Enchantress of the Day and Night

Kneazle

Disclaimer: All characters/ideas belong to JK Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastics, etc, K.A. Applegate's EverWorld, Fern Gully: the Last Rainforest, Mist of Avalon (the movie), Aladdin, Disney's The Prince and the Pauper, Ever After, Chocolat, The Count of Monte Cristo and from Enchantress of the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl, Cirque De Soliel. Also, mostly my odd dreams take some ideas, Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki, The Vision of Escaflowne, Rayearth: the OVA, Record of Lodoss War, Tekken: The Motion Picture, Macross Plus, Blue Submarine No. 6, Pretty Solider Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z-GT, X-Men: Evolution, The Princess Bride, and from "Disney's Atlantis", Sweep by Cate Tiernan, and Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce. Most information that is for the covens is based on Wicca, The Dragon's Tapestry, The Prism Moon and The Taker's Key by Martine Bates, The Watcher by Margaret Buffie, Circle of Three by Isobel Bird, and most clan information is from Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones and Daughters of the Moon by Lynne Ewing. Information I use can be found at the following websites: Bibliomania, Wiccan.com and Feri.com. You can find other information just by surfing the net and looking for information on historical witches and wizards, and Wicca sites. ~AND~ the book that brought me out of my writer's block: Exodus by Julie Bertagna; the movie (2001) Brotherhood of the Wolf, Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers).

**~**


Chapter Nine

            Hermione left the room with her head high, biting her lip, as she heard the gasps coming from behind her. She felt her spine stiffen, but she knew she couldn't do anything about what they were going to say about her. But now she wished she had told them earlier – or that they were a bit smarter to figure it out themselves – but that wouldn't happen.

            They stepped out of the mess hall and into the marble hallway again, but this time they went up the sprawling staircase to a door that was etched in ivory.

            "Take your robes in there with you. You'll know what to do, I hope," Bode said, glancing down at her, raising an eyebrow. "Did you Professor teach you the ritual before she… passed on?"

            "Yes," replied Hermione, nodding slightly. She ran her tongue over her lower lip before opening the door and slipping inside. The room had white walls, with two very open windows that were reaching from the floor to the ceiling – they wouldn't even be called windows, as that whole wall was practically open. There were only three Roman pillars spaced geometrically across it. In the middle of the room was a circular pool on water. Surrounding it were white sheets to block any peepers and on the floor outside of the sheets were a couple fluffy towels to dry herself off with.

            Hermione gulped once, trying to tell herself that IT was finally happening, she was finally becoming the Enchantress, the Girl Who Will Save the World. Shaking, she pulled her top off and yanked her pants off by hopping on one foot, and kicked her boots off. She slipped off her armband bracelet, and gingerly undid the clasp of the pentagram necklace. After she was done, she slipped into the pool of water.

            Inhaling, she realized it was salt water, and that there was a bar of salt in a floating basin. She picked the salt up and began to scrub her body with it, and worked the suds into her hair to make her completely covered with the salt. Once she was done that, she washed it all away and reached for the towels, drying herself off.

            Wrapping a corner securely in the towel, Hermione then unfolded the robes that Bode had given her. It was a form-fitting maroon dress with a gold rope-sash that dangled off on her left side. There were gold laces up the front of the dress to secure the bosom fit properly, and the arm's sleeves were loose and wide. After she put on the dress, she slipped her boots back on and left the airy room only to see Bode waiting outside for her.

            "I'm sorry I took so long," she apologized.

            Bode waved the apology away and smiled at her before leading her to the chamber where the ritual would take place.

            They walked down the white marble hallway that seemed impossibly long, before stopping at another ivory door with a gold handle. Bode turned and regarded Hermione with an unreadable look. "You realize that when you leave this room, you will be Enchantress Hermione?"

            "I do," Hermione answered in a confident voice, although her insides quaked with fear. Lacing her fingers together in front of her dress, before following Bode in through the doorway.

