A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters related to the franchise. That all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I hope you enjoy the only thing I do own...the plot. Also M rating for language and possible sexually explicit scenes (really just wanted to be safe with the rating).
A/N 2 Trigger Warning: Hermione is attacked in this chapter and pinned down. Also, some not so nice things are said. Just a warning here in case you need it.
-TNHGTNHGTN-
Hermione landed on the cold stone floor of an old cave system. She immediately rolled out of the way so the Slytherins could drop in behind her without fear of landing on her. Wand in hand she silently cast a lumos that matched Harry's who helped her stand. "Alright, 'Mione?" She nodded. They heard a thud behind them as Draco landed and sprang forward with his wand in hand. Nott was next, and landed in a perfect crouch as he strode towards them. With four wands shining brightly Hermione looked around and got her first good look at their surroundings.
They were in a small tunnel, the spider webs had cleared up a little, but some still clung to the stone walls. There were stalactites hanging tightly to the ceiling but the ground was fairly spare of stalagmites. Somewhere in the distance there was the constant drip drip of water as it hit the ground. It was dark. By far the darkest area Hermione had ever been in. If it wasn't for their wands she was sure they wouldn't be able to see their hands in front of their face.
"Well, there is only one way to go." Harry said before walking forward. "Let's get a move on," He called.
"Do you want to be in front or back?" Hermione asked the two Slytherins. "I don't mind either way."
"Pattern? Scarlet to emerald?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded to him and he walked off to catch up with Harry. She gave Nott a reassuring smile and started after the blond, feeling safe placed in the middle of her Slytherins with her best friend leading for good measure. They eventually came to a natural room. It was quite large and could probably fit two D.A.D.A. class rooms inside it. It was filled with stalagmites that littered the ground as tripping hazards. Some of them were barely bigger than a few inches, while others stood at least one meter tall. They blocked out all corners of the room except for a small walkway that led through the center. Harry was standing still just inside the entrance.
Draco was staring at Harry with his brows scrunched in confusion and Hermione pushed her way through gently before laying a hand on her best friend, "Harry...what's wrong." Harry gave her a look, the same look he gave her every time his super weird sixth sense kicked in. They were in trouble. "Wands at the ready boys," She called softly, raising her own wand a little higher for good measure.
"Hermione, do you remember first year?" She waited, "When there was only one way through that fire after Snape's test?" She nodded, "There is only one way through," He motioned towards the small opening on the opposite side of the room.
"You think we will be-"
"Somethings going to happen once we are too far in this room. I can feel it."
"You can feel it?" Draco asked incredulously.
"Yes, Malfoy. I trust my gut and so far it hasn't led me too far astray." Harry said, turning towards the blond. "It told me I could catch you on that broom first year, and it told me everything would be ok if I went into the forest during the battle. Right now it is telling me that there is something in this room that is dangerous."
Malfoy clenched his jaw a little bit in thought, but nodded his head and raised his wand a little higher. "Only one way through," Malfoy echoed quietly. Hermione clenched her wand in her hand and started walking slowly into the room. There were a couple of quiet objections from the boys, but when she didn't stop they eventually followed her. There was only one way through, and she would not waste time speculating on what could be waiting for them when it could have been any number of things.
Eventually, the only sound echoing around them was the scuffling of shoes and the occasional drip of the water. They were a little over half way through the chamber when she saw the first sign of movement out of the corner of her eye. In the shadows that lingered at the edges of their lumos lights Hermione saw a tiny skeletal hand gripping the edge of a calcite column. Her breath caught and her heart sped up as she turned quickly on her heel to warn the boys. Her mouth was open about to shout the warning when she felt something collide hard into her side.
"What the fuck is that?" She heard Draco shout as Harry rushed forward. She felt something clawing at her skin, and she gripped her wand tightly. She pushed herself up enough to get a good look at it. It was human shaped, but severely emaciated with bones sticking out of it at odd angles. Her blood ran cold as she recognized what this was, and without thinking too hard about it she gripped her wand trying to get an angle to cast a spell at it.
