A/N- QLFC, Kenmare Kestrels, Chaser 1, Round 4
Main Prompt- (setting) High Fantasy
Additional Prompts- (setting) dawn, (character) Ron Weasley, (song) The Sound of Silence- Simon & Garfunkel, (emotion) scared
Word Count: 2998
Hermione was born in the dark… literally.
Night never ended on her world, or so she'd thought
Her people called the land they inhabited Hogwarts, for the landscape consisted of sand dunes pockmarked by the very occasional oasis. These spots where humanity settled were segregated from each other by long stretches of desert and darkness.
Each of these tribes grew up with their own traditions and stories, but there was one thing they all had in common: the universal legend that said the light would one day come and doom them all.
The day the earth shook and the light crested over the horizon of Hermione's home, she saw her people cowering in their houses, huddling together in silence. The rumbling continued for hours and no one uttered a sound. Fear was thick and palpable, even after the earth finally stood still and the brightest star shined down on their land from the east.
Then, chaos reigned.
With the ability to navigate the land now that there was constant light to see by, the tribes fought each other for better resources in what seemed to be an endless war.
The fighting continued even after the people of Dawn came.
The Dawnish were numerous, a force that could overwhelm even the most populous of the Darklands' tribes. They were a nomadic people who had followed the sun across the land for millennia. They knew the light, how it moved in a western direction about every fifteen years. They knew the power of the light, and they knew its power for good.
So the Dawnish didn't interfere with the war. They did, however, offer refuge to anyone who might need it. Hermione, newly orphaned, was quick to accept their generous offer to escape the battles, and she was eager to learn about the ways of the light. She was taught to read and write and sing and dance with the other children of Dawn. Eventually, the war ended, and the Dawnish population grew, becoming one people united under the light.
But Hermione was plagued by those initial days, months, and years when the unknown of their new reality brought only fear. That fear had split families apart, had brought war to a land that had once known peace.
And in fifteen years, the light would shift again. The cycle of panic in the unfamiliar dawn would begin once more.
Well, not if Hermione had anything to say about it.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm packing, Ron."
"The Shift is still a year away—" Ron's words faltered when Hermione glanced sharply up at her friend, her glare withering. "No. No, no, no," Ron spluttered. "We were just talking nonsense. We were passing the time with what-ifs. We were joking, Hermione."
"Right, well I wasn't joking." Hermione returned to her packing, the wide unblinking gaze of Ron's eyes boring holes into the side of her face.
"'Mione…"
Hermione resolutely ignored him, stuffing another blanket into her large rucksack. She heard him step closer, and closer, until he stilled her hands with his own.
"'Mione, stop."
"You don't know what it's like," Hermione snapped, her amber eyes flashing up to his, all righteous anger. "You grew up in the light, your whole family has! You don't know how disorientating it is, how nightmarish it is, to find that everything you knew about the world was a lie. You didn't see your loved ones' illuminated faces as they stared up in horror, the light morphing their features into something you don't recognize. We thought the world was coming to an end— don't you get it?! If I can prevent that from happening again, I will. I don't want anyone to ever feel that kind of fear again. Not ever!"
Hermione was on the verge of hyperventilation. A strange panic had settled her bones. She didn't even protest when Ron's tall frame enveloped her, his hand tangling in her dark curls as he murmured nonsense against her cheek in the quiet tent.
But Hermione pulled herself together quickly. She twisted out of Ron's embrace and discreetly wiped her eyes. Apparently she wasn't discreet enough. She scoffed when Ron thumbed a tear from her cheek.
Ron chuckled. "Look at the state of you, Hermione. I can't believe you were almost about to journey into the Darklands by yourself."
Hermione frowned. She leaned over and hoisted up her heavy backpack. "I haven't changed my mind about journeying into the Darklands, Ron." She slung the pack over her shoulder and twisted on her heel. "Besides, this was never going to be a solo adventure."
A deer bounded over the sand dune, his lithe body shining in the dim light of West Dawn. He leapt toward Hermione when he spotted her near the Darklands border, his giant curved antlers high and proud. Along his back was a rather large rucksack and the creature seemed to have no issues with the obvious weight as he strode the last couple of steps toward Hermione.
"Hello there." Hermione greeted the tanji with a pat on his snout. "Where did your master get off to, then?"
"…coming…" she faintly heard from just beyond the sand dunes. It took a moment, but Hermione finally spotted Harry Potter's nest of black hair cresting the horizon, the tent city of Dawn Prime a mere candle flicker of light in the distance behind him. She was surprised to see a redheaded companion striding easily beside Harry, a decently large backpack slung over his right shoulder.
"Don't start," Ron commanded once they were close enough to converse, waylaying Hermione's questions. "You'll have plenty of time to be smug about my presence when we're in the dark, freezing to death."
Hermione grinned. "You love us."
Ron rolled his eyes as he dropped his duffle bag on the ground at his feet and folded his arms across his chest. "I must, if I'm willing to incur the wrath of my mother when we return."
Harry winked at Hermione. "At least he's saying 'when' now. It was 'if we return' the whole way here."
