Hi All,
Welcome to the Chapter 13 of Cambion.
Please do let me know how it goes, always love to see your comments.
Thanks to everyone who has taken time out to review the fic, you rock!
Speech ""
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 spent the next few hours shopping in Diagon Alley and treated herself to a lavish meal at Leaky Cauldron before heading back to Mother Superior's House.
Tom was happy to see Hermione enjoying life a bit more but was curious what changed suddenly. He waited while Hermione had her meal before heading over with a couple of butterbeers to her table.
"Hello, Hermione." said Tom, placing a bottle next to her plate. "Can I join you for a bit?"
"Sure, why do you even have to ask, Tom? Just have a seat, please." Hermione said cheerfully.
"Thanks" Tom pulled the chair and sat opposite her, "You know after you came in last year and having seen you work hard to earn your living. It's refreshing to see you enjoy life a little bit."
"It's all thanks to you and Mr Quillens, Tom." said Hermione between bites.
"Ah, nonsense. Anyone would have done the same." Tom replied. "However, I just wanted you to be cautious. Don't splurge all that hard earned money at once. Save some of it for a rainy day, as they say."
"Of course, I'm cautious with spending and coming back to my point. Well, you gave me a place to stay and a way to earn my bread when no one else helped, I can't ever forget that. Besides, the reason for this little shopping trip is a little different. You know, when I went to meet my friend, an elderly lady in the neighbourhood recognised me from the old orphanage and offered me to stay with her and take care of her. She is such a sweet lady and all these days I've been staying at her place." Hermione took the offered bottle before finishing off the last piece of her sausage. "She's a muggle so doesn't quite understand magic and knows I go to a boarding school for most part of the year. I could have stayed here but you know, I felt bad for her and really wanted to help her the way she took care of children at the old orphanage back in the day. I used a little bit from my savings and a little from the allowance she gave me."
"You don't have to thank me, you deserved all the help we gave. I hope you are safe there." Tom felt a bit reassured, "You know if you need any help, you can reach out to me."
"Of course, she's a wonderful lady and the neighbourhood is decent as well. I know and I'll always be grateful. Thanks again." said Hermione.
"Great, enjoy your meal then. It's on the house, as a little gift from us all at the Leaky Cauldron." Tom said before leaving her table to attend to the patrons at the bar.
After a long day at Diagon Alley, Hermione returned home exhausted. She placed all the items on the bed and carefully placed the cardboard box marked with a stamp of Magical Menagerie in a dark corner of the room before setting up the empty owl cage near the window that opened towards the backyard. A screech owl with spotted brown feathers and piercing amber eyes flew through the window and perched on top of the cage holding a dead rat in one of her talons.
Hermione pet her gently before she opened the cage to let her inside and enjoy the catch, "Rest here, Lora. You must be tired after a long journey."
Hermione heard the phone ringing downstairs before rushing towards the living room. She picked the phone before it got disconnected and responded slightly short of breath. A familiar voice spoke from the other end as Hermione felt her nerves ease up. She spoke for a while before hanging up the receiver with a contented smile.
Hermione spent the next few days reading her books and practicing the Imperius and Cruciatus curse on Mother Superior. She held the curse for duration enough to cause pain but not enough to cause lasting damage. She was well aware, her curses are only proving effective since Mother Superior was a muggle with barely any mental defenses.
Around 11AM midweek, Mother Superior was sitting in the living room wearing sunglasses and Hermione stood in the backyard burning the box from Magical Menagerie when the doorbell rang. She hissed something before rushing towards the doors to greet Sonya who stood holding her briefcase with her usual warm smile.
Hermione ushered her towards the living room where Mother Superior sat with a smile. After an awkward but brief conversation, Mother Superior excused herself to go out of the house.
Hermione spoke with Sonya for a while, discussing the Will and her documents. She handed her an envelope to pay for the firm's services and another as the promised bonus.
Sonya was extremely happy at the business and gave her personal card to get in touch in case of any future requirements. She knew good clients are hard to come by and this one was worth giving extra attention.
Sonya thanked her and bid her leave, however Hermione insisted on escorting her to her car. She relented and both stepped out of the house into the front lawn.
Mother Superior was at the end of the street and walking back towards the house when Hermione insisted Sonya meet her aunt before leaving.
Hermione stood slightly behind Sonya and her smile turned predatory when she noticed Mother Superior reach closer to the oak tree next door.
'Just a bit closer, bitch… Yes, that's it. Now for the final play… Get ready Mother Superior for a little payback for all the years of trauma and a little vengeance for my old friend.' Hermione mused to herself, her hands ghosting over the fang that hung beneath her shirt.
