Part 5
One Step Closer
The first couple of days in Ilvermorny had proven to be some of the most interesting in Harry's school life. The students were welcoming for the most part. The least part being that some saw Harry, Draco and Neville as competition, invaders and three people who had come to show them up. This hadn't been the case of course and so the trio had decided to avoid any form of confrontation. Anything that came their way was instantly dismissed by the instant band of friends they had made, when all three of them were 'magically' sorted in house Thunderbird. While Harry knew this was inevitable, even Bella was surprised that Neville had made it into the ranks of the future explorer's and adventurers. Something she expressed one the second morning during breakfast, while she and Harry waited for the others to join them.
"It's not that he's a coward or anything, it just seems like he should be…"
"As far from danger as possible?" Harry suggested to Bella.
"Yes," Giggled Bella, "He's really sweet but, I don't know, the night of the Gala he was all over the place. After all the stories I expected him to be a fighter,"
"He didn't fight?" Asked Harry, thinking that sounded odd.
"Oh, he tried to, but he was overwhelmed in seconds, when we got split up, I feared for his life, but Hermione was holding her own, she told me to run and get some help,"
"He never liked duelling much but usually he's risen to the occasion, I guess seeing Grindelwald would put anyone off,"
"Not you though,"
"There's a difference," Harry told her, "I'm mental,"
"Very true," Chuckled Bella.
Harry, Draco and Neville had all been given guides to help them acclimate to the school. Harry discovered that it had been a volunteer thing and while many students reportedly wanted the task, it was Bella, Angela and to Draco's dismay, Jessica who had volunteered to help their fellow Thunderbirds around the school. This worked in Harry's favour because he discovered that Bella was just as much a rebel as he and Draco were. She had helped them on the first night when Harry had shared the knowledge of the shield charm to prevent the trace taking place. Bella thought this trick was 'totally neat' and helped Harry test if worked by showing him one of the secret passages that led out of the school. This passage took anyone who knew about it right out into the forest and beyond the mountains edge, where, Harry was able to Apparate to the nearest town, cast a spell and apparate back without being noticed. When zero ministry officials appeared to arrest Harry or tell him off, he'd seen this as a success. Although, Bella's help came at a price. She insisted that for helping her, Harry would have to teach her how to fly. This only added to the other things that were getting in the way of Harry's progress in finding any information on Hermione or the Chamber that Ron mentioned in his letter. The biggest hurdle were the classes.
It felt like Ilvermorny was doing all it could to prevent Harry from being with Draco and Neville except at mealtimes or in the evening where they would meet in the Thunderbird dorm room. The dorm was a strange place with the study area taking on the shape of a wooded area that had chairs and tables spread out all over the place and an ever changing enchanted ceiling that would switch from day to night and produce bird song as a means of creating a relaxing atmosphere. One perk of the Dorm was that Harry, Draco and Neville had their own room which they shared together. It was a similar set-up for the girls but often, Bella and her friends would attempt to join Harry, Draco and Neville at the least opportune moments. And then there were the classes.
"Now lad!" Boomed Professor Strom, during Harry's first defence against the dark arts class. This was something he attended without Draco and Neville. He didn't even have Bella for this one as she had Transfiguration at the same time. "I've seen you fight but have you ever been in a position to use two wands at once?"
"No sir," Harry replied, much to the delight of the other students who had all been learning to duel with both wands ever since Bella Swan made it popular and begged Professor Strom to teach them, "But then, We Hogwartians never needed more than one," Harry added. That earned him a few cold looks, but he didn't care. He wasn't here to make friends and he had no intention of competing for popularity in a school he'd planned not to stay in for long.
"Well then!" Strom boomed, clapping Harry on the back and calling up another student, "I think we know what secrets we'll be passing on from our defence against the dark arts class,"
Given that it was a two hour less and he had it 3 times a week because the American's believed in being the best fighters in the world made you a great wizard, Harry spent his first week of defence against the dark arts, subject to learning numerous techniques with two wands that despite his dislike of the amount of distractions the school were forcing on him, he found rather handy. He even enjoyed Strom as a teacher and wouldn't have minded having him more often. Professor Green on the other hand wasn't the most exciting of men.
