All disclaimers apply; Harry Potter belongs to Ms. Rowling and the various publishers.
Important note: I've changed something in the prologue to correspond to the later part of this chapter. Also, this chapter is albeit messy; so if you don't understand any part of the plot, please do ask!
Also, this chapter is dedicated to PunkyPrincess: happy birthday!
Awakening of a RoyalSilverDawn
Chapter 19: Awakening
"Why the hell do we have to do this muggle style?" Lawrence grumbled, taking another lengthy piece of streamer from his girlfriend, Amber. The brunette just smiled at the black-haired boy, amusement written all over her face.
"Face it, Law. It's for Mya."
Her words had a very interesting effect on the seventh-year Slytherin – Lawrence Snape had shut up immediately.
This is considered remarkable, for if Amber had been referring to any other person, Lawrence might have just snorted and say, "I don't give a damn about him/her." Or something along those lines. However, ever since he had gotten to know Hermione, he had felt a close kinship towards the younger girl that befuddled him very much. Yes, Hermione was a wonderful girl to be with. In fact, all the other members of the Court would have agreed with him about this. Yet somehow, she seemed to have a special place in his heart. Astonishing, as it may seem, Hermione felt like a sister he never had, just as Silverdawn had been – a sworn sibling whom he could pamper now and then.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, Lawrence carefully placed the streamers on the ceiling, taking care not to hit the balloons with his head – he had no control over the levitating spell cast on him.
Amber giggled a little at his sudden silence, strolling over to Ron, who had just entered the room, heavily laden with the gifts in his hands. Ashteroth had also walked up to his friend, easing him of most of the burden whilst Amber shook her head, "Ron, had it ever occurred to you that you could use a levitation spell when bringing these gifts in?"
"Uh, oops?" Ron responded artlessly, earning chuckles all over the room. Currently, most of the people in the main living room of the Kadamon Suite were busy doing last minute decorations, placing the balloons that change colors gradually, streamers and ribbons that glitter like the stars, and all sorts of other magical stuff on the walls. The ceiling had been magicked by them earlier on to mirror something that came literally from the heavens, and one would wonder how long they took to get it done up to perfection.
This ceiling had previously been magicked to mirror the weather outside, just like the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall. However, due to the fact that it had been raining all day long since yesterday morning, Amber had decided to give the ceiling a total er… makeover.
With information gathered from the minds (with permission) of the angels present in their group, Amber had mapped out a way to magick the ceiling into the skies that overlook Briah – one of the worlds under Angelic rule. It had been rather simple for the brunette, who, being a designer, had quite an easy time building up the complex picture in a mere hour. It was the actual placing of the spell that had been the problem.
In the end, Lawrence, Tristan, Hideaki and Ashteroth helped out with the placing of the charm, with Ashteroth placing the weather information of Briah into the spell and the others laying the basic blueprint rather than verifying the configurations immediately. Test runs were held the night before, and today morning before they had actually placed the spell.
The results had been quite beautiful actually. The ceiling now depicted clouds that rose into the never-ending azure sky, vaguely forming what seemed like a castle in the air. Angels seemed to be circling around the clouds, sometimes disappearing into the upper sky, sometimes coming down, nearing them before disappearing into thin air. Light shone into the clouds, making them look almost touchable, and it had been very relaxing to the eye.
In fact, everyone had admired them for quite some while before starting the preparation for Hermione's small birthday party.
Near the wall that led to the large, open balcony, Pearlsong took in the harried looks of the students and smiled. It was thoughtful of the children to help Hermione celebrate her birthday even if there was such a short notice. She knew that part of it was to keep her ward safe in the protections of the Kadamon suite when that happens, but they hadn't need to put up a party for her. It surprised her even more when her friend and brother to her previous ward – Adam – had taken time off his hectic schedule to see to it that Hermione would be all right when by the end of the day.
Walking over to where Adam Kadamon was sitting, she saw her husband talk of politics with the King and shook her head in defeat. Sometimes, despite where they are, they could never stop talking about such things.
"I suppose you are never going to take a rest, are you Adam?" Pearlsong asked gently, regarding the King with a soft smile as she sat beside her husband, inwardly chastising him for striking a conversation with the man about the upcoming meeting with the United Parliament.
"I will get one once today is over." Adam smiled, looking at the children hurry from one place to another as he continued in a quieter voice, staring at one of the two adults helping Silverdawn and Nikolai with the food, "I'm going to have a hard time calming him down later."
The two dragonkin followed his gaze at the black-haired man and went silent for quite some while, each sinking into their own thoughts. Finally, Shadownight spoke up, silver eyes grim, "This I agree."
They then gazed at the children in the room, wondering how most of them will take the news later on…
"Intending on using the muggle stereo?" Tracy asked the grinning Ginny and Hideaki, both of whom were happily tampering with the intricate buttons and levers of the hi-fi stereo system. A song was playing via the various stereos placed in different areas of the hall, and even Mikael had raised his eyebrow in amusement at the chosen genre.
"Oldies?" The prince asked in disbelief, "that's even before my time!"
Everyone snickered at that reaction, but Ginny just shrugged it off, "It's nice."
"Oh God, somebody save me…" Lucifer muttered to himself, earning even more snickers from the Court. Ginny, Blaise and Ron looked at their Dueling Master, puzzled by his reaction, whilst Shadownight stared at the commotion with utmost hilarity. After all, it had been quite known throughout UWIM that the almighty Head of Sevosia – Lucifer Kadamon – detested Oldies vastly ever since a prank that had been played years ago, during Tracy's last year in school.
At the end-of-year celebration, the Court had it planned for Professor Kadamon to end up dancing with Tracy in one of the last few waltzes without their fellow Court member (Tracy) knowing. But instead of the usual classical waltz, the band ended up playing Oldies, resulting in a slow, ultra-romantic night for the couple. The entire school had stopped to watch the couple enjoy their last dance – which had been yet another Oldies melody – and witnessed the heart-stopping proposal made by Lucifer to his girlfriend.
Apparently, the melody had been spelled so that the dancing couple would only see one another and no one else. They were totally in a world of themselves, and only until Tracy accepted Lucifer's proposal did the spell break. Imagine their surprise when they saw themselves once again in a room full of people, with everyone surging forward to congratulate them, even the other professors.
That night, the remaining members of the Court just stood at the balcony area overlooking the hall, giving one another high-fives at how successful their 'prank' had worked out.
After that night, Lucifer hated Oldies with a passion – it reminded himself of how much teasing he had gotten from his fellow colleagues, how all of them had seen him kneel down, proposing to his fiancée in the traditional method, and of course, how embarrassed he had been after that.
"You did this on a purpose, didn't you?" Lucifer asked Hideaki quietly, amethyst eyes glowing with an unholy light as he eyed his student.
Uh oh…
"Of course not professor!" Hideaki hurriedly denied anything, giving Ginny a look of plea. The fiery-headed Gryffindor laughed at his expression, but took the blame smoothly, "Professor, I had wanted to listen to it."
The innocent look she gave made the silvan-haired professor sigh, but Severus wasn't going to let them off so easily.
"Chariot, change the track now. And Ginny, don't try to take the blame from him. We know how the Court is." The potions master ordered sternly, though his amused eyes were at odds with his voice. Salazar, who had been standing beside him, covered his chuckles with one hand, knowing full well what his brother had been talking about – he had been referring to their days in UWIM.
Hearing these words, Silverdawn arched an eyebrow, placing the platter of pastry on the table whilst asking in a derisive tone, "Is this from your knowledge of Aki? Or from personal experience?"
"Both." The man responded, startling the Hogwarts students.
