TITLE: The Cryptic
AUTHOR: Acouta (me!!!!)
DISCLAIMER: Nope........still nothing belongs to me, except the story (so proud!!) it's J.K Rowlings.
A/N - Okay promises promises there will be a little more Malfoy in this chapter, but not much. MUCH MORE NEXT CHAPTER promise! I'm updating real quick cuz I'm going away until the 4th of September!! But I will have lots more by then so don't wander off!!
Chapter Two - Mystery Saviour
Hermione's mind went numb. She was aware that there were other people walking by, talking and chattering amongst themselves, but she couldn't hear them, and she could barely see them.
Ron's dad........dead........
She slowly realised that Harry was talking again.
"Are you okay?" he said, looking at her nervously.
"Yes.....just a ....just a shock......" Hermione then seemed to snap out of whatever kind of trance she was in. "Who cares about me, what about Ron?! How did this happen? Is he okay? When did you hear from him? We should -- "
"Calm down, Hermione. We need to keep it together, for Ron's sake."
Harry sounded business-like, but Hermione could see that he was hiding terrible sadness. She sat quietly and let him speak.
"It happened about a week ago. There'd been some flare-up of Death-Eater activity in Hogsmeade, and because it's so close to Hogwarts, the Ministry said it was a top priority so they sent a team of Aurors down to just 'assess the situation.' They didn't realise how bad it was. Ron's dad was heading up the investigation. They'd had reports of Death-Eater sightings near the Forbidden Forest, where it borders Hogsmeade, so they went there. They'd only just got into the Forest when they were ambushed by about twenty Death-Eaters, so they were badly outnumbered, there was only seven in the team, which is bad even though there were six Aurors there. The Death-Eaters........they used the Unforgivable Curses..........put half the team under the Imperius Curse so they were attacking their own friends, and some had the Cruciatus Curse put on them.........."
He paused, seeing Hermione's white face.
"Do you want me to go on?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine......it's so horrible....." she whispered. Harry nodded.
"I know. I don't know how people can do things like that. Anyway, they don't know exactly what happened, but from the stories they've pieced together from the survivors," he said this word with a shudder, "they think it happened like this: Ron's dad had the Imperius Curse on him, but he was fighting it and they couldn't control him. So they hit him with the Cruciatus curse instead. Then they commanded another member of his team to perform.....Avada Kedavra......"
Hermione put her hand to her mouth.
"And then they just....ran off," he finished. Hermione looked puzzled.
"'Ran off?'" she repeated.
"Yes. Two other Aurors died from the Cruciatus Curse, and the four that were left carried them out of the forest and back into Hogsmeade, to raise the alarm about the Death-Eaters."
"But, wait a minute," Hermione began, "Why would they have cursed Ron's dad and then got another member of his own team to ki --- to perform Avada Kedavra?"
"I don't know. Maybe so the curse can't be traced back to the owner's wand. Maybe it was just some sick little game they were playing. All I know is they ran off when they killed Ron's dad."
Hermione had, if possible, gone even paler than before.
"That's not all," said Harry. "One of the survivors recognized the voice of the Death Eater who put the Cruciatus Curse on Ron's dad. The Ministry sent out Aurors immediately to take him in."
"Who was it?"
"Lucius Malfoy."
*
The shops of Diagon Alley had never looked so drab or lifeless. Everything seemed covered in a swathe of grey as Hermione walked back towards the gateway. She was still in shock. She kept hoping that her eyes would snap open and she'd be in her room, sitting up in bed. Even in her room with the strange light would be appealing. The light........she'd forgotten about that, and she hadn't asked Harry about it, but somehow it didn't seem important anymore. Wild thoughts pre-occupied her mind, so much so that she didn't see the person trying to get away from her until it was too late, and she had run straight into them and knocked them backwards.
"Sorry," she mumbled, and looked up. And froze.
It was Malfoy.
A vicious anger gripped her, she grabbed her wand and the front of Malfoy's robes, and pulled him towards her, so that the tip of her wand was resting on his temple.
"You will pay for what your family has done," she hissed in his face. "You will pay......"
"No! Stop! I have to--" he began, but Hermione had already raised her wand, and the spell was rolling off her tongue as two burly figures grabbed her arms and knocked her wand out of her hand. She screamed, and kicked out, but the two people holding here were very strong. She stopped struggling, and fixed Malfoy with a look of pure hatred. He shrank away.
"Please listen to me..........there's something you need to know......."
"I need to know NOTHING from you, you monster! All your family brings to the world is evil, and now they've done something more than evil! I hate you, and I hate your father!"
She finally struggled free of the grip that was controlling her, snatched back her wand, and ran, crying, through the gateway and back into the Muggle world.
*
The next few days went by in a blur. Hermione couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep, all she did was sit in her room and cry. She had so much anger and sorrow, there wasn't room for anything else. The only comfort to her was that the light had stopped visiting her.