"And, here, you see the hippogriff, a proud and noble creature whose talons can cut through flesh if the creature is angered even in the slightest. It is common knowledge that hippogriffs are proud to a point that if they so much as feel insulted, they are known to kill a person."
Harry felt that Professor Green didn't possess the same amount of enthusiasm has Hagrid had when talking about magical creatures. Even the Hippogriff had looked bored when listening to the professor talk about it. This was a common theme in the class and most students stopped Creature Care the moment they entered 5th year. Each Professor was meant to teach Harry, Draco and Neville something they otherwise wouldn't learn at Hogwarts. Although the three knew what a hippogriff is, they neglected to mention it and just let the Professor think he ticked that box.
"I see, very brilliant Draco, your aptitude for this class rivals even my own!" Professor Dale, the portioner had praised Draco more times in the first hour of his class than Severus had praised Harry or Draco in 3 years of Hogwarts. Potions was one of only two classes that Draco and Harry had together, and they sat together every time, learning the Invisibility potion that Professor Dale had chosen to teach them.
"It will actually come in handy," Draco said, fairly. They had finished the class and were heading up to lunch when Harry had said they would never need the potion because of his cloak, "We don't all own a cloak and honestly, it's better than the happy potion he wanted to teach us."
Draco wasn't enjoying his time at Ilvermorny. He didn't like the rules, the way the other students looked at him, how they all judged him so closely when he was in a class by himself. He'd managed to make friends with Jessica properly and that eased his mood, but he was getting bored and wishing very much to leave as soon as possible.
On the upside there was one positive and that was Neville's ability to ease himself into a new school. This might have been in part to Angela Webber's help. The pair were getting on really well and Harry was sensing another heartbreak on the horizon. Still, it made the charms class a little more entertaining because Neville and Angela kept getting told off for giggling. Eventually, Harry and Bella had to take charge and split them up, otherwise Neville was going to end up in trouble that would make Hogwarts look bad. Curiously, the idea of making Hogwarts look bad didn't concern Neville when it came to Angela.
"She's just so clever and nice!" Neville boasted one Thursday after charms had ended. Harry had planned a meeting in the common room because all the other students were going to be going to the quidditch match that day, which meant they would finally have peace to talk. They were on their way back to the common room at the time, "You know Harry, I really think she and I could be something special, I…oh."
"Careful there, Romeo," Harry chuckled, stretching his arm out to catch Neville before he fell. Still laughing, he bent down to help pick up Neville's things, picking up a piece of parchment that was getting a fair bit of ware and tear, "What's this?" Harry chuckled, "Love letter?" He teased, pretending to open it.
"No!" Neville snapped, snatching the piece of paper out of Harry's hand and quickly tucking it away in his robes again, "It's the letter my Gran sent me,"
"Sure, it is," Chuckled Harry. The redness of Neville's ears usually determined if Neville was highly embarrassed, angry or trying to hide something. Harry had figured it was all three and just let it go, "Come on, Draco will be waiting for us,"
Up the common room and in their bedroom, Harry had to design a way to hide all the evidence he had collected together in order to investigate Grindelwald and the Death Eaters. Right now, their main concerned was trying to get as much information on Grindelwald as they could while looking for the entrance or proof that a Chamber existed in the castle.
