeared that he wasn't in the best of moods either. "Is there something you wanted?"
"Which one of you killed Nick?" Ronald Weasley's eyes were narrowed dangerously and he took one step toward Cygnus. Cygnus put his body between Ron's and Violetta's, glaring back at Ron. Based on the atmosphere, it almost seemed like a third world war was taking place.
"Dumbledore said that he was killed by Gellert Grindelwald," Cygnus said quietly, though not with any less vehemence. "It would be appreciated if you stop your baseless accusations and make something of your life."
"Oh, that's rich coming from you," Ron snarled. "You bloody cowards. You have the courage to murder someone, and you don't have the gall to confess? You are cowards! All of you!"
"Ron." Lily Evans tugged at his arm. "Ron, that's enough. We can talk about this later." She obviously noticed the amount of attention that they were receiving. Even the professors were glancing over at the conversation, though none of them made any move to stop it yet.
"Like hell we can," Ron growled, trying to move forward. Without warning, there was a loud bang as Abraxas stood up noisily. Orion glanced at his friend, but Abraxas didn't even glance over before storming outside with a glare on his face. He almost flipped over two plates on his way out, but he didn't even stop to check if they fell or not.
There was a long silence. Then Violetta, ever so eloquent, said, "Is he alright?"
"Of course he's not alright," Eleanor said offhandedly. "He's been like this for days."
Orion tuned out her voice as she rambled on to whoever was willing to listen to her. She was no doubt trying to protect Abraxas, and while he himself usually did so, he simply did not want to this time. Not when there were so many secrets swirling around, and when Abraxas obviously knew something that he wasn't telling.
When was the last time they had kept secrets from each other? He did not know. Even though they didn't giggle and pry each other at night, they understood that they had to tell the other everything. There were simply no secrets between the two of them, yet they never needed to ask. They just both understood.
Abraxas had just broken that delicate trust.
Orion swiveled his gaze to Tom, who was in an eye-lock with the Transfiguration professor. Dumbledore stared back, as if trying to read his mind, but Tom regarded him with a smirk, a confident expression on his face. The glint in his eyes seemed to be challenging Dumbledore to do more.
After a few more minutes of staring at each other, Dumbledore finally gave up and went back to murmuring quietly with the other professors, though Orion did not miss the way he kept glancing at Tom as if to check if he had decided to start spilling his secrets in front of everyone.
Tom, it seemed, had finally had enough. Having finished his dinner awhile ago, he stood up. Several people glanced over at him, including Tracey Parkinson. Surprisingly, she had left him alone during the speech, though it appeared that she wanted him back now. However, he paid her no attention.
Before he could think, he blurted out, "Where are you going?"
He instantly regretted it as Tom looked at him over his shoulder, his eyes dark and his face impassive. There was no way that Tom was going to tell him anything anyway, so why would he have bothered to ask?
"The noise in here is a bit too loud for my liking," Tom said smoothly, glancing over at where Eleanor was now arguing with Ron. "I believe it is time for me to retire to my bed." He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to figure out what Orion knew. Knowing Tom was an expert in Legilimency, he quickly averted his eyes, though he saw Tom smirk before he did so.
Tom left quickly, and Orion could see Dumbledore's gaze linger near the door for awhile before turning to talk to Dippet. Why it was Dumbledore who gave the speech rather than Dippet, he did not know. Then again, Dippet could hardly hold a conversation. He couldn't read a speech for his life.
Tracey Parkinson suddenly leaned over. Walburga—or Wallie, as he often called her—stayed in her seat next to Avery, but he could see that she was watching the conversation. Ronald Weasley, he realized, was still standing there. Apparently, he had run out of accusations, but was too proud just to admit defeat and walk back to the Gryffindor table.
"You have my permission to search the room," Tracey said. "Her bed is the first one on the left. You just tell us what time you want to check, and then Walburga and I will clear out."
Ronald Weasley looked angry. "You're giving us permission to search through her things?" he asked, scowling. "You don't have permission to do that!"
He seemed to be arguing at every little thing he could pick on.
"I'm not giving you permission to do anything." Tracey scowled. "However, should they wish to do so, I'm giving them permission to search our dorm. Not, specifically, Granger's stuff." She glanced at Orion. "There might be some clues you want if you look hard enough. Walburga and I have not touched anything."
