A / N
Here I present the next chapter of this story. I hope it's upto your expectations.
Xx_
Sia.
02 Chasing Fantasies
"I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading."
— Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
As the first rays of the Sun reached across the canopy of the forest and struck the leaves on the ground, Hermione smiled. It had been years since a satisfied smile crept on her face and honestly, she couldn't even remember when was the last time. But now, sitting surrounded by huge towers of tomes of ancient magic and literature, she smiled as if she had just destroyed Voldemort's newest horcrux.
That's how Ginny found her sister in all but blood, after almost an hour, writing furiously on a parchment with her face set in satisfaction and determination. She knew in a second that she hadn't slept a wink last night. Hope bloomed in her heart. If Hermione was feeling like this that meant she had found something. Something useful and important to make things right.
"Morning Gin!" Hermione greeted.
Ginny couldn't help the smile that came across her face. "Good morning Mya. It sure looks like a good morning for you."
Hermione let out a short laugh and Ginny's heart warmed. It's been so long since she had seen the other girl smile let alone laugh. "It'll be a good morning for everyone when I'll tell you what I've found."
"And that is?"
"Patience is virtue, babe!"
This time Ginny laughed out loud, Hermione joined her seconds later. It felt so nice to feel somewhat light in the world they were surviving in. The two girls sat across each other talking absently about everything and nothing in particular, chuckling in between.
It wasn't until about two hours later, after they all had showered, had some mushrooms for breakfast and given Neville his daily dose of Anti Paralysis Potion, that they sat down in a circle and Hermione told them her discovery.
"You know, I was reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard last night," She started, "And then we discussed Beedle. It just got me thinking what if the Deathly Hallows weren't the only reality of the book, what if anything from the other stories exists too and if it could help us in any way. I started with the most ancient literature I had from Hogwarts, The—well, to come to point, all the five stories are real."
"What?"
"How do you know?"
"It's good to hear."
Hermione smiled at Luna before looking at the others.
"There are approximately five copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard that are considered to be original. Each of them are written in runes and more or less translated the same in English. However, according to an article by a wizard in the seventeenth century, there were certain minute differences in runes in the five books. I don't know if the book Dumbledore left me is original and frankly, there is no way to find out but there are certain runes in the book that got me thinking. At the end of every story, there is this rune—" She showed them the rune that was on the last page at the end of every story, "—and I remembered seeing them earlier."
"Where?"
"In three of the books from Black Library."
"Dark Magic?" Neville questioned.
Hermione shrugged. "Could be considered Grey Magic if it works in our favor. And well, there is a blood ritual involved, so I'd say Blood Magic, too."
"What did you find, Mya?" Ginny asked, impatiently. She loved the girl to infinity, no question asked, but she was more of the action kind not the research one.
"Right, coming on that." Hermione nodded and took a deep breath. "Luna's Dad was probably right, Beedle could be a seer because his tales are what can take us back in time."
She let the information sink.
"Are you sure?" Neville asked.
Instead of replying, Hermione took out a parchment and placed it in front of them. Five rudiments of magic, it read. "Elladora Black was, like her family, a dark witch. She researched Dark Magic all through her life. Her journal shows that most of her life, she was working on the prospect of turning back time. Not like time turners, which weren't discovered until a few decades ago— mind you, but more in the way of going to the past and destroying the present timeline. The tomes say about rudiments of magic but it's only in her journal that it is mentioned specifically as five rudiments of magic. She couldn't, however, manage to find about the five rudiments which's a pity, really, because she must have grown up hearing these stories. Like everyone, she didn't think that the children's fantasy book could be something more than that. No one ever did that."
"Except you." Luna remarked.
"Yes." Hermione smiled. "The rune which I showed you basically translates to 'The unknown journey for humanity and a new start '. And here—" She pointed to another point, "—Quintaped which basically is used for the number five. Essentially, what I am saying is that when the five rudiments of magic are combined, the past can be rewritten."
There was a thick silence as everyone contemplated the pros and cons of it.
"Wait, is it really something to be discussed over?" Ginny questioned. "We are practically dead here. If there is a possibility that we can go back in time, I say we do this. This timeline will be erased but there is nothing good left in here."
"Gin is right." Neville said.
"I agree." Luna nodded. "But how?"