"I spoke to a couple of the history students and the professor and made it out like I was interested in myths," Draco was telling Harry and Neville, while lounging on his bed and stroking Pawfoot, "They all think it's real, some even claim to have seen it. I've managed to look in a couple of places, even used that invisibility potion to sneak into a couple of girl's toilets. There's no evidence of an entrance or chamber,"
"How do we know that this information is reliable?" Neville asked them. He'd calmed down from his little grumpy spat over discussing Angela and was now fully focused on the task at hand, "I mean, it did come from Ginny and there is no telling what her mind is like these days,"
"Ron is an annoying little twit but I can't see him going to her for help if he didn't believe she still had some sense," Harry replied, "The only thing we can do is start taking it in turns at night to search the castle,"
"That could take months," Draco huffed, sitting up and letting Pawfoot got to the floor, "By then we could be too late. I say we focus on Grindelwald, make a push for finding Hermione and then come back and solve that little Riddle,"
"Good use of the word 'Riddle' there," Harry approved and then nodded, "You're right, it's already been three weeks and mum's letter this morning suggested that they haven't gotten any further themselves,"
"Have you managed to get anything out of Bella?" Draco asked him.
"I don't think she knows anything," Replied Harry, frowning. "She's great, smart, talented but I think she's been kept right out of the loop on this one,"
"I think you're right," Neville nodded, smiling happily and turning to lay down across his bed, "Bella, Jessica, Angela, they're good people, I don't think they'd know anything about Grindelwald. If they did, they'd have told us because they would think it would help Hermione,"
"What about Cedric?" Draco suggested, "He might know something more on Death Eaters than I do, he might know some of the ex-death eaters that with Grindelwald and if they can be tracked, it shouldn't be too hard to send a message to your mum or Sirius,"
"True," Harry sighed, "If only we were allowed to compete in the duelling clubs."
"I think it's a good rule," Neville nodded, still gazing at the ceiling, "It wouldn't be fair if you and Draco won anything here, it would ruin it for the other students,"
"Or make them train harder in the future," Draco snorted, giving Neville a kick in the leg, "Let me get to Cedric, I think I've got a way of making him talk,"
"How?" Harry asked. However, when Draco smirked and tapped the side of his nose, Harry just rolled his eyes and trusted that Draco would get it done.
"What are you going to do about Professor 'Mendez' tomorrow when you see her?" Draco asked him, "A whole day of Transfiguration is hell but not when you've not got me to keep you out of dream land."
"I've told you before, she doesn't affect me the way she affects other people." Said Harry, trying not to think about a whole day of staring at Professor Mendez, knowing what he knew about her.
"I'm glad it's only once a week," Neville shivered, "I hate it, part of me hates her for it, I wish she weren't here!" He growled.
"Alright, Mr grumpy pants, you can take the first search and blow off some steam," Harry said. He went into his trunk and retrieved his invisibility cloak, passing it to Neville who was already on his feet, "Search the east side of the castle, it's the smallest part, you're looking for anything that could be related to Slytherin,"
"And don't forget your love letter," Draco sang. Blowing Neville, a kiss and winking. He then sighed when Neville stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut, "What's with him lately?"
"Love," Harry sighed. Walking over to sit on the side of his bed, "It turns us into monsters."
"I don't know," Said Draco, keeping his tone light. He sat across from Harry and reached out, brushing Harry's hair aside, "I'd say love has a way of making you a better person. In fact, you've become one of the best people there is thanks to Hermione,"
"I have to get her back," Said Harry. His hands clenched into fists and he felt that rage, the anger wanting to spill out, "When he took her from me, it wasn't like he was just kidnapping her, it felt like there was a reason he wanted me to see it happening."
"It's strange. I've been reading up in Grindelwald and it suggests that he never kidnapped, tortured or did anything that you'd expect of a Dark Lord. He believes in manipulation; he could recruit people simply by talking to them." Draco sighed and shook his head, "He's more dangerous than Voldemort but what he's done? I can't see him taking her just to get at you, there is no motive."
"You think he's taking her for another reason?" Harry frowned, looking up at his friend.
"Hermione is the smartest out of all of us, maybe Grindelwald needs a fresh mind and it's likely he knows about us,"
"We're not that famous," Said Harry, giving a half enthusiastic chuckle.
"No, but the spy, the one Erica mentioned," He said, giving Harry a little nudge with his foot, "whoever they are would know enough about us to tell Grindelwald about Hermione."