Slowly her anger faded, but the void in it's absence was filled with more sorrow. She had no contact from anyone, but she didn't much care. She didn't know how she would cope at Hogwarts when it was time to go back..........
Then she recieved the letter.
The owl that delivered it was unfamiliar, and the handwriting on the envelope was equally so.
She paid the owl, and carefully opened the envelope. A cutting from the Daily Prophet fell out, and a single piece of folded parchment which she put to one side. Carefully she lit a candle (it was early in the morning). She looked at the cutting. It was a front-page article.
____________________________________________________________________
MINISTRY SLAUGHTER - MYSTERY SAVIOUR - MORE COULD HAVE DIED
The news of the recent killing of two Ministry Aurors and Arthur Weasley, the recently appointed head of the Department for Renegade Control, hit the Wizarding community hard last week. But some new information has come to light about this tragedy from the four surviving Aurors.Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, read this statement last night:
"Each of the four Aurors was under either the Imperius or Cruciatus Curse at the time they say this event took place, but nonetheless their stories corroborate with each other. They say that, just after Arthur Weasley was killed, a hooded figure appeared out of the trees, a figure that was not a Death-Eater. He took his wand and performed the Inflamari charm on the nearest Death-Eater, setting him on fire. He then performed the Impedimenta Charm on a numberof other Death-Eaters, and then Disapparated. The remaining Aurors started to fight back, causing the Death-Eaters to scatter."
Whoever intervened in this tragic event could have stopped it from being a lot worse, and the Ministry of Magic is urging that person to come forward. The Minister for Magic is considering bestowing on him or her the Order of Merlin, Second Class.
____________________________________________________________________
Hermione stared at the article. A lot worse?! How is three people being killed not as bad as it gets?
She took a deep breath, and concentrated on the important thing. Someone else had been there that day. Someone had tried to help. Somehow, she had the strange feeling that these events were connected to the light. She couldn't explain it, she just felt it. But why would someone send her this article? Unless.........
She remembered about the letter, lying forgotten on her bed. She picked it up and unfolded it. It was hardly a letter, the person had only written three words:
It Was Me.
Hermione gasped. And then, as if on cue, the light appeared. She looked at the clock. Four-thirteen.
********************************************************************
A/N - This seems really disjointed to me, but there is a plot. And there will be LOTS MORE Malfoy next chapter :P !!
Michi Yuy - Thanks for my first nice review! You will find out soon enough......
I would put in more reviewers but I updated really quick so I only had one at the time, so if you reviewed like the ever so nice people that you are, I'll put you in next chapter!! Byeee :)
AUTHOR: Acouta (me!!!!)
DISCLAIMER: Nope........still nothing belongs to me, except the story (so proud!!) it's J.K Rowlings.
A/N - Okay promises promises there will be a little more Malfoy in this chapter, but not much. MUCH MORE NEXT CHAPTER promise! I'm updating real quick cuz I'm going away until the 4th of September!! But I will have lots more by then so don't wander off!!
Chapter Two - Mystery Saviour
Hermione's mind went numb. She was aware that there were other people walking by, talking and chattering amongst themselves, but she couldn't hear them, and she could barely see them.
Ron's dad........dead........
She slowly realised that Harry was talking again.
"Are you okay?" he said, looking at her nervously.
"Yes.....just a ....just a shock......" Hermione then seemed to snap out of whatever kind of trance she was in. "Who cares about me, what about Ron?! How did this happen? Is he okay? When did you hear from him? We should -- "
"Calm down, Hermione. We need to keep it together, for Ron's sake."
Harry sounded business-like, but Hermione could see that he was hiding terrible sadness. She sat quietly and let him speak.
"It happened about a week ago. There'd been some flare-up of Death-Eater activity in Hogsmeade, and because it's so close to Hogwarts, the Ministry said it was a top priority so they sent a team of Aurors down to just 'assess the situation.' They didn't realise how bad it was. Ron's dad was heading up the investigation. They'd had reports of Death-Eater sightings near the Forbidden Forest, where it borders Hogsmeade, so they went there. They'd only just got into the Forest when they were ambushed by about twenty Death-Eaters, so they were badly outnumbered, there was only seven in the team, which is bad even though there were six Aurors there. The Death-Eaters........they used the Unforgivable Curses..........put half the team under the Imperius Curse so they were attacking their own friends, and some had the Cruciatus Curse put on them.........."
He paused, seeing Hermione's white face.
"Do you want me to go on?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine......it's so horrible....." she whispered. Harry nodded.
"I know. I don't know how people can do things like that. Anyway, they don't know exactly what happened, but from the stories they've pieced together from the survivors," he said this word with a shudder, "they think it happened like this: Ron's dad had the Imperius Curse on him, but he was fighting it and they couldn't control him. So they hit him with the Cruciatus curse instead. Then they commanded another member of his team to perform.....Avada Kedavra......"
Hermione put her hand to her mouth.
"And then they just....ran off," he finished. Hermione looked puzzled.
"'Ran off?'" she repeated.