            The chamber was large and dark. There were two large circles of the same size side-by-side in the room, with pillars holding the ceiling up. The pillars themselves were the size of ancient tree trunks, and reached up higher than Hermione could see – they seemed to disappear into the darkness.

            One of the circles had a raised platform in the middle of it, just large enough for a person to stand on it alone. It had an octagon in the middle of it, with Celtic designs weaving around it in triangle shapes. Coming out from that center were extremely large petal-shaped carvings on the ground, with a lion at the end of each petal. Surrounding that whole design was one rim of a circle.

            "Stand on that platform," instructed Croaker. Hermione walked over to it and stood, facing the other circle that was to the right of the door. That circle was completely hollowed out and only had a thin layer of silvery water reflecting the darkness and sparse candles.

            Across from Hermione on the other side of the circle so they were facing her were Albus Dumbledore, the Priest and Leader of the Talamancaians.

            "Priest!" called out Hermione, in greeting.

            He raised a single hand to show he heard her and greeted her back, before letting it drop and glancing over to Bode and Croaker who stood off to the side by the door. Coughing once, Bode unwound a scroll that Croaker had been holding and began to read it.

            Unfamiliar words and phrases met Hermione's ears as Bode began the incantations to begin the process of initiating Hermione as the Enchantress. Across from her, Dumbledore was waiting for his cue to begin the magical ritual. Words were beautiful and meaningful, lasting forever, but it was the magic that was going to help her win this war.

            Once the last syllable was said, and echoed throughout the chamber, did Dumbledore begin.

            He raised his arms to his sides, and began in a deep rumbling voice, his magic pulsing off him in great waves of power. "It is the time to start your journey in becoming who you will be; it is the time to end your journey in who you were. This is as I have said, so mote it be."

            There was a loud bang, and the whole chamber was engulfed in an eerie green light that was being emitted from the hollowed circle. In the center of the circle a thick jet of silvery sparkles were shooting up towards the Heavens, with two other jets of the silvery sparkles weaving around the jet to create a spiral effect.

            Hermione watched in wonder, her mouth open as the jets went higher and higher, swirling around and around until she couldn't see them anymore. As suddenly as the green light and sparkles had appeared, they were gone, and Dumbledore took a small step backwards, only to look and face her.

            Hermione had not noticed anything until she felt the tingling on the tips of her fingers and toes. She glanced down and saw she was rising only a couple of inches off the platform, and was glowing a strange blue that was nearly white it was so blinding. She felt the magical surge before it was seen, and from the middle of the platform she had been standing on the sparkles from the hollowed circle appeared, this time spiraling around her enough times to cocoon her. She couldn't see past the shield that it created, only the white light it gave off.

            The jets then slowly fizzled away, and Hermione was lowered gently back to the platform. On shaky legs, she fell to her knees and took great deep breaths of air.

            With that done, Hermione could feel the pulsation of magic that hummed in her veins. Now all she had to do was learn how to control it.

            She didn't notice Dumbledore until he was crouching beside her. Smiling gently, with a twinkle in his blue eyes, he whispered, "Well done Hermione. You did wonderfully."

            Hermione smiled and stood, stumbling only slightly as she stepped off the platform. It was over.

**-**

Harry's jaw felt like it had fallen to the floor, filled with lead. There was a bitter taste in his mouth, and try as hard as he swallowed the flavour would not go away. Now it all made sense to him. Everything made sense… everything…

            She took his hands in hers, and placed them over the wrists. He hissed a bit in pain, as they were rubbed raw, but she allowed a blue glow to wrap around them. He was startled, thinking she had bonded him to her, and tried to pull away. "No wait!" she said. "Please!"

He still resisted, leaning as far back as he could. She rolled her eyes and pulled her hands away. He stood up, tripping a bit backwards, before glancing down at his wrists. They were completely healed.

***

Lavender gasped, pointing out of the trunk. "Look!"

Harry turned, expecting to see Hermione in some sort of distress. However, he saw her sitting calmly on the beach, lighting a fire, some weird sort of bubble around her. Her hair was not flying about in wind, nor did the water that pounded hard against the ground affect the fire.