"Wait— you didn't tell your mother you were leaving?!" Hermione asked, aghast. She and Harry had no family to speak of, but Ron…
"I left a note," Ron said, shrugging.
Hermione could tell her friend's nonchalance was nothing but an act, but she let it go for now.
Ron looked at the deer with Harry's things slung over its back. "Mate, your tanji is looking really good. But he'd provide better lighting if he wasn't covered in your stuff."
Harry glowered at his friend. "As if you wouldn't take full advantage of your tanji if he was as big as mine."
Hermione thought of Ron's little coyote with its floppy ears and wagging tongue, or her own prairie dog that couldn't reach her knees even when standing on its hind-legs. Harry's tanji was taller than Ron and more luminescent than a bonfire. Its presence was extremely welcome on this expedition.
Harry and his tanji's presence on this adventure had not been a given when Hermione had first brought it up. She'd actually been a little surprised when Harry agreed to venture into the new Darklands with her a few days after her initial proposal. She'd always had this feeling that the war took a lot out of her friend. When they'd met, she'd felt a kindredness with him. They'd both been orphaned by the war and didn't feel like talking about their pasts. But, while Hermione had been very vocal about returning to the dark one day to warn the next people of Dawn about the light, Harry had never seemed particularly enthralled by the idea.
So, she had to wonder, what were Harry's reasons for returning to the dark?
The question nagged at Hermione.
"Alright," Hermione enthused, clapping her hands together with finality. Her heart beat wildly against her rib cage and her palms were damp with sweat. But she forced a large grin and looked at her two travel companions. "All that's left to do now is… step into the dark."
The three turned their backs on the sun and stared out into the vast night that stood before them. It was like staring into an abyss.
Hermione let a beat pass. She counted down from three in her head. She counted down from three again. And then once more, but this time when she reached zero, she stepped over the invisible line between light and dark, and she didn't look back. As she continued, one foot in front of the other, she started feeling a strange calmness wash over her. The black was almost tangible in its overwhelming magnitude, curling around her body. It was a comfort, more than anything, like someone had draped a blanket over her shoulders. She smiled at the night sky, greeting it like an old friend. It had been fourteen years since she'd seen the moons above her with this much clarity.
It was magical.
It was quiet, as if the earth was holding its breath. Hermione wasn't sure how long she and her two companions had trekked their way west, but it seemed like forever… and like no time had passed at all.
"So… we're not turning back, are we?"
Hermione slowed her pace until she was walking in stride with Ron and Harry. She looped her arms through theirs and squeezed gently. Harry's tanji loped in front of them, brightening their path forward.
No one answered Ron's question and he didn't ask it again.
When they found their first oasis, Hermione had been surprised by its desertion. Littering the fields were numerous clay huts that sagged in places, looking like a giant had squished them while meandering by. They had clearly been abandoned long ago.
"What do you think happened?" asked Ron, already setting up their campsite. Hermione wasn't sure how long they'd been traveling, but her legs were aching and in need of some rest.
Hermione plopped down on the grassy knoll and poked at a forsaken wheelbarrow. "Not sure. Maybe the people headed east and live in Dawn already."
"Or they headed west."
Hermione looked up curiously, her eyes trying to locate Harry's in the dark. It was strange not being able to see every line of his face, every shade of green in his irises. He felt far away in the dark, almost like he'd never belonged there.
"West is always an option," Ron agreed offhandedly, fluffing up his pillow with a few punches. "Either way, I'm actually glad no one's here."
"Why?" Hermione asked, her voice sharp. "The whole point of us being here is to warn people about the Shift in eleven months."
"Yeah, but—" Ron turned over in his sleeping bag, his long limbs sprawling out over the soft grass. Ron yawned and smacked his lips a couple times, his eyelids drooping. "How in the world are we going to do that?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes, her mouth falling open to explain…
But—
How in the world were they going to do that?!
She'd been planning this journey for years, because she knew in her heart that it was the right thing to do. But she had no real plan. She'd brought some books and a few painted scrolls along, but if these people were anything like her Darklands tribe, would they even believe her? Would they care? Would they turn violent? Her chest seized with fear at the thought—
"Don't worry," voiced Harry from somewhere in the shadows. "We won't find anyone for a while, so you'll have time to create your lesson plan, Hermione."
Hermione smiled.
But there was something about the knowing tone in Harry's voice that plagued her dreams.
Harry had been right. They didn't find anyone for a very long time. Every oasis they came across had remnants of humankind, but no actual humans. (Some even showed signs of some kind of ancient violence. They tried not to rest in those villages.)
Time had always been hard to keep track of in the Darklands, but if Hermione had been watching the moon cycle correctly, they'd been traveling for nearly two months when they stopped in yet another abandoned oasis.
"This is starting to get weird," said Ron as he dropped his duffle at his feet.
"It was weird ten oases ago," Hermione countered, blowing a curl that came loose from her bun out of her face.
"If I knew the dark was this boring, I definitely wouldn't have come," Ron grumbled.
Hermione didn't start an argument with Ron, this time. She, too, was bored.
