Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; it all belongs to JK Rowling. I suppose I own the plot, in a way. And I definitely own the two prophecies!
Summary: In dark times, prophecies predicted the rising of five who would have the power alone to defeat evil. They were the Pack.
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~ The Pack ~
Chapter Nine: Roaring Magic
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When Hermione, Sirius and Remus Apparated outside the main gates of the Hogwarts grounds, the impatient cheers and screams from the students waiting in the stands for the teams to come out could be heard loud and clear.
"I guess that's our cue to join them." Hermione grinned.
As they walked in through the gates that magically opened to let them in, there were loud Crack!s behind them, and a voice called: "Hey, Order-Pack hybrids!"
Hermione smiled as they turned around. Only one person in the world would call them Order of the Phoenix-cum-Pack hybrids, and she was standing with Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mundungus Fletcher, her hair a violent shade of pink that changed to violet as they walked towards the three at the gates.
"'Llo, people," Dung greeted them cheerfully. "Go' your wan' ready, Sirius?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows accusingly at Sirius, who shrugged. "What? I couldn't resist telling them."
"Yeah, and we're mighty pleased, I can tell you that!" the woman chuckled. "Who better to suit my renegade uncle, I ask you."
"Nice to see you too, Tonks." Sirius groaned, always insulted when Tonks insisted on referring to him as her uncle - it made him feel old, and with a 17-year-old 'girlfriend', that really didn't help.
"So, been practicing your duelling, youngster?" Moody growled at Hermione with one of his most friendly looks. "We've all got a few tricks up our sleeves for the Slytherins today too - don't think Dumbledore will be too pleased, but he'll be glad at heart, you know him."
"None of us are going to rest easy until we find out Voldemort's location, Moody," Remus told him. "The Order hasn't exactly been helpful." he added teasingly.
"Come, Remus, we've been trying," Kingsley said in his deep voice. "But the man isn't a snake for nothing, you know."
The cheers suddenly grew louder.
"I think it's time to go." Hermione said.
They approached the Quidditch pitch and found seats in the Gryffindor stands near Ginny, Dean, Lavender, Parvati and Neville. Parvati seemed particularly interested in Sirius, who, with his haircut and un-sunken handsome looks, did not resemble the Sirius Black the magical world still feared somewhat much.
"Hey, Professor Lupin, Professor Moody!" Dean greeted them cheerfully. "How come you came for the match?"
"Let's just say it's a special match, boy," Moody growled with the smile that twisted his face.
Hermione was sitting right behind Tonks (who was entertaining Parvati and Lavender with her various noses), with Sirius and Neville on either side of her. She felt a poke, and looked at Neville. "Hey there, Neville, how've you been?"
"All right," he responded. "It's going to be a really scary match, isn't it? I mean - I've seen the things the teams have been trying to do to each other all morning."
Hermione nodded, and tried to quell the flutter of anxiety at the thought of Harry and Ron up there, wandless against the Slytherin team, and relatively vulnerable.
"Looks like we weren't the only ones interested in the match," she heard Remus say quietly to Kingsley and Sirius, who both turned their heads.
Hermione felt Sirius's hand close around hers, and his expression darkened. "Death Eater scum." She heard Moody distinctly snarl, making Tonks look up and scowl across the stands. Lucius Malfoy, Adrian Crabbe and Dan Nott were sitting with the Slytherins, darkly observing the Gryffindor section and no doubt there to 'support' their sons and send a very clear message.
Mundungus, she noticed, had fallen asleep.
The match hadn't even begun and already there was enough tension in the air to resemble a battlefield's calm before the storm.
When the teams came out of the changing rooms and mounted their brooms, there was indeed a storm of deafening cheering, shrieks and boos from all sides of the crowd. Hermione crossed her fingers tightly, gripped Sirius's hand hard with her other and shrieked herself hoarse, her eyes fixed on Harry and Ron, who were grinning and looking admirably at ease. Malfoy, too, she noticed with a scowl, looked unbearably arrogant and he flew so close to Gryffindor stands that she could almost see the unmistakable glint in his eyes as they flicked to her for a moment.