"There is a blood ritual which needs to happen simultaneously with the ritual that will connect the rudiments, the latter I am still not sure how about." Hermione told them, her brows furrowing. "It will connect each of our blood."
"It's good." Luna said with a small dreamy smile. "We are family in everything except blood. After this happens, we will be family in all aspects."
Everyone smiled at that. They were indeed a family and nothing could change that.
Hermione nodded once, eyes glazed over, lips set in a thin line, brain running every possible outcome through it and face set in determination. "Okay, so we need to start collecting the elements of the tales. Then only we can proceed further."
There was a time when Hermione Granger was scared of heights.
Anything remotely related to heights made her shiver in anxiety. That was why she never agreed to go again on the Ferris Wheel with her mother after her first time in a carnival. She, however, never let this phobia come between her survival instincts.
It was true that she couldn't command the broom up in the first flying lesson of her life. But it was also true that she rode on the back of a hippogriff to rescue a falsely alleged convict. It was true that she was scared of falling from heights. But it was also true that she rode on the back of a dragon to escape from Gringotts. It was true that she couldn't control her broom, once upon a time. But it was also true that she rode a broom, albeit Ron was the one controlling it, to once again escape from the clutches of Fiendfyre.
Time upon time, it was proved that she could rely on flying for her survival. And thus, after losing the first Battle of Hogwarts, she turned to Ron and asked him to teach her to fly. It wasn't as dangerous as she thought it to be once she got a hang of it, especially as there was a war going on and she needed to learn every way to survive. Ron and Ginny turned out to be excellent teachers and soon Hermione Granger knew how to ride a broom.
She wasn't as exceptional of a flyer as Harry had been. Nor did she reach the levels of Ron and Ginny. She just learnt how to fly and let her instincts take over upon eyeing her goal.
Being an eagle as an animagus surely helped.
The height from which she was once scared of proved a route of escape in her life.
"You ready?" Hermione heard Luna ask Ginny.
The latter nodded and turned into her animagus form. In her place, now stood a small red fox with snout turned upwards and tail twitching slightly in anticipation. Hermione lips curled in her own accord, Gin never failed to make her smile when she turned into a fox. Lifting her wand, Hermione shrunk the fox before turning to Neville. Waving her wand, she transfigured him into an olive branch. After all, doves were usually famous for their olive branches. She then herself turned into an eagle. Luna, now turned into a dove, picked transfigured-Neville while the eagle got a hold of the fox's soft body with her strong claws.
With a soft hoot, the eagle and the dove flew off.
Ginny and Luna had packed their tent and tucked it away safely in Hermione's beaded bag while Hermione and Neville contemplated where they should make their first stop to search for the rudiments of magic. They had finally decided to start with Yorkshire for it was the birth town of Beedle and it was rumored that Babbitty Rabbitty was written there. Maybe, the statue and the stump would be there.
Hermione knew this all could be nothing but a wild goose chase. There was a whole world to consider to look for the elements but still, in her heart, this chase was better than nothing. It was better than living off the stolen money and making sure to survive to see the next Sun. This chase at least gave them hope. And hope was the silver lining they desperately needed in the dark world.
The journey to Yorkshire took more than twenty four hours as they had to stop every once in a while for various reasons; Neville could stay as a branch for only long enough, Ginny needed to relax her shoulders from where Hermione was clutching her tightly, and Luna and Hermione needed to rest their wings.
"It would've been so better if I was a bird too, like you too." Ginny said, grumpily.
Hermione sent her a faint smile while Luna was the one who answered, "It would've been," She said lazily, "But I'm glad you aren't."
Ginny looked between the two of them and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you-"
"You didn't remind us of anything, Gin." Hermione interrupted, "What's happened has happened. Don't be sorry."
Ginny stared at her for some moments before nodding reluctantly and resuming the potion she was making. "I do wish, though, that you would stop clutching my fox's delicate shoulders. I know it's because I won't fall off but it still hurts so much."
Hermione looked at her, alarmed. "It hurts you badly? Why didn't you say anything before?"
The red head shrugged. "Didn't want to worry you."
Hermione eyed her shoulders and frowned, "I'll think of something."
"No, Mya, you won't. You are already doing-" She trailed off when the older girl gave her a challenging stare.
