"It's so strange. The closest thing I can think of is someone messed with time." Hermione mused as they gathered some bloodroot growing at the forest edge. They had agreed to no longer be caught alone outside of town and Hermione was finding she deeply enjoyed the challenge of Draco's company, even just while sitting by the fire at the end of the day. He had been staring at her a lot more recently, like he was afraid she was going to break. One death defying scenario and suddenly she was made of glass in his eyes. It would be annoying if he weren't so subtle about it. It may also be more annoying if it didn't transfer over to soft grazing touches when they passed in close proximity to each other, as if he was just checking to see if she was okay. The glancing contact of his fingers on her hip sent all the wrong sort of warnings to her head and with him trailing behind her she was out of luck when it came to finding an outlet. She wondered briefly if Blaise could put his money where his mouth was before quickly discarding the idea.
"Time turners weren't around until the 1800's." Draco commented as he swung a sharp hatchet at the nearest root. The bright red liquid seeped into his skin, staining his comically orange. The hue clashed horribly with his coloring. He had rolled up his sleeves to protect them only to result in more surface area to dye. "And I thought we weren't talking about this?"
"Hypothetically… any other ancient magics you know of related to time?" Hermione questioned as she picked up the remains of his work when he moved onto the next clump of small white flowers.
"Hard to say. They say the Black Forest is one of the oldest magical places on the planet. Who knows what lives in it." As if baited, Hermione saw something bright blue flash out of the corner of her eye. She stiffened staring into the dark patch of forest as if trying to make out something that was not there.
"Did you-"
"I did." He whispered, pulling up tall. He scanned the undergrowth, wand in hand. As if on cue a small blue flame lept into being, just inside the forest thicket, floating peacefully mid-air.
"Fool's fire." His voice was deadly calm and steady as his eyes fixed on the harmless looking orb. Hermione felt an overwhelming sense of motivation and drive, like her goal was just ahead.
"I take it, we don't want to follow it." Hermione breathed trying to stuff down the urge. The ice blue glow was inherently calming. The flames flickered in a barely perceivable pattern, dancing in the air and inviting them to join.
"It depends." Draco responded, lacing his hand in hers firmly. She hadn't realized but she had stood and made to take a step forward. "Sometimes they lead to treasure and glory. Sometimes to the edge of doom. It depends on which wizard you ask."
"Any idea on which one these have in store for us?" Hermione questioned as a second small flame appeared behind the first. More began to pop up in rapid succession, lighting a clear pathway into the thicket.
"No." Draco was staring straight ahead, his eyes reflecting the fire that was far too distant to be showing.
"Let's not then." Hermione forced herself to tug backward slightly, only to hear a roar of blue flames climb up behind them in a wall of heat that burned nothing. Draco pulled her to his chest stumbling deeper into the timber as the flames died to a merry flicker, an obvious threat trapping them in. It appeared that the forest was done waiting for them.
"I don't think we have much of an option anymore." He muttered, staring at the line of ghostly light. They seemed to bounce as if they were laughing.
"I would like to state for the record that I don't like this one bit." Hermione huffed as they begrudgingly stepped forward. The flames behind them died down but Hermione felt fairly certain that if they were to take one step back they would roar to life once again.
"I cannot help but agree." Draco mused, pulling her along by the hand. His touch was surprisingly gentle considering his hand almost completely enveloped her own. His skin was flecked with the tiny bumps that came from frequent knife use and accidental boil overs. It felt warm against the cool air and in spite of the uneasy aura about them Hermione felt much more sure of herself.
"Okay, so we fix whatever is wrong then pop back to the mill for a quick lunch! No trouble at all." Her awkward laugh hung in the air emptily, somehow making the whole situation even more foreboding. As they approached the first wisp Hermione became aware of a gentle ringing sensation. They stopped a few feet short of the orb and stared at it.
"Well… what now?" She asked as the haunting ice blue flame bobbed slightly in front of them.
"Why are you asking me? Don't you have more experience with this sort of nonsense?" He questioned as he gestured to the floating orb.
"I was hoping those days were over when I had finished school." Hermione commented lightly.
"Were they?" He shot back with an eyebrow raised. She sighed.
"No. Unfortunately I just don't know when to stay away well enough for my own good apparently."
"Don't forget that you apparently have some commune with Nature since a collection of trees older than England has somehow roped you in to doing its bidding. You better at least get a title for that." He scoffed.
"Your witty commentary is not getting us anywhere. Do we just pick it up or-" She reached for the flame just for it to disappear, the orbs behind it flaring brightly for a moment as if to encourage them on.
