Hi All,
Wish you all a very Happy New Year!
Welcome to the Chapter 8 of Cambion.
Please do let me know how it goes, always love to see your comments.
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Thoughts ''
Parseltongue $$
Disclaimer: This fanfiction is purely for non-profit and fun, all rights to canon characters and the HP universe belongs to JK Rowling. Also, this is purely a work of fiction and imagination. Events described in the fic resembling reality is merely a coincidence.
Hermione stepped through the barrier on the muggle side of King's Cross station. It was a cold evening with remnants of snow in and around the station. She hugged her winter cloak harder as she walked into the station bathroom. From the inner robe pocket she pulled out the dead man's wand as she had come to call it and performed the warming charm on her cloak and gloves. It was a blessing to have a wand without trace, especially if she wanted to practice some of the new dark spells she had learnt.
Professor Quirrell had been surprised initially with the other wand yet was gracious enough to check it for any sort of trace and confirm she could use it freely even in the muggle world to do magic. As an added courtesy he applied a charm on her luggage to shrink and enlarge it with a tap of her wand. Honestly it wasn't a difficult charm to master if she wanted to do it herself and most luggage manufacturers add it to the trunk for a price, but it was a one time activity and she'd rather not waste time learning it for a one off use.
Stowing away her wand, she fixed her robes and pulled on her gloves before stepping out of the restroom and station.
The city was covered in snow yet it seemed warm and welcoming, partly because of the warming charm. The streets were lit up in a festive glow as muggles around her went about their business. She walked a few blocks before realizing her stupidity, she could take the knight bus, it was a cheap commute option for those who didn't know how to apparate.
Pulling her wand out she signalled for the bus and waited a few moments when a loud bang resembling a gunshot echoed from the far right side of the road before an old red double-decker bus came into her view. The bus halted right in front of her while the doors opened to a lanky shabby man dressed in the conductor's uniform. Hermione paid the fare and settled onto one of the arm chairs as the bus took off as abruptly as it came. She felt herself being jostled and hurled around while the bus sped along the busy London streets navigating through muggle traffic.
Hardly a few minutes into the ride, the bus came to a sudden halt while Hermione slipped off the chair and banged her shoulders into one of the beds lined up inside the bus. Stan, the conductor helped her off the floor and informed that they had reached the Leaky Cauldron before she alighted the bus feeling dizzy trying to keep herself stable using the grab rails.
Hermione tried to keep herself upright, however she couldn't control much longer and the moment she stepped off the bus, she rushed to the nearby alleyway and dry heaved in the corner. She hadn't eaten much apart from the heavy breakfast at Hogwarts and a couple of apples for lunch she snuck in her robes. The dingy ride was enough to rattle her stomach hard as she continued to retch up bile. A few muggle teens passed by her taunting and laughing at her duress, however she didn't have enough in her to hit back at them.
She took a few moments to gather herself before cleaning her face. Once sure that she wouldn't fall, she left the alley and stepped inside the cozy little pub.
Tom greeted her as soon as he saw her, "Hello Hermione! What a surprise, I thought you'd be spending your holidays at Hogwarts."
"Hello Tom" she said weakly taking a seat on the barstool.
"What happened dear, you seem quite tired and pale. Is everything alright?" he enquired.
"Can I have some water please? I took the knight bus."
"Hmmm, that explains it. Well, I do hope you now know why hardly anyone takes it." Tom replied, handing her a glass of warm water.
"Yes, and I'd rather get trampled by elephants than go through that infernal gut wrencher again." Hermione spoke in between small sips as she felt much better with the warm water easing up her throat.
"It's okay, you can use the floo next time. Now, if you haven't eaten you can collect something from the kitchen after you freshen up." Tom said while fishing for something on one of the shelves behind him, "Here's the key to your room."
"Thanks so much. I can start working from tomorrow if it's fine." Hermione pocketed the key while getting off the barstool.
"Come now, it's the festive season. You're here for a couple of weeks only, just enjoy yourself for once. You can work all you want during summer."
"Alright, fine Tom. I'll see you during breakfast then. Good night."
"Good night, Hermione."
Hermione opened the door to her little room, she was relieved to find everything in the same place, untouched with a layer of dust and cobwebs. After locking her door she used her wand to clean up the room before enlarging her trunk at the foot of her bed.
She took a long hot shower to relax herself and settled back in her room with a bowl of chicken stew and some bread. Now that she was away from Hogwarts she could explore the area a bit.
Finishing up dinner she tucked into her warm cozy blanket reading up on the theory of mastering the Unforgivables.
Even though no one was really looking for it, she didn't want any incriminating evidence against her of performing dark banned spells. She could find some place on the muggle side to practice, there would surely be at least one cozy little place hidden away somewhere in the muggle neighbourhood.
Hiding the book back in her trunk she turned off the lights tucking herself into the warm blanket; ruling Britain could wait, sleep however couldn't.
Hermione spent the next few days going around the muggle neighbourhood nearby looking for any sort of abandoned or inconspicuous space for her to practice. It was a longshot considering that Diagon Alley was located right in the middle of a densely populated and well-to-do locality.