"Why?" Cygnus asked, tilting his head to one side. Orion had to agree with his brother. It was no secret that Tracey and Walburga despised Hermione. Why would they suddenly want to help them find her?
"Tom hasn't been acting in the same way for the last couple of days." Tracey frowned. "Not since…" she trailed off, glancing toward Walburga. The girl just shrugged. "Not since Granger started to sleep talk."
Ron suddenly looked like Christmas had come early. "Hermione sleep talked?" he asked, leaning toward Tracey. The girl wrinkled her nose in disgust and moved away, but Ron didn't seem to notice. "What did she say? Where there any clues?"
"No, neither Walburga nor I heard anything," Tracey said as Ron's face fell. "Violetta, did you hear anything?"
"No." Violetta shook her head, giving a small laugh. "You know me. I'm as dead as a rock when I sleep."
"It might also do with the fact that you're in Cygnus' bed more than your own," Walburga murmured under her breath. However, it was still loud enough to be heard, and Violetta blushed a deep shade of crimson. Cygnus glared at his cousin, who just merely shrugged.
"Anyway." Tracey rolled her eyes. "Something must have happened between Tom and Granger to have something like this occur. I want to know what that witch is doing to my poor Tom. It simply isn't right for him to be troubled like that."
"He was never yours, Tracey. It's time to stop yearning for the things you can't have." Eleanor's glare was sharp. Orion was slightly surprised by her outburst; he hadn't noticed Eleanor and Hermione to be close at all. And if there was one thing he had learned about Slytherins, it was to put your own well-being in front of everyone else's.
Tracey narrowed her eyes. "Are you looking for a fight, Eleanor?" she asked. "Because I'll beat you up until you're on the ground, begging for mercy."
"Oh, please, as if you could—"
"This is a place for mourning," Lily Evans interrupted loudly. The two girls stopped their bickering to glare at the Gryffindor girl, who didn't even spare them a glance. She turned toward Orion. "Will you let us come into her room as well?"
"No." Ronald Weasley looked like he was going to fly forward and attack him, but Lily managed to hold him back. She frowned at Orion, but he refused to back down. "We are liable to give you a few details, yes, but this does not concern you."
"Nick was my best friend!" Ron yelled. "How the bloody hell does it not concern me?"
"I was under the impression that we were going through Hermione's belongings," Orion said in a steely voice. "Hermione is missing, so we will try to scavenge whatever clues she left behind for us. Porter, as you recall, is dead." Ron flinched as though he had been hit, and if looks could kill, Lily Evans would've murdered him already. Even his own brother was looking at him suspiciously. Oh well; he was significantly cranky, and had little temper for anyone else. "However, if you still believe you can find him out there, go scavenge his room. Hermione's room is none of your concern."
Ron glared at him, and then shook his head in disgust. "Let's go, Lily. They're a waste of our time." Orion thought that it was fairly lucky that Ron didn't get attack; his statement was practically inviting a fight.
Lily Evans, however, reached forward and grabbed his wrist. He shook her off, thoroughly disgusted, but she continued to look at him with an understanding in his eyes. She seemed to be looking at him in a new light, though Orion didn't know what had caused such a change.
Lily leaned closer, and before he could push her away, she whispered, "You loved her, didn't you?" Orion just looked at her, dumbfounded. That had not been the words that he had been expecting to hear.
She took his silence as an affirmative, shooting him a small smile as she steered Ron back to the Gryffindor table. Orion stared at her retreating back, feeling rather bewildered.
She thought he loved Hermione?
He suddenly remembered the photograph taken of him and Hermione supposedly 'kissing.' He wondered if it had been passed around by now, which was why the rumors of him supposedly being in love with Hermione arose. Was that why Abraxas and Tom were so annoyed at him? Because Hermione was supposedly cheating on Tom with him?
It sounded absurd, even in his own mind.
How would Lily Evans jump to that conclusion, then? He supposed he was being rather possessive of her space, but that was what happened with siblings, right? He considered her a sibling now. The ache he felt was because he had lost a sister, a good friend.
He did not love Hermione Granger. He barely, as much as he hated to admit it, knew anything about her. He didn't love her the way Cygnus loved Violetta, or even the way he loved Violetta. He still did love her. There was no room for Hermione in the equation.