The next morning before they started their flight, Hermione stopped Ginny from turning into the fox and neither transfigured Neville into a branch. She casted a feather light charm on both of them before turning into an eagle. Luna, with whom she had discussed the new way of journey, shrunk them in size and put them on the eagle's back before casting a strong sticking charm on them so they wouldn't fall off or get blown away with the wind.
When they took another pit stop after some hours, Ginny and Neville were both positively happy. Hermione, upon learning when they didn't get her Thumbelina reference, then proceeded to narrate the story of Thumbelina to them. The four of them reached the outskirts of Whitby in the dead of night. They set their camp in the nearby woods and after Neville, Luna and Gin retired for the night, Hermione continued reading books and articles on Beedle.
The next few days involved them wandering around in different muggle villages and towns as the exact town where Beedle lived was still unknown. They would set up their tent at nights and the two of the witches would begin the search while one the third would stay with Neville. They got to know the political situation of Yorkshire, as well.
Apparently, Yorkshire was under the control of Voldemort along with several other states in England. He now had control over Germany and France as well and was in the 'talks' with the magical representatives council of Russia. With the way his control was growing, people were scared of going against him, muggles and magical alike for now the magical world was exposed to muggles. The number of Death Eaters had increased tremendously. Everyone lived in a constant state of fear and it was evidently visible in Yorkshire. Muggles would talk in hushed tones, not wanting to anger the patrolling Death Eaters. This made the work for Phoenixis even more difficult. They had to remain hidden at all costs. Though it was hard, it was going well until the full moon night.
It was two weeks after their arrival in Yorkshire and they were in the Yorkshire Dales when Hermione realized it was a full moon that night.
"We need to wrap this area today itself." She told Ginny and Luna when Neville was scrunching his nose in response to a potion brewing far from him. "It's a full moon tonight and the Death Eaters will notice a wolf in the forest."
The two glanced at Neville before nodding.
"Hey Nev," Ginny called out, making him turn to her, "All three of us need to be going out today." Neville raised his brows in question. "It's a full moon. Do you think you'll be alright?"
Neville's face fell when he realized what that meant. The locals would get to know about a werewolf in the forest and they would have to run again. All the werewolves were registered in the ministry and in the pack of Fenrir Greyback or his subordinates. If a rogue werewolf was found, his condition was better being dead. Well, nothing could be done so he nodded at Ginny and gave the three witches a thumbs up. "I'll be alright. Mya has this place secured more than Hogwarts, it'll be fine."
"Only for a few hours." Luna asserted.
Neville nodded. "Only for a few hours."
They couldn't find the stump that day either. When they returned for the night, Neville was about to break into his wolf. They quickly transformed and kept him company as the wolf came out precisely as the moon showed up and let out a loud howl. Ever since he had been cursed, his wolf had turned more aggressive as it couldn't chase and play with his friends. No amount of silencing charm can nullify the loud sound of broken howl that the wolf cried.
As expected, the search parties invaded the forest just at the crack of dawn. Neville was still unconscious when the witches had packed up everything and had changed into their usual gear; black pants and jumper with black hoodie. Just as Neville woke up with his head feeling as if Hogwarts Express had crashed into him, there was a loud crash nearby. For a moment, he thought if the sound was just a figment of his headache.
"They are here." Ginny whispered, taking out her wand. Hermione did the same, walking up to the perimeter of their warded circle. Luna quickly gave Neville his clothes who magically got into them and fed him the Anti Paralysis Potion.
"We need to leave." He heard Hermione's hard voice. "They will locate the wards. Be quick!"
Just when she could change into her animagus, a loud blast echoed around the area. The tree near them collapsed and Neville noticed a Death Eater on a broom. "They are patrolling on brooms as well!" He cried out. "We cannot fly."
"We need to fight our way out." Luna said. Her voice lost her dreamy tone as she looked at Hermione, Ginny and him. The four watched as the brooms cleared from the sky.
Hermione nodded once and turned to him. "Neville-"
"No," Neville shook his head, "I am fighting too. I just took the potion, I'll be alright."
"But you are tired, you need to-"
"I'll rest at our next location, Mya." He said firmly.
Hermione stared at him for a moment before turning to Ginny and Luna. "Positions."