Mother Superior weirdly stopped still, near the tree and felt as if a spell was lifted from her head. She felt dizzy and tried to steady herself, realising where she was, free from the girl's sorcery.
She saw the girl standing next to her house alongside another woman, however before she could raise an alarm, something lunged towards her from the tree above. Immense pain shot through her neck as she fell to the floor trying to pry whatever it was off her body.
Hermione and Sonya screamed for help as they witnessed Mother Superior being attacked by a slender black snake that lunged at her from the branch above. The snake coiled around her shoulder and dug it's fang, puncturing the veins and delivering more than the average bite's worth of venom.
A few people from the neighbourhood came to help with sticks and shovels when the snake finally left her body and sped into the grassy lawn disappearing from sight towards the forest area. Hermione screamed and begged for help, while a distraught Sonya rushed back into the house and called for Emergency Medical help.
Hermione meanwhile sobbed next to Mother Superior who was in hell as the venom spread throughout her body mixing through her blood. Mother Superior tried to breathe, however she felt a fire course through her body and intense cough as blood and venom trickled through her windpipe. She dug her nails into the ground grasping at anything her hands got hold of, trying to scream but all she could see was the little devil crying crocodile tears while the others looked at her as she battled to stay alive.
Sonya came along and comforted Hermione, informing her that Medical help was on its way already and would reach soon. Hermione heard sirens blaring in the distance a short while later and felt a slight panic set in. She hadn't accounted for the ambulance reaching so soon.
Her only hope was that Nyla delivered enough venom to wound her fatally.
Hermione suddenly felt being pulled away when she noticed a pair of paramedics kneeling next to Mother Superior who was now frothing at the mouth. After a short while they regrettably announced that Marie Hahn a.k.a Mother Superior was dead.
Hermione's final memory of the wretched woman was her bloodstained face foaming at the mouth, teary old bloodshot eyes gaping at her with a mixture of hatred and pain. It was something that she would savour till the end of her life. She wished in that moment to make each and every enemy pay, even if it meant burning the world to do so.
Hermione watched as they loaded her body into the ambulance before informing the local police about the incident. Sonya helped Hermione into the house and gave her some tea trying to console her while Hermione played the part of the grief stricken niece.
A day later two policemen visited Hermione for questioning, since the coroner's report showed abnormal levels of venom in the victim's body, in addition to the recently created Will naming Hermione the sole beneficiary. She, however, held her nerve and answered as was expected.
When she was called to the police station, Sonya Miller testified on her behalf along with other residents who were at the scene. The residents even helped her with the funeral service at the local church. Hermione abhorred stepping into the church which brought up old harrowing memories from her days at Hildreth House, however she gritted and sat through the charade, feeling thankful none from the orphanage visited. She had taken a retirement from the service at the trust that ran Hildreth House sometime after she left the place. That much was clear from the retirement documents in her locker.
She had to testify her age to avoid being sent to a foster family and thankfully Sonya and another solicitor from the firm helped her with the documents. A week later finally the dust began to settle and the police were forced to close the case as an accidental death. Sonya visited her a few times during this and helped her get through the property transfers in an expedited manner.
Hermione sat reading a book, cuddled on her wingback chair next to the fireplace when a snake with smooth black scales shimmering in the fire's orangish hue slid into her lap enjoying the warmth wafting from the burning firewood.
$$Hmmmm, warm enough, dear Nyla?$$ Hermione petted the snake's smooth scales.
$$Yessss… missstresss… Nyla happy… food good…$$ the snake nudged it's hood against her palm.
$$Good girl. Now rest, you've made your mistress proud.$$
$$Nyla always good… Bad human taste rotten… Nyla eat rat…$$
$$Yes dear you're a good girl… You will get plenty of chance to bite even more bad people$$
$$Nyla bite bad human… Nyla protect Mistress$$
$$Of course dear, now rest and don't trouble Lora$$ Hermione chuckled, she sometimes forgets how such a venomous creature can behave like a child. Then again, no one else would understand that since parseltongue wasn't a common trait in the European wizarding families.
Once she was sure that the muggles won't interfere with her anymore, she owled Gringotts to send her a quote for rebuilding the house. After a bit of back and forth, they agreed on a price and the Goblins were contracted to rebuild and secure the house. Rothfang himself oversaw the work while Hermione decided to stay at a small muggle hotel. It wasn't lavish by any means but it was cozy nonetheless.
A week later on a lazy Sunday morning she stepped into her home that appeared roughly the same from the outside, however was pleasantly surprised by everything else.
The floors made of dark stained wood complemented the cozy pastel blue that adorned the walls with an elegant chandelier and plush leather couch sets completing the decor for the living room in addition to an antique styled telephone next to the television.
