The past few weeks flowed like a roller-coaster of emotions, so many things happening one after another Hermione hadn't been able to stop and fully think of it. She had been swept up in a magical week with Tom, then a magical week with so many new faces as company, and she had been so busy that she didn't have the time to reflect. Now she was able to a little while more as Tom lead her to East Lothian, it was several miles away but he'd picked a fast pace through the woods so they arrived there even quicker than the time it took them to walk there from East Lothian in the first place. Sadly, a witch or wizard couldn't use appariation for everything for it could cause them to waste away if they did, and they needed to conserve their ability to handle it for the transportation of waters from Lethe Lake to East Lothian and back several times. Hermione had a feeling it would most likely happen within the next week, so she had to be prepared for it.
In the darkness of the woods and silence that stretched on around them, the events from the past week bought with them an acrid tang if she was honest with herself, along with the pleasant magical escapades she had been able to have.
Plunged into cold lake water. A breath she was rapidly holding onto. She sank through the waves, stones weighing her down. Coldness seeped through every pore of her body. A breath she was still holding. She knew she was safe, for now, but the urge to breathe was growing stronger. Eyes firmly shut against the cold lakewater. No information.
Just breathe...
Lungs burning...
Take a breath, just breathe.
No. My demise.
I cannot breathe for I shall drown if I did.
The blue world all around her.
Death eminent.
Perhaps if I died I shall float up to the surface and see heaven again. Perhaps it was truly my end.
Imaginations. Of a world that didn't quite exist to Hermione yet. She had never truly considered dying then.
If she had suffered there more, might her soul float out of her body and see the world from outside, see the heavens right above her, and might she even talk to someone, some people, before she could return to her body upon Tom saving her?
Might those people tell her that she truly had a brush with death that day? Close call?
Despite being so...sheltered for most of her life somehow.
I wasn't really in danger with the philosopher's stone - that was mostly Harry - but I suppose I was when I got petrified. So it's not my first brush with death.
That bought Hermione some happiness.
The grey thoughts of her confinement underwater and her death bought her back to the streams of killing curses she'd casted to obtain the animals that were now buried beneath the yew trees by the forest's edge; their bodies decaying in order to provide the nutrients to fortify the yew into the sort of weapon they'd needed for the barrier.
For history.
So witches and wizards know the truth.
The rightful truth.
What actually happened.
So people would never forget.
Because the right version was never taught.
For society.
A better society.
Needs to be done.
Stand up for the ones that have no voices...the purebloods that see the sense to properly educate future generations on the war between magical folk and the muggles.
So we don't grow up believing fairytales and nonsense.
For the greater good.
It's what Dumbledore would've wanted.
Hermione struggled with some twisted thoughts some more as they made the final stretch of the walk there. Tom did nothing to pull her out of her thoughts.
For the greater good. We are building a museum of sorts the wizarding world needs. Making history.
Some things need to be done for the greater good.
The stream of killing curses she shot to murder all the owls, vultures, squirrels and larger animals came to mind. Tom coaxing and encouraging her. Him pointing out how she couldn't cast them cast enough, her wandwork was excellent with the other spells she could cast, elegantly, one after the other, like running through a laundry list of spells for housework, but she had hesitated with the killing curses. She'd grown and improved under his encouragement and command. For that afternoon she remembered casting many killing curses one after another, incredibly cast, in order to get an efficient stream of them. She had probably been the fastest at them she had ever been in her life, a success, she was very fast alongside Tom, they got the job done (the animals were for the fortified yew which were for the barrier which was for the necessity of this...), it had been a good cause...
Killing curses. Exiting her wand. The fast pace she shot and killed everything with. One after another. No time in between to think. Beyond the thought of 'gone' 'dead' 'I want you dead'. The sort of strong thoughts one needed to fully kill someone or something using it.