In a matter of seconds, Luna, Ginny and Hermione were couching behind the thick barks of trees while Neville was disillusioned and crouching beside Hermione. He saw a group of masked people coming to where they were, blasting off the trees and the ground on their way. He did a quick head count. Twelve. The Phoenixes waited. Just as the twelve Death Eaters were in their range, Hermione took off the wards and shot the first spell. The Death Eater leading the group stumbled back, falling on the ground, dead.
It was chaos after that.
Spells flew around everywhere as Luna and Ginny joined the fight. Neville stayed near Hermione, shooting spells only when they were essentially needed. Secret weapon, as Hermione called him. The Death Eaters didn't know that instead of three, there were four Phoenixes left and she wanted it to remain that way.
"Deprimo." One of the Death Eaters from the four, fired, making the ground blast off Luna's feet. She fell in the hole just as the other cried. "Incarcerous."
A blue shield protected her as Neville quickly shot a protego. Luna got back to her feet and took a cover behind a log, shooting out spells that knocked three of them out. The fourth was, however, quick. He realized there was someone there as he had seen the blue light coming off from behind the girl.
Luna hit him with a wand arrow but he was quick. "Protego. Homenum Revelio."
Neville's disillusionment fell off and Luna's eyes widened. Taking the distraction and changing of wand position of the Death Eater, Luna fired, "Impedimenta. Avada Kedavra."
She watched the Death Eater fall on the ground, however, the minuscule amount of time it took for the spell to reach its destination, the Death Eater had already casted a spell at Neville. World seemed to slow down as she saw the purple light reach towards Neville who didn't realize that his presence had been revealed and was shooting spells at Ginny's opponents, knocking one of them down.
"Nev!"
The alarm in her voice caused Neville to look at her and his eyes widened. The spell almost touched him when a hand shot out, shoving him to the ground while simultaneously a big wooden board was conjured out of thin air in his place. Luna watched the entire wood turning into ash and falling on the ground, thick smoke in the air.
Hermione Granger breathed deeply as the smoke cleared. The four death eaters she was fighting with, lay dead behind her. Her gaze swept through the area before landing on Ginny and with a flick of her wand, one death eater lay unconscious. Ginny, now free from wand lock, wasted no time further in killing the other.
"Sorry." Hermione apologized to Neville, giving him a hand.
"It's alright. It was this or that." He shook his head as he took her hand and stood. "I didn't want to turn to ash."
She smiled at her gratefully but frowned when Neville stumbled. She quickly supported his shoulders and made him sit down.
"You okay?" Ginny asked, rushing forward and crouching besides him. Luna followed. Hermione unzipped her beaded bag and took three potions out.
"Yeah, the Potion lost its effect because of the stress." Neville told them. "I'm fine."
Hermione shoved a vial in his hand gesturing to him to drink it while she turned to Luna. She applied dittany to her broken arm and healed the bruises on her face as Ginny did the same with Neville. After they were done, the action was reciprocated.
By that evening, the Phoenixes were patched up and translocated to West Burton. As they had to leave the city as soon as possible, they continued the search through the night. Luna was the one who found the statue and the stump. It was situated at the shore of a river, just at the edge of the forest. Hermione and Neville removed the stump from its foundation and spelled a feather light charm on it while Ginny transfigured a stone to look exactly like what they took and they left the city.
Months passed and the search for the rudiments of magic continued. The four members of the Order of the Phoenix travelled all around Europe in search of the elements. They had found the stump in June of the year 2000. After that they didn't get much luck until December.
It was a typically cold Christmas Eve where they were hiding in a small cottage in Bavaria, Germany. The place was scarcely located and those who lived here were muggles. The plains near the mountains and the valley were not terribly patrolled by Death Eaters as it was relatively a remote area. Crossing the international borders was very difficult as apparition and floo were out for them.
They were following Beedle's trail, from Yorkshire to the world as it was written in a particularly old article concerning him. So far, they had no luck and they were stuck in Bavaria where Beedle had stayed for more than a year.
As she eyed the trees around their house, Hermione sighed. It was Christmas and she couldn't remember the last time she had celebrated the holiday. Probably, the Christmas in her fifth year, in Grimmauld Place. It was probably the best one. Ron and Harry had taken a leaf out of Fred and George's book and had charmed her hair pink on Christmas Eve. Christmas used to be so magical in the past and now it was just so dull.