"You were a member of the Court?" Ginny asked, incredulous.
"So what if I was?" Severus countered, casually getting a goblet of firewhiskey from the bar counter. Ron placed the last of the presents on the carpet beside the fireplace, a look of surprise evident in his face as he turned to look at his potions master,
"What was your name?" He inquired, curiosity piqued.
"Death." Came the brusque answer.
"How befitting." Blaise murmured sardonically, placing her own gift for Hermione into the pile of presents.
"Blaise," Mikael spoke gently, pulling the girl up from her kneeling position by the carpet, "sarcasm isn't appropriate for you."
The black-haired girl blushed at his mild rebuke, and Nikolai grinned at how those two had gotten along. Somehow, she could feel the attraction those two people had for one another, but Blaise seemed slow at reacting to it. So much for the Slytherin instinct. The healer thought to herself in a wry manner, she's sharp at her education… but emotion-wise, she's as thick as one could possibly be.
At the same time, Adam had also noticed how his eldest son reacted towards the child of his friend's. No doubt fireworks will spark between them. Hmm… I'll be having quite an interesting year ahead of me…
Clearing his throat and wiping all expressions from his face, Adam had his younger children and their friends looking up from what they had been working on, all of whom were inwardly dreading the serious look on his face. Evidently, they would not be able to escape yesterday's 'work' unscathed.
Indeed, it was as they had expected.
"Albus had told me of what all of you had done yesterday. Undeniably, I am sorely disappointed with all of you." Adam spoke gravely, staring at his youngest children in the eye, making the twins slightly uncomfortable.
It was seldom that their father would be angry with them, thus when he became annoyed, it was best to escape to Atzulith for a day or two. They would prefer to hear the angels reprimand them for their mistakes than be at the receiving end of their father's punishment when he was in full-King mode. Thus, all of them hung their heads in shame.
"However," everyone perked up at this word, "the prank had surpassed even those of my time in Hogwarts. As a fellow member of the Court, I must congratulate you on that." Sapphire eyes twinkled as he commended the Court subtly, causing all of the children to sigh in relief.
"Aww…" Mikael mock-whined, "Does that mean that they'll get away from punishments?"
Twelve pairs of eyes glared at him for his complaint, but the prince grinned unrepentantly whilst Adam shook his head negative, "No one could trace any hard evidence. So it's official, they won't be getting detention."
Whistles could be heard at this announcement, but Tracy, curious as to how her friends had gotten hold of those key items, asked curiously, "Still, how did you guys do it?"
"We have our ways." Draco spoke mysteriously, exchanging glances with Silverdawn and Azrael, both of whom grinned back at their boyfriend/friend…
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The day before…
It had been a rather quiet breakfast that day, everyone still somber over how the threat of Dementors is becoming more real than it had previously been. Furthermore, the continuous drizzle did nothing to lighten up the mood of the morn. Also Dumbledore's announcement before the starting of breakfast that another earthquake might occur the next day had prevented anyone from getting out of the school compounds even though classes were cancelled for that day… the punishment that he had told of should anyone get out of school was so severe that no one even dared to try. Thus, the entire student cohort had gone through the meal with relative silence, until a scream was heard at the Slytherin table.
All eyes were immediately tuned to the person who yelled, wondering what the hell had happened. The members of the Court however, totally ignored the yell, and instead, chatted with one another in hushed tones via different languages. Goyle threw a venomous snarl at the black-haired girl sitting next to Draco, and Crabbe was starting to insult her when Azrael went over to the table, regarding the two boys with cool stares.
"Any problem?" He had asked smoothly, ultramarine eyes calm as Lawrence snickered at how arrogant his friend had sounded… purposely of course.
"You and that mudblood," Goyle had spat out the word with utter contempt, "what did you do to us?'
"Silver and I? Nothing." Azrael replied evenly, taking in the furious look on Crabbe's face and the confused one of Pansy and Millicent with hidden amusement.
"Goyle, I suggest that you sit down before making yourself look like a clown." Draco suggested mildly, taking a bite out of his toast as he stared at Pansy digging into her food with utmost vigor. Goyle glared at him, looking absolutely miffed at the condescending tone of the pale-haired boy.
"I am not Goyle." The pudgy boy snarled, causing Ashteroth to raise an eyebrow, galling the Slytherin with his question, "Then what are you? Transvestite?"
"I'm Pansy!" The boy all but screamed the name as the other Slytherins regarded Goyle with disbelief.
"Then who's she?" Lawrence gestured to Pansy, who was still eating like somebody who had been starved for days.
"How the hell would I know?" Goyle yelled, feeling very frustrated with the incident. Crabbe then glanced at Millicent, who was also stuffing her face with food, and narrowed his eyes at Silverdawn, "What did you do?"
"And you are?" Silverdawn asked idly as twirling her wand in her hand, staring at the boy in indifference.
"I'm Millicent! Who's that pig in my body?" Crabbe scowled.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask her?" The girl replied, continuing to eat her food though inwardly, she was grinning at the success of their potions. Crabbe pulled Millicent's robes roughly, forcing the girl to face him whilst he asked menacing, "Just who the hell are you?"
"Millicent." Millicent Bulstrode replied innocuously, earning a death glare from the boy. Someone at the table snickered, but was silenced by Goyle's/Pansy's glower, which, seriously, did not have as much of an effect as it did when Pansy was in her body.
Noticing the commotion that once again came from the Slytherin table, several professors went over, thankful that there wasn't any shield cutting people out. Salazar Snape and Lucifer Kadamon had looked at the two fat boys peculiarly, their sharp senses noticing that something wasn't right about them, especially the demeanor of those two boys. Usually, these two goons listened to either Draco or Pansy – they never make any decisions by themselves. Thus, it had been surprising to see them yell.
"What's going on?" Severus asked in a dangerously silky voice that caused most of the Slytherins to shiver in fear.
"Professor. I'm not in my body!" Goyle whined, shocking almost the entire professorial board.
"I beg your pardon?" Minerva asked, disbelief clearly etched on her face. Irritated, Crabbe explained impatiently, "We had been eating, and suddenly, I'm in this… idiot's body!"
"Did you really?" Lucifer murmured absent-mindedly, glancing slyly at the members of the Court. They acknowledged Lucifer, Salazar and Severus with nods that practically screamed 'We did it!' but no professor chose to disclose it. Instead, Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin, went over to Pansy and Millicent, tapping them lightly on the head with his wand, "Who are you?"
"Millicent Bulstrode, professor."
"Pansy Parkinson sir."
The Slytherins who heard this snickered uncontrollably, setting off a series of, "Shut up!" by Crabbe and Goyle.
A significant number of glares were given to the two boys, as if taunting the boys to make them shut up. The two boys shrunk a little at the amount of hostile glances they received, and backed down, whilst Azrael grinned covertly. Meanwhile, the professors conversed with one another, until Dumbledore spoke up, "Unfortunately, Miss Parkinson, and Miss Bulstrode. You've been dosed with mind-switch potion while those two…er, ladies", he gestured to the two still devouring food girls, "are dosed with both mind-switch and mind-alteration potions."
"Any antidotes?" Goyle looked at her Head of House in plea.
Severus became quiet for a while, but spoke, "No. It will fade away by tomorrow morning."
With that, the two boys muttered a series of colorful expletives, until Salazar silenced them with an icy glare whilst the entire Slytherin table broke out in unrestrained laughter.
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Everything had gone on quite smoothly that day, and as the entire school had gotten wind of it, snickers could be heard virtually everywhere Crabbe and Goyle went. Surprisingly, the two boys had taken it quite well, just glaring at those people who laughed at them, but did not blow up.