Rothfang greeted her with a smile that indicated how proud he was of his handiwork. He guided Hermione through the kitchen which was styled similarly in an elegant yet muggle fashion.
One of the bedrooms upstairs had been converted into a small study with forest green coloured walls and dark wood flooring and bookcases lined the wall made of the same material. Right opposite the door sat a small clawfoot desk and plush leather chair. A wingback chair sat next to the bookshelves facing the window that opened towards the backyard.
Next up they moved towards the main and now the only bedroom in the house. The door had been replaced by a much more premium set of twin wooden doors with ornate carving of a dire wolf on the handle. She opened the doors to gasp in surprise. She assumed the floors to be the same as the rest of the house, however, it turned out to be made of stones and the walls held a similar touch resembling something akin to their dorms at Hogwarts, however this was much personal.
The room held a huge four-poster bed with black silken sheets and blue silk and sheer curtains framing the bed. A wingback chair with black leather upholstery sat next to a stone fireplace. A plush rug sat at the foot of the chair, while the fireplace mantle held a pot with black sooty powder.
"Is this connected to a floo network?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Not yet, Ms Granger. You have to give this house a name before I can add it to the floo network." Rothfang replied, moving towards the stairs. "Let's take a look at the basement, shall we?"
Hermione nodded and followed him down the steps, her mind busy thinking about the possibilities.
They passed the foyer and down the next set of steps they reached a blank wall with an oil painting of a ship in stormy sea. Rothfang spoke before Hermione could ask him, "You may tap your wand at the flag in the painting."
Hermione used her wand to tap at the flag and the wall slid open with a few steps taking them further down. Hermione followed the goblin where they reached the bottom and she felt pleased with the outcome.
The decrepit old basement was replaced with a much more sturdy and clean dungeon made of rocks and stones, lit with torches and lamps throughout.
"The space has been extended and fortified. As per your request, I have created a small cell to hold a prisoner and another room with an altar for rituals." Rothfang stepped towards a room at the opposite end of the cells, while Hermione followed. "And at last, we have a small room for your reading with the bookshelf lining the far wall. I took the liberty of stocking up on some of the books, you may owl-order any other volumes, I presume you know how to, having already worked at Flourish & Blotts."
"Yes, I do. Thanks for doing all of it perfectly. I couldn't have imagined it better than this. In fact I never imagined it even though I requested it." Hermione smiled looking at the bookshelf. "What about security? Also, how am I supposed to travel? I don't want anyone to access my floo, I want it for my personal use only."
"Runestones have been embedded in the structure which will power the security." Rothfang replied, "Muggles will not be able to go up or come down the stairs. The moment a muggle steps on the stairs, they will be confounded and have the urge to leave the house. Anyone trying to apparate will be deposited into the backyard and you shall be notified of intrusion. You may use the floo, otherwise I'm afraid I can't help much further than that. Apparition license is given by the Ministry and may be issued only upon reaching your majority."
Hermione's eyes fell at that, she really thought she could learn apparition so she wouldn't need the Knight Bus anymore. Floo was a good option, however, she wanted to use something which had fewer ways of being tracked by someone.
"However, muggle transport is something you could look at, despite their many flaws, the technology occasionally comes in handy Ms Granger." Rothfang supplied.
Hermione scrunched her nose, "I'm barely 13, Rothfang. Even though I could get the license through some confounding hex or im… any other spell," Hermione corrected herself in the nick of time, "How do you expect me to master driving a car?"
"It was merely a suggestion, is all Ms Granger." Rothfang continued, "Besides you have a lot of time to learn the basics and I could procure something tinkered to be used with at least basic skills, if you so wish. It is quite popular among the half-blood wizards across America and Asia."
"How do I learn the basics of driving a car without actually driving it?" Hermione replied with a hint of sarcasm.
"I never said a car, did I?"
"I don't understand?"
"Why don't you try learning a bicycle?" Rothfang replied, "Let me handle the rest. Besides, there's barely a few weeks left for Hogwarts. I'm sure I can get it arranged by Easter if not earlier."
"Very well. I'll get a cycle or can you get one for me? Nothing special, just a normal muggle one." Hermione continued as he nodded in affirmation, "Hmmm, before we conclude, just wanted to ask, did you get any more investments done?"
"There are a few prospective projects, however I haven't finalised them yet. It should be done in a few months." Rothfang replied, "Have you decided on a name for the house?"
"Hmmm… 13 Nyla Cottage?" Hermione suggested.
Rothfang gave a hearty chuckle, "A little on the nose, but it'll be done. I'll take your leave Ms Granger. Do let me know if you need any further assistance. Until then, have a good day."
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