Magical.
Magical.
MAGICAL.
Hermione's eyes widened as her mind clicked. The Wizard and the Hopping Pot. It was the pot that was magical and if Beedle stayed in Bavaria for a year, then…
Closing her eyes, Hermione concentrated on her magical core. The golden sphere of light burst to life as she slowly let it spread. Her magic flew in waves and a warmth of relief fell over her as she unrestricted it after a very long time. Her magic lightly grazed at another core making it tingle. She retracted, it wasn't the one she was searching for. Breathing deeply, she uncoiled her core some more, letting her magic wash over the entire area. She didn't know how much time passed as she unconsciously played with her magic. Letting it reach as far as she could before retracting and following another path. As there were mostly muggles who lived in this place, her magic didn't come in contact with anyone other than the three occupants of the house.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth radiating from the way she was going. She followed the trail and saw a golden wave reaching towards her. She gasped when her magic collided with it and tingled. It was so huge, so raw and so pure. Her magic poked the golden ball and she didn't want the sensation to stop. Her magic tried to envelope the whole ball but could only cover half of it.
When she opened her eyes, three sets of eyes were fixated on her, a serene smile on their faces. They were disturbed from what they were doing by a gentle touch to their magical cores. Hermione's eyes looked golden for a few moments as she leashed her magic again. A lazy smile was on her face that crept up whenever she played with her magic. Her skin would radiate an ethereal glow and she would feel the hum of magic just under her fingertips.
"I found the pot." She said.
The magic she had felt from the unknown source was too uninhibited to belong to a magical being.
The search for the fountain of fair fortune was the most toilsome work ever, in Luna's eyes. Even getting the Hopping Pot out of the well in the Alps didn't tear them out as much the search for the fountain did.
They spent most of their time away from habitations, in forests and such. The galleons they had stolen from the Death Eaters when they were in Yorkshire Dales and also from the run-ins they had with others in the past year had run out and they were solely dependent on nature for food and water. Almost all of their time was spent in traveling, in their animagus forms or just by walking. They were tired, starved and hopeless. Ginny and Neville had lost the hope to ever find the fountain, Luna didn't know where they had gone wrong and Hermione was… just Hermione, she back tracked on her books and worked even more than ever to search for the right path before 21st of June.
"Bimini," Hermione had said when they started the search. "Muggles have a similar legend, The Fountain of Youth. It was said to be a legend but there was an argument between the travellers between Boinca and Bimini. No one could find Boinca and it was said Bimini was the place where the spring with healing power was found. But there was no evidence to show if the person who found it in Bimini deaged or anything. I believe Boinca is hidden from the eyes of the muggles. And it is somewhere near Bimini. If we find the latter, we will find the fountain too."
And so the journey had started. Flying and flying for days with short gaps in between for rest or when the full moon was rising, they had reached the Bahamas. They stayed clear of civilization and lived on the outskirts of town. Silence ensued between the four as their emotions were on a roller coaster. But never did any of them snapped at each other. They were in this together and that was all that mattered.
It wasn't until 15th of June and Ginny and Hermione had gone to search for food; Luna was staying with Neville, when they finally got a breakthrough. Hermione got stuck in a marsh and when she raised her wand to free herself, something caught her eye. A week later, exactly on June 21, the longest day of the year, the four friends were walking through thick fog half a mile from the spring of Bemini. When the fog cleared, they found themselves in front of a wall. As high as the sky and as wide as the horizon itself, the wall stretched before them. Vines, branches, thorns, bushes make the wall but what kept it in its place was the powerful, impermeable magic surrounding it.
Just as Ginny thought, there was no other way to get in rather than blast the wall off, Hermione stepped forward and traced the vines across her with her fingers, closing her eyes and concentrating on her magic. Three pair of eyes widened when creepers reach forward and wrap themselves around Hermione's hand and torso. Luna immediately grabbed her hand from one and Neville's from the other who in turn grabs Ginny. Together as a chain, they were pulled inside and heard the sound of something closing.
The blind, bloated and monstrous white worms demanded the proof of pain. Luna was the first to shed her tears.
The steep slope asked them to pay the fruits of the labours. A sweat from Ginny's face broke the challenge.
And finally, the stream in their path wanted the the treasure of the past. Neville was the only one who gave it.
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