"That seems as clear as anything. Stay close." Draco shrugged leading them on a meandering path through the forest, following the blue orbs. She trailed behind him, hand linked in his hand and wand at the ready.
As they walked further into the undergrowth the thick bushes and brambles grew patchy, leveling out to the flat swatches of pine needle floors and towering trunks. As they moved the air grew thicker with magic a heavy metallic tang coated her tongue unpleasantly.
"Granger… call me crazy but I am pretty sure this is where we arrived." Draco mused as he slowed to a stop.
"Impossible, we were on the other side of town when we-" He bent over to pick up a small item from the dirt. Hermione's voice cut out when she saw a familiar but entirely out of place metal screw.
"I don't like this." He commented, sliding the screw into his pocket. Hermione thought about telling him to leave it as a marker but decided that if they were walking in circles she didn't want to know. The flames pulsed insistently, spurring them on as the feeling of wrongness grew. Even Hermione could feel the dark magic now, it made her spine shiver and the hair on her neck stand on end. Every twitch, every sound sent her head swiveling. She had rarely felt unadulterated primal fear in her life. Sure she had been afraid, even terrified. But this was different, she distinctly felt like she was hunted. Like she would never feel peace or happiness again.
Abruptly the will-o-wisp cut out leaving them stranded near an out of place thicket that grew in dark thick brambles. The thorns looked wickedly sharp and threatened any creature that stepped near it.
Draco crept forward edging around the growth. Like some sick flower blooming a small section of vines folded back in on themselves making just enough space for two to crawl into. Draco eyed it suspiciously, signalling her to wait. Hermione felt no need to chastise him for his chivalry now, whatever was in there she wanted to be far away from it. Her heart dropped when he waved her down. She shuddered as the vines closed behind them, cocooning them in tightly.
A surprisingly quaint clearing laid ahead. Peaking over what appeared to be a rough hewn rim of fallen tree trunks Hermione could make out some actual sunshine, albeit gray and weak. Long overgrown field grass tufted from the ground with no movement in the still air. An old crumbling well that, in another situation, could be considered charming served as a centerpiece for the radiating waves of thick poison. Hermione recognised it immediately and almost gagged from the assault. On the other side of the thicket it was so much more manageable.
"It's a misery well." She uttered as quietly as possible. Draco nodded, twitching his finger in response. Misery wells were a very, very dark piece of accidental magic similar to pensives. A misery well started as normal wishing wells guarded by a spirit who granted the wishes as they saw fit. At some point a human with a memory to erase came across it and wished the memory away. Every memory has value, It had to be a memory so loathsome, so foul that the very person themselves could not live with it. The well-meaning spirit would deposit the memory in the well, unaware of its own doom. Slowly the memory would corrupt them, drawing forth others with awful memories to erase. Over time the evilness would suck the life from the guardian spirit leaving a hole of black magic and misery.
While misery wells were partially awful pieces of magic in a natural setting Hermione couldn't quite figure out what they were supposed to do with it. From what she had read misery wells were a scorch mark on the nature spirits in the area but when properly contained could be excised and left to rot. A forest as old as the Schwarzwald should have no trouble keeping it contained and did appear to have isolated it effectively.
Hermione was so wrapped up in her thoughts she almost cried out when the overwhelming feeling of coldness and despair coated her. Her thoughts flickering through her mind like scared rabbits as she considered the danger and stupidity of this whole thing. Why are you even here? You're going to get him killed. You don't deserve to have a friend like him. Look what you did to the other ones. You bring nothing but sadness and pity to everything you touch.
Thin dark robes drifted on an invisible breeze, pale scabbed over skin hung of bony limbs that stuck out at odd angles. She had hoped to never see one again. Four dementors were floating into the clearing, sucking all life from the air around them.
0000000000000000000000000000
You are not worthy.
Horrid, foul, filthy demons. He pushed the voices out of his mind. Draco had spent more than enough time around the wraithlike dark creatures to know he wanted nothing to do with them. He cast a quick silencing charm around them figuring that the dementors would not find the ball of nothingness unusual but still spoke in low tones just in case.
"What are dementors doing here? I thought the ministry eradicated them."
"I did too." Hermione hissed back. She began to shiver violently. This is your fault. Draco forced himself to be calm and gently placed his hand on her shoulder blocking out the old images flashing across his mind.
"Push up your shields. Like when you are trying to keep me out of your head." He coached in low soothing tones. He wished he could cast a calming spell but the dementors would be on them like bloodhounds.