"Yes. Two other Aurors died from the Cruciatus Curse, and the four that were left carried them out of the forest and back into Hogsmeade, to raise the alarm about the Death-Eaters."
"But, wait a minute," Hermione began, "Why would they have cursed Ron's dad and then got another member of his own team to ki --- to perform Avada Kedavra?"
"I don't know. Maybe so the curse can't be traced back to the owner's wand. Maybe it was just some sick little game they were playing. All I know is they ran off when they killed Ron's dad."
Hermione had, if possible, gone even paler than before.
"That's not all," said Harry. "One of the survivors recognized the voice of the Death Eater who put the Cruciatus Curse on Ron's dad. The Ministry sent out Aurors immediately to take him in."
"Who was it?"
"Lucius Malfoy."
*
The shops of Diagon Alley had never looked so drab or lifeless. Everything seemed covered in a swathe of grey as Hermione walked back towards the gateway. She was still in shock. She kept hoping that her eyes would snap open and she'd be in her room, sitting up in bed. Even in her room with the strange light would be appealing. The light........she'd forgotten about that, and she hadn't asked Harry about it, but somehow it didn't seem important anymore. Wild thoughts pre-occupied her mind, so much so that she didn't see the person trying to get away from her until it was too late, and she had run straight into them and knocked them backwards.
"Sorry," she mumbled, and looked up. And froze.
It was Malfoy.
A vicious anger gripped her, she grabbed her wand and the front of Malfoy's robes, and pulled him towards her, so that the tip of her wand was resting on his temple.
"You will pay for what your family has done," she hissed in his face. "You will pay......"
"No! Stop! I have to--" he began, but Hermione had already raised her wand, and the spell was rolling off her tongue as two burly figures grabbed her arms and knocked her wand out of her hand. She screamed, and kicked out, but the two people holding here were very strong. She stopped struggling, and fixed Malfoy with a look of pure hatred. He shrank away.
"Please listen to me..........there's something you need to know......."
"I need to know NOTHING from you, you monster! All your family brings to the world is evil, and now they've done something more than evil! I hate you, and I hate your father!"
She finally struggled free of the grip that was controlling her, snatched back her wand, and ran, crying, through the gateway and back into the Muggle world.
*
The next few days went by in a blur. Hermione couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep, all she did was sit in her room and cry. She had so much anger and sorrow, there wasn't room for anything else. The only comfort to her was that the light had stopped visiting her.
Slowly her anger faded, but the void in it's absence was filled with more sorrow. She had no contact from anyone, but she didn't much care. She didn't know how she would cope at Hogwarts when it was time to go back..........
Then she recieved the letter.
The owl that delivered it was unfamiliar, and the handwriting on the envelope was equally so.
She paid the owl, and carefully opened the envelope. A cutting from the Daily Prophet fell out, and a single piece of folded parchment which she put to one side. Carefully she lit a candle (it was early in the morning). She looked at the cutting. It was a front-page article.
____________________________________________________________________
MINISTRY SLAUGHTER - MYSTERY SAVIOUR - MORE COULD HAVE DIED
The news of the recent killing of two Ministry Aurors and Arthur Weasley, the recently appointed head of the Department for Renegade Control, hit the Wizarding community hard last week. But some new information has come to light about this tragedy from the four surviving Aurors.Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, read this statement last night:
"Each of the four Aurors was under either the Imperius or Cruciatus Curse at the time they say this event took place, but nonetheless their stories corroborate with each other. They say that, just after Arthur Weasley was killed, a hooded figure appeared out of the trees, a figure that was not a Death-Eater. He took his wand and performed the Inflamari charm on the nearest Death-Eater, setting him on fire. He then performed the Impedimenta Charm on a numberof other Death-Eaters, and then Disapparated. The remaining Aurors started to fight back, causing the Death-Eaters to scatter."
Whoever intervened in this tragic event could have stopped it from being a lot worse, and the Ministry of Magic is urging that person to come forward. The Minister for Magic is considering bestowing on him or her the Order of Merlin, Second Class.
____________________________________________________________________
Hermione stared at the article. A lot worse?! How is three people being killed not as bad as it gets?
She took a deep breath, and concentrated on the important thing. Someone else had been there that day. Someone had tried to help. Somehow, she had the strange feeling that these events were connected to the light. She couldn't explain it, she just felt it. But why would someone send her this article? Unless.........
She remembered about the letter, lying forgotten on her bed. She picked it up and unfolded it. It was hardly a letter, the person had only written three words:
It Was Me.
Hermione gasped. And then, as if on cue, the light appeared. She looked at the clock. Four-thirteen.
********************************************************************
A/N - This seems really disjointed to me, but there is a plot. And there will be LOTS MORE Malfoy next chapter :P !!
Michi Yuy - Thanks for my first nice review! You will find out soon enough......
I would put in more reviewers but I updated really quick so I only had one at the time, so if you reviewed like the ever so nice people that you are, I'll put you in next chapter!! Byeee :)