Chapter seven: Moonlight, Pain, and
Shadows
Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating every particle of her being on what she was about to do. If anyone had been watching her in her room that night, they would have seen a witch one moment, and then after a cloud of sparkling dust, gorgeous scarlet and blue feathers shimmering in the candlelight. Hermione Granger had become the first Animagus to turn into a phoenix. The mere fact that she had the courage to become an unregistered Animagus at all surprised her at first. But with all the ominous warnings of Voldemort's uprising, she believed that it would be best if she could turn into an animal and sneak out of the castle to gather information. And it would be best if no one knew about it, not even the boys. Even Ron would disapprove of her becoming a spy. For months she read every possible written text on the subject. Then when she finally attained enough concentration to transform her entire body, she was even more astonished to find out she had turned into a phoenix. Although she obviously couldn't live through fire, (at least she wasn't brave enough to test it), she was quite intelligent, very loyal and was able to take on huge burdens onto herself, whether it was schoolwork or her secret pledge to protect Harry and everything she loved from Voldemort. These were all characteristic of a phoenix. Of course her plans as a spy were somewhat hindered, as a phoenix is quite a noticeable creature, so she contented herself with wandering in the Forest sometimes, communicating with centaurs and unicorns. They didn't disappoint her, though. Eventually the creatures sensed she wasn't wholly phoenix, but they respected her all the same and told her about their increasing feelings of foreboding. She wanted to ask Firenze about the omen, anyway. Hermione immediately flew out her window to catch up to Eve.
As she silently flapped her wings, she was reminded of the first time she flew. The feeling of pure, unadulterated exhilaration and freedom filled her soul. She felt the wind caressing her whole body, as she felt lighter than the feathers covering her body. Then she began to test her magical abilities. One day she sneaked into Hagrid's cabin, transformed, and lifted one of his enormous weights he used sometimes. Hmmmm, she thought, bringing herself back to the present, she's going quite deeply into the forest. Finally Eve stopped in the middle of a small clearing, where the moonlight bathed the ground. Even the trees seemed more eerie, with their thin, gnarled branches, and their dull color, as if they had never seen sunlight. She kept herself at a distance and landed silently behind a tree, praying she wouldn't be noticed. She watched Eve put down the hood of her cloak. Then another cloaked figure appeared through the trees, bringing with it a chill which ran deeper than Hermione's skin. Shesaw Eve shiver for a second, also. For one terrifying moment, she thought it was a Dementor. But the hands under the cloak were human, and so was the voice.
" I am so delighted you've come, my dear." Eve recognized the voice. How could she have forgotten it? It was the same voice which had haunted her nightmares for weeks. It was the same voice which brought back memories of terror that would cause her to wake screaming in the night. It was the same voice that had killed her mother and shattered her life. For this reason, her own voice caught in her throat as she was barely able to whisper a question she had been dreading to ask, "Are you.Are you..him?"
"Yes," came the reply, which was more like a hiss, "It's me, your father."
Hermione had to keep herself from squawking in her fright.
"No, you aren't. Every day I'm tormented by the fact that I'm related to you. I want nothing to do with you," Eve said with a quavering voice, with more venom than Hermione had ever heard anyone use in their tone.
"Then why did you come?"
"I came to tell you that if you come near me ever again, you will utterly regret it."
"You are much too brave, my dear. Nobody has ever dared talk to me that way."
This was getting to be too much for Eve, who cried out slightly hysterically, her eyes shining with unspilled tears, " You killed my mother! Do you have any inkling of how much I hate you?!"
"You're definitely not the only one who does. But I understand. Your whole life you have been deluded with those high, moralistic ideals of Dumbledore. You have not tasted your true power yet. I can help you unleash it."
" I don't even believe you are Voldemort. I know that he now has nothing outwardly human in his appearance. Quite fitting, it matches his soul," Eve said, hatred dripping from her words.
"Oh, I am him, believe me. I just temporarily transformed myself to my original form. I thought it would be, er, easier for you." His calm, nonchalant tone in reply to Eve's harsh words was almost unnerving.
"Easier for me to do what?"
"Easier for you to accept me. Easier for you to accept yourself, and your actual power."
"I don't care what you look like! You're still the same monster," Eve had to keep her fists clenched to keep them from shaking as much as her voice.
"You must understand, Eve. Your mother kept me from you because she was too afraid. She wanted you to live as a lowly Muggle. She was terrified of your potential. Can't you see? You belong to me!"
A harsh gust of wind startled Eve, and the left sleeve of her robe was blown back, revealing her forearm. The hooded figure raised its hand, and the Dark Mark on her forearm started to glow a blood red color. The intense burning and pain on her arm cause Eve to moan and kneel to the ground in agony. Then she realized where her tattoo had come from.He had put it there, ever since she was a baby. He had marked her as his own. She was just a weapon for him to use to kill more innocent people. She managed to look up at the figure. She had never broken eye contact with it until then, and she wasn't going to continue to do so. The figure lowered its hand and walked near her. Finally, it lowered its hood, revealing a human face, which slightly surprised her, as she was half expecting to see a monster. It was a face of a man in his 60s, his dark hair twinged with silver. Despite the age lines, he was still handsome. He held out his hand to her, and the pain immediately stopped.