Every day she veered off farther and farther in search until Christmas eve where a familiar face caught her eye. Walking towards her with a bag of groceries was Mary Hahn, her tormentor-in-chief, the woman who still gave her nightmares, more commonly known as Mother Superior.
Hermione felt a shiver run up her spine as the woman crossed overlooking her presence. She stood there for a few moments before realizing that Hildreth House was probably miles away in the other direction. What was she doing in this neighbourhood and why was she not in her usual attire. As far as she could remember, there wasn't an occasion when she stepped out in anything else than her usual uniform.
She turned around eventually and tried to follow her, staying as inconspicuous as she could. After walking for a while, Hermione reached a street with a row of similar looking houses on either side which resembled as though they had been created using a cookie cutter.
There was hardly a way to differentiate one from the other. Each single-floored red brick house with sloping thatched roof had a small lawn and a driveway connected to the street. The only difference being the state of the lawns and the type of car parked in front of them.
It was already dark and the snowy streets were devoid of much illumination owing to the barely functional street-lights. She followed Mother Superior and hid herself behind the tree when the woman turned left to enter the last house on the street.
Hermione looked around cautiously, most of the street was deserted owing to the late hour as well as being a festive time of the year. She decided to keep an eye on her for the next few days. She wasn't stupid enough to confront the woman relying purely on a few spells she knew at the time. Nor was she ignorant of the fact that the woman might have some information about the person who sent her to the orphanage.
She walked beyond her house and noticed a small trail off the street going towards the wooded area around the back of the houses. She held the paring knife firmly as she veered towards the trail searching for a proper vantage point.
All the houses had an almost 6 feet high fence separating the backyard from the woods and each other. The house she was interested in had quite a poorly maintained backyard and one of the oak trees had branches hanging over the fence, though it remained to be seen if they were good enough to bear her weight.
Fatigue was setting in her bones after a long day of wandering around in the neighbourhood. She leaned against the tree and sat down trying to rest her aching back and legs. In order to satiate the rumbling in her stomach she rummaged her little backpack for the chicken sandwich she packed before leaving Diagon Alley. Hermione ate the sandwich in silence contemplating the unexpected turn of events before returning to her room for the night.
Over the course of the next few days she monitored the house closely as much as she could, gathering any information on the woman. It seemed that Mother Superior was now just Ms Hahn, an old lady living alone in the plush house enjoying her retired life. No one visited her although she visited the local church on a weekly basis and made occasional trips to the nearby market, yet she wasn't known to interact with anyone else in the neighbourhood. She snuck into the house a couple of times, however there wasn't much that she could find.
There weren't many days left before she had to return back to Hogwarts. It would be wiser to come back during her summer vacation where she would have enough time and a proper plan to interrogate the woman.
31st December, 1991
Hermione walked into the Leaky Cauldron with a smile on her face and moved towards the passageway towards the rooms ignoring the patrons of the dingy little pub.
"Hermione! Wait up!" Tom called.
She stopped in her tracks wondering what the barman wanted at this point in time, she already knew about the staff dinner party for new year's eve. "Yes, Tom?"
"Getting ready for the party?" Tom asked cheerfully.
"Ah yes, I was going to. What happened? Do you need any help in the kitchens?"
"No, no, everything's set. An owl parcel came in for you. It wasn't able to get into your room, so it was delivered here with me. Let me get it for you. Just hold on a minute." Tom said fishing for something beneath the rum shelf before pulling out a small rectangular package wrapped in simple brown wrapping paper.
"Does it have a name? Any ideas who may have sent it?" Hermione took the box and turned it over to search for any information.
"Nope, nothing on it. It could be from one of your mates from Hogwarts. It seems like a Christmas present that got delayed. Nothing to worry about I feel."
Hermione pocketed the box, "Yeah, that's possible. Something from my… friends. I'll see you later then, bye Tom." She turned around and left without waiting for a response.
Without wasting another moment she ripped open the pack and as per the instruction on the box tapped it with her wand. The plain old box came to its original size and it resembled more like the box that could house wands.
She opened the box with nervous excitement and the first thing she noticed was a folded note which she kept aside on her desk to reveal a small dagger. The dagger was made from iron and the wooden handle was stained black. The blade was about 5 to 6 inches with a double edge. It was beautiful yet dangerous, surely someone put thought into the gift whoever it was.
She picked up the letter and it was a familiar scrawl:
Here's a little something for you.
This should do a better job than a paring knife.
I do hope you like it; it has been sharpened for use.
Don't worry it's rather… muggle you see.
I didn't want to cause any issues for you by giving a magical/enchanted dagger.
Happy Yuletide. Enjoy the holidays.
PS: Burn the note.
Hermione burnt the note before picking up the dagger cautiously examining it under the flickering lamp. This was her first Christmas present ever and she would have been surprised had she seen the smile that graced her lips.
She placed it carefully back in the box and got into the shower. A party and a new year awaited her for now.
Thanks for reading, if you liked/disliked the fic please do leave a comment. I love to read what you've got to say.
Cheers!