Even the Court were impressed by their tolerance, each of them silently conversing with one another about the fact that if those two girls could keep their mouth shut when in the boys' bodies, they would not mind trying such a prank again.
Once again, they were proven wrong that night during dinner.
"It's all your fault." Goyle hissed at Silverdawn, knuckles cracking whilst the girl remained unfazed, knowing that no one could touch her easily.
"Why are you so sure?" Nikolai asked quietly, staring at the two boys warily, worried that they might harm her princess.
"Who else would it be?" Crabbe asked menacingly.
"The Court of Twelve." Ashteroth replied calmly, causing several of the Slytherins to wince. Crabbe and Goyle looked puzzled, but one of their supporters whispered, "The Court is infamous internationally for being the most elite in UWIM. All of them are either very smart, closely associated with royalty, or are royalty themselves. Don't try to antagonize them, you can far easier than one might think of."
Those who understood blanched, having heard of them from their parents, and how they usually become the more influential people with the various courts of different countries – those who are against them usually meet their downfalls far quicker than being hit with 'Avada Kedavra'.
"I don't give a damn about who they are. I just want that bitch to pay!" Goyle snarled, reaching over to grab Silverdawn's robes but several someones' prevented her. Nikolai and Lawrence tackled the hulking figure whilst Draco virtually twisted the boy's wrist 180 degrees. Ashteroth and Blaise then held Crabbe in place, not letting him enter the fray to help his friend. Tensed silence ensued in Slytherin, each holding their breaths, fearing what might come of it. They had seen how easily Draco had snapped the heavy boy's wrist, and all of them dreaded what he might do next to Goyle/Pansy. If the blazing pale gray eyes were any indication, Goyle/Pansy might be very lucky to get out alive.
However, the sound of the Great Hall's doors opening prevented them from carrying out further action.
All of them glanced at the doors, noticing ten figures entering, two in Auror uniform, five in very weird clothing, and the last three in elaborate uniforms. The entire group had walked to the Head Table in ease, one of the people glancing at the Slytherin table with anticipation, diamond eyes taking in the situation with understanding.
Noticing the person at the end group, the UWIM students, plus a scatter of students from various Houses curtsied and bowed at the man, not daring to come up from their curtsies or bows.
In front of the Head Table, the Aurors, Universal Elite leaders, Defense Mages and Mage Duelist had spread out to let the people they're protecting to be in view of the Professors. Many of the boys ogled at the beautiful strawberry-blond lady, whilst the girls swooned at the black-silver-haired man.
Most of all, everyone felt the presence of the silver-haired man, the powerful aura of leadership surpassing even Dumbledore's.
"Your Majesty." Dumbledore bowed a little, but Adam Kadamon stopped him, helping the elderly wizard up with both hands.
"Albus, no formalities around me please." Adam smiled on seeing his mentor of Hogwarts. Dumbledore returned the King with a smile of his own, speaking in a teasing manner, "You had better let those children get up, or they'll be complaining from backaches tomorrow."
Adam arched an eyebrow at this, but turned to face the students, giving them a sweeping wave. Immediately, the students stood up, and went back to their seats.
::Why the hell is his majesty doing here?:: Harry asked everyone, but no one could give a direct answer.
::Probably to discuss the earthquakes. Every Wizarding school is monitored within United Defense, to ensure the safety of students.:: Azrael finally replied, but Silverdawn, Nikolai and himself knew better. The King was here because of what would happen tomorrow.
The trio had then taken to dining with the professors at the High Table after Dumbledore explained who the guests were, much to the shock of almost the entire student cohort. After making sure that the three royals were safe, their guards walked out of the Hall, leaving many of the students still ogling at them…
When the guards left, Mikael then led Tracy over to where his twin was sitting before going over to the Slytherin table, where Silverdawn and Draco were.
"Any problem here?" The prince asked evenly, and on eyeing Goyle's protruding wrist, spoke gently, "You had better see to it soon, child." He subsequently gazed at the restraining hands on Crabbe's shoulders meaningfully, and instantaneously, Blaise and Ashteroth took their hands off the boy, whilst Mikael continued, "You had better get your friend to the hospital wing."
With that, Crabbe took to helping Goyle, but before they left, the latter eyed Draco in fury, "You will get it for betraying me, Draco."
When they were out of the Hall, Draco mused aloud, "Since when had I even sided with her?"
And everyone laughed.
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Back to the present:
"Hey, can I have one of those first?" Azrael asked, eyes lighting up at the peach tarts that Silverdawn had just placed on the table, beside the birthday cake.
"Nope, this is Mione's favorite. She'll get the first piece." Silverdawn replied firmly, but her twin chose not to listen, hands eager on grabbing one of the tempting tarts. However, before he could take one, another hand slapped his away.
"Oww… what was that for?" The prince complained, and in turn, Draco to shake his head in warning, "Silver had said that it's for Hermione, so don't even try to touch it."
Azrael pouted a little at his friend's answer, making a face at Draco's back, and this caused the others to laugh whilst he got himself a mug of honeyed tea. The lot of them had finished decorating, placing of gifts and food, and now, all of them were relaxing on the couches, waiting for the Harry to bring Hermione in.
"Aww Magician, I know that you respect Silver's words, but there's no need to take it as if it's some royal edict." The silvan-haired prince commented idly as Draco blush slightly at his statement.
"Yeah, Magician will make a very obedient husband, Empress." Amber teased, gazing at the said couple that was snuggling beside one another.
"Priestess…" Silverdawn rolled her eyes, trying to prevent herself to blush in embarrassment whilst Draco slung an arm around her waist possessively. The adults glanced at the pair in amusement, with Adam gazing at his youngest child in amusement, glad that she had finally been able to find her love. Looking at their aura which melded smoothly into a milky blue, he smiled, adding his own bit into the jest, "I'd be the first to give my blessings should Draco wish to marry Silverdawn."
The UWIM students were stunned by the King's open admission. Adam never takes his words for granted, and by saying what he just did, it means that in the future, Draco would be able to marry Silverdawn without any objections from the Kadamon family, Lucifer included! Noticing their startled silence, the King continued, "What do you think, Severus?"
Asked of his opinion, the black-haired man just smiled, agreeing with his friend, "They would make a beautiful pair."
"Your majesty! Uncle!" Silverdawn yelled, mortified by what they've just said. Draco however, smiled in pleasure at his girlfriend's shock, taking his mentor and King's blessings with equal humor and seriousness, "Thank you, your majesty, Uncle Severus. I'll make sure to ask for your help when I ask Silver's father for her hand."
At that, everyone laughed, adults included, for Draco had no idea that Silverdawn's father was in actuality, Adam Kadamon…
As the mirth ceased, Ron passed a tray of drinks around, inquiring, "When are we called Harry and Mione back?"
"Noon."
"There's still about half an hour! Wanna call them up now?" Blaise asked, accepting a cup of tea from Mikael.
"Nah, let them have some private time together." Azrael shrugged it off, remembering that Hermione was born at 1:03pm, according to the time here.
"Still, it's raining outside… Where could they have gone to?" Ginny wondered aloud.
"God knows."
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Earlier on…
After a hearty breakfast with their friends, Lucifer, Mikael, Tracy, Salazar, Adam, Pearlsong and Shadownight, Harry had pulled Hermione out to the library, where they had taken quite some time reading about the history of UWIM and the subjects available in the college. Both of them had been astounded by the variety of subjects offered, and the number of subjects the students had to take.