"Incendio!" Harry shouted, aiming true to the creature. The creature shrieked and backed up towards the maze of stalagmites as fire erupted on its pale skin. "Inferi," he yelled as he helped Hermione up.
Looking around there were at least ten other of the creatures slowly advancing on them. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand as her adrenaline began to pick up. This was something she could do. No time for panic as she was brought back to the place in her head when all she wanted to do was protect her best friend. In the back of her mind she throught how strange it was that in this moment she knew she would not panic. In this moment she had control. She was Hermione fucking Granger.
"Move Harry," She said as she pushed him to the door. To her this was no longer a school assignment. It was every other time she had fought to save this boy's life, and he knew it. He nodded to her and turned to run towards the door. Stopping just short of going in, always waiting to make sure his friends were alright.
Hermione pushed her way in between the savior of the wizarding war and the inferi who were currently advancing. Hermione squared her shoulders and confidently shouted, "Protego Diabolica," creating a barrier of the flames between her and the advancing Inferi. Both Slytherins were standing dumbstruck. "Move!" She shouted at them, as she started backing towards the door that Harry was now standing at, holding his wand in case she needed back up.
Draco shook out of his stupor first and ran towards the door. Nott was next and started shooting balls of flames at the inferi who were climbing on stalactites trying to climb above Hermione's protective fire. "Do you think they can follow us through the door, Granger?" He yelled over the roar of her flames.
"I don't know!" She said as she grabbed him and yanked him behind her, shooting a quick Incendio as an Inferi leaped through the air next to him. He stared at her in shock. "I've got this Nott, go!" He grabbed her hand and held it fiercely.
"Not without you!" He started backing up faster, and held her hand tightly, practically dragging her to the doorway. They worked in tandem shooting fire-based incantations at the Inferi until they were all at the door. Draco and Harry crossed the threshold first, leaving the other two to shoot more spells. "I-I can cast Fiendfyre," He said as more inferi approached, their jerky unnatural movements causing their limbs to contort into disgusting shapes. They pushed their bodies through small openings causing limbs to become disjointed and broken. Where there had once been ten there were now more than twenty. It was like they were coming from the walls.
"Can you control it?" She asked. She was so distracted by his admission that she lost her concentration for a split second. This cost her as one of the monstrous creatures crawled forward and bit down on the soft flesh of her arm. She released a small gasp, causing Nott to glance down at her where she had dropped her wand, and was trying to pry the creature off of her skin.
"Shit," he cursed, and cast a nonverbal spell that caused the creature to erupt into flames and crawl back with an unnatural scream. Hermione weakly reached down and picked up her wand, before backing up and casting a quick Immobulus at another who was stopped mid air in its attack against Nott.
"Fiendfyre," The spell burst forth from his wand as he stepped forward. The agonized cries from the creatures met her ears as she was pulled behind Nott by one strong arm. The flames took the form of a giant salamander, slowly devouring the flesh of every inferi in the room. He held the spell for several moments before he dismissed it, the flames disappearing in defiant hisses. He then weakly fell to the ground on one knee before completely toppling over. Completely spent from the last few minutes of casting spells, and the control it took to keep the Fiendfyre from consuming all in its path.
"Nott," Hermione tried to shake him awake, but he remained unconscious. She was suddenly torn between the need to check on both Harry and Draco and make sure Nott was ok. She checked him over, and deciding that he would probably wake up soon as this was just spell exhaustion, she put a levitation charm on his body, making sure to grab his wand from where it had fallen and placing it in her pocket. She then summoned him from behind her as she walked through the next tunnel. This section of the cave was covered in a bioluminescent algae giving off a strong glow that allowed her to see without her wand. She whispered Nox as she approached the next chamber. The room was relatively empty, just a large open space about the size of the Transfiguration classroom. She took a deep breath as she approached the blond and black head of hair. They were staring at something that she couldn't quite make out as she wandered through the tunnel. Once she could see though, it made her blood run cold.