***

Silence hung heavily in the air, until there was a snap and clang. All eyes swiveled to Hermione, who was rubbing red marks on her arms. Glancing up she said calmly, "You never asked if I could get out or not."

"We thought ya were wit 'em!" Colin exclaimed, jerking his head in Ron's general direction, which growled.

"Hermione… how did you do that?" asked Harry quietly, watching the girl as she moved forward towards Harry. She gathered the ancient lock in her hand, closed her eyes, and within moments the lock fell heavily into her hands. She placed it quietly on the floor, before moving on to the next person.

***

Hermione glanced up at Ron, but said nothing as she looked back down at the rock, before running her hand over the smooth texture. Suddenly, something shifted in the air and at once the rock began to uncoil like a snake and turned into a sturdy rope, long enough to allow everyone to drop down into the water without hurting themselves.

***

… He didn't even hear Ron and Ginny trying to talk to him until Ron slapped him across the face. He had been staring at the spot Hermione had been before she left with Bode, and Harry was still having a hard time believing she was the Enchantress. But what had she pleaded before she had left? Oh yes, don't be mad at me, Harry…

Harry started, realizing he wasn't angry… just confused. Really confused, and a bit sad too – she would be saving the world and would have many men admire her. She could pick any of them, but probably would not choose him. Harry felt his heart break and shatter into thousands of pieces.

"Harry? Harry, are you all right?" asked Ron, shaking his friend, and raising his hand again to slap him. As it came close to his face, Harry's hand shot up and wrenched the palm away from him.

"I can hear you perfectly fine, Ron," he said, turning to face his friend and his friend's younger sister. "I was just… surprised."

"More like stupefied," came the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy, who stood half-in and half-out of the shadows.

"Stay out of this," growled Ron, narrowing his eyes at his nemesis. Draco rolled his eyes but said nothing more.

Suddenly, Harry had a flash in his memory. Oliver and the Knights were acting too calm and smug to also know that Hermione was the Enchantress, unless they knew too… that made everyone but Ron and himself know who Hermione truly was…

A burning sensation in his stomach made Harry turn to Oliver, glaring. "You knew," he hissed darkly, advancing on the older man. "You knew she was the Enchantress and didn't say anything."

"That's right," replied Oliver in a cool tone. "I knew because I was assigned to protect her."

"But you didn't say anything to us," continued Harry, "and we were the ones traveling with her!"

"She didn't want anyone to know," said Oliver's friend, Cedric. "We're bound by honor to respect her wishes and do as she asks unless it threatens her life. And not telling you didn't threaten her in any way."

Harry saw red. He couldn't believe that they had kept her secret from him and Ron – and maybe Ginny – for so long. In a moment of irrational behavior, Harry found himself throwing a punch at Oliver's face.

The older man didn't expect it, and his head whipped back taking with him the force of the blow. When he caught his balance and looked at the bony haired, emerald eyed teen, he said quietly, "You will wish you hadn't have done that, Harry."

He stepped forward, bringing his own fist before slamming it into Harry's jaw, sending his head snapping back. Stumbling, Harry shook his head and glared at Oliver before the two went at each other, throwing punches left, right and center.

Harry fell to his knees as a punch was delivered to his stomach, but then swept his legs behind Oliver's and made him fall on his back, where Harry pounced on the young man and, grabbing his collar, slammed his fist from the right to the left and back again too many times to count.

In the middle of a punch, there was a rumble of something moving throughout the castle before bursting the mess hall's heavy doors open. A tearing wind whipped at their face's and stung their eyes, and the shockwave that followed after tossed them a couple feet back towards the back of the mass hall.

Harry, blown of Oliver, looked up at the door in confusion in the silence that followed. "What was that?" he whispered.

Oliver straightened, and regarded Harry with a raised eyebrow. "The Enchantress has just been initiated. Hermione is now the Enchantress."

**-**

            A thousand miles away, another man who sat on a throne in a dark cave with many black-robed followers around him felt the shock blast.