"Wow, if this is true, then most of the students would have to have a time-turner each! No one can possibly take so many subjects in twenty-four hours!" Hermione whispered in astonishment as Harry skimmed the page, eyes widening as he read what Hermione had been referring to. He then flipped the pages to the brief introduction of the four Houses, gesturing the girl to read too.
"Hmm… the four Houses seem to have some similarities to ours!" Harry spoke softly, pointing to the fiery phoenix adorning one of the crests, "That's Gahedriel." Then to the silvery crouching dragon, "This is Sevosia." Hermione stared at the two mystical creatures in awe, "Even the color combinations are the same as ours! Look at Rekarlis," she indicated to the unicorn in blue background, "it reminds me of Ravenclaw. The wise… and this," she referred to the Pegasus, "Hazuria. Helga Hufflepuff's personal emblem had been of an identical Pegasus."
"You're saying that the four Founders of Hogwarts might have came from UWIM?" Harry asked sharply. Hermione smiled at his quick instinct, and nodded, "It's very likely… Hey, why don't we borrow this book out of the library and discuss it further somewhere else."
"Good idea." The ruly-haired boy agreed instantly. He then helped Hermione out of her seat, and both of them were out of the library in no time.
After that, they then headed off to the Astronomy tower, where, hopefully, they would be able to discuss in peace. The Gryffindor common room was noisy due to the fact that there was no class today, and the Suite was out of the question – Harry had been assigned to keep Hermione out of it until it was ready for the party.
Thankfully, the tower was empty, and both of them chose to sit opposite the window, enjoying the wind that came with the rain. Sprawled on their stomachs with the book in front of them, Harry placed a locking and silencing charm on the door, and Hermione thumbed through the book, finding the page where they had left off.
"Harry!" the brunette said excitedly, "It's here!"
'Many students who had graduated from UWIM took to spreading education throughout the world. In America, the famous Salem Academy of Magic has been founded by one of UWIM's earlier students, Isaac Phenari, an Honors student of Hazuria. Likewise, an Honors student – Isabelle fa Jenson, had established the French school – Beauxbatons. Several other schools and academies has also been created by several other graduates both individually and by groups.
'Nonetheless, the most notable among them all had been Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, founded by Masters students – Godric Gryffindor of Gahedriel, Helga Hufflepuff of Hazuria, Rowenya Ravenclaw of Rekarlis, and Salazar Slytherin of Sevosia. They had discussed the plans with their headmaster – Kristoph Kadamon, the then reigning monarch of the Universal Royal Family, who had readily agreed to help them. In fact, the castle in which Hogwarts now resides in had once been the summer palace for the Kadamons, and this was a gift from Headmaster Kadamon to the quartet for them to start their education of young wizards in their part of Europe. Ever since then, Hogwarts has become another great place of studying, and the Kadamon family still visit the castle frequently, though none of the students know where they reside when they arrive.'
"The Kadamon Suite." Hermione and Harry exclaimed in unison whilst Hermione continued, "This explains why Azrael and Silver know the palace so well. They come here more often than not!"
"It'll also explain why there were so many similarities to our houses." Harry mused, "I wonder if the antagonism between Sevosia and Gahedriel as bad as ours." The duo thought back to yesterday night, and shuddered. If the UWIM students were all as strong as the Court, then a fight between their houses would be considered a full-blown war in Hogwarts' terms.
"Gee, I hope not." Hermione whispered, still shivering from that thought. They then stopped reading, and stared at the rain together, feeling at ease with the silence. The duo continued on like this for quite some time, not talking, not reading, just enjoying one another's companionship, until…
"I like you, Mione." Harry spoke out suddenly to the resting girl beside him, startling both Hermione and himself. The brunette opened her eyes in surprise at those simple four words, but her eyes dimmed a little when she whispered, "Don't say this just to comfort me Harry." She then got up from her sprawling position and was about to bolt out of the room when Harry pulled at her wrist, causing her to tumble back into his arms that held her close, fearing that she would once again rush out of the room.
"I didn't." Harry spoke harshly as he enfolded the girl into a bone-crushing hug who continued to struggle in his embrace, speaking once more, "Believe me Mya, it wasn't pity. God, I've liked you since fifth year!"
The revelation shocked Hermione, and her thrashing hands stopped in mid-air.
"What?" She breathed, looking up at Harry's, whose face seemed flushed though those emerald eyes were dead serious.
"Yes, Hermione. I've liked you since fifth year." Harry repeated the last sentence syllable by syllable, knowing that the girl in his arms would take a long time to be convinced. As he had expected, Hermione was still staring at him as if he'd grown another head, and the boy sighed. Would it be so hard to knock this into her head? Harry questioned himself silently as he gazed at Hermione's dazed expression.
Honestly, do you like him?
Pearlsong's words once again rang in the brunette's head, sounding off the warning bells in her head. She had seen the look of gravity when Harry had repeated his words, and somehow, warmth seeped into her heart, making her tingle from head to toe. Should she confess? Or should she keep it to herself? These two thoughts warred in her head for quite sometime, but finally, under Harry's anxious stare, she whispered, "I like you too."
Hearing the words he had hoped to hear for so long, Harry gave a delighted whoop, and swooped down to give the girl a kiss. It had been intended to be chaste, but once lips met, the couple seared with passion, and it ended up becoming a kiss that ended both of them breathless.
"I love you, Mione." Harry mumbled softly, resting his head atop the girl's hair whilst Hermione hugged him close, feeling his heartbeat beating near her. They continued in this state for a long time, until he fished out a small box from his robes, saying in a rueful voice, "Here, this is for you."
"What's this?" Hermione asked, puzzled by the gift.
"A birthday gift from me to you." He replied, lightly scuffling the floor with his shoes, eyeing the girl bashfully as he wondered how she would react to it.
"Oh." She whispered, untying the ribbon in front. Opening the box, a simple silvery, heart-shaped pendant with a brilliant sapphire jewel in its center sat on its cushion of black velvet, its slender chain resting by the side.
"This is beautiful." Hermione breathed while she took out the necklace, the jewel sparkling brilliantly against the dim light.
"I thought of you immediately when I saw this," Harry said honestly, intercepting the necklace from her, "Here, let me."
He raised the necklace to Hermione's front whilst the girl pulled up her hair, allowing him to help her put of the necklace. After fastening the clasp of the necklace, Harry kissed the nape of her neck, murmuring, "Happy birthday Hermione."
Hermione smiled softly at this, allowing herself to fall back into his embrace. She placed her hand into the pocket of her robes, and on feeling something, jerked out of his hold.
"Harry, I've something to give you too." The brunette said suddenly, pulling out a velvet pouch. Opening it, she pulled out a necklace, she handed it over to Harry.
"What is this?" The ruly-haired boy asked, gazing at the intertwined snake and dragon.
"My mother gave it to me when I was three. A medallion, but I can never open it." Hermione explained, "Here, this is for you."
"But it's from your mother!" Harry protested. He had wanted to keep it for it was something Hermione wanted to give to him, but at the same time, he knew that this was something very precious to her, thus he could never take it from her.
"No. It's mine now, and I give it to you." Hermione replied firmly, placing the medallion in his hand and closing his fingers on it. In a lighter tone, she continued, "Besides, you're with me all the time. So what's the harm?"
Hearing this, Harry brought the girl into another strong hug, "Yes, Mya. I'll be with you forever."
In those mere minutes, time seemed to stand still, and the couple seemed to be in a separate universe altogether, until…
::Harry, can you bring Hermione up now? It's ready.::
The sudden question ended the sweet moment. Harry reluctantly broke the embrace and led his now-girlfriend out of the tower, speaking as they walked down the stairs hand-in-hand, "The guys are calling us for lunch. Let's go."