"Alright," Harry said, feeling like they were clutching at straws, "What makes Grindelwald, who by the way is the second most intelligent wizard in the world second only to a little known wizard named, Albus Dumbledore, need a 4th year student?"
"Maybe…" Draco paused for a moment, then looked up at the wall, "Maybe he thinks she knows something that can help him find Voldemort. You know, if the Grey Cloaks and Death Eaters are fighting, you have to believe that Grindelwald doesn't want Voldemort coming back. The rumour always was that Voldemort was more powerful than Dumbledore. How's that going to look if Grindelwald wants revenge on the Ministry and suddenly Big-V is back, walking, talking and destroying?"
"Draco I…"
Before he could chuckle at or fear the idea that a war was coming between two of the greatest dark lords in history, Harry looked to his wall of evidence and saw the pictures of Grindelwald and Tom Riddle sitting next to each other. Neither of them was alike in any fashion. They both had same goals when they were in their primes and both were stopped before they could achieve their goals. Voldemort had tried twice to regain his power and was pushed back, prevented from returning. He was still out there; he was still trying to regain his strength.
"I could kiss you," Harry said.
"Promise?" Asked Draco, even puckering his lips to get ready.
"No," Harry chuckled, jumping to his feet and looking at his wall.
"Oh, he's had a brain wave," Draco said, excitedly, "Hit me with it!"
"Alright," Harry said, taking a deep breath and then rolling out the information, "Just say for the sake of argument that Voldemort had found a way to regain his full power. However, Kendra Lestrange who might still have connections within the Death Eaters finds out that Arthur and the rest of Voldemort's followers are on the move, possibly looking for a way to speed up the process. It would explain how they were so organised but also why Grindelwald was so easy to break-out,"
"Dumbledore and the rest of the Order including most of the Ministry have been trying to track down the Death Eaters that escaped from Azkaban at the beginning for summer. Grindelwald escaping took them by surprise," Draco said, getting to his feet, "Only Sirius didn't want to let you know that. Why?"
"I think he did," Said Harry, "Sirius admitted that the Order was stretched too thin, they can't keep an eye on Grindelwald and Voldemort at the same time. What if the Death Eaters at the Gala wasn't helping us, what they were distracting us as well?"
"You think the Grey Cloaks and the Death Eaters are working together?"
"No," Harry smiled, "But I'd reckon that Arthur was willing to fight them, even protect me if it meant buying someone else time to get to where Voldemort was and move him if he were too weak."
"Alright," Draco nodded, pointing to Grindelwald, "Why was he at the Gala, why Hermione?"
"If the spy in the Order mentioned Hermione it was for a reason, she's smarter than all of us yes but she's also the most logical, the one who can be reasoned with,"
"Because you and I would just try to keep picking fights until Grindelwald would have no choice but to kill us?"
"Exactly!" Harry beamed. "Grindelwald needs something from her that he couldn't get from us, information."
"On?"
"After I fought Ginny in the Chamber of secrets, Hermione and I started researching Voldemort's past, only a few people knew about it," Harry sighed and slapped himself in the forehead, "Including Wormtail!"
"He's the spy!" Draco banged his fist against the wall, "Who else knew?"
"Remus and Severus, Remus because he fought in the war and Severus cause…"
"He used to be a Death Eater," Draco nodded, "Makes sense. Did this research lead to anything that would be useful to either stop Voldemort from coming back or suggest a way he could?"
"No," Harry frowned, "Voldemort did a good job of hiding his life, I only managed to get that picture," He said, pointing to the picture of young Tom Riddle, "from the school Library,"
"Or you don't know you found something else, I can't imagine many people openly research Voldemort," Draco mused, "I'm a little annoyed I wasn't in on the project."
"We didn't want to upset you or discover something that might have hurt you," Harry admitted.
