Disclaimer- Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers not
me! Isenguard belongs to Tolkien and I don't know how many other people!
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AN- please don't read ahead in this chapter, it could really spoil it!
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Chapter 9
*
Eilonwy stared through the gloom, she couldn't move a muscle. Her elfin senses registered seven people in the same room and she knew she had joined the list of the missing.
She couldn't bare it. Her right ear itched and a strand of sapphire hair had fallen into her eyes, blurring her vision not that she could see much anyway. It was too dark.
*
"Obvious course of action would be to stake out that cave!" Kate argued.
"I know, and that was my first thought, apart from the fact that something just doesn't feel right about that place." Ron said, gaining groans from his team, Hermione who sat next to Jane remained quiet, for not the first time since he had met her Ron would have dearly loved to know what she was thinking.
"Let's look at what we have!" Mark said, standing up and crossing to the magi-board that they were using to write main points on. "You said the cave was up a rocky, hard to climb path?"
"Yes," Ron nodded.
"So we decided that our culprit must be a fit man. I wonder Dr. Granger would you say that Dr Malfoy is a fit man?"
"Just Hermione please." Hermione said, calmly, "And I he lives in another of the tower flats, believe me if you had to climb steps like the ones leading up to them everyday, you'd be fit."
At this Ron's team members chuckled breaking any tension. Hermione was good like that he thought, she could gain peoples confidence quickly and easily, which would have made her a good Auror. Oh why hadn't he kept his mouth shut?
Ron got up and went to the magi-board. "If Malfoy is our man then he'll be dangerous." He said.
Hermione nodded, "I fought him once and barely got out alive."
Ron shuddered at the memory. Hermione had been studying late with Professor McGonagall and her group of students studying advanced Transfiguration. As Hermione had been the only Gryffindor in the group, she'd had to walk back to the common room on her own. She had caught Malfoy passing information on to some spy (who he'd been helping get inside the castle) the spy had fled but Malfoy had turned nasty. They had had a big (but surprisingly quite for it did not bring the teachers) involving magic and when Hermione stumbled back into the common room, she was a state: cuts and bruises everywhere. Ron had been livid. Malfoy had come off worse however and was unconscious for three days. He was later expelled.
"Look boss, I know you don't like the idea, and Merlin knows your instincts are good but we'd be able to hear someone coming up the path. And I mean, what's one man to all five of us?" Ken asked.
"Six." Hermione corrected.
"Ok, ok but I don't like it! Be prepared, we go just before sunset, which would be about?" Ron asked, looking towards Hermione.
"Here, at this time of year, half five." Hermione replied.
"Ok, so meet in the entrance hall at half five, dress warmly and Jane I'll leave you in charge of the cloaks, Mark you handle the other equipment," Ron said, "Ken send a report to headquarters."
*
Hermione and Ron sat hidden underneath an invisibility cloak. Elsewhere the rest of Ron's team were concealed underneath similar cloaks. The team had obviously liked Hermione and had instantly warmed to her head on approach and as Kate had whispered to Jane, she was so Ron's type.
The cave entrance lay before them. Surely the instigator of the spell would return to make another person disappear so as to cover his tracks that Eilonwy had been his motive.
Hermione shivered, it was an extremely cold evening. She drew her red cloak around her further. She had insisted on being allowed to accompany them, after all they were strangers to the island and there was no way they'd find their way back to the caste in the dark. She could.
Beside her Ron shifted uncomfortably. He wished Hermione hadn't insisted on coming. He would have liked to say it was against the rules for a civilian to accompany them on a dangerous mission but although she hadn't had the proper training Hermione's work against Voldemort classified her as a semi- professional auror. Which he supposed was only fair.
He hadn't forgotten that without him she would have been an auror. He had frightened her away. He just hadn't been able to stand it, she would get hurt! And how could he have lived if she had died in a mission? How could he live if she died that night in the stakeout?
Hermione felt her eye lids drooping; she hadn't had much sleep, for worry of her friends. Ron noticed her tiredness and thought he better talk to keep her awake.
"I'll never forget the look of horror on Mr de Winter's face when he read that note. Form Eilonwy's father." He said.
"Huh?" Hermione asked, suddenly alert, that was another of her gifts, if her attention was wavering all that someone had to do was speak to her to bring her back onto the subject.
"I was there when he got the letter from, King Beruse. He just let out a gasp of shock and dropped the note. I picked it up, read it (no don't frown at me Hermione I know it could have been personal). When I asked if I could keep it he just nodded as if he was in a trance and hadn't really noticed. "
"Poor Jacob," Hermione said fondly. He cares for all the staff so much. Eilonwy was one of his favourites, being an elf she seemed to come out of Tolkien, and it was lovely to have a thing from his obsession working at the station. Eilonwy isn't exceptionally bright I'm afraid, but Jacob took her in, mostly because she was an elf. Eilonwy's job was never approved of by her father the Heroila elves seem to think all women are good for is looking pretty!"