"Okay." Hermione smiled, taking the borrowed book in one hand as they made way for the nearest portrait that would lead them down to the Kadamon Suite…
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(A/N: I had wanted to leave it like this, prolonging her awakening to the next chapter, but ah well… I just couldn't do it!)
When they had entered into the main living room, Harry and Hermione were immediately bombarded with all sorts of streamers, confetti, and balloons.
"Surprise!" Everyone shouted at the startled Hermione whereas Harry pushed her to the center of the group, smiling at how well the surprise had gotten into her. Silverdawn had been led into the circle of people, carrying a large vanilla birthday cake that was decorated with fruits and sugar flowers. Sixteen candles were set atop the cake, and with a whispered command, the candles lighted by itself as their friends and the adults sang.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…"
Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes at the trouble her friends went through to help her celebrate her birthday. The song did not reach her ears though, for she was too caught up with the happiness to hear it. It was only until Ginny had urged her to "Blow up the candles, Mya!" did she regain her senses and made a wish before blowing off the candles that went off with huge 'pop' sounds.
"Food!" Azrael yelled enthusiastically when Harry was helping Hermione to cut the cake, much to the amusement of the others who had not forgotten his antics earlier on with the tarts. As expected, he had gone over to the food and took two tarts from one of the platter.
"Mione, have one of these." The prince offered eagerly to the still-smiling Hermione.
"Thanks." The brunette took one of the proffered pastry, after which, Azrael immediately took a huge bite out of the other, murmuring blissfully, "Finally."
Hermione looked on at his expression in a perplexed manner, not even tasting the tart yet, "Er… did I miss something?"
She received a huge bout of laughter from her friends at that question. The members of the Court were laughing so helplessly that Draco had winced at the sudden pain in his stomach for laughing too hard. Nonetheless, Silverdawn just frowned a little at her twin's jaunt, motioning her cousin to where the pile of presents was, "Nevermind Mya. Let's open the gifts."
Pearlsong smiled at the black-haired girl's suggestion, and added her own two-pence, "I agree, Hermione. There're quite a lot of them." Getting up from her seat beside Shadownight, she brought her charge to the carpeted place and Hermione's eyes widened at the amount of presents.
There were more than the usual four presents she had – two that she usually have from her parents though there wouldn't be any for her from them this year, and the other two from Harry and the Weasleys. On the carpet was more than a dozen presents, varying from different sizes, the smallest being a box that would fit snugly in her hand.
"Woah, that's more than I get for Christmas." Harry commented lightly at the number of gifts, sitting next to Hermione in front of the presents. The others had also gathered to watch keenly, and Lawrence encouraged, "Come on Mione, open them up!"
"Okay…" Hermione replied hesitantly, picking out one of the medium-sized parcel decorated in pale pink tissue from Amber. With a cautious hand, she unraveled the ribbon holding the gift together, and gasped as she took out the present from the gift box, "Amber! This dress is lovely!"
The gown, made entirely out of deep ultramarine velvet was held together by satin-like spaghetti straps that were weaved around small diamonds, its tight bodice sparkled with and inner light whilst the skirt was ankle-length and was basically stunning. The design of the dress was rather simple, but near the hem of the skirt sat a crouching silver dragon which spread out its wings lazily, looking as if it was ready to fly anytime.
"You designed this?" Hermione asked, smoothing invisible creases from the stunning gown. Amber smiled at her entranced look, satisfied that her friend liked the gift she had chosen, "Yes. This is the only one of this design, made especially for you."
"Thanks!" The birthday girl grinned, hugging Amber tightly before putting the gown carefully back into its box. She then took another parcel, and was rewarded with yet another surprise, "This smells nice!"
It had been a gift set consisting of different sorts of dark crystal vials – labeled shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, shower cream, bath salts etc. In short, it was all made for her bathing needs.
"Specially concocted to suit your personality. A present made with the help of Ash." Ron smiled bashfully, giving another note, "And Pro… uh, Uncle Severus helped with that conditioner thingy. We just couldn't make it right."
"Thanks Ron, Ash, Uncle." She touched the engraving on the vials, and smiled at the familiar handwriting – Ron's illegible scrawl, Ashteroth's methodical one, and Snape's cursive handwriting. Placing the parcel along with Amber's, she took another one up, a light present wrapped in simple brown paper.
"Ginny, this ensemble is wonderful!" Hermione gasped at the white turtleneck and asymmetrically cut leather black skirt that had a silver chain-belt. The material of the turtleneck wasn't expensive, but there was a certain sort of warmth and sincerity that came from it. Ginny blushed a little at her older friend's praise, replying shyly, "I got mom to teach me how to knit… I did the turtleneck myself. But the skirt, I had the design, and Lawrence had helped me in making it."
"Aww… I want a turtleneck too!" Hideaki complained, placing his hands on the fiery-headed girl's waist in a possessive manner that had the girl blush red.
"You'll get one for Christmas, Aki." Ginny mumbled softly, much to the glee of Hideaki whilst the others laughed at how open the boy was about liking Ginny. Hermione grinned at the couple, placing the clothes back in the box as she pulled out another, this time albeit heavier than the previous two. Untying the long box, she extricated the gift out of its package, eyes widening in surprise at the thing, "Azrael, don't you think that this is too… valuable?"
"Nonsense. You had your eyes on it for so long a time when we were at San Marie. I thought you might like it." Azrael replied, sapphire eyes twinkling at her shock.
"But this one costs hundreds of galleons!" Hermione's hand shook as she traced her finger over the jewel encrusted hilt.
"The money doesn't count. You'll have to learn how to use it though. This sword kinda has a mind of its own…" The prince trailed off when he saw the blade glow a milky blue as Hermione unsheathed the sword. Everyone looked on keenly, wondering what sort of enchantments this sword had whilst Adam arched an eyebrow at the weapon, wondering how it had landed into a shop in San Marie.
As the light dimmed, Hermione glanced at the elegant etchings at the base of the sword.
"Fidelius…" She murmured absently, "Where have I heard this name before…?"
"God knows." Azrael replied whilst Hermione sheathed the sword back, placing it together with the pile of opened presents, careful as to not break the fragile vials of potions.
"Well, it's a nice name." She mumbled, and Shadownight smiled, "Yes, the sword would be very good should it follow its name." Together, Pearlsong and Shadownight smiled enigmatically as they continued to watch the girl open her other gifts.
She received many other interesting presents – a box of pranks from Fred and George, a CD Walkman that could work in the Wizarding world by Hideaki (an invention from the Court two years back), a whole bunch of CDs of her favorite genres from Tristan and books on Animagus transformation, advanced potions making, charms, one on Dark Arts and another on Apparation courtesy of Blaise.
Nikolai, explaining that she had no idea what to buy for her, had gotten her several scrolls of parchment, all of different material, ranging from simple parchment paper to papyrus and bamboo, various colored inks on hearing that Hermione had a penchant for drawing, and a dozen angel feather quills, the most expensive that could be found on Earth.
::They were plucked from my own wings, so they should be easier to control. Hope you don't mind.:: Nikolai mindspoke sheepishly, giving her a two-fingered salute as Hermione smiled in return. She received another package of books – this time, of both muggle and Wizarding poets and philosophers, first editions. Apparently, someone had told Ashteroth how she adored their works, and Hermione hugged Ashteroth tightly, gushing about how she was delighted by the gift.
Lawrence had given her a case with a small platinum cauldron, many empty crystal phials and a load of potions ingredients that were not within Hogwarts' syllables, with some being ultra rare in England, not to mention, illegal.