And also unmistakably, she heard Sirius utter a low growl, and couldn't help smiling.
Madam Hooch signalled for the captains to shake hands, and Harry and Malfoy stepped forward, and it looked like they were trying to break each other's wrists. Then Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the teams took off into the air, admist a storm of cheers.
Seamus, who was now a Chaser on the team, got the Quaffle.
The Gryffinor-Slytherin Quidditch match had begun.
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It was about a quarter of an hour later, fifteen minutes that had been packed with unbearable tension as Gryffindor scored thirty points and the Slytherins grew more violent, that Ginny suddenly let out a squeal of distress. "Ron!" She squeaked, pointing at the goalposts at the redhaired Keeper.
Hermione snapped her gaze upwards and felt her heart drop. Ron's broom was shaking violently, so violently that she looked like he might fall off, and his face, she could see, was pale from strain and fear. Nobody else had noticed, because Harry and Malfoy were in a streaking dive, both fighting to gain the lead in pursuit of what must have been the Snitch.
Across the pitch, Nott Senior was muttering non-stop under his breath, his evil eyes focused on Ron.
"Silencio." Five voices muttered at the same time. A streak of invisible light flew across the pitch and Nott's expression suddenly changed. Ron's broom steadied itself.
"Eh? Wha'appened?" Dung drawled dazedly, finally awaking at the sounds of Sirius, Moody and Tonks cursing at the top of their lungs.
Remus patted him on the shoulder. "Go back to sleep, Dung, we'll wake you when the match is over."
"Aw'rite."
"Those - those bastards." Hermione swore angrily, her fists white with rage as she watched Ron regain his balance.
Sirius and Neville both looked at her. "Why, 'Mione, I'm impressed." Sirius teased, winking at Neville.
She smirked.
A while later, Madam Hooch blew the whistle for half-time. Normally, Quidditch matches didn't have half-times (they didn't even have halves, because no one knew when they would end), but everyone could plainly see why it was necessary this time. Professors McGonagall and Sprout, Hermione could see, were staring at the Slytherins, white with suppressed rage.
Hermione stood up, narrowing her eyes at the Slytherin parents. "I'm going to go get a glass of pumpkin juice," she said calmly to the large group around her. "Anyone want anything?"
"I'll have one too," Neville piped up.
"Sure thing." Hermione nodded. Behind her, Hagrid had appeared, having obviously seen the match from his cabin so far. He looked enraged and began venting at once with Remus and Kingsley, who tried to calm him down, and with Moody, who only emphasised his points by smacking his fist. Hermione looked at Sirius for a second; he was staring at her, and she knew he was trying to figure out what she was doing. "Tonks, come with me, would you?" She asked the Metamorphagus.
Tonks obligingly hopped up. "Let's go." She said cheerfully.
Hermione led the way down into the circular path that led through the stands and towards the refreshment counter. As they disappeared from view of the Gryffindors for a moment, Hermione knew Sirius had been watching them all the way. "I need you to do something for me," She asked Tonks.
The woman grinned. "I thought you might. Speak, and I shall obey."
Hermione smiled slightly. "Over here," She indicated Pansy Parkinson, who was standing by the pumpkin juice. No one else was in sight. She pulled out her wand. "Stupefy." The Slytherin girl keeled over, Stunned.
Tonks' eyebrows shot up. "Well!"
"Can you become her?" Hermione asked. "Take on her features? She was sitting very closely to Lucius Malfoy, and if you could take her place for the match, you could slyly deflect his spells and prevent him from even realizing what's hit him - Auror skills, remember? The others need to concentrate on keeping Malfoy Junior, and the rest of the team's tricks at bay, and Remus and I can handle Nott and Crabbe."