            They started at first, before murmuring in hushed tones. They didn't miss the look of disgust and anger on their Master's face.

            And so the end of the old world melts away and the beginning of the new one begins, he thought, his scarlet eyes narrowing in annoyance.

**-**

            Later that evening, Hermione came down from the Chamber and entered the mess hall with an air of confidence that she hadn't left with. Bode and Croaker stood behind her, flanking her every move like two very serious and somber bodyguards. Oliver and the other Knights rose at her entrance, bowing slightly as she passed them by.

            Seamus, Dean, Ginny, Ron and Harry watched in wonder as she approached them, with a little hesitation in her eyes and movement.

            "Hello," she murmured softly, looking at each of them in the eyes. Dean and Seamus rose and bowed like the Knights, before sitting back down, and Ginny eyed her with something like distrust and betrayal. Hermione tried to find out what the girl was thinking, but effective wards had been placed around her mind so Hermione could not enter.

            Sighing, she turned to Ron and Harry. Ron had a huge grin on his freckled face, and when she smiled tentatively at him, he jumped up and swept her into a bear hug.

            "I can't believe you're the bloody Enchantress!" he crowed. "All this time – if I didn't know better I'd say you're the best secret-keeper in the world."

            "What do you mean, 'if you didn't know better'?" asked Hermione with a small smile on her face.

            Ron blushed and muttered something about blabbing things he wasn't supposed to, and sat down in his chair, before digging earnestly into his dinner. Hermione watched him for a few moments before turning to Harry, who had slowly risen from his seat.

            A black eye was starting to form on his left eye, and he was staying off his right foot as if it hurt. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

            "What happened to you?"

            "Eh… nothing… just fell when that blast hit us," lied Harry, not moving his eyes from Hermione's face. "So… how do you feel? Any different?"

            Hermione smiled shyly. "No. I'm still the same Hermione as before."

            "Glad to hear it," said Harry softly. He offered Hermione a smile to show that he wasn't upset and with that, Hermione let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

            She then sat down next to him, and began to eat, smiling absently, and shooting Harry looks from underneath her fringe – all the time unaware of Harry watching her, and unaware of the three other looks she was getting.

            After the meals were eaten and the talk had died out, Bode and Croaker came back in the mess hall with Dumbledore following them.

            Harry, surprised to his professor and leader, didn't say anything until the shock wore off. To Ron he asked, "What's he doing here?" but didn't receive an answer as Ron was still staring at Dumbledore like he had grown two heads or was the Dark Lord himself.

            Bode cleared his throat before saying, "I know that you all have had a long day, so the House Elves have prepared rooms for all of you to sleep in tonight. Tomorrow morning will come soon and so will your quests."

            Stepping forward, Dumbledore addressed the group, but spoke to Harry and his table. "Harry, I would like you, Ron, Ginny and Draco to return with me tomorrow to Talamanca. Apparently, the Dark Lord is on the move and has begun to terrorize smaller villages of Muggles and mixed communities on his path to the Poweeke Mountains that separate the Belluci Desert from the forests of Talamanca. We need you back home to help round up his Death Eaters."

            Harry nodded solemnly, and stared at the floor in dismay. He was being taken away from Hermione – there wouldn't be time to talk to her later.

            "Hermione will be beginning her training soon, and will need protection," said Bode, glancing at the Knights. "The Priest has agreed to give up two of his best Knights to guard the Enchantress when we cannot, or she leaves the island."

            Oliver and Ryan Kips nodded and stood, walking towards Bode, and kneeling before him on one knee, and placing a fist over their hearts. The move showed they pledged their lives to Hermione, becoming her guards now.

            Harry felt more miserable now than he had ever in his life, expect for when Sirius and Remus would tell him about his parents and he would feel the ache that crept into his heart whenever they did.

            Dumbledore then continued talking. "Voldemort knows about Hermione being the Enchantress, but he too is bound by the Fate that had been spun when Eorthe was created. The war we will fight against him will not take place for another year and a quarter, when the training period is over for Hermione. That gives us time to plan attacks of our own and stop him now – as much as we can."

