Chapter 22
Patrice leaned over her friend. Hermoine was not moving, or even breathing. Kalina knelt next to her. Patrice began to sob. She had cost Hermoine her life. Worse yet, they had lost Snape too. She had failed to stop the Daemon inside Snape from distroying him. She glanced over at Kalina's father. He had returned to normal. Hermoine had driven out the Daemon, but at a terrible cost.
Patrice tried to use her tears on Hermoine. Nothing happened. She was too far gone. Kalina rose slowly, and she knelt at Snapes side, touching his chest with her tears. He began to breathe, coughing and sputtering, but breathing none the less. Patrice shook her head. She felt her father lick her with his rough tongue. She cried into him, unable to contain her emotions.
She heard Ron and Harry cry out as Kalina pulled them out of the magical space where Patrice had shoved them. They rushed over to her. Harry burst into tears. Ron screamed.
"You killed her! Hermoine is dead! You killed her!" He threw himself at Snape, knocking the professor down. His fists were flailing wildly as he punched Snape. Her father jumped and knocked Ron off. Ron disolved into sobs, and refused to move. Patrice could hardly stand it.
A great piercing noise filled the air. Patrice looked up. Fawkes came spiraling down at them. Patrice sniffed, blew her nose, and stood. The pheonix landed gracefully on Hermoine's arm. It crocked its head to Patrice in greeting before exploding into flames. Patrice fell back in surprise. Harry and Ron looked up, too shocked to speak.
"Hermoine!" Ron cried, trying to get to her. The flames were too hot for him to stand, and he stood back, his arm outstretched, tears streaming down his face.
Patrice looked back at Hermoine's body. She could not believe her eyes. Hermoine was standing and smiling! She stroked Fawkes as he pearched on her arm. The flame went out.
"Hermoine?" Ron whispered. Hermoine grinned at him. She whispered something to Fawkes. The pheonix began to sing, wrapping everyone in the comfort of its song. Patrice blinked, and in the space of a second, she was in Dumbledore's study.
Dumbledore smiled at them.
"You certainly have a knack for getting yourselves into trouble," he said with a smile. Hermoine nodded. She was pale, but otherwise she looked fine. Patrice was astonished.
"How did you do that?" she asked Hermoine. Her friend just shrugged. Fawkes fluttered over to his perch, and he settled down, looking quite tired. Hermoine ran over to Ron, and gave him a hug. Ron looked like he might faint dead away.
"Mrs Coeur, if you could be so kind as to get these children some chocolait."
"As you wish, Headmaster." She bowed out.
Patrice turned to Snape. He was glaring down at Sirius. Sirius paded over confidently, curling up in Harry's lap. Patrice felt a twinge of jealousy before she remembered that she was not supposed to know who Sirius was.
"Patrice, Hermoine, you two did well, especially for ones so young," Dumbledore told them. He went over to the boys. He whispered an incatation waving his wand over them. "You two will remember nothing of this afternoon after you first noticed the darkness. You will recall only that mister Weasely drank too much butterbeer, and wasn't feeling well, and you returned to your room to sleep it off." Ron and Harry blinked, and Ron suddenly grabbed his stomach, moaning.
"Take care, Mister Weasely, Mister Potter," Dumbledore said cheerfully as the two boys left his office. Harry looked utterly bewildered.
Dumbledore looked over the four of them.
"Sirius, you may assume your true form now." Sirius let out a happy bark, and in an instant her father stood where there had been a dog a moment before.
"Are you sure that is wise, Professor?" Snape asked, glancing momentarily at Patrice.
"She has known for a while now, Severus. Do not worry."
Hermoine looked up at Dumbledore.
"Professor, I'm confused," Hermoine whispered. "What did I do to Professor Snape? And what was that voice?"
"There was a Daemon inside Professor Snape," Patrice whispered. "It infects all Death Eaters who defect. It drives them mad, until they either kill someone else or kill innocent people: usually muggle-born witches or wizards. Then the Daemon takes over the body of the victim until the Daemon is driven out." Hermoine gave a violent shudder.
"It could have taken me. . ." she whispered. "I knew if I let it kill me something terrible would happen." She looked down. "So I cast a petrification spell on myself. Then it couldn't kill me."
"A brave move, my girl," Dumbledore said. He patted her head. "You two are banned from classes for the next week. I want you resting."
"But professor!"
"Do not worry about exams. You aren't taking the O.W.Ls, and so you need not take these exams." Hermoine nodded woodenly. Patrice gave an inward sigh of relief. The lessons were tiring, especially Potions class. She had to work much harder then Hermoine had to on her lessons.
Kalina came back, giving each girl some chocolait. She eyed Sirius suspiciously, but handed him chocolait too.
"That is all for now, girls. Go and rest. The other students will be back shortly." Hermoine nodded. She looked up at Fawkes, and whispered "Thanks." Patrice gave one last smile to her father, before she followed her friend out.
Kalina looked to her father after the girls had left. She was proud of them both.
"She is a marvel, that Hermoine," Kalina murmured. Her father fixed her with a dark scowl. She just grinned back at him.
"We do have a slight problem," Dumbledore said. Kalina looked up.
"Yes, professor?" she asked.
"Severus, you have seen much too much of us already. You were sworn before not to interfere, and yet you barged into their training." Her father began to stutter a defence, but Dumbledore held up his hand. His face was set in a sad line. "I'm sorry, Severus. You must take the oath of servitude to the Order. Otherwise. . . ." He shook hs head. "I do not want to have all you memory erased." Severus Snape had an expression Kalina had never before seen on his face. He was afraid.
"You must swear, on your magic and your soul, to never reveal a Pheonix member to any non-Pheonix member." He repeated as Dumbledore swore him into the Order of the Pheonix. Kalina could not help but smile. The only loose end was her mother.