"Shush!" Ron said suddenly. He had heard something from within the cave.
They listened; indeed someone was clattering about in there. Ron sent the signal for his team to enter the cave. They crept in, Hermione following, her heart thundering in her chest so loud that it seemed like a warning for whoever was in the cave. 'Probably Malfoy," She thought.
The cave had been lit with a strange sort cold blue light. The walls seemed larger and more dominating than before. Ron could sense the other four ahead of him and Hermione. And knew they had reached the source of light when Kate screamed and a distorted voice muttered a curse that Ron didn't know.
Hermione gasped. She also had heard the scream and the muttered curse, but to her the distorted voice sounded all too familiar, but surely it couldn't be?
They edged forward keeping to the walls of the cave till they came nearer the source of the blue light. If she hadn't seen him with her own eyes she'd never have believed it was him. Jacob.
"Ahh Mr Weasley. I know you're there. I can see through the silly cloak of yours. I knew you'd come. But Hermione my dear: you too? Why you do disappoint me!" Jacob said, but it wasn't the warm friendly voice that she had known and loved instead it was cold and harsh.
Ron took out his wand but Jacob just laughed. "Oh I wouldn't bother. I've put a dampening spell on this cave. See I knew you were coming! So I made sure that you wouldn't be able to use your Auror's magic in here, I on the other hand am perfectly capable of using mine!"
Ron blanched, he'd had nightmares of being in a position like that. A civilian (ok an almost civilian) to care for and no magic! His team sprawled out on the floor, apparently un-hurt but very pallid looking.
Beside him Hermione stared with disbelief, her eye wide with uncertainty. Ron watched her emotions turn very quickly from incredulity to anger, and the rage of one who had been betrayed.
"You! You befriended me! I thought you cared for your staff! You made me the sole beneficiary of your will! Why? Why bother? You would have just made me disappear in time too!" Hermione shouted, Ron was alarmed to hear not only abhorrence of de Winter in her voice but self-hatred too. Hermione clearly was loathing herself for trusting the old man.
"You're being very unfair Hermione dear. I would not have made you 'disappear' too. No I was very fond of you. You were by far the cleverest ever to have crossed my path." Jacob said, moving to pat her on the head, horrified Hermione jerked backwards.
Jacob smiled wryly, "It's always the same, whenever anybody sees me for who I really am, they hate me."
"I can't think why," Ron replied his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"So are they alive? Chris, Rosalie? Eilonwy?" Hermione asked, her fear unmasked, as she spoke of her friends.
"Chris Montage, oh he had tasty blood! But Rosalie Jarvis? Far too tinny." Jacob replied as if her were discussing a meal.
"You're a vampire? But I would have been able to tell!" Ron said, confused.
"Oh I've no doubt you would have Mr Weasley. You are very talented. But I am of a rare breed of vampire. You see, my kind only need blood once every twenty years, then we have to drink a lot. Our bites can kill (no your friends are still alive I didn't bite them properly just a defence mechanism) but they do not, like the common vampires bite, turn the bitten into a vampire. Me being different from the rest of my race is what made me take poor Eilonwy on, we have so many things in common, but of course no- one would realise, I could hide under my apparent love of Tolkien"
Hermione gasped, "So they're all dead?" She asked, tears shining in her eyes.
"All except dear Eilonwy." Jacob replied. "You see, I love this station and want to keep it. But our funds are low. The gemstones from Herolia will save the station, pity you won't have enough memory left to work here any more Hermione. I would have gotten away with it too, if you hadn't been there when that wretched letter came!" He pointed an accustitive finger at Ron. "But that doesn't matter you won't live to tell the tale."
"Ahh but it was in the report I sent to headquarters!" Ron said triumphantly.
And with that Jacob raised his wand, and golden coils sped towards them. Hermione was bound first, so tight that she could barely breathe.
"Why not just bite me?" Hermione asked, scornful.
"Oh no Hermione. You see I really do care for you. For all I may be twisted and bitter I love you like my own granddaughter," He said, his words ringing true.
Ron and Hermione, both helpless and unable to use their magic were transported along with the four still forms that were Kate, Jane, Mark and Ken, to a dark musky place. The air smelled fowl and had a thick unpleasantness to it that made it almost impossible to breathe.
"Who's there?" A voice called out.
"Eilonwy are you all right?" Hermione asked.
"Hermione?"