"No time for dramatics," Said Draco, shaking his head and tapping the picture of Grindelwald, "He takes Hermione on Wormtail's information, which he gets from Kendra because she knew Wormtail was in the order and would be useful for information on Voldemort, she learns about the project and busts Grindelwald out because he's the only person tough enough to take on Voldemort besides Dumbledore."
"But Dumbledore isn't going to help in a crazed revenge mission that will wipe out tons of lives," Said Harry, looking at the picture of Kendra, "She'll want Bellatrix and the other Grey Cloaks will want their revenge."
"Which could mean that Charles Swan is working with them?" Draco suggested.
"If he is, then Bella knows nothing about it,"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Veritaserum," Replied Harry, casually. Draco gasped in shocked, gazing at Harry in worry, "I slipped it into her drink the first morning we had breakfast, asked her a few questions about Grindelwald and her dad and she swore blind that Charles has nothing to do with Grindelwald now. I then obliviated the conversation from her memory and got on with the rest of the day."
"Harry…that's…"
"Horrible but I'm not wasting anymore time while Hermione is in trouble,"
"I was going to say brilliant," Draco chuckled, giving Harry a pat on the back, "Stole the potion from Severus, right?"
"Actually, mum left it in my trunk with a note describing how I should use it,"
"Go, Lily!"
"It's also highly illegal so never tell anyone, not even Neville,"
"Done," Draco nodded. "Alright," He said, taking a breath and calming himself, "Grindelwald has Hermione because she might know something that can help Grindelwald stop Voldemort, I'll write a letter to Uncle Ted, get him to pass a message onto the Order to check if Wormtail has been found, if not, then we can go ahead and assume we're right."
"The Death Eaters are going to make it hard for the Grey Cloaks to achieve whatever goal it is they have," Harry said, hearing people coming into the dorm. He quickly got to work hiding everything and made sure the room was clear just in case, "That just leaves the second Chamber,"
"You still want to go looking for it?" Draco asked him, "Deprive Hermione of the joy of looking for it?"
"I mostly just want to know what is in it," Harry admitted, "There is a good chance we're not the only ones, especially if Ginny thinks it's important."
"Got a bit a soft spot for that one, don't you?" Draco chuckled, "Typical, he'd go for a red-head psychotic before going for me,"
"It's tough not to like a girl who's that devoted to you," Joked Harry, "But I've got a good idea on how to find this Chamber,"
"How?"
"I'm going to charm the Transfiguration Professor," Harry grinned.
O
When morning came everything was business as usual and Harry was determined to get through the next 6 hours of Transfiguration without causing a scene. He was so determined to do this that he was mentally preparing himself for an hour of resisting and ignoring every single word that Professor Mendez would say. Firstly, he needed breakfast and to catch up with Neville, who, didn't come back to the dorm the previous night until Harry and Draco were asleep.
"There was nothing," Neville said before Harry could wish him a good morning. Neville looked tired, pale and worn out, this being a clear sign to Harry that his friend did look all night.
"Nothing at all?" Harry asked, doing so as gently as he could.
"No," Neville sighed, "No marks, no signs, no strange looking sinks, nothing."
"Well, Draco has the east wing tonight, once Transfiguration is over with, we'll have a better means of getting around the school,"
"You really think she's going to help us?" Neville said, a strange tone of dislike his voice, "She's hardly the most trustworthy person in the world."
"I trust her," Said Harry, "And that's all that matters,"
"Well, you can trust her all you want!" Neville snapped, "While you're at it, you may as well risk this whole mission by throwing in with her,"
Since when were you so against her?"
"Since my best friend was kidnapped by the man she worships!" Neville then turned his back on Harry and stormed away.
"What was that about?" Bella asked. She had come round the corner with Jessica and Angela. Angela had gone after Neville the moment she clocked him storming away and Jessica looked over Harry's shoulder, noticed Draco and went to see him.
"You don't want to know," Harry sighed, shaking his head and started to follow Bella to class.
"Well, the good news is I'm single again," Bella chuckled, clearly trying to lighten the mood and taking Harry's arm as they walked.