            His eyes took in the entire group that was in the Mess Hall, pausing at Draco before continuing on. With that said, he turned and left the room, Croaker behind him. Bode turned slightly, before saying over his shoulder, "Go up the stairs. Your names are written on the door of your rooms. Goodnight."

            With some soft murmurs, the group left and found their rooms, settling themselves in for an unsettling night.

**-**

            Hermione sat at her pearl vanity table, brushing her hair slowly, lost in thought while staring at her reflection. She was now the Enchantress, and had twice as much stress and responsibilities piled on her now than before. She had to learn specific etiquette and speech, and also how to control her powers. Her upcoming year would be crazy.

            And Harry… what do I think about Harry? She wondered. The lovable and comfortable young man that had been with her through it all, and still cared about her after keeping a secret like that. She didn't know why or how, be she respected him greatly for it.

            I won't even get to say goodbye tomorrow… she thought sadly, placing her brush down. With that thought in her head, and her heart heavy, she stood up and walked to the candle that was lit on her bedside table. Placing a hand behind the flame, she blew gently, and immersed herself in darkness.

            Pulling the soft and fluffy covers of her bed back, she was about to get in where a soft thump on her door told her someone wished to speak with her. Walking over to it in the dark, she opened the door slightly to see Harry standing in the hallway, shuffling slightly from one foot to the other.

            "Hi Hermione," he whispered. "May I come in?"

            Hermione nodded, opening the door wider, as he stepped into the darkness, almost disappearing into it. The soft click of the lock made both of them jump in surprise.

            "What did you want to speak about, Harry?" asked Hermione, stepping closer to him to see his face. Harry looked down at Hermione, who was less than an arm's length away from him.

She looks so nice in those maroon robes that she is wearing, he thought. Before he knew what he was doing, he had stepped flush against Hermione, and wrapped an arm around her waist. He looked down at her, his eyes asking if she was complaining or didn't want this.

Hermione looked up at Harry, before sliding her hands up his chest smoothly, finally resting on his shoulders. She tilted her head up, silently asking him to kiss her – which he did with no hesitation.

His lips descended upon hers, giving her first a smooth, chaste kiss. Lip to lip, Hermione only then felt the sizzle of electricity that ran through her at that small touch. She was sure that Harry had felt it as well, because he then growled before wrapping his other, free hand in her mane.

Hermione's own arms wrapped around Harry's neck, playing with the soft hairs at the nape of his neck. She tilted her head, changing the position of their lips, parting them slightly. Harry took her cue, and opened his lips as well, before running the tip of his tongue on her lower lip.

At that, she fell completely against him, their bodies crushed together as they stumbled backwards and to the side, before falling on Hermione's bed. Lying there together, Harry wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around Hermione, kissing her senseless, and rolling them around the bed.

Tangling her legs with Harry's, Hermione broke away from their intense kiss, running her fingertips across his swollen lips. They were both breathing hard, lying next to each other in the middle of the bed. Taking Harry's hand, Hermione led it to the laces in the front of dress, her eyes meeting his in the darkness.

There, they were burning with desire and love, asking her if she was sure. Never feeling so sure than she was at the moment, Hermione nodding, kissing him slightly once more before running her own hands down Harry's shirt to undo his buttons.

That night was none either would forget anytime soon.

**-**

AN: Hi everyone! Thank you for the reviews I got on the last chapter – I really appreciate them! I just want to let you all know that this will be the last update you'll get of EDN for the next month or so – my exams begin in 14 days, and I really need to study or else I'm failing math and redoing it next year. Not fun – so I really need to concentrate lately. Also, be happy to know that I have the next chapter all planned out and it will be up once my exams are over.

Um, what else? Oh, I'm guessing that there is only about 5-10 chapters left in this series, before it's over. Just thought I'd let you all know… I hope you all enjoyed the mushiness of Hermione and Harry – you can guess what they were doing, okay? Hee. One last word to everyone: REVIEW PLEASE!