"Yes. Oh Eilonwy it's awful! Do you know who is keeping us here?" Hermione asked.
"No."
"It's Jacob."
Eilonwy stared through the gloom, she couldn't move a muscle. Her elfin senses registered seven people in the same room and she knew she had joined the list of the missing.
She couldn't bare it. Her right ear itched and a strand of sapphire hair had fallen into her eyes, blurring her vision not that she could see much anyway. It was too dark.
*
"Obvious course of action would be to stake out that cave!" Kate argued.
"I know, and that was my first thought, apart from the fact that something just doesn't feel right about that place." Ron said, gaining groans from his team, Hermione who sat next to Jane remained quiet, for not the first time since he had met her Ron would have dearly loved to know what she was thinking.
"Let's look at what we have!" Mark said, standing up and crossing to the magi-board that they were using to write main points on. "You said the cave was up a rocky, hard to climb path?"
"Yes," Ron nodded.
"So we decided that our culprit must be a fit man. I wonder Dr. Granger would you say that Dr Malfoy is a fit man?"
"Just Hermione please." Hermione said, calmly, "And I he lives in another of the tower flats, believe me if you had to climb steps like the ones leading up to them everyday, you'd be fit."
At this Ron's team members chuckled breaking any tension. Hermione was good like that he thought, she could gain peoples confidence quickly and easily, which would have made her a good Auror. Oh why hadn't he kept his mouth shut?
Ron got up and went to the magi-board. "If Malfoy is our man then he'll be dangerous." He said.
Hermione nodded, "I fought him once and barely got out alive."
Ron shuddered at the memory. Hermione had been studying late with Professor McGonagall and her group of students studying advanced Transfiguration. As Hermione had been the only Gryffindor in the group, she'd had to walk back to the common room on her own. She had caught Malfoy passing information on to some spy (who he'd been helping get inside the castle) the spy had fled but Malfoy had turned nasty. They had had a big (but surprisingly quite for it did not bring the teachers) involving magic and when Hermione stumbled back into the common room, she was a state: cuts and bruises everywhere. Ron had been livid. Malfoy had come off worse however and was unconscious for three days. He was later expelled.
"Look boss, I know you don't like the idea, and Merlin knows your instincts are good but we'd be able to hear someone coming up the path. And I mean, what's one man to all five of us?" Ken asked.
"Six." Hermione corrected.
"Ok, ok but I don't like it! Be prepared, we go just before sunset, which would be about?" Ron asked, looking towards Hermione.
"Here, at this time of year, half five." Hermione replied.
"Ok, so meet in the entrance hall at half five, dress warmly and Jane I'll leave you in charge of the cloaks, Mark you handle the other equipment," Ron said, "Ken send a report to headquarters."
*
Hermione and Ron sat hidden underneath an invisibility cloak. Elsewhere the rest of Ron's team were concealed underneath similar cloaks. The team had obviously liked Hermione and had instantly warmed to her head on approach and as Kate had whispered to Jane, she was so Ron's type.
The cave entrance lay before them. Surely the instigator of the spell would return to make another person disappear so as to cover his tracks that Eilonwy had been his motive.
Hermione shivered, it was an extremely cold evening. She drew her red cloak around her further. She had insisted on being allowed to accompany them, after all they were strangers to the island and there was no way they'd find their way back to the caste in the dark. She could.
Beside her Ron shifted uncomfortably. He wished Hermione hadn't insisted on coming. He would have liked to say it was against the rules for a civilian to accompany them on a dangerous mission but although she hadn't had the proper training Hermione's work against Voldemort classified her as a semi- professional auror. Which he supposed was only fair.
He hadn't forgotten that without him she would have been an auror. He had frightened her away. He just hadn't been able to stand it, she would get hurt! And how could he have lived if she had died in a mission? How could he live if she died that night in the stakeout?
Hermione felt her eye lids drooping; she hadn't had much sleep, for worry of her friends. Ron noticed her tiredness and thought he better talk to keep her awake.
"I'll never forget the look of horror on Mr de Winter's face when he read that note. Form Eilonwy's father." He said.
"Huh?" Hermione asked, suddenly alert, that was another of her gifts, if her attention was wavering all that someone had to do was speak to her to bring her back onto the subject.
"I was there when he got the letter from, King Beruse. He just let out a gasp of shock and dropped the note. I picked it up, read it (no don't frown at me Hermione I know it could have been personal). When I asked if I could keep it he just nodded as if he was in a trance and hadn't really noticed. "
"Poor Jacob," Hermione said fondly. He cares for all the staff so much. Eilonwy was one of his favourites, being an elf she seemed to come out of Tolkien, and it was lovely to have a thing from his obsession working at the station. Eilonwy isn't exceptionally bright I'm afraid, but Jacob took her in, mostly because she was an elf. Eilonwy's job was never approved of by her father the Heroila elves seem to think all women are good for is looking pretty!"