"You thought you could kill me?" A voice that she hadn't heard in months taunted, "There were more than seven you insolent fools." The pale visage of Lord Voldemort stood two meters in front of Harry and Draco, sneering in a superior way. He was wearing the same dark robes he had worn in the battle and was currently brandishing the Elder Wand.
This wasn't right. Hermione could feel herself thinking but she couldn't say it out loud. The wand was broken, and He was dead. Draco was currently trembling, as his hand gripped his wand so tightly his knuckles paled against his skin. Harry had his wand held tightly, but was also shaking in fear.
"You failed you miserable boy!" Voldemort taunted in his cool voice, "You failed to save your friends and your family, and the war will be won by those of worthy strength and power!" Voldemort then turned his cold red eyes to Draco, "And you. You failed as well. How dare you associate with a Mudblood and this...this failure. You are no better than that whore of a mother who I will torture in every possible way once I leave this place." This wasn't right. Hermione's eyes danced around, but Voldemort had yet to notice her. That wasn't right either. Voldemort would have noticed her. Voldemort would have attacked her blood status, and would have summoned her before him to torture Harry.
Knowing something wasn't right, and having no other way to protect her friends Hermione ran to the right side of both boys before shouting, "Ventus Duo!" The resulting gust of wind caused both boys to fly away from the dark wizard, and hit the back wall stunned. As she continued to run, trying to find somewhere to shield her body from the resulting curse surely to be thrown her way she hit a patch of water on the stone floor and slipped, her wand flying out of her hand and landing with a clatter on the other side of the room. Voldemort's pale red eyes landed on her as she lay on the ground, pushing herself onto the balls of her feet in a crouched position. He walked forward and started to morph before her very eyes.
A boggart! She thought. Of course it was a boggart. That's why Harry hadn't attacked Voldemort, the boggart was playing off of his biggest fears. He wouldn't have thought it was a boggart, and would have just panicked seeing Voldemort alive.
But she knew! She could cast the spell because she knew what it was. She glanced at Harry and Draco who were lying crumbled slightly on the floor. She grimaced hoping she hadn't hurt them when she threw them into the wall. She then turned back to the boggart and waited for the familiar face of McGonagall to appear and tell her that she had failed, but her heart stopped as another much more terrifying witch took shape instead.
"Oh look! Potter's Mudblood. Back to play?" 'Bellatrix' sneered with a horrifying smile as she approached Hermione. 'Bellatrix's' wild hair was springing up in odd directions and her darkened teeth gleamed in the light of the algae. Hermione tried to push herself up but couldn't. The fear had penetrated her legs as she crouched, shocked and terrified. Hermione knew that if her adrenaline was already going she might have collapsed into a panic attack, but for some reason when she was actually in a fight or flight scenario she could fight. It was only when she was back somewhere that echoed safety did she actually process what she went through. This would be fun to deal with later.
From behind 'Bellatrix', the boggart created another figure. 'Malfoy'. In the back of her mind she could hear Professor Lupin's voice telling her that boggarts could morph into more than one thing if your fear called for it. Before she could fully process what had happened the boggart 'Bellatrix' advanced quickly pinning her arms to the ground right as Hermione was reaching for Nott's wand still stowed safely in its denim cage. "Your turn dear nephew." The last time she had faced one of these vicious entities Lupin had never allowed them to get too close to the students. Now there was nothing to stop the boggart from hurting her, a thought that she was reminded of as 'Bellatrix's' nails penetrated her skin slightly. She tried to push it off of her but the boggart 'Bellatrix' fought back and kept her on the ground.
"Acc-" Hermione tried to summon her wand, but 'Malfoy's' hand covered her mouth, smothering her call as it was swallowed by his palm.
"No need for that Mudblood," His voice was cruel, mocking. Nothing like the Draco she knew. The boggart 'Malfoy' smirked at her, able to read her thoughts and fears as if it was a well practiced Legillimens, "Oh, you know deep down I have wanted to do this for years," It sneered before tightening its grip on her face to a bruising degree. It lowered its face to her ear before whispering, "I would have tortured you in the Manor too, if only my dear aunt had shared." Hermione was currently laying on her back as these two figures smirked down at her.