"Why is that good news?" Harry asked, confused. He was suddenly very aware of Bella's arm in his and worked carefully to extract himself from her hold.
"Because he's been driving me insane for ages," She explained, "Ever since he saw a picture of me with one of my friends back home," She chuckled, "He's got a thing against wolves,"
"Right," Harry nodded, just assuming that made sense in some way, "So, What's Professor Mendez is like?"
"Oh, she's…nice," Bella said, hesitating for a moment. Harry smirked.
"But?" he prompted her.
"She's frustrating!"
Harry had heard the rant that Bella instantly went into many times before. He heard it from Hermione, from Lavender, Parvati and most of the other girls that he shared a class with back home. According to Bella, Professor Mendez was strange, overly clever, too attractive to be a teacher and had all the boys in Bella's class wrapped firmly around her finger. Harry got to see the proof of this from the back of the class, where Bella insisted they sit, while Professor Mendez, who was wearing a light blue summer dress this time, talk to the class about a complicated form of magic that allowed people to transform into another person entirely. This long lecture was the first half of the class, then they broke for lunch. Once they had returned, they were all instructed to change their appearance in some way that would alter their faces entirely. Harry had gone with turning his own skin green, which made Bella and a few others laugh. Professor Mendez had thrown him a playfully annoyed look for that one. When Bella had turned her hair blue, Harry countered by turning his pure white. Then he added horns and started making impressions of orcs. This lasted right up until Professor Mendez had accused of him wasting the classes time and gave him detention for this evening. When the class itself ended, she also kept him back.
"Mr Potter, I would like for you to stay behind," She announced, to which the entire class all stared. There was a mix of jealousy amongst the boys and looks of worry from the girls as they all filed out of the classroom. The moment they were alone, Professor Mendez stood up from her desk, walked to the front and smirked at him, "How long before you realised it was me?"
"The moment you opened your mouth," Harry grinned. She giggled and shook her head at him, "You really need a new trick."
"I really need a hug," She told him.
When she held out her arms, the light brown hair faded into a deep black, her tan skin turned pale, she grew a touch taller, her body thinned and when her faced returned to her normal features, she revealed her true self in the form of Erica Black. She smiled at Harry and he grinned wider, running across the room and scooping her into his arms in a tight hug.
"Oh!" She giggled and hugged him back as she was spun around and set back on her feet, "What a difference a few months make," She told him, sweeping his hair to the side to see his face better, "You're practically a man now,"
"You shouldn't be here," Said Harry, releasing her from his grip and simply gazing into her face, making sure it was truly Erica, "What if they find you?"
"Fontaine knows it's me," Erica told him. She chuckled at the confused look on Harry's face and explained, "Fontaine and I are old friends, we used to work with Grindelwald during the war. Oh, don't get that look on your handsome face," She chuckled, stroking Harry's cheek affectionately, "She was never a true follower. And she has no love for the British Ministry, her only condition is that I pass on my little transformation trick to the new students. Something you appear to know quite well,"
"Hermione and I have been learning things we think are useful," Harry admitted, smiling at her sheepishly.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Erica whispered, taking both of Harry's cheeks and looking into his eyes, "You're so lost without her and yet, here you are trying to find her."
"Do you know anything? Do you know where he's taken her?" Harry asked, not able to keep the pleading out of his voice.
"I really wish I knew," She sighed, walking around to the other side of her desk. Her tone was more business like, "When I heard that Grindelwald had been broken out of Nurmengard, I left Sirius' house immediately. He hasn't been right since I visited him a few months ago,"
"You've been to see him?" Harry frowned.
"Of course," Eric nodded. She went into her drawer and took out a picture, showing it to Harry. The picture was of Grindelwald and a little old lady with Erica's eyes, "I managed to get in contact with Charles Swan,"
"What?!"
"He had nothing to do with this, Harry."
"How can you be sure?"