"I knew you were trying to read my mind." She almost joked, eyes glued to the floating robes.
"Nothing other than to know you can push me out, I assure you. Had to make sure you weren't going to blow our cover." He saw her tense, distracted by whatever images fought their way in.
"Whatever you are seeing is not real. Push it out." Hermione relaxed just a hair, blinking owlishly. She still shook but at least seemed more in the moment.
"They must have sensed the well. I bet it is a veritable spa for them."
"Do you have a plan? Because I don't think the forest is open to an exit option." When he glanced at the brambles behind them they grew over twice as thick as if daring him to try.
"Are you sure you can't pull off a patronus?" She questioned, chewing on her lip nervously.
"Even if I could that won't kill it." He muttered softly, eyes locked on the action. It was enough for his concentration to slip. Because you are weak. He shivered, pushing the disembodied voice away. They stared forward, the situation growing more dire by the second as the aura of despair ate at them. "We have to try to apparate out. Running is our only option."
"What if the forest won't let us?" Hermione hissed.
"We have to try." Draco responded calmly. "Otherwise we have to fight anyway."
Hermione continued to shiver but nodded digging into her bag and pulling out three potions."Just in case. It will buy us time."
Draco gathered his fading magic and with a purposeful jump threw them forward only to shoot across the clearing before hitting an invisible wall and falling to the ground in a heap. The creatures paused for only a moment, as if caught in time. You have failed. Suddenly they swarmed towards him and Hermione, sensing living prey. Before he could react Hermione grabbed his hand throwing down a bottle and pulling him along. Black gas burst from the bottle blocking out every sensation into blissful nothingness and silencing the intrusive thoughts. He stumbled forward barely staying on his feet even as the smoke faded away.
She threw the other bottle at the grown below the tattered robes throwing her arm up to cover her face and her other one over his eyes even as they ran. He saw the brief remnants of a flash even through the flesh and judging from the bleaching of the grass around them along with the pained howling the light had been intense. The nearby grass had caught, leaping alive into small flames. She drew even more distance between them as they recovered. With the clearing of the smoke the voice came back with a vengeance. She has to save you because you cannot save yourself.
Before the dementors could move she lobbed the last bottle across the clearing, firing an exploding curse as it sailed above them. Runny green liquid rained down on the still stunned creatures. The earth seemed to moan for a moment before cracking open. Thick heavy vines grew up from the ground twisting and skewering the bony bodies.
They slid to a stop just short of the wall, Hermione's wand trained on the grass. " Terra cuniculum!" The earth split as the magic burrowed down, coming to a jarring halt beneath the bushes, tangled in thick knotted roots.
"Fine! Blast it!" Hermione cried, turning to the thick bramble walls trapping them in. He slashed his wand, pushing power into the small section where Hermione was aiming. The twin explosion spells shot from their wands in a rush, the loud boom shaking the trees. Unfortunately any damage was quickly overgrown by the forest who seemed to have no qualms about leaving them there to die.
"Again!" She cried. They fired three more times before the first dementor broke loose. It rushed towards them in a wail only to be turned away at the last moment by the manifestation of Hermione's rook. The patronus dove towards the creature cawing out tauntingly.
He pushed her forward just as another Dementor descended on them from above wailing as it sucked energy away from them. You are nothing. She held the charm and turned as she stumbled sending the rook into the creature's face forcing it back. They fought with him protecting her back firing off ineffective curses whenever a cloaked figure got too close. He worked to maneuver them from the edge of the clearing, half of which was now ablaze. They were fighting a losing battle in a shrinking arena and Hermione couldn't keep this up forever.
"There's nowhere left to go!"
Give up and die. It is what you are best at.
"Well do something!" Hermione shouted as her rook swooped back down repelling another attack briefly. The small silver bird was growing fainter in the thick choking smoke.
"Like what?!" He roared, casting a quick incendio at the robes of a nearby dementor. The light fabric caught resulting in a wail before the embers were sucked up into nothingness.
"I don't know! Get creative! Use instinct!" Hermione shouted, sending the rook diving behind them.
"I don't operate on instinct, Granger! And I have had 17 years of formative learning to crush down creativity into a pea sized diamond."
"Well unless you want to end up carbonized you better do something or this whole place will burn down with our soulless corpse at the center." Hermione coughed violently breaking her control on her patronus. With a flicker it faded out, the brighter sparks of the nearby flames taking over. You will watch her die, helpless to stop it.