"Cat got your tongue?" Tom stopped at the edge of the forest. The river Hermione had nearly drowned in stared back at her. It was wider at the bit she had been thrown into; a bridge was just several metres upstream of it. It was sunset now, and she could spy some villagers happily tending the crop farms by the village, either involved in another enactment or perhaps they really did tend to the agriculture and live that sort of lifestyle when there were no muggles there triggering of the enactment.
"Well you bought me back," said Hermione, turning to look at him. Trying to push memories of her near drowning and killing curses out of her mind. Somehow it sank in greater what she had really done in these two weeks, just on the walk back, but she wanted to be in a clear mind for this. To do whatever thing she needed to do next well. She had never let Tom down before and she didn't want to start that day.
"We'd need the muggles doing the reenactments to be trapped inside East Lothian forever to continue doing it. What is a way to make sure they're there for all eternity?" Tom looked at her quizzedly.
"Kill them," said Hermione without a moment's hesitation, supplying the answers as if reading from a textbook much like how she'd done so in class. It always gave her a kick to give the right answers. "Reanimate their bodies after. It is the only way to make sure it continues forever and ever because there's no known way to make someone live forever. It's not possible even with magic."
"Well done Hermione," said Tom as if she'd just puzzled out the answer to the greatest riddle of the century, "inferi would be best for this. Normally they look like a decayed version of their corpse because most witches and wizards kill them first in a war or battle, and then come back to make use of the bodies later, leaving some time in between for them to decay a bit. If we make them immediately they'd look as good as new. Luckily I'm aware of the inferi creation process so I shan't require your help unnecessarily, but I can't kill all of these people at once. There are limits to even how much killing curses one can complete. I do need to save my magic for Lake Lethe also."
"You want us to kill them?" said Hermione, the cogs working inside her brain at all of this, "you're going to bring each and every one of us here individually so we can kill a batch? Of those muggles doing the witchhunting..."
"Isn't that the sweetest poetic justice?" said Tom. The sun had set now and his face was dark on the dying daylight that remained after the sun sank beneath the horizon.
"They have never liked us. Those are all lies silly witches and wizards tell their children because it's the simpler story.
They have only not wiped out more of us because they were so unsuccessful and naive about it the first time around.
They will pass down negative stories about us and will aim to exterminate us if they find out.
There are still witchhunts that exist today.
The wizarding world has never politically wanted to tell the truth on this, even though we are truthful about our wars with many other species.
We are using the best of magic to create a never forgetting bit of history. A portal where history repeats itself forever and witches and wizards of many generations in the future can never forget about what one bad outcome or thing, that could happen to us, looks like. There is all the reason to do it, for the greater good, the development of witches and wizards, this landmark will bear significance for many generations into the future. Like how Hogwarts helped many witches and wizards learn to apply the magic they have.
There's all the more reason for it, and with a touch of beauty as well. Sweet justice. Surely you are not one to turn it down..."
Hermione hesitated.
Truthfully all that Tom said had been right. Truthfully it had been all that was running in her mind whenever she thought of it.
It was true history wasn't taught properly. It was true the actual relations between muggles, witches and wizards was more like a war in the past and she had never stood for obscuring the truth. It was true that she didn't think Hogwarts' curriculum could be changed and this was the best way to get it done. It was true that Hermione generally tried to do right in everything she did, including standing up for those that didn't have a voice in society, and currently it looked like those witches and wizards who wanted true history to be taught didn't have a voice in society. She was doing something to help them. She was creating something that taught the truth and the truth was important.
For the greater good.
"Logically it's all lining up Tom," she said, a bit of fear in her voice, "I keep trying to find reasons against it. It's cruel. It's inhumane. But it's also inhumane to murder us because we are witches. Yet they did. They took great joy and delight in doing so. It's only stupid witches and wizards that see otherwise. It's not over yet because some muggles still believe this. Just because they aren't currently killing us doesn't mean they don't harbour the dislike and hatred to one day do so again if we did. Why should we forget history? Hogwarts won't tell history as it is, but this will. This will make witches and wizards see it..."