"This is what Tom Riddle would have looked like now. All I want for the present is what any father would want from a daughter he has been separated from for 16 years." His voice and face were so soothing. It was all Eve had been dreaming of for so many years. To have a father, one who cared for her and wanted to be with her. A charismatic figure who would protect her. But she wasn't nearly stupid enough to be fooled by all this. She threw his arm away, and now she couldn't help but look away also. She couldn't let him see the tears streaming down her face. Why had she come here in the first place? The cloaked figure kneeled down beside her, and with strong yet gentle motions helped her to her feet. With one finger he tilted her face towards his own.
"I know what you're thinking. You're afraid that I'll lead you towards a horrid life and make you subject to me. Do you think I'm as foolish as that? I know your power. I know you will never be subjected to anything. All I want is a little cooperation from you, just to hear what I want to tell you. No, what I need to tell you. If you want to join me, then you will be the most powerful human in the entire history of this world. Even more powerful than me. If you refuse to join me, then it is your choice." His dark eyes were so piercing and hypnotic, so convincing, that Eve had to constantly remind herself that this was the man who had devastated her known life. And yet.
"Please, meet me again at this exact spot in 3 days. My dear, you have been missing a huge part of your life for more than a decade. You only know half of who you are. Meet me here and let me show you what you have been missing. That is all I ask," he paused, and was silent for a moment when he looked at her so hauntingly, as if he wanted to probe deeply into her soul, as if he had never seen a girl properly before, "You are more beautiful than I remembered," he muttered, barely audibly.
Eve looked away again. Her face was still moist with tears. She wanted so much with her entire heart to believe his wooing promises. His face was almost.pleading. That was why she couldn't bear look at him anymore, or else she would almost believe him. Then he did something that almost shocked her. He was already quite close to her, but then he came even closer and enveloped her with a fatherly hug, squeezing her gently.. Eve was so taken aback by the embrace that she was too dumbstruck to fight back at first. When she had realized it, she then felt a surge of warmth and realization of new, strange abilities she hadn't thought of before. He finally broke away and seemed to have a look of great longing, as if he had wanted to do that for ages.
"Will you come again?" He asked. Eve was silent, not because she didn't want to come, but because she had no idea what to say.
"If you don't believe me, perhaps you'd like a demonstration."
Eve suddenly felt a ripple of fright. What was he going to do? Hermione was thinking the very exact thing, as she was listening to the whole scene, totally captivated.
"Right here there are no trees blocking our view of the stars," he said, glancing up at the sky. Eve eyed him curiously. So what, thought Hermione. He continued.
"Did you know that there are concentrations of magical force deep inside every planet? There is a balance of this force throughout the whole universe."
Eve was silent. The omen, did that indicate some upcoming imbalance?
"Yes, it does," he answered out loud. Eve looked at him disdainfully.
"You're not the only one who can read minds," he answered with a sly grin. That wasn't fair, Eve thought, because as much as she was trying, she hadn't been able to read his mind yet. All she could see were.clouds. "Look at the moon, Eve," he said, "We feel its presence the most, because obviously its the closest. So it shouldn't be too hard for you to.move it."
"What?" Eve asked, bewildered.
"You heard me. Let me help you, just do what comes naturally." He moved behind her, and raised her right arm towards the moon. He began coaxing her, mumbling incantations. Eve realized that she knew them, as if remembering an old nursery rhyme or poem she had always know. Instinctively, she began chanting the words with him, until she was the only one.
"I learned those incantations, but you, Eve, you were born knowing them," he whispered to her.
She felt a source of power surge through her arm, and to her astonishment, the moon was moving. It was moving very slowly, like a slow aircraft through the sky. She heard the sound of water moving in great waves. It sounded like the lake.
"The moon's magnetic pull on the waters is changing. There's your proof that its actually moving," he said. Eve stopped chanting, and the moon stopped moving, a good foot from where it stood, seconds before.
"Witches and wizards are able to concentrate these forces of the Earth. But you can concentrate forces from places outside this world. Just imagine what you are capable of now," he said. Eve looked at him with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
"Meet me here, again. Let me show you what else you can do. Oh, and I hope you liked your present," he said, smiling, "I have been raising that phoenix all these years just to give it to you." And with that he disappeared, leaving both Eve and Hermione mesmerized.
_____________________________________
Harry woke up, yelling with pain. His head was throbbing like never before. The whirling blurry images he saw of the room without his glasses added to his confusion. He blindly reached out for his glasses, and put them on, the pain not subsiding. He saw Ron's worried face seemingly out of nowhere.
"What's wrong, mate? Is your scar hurting?" he asked. Harry could hear Neville's and Seamus's voices, too. But all he could feel, all he could see was pain, and somehow. Hermione. He grabbed his forehead and moaned.
"It's never hurt like this before," he gasped, "only if I'm steps away from Voldemort."
"My God, Harry, you don't think."
"Hermione," was all Harry could say to interrupt Ron. All he remembered from his dream, although it was quite vivid, was Hermione in her room, right before the pain took over.