Right?
ஐ
He came again the next day.
"You're here!" he said cheerfully, making sure to keep distance between the two of them when he notified her of his presence. It slightly annoyed her how he could sneak up on her. Not many people could; her mother using to say that she had a six sense. She took pride in being able to determine when she was alone and when she had company.
Unfortunately, this boy seemed to nullify her sixth sense completely.
"Why are you here?" Hermione asked sharply. To be honest, she hadn't been quite sure if he would show up or not. She had her doubts. After all, who would want to spend their time with a girl who spent her free time training with weapons in the forest?
The boy—Nicolas—just grinned. "I was bored. You are bored. Maybe we can do some stuff together." He walked closer to her. "Want to fight?"
Hermione blinked. That was certainly not what she had been expecting to hear. "What?"
"Fight."He threw a couple punches into the empty air. "Or duel. Whichever one you prefer. I have both." He took out his wand and knife and presented them to her, like they were some sort of prize worth showing off.
Hermione eyed him warily. While she still did not quite trust him, she supposed a bit of fighting wouldn't hurt. It was better to know what she was up against, after all. "No weapons," she instructed. "We can fight hand combat."
"That's a surprise," Nicolas said, though he didn't object. "Most girls don't like the physicality of hand combat."
Hermione shrugged, and a thought crossed her mind. "There are other girls here?" she asked.
"Of course," Nicolas said, looking at her weirdly. "You've never seen them before?"
Hermione shook her head.
Nicolas' eyes widened. "That must mean that you have been sheltered, and the only person I know of that is…are you Hermione Grindelwald? Gellert Grindelwald's daughter?" He shook his head in disbelief. "No wonder I haven't seen you around before."
Hermione felt a certain rush of anger. "You won't duel me, now, right?" she said sourly. "You people are all the same. You're all big cowards. All talk and no action."
Instead of looking offended, he just looked curious. "Why wouldn't I duel you?"
"Because I'm Grindelwald's daughter," Hermione said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't want to hurt me because then I'll go running to my daddy for help and I'll ask him to exterminate you."
He didn't look scared at all. Instead, he just grinned. "Oh, I wouldn't be able to hit you if I tried," he said, smiling. "You looked rather good while I was watching you. Much better than me, actually. It's me that has to be worried about getting hurt."
Hermione felt a sense of gratitude rush through her. Other than her mother, no one had ever praised her fighting skills. However, she could never put her thoughts into the proper words, so instead, the sentence that came out of her mouth was, "Why are you fighting me, then, if you know you're going to get hurt?"
Nicolas grinned cheekily. "If you practice against someone who is better than you, you get better yourself. Why would I turn down something like that? I'm always looking for ways to improve."
"I'm sorry about your mom," Hermione blurted out. She wasn't even sure why she said it. After that reaction she had gotten from him yesterday, it was fairly stupid to bring up the topic again.
However, to her relief, Nicolas didn't try to attack her again. Instead, he just sighed. "Yes, I am too," he said, sadness creeping into his voice. "And I'm sorry about your mother. It must feel awful, having to impersonate someone else."
Hermione laid a hand on his arm. It was warm. "Grindelwald really loved your mother," she said softly. It was supposed to be reassuring, but it didn't come out sounding that way. She only hoped Nicolas still got the point.
"He doesn't love anyone," Nicolas said, looking away. His eyes were hard now, focusing on something unknown in the distance. "But…I suppose he cared for her in his own way. It's a pity she couldn't see how much he mourned over her. She would have laughed."
Hermione blinked. "Grindelwald didn't murder her?"
"Oh, no. Of course not." Nicolas shook his head. "She was one of his possessions. He wouldn't just trash her like that." He bit his lip. "It was a girl who is three years older than me. Her name is Bellatrix. Have you heard of her?" Hermione shook her head, still rather shocked that a kid had murdered Grindelwald's mistress. "Well, Bellatrix has heard of you. And be warned, she's awfully jealous."
"Of me?" Hermione asked. "What is there to be jealous about?
"You're Grindelwald's daughter," Nicolas said simply. "What is there not to be jealous about?"
Hermione was silent for a moment. This information was new to her. She didn't even know there were other people in the mansion, let alone know that they knew all about her! She pondered quietly, before she asked, "Are you jealous?"
