Chapter 5: Facing a Fear
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great hall, Hermione felt a faint breeze. She traced it back to the dark passageway that led to the Slytherin common rooms. Figuring she had nothing to worry about anymore, Hermione ignored the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong.
Harry left Hermione and Ron alone in the common room while he changed into pajamas, expecting them to do the same. Hermione changed into dry clothes; Ron followed Harry into the boys' dormitory after sneaking a brief kiss from Hermione, even though the three had agreed to meet in the empty room again after changing.
The three did as they had arranged and spent a few minutes talking until Harry noticed a shadow jumping from window to window outside, apparently searching for an entrance. It soon found one, and jumped into a dark corner of the room. By then, Harry had alerted Ron and Hermione of its presence.
"Harry, is that Victor?" Hermione was visibly distressed at the fact that her plan hadn't worked.
"I think it is, Hermione."
"I thought it was supposed to stop chasing you after you died."
"Ron, say 'he' not 'it!'" her reprimanding tone vanished as a nervous one took its place. "And I think my fear about that plan has just been realized. The idea of an umbraca stopping the chase of its victim after he or she dies only applies to normal circumstances. My case is far from normal."
Hermione carefully kept an eye on Victor, meanwhile pondering how to get rid of him without hurting him. Before she could think any longer, Krum emerged from the shadows. None of them had ever seen an umbraca is true light, so what they saw this time startled them. With cracked gray/brown skin, black eyes, and a crimson-red head of hair, the umbraca held almost no resemblance to the wizard it once was. Yet Hermione saw that the hideous, crouching figure was Victor on the inside; she knew that he had come for her. She also knew that she couldn't let him take her. She had only one choice.
"Herm-own-ninny?" The voice that came from the creature's mouth was similar to Victor's, but the sound of it was like several people talking at once.
"I can't go with you Victor." Her voice was said, yet strong. Harry and Ron stayed quiet, observing Hermione's hand slowly reaching into her robe pocket.
"You have no choice in the matter." The smooth, crisp voice held a cruel tone. However, it quickly turned kind. "You must come with me of your own free will, or by force. The easier way is the former."
"No, Victor. Leave." Hermione became defiant, not wanting to hurt Victor's feelings, but realizing that kind words would not help her.
"Then you choose to come by force." He then lunged at Hermione, ready to carry her off to the forest. However, he stopped moving just as he reached her. Harry and Ron had no idea why. They rushed over to Hermione and Victor as he fell to the floor, lifeless; exposing the blood-covered knife that Hermione held in her hand.
"I didn't want it to come to this, but I carried this just in case," Hermione's face was expressionless, but her eyes showed a mix of sadness and shock at what she had just done.
Ron and Harry, meanwhile, were completely puzzled.
"I thought you said umbracas were immortal."
"I left out a paragraph when I was reading the text to you. Umbracas can be killed only by a ceremonial knife wrought by the victim or someone close to the victim. I didn't want you two to put yourselves in danger."
Ron approached Hermione cautiously, as if afraid she would lash out at him, and he embraced her warmly, hoping to comfort her. As she hugged him back, she whispered with a cracked voice, "I didn't want to kill him."
Harry then joined the hug, and tried to comfort her as well, knowing how upset she must be.
"You did what you had to do, Hermione."
She only responded by sobbing unlike she had during Victor's empty-casket funeral. Ron gently patted her back, saying something he had wanted to say ever since the whole ordeal started.
"It's over, Hermione. It's all over."
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great hall, Hermione felt a faint breeze. She traced it back to the dark passageway that led to the Slytherin common rooms. Figuring she had nothing to worry about anymore, Hermione ignored the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong.
Harry left Hermione and Ron alone in the common room while he changed into pajamas, expecting them to do the same. Hermione changed into dry clothes; Ron followed Harry into the boys' dormitory after sneaking a brief kiss from Hermione, even though the three had agreed to meet in the empty room again after changing.
The three did as they had arranged and spent a few minutes talking until Harry noticed a shadow jumping from window to window outside, apparently searching for an entrance. It soon found one, and jumped into a dark corner of the room. By then, Harry had alerted Ron and Hermione of its presence.
"Harry, is that Victor?" Hermione was visibly distressed at the fact that her plan hadn't worked.
"I think it is, Hermione."
"I thought it was supposed to stop chasing you after you died."
"Ron, say 'he' not 'it!'" her reprimanding tone vanished as a nervous one took its place. "And I think my fear about that plan has just been realized. The idea of an umbraca stopping the chase of its victim after he or she dies only applies to normal circumstances. My case is far from normal."
Hermione carefully kept an eye on Victor, meanwhile pondering how to get rid of him without hurting him. Before she could think any longer, Krum emerged from the shadows. None of them had ever seen an umbraca is true light, so what they saw this time startled them. With cracked gray/brown skin, black eyes, and a crimson-red head of hair, the umbraca held almost no resemblance to the wizard it once was. Yet Hermione saw that the hideous, crouching figure was Victor on the inside; she knew that he had come for her. She also knew that she couldn't let him take her. She had only one choice.
"Herm-own-ninny?" The voice that came from the creature's mouth was similar to Victor's, but the sound of it was like several people talking at once.
"I can't go with you Victor." Her voice was said, yet strong. Harry and Ron stayed quiet, observing Hermione's hand slowly reaching into her robe pocket.
"You have no choice in the matter." The smooth, crisp voice held a cruel tone. However, it quickly turned kind. "You must come with me of your own free will, or by force. The easier way is the former."
"No, Victor. Leave." Hermione became defiant, not wanting to hurt Victor's feelings, but realizing that kind words would not help her.
"Then you choose to come by force." He then lunged at Hermione, ready to carry her off to the forest. However, he stopped moving just as he reached her. Harry and Ron had no idea why. They rushed over to Hermione and Victor as he fell to the floor, lifeless; exposing the blood-covered knife that Hermione held in her hand.
"I didn't want it to come to this, but I carried this just in case," Hermione's face was expressionless, but her eyes showed a mix of sadness and shock at what she had just done.
Ron and Harry, meanwhile, were completely puzzled.
"I thought you said umbracas were immortal."
"I left out a paragraph when I was reading the text to you. Umbracas can be killed only by a ceremonial knife wrought by the victim or someone close to the victim. I didn't want you two to put yourselves in danger."
Ron approached Hermione cautiously, as if afraid she would lash out at him, and he embraced her warmly, hoping to comfort her. As she hugged him back, she whispered with a cracked voice, "I didn't want to kill him."
Harry then joined the hug, and tried to comfort her as well, knowing how upset she must be.
"You did what you had to do, Hermione."
She only responded by sobbing unlike she had during Victor's empty-casket funeral. Ron gently patted her back, saying something he had wanted to say ever since the whole ordeal started.
"It's over, Hermione. It's all over."