"You might like a personal collection. All of us in the Court have one – just in case we need anything all of a sudden. The cauldron can be enlarged if necessary and the box can be shrunk like Silver's, though hers have all sorts of spells to contain an assortment of stuff." Lawrence explained, demonstrating how small the box could be shrunk. Hermione looked on with wonder at how the box could be so versatile, and beamed at the older boy, "Thanks Law!"
Lawrence grinned despite himself, and mussed up her hair in a brotherly manner, replying gruffly, "Glad you like it." He then passed another gift to her, this time, from Draco.
"Er…" Draco raked his hand over his fair hair, "I don't really know if you'd like it… But still, I hope you do."
Looking slightly puzzled, Hermione opened the box doubtfully, and gaped at its content.
"Gee, I've been wanting to get one since I saw Colin play with his. But how do I use it?" Hermione asked, eyes alight at the sleek, silver Wizarding camera that looked nothing like the old-fashioned ones she had seen before.
"It acts like the usual muggle camera, though the picture will appear in this book. I thought you wouldn't have liked going to the Wizarding photo express center…" Draco explained, fishing out the photo album that came along with the camera, "Try it."
Before he could continue, a bright light blinded him temporarily, and Draco felt as if he saw stars. When his vision cleared, the blond boy remarked dryly, "I did not say to try it on me."
"Oops?" Hermione intoned, putting the camera down as she opened the photo album to page one, where a picture was starting to emerge – of Draco blinking slightly in front of them, eyes dazed for a moment before contorting into a grimace. The people who saw the photo laughed, and slowly, words started to appear by the side, 'Draco, blinded by the camera'. Harry grinned at the photo, and Draco (in the picture) scowled slightly before shaking his head. The album was passed to Draco, who then muttered, "I charmed the album to write the title itself. Guess it went too far…"
And everyone laughed once more. Hermione then took another present from the diminishing pile, and gazed at the tag, 'Happy birthday Mya. This is a sort of pre-birthday gift. Hope you like it. Love, Silverdawn.'
"Pre-birthday?" Hermione asked in amusement whilst Silverdawn shrugged, replying, "Just open it, Mya."
Everyone else looked on in anticipation, wondering what Silverdawn had to give to the girl… only to be puzzled by its content.
"A mirror?" Amber asked, clearly dumbfounded.
"Huh?" Ginny wondered, looking at the small mirror in clear confusion.
The mirror was approximately four by five inches, encased in gold that was ornately carved, a teardrop diamond on the top the design. The reflection of Hermione winked back at herself, and Silverdawn smiled mysteriously, whispering into the girl's ears, "This mirror is special in that you can get anything you want within your possession via its portal. In short, it acts like a sub-space pocket. Try it."
"How?" Hermione asked, perplexed.
"Think of the object in your mind, and put your hand into the mirror."
Immediately, Hermione thought of Crookshanks, and with a doubtful look, placed a finger into the mirror. The surface started rippling like quicksilver (much to the shock of the onlookers) and feeling more confident, Hermione placed her entire hand in the mirror and touched something furry.
Very lightly, she pulled at it, and a tiny 'yelp' could be heard as Hermione hauled the cat out of the mirror, and into her lap.
Stunned, Tristan whistled, "Woah, Silver. This gadget is interesting."
"Thank you." Silverdawn smiled, placing a hand on Crookshanks fur, soothing him from the nap he had been taking before it was disrupted by Hermione pulling him out of his previous room.
"This acts like a portal." Hermione commented, placing the mirror on top of one of the gifts as Silverdawn grinned, "Yep. But it's only charmed for you to use exclusively. Use it well."
"Thanks." The Gryffindor laughed as she took opened the last of the presents. Shadownight, being clueless as to what females in particular liked receiving, gave her a pair of pearl drop-earrings. Tracy and Lucifer had presented her a remote control, that, when operated, will project a 15 inch LCD screen where she could choose any channel, both international and muggle to view via satellite. Salazar, not knowing what to buy too, gave her a tome on University Transfiguration, one on angels, another potions book that is written in all sorts of language and the book of history on UWIM, explaining that are some information that might like to look into.
Mikael, being practical as ever, gifted her two envelopes containing stacks of vouchers worth several hundred galleons – Hermione had stared at the amount in shock – one envelope could be used at any shop in Diagon Alley whilst the other could be used in San Marie. No doubt he had predicted that she would prefer to buy books herself than for him – a complete outsider – to choose for her. Adam, on the other hand, apologized for lacking a present while he explained that his 'gift' had not been ready, and that he could only give it to her later this week.
Finally, only one present had been left. But before she could open it, Pearlsong spoke up, "Hermione, it occurred to me that you don't have an owl or any other messenger… So, I've gotten you her instead."
With that, the dragonkin gave a sharp whistle, and a bird appeared from nowhere, bursting into silvery-white flames. Everyone looked at the bird in awe, whilst Pearlsong continued, "this is a thunderbird. Its species is smaller compared to their relatives – the firebirds. But I thought you might like it."
The pure white creature swooped down to rest on Hermione's shoulder, and gingerly, the girl patted the bird's feathers, "she's beautiful… thanks Pearlsong!"
"You're welcome… what are you going to name her?" Pearlsong asked, looking at the bird interact with her new master.
Hearing her guardian's words, Hermione fixed her steady gaze at the thunderbird's jade green eyes, "Hmm… she'll be Constance." The bird nipped her hand affectionately at the name, as if acknowledging her new name, and Hermione smiled. Pearlsong then spoke something in a weird language, and the bird vanished into thin air, startling many of the people.
"Where…?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"Don't worry, Constance's sent to the owlery. She can stay there until required." Pearlsong assured her ward, and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, continuing, "Now, the last present."
Everyone eyed the gift curiously, and Severus Snape felt a little uneasy, wondering if the girl might like his gift. Hermione knew by the shape of the parcel what it was, but speculated inwardly about how he knew of her liking towards it. Undoing the latches, she carefully opened the lid…
… and gasped at the violin.
It was a exquisite piece of art, made of dark, ebony-colored wood, its finish smooth and reflected light at all directions. At the back of the violin were the initials 'SS' engraved at the bottom.
"This had been yours?" Hermione asked, surprised by the fact that their potions master knew how to play the violin.
"It's yours now though. Try it." Severus replied dryly, and the girl raised the bow, playing an octave. The notes rang true, clear and musical, surprising Hermione very much.
It has a beautiful voice…
She then tested a high octave, pleasantly surprised that it did not screech, and proceeded to try an ultra-low one. That, too, gave a wonderful pitch. Stunned, she stopped playing, murmuring softly, "This violin has a wide range of pitch! Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome. Play some more." The black-haired man urged whilst the others nodded their heads, hoping to hear more of her playing. Giving in to their requests, the girl stood up, and played the tune of Carmen. The music that should have been enchanting turned into something more in her hands – her audience could literally feel the thoughts of Carmen the gypsy lady, the seductive music making everyone go through the play as if they were witnessing it first hand.
Hermione just closed her eyes, allowing her hands take over her mind, letting the music flow smoothly without inhibition, until…
She was lying on a bed in a medical ward, tired.
"Why are you doing this Lucius?"
A hard bang was heard against the wall, and she felt herself shiver whilst trying to cover her child from the man's view.
"You're going back with me, now." And he apparated the lady, her child and himself out of the room.
The music stopped abruptly, causing everyone to snap out from their trance as Hermione's eyes began to glaze.
::Oh shit.:: Lucifer and Mikael both cursed at the same time. They then started setting shields on each and everyone of them while Silverdawn carefully took the violin from Hermione's limp hands, placing it back into the casing whilst Azrael waved his hand over the presents, making them disappear from the living room.