Nicolas was quiet, and then he said, "There are better things to be jealous about."
"I suppose so." She didn't say anything, wondering how much she should reveal to the boy next to her. Did she trust him? To a certain degree, yes. Was he still a loyal follower of her father? She couldn't tell. It seemed like he still resented the man to a certain degree for his mother's death.
And, she supposed, family knows best.
"Sometimes," she said, looking away. She could see Nicolas glance at her, waiting for her to go on. "I wish that I was born into a different family. That I could grow up and have a normal life." She looked at him. "Do you ever think that way?"
"All the time." Nicolas looked at her kindly. He let out a small laugh. "But I didn't say that. You didn't hear that from me."
"Same." Hermione felt herself smiling back at him, like they were sharing a private joke. She hadn't smiled in so long; it felt sort of nice to let her mouth do something other than frown.
She was still holding her knife, so she pocketed it and stepped into the clearing. "You promised me a fight," she called at him. He grinned at her and joined her in the clearing. From his twinkling eyes and that insane grin on his face, Hermione decided that she liked him.
"Don't hold back on me, Nicolas, just because I'm a girl or because I'm Grindelwald's daughter," she said as they took their defensive stances. "I can take everything you throw at me. Give me your all."
Nicolas laughed. "Call me Nick."
ஐ
"Is she a girl?"
Eleanor, who had somehow convinced Orion to let her come along, glowered at him. "That was incredibly sexist." She rolled her eyes. "This isn't too bad. I've seen worse before, anyway."
Violetta stepped over some notes that were scattered on the ground. Hermione had written everything so small so that she could fit the most on one page. Her textbooks were everywhere, open to random pages where Hermione had been jotting down notes.
If anyone looked at her dorm, their first thought would have been a bookworm. A typical, know-it-all bookworm. She was so normal. What could have possibly happened for her to go missing?
Orion had a backup plan in his mind. If he searched the room and it revealed nothing, he would go kidnap Abraxas and use Legilimency on him. Best friend be damned, he really wanted to know what had happened to cause a normal nice—or as nice as a Slytherin could be—boy to completely switch his personality.
"Search everywhere," Cygnus called. Orion noted that his brother had finally let go of Violetta, allowing the girl to walk by herself. It was about time. He could still feel the aching in his heart when he thought about the missed opportunity he had with the girl. He was still very much in love with Violetta. He didn't know what Lily Evans was babbling about. He definitely did not love Hermione.
He wondered why the thought of loving Hermione irked him so much. Now was clearly not the time to be thinking about such trivial matters, but it kept popping into his brain every couple of seconds, as if to remind him that it was still there.
"Eleanor," he called out coldly. "If you cannot keep your hands to yourself and stop invading other people's privacy, I will have to kick you out. This is not a zoo for you to look at all the animals. We're on a mission."
Eleanor froze, her hand stuck inside Tracey's suitcase. With as much dignity as she could muster, she stood back up again. "You yourself are going through Hermione's stuff." She raised an eyebrow. "And you want to lecture me about respecting other people's privacy?"
"We have a purpose to do so." He was getting increasingly fed up with the girl. He understood that she was worried about Abraxas, but did she have to be so annoying? It was really beginning to get on his nerves. He had a long day already. He didn't have time to deal with this.
"I have a purpose," Eleanor muttered under her breath, but she thankfully shut up and moved away from Tracey's bed. However, Orion didn't miss the evil glares she gave Tracey's area when she thought he wasn't looking. Dippet sure was lucky he decided not to put her and Tracey in the same dorm.
"Do we just…go through this?" Violetta questioned from Hermione's desk. "Just go through her notes?" She bit her lip. "I don't know…I don't feel right about this. What if she had something private in here? She might not like that we're going through it."
Surprisingly, it was Cygnus who spoke up. "Hermione may be in lots of trouble right now. I think she'll have to overlook this just this one time. It is for her wellbeing. There's just simply no time to start questioning every decision we make."
Violetta nodded, though she still seemed a little hesitant. Eleanor, however, wasted no time and flung Hermione's blankets around. "This smells awful," she called. "She really has to wash her sheets sometimes." There was a pause. "Do you think Tom has been here?"