She looked away, blinking some tears, then looked back at him, "logically all reasons point towards it. If you weigh up the good and bad...there is just enough reason to. Killing isn't right...but they killed us and will still in the future..."
"Well done Hermione. Your logic is impeccable. Luckily the night will provide you some cover. It's all yours...I am saving my magic for Lake Lethe..." said Tom.
He cast a disillusionment charm on her. Then Hermione turned and sprinted into East Lothian's village.
The first killing curse she shot at a witchhunter with a murderous expression on her face as she emerged from an inn was the hardest. Her own words and Tom's was still reflecting and echoing in her head when she did. But the next was easier. And easier.
They emerged to see what the noise of bodies hitting the floor was, see why their friend didn't return. Hermione shot out killing curse after killing curse. It was like the animals she had killed, only with a different justification. The people she killed didn't seem humans, just obstacles to building this natural history museum she had to do, and all she felt was the sweet satisfaction of success when she had finished.
They put thumbscrews on the witches and wizards in the past to punish them for being magical.
They used medieval torture devices to kill those they deemed weird or inferior.
They made witches and wizards confess through 'torture'.
They created barbaric laws like throwing a witch with stones in her pockets and hands died behind her back in the water. If she sank she was innocent, if she floated she was guilty of witchcraft and therefore needed to be sentenced to death.
They accused witches of worshipping the devil then dragged them out on the streets to be hung by the 'christians', the good guys.
They confiscated and stole the possessions and belongings of many people before accusing them to be a witch and axing them from life.
They hung those who defended the witches and pardoned those who cooperated.
They blamed witches for famine, disease, natural disasters.
They took great delight in killing witches.
Joy. Murder. Death. Torture. Delight. Ecstasy.
The past is not pleasant.
The world was never so pleasant.
Reality was never so pleasant.
Witches and wizards need to see what happened.
When Hermione was done she collapsed and woke up with her mouth dry, head spinning, and the bright sun shining all over her.
A sea of dead bodies, perfectly unharmed for the killing curse left no marks, looking like they could be sleeping, lay all around her.
"Hermione! There you are-" Tom rang towards her. He cupped her face in his - she was burning up under the mid morning sun, and conjured up a bit of moisture for her face and lips. He helped pull her to her feet, pulled her through the quickest path out of there.
But there was a respect shining in his eyes that weren't there before.
"How long was I out?" she asked.
"The night. I was looking for you. Had a feeling you might've drained your magic but couldn't find you. You did a great job Hermione," he sounded happy beyond his wildest dreams.
No alarms sounded or anything as they left the open space of the village and slunk back through the cover of the woods.
"How many?" was all Hermione could say, "is this what being hungover feels like?" she asked him.
"About fifty or so. Rest well. I'd get the others to take care of you a bit. No, it's much much worse," said Tom, "and yes. The Slytherins snuck in expensive alcohol their families sent them from home and we did drink in occasion. I was curious how much it took me to pass out and feel the same drunk everyone else experienced so I've had a few rough nights testing things. I've a higher than average alcohol tolerance, better than 80 to 90% of drinkers perhaps, but I met my limits eventually. I'm not some alcohol prodigy or anything unlike how I was with magic. After that; never again."
"Will the witchhunters know?" asked Hermione.
"Probably not. It is early in the morning and this part of the village is a bit segmented. No one really goes in or out. I don't think they will catch on as fast, we have some time, and it's fortunate you killed so many all at once as well. Whatever the others don't fully finish of, I will," he said, "I put a small ward on it to prevent anyone from getting out. But it's not bulletproof - yes I know what guns are, the muggles used them during world war II that I was alive for, and they can if they truly persist."