Before everyone could wonder why Azrael had done what he did, Mikael had pulled all of the students into one corner, putting a powerful shielding ward on them all. Pearlsong became alert at once, pushing Salazar and Severus – both of whom were thoroughly muddled – into the shield whilst Shadownight grabbed her wrists and pulled her into the one that protected himself, Adam and Tracy.
Amidst the confusion, Metatron shimmered into being, and Silverdawn smiled grimly at the angel.
::It has started.:: Metatron spoke to his liege, his eyes bleak.
::Yes. Riley, get into that shield now.:: Silverdawn ordered, and Azrael ducked into the shield immediately while his sister placed another shield on herself.
They were now in the dungeon once again… Narcissa looked battered, but still, she continued to protect her friend. Another last of the whip made her scream, but she held on, not wanting her friend or goddaughter get hurt.
"This is for disobeying me woman." Lucius spoke harshly, serving yet another bout of whipping to the crouching figure of his wife. The lashing continued for quite a long while, and Athena felts tears well in her eyes on seeing her friend's already pale face go whiter.
Finally, Narcissa fainted.
"Dobby, take her away." Lucius ordered, disgusted by the bloodied heap of body…
Hermione started glowing in a steady manner, much to the shock of her friends, Salazar and Severus. Her body pulsed blue, emanating a light that continued to grow more intense by the seconds…
"Why, Lucius, why betray Sev?" Athena asked as she felt intense pain at her back, where five angry slashed now resided.
"I wanted you Athena. For myself." Lucius whispered, trailing a finger over her cheek before pulling her roughly to face him, "Severus took you from me."
"I never loved you." The black-haired woman spat venomously, "You bastard."
The vulgarity earned her a slap of her face, and Athena felt her face stinging as she wiped blood from her mouth. Using what little power she had left, she crammed gravity into the man's slim frame, and was rewarded by his screams of pain before he fainted. Slouching against the wall, she took some time to catch her breath before calming the child in other arm, "Shh… darling. I'll get you out of her."
She then staggered out of the dungeon, and immediately disapparated out of the Manor, knowing that Lucius would wake up in mere seconds. After that, she gave into a bout of coughs…
"Hermione." Harry's heart lurched on seeing his beloved glow, her eyes turning into a dark shade of brown. Draco stared at Silverdawn who was still outside the shield, worried at she might get hurt, and was about to step out of the shield when Azrael placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"No Draconis. She will have to be there." Azrael spoke seriously, his demeanor going into full-prince mode. Draco sobered at his words, knowing that Azrael would never allow Silverdawn to be outside if it was dangerous for her, thus she would be safe no matter what happens. Yet, deep in his heart, he still felt anxiety…
"Severus, please listen to me," Athena pleaded, "Don't follow Voldemort anymore. It's getting more dangerous now!"
In the cozy living room of their house, Severus Snape paced around the room, frustrated about the quarrel they are once again having.
"Athena, Voldemort has already given his blessings for our being together." The black-haired man tried to calm his fiancée, but to no avail.
"Sev, that man's pure evil. If he knew who you and I are, he'd kill you first!" Athena all but screamed. She too was upset about the number of times they had to quarrel about this. Her soulmate placed a comforting hand on her thigh, asking, "Why are you starting this squabble again?"
"Because – " we're going to have a child, and I want her to be safe. The words never came out, for she knew that once it did, she might have been sent back to the castle to keep her safe. No, she did not want to leave her fiancé, no matter what the reason.
"Because I don't want you to play with fire. Do you know that every time you go for a Revel, I sit back, fearing with all my life that I might lose you to some Auror? Severus, please, don't do this to me." Athena spoke, tears starting to form in her eyes. Severus's eyes hardened at her words. He felt pained by what she had said, but he could not defect so soon, not when he had been able to gain so much information from the Dark side.
"You know I can't give up now. I've finally gotten his trust." The man muttered.
"So you would not defect?"
"Not now."
"So be it." Athena spoke quietly, walking out of the room, and with this departure, walked out of the life of Severus Snape – though not by her own willing.
The ground started to quake violently… the light that Hermione emanated could be considered as bright as a small sun now, and everyone other than the angels had to shield their eyes from the intense light. Another four angels shimmered into existence, standing at the four cardinal points with Hermione as the central focus. Their sigils flared on their foreheads as they murmured shields to minimize the damage the earthquake is wrecking.
Athena was running, running, running...
The night was cold, but she held on, whispering to the baby in her hands whilst she continued her staggering way to the portal in the middle of the garden labyrinth at the end of this park.
She never reached there on time though… for she was losing too much blood. Ever since she had apparated over to this place, where the nearest Angelic portal was situated, she felt her own life-force seep away, but willed herself to go on, not for her sake, but for her daughter's. Her wings could not be summoned, whether was it due to exhaustion or pain, she knew not why.
Thus, when she finally collapsed and a pair of arms held her steadily, Athena thanked all the gods above, and had placed her child in the care of the two muggles.
"Please, kind lady, look after her. Look after my Mione."
And she died there, in the arms of a stranger, whilst her fiancé, father of her child, thought she had betrayed him for not listening to her pleas.
The betrayal that hurt for sixteen years – all because of a stupid quarrel that led to her being kidnapped for a duration of eight months.
The dark imprisonment that brought about despair in Athena's heart.
To the child that was born – their only child.
A child of light, and of good things to come.
Hermione could take it no longer. The sudden intrusion of foreign memories made her want to scream in pain. She had wondered why she kept dreaming about Athena, and why she felt so comfortable with the black-haired woman, and somehow, everything was starting to make sense.
For Athena Kadamon was in fact her own mother!
The past memories of her mother was coming into her more rapidly now, from her younger years to the times she had training with her brother Adam, to the romantic times she had with Severus… father…
Suddenly, an eight-pointed star sigil flared on her head, shooting a beam of bright light into the sky. The blue light surrounding her pulsed even more vivid than before, and finally, Hermione screamed.
A loud, painful scream that tore from her throat as everyone winced at the heart-wrenching sound. The earth beneath them shuddered even more violently now, and several archangels shielded the people whilst the four elemental angels continued holding up the wards, the two dragonkin mapping out shields to prevent any possible destruction of property within the living room, all of them awaiting grimly for the last phase of the awakening.
"Nooo!!!" Hermione cried agonizingly, falling into her knees as the Glamourie that had hid her true features till now finally faded away. She started to grow, gaining inches until she stood about 1.75m, her body still slender as usual, but paler than the regular tan she had. Chocolate-brown eyes darkened to obsidian black before lightening into a brilliant shade of blue whilst her waist length hair faded into a rare silver. The color stayed only for a few seconds though – the color changed once again, darkening to light blond, then brown, and finally settling at raven-black curls.
That was not all, the most interesting part was when another beam of light shot out from her back as a pair of pure, white wings formed, pushing itself out of her back as blood seeped out, streaking the feathers a bright red. The magnitude of the earthquake multiplied as Hermione hugged herself, trembling convulsively.
Transformation complete, Silverdawn took over immediately.
Giving her father a quick nod, she lifted the wards and shields she had previously placed on her cousin to prevent her from actually killing anyone with the energy she discharged out of her body, praying fervently that there would be no more 'light shows'. With the wards down, everyone was now in a very vulnerable state, whereby anyone could get killed far too easily for comfort.
Adam, like he had done in the last four times, crept up to the girl at a lightning-quick speed and delivered a light but effective blow in her abdomen that knocked her out immediately.