"Maybe we…" Hermione's voice trailed off. She didn't want to voice the rest of her suggestion aloud, but it sat on the tip of her tongue, tormenting her.
Ron looked up, his blue eyes wide and hopeful from what she could tell in the weak firelight. She was so sick of the dark. She was so sick of not seeing Ron's and Harry's beautiful faces as they kicked stones around East Dawn. She missed watching people go about their days in the sunfruit fields. She missed reading under the old willow tree outside her tent. She missed the sun.
She missed the light.
"Maybe we should go back."
Those words felt like acid on her tongue. She felt like she'd just failed her life's purpose. But when there was no one to help, what was the point in continuing on in the dark like this? (And honestly, she was afraid about what they'd find if they continued west. People used to live in these villages. So where had they all gone? She wasn't sure she wanted to find out.)
"I think we should keep going awhile longer."
Hermione and Ron gaped at Harry.
"What?" Ron seemed genuinely upset by the prospect. He'd clearly thought Hermione's admission of defeat had marked the end of this ridiculous journey. But now Harry wanted to continue?
"Why?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged. "Because we're almost there."
"Almost where?" Ron asked, his lanky frame casting shadows over the earth as he flailed around in annoyance.
"To where the new Dawn will end."
Hermione raised her eyebrow at Harry, not entirely convinced that this was the truth… or Harry's truth, at least. If her calculations were correct, they were about three days out from where the new border would be after the Shift. But Hermione was certain that Harry's insistence that they continue was for an entirely different reason.
And she kind of wanted to know that reason.
"Okay," said Hermione.
"Okay?" squeaked Ron.
Hermione's gaze never left Harry's as she replied, "Yes. Let's get some sleep. We continue west at moonrise."
Ron complained lamely for five minutes, but was asleep before either of his friends. His loud snores were the only sound in the quiet as Harry and Hermione stared at each other, hardly blinking, for a very long time.
"What is that?"
Hermione looked up from the ground where she'd been watching her step. Her heart pounded in her chest at Ron's question. It steadied somewhat when she wasn't immediately confronted with some kind of horrible monster. "Where?" she asked.
"There."
She followed Ron's finger which seemed to be pointing up at the crest of a hill in the distance. "The hill?"
"Yeah."
"What about it?"
Ron looked over at Hermione, his face scrunched up with mild confusion. "I just… well… how is it that we can see it?"
Hermione blinked, tripping over her feet into a dead stop. "I—"
She glanced at Harry. Ron glanced at Harry. Harry stared at the hill, a look of determination on his face.
Wait, Hermione could recognize expressions again? Had her eyes adjusted to the darkness or… was it brighter somehow?
Harry's pace was steady as he trudged toward the hill, his tanji galloping along beside him. Hermione and Ron stared at each other for a long moment before sprinting after their friend.
No one said anything as they climbed the hill.
The light got brighter.
"Wow," breathed Hermione.
"What is that?" asked Ron
"It's tanji," explained Harry.
Hermione stared out over the valley below. Everything glowed a gorgeous white, like that of their tanji. "How?"
"The people here made it so every living thing that grows in this land glows with tanji magic," Harry expounded. "All the trees and plants, and the algae in the lake. And all the vines that adorn that castle over there."
Hermione remembered the day the earth shook and the brightest star shined down on her land from the east. The fear she'd felt then had been debilitating, exposing. She'd never felt more vulnerable and unprotected.
She'd made a promise to never let anyone feel that way again.
But the people here already knew how to live in the light. And their light was…
"Beautiful," uttered Ron. "How do you know all this, Harry?"
Harry sighed. "I wasn't born in the Dawn like you, Ron. And I wasn't born in the Dark like you, Hermione." Harry looked out over the lake and to the castle that lay beyond it. He smiled sadly. "I was born there."
Ron snorted. "Why would you leave?"
Harry turned to his friends and collapsed onto the hillside with his legs crossed underneath him. He looked much younger all of a sudden. Hermione joined him on the grass that glowed faintly with tanji magic. Ron was quick to flop down next to her, his chin resting on his fists as he stared up at Harry expectantly.
"It's… sort of a long story." Harry muttered, picking at a blade of grass.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Then you should have started telling it two months ago when we had nothing else to do!"
Harry looked scared.
In that moment, Hermione realized that all fear was the same, whether you thought the world was ending or you were about to share some of your worst memories with friends.
"Tell us," she insisted. "Let it out."
Harry smiled… and began his story.
A/N 2- Here are some things I cut from this fic because my eyes were way too big for my word count (lol):
Draco Malfoy story arc told from his POV
A Sand Spider crawling all over Ron
Run in with a Whomping Willow
Sirius and Hagrid smuggling Harry out of Blaq backstory
The Kingdom of Blaq
King Voldemort
Dumbledore, the leader of Dawn
Neville and Luna being awesome
Letting Harry's tanji rest
Giving their tanji names
The trio are imprisoned
If any of this sound like something you might enjoy, let me know. I might create a longer fic set in this universe. Love you. :)