Tonks's mouth broke into a wide, appreciative grin. "Lucius Malfoy . . . I like it. And I like you, Hermione, so I'll be more than happy to do this." She screwed up her face, watching Pansy, and the next second, Pansy Parkinson stood in front of Hermione. "Time to get into action." She winked and strolled away.
Hermione watched until Tonks was safely, and innocently, sitting in the Slytherin stands with a glass of juice and then turned to the Stunned, real Parkinson. "Invisego." she smiled, pointing her wand at the unconscious body. It vanished, and Hermione bent down and tugged it into a corner between two beams of the stands. Pansy would stay there, Stunned and invisible, until Hermione came back.
Wicked as it was, it gave her a flicker of satisfaction to get one over the girl who had taunted and rivalled her for years.
Turning around, she headed back to her place. The members of the Order and the Pack stared at her as she approached, and Hermione could see a flicker of amused understanding in Remus's eyes.
"Where's Tonks?" Ginny asked, frowning, puzzled.
"She had something to do." Hermione replied blithely, tilting her head ever so slightly in the direction of the Slytherin stands. Ginny looked across and seemed to understand something, because she stifled a giggle.
Sirius frowned at Hermione. "Where'd you go?" he asked.
"Pumpkin juice." She replied, staring at the pitch where the teams were regrouping to begin the second part of the match.
"Oh come on," Sirius scorned, a slight edge to his voice. "You can't lie to me that easily. You don't have any juice in your hand and I noticed you forgot to bring Neville any."
Hermione glanced apologetically at Neville. "Yeah well, what does it matter where I went?" she asked in as level a tone as she could. Sirius was rather angry about something, and she wasn't exactly desperate to provoke him.
"It matters if you were with Malfoy Junior."
"Excuse me?" Hermione's jaw dropped.
Sirius crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw set. "He did disappear off the pitch for a while when you were gone."
"And the possibility that he was talking to his father or one of his father's cronies, for ideas to sabotage Harry, didn't enter your mind?" She demanded indignantly. They were both keeping their voices low, so as not to attract any attention, but she could feel Remus's concern.
"If that was what happened, then where did you go?" Sirius asked in a hard voice, the angry muscle active again. Hermione was growing angry herself, and was feeling considerably hurt at Sirius's lack of trust, so she didn't see the flicker of pain in his eyes.
She narrowed her eyes at the Quidditch players, mounting their brooms again. "That's none of your business." she said evenly, keeping the coldness out of her voice as much as possible. Her heart was beginning to feel like a needle was pricking it.
"Really?" Sirius's voice was tightly controlled, but it shook with the reckless anger that the Marauder was so well-known for. "Then why do I have to believe you weren't with Malfoy?"
"Padfoot . . ." Remus's voice spoke up quietly.
"Stay out of this, Moony!" Sirius barked.
Hermione felt her hackles rise, and turned in her seat to face Sirius fully. "There's a simple thing called trust, Sirius, but you obviously don't feel that." her voice was low, but vibrated with intense anger. "Would it make you feel better, I wonder, if I told you I was with Malfoy? Would you actually believe me, I wonder, if I said that where I was was actually down by the refreshment stand, pressed between two beams and getting my tongue sucked out by Malfoy?"
She regretted the words as soon as they were out, because Sirius's face drained of all colour and there was a clear flash of pain in his dark eyes. He broke the stare and turned his gaze to the Quidditch pitch.
"I'm sorry." She said, swallowing hard to fight back tears. "I didn't mean that. Sirius."
"Well, at least you're capable of honesty." His voice was hard, indifferent.
Forget a needle. This was a knife, stabbing her brutally with every word. "You actually believe I was with Malfoy?" She choked out.
He didn't reply. Hermione blinked back tears. Forget Hogwarts and forget getting into trouble for interferring. She tilted her wand at Harry, and then at Ron, and for both, muttered: "Protectus." A bubble of highly advanced light exploded from her wand and encircled them both, and their brooms, an invisible shield against curses and hexes. Her work was done here.