'Bellatrix' lowered her head to her other ear and squeezed her arms so her nails dug into Hermione's skin even more, "Don't worry Draco, you will get to hurt her now. Just like you've always wanted, like you will always want. Oh look, her perfect scar!" It pushed Hermione's jumper sleeve up to reveal the scar that she had worked so hard to keep hidden.
Hermione, trembling in fear, was thinking that this couldn't possibly get any worse when out of the corner of her eye she saw Nott. Relief flooded through her. He had woken up! Now she just has to communicate with him what was going on. That this was a boggart. He approached her slowly, and she looked up into his blue eyes willing him to understand. Something inside of her clenched when he got closer. His eyes were the wrong shade of blue. They were too dark. Something was wrong.
"Save some for me please," He crouched down and lowered himself so he could look over her face, his body hovering above hers, "Gryffindor's Princess, how far you have fallen," His voice was low. This wasn't Nott, "Oh, but you know this is the real Nott," It smirked at her before lowering his face even more so she could feel it's breath. There is no spearmint. It's not him. She chanted this over and over in her head. "I will hurt you!" It chuckled darkly. 'Bellatrix's' and 'Malfoy's' hands tightened in unison, until she cried in muffled pain. Fear gripped her almost as tightly as it had in the Manor all those months ago, and then all three of the figures took a deep breath in through their noses.
"You smell fantastic, marinated in this fear." they all said at once.
The 'Nott' grabbed a handful of her curls and pulled, "I can't wait until we get a chance to carve you up, until you bleed your dirty blood all over this room. I will personally make sure that you suffer until you are drenched in fear, and we will drink it up until there is nothing left of you! Until not even your precious friends can identify you." The 'Nott' boggart lowered its face until it was right in front of her, so close its lips touched her cheek as it spoke in a low voice, "You are nothing to me. I could never find a girl like you attractive. I will never be able to care for you, with your filthy blood. I will make you-"
"Redikulus!" Three voices chorused around her. Each figure that was standing above her now looked different. The 'Draco' was standing there in nothing but his pants with 'I'm a wanker' marked on his forehead in bright flashy letters. The 'Bellatrix' had her wild curly hair shaved, and was dressed otherwise as a goofy clown except for the obnoxious makeup which was missing. Finally, the 'Nott' was wearing Professor Vector's clothes, and to complete the look his hair was now made entirely of quills. Hermione could vaguely hear her boys laughing, causing the boggart to shrink away back into the darkness but she couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to laugh. Eventually, the boggart reabsorbed the other figures until just 'Bellatrix' remained. Boggart 'Bellatrix' sneered as she stared hard at something on the other side of the room.
It was Nott. He had finally woken up and was currently brandishing Hermione's lost wand. "Granger," he said weakly, "come here." On his command, Hermione forced herself up and ran over to the otherside of the room where Draco, Harry, and Nott were waiting. Harry grabbed her and pulled her behind them. The boggart stared at Nott hard, advancing towards him. Hermione watched as something shifted behind his currently storm cloud blue eyes. She recalled all those weeks ago in the glow of the fire when they discussed what they were good at. One of his answers rang loud and true in her mind above all others...Occlumency.
The boggart moved again, its lips pulled in disgust as it tried to pinpoint his fear. The staring contest continued for several minutes. Nott fighting the boggart's natural offensive ability to penetrate his mind. He began to sweat slightly in exertion before the boggart smiled triumphantly and began to shift. It began to take the form of a man, but right as it was done shifting Nott lowered his voice and chanted the spell in a lethal voice she had never heard him use. This caused the boggart to turn into a ginger haired sky dancer tube thing, with Weasley is our King written on its chest. Everyone giggled or laughed at this and slowly made their way to the other side of the room, as the boggart slowly reduced itself to near nothing, and disappeared into the dark. No one commented on how the figure that the boggart took looked very similar to Nott just before he cast the spell.