Before anyone could notice, the glow surrounding Hermione dissipated gradually, and Harry rushed to hold the unconscious girl in his arms. At the same time, Draco ran over to the exhausted Silverdawn, and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, alternating between kisses and scoldings, "Never, do anything like that again. You'd give me a heart attack!"
The black-haired girl just smiled weakly, allowing him to carry her over to one of the couches. She glanced over at where the two Snapes were standing, and saw the look of disbelief on one of their faces.
Severus Snape stared at the comatose girl in the arms of the boy who lived, taking in her hair and facial features with something akin to shock. Walking over to the girl, he whispered to himself, "No it can't be…"
As he stood beside Adam, who was talking quietly to Pearlsong, he saw the still glowing eight-pointed star sigil, and paled further.
"Athena?"
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End of chapter 19
Geez, this chapter is the longest yet, almost 11,000 words long! It's 3:30 in the morning, and God! I'm having a backache after sitting here for so long, trying to get it out correctly! Still, there are several parts in this chapter that's a little illogical. So tell me what you think, and I'll try to change it if need be.
Woo hoo! I've watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!!! This movie has more action, and I had been giggling at the scene where Lockhart and Severus saluted with each other. Bloody hilarious (in my point of view). Draco looked fairly cute too! What did you guys like about this newest movie? I'd like to hear about them =)
Mmm… I can't wait for Prisoner of Azkaban to be out. I wanna see who's acting as Remus and Sirius! Hee hee, well, I'm also looking forward to see them transform from animagi to human and vice-versa.
Um, crap aside, time for reviews!!!
Eliza ~ I've posted! And it's faster than the last one. Hope you like this chappie!
Honey666 ~ Sorry about delaying her birthday so much. but hey! I've finally gotten it out, so how's it?
cherrity ~ So, how do want Sev's reaction to Hermione being his daughter to be? Outraged? Shocked? There'll be some open discussions in the next chapter. Be sure to catch that!
Madame Padfoot ~ I still wish to add steamy scenes… but I'm not good at writing them! *argh* Ah well, I'll see what I can concoct up…
Belle ~ Severus had tried to find Athena after those months, but no one knew where she was. And Narcissa only found out that Athena was in her home all along eight months after she was captured. After that, she had been threatened by Lucius not to breathe a word to anyone. So Sev thought Athena had left him after the last quarrel. As for Sev not knowing Hermione's birth, Athena never had a chance to tell him. Hope this answers your questions!
Zara ~ Oh goodie. Another person supporting me to add steamy parts. Yay!
Mary Potter ~ Aww… don't cry. *hands out some tissue paper* I have a feeling this chapter is just as sad…
As de corazones ~ Yup! I received your mail! As for the lady who trained Hermione, we'll see who see is later on. Wow! No school for three months? I'm jealous… *pouts* I've only got a month or two, and I still have to go back to school more often than not!
Chavi ~ Okie, I've written. There! Fresh from the oven! Er, computer! *grins*
ElvenFaerie ~ well, I hope that when you've finished reading this chapter, you'll have another happy day!
SilverMoon ~ Nope, the lady in Hermione's dreams isn't Athena. And, *grins slyly* you were right about that couple, they'll be one of those involved. As for the other, I'll give a hint – HH. Realize anything?
Qrackie ~ Hee hee, I like weird names too. As for the father-daughter thing? I'm sorry if I've confused you too much, but Sev is Hermione's father.
Maxennce ~ The ideas varied… The overall concept of an exchange programme came from Kyohaku Celestiale Vespertina's fanfic, while the others were originally from me. Before I started writing this fic, I've read one or two stories about Sev being Hermione's father, so I've tried one myself. As for a black robed seer, it's the highest level attained by seers, the most powerful of them all. (albeit clichéd, don't you think?)
Li-chan ~ That piece of paper was Hermione's birth certificate =) and I'm glad that you liked that Professor Belial bit. It was rather fun writing it. *lol*
hazeleyez ~ That's the problem. Now, I'll have to think of how the explanations are gonna be done, and how Hermione and Sev will react to it… *rubs temple* I'm having a headache just thinking of it!
Loves_Kiss ~ How did you find the way they dosed those four with potions? Amusing? I should hope so! *grins*
Tracy ~ Ooh… hope you'd do well in your upcoming exams gal! Just spare some time reading this though =þ
bubblegum*girl ~ I'll email you something sometime this week to clear the family tree doubt. Hermione does have several titles, though they aren't as significant as her cousins. And yes, you were very sharp. Her Court name, like Tracy, will be Star. As for pronunciations, Azrael is pronounced (in my opinion) as 'ares-ra-el' and Ashteroth is pronounced 'Ash-ter-roth'. Quite simple, isn't it? You don't have to follow it if you don't want to though!
Ameal Kensig ~ *frustrated* I've been trying to think of someone for him to pair off, but couldn't really find someone suitable. Hmm… would people mind if he was a gay??? (No offense meant)
Melodi ~ Sorry, but I've only finished writing now. But hey! I've posted it up as soon as I've finished!
Dark Angel ~ Nope, it wasn't Harry's mom. And as you've pointed out the seven (I hadn't been sure before) under Lucifer, I'll alter the story immediately. And yes! You were right – it had been Hermione's birth certificate! And about her powers… hmm, maybe yes, maybe not… I haven't decide…
Omni ~ Hee, I hadn't explain what the potions are for. So which one are you confused about? I'll try to explain!
jd ~ Yes! The angels are fun to write about, their being good, pure and all!
Eclectia88 ~ Yup, Josh had been modeled about the elf everybody (well, most people) love. talk about hot! Well, I hoped you're satisfied by the answer I gave in the chapter!
britches ~ *apologetic* Mikael and Blaise will have to wait until I've settled Hermione's realization of her true heritage. *Groans* I've having a hard time catching up with the different couples in this story!
GothicTemptress ~ Okie, the scenes should be up next chapter!
Meritisis ~ *laughs* I've got it all right =) thanks for the compliment!
Shadowblade ~ You know, I really like you! Cos' you're always there to point out my hilarious mistakes, and it'll prompt me not to make them again! Thanks!
Eden ~ All right! Another person agreeing with me putting up those scenes!
starbrite ~ Chapter 19 out!!! Finally!
moonheart ~ *grins* Glad you like it! What you say is true. I feel as if this chapter isn't good enough, cos' I've rushed it out!
ilovespike-02 ~ *smiles* You *might* be correct… I'll mail you later in the week about the documents. Well, the angels and devils come from the bible (yes, you've got that right), and other sources while UWIM and the Court were from the figment of my imagination! And thanks for those fuzzy wishes =) Happy that you don't haveta wait a month for this chapter?
Dragonsbane ~ I've updated! Glad that this fic kept you company 6_-!
baderis ~ Mikael and Blaise aren't it, but the other two are! You've guessed it right!
PunkyPrincess ~ Well, I've gotten this chapter out on your birthday! Hope you like it! Oh! Hermione's birthday is September 19th.
howling wolf ~ uh… I'm not particularly into mailing… I'll try, but no promises!
Melian Nilromen ~ Typing typing… hee, finished!
warm in pink fuzzy pants ~ *curious* Are you Korean? And okie, I'll be most likely posting up some of such scenes!
JoeBob1379 ~ The mindspeech was slowly learnt when they adapt more to the various languages. The Court taught them! As for the steamy scenes, I'll post a notice before it starts, so you can continue reading, or just skip on! Hope you wouldn't mind, but quite a lot of them agreed…
Okie, that's all for reviews.
Hope you guys liked this story thus far!
Toodles
SilverDawn
P/s : oops, the chapter overshot 12000 words. Uh oh…