"Shush!" Ron said suddenly. He had heard something from within the cave.
They listened; indeed someone was clattering about in there. Ron sent the signal for his team to enter the cave. They crept in, Hermione following, her heart thundering in her chest so loud that it seemed like a warning for whoever was in the cave. 'Probably Malfoy," She thought.
The cave had been lit with a strange sort cold blue light. The walls seemed larger and more dominating than before. Ron could sense the other four ahead of him and Hermione. And knew they had reached the source of light when Kate screamed and a distorted voice muttered a curse that Ron didn't know.
Hermione gasped. She also had heard the scream and the muttered curse, but to her the distorted voice sounded all too familiar, but surely it couldn't be?
They edged forward keeping to the walls of the cave till they came nearer the source of the blue light. If she hadn't seen him with her own eyes she'd never have believed it was him. Jacob.
"Ahh Mr Weasley. I know you're there. I can see through the silly cloak of yours. I knew you'd come. But Hermione my dear: you too? Why you do disappoint me!" Jacob said, but it wasn't the warm friendly voice that she had known and loved instead it was cold and harsh.
Ron took out his wand but Jacob just laughed. "Oh I wouldn't bother. I've put a dampening spell on this cave. See I knew you were coming! So I made sure that you wouldn't be able to use your Auror's magic in here, I on the other hand am perfectly capable of using mine!"
Ron blanched, he'd had nightmares of being in a position like that. A civilian (ok an almost civilian) to care for and no magic! His team sprawled out on the floor, apparently un-hurt but very pallid looking.
Beside him Hermione stared with disbelief, her eye wide with uncertainty. Ron watched her emotions turn very quickly from incredulity to anger, and the rage of one who had been betrayed.
"You! You befriended me! I thought you cared for your staff! You made me the sole beneficiary of your will! Why? Why bother? You would have just made me disappear in time too!" Hermione shouted, Ron was alarmed to hear not only abhorrence of de Winter in her voice but self-hatred too. Hermione clearly was loathing herself for trusting the old man.
"You're being very unfair Hermione dear. I would not have made you 'disappear' too. No I was very fond of you. You were by far the cleverest ever to have crossed my path." Jacob said, moving to pat her on the head, horrified Hermione jerked backwards.
Jacob smiled wryly, "It's always the same, whenever anybody sees me for who I really am, they hate me."
"I can't think why," Ron replied his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"So are they alive? Chris, Rosalie? Eilonwy?" Hermione asked, her fear unmasked, as she spoke of her friends.
"Chris Montage, oh he had tasty blood! But Rosalie Jarvis? Far too tinny." Jacob replied as if her were discussing a meal.
"You're a vampire? But I would have been able to tell!" Ron said, confused.
"Oh I've no doubt you would have Mr Weasley. You are very talented. But I am of a rare breed of vampire. You see, my kind only need blood once every twenty years, then we have to drink a lot. Our bites can kill (no your friends are still alive I didn't bite them properly just a defence mechanism) but they do not, like the common vampires bite, turn the bitten into a vampire. Me being different from the rest of my race is what made me take poor Eilonwy on, we have so many things in common, but of course no- one would realise, I could hide under my apparent love of Tolkien"
Hermione gasped, "So they're all dead?" She asked, tears shining in her eyes.
"All except dear Eilonwy." Jacob replied. "You see, I love this station and want to keep it. But our funds are low. The gemstones from Herolia will save the station, pity you won't have enough memory left to work here any more Hermione. I would have gotten away with it too, if you hadn't been there when that wretched letter came!" He pointed an accustitive finger at Ron. "But that doesn't matter you won't live to tell the tale."
"Ahh but it was in the report I sent to headquarters!" Ron said triumphantly.
And with that Jacob raised his wand, and golden coils sped towards them. Hermione was bound first, so tight that she could barely breathe.
"Why not just bite me?" Hermione asked, scornful.
"Oh no Hermione. You see I really do care for you. For all I may be twisted and bitter I love you like my own granddaughter," He said, his words ringing true.
Ron and Hermione, both helpless and unable to use their magic were transported along with the four still forms that were Kate, Jane, Mark and Ken, to a dark musky place. The air smelled fowl and had a thick unpleasantness to it that made it almost impossible to breathe.
"Who's there?" A voice called out.
"Eilonwy are you all right?" Hermione asked.
"Hermione?"
"Yes. Oh Eilonwy it's awful! Do you know who is keeping us here?" Hermione asked.
"No."
"It's Jacob."