"What, in her dorm?" Orion asked absentmindedly from his spot next to her drawer. "If he did, he wasn't in here for very long. There wasn't that much time from the time he left the Great Hall from the time we got up here."
"You have no imagination," Eleanor scoffed. "I meant here. In her bed."
"Why would I care?"
Eleanor just shrugged and moved on. "Can't a girl be curious?" Orion gritted his teeth. One more worth from her and he would turn around and avada her where she stood. Thankfully, she kept her mouth shut and instead crawled underneath the bed.
"There's nothing here," Violetta called. Cygnus, who had been searching with her, shook his head. "There is nothing but notes. Not even letters to her family." She held up a frame. "Here's a picture of her and Nicolas, but it doesn't have any writing on it."
Indeed, there were no clues on the frame. Even as Orion tried spell after spell on it, nothing revealed itself. They had come to another dead end.
Orion accidentally chipped it with one of his spells. The crack ran right through Nicolas Porter's body. In the picture, he froze and didn't move, his body in the exact same position as it had been when the frame had been hit. His eyes were staring into the distance, but they were glazed over. They were dull; there was no life in them.
Hermione, who had been spinning happily with Nicolas, paused and prodded Nicolas with her finger. There was no movement. She eyed him sadly and continued to shake him, but Nicolas would not budge. A couple of tears began streaming down her face, but no matter what, she would not leave him. She stayed right where she was, clutching onto his still arm.
"Orion?"
Orion hastily shoved the picture into a drawer and spun around to see Eleanor looking at him suspiciously. He blocked the drawer with his body as discretely as he could, and though he could tell that Eleanor was still suspicious, she decided to let it slide.
"There's nothing under the bed either," she said. "Have you checked the closet?"
"Yes. There's nothing but clothes."
"Vi and I checked the desk," Cygnus said, pacing around. Violetta had taken a seat on her own bed, a troubled look on her face. Cygnus looked up at him. "Orion…what do we do now? What other lead do we have?"
Feeling a sudden burst of anger—his temper was pushed over the edge with everyone's willingness to just give up—he grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at the wall. They all jumped as it hit the wall with a smack, before falling uselessly to the floor. Orion glared at it, like it had offended him.
Violetta sighed and patted his arm. "Oh, Orion," she said soothingly. She went over and picked up the pillow that he had thrown.
"This is not the time to lose your temper," Cygnus told him. "You'll have plenty of time to do so afterwards."
"You tell me what to do then, since you're so smart." Orion glared back at him. "If you have something better we can be doing, now would be a very good time to say so."
"Boys, boys. We're never going to get anywhere if we fight," Eleanor, ever so helpful, said.
"If you haven't noticed, we're not going anywhere anyway." Orion glared, reaching over for Hermione's other pillow. "We may as well just stay in here and have a pillow fight. We would get more done that way."
"Wait," came Violetta's voice. She held up the pillow, and then she showed them a piece of paper in her other hand. "This fell out when you threw the pillow. I think it's some sort of note."
"And you didn't find this how…?" Orion scowled at Eleanor, who held both her hands up.
"I didn't check the pillows, okay? I only looked under the blanket and under the bed." She sighed as Orion continued to glare at her. "I make mistakes. We all make mistakes. We found the note and that's all that counts. Are you going to keep yelling at me or can we actually make some progress here?"
Orion ignored her and brushed past her to stand next to Violetta. Cygnus was on her other side, looking as anxious as he felt. With trembling fingers, Violetta opened the note.
There was a big picture in the center of the page. It looked like Hermione when she was just a little girl. She was grinning, looking happier than Orion had ever seen her. She also seemed very active, jumping around the picture.
"Whoa, is that Hermione?"
"Comments are unnecessary, Eleanor," Orion said offhandedly. He noticed a line of words scribbled on the bottom and read them out loud. "With love," he said. "It's signed 'M.W.'"
"Who's initials are M.W.?" Cygnus glanced at Eleanor. "You know most of the people in this school, do you not? Can you recall who has these initials?"
"Off the top of my head, I don't think anyone does," Eleanor replied. "But I could always check the school records if you need me to."