"No one lies to me, remember?" She sat on the front of her desk and nodded to the picture, "I showed Charles this picture and he said that Grindelwald looked nothing like he did in this picture, the night he came to the Gala,"
And Charles was right. The man in the picture was old, with no hair at all on his head. His face was gaunt, thin and he looked like he had been under fed. This was a man who looked older than Dumbledore, less cared for and too weak to put up the fight that he did at the Gala the night he attacked it.
"Potions, spells, something that would regenerate him?" Harry suggested, shaking his in-head disbelief.
"And make someone look 20 years younger and fight better than Sirius and Remus on their best day?" Erica said, showing some restraint, "The man that has Hermione is not the man in this picture,"
"So, the Grindelwald that took Hermione isn't the real Grindelwald? And if that is the case, where is the real Grindelwald?"
"It's not that complicated Harry, the man you faced and the man in this picture are the same in body, but I would go as far to say who ever is driving this particular body, isn't Grindelwald,"
"I'm not going to lie," Said Harry, looking at Erica, "I thought having you here would make things less confusing."
"You really are lost without her," She sighed, standing up and giving his nose a flick, "I'm guessing you're here for Isolt's Chamber?"
"I…yes, how did you?"
"One day you're going to realise that if you just pay attention to Dumbledore, you can pretty much guess what he's going to do before he does it and the reasons why he sends beautiful idiots like you to their deaths," She sighed dreamily and kissed Harry on the forehead, "I know where the Chamber is,"
"You do?!" Harry asked, becoming instantly excited.
"Yes, bring Draco and Neville to the east gate tonight as part of your detention, and bring the book that Ginny Weasley sent you."
"How do you know that Ginny sent me a book?!" Harry asked in surprise.
"Please, there isn't nothing I don't know about my special boy," She said, smiling at him with adoration, "Although, there is one thing that needs to change," She said. Harry jumped when she took out her wand, whipped, flicked and slashed it in several ways towards his head and then smiled as a greater chunk of Harry's hair fell around the floor, "Much better, you're far cuter with short hair. Regardless of what Hermione says."
"I'm sorry," Said Harry, shaking his head and glaring at her, "did you just give me a haircut and kick me out of your class?"
"Yes, yes I did," She told him, turning her back to him for a second, then when she turned round again, she was Professor Mendez again, "Now go" She told him, smiling playfully as she added, "And stop giving the girl's of Ilvermorny false hope. The only person getting their hands on you if Hermione never comes back, will be me," She added a little wink for good measure.
"Like that isn't inappropriate," Harry muttered, making Erica giggle. He knew there was no point in arguing with her, but he was happy that she was here.
And so, flustered, confused but not without hope, Harry left the classroom and instantly sought out Draco and Neville to inform them that they were one step closer to finding Hermione.
O
Sat at the same table she had been sitting at since Grindelwald's departure, Hermione looked over the books, notes and artifacts that lay scattered across the table. The book she had in front of her detail some of the darkest and most horrible magic that she had ever seen. And she hated that she was retaining most of it. Next to her was a small, diamond shaped pendant that had once belonged to Dumbledore. Grindelwald had told her of the story that this little pendant had once held a blood oath between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, which prevented them from fighting. She admitted to herself that there was a sense of romance behind the creation of it and although Grindelwald never revealed out the little thing ended up with a crack in the middle of it, she was nevertheless fascinated by its existence.
"Horcruxes," Hermione muttered to herself. She'd read the passage on Horcruxes so many times that she feared she would never get their existence out of her head, "It tells someone how to place a piece of their soul into an item, thus giving them what is essentially immortality but it doesn't say how to do it," She turned, naturally looking for Harry and instantly her heart felt sadness, "I miss him so much,"
Suddenly, the door to her room opened and a woman walked through it. Hermione got to her feet quickly as standing when someone entered her new room was routine. Hermione waited while the woman appraised her and then smiled softly.