"They should be safe." She said quietly, directing this to the rest of the group, who were all shifting awkwardly and sympathetically. Slowly, she turned around and slipped past Neville through the crowd and down out of the stands. For a moment, she stood at the bottom of the pitch, watching the streaks of red and green high above.
"Good luck." She murmured, before heading towards the winding path that led down to the gates. Before she could get out of the pitch area, however, the sound of explosive cheering suddenly broke through her thoughts and she whirled around to see red streaks descending to the ground and equally scarlet colors flocking from the stands.
Gryffindor won. Harry won. This time, the Pack had won.
She tried to feel elated, but it was only a quiver of satisfaction that pierced her emotions. With a sigh, she remembered that she had something to do and went back to the refreshment stand. With her foot, she found the solid shape between the beams and murmured the counter-curse. Pansy's frame appeared. Hermione sighed. "Enervate." - The girl stirred, and Hermione decided it was time for her to go.
She had just turned around the bend in the circular passageway of beams when a blond figure in green robes swaggered towards her. Just what I need right now . . . She thought with a sigh.
"Enjoyed the match, Granger?" Malfoy asked with a vicious sneer.
"Yeah, I'd say it was pretty good." Hermione crossed her arms. "Harry and Ron played great."
Malfoy's eyes narrowed and in a quick movement, he was standing right in front her, and she was pushed against a beam, with no escape route. Malfoy was sweaty, and it wasn't the sexy sheen that Sirius had, but a filthy, grimy sort that didn't go well with his sour expression.
"I may have lost to your beloved Potter," Malfoy snarled, "But I'm not going to lose this little game. How do you think Potter and Weasely will feel when they find out I got the better of their precious little best friend?"
"Stay away from me." Hermione snapped, beginning to feel a litle nervous, because with her wand tucked into her robe pockets, and Malfoy's hands beginning to snake onto her body, she was helpless. "I wouldn't kiss you if you - "
"Were the last man on earth?" Malfoy mocked. "A bit corny, don't you think?" He tried to kiss her, but she ducked her head. Oh God, somebody come rescue me.
The sound of footsteps jerked Malfoy's roving head back, and a cool voice said, "Maybe I was a fool, but I didn't expect this."
Hermione closed her eyes. Anyone but him.
Malfoy glowered at Sirius. "What do you want, Black?" he demanded angrily. "Granger and I were busy."
"So I could see." Sirius's expression was sardonic. "But it looks like she's not in the mood right now for whatever you had in mind, so maybe you could back off before I utter the words 'Avada Kadavra' with my wand out. You should know by now that I'm well-known as a 'killer'."
Malfoy took a few steps away from Hermione, who felt her entire body relax with relief and then tighten again because of Sirius standing there so accusingly. "Next time, Granger," he drawled coldly, "You won't be able to rebuff me so easily."
He stalked off, and Sirius's brow furrowed slightly, as if what Malfoy had said that surprised him. Hermione felt sick, and risked a glance in Sirius's direction. He looked at her, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione shook her head slightly.
At that moment, Tonks appeared, racing towards them around the bend that Malfoy had disappeared around. She skidded to a halt, looking wildly excited.
"What is it?" Hermione asked softly.
Tonks seemed to sense the tension, but she didn't comment. Instead, she grinned broadly. "Does Glenwood moor mean anything to you?"
"Huh?" Sirius frowned, and he looked between Hermione and Tonks, his expression draining slightly as he seemed to finally understand what Hermione had really been off doing. He looked at her, but she refused to meet his eyes.
"According to a few words from Lucius Malfoy," Tonks said with a smug smile, "Glenwood moor is where 'the Dark Lord' hangs around these days."
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TBC.
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A/N: The next update may take a couple of days (unless I can finish another chapter in the next couple of hours), but I hope to finish the story before I go out of town on Saturday or Tuesday - please keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing! Enjoy! -->