"I don't think it's anyone from this school," Violetta said softly. "Hermione hasn't been to this school for very long, so it's impossible for someone to get a picture of her this young. The only one who knew Hermione before she came here was Nicolas Porter, but his initials do not match." She paused. "But I think we can go on this. Hermione is not a common name, so we can see if anyone with such initials is related to a girl named Hermione."
"That's a lot of people," Eleanor murmured.
"At least this way we'll have a place to start. It might be slow, but at least we know we're headed in the right direction." Cygnus glanced at his brother. "Do you think this is a friend? Relative?"
Orion shrugged. Truthfully, he didn't know what to think anymore. The image of Hermione, the girl who he had just seen only a few hours ago, seemed like a ghost. The more he searched of her, the more he was convinced that he had only seen a façade she had put up.
Who was Hermione Granger?
"I guess that's all we can find in here," Eleanor said, walking over to make sure that there was nothing in the other pillow. "We can start our research now. Or do you want to sleep? We can start tomorrow." However, none of them were even remotely tired.
Cygnus led Violetta out the door, followed by Eleanor. Orion was last, making sure to take one last look at Hermione's dorm. Her drawer was slightly open; he had forgotten to close it. However, he decided not to close it. He could think of Hermione in the photo, continuing to stay in the frame until she was nothing more than ash as well.
But he hoped that by leaving the drawer open, she could at least see a little bit of light before she diminished into nothing.
ஐ
"Want to fight again?"
"You must think I'm suicidal." Nick grinned. "I'm still so sore after yesterday, you could probably beat me with your hands and feet tied and a cloth over your eyes. I simply cannot move." He sat down on his rock. "My legs are so tired just from walking here."
"Why did you come, then?" Hermione sat down next to him. "You could have stayed home for one day. Relax your body. It can't be good for you to push it so hard."
"Yeah, maybe." Nick shrugged. "But this is the only time I get to see you. I can sleep anytime I want."
Hermione's heart lifted at the compliment. "Thank you," she said, feeling significantly happier. "Do you want me to visit next time? That way you can still see me and relax your body at the same time."
"That would not be a good idea," Nick sighed. "The other kids are rather hostile toward you. They're very jealous of the privileges that you receive. That is why your father keeps you away from them. He does not want them hurting you."
"They couldn't hurt me if they tried," Hermione said haughtily. And it was true; she was willing to take on however many kids they could throw at her. She would win, she had no doubt about it.
"Maybe," Nick shrugged. "But it's better to be safe than sorry."
They were quiet for a couple of moments, then Nick said, "Can I trust you?"
"Of course."
"Will you tell your father?" His gaze was intense. For the first time, he wasn't smiling. Hermione felt slightly uneasy.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," she promised. "I'll never tell a living soul."
"Do you ever just want to escape it all?" he asked. "Do you ever get fed up with everything and just want to leave? When you have nothing left waiting for you when you come home, when there's nothing left in the world you could possibly want. Do you ever just want to let go?"
"Of course I do," Hermione said. "Sometimes, I just want to escape life for a couple of hours, and then come back. Everyone feels that way." Nick was still looking at her very seriously. She added quickly, "Of course, you can try to leave. And you may succeed for awhile. But life has everything planned out already. Life will come and claim you again. There's no escaping it. No one can escape it."
Nick sighed, and she thought he looked a little disappointed. Before she could inquire about it, though, he forced an overly bright smile to his face. "I suppose that's true. Hey, where do you spend your days?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment on the sudden topic change. "In my room, mostly," she admitted. "I would spend it in the library, but my father uses the books as a reward when I behave well. The library itself is useless to me without the books." She looked at him. "And whenever I have free time, I'm here. I like to train."
"Then, by any means, don't let me stop you." Nick gestured toward the clearing. "You can keep practicing. Don't mind me. I'm perfectly content with watching you." He tried to stretch, but only ended up letting out a moan of pain before sitting stiffly again.
Hermione pulled out her wand. "Have you tried to use some spells on it?" she asked.
"I prefer to let it heal the muggle way, actually," Nick told her. "It's going to heal either way, so why speed up the process? I feel like there's a lesson to be learned from this. Always be patient. And you always learn more when you take the hard way rather than the easy way out."
"I still don't get how your brain works," Hermione muttered under her breath. Nick just shot her a smile and pushed her toward the clearing, telling her to go train. She didn't want to leave him, but she hadn't practiced in a couple days either. She needed to keep conditioning to keep herself in shape.