"I can see why Potter likes you," The woman said, tossing Hermione a bathrobe, "My name is Kendra, I'll be watching you while my Master is gone, strip or you will be stripped, you're far too smelly for my liking,"
"Well, if you thought to make sure there was a bathroom nearby, I wouldn't have such hygiene issues," Hermione shot back. She knew there was no point resisting without her wand nearby and so she had no choice but to turn her back and begin undressing, "Where has he gone?"
"To eliminate Peter Pettigrew, it would appear he's escaped from Azkaban and we can't afford for him to return to his old master," Kendra replied. Hermione removed her dress, the same dress she had worn to the gala and glanced back at Kendra with confusion, "Surprised that I would be so honest with you?"
"Surprised that Peter is a target, then again," Hermione said, slipping off the same dress she had been wearing since the night of the Gala, "He would know more than most when it comes to Peter. You're not just planning to kill him, are you?"
"You know, I've always wanted to be a teacher, if I was yours you'd empty me of points," Kendra chuckled, stepping into the room some more as Hermione removed the rest of her clothes, "I'm also being honest with you in the hope that you'll come to trust us,"
"Ha," Hermione snorted. She pulled on her bathrobe and faced Kendra, "Why would I trust any of you?"
"Because we're not the bad guys," Replied Kendra in a simple tone, "We're not Death Eaters, we don't plot and scheme and cower before a dark lord. We're not in the business of destruction, pain and misery, we seek to rid this world of all those who would want to see it burn,"
"And how many people did you kill when you attacked the Gala?" Hermione asked, taking a step closer, "How many people did your master kill just to get to me, just to make a point that he was powerful?"
"My master only does what is needed, he only kills when he has to," Kendra told her, "The loss of magical life was needed to find you. It was needed to fuel Harry's anger,"
"You'll stay away from Harry!"
When Kendra slapped Hermione across the face it stung. Kendra smiled when Hermione met her gaze and the two-woman stared at each other with equal measures of dislike.
"You're going to regret that," Hermione told her, "That and so much more,"
"Little girl," Kendra whispered dangerously, tugging on the front of Hermione's robe, "I could put a wand in your hand right now, tie my hands behind my back and not even break a sweat before you even started to try and take me down,"
"Who said it was me that was going to make you pay?" Hermione smirked.
"Let me guess, you think they're going to find you and save you?" Asked Kendra, giving a small chuckle, "Sirius and Severus still think we're in America, Lily and Hestia are back in the UK chasing a false lead that we placed inside the Order. Who is going to come and rescue you, Harry?"
"You don't know him like I do," Hermione smirked, "You have no idea what he's going to do when he finds the people responsible for the ones who took me,"
"That's assuming our spy doesn't do their job properly," Kendra smiled as Hermione's smirk faulted, "oh, didn't you know we have one?"
"I figured you did but what does that have to do with Harry?" Hermione demanded.
"My dear," Kendra sighed, reaching up to pull a not out of Hermione's hair, "our spy is in Ilvermorny right now with him," She said, making Hermione gasp, "And if it even looks like Harry is getting close to finding us, then they are under orders to kill Potter without a single thought,"
"Who?!"
O
When Draco was thrown against the wall he couldn't ignore the sweet pounding of his heart, the heat rising in his body or the grip that Cedric had on his waist. When their lips connected and the passion between them was more than Draco could ever believe, he was having issues remembering why he was down in the dungeons with Cedric in the first place.
He had found a way of questioning Cedric about the Death Eater connection in his family. The results were of no use, Cedric swearing blind that his father and him had no connection to the Death Eaters. And so, the only thing left to do after Draco's poor attempt at seducing Cedric for information backfired in Cedric seducing him instead, was simply to enjoy it.
"Cedric," Draco gasped, feeling the older boys' hands gripping at his chest and arms while Cedric's lips caressed Draco's neck, "This, we can't be together, even if…"
"Sshh," Cedric whispered, his hot breath caressing Draco's face, "Trust me, this will be a one-time thing and don't worry," Cedric smirked, "I'm particularly good at keeping secrets,"