A horrid wail sounded as the Dementors concentrated their slow and crawling advance. He pushed Hermione behind him, shooting off what remaining spells he could as the adrenaline gave way to fear and despair. You cannot save her. You cannot even save yourself.
"Draco!" Hermione's cry sent him spinning, a curse already on his lips. Instead he found the battle weary witch pointing her wand at him with a grave expression. The flames behind her roared, searing away the forest with a rage. She looked absolutely demonic in a horribly tempting way, a war torn goddess of smoke and flame ready to cast the very earth into the fire. He glanced down at her watch, a familiar warmth calling him.
Goodbye.
"No!"
" Expulso!"
He would have sworn if he had time to. The curse hit him, forcing him into the familiar feeling of being sent away. Fortunately or unfortunately even the expulsion curse was not enough to overpower the forest. He landed in a heap on the other side of the clearing just as the creatures began to close in on Hermione, sucking away her curses and shields like air. Even from this distance, they drained him.
You have killed her.
You are ruin.
Tainted.
Death Eater.
One closed in, pulling at her with invisible claws while she hung loosely in the air for a moment before stumbling to the ground. Draco Malfoy was a lot of things. He had made many mistakes in his past and put himself before others countless times. He knew this. He had even watched the witch in front of him face death once before, never giving an inch as she stood at the precipice of pain and oblivion, refusing to betray her friends or her cause. She preserved the fate of the world while under wandpoint when he was too much of a coward to even pull up a convincing lie surrounded by the safety of his family. But he had grown since then. He wanted to be something better, someone good. As he watched the life being sucked out of Hermione he couldn't stand by silently only to prolong his own death. Even if the forest opened a path behind him he wouldn't take it. The way he saw it he had no other option than to go down in a blaze of glory, even if it meant she was the only one who would ever know it. Perhaps he did have the smallest bit of bravery in him after all.
"Stay back!" He shouted above the crackling of burning and the empty cries of the dementors. He breathed out slowly schooling his focus into the tip of his wand, pushing out all other thoughts. He calmed as completely as possible forcing himself into perfect stillness. He filled his thoughts with heat and power, thinking only of destruction and white hot oblivion. His eyes opened just as a bony hand closed around her wrist and released the curse. Wild orange flames jumped from his wand in a burst of jaws and skin burning heat that he could barely feel. The dementor closest to her screamed for only a moment before being consumed by the flames as they rounded too close to the witch for comfort. With a groan he forced the flame to redirect, its course veering slightly.
He angled his wand in focused, measured movements, the jet taking on the long thin form of a serpent for a moment before crashing into a tree with a burst of gnashing teeth and a wild mane before rounding on the next target. The flames chased their quarry hungrily, Draco hunting down the faded gray cloaks one by one, jaws snapping around whole forms in fevered excitement, embers licking at every combustible item within sight. He made his way over to where Hermione had pushed herself up to a stand against the crumbling stone well, fire licking at the area around them. As the last dementor collapsed into a pile of heat and ash Draco cut the spell, thoroughly spent. It was only Hermione's loud crying that kept him conscious.
"Draco we need to go! It's catching!" Indeed the whole clearing was on fire burning at an unnatural rate. He felt her attempt to apparate, a familiar pull at his side before it died in a weak spark of power. She groaned, collapsing into him gripping her head. As the nearest flames licked at their feet Draco turned back to Hermione pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Don't let go." He whispered before falling forward into the well and dragging her with.
World Building with Om
Fool's fire:
Will-o-the-wisp are a commonly known phenomena that appear across northern Europe. They vary in name but all have the same story. Strings of lights appear and if you follow them something will happen. If you are virtuous it may lead you to a treasure or windfall, if you are evil it may lead you to a cliff face or in circles until you are lost. The muggle cause of fool's fire is believed to be swamp gas igniting in patches.
Misery Well:
A unique creation made from corrupting the most innocent of magic. Misery wells can be destroyed but the land will remain corrupted until the magic fully fades. As such the best solution is to wall them off until the eventually run dry. The more memories deposited the longer it will stand. Ever memory has value and they should not be given or taken lightly. While the human may be free of their worst memories they also lose the lesson or compassion learned from the moment.
Expulso Curse:
The expulsion curse is supposed to remove any targeted item from the area. It is incredibly powerful due to its simplicity however in that same line it may have incredibly varying results. It WILL remove any item but that may be through the floo, door, window, or wall depending on what the charm decides in convenient. As such it is a very dangerous spell to use on humans and is not recommended.