She practiced for a bit, but her heart wasn't into it. She kept sneaking glances at Nick. Sometimes, he was watching her and gave her two thumbs up when she looked over. Other times, he had his eyes closed as he leaned against a tree, his breathing coming out smoothly and peacefully.
When she finished, she flicked her knife over at where he was napping. It struck the spot right above his left ear. To his credit, he didn't jerk awake or run screaming. In fact, he just calmly took the knife and handed it back to her when she came back to him.
"Nice aim," he praised as she sat down once again.
"I actually missed your face," she grinned. "Too bad. Maybe next time."
He pretended to look wounded. "My face?" he asked. "Why would you want to hurt such a pretty face like mine?"
She laughed and shoved his arm, and then immediately froze. She had never had a friend before. Actually, she had never socialized, period. And now, Nick was squirming his way into her life. They were acting like friends now.
Could she have a friend here? Could she sometimes make time to spend time with him? It would make her life more enjoyable, she had to admit. It was more fun when he was around. She would still have to remind motivate herself to practice when she had to, but she could use some companionship some times.
"Hey." Nick nudged her arm. She didn't realize that she had frozen up. His eyes were full of concern, concern that she only saw with her mother. How could this boy, who had just met her a couple days ago, care about her so much already? It was truly a mystery. "Are you alright?"
"Yes." Hermione nodded, and then held out her hand. Nick looked at it quizzically. "For our friendship," she clarified. "Would you like to be my friend, Nicolas Wilkes?"
He looked amused. "Friendships aren't usually so formal," he teased. When Hermione faltered slightly, he placed his hand in hers. "I can do formal," he smiled. "Very well. Friends from this day forward."
Hermione grinned happily. She had her first friend! She always thought she would die alone one day, without anyone to care about her. However, she didn't need to worry about that anymore. She had Nick as her friend. Everything would be all right.
"You should come to my room sometime," she told him excitedly. "I have a lot of cool things in there that I'm sure you would like."
Nick's smile slipped slightly. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea." Upon seeing her crestfallen face, he added quickly, "You're like royalty, after all. It wouldn't do for a lowly peasant like me to enter your room."
She wanted to add that technically, from what she had heard, Grindelwald was his father as well. That made him royalty too, didn't it? However, she just shrugged and said, "Well, if I'm royalty, I get to invite whoever I want to see my things!"
"Yes, yes," Nick said. "But you have to remember the dictator here is Grindelwald. He's the absolute monarch. No matter how much power the royalty have, it is he who can land the final blow."
Hermione's shoulders sagged slightly. "I guess you're right," she said. "I'll just bring my cool stuff here to show you. Would that be okay?"
"Of course," Nick grinned. "Just don't hurt yourself." She smiled back. "Oh, and Hermione?" He called out as she was about to leave. She looked back at him.
"Make sure not to get caught."
ஐ
Hermione let out a gasp of pain as she regained conscience. She wanted to sit up—lying down had always made her feel vulnerable—but she couldn't seem to get her arms and legs to move. They felt full of lead, weighing her down, so there was nothing she could do but continue to lay there helplessly.
"Ah, she awakens." The person she hated the most in the world laughed. Hermione glared at Bellatrix, who was standing in front of her with her signature maniacal smirk on her face. She looked quite pleased with her accomplishments. And behind her…
Gellert Grindelwald sat on his thrown, still looking very regal. He only looked amused when Hermione glowered at him. She knew it gave him pleasure to see her so helpless on the ground. He liked to do that to his victims a lot, to make sure they saw who was in charge.
"Bella did not bring you here," Grindelwald spoke, his voice low and rumbling. Bellatrix let out another cackle before she went to stand right next to her master. That used to be her spot. She bet Bellatrix was so pleased with herself that she now 'earned' it.
"You came here by yourself," Grindelwald continued. "No one brought you here or kidnapped you. Do you know what that means, my daughter?" Both she and Bellatrix flinched at his title for her, though for completely different reasons. "You know where you belong."
Grindelwald smiled at her, except there was nothing sincere in the gesture. "Welcome home."
Author's Note: I apologize for the lack of Tomione moments. These are transition scenes, and they're kind of necessary for the plot.
Thanks for reading.