Hermione nodded. She was too tired to speak and when they arrived at the camp in the forest by the edge of the yew forest the others gave a small murmur and expressions of sympathy, but otherwise considered it a normal thing which happened on this sort of adventure. Tom laid Hermione to rest in her shelter of soft heather, grass, dander, with leaves and branches over her to provide protection from the sun or any rain.
"She'll be alright," he said when the others hurried over a little, "she just needs some rest that's all."
"Here, have some of this," said Draco, bringing out the remainders of the fish they had caught. The juicy smoked smell caught her nose and Hermione found herself nibbling a bit, it was a good late breakfast.
"Here's some minor healing potions, it's a general all purpose one and helps get your mood back up too," said Nott, tossing her some pre-made vials from his potions kit.
"Here's some flowers Pansy and I were just gathering," said Luna, "they're edible and taste nice."
Hermione found herself attended for by Luna, who busied about, rearranging some of the vials Nott had left her to retake some hours later and sweeping the new dead leaves from the eve of her shelter a little. The others grew bored and drifted apart. Hermione recovered gently.
"Nott, Malfoy, Daphne, you're next," said Tom, "sometimes this is better done individually. But some of you can do it in groups. We are running behind schedule and we want to finish all of this within good time. I always knew there wasn't enough time for everyone to do the task individually."
The three jumped to follow him; eager still for the task ahead. They didn't think there was anything alarming about Hermione's fate for they assumed this sort of thing was normal for the big adventure they had been on. It was the sort of adventure where unusual things happened afterall.
"What did he make you do?" asked Pansy conversationally.
"Kill people..." Hermione said. She pushed herself up in sitting position. She couldn't sleep afterall, and sipped a bit more of a new vial of potion and nibbled at the flowers Luna gave her. She was right, they were indeed nice. Sweet but with a bit of tartness that could only occur from growing in the wild, but enough sweetness to keep her coming back. Quickly she found herself consuming them fast.
"I found some more..." Astoria murmured, reappearing with new bunches in her hands, "we didn't think we would need more so fast. We were only using them as seasoning for the fish, but I guess they're necessary afterall."
"Oh. My parents say that's necessary for politics and stuff sometimes. To make a point," said Pansy, "did you feel it was worth it?"
"It was for the best reasons..." murmured Hermione.
"Then I'm happy," said Pansy, not sounding anymore upset with it all.
"It happens all the time in politics and things," said Zabini, "really the biggest deal you think it is. It's really mindless killings or those that are a waste that bother me the most. I'm glad you're not like, all freaking out about it, this is wrong, this is an unethical crime, yada yada yada."
"I'm just tired from it all," said Hermione, "I did wish there was a better way to do it that didn't involve killing everyone so much. But there isn't logically a better way."
"Of course. That's why they get dementors to do the executions in Azkaban and other magical creatures to do stuff sometimes," said Pansy, "cause anything important takes effort."
"Sweet. Now I know what's in store for me," said Zabini, "not that it's anything not up my alley. Just I know it'll take a lot of effort..."
Author's Note: Thanks for the review, sorry for the many chapters spent on week 4. It's a bit too much but since this is my first major story, I'm not that great at pacing, and there seemed to be a lot of introduction-type events that had to happen when all the new characters were introduced to the story, week 4 stretched on for a higher word count than I imagined it would be. But I didn't intend to make 1 week so many chapters. The weeks onwards are a smaller number of chapters.
I also wanted to add that this isn't my first story on this account, but none of them got many reviews and I ended up attracting a nasty troll on one of them (I think I know where they came from so I'm not worried about attracting them again...) so I deleted all of my stories and went on hiatus for a while but came back. The troll is gone, I got more traction with this story than my previous ones (no reviews or around 1 review per chapter) so it's actually the most responsive story I've written so far, and the most fun to write.
Anyways, I've written some fanfictions before but this is still pretty big. I don't feel confident in a lot of things like pacing and so on. I hope to improve more as I write.
Please review as always, they make my day! :)