Ron somehow felt that she was in grave danger. "You blokes stay here with him, I'm going to check on her," he said.
"Are you crazy? Filch will see you and hang you by your toes!" Seamus cried.
"And Ron, what if.what if Harry's right, and you do meet.him!" Neville cried, even more terrified than any of them.
"If Harry's right, then I there's no chance in bloody hell I'm NOT going," Ron had utter determination in his voice.
"Nah, Harry, he's just using your suffering to have a late-night rendezvous with Hermione so he can snog her all night," Seamus said, batting his eyes and clenching his hands together, looking falsely romantic.
"I'm glad you guys find the fact that I'm in so much pain so hilarious," Harry grumbled through his clenched hands over his face.
"Shut up, you great prat," Ron said to Seamus, "I'm going to see if she's alright. If she is, then I'll snog her," he said, smiling. " Besides, Filch wouldn't catch me in a million years."
"Why not?" Neville asked.
" Because, I have my ways," Ron smiled. He grabbed Harry's robes from his bed, which conveniently held the Invisibility cloak, and went out the door.
_________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Draco was still looking outside through the window. He was debating whether or not to go after Eve and whatever was following her. He knew almost for sure that she was going to meet Voldemort, so he shouldn't intrude, but then again, what if that follower made trouble? Should he go warn them? He glanced at the sky and did a double take. There was something different about the moon, he couldn't figure out what at first. Then he realized that it was about a foot away from its position a couple of minutes ago. He had been unconsciously watching the moon all night while he was thinking. What did this shift mean? He couldn't keep himself from staying. He had to know. He grabbed his robe and went through the secret passageway on the floor of his room which led right out of the castle.
A/N : *gasp! * what will happen when they're all out of the castle and meet? You'll only find out if you REVIEW!!!! Because that encourages me to write. Please review, im getting virtually no feedback and this is my first fanfic. I think its pretty good, what about you?? Anything is welcome at this point, just so I know u read it. I'll promise 2 read the stories of all those who read mine. Thanx guys!!! P.S. I'll try to put more humor in later chapters
Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating every particle of her being on what she was about to do. If anyone had been watching her in her room that night, they would have seen a witch one moment, and then after a cloud of sparkling dust, gorgeous scarlet and blue feathers shimmering in the candlelight. Hermione Granger had become the first Animagus to turn into a phoenix. The mere fact that she had the courage to become an unregistered Animagus at all surprised her at first. But with all the ominous warnings of Voldemort's uprising, she believed that it would be best if she could turn into an animal and sneak out of the castle to gather information. And it would be best if no one knew about it, not even the boys. Even Ron would disapprove of her becoming a spy. For months she read every possible written text on the subject. Then when she finally attained enough concentration to transform her entire body, she was even more astonished to find out she had turned into a phoenix. Although she obviously couldn't live through fire, (at least she wasn't brave enough to test it), she was quite intelligent, very loyal and was able to take on huge burdens onto herself, whether it was schoolwork or her secret pledge to protect Harry and everything she loved from Voldemort. These were all characteristic of a phoenix. Of course her plans as a spy were somewhat hindered, as a phoenix is quite a noticeable creature, so she contented herself with wandering in the Forest sometimes, communicating with centaurs and unicorns. They didn't disappoint her, though. Eventually the creatures sensed she wasn't wholly phoenix, but they respected her all the same and told her about their increasing feelings of foreboding. She wanted to ask Firenze about the omen, anyway. Hermione immediately flew out her window to catch up to Eve.
As she silently flapped her wings, she was reminded of the first time she flew. The feeling of pure, unadulterated exhilaration and freedom filled her soul. She felt the wind caressing her whole body, as she felt lighter than the feathers covering her body. Then she began to test her magical abilities. One day she sneaked into Hagrid's cabin, transformed, and lifted one of his enormous weights he used sometimes. Hmmmm, she thought, bringing herself back to the present, she's going quite deeply into the forest. Finally Eve stopped in the middle of a small clearing, where the moonlight bathed the ground. Even the trees seemed more eerie, with their thin, gnarled branches, and their dull color, as if they had never seen sunlight. She kept herself at a distance and landed silently behind a tree, praying she wouldn't be noticed. She watched Eve put down the hood of her cloak. Then another cloaked figure appeared through the trees, bringing with it a chill which ran deeper than Hermione's skin. Shesaw Eve shiver for a second, also. For one terrifying moment, she thought it was a Dementor. But the hands under the cloak were human, and so was the voice.
" I am so delighted you've come, my dear." Eve recognized the voice. How could she have forgotten it? It was the same voice which had haunted her nightmares for weeks. It was the same voice which brought back memories of terror that would cause her to wake screaming in the night. It was the same voice that had killed her mother and shattered her life. For this reason, her own voice caught in her throat as she was barely able to whisper a question she had been dreading to ask, "Are you.Are you..him?"
"Yes," came the reply, which was more like a hiss, "It's me, your father."
Hermione had to keep herself from squawking in her fright.
"No, you aren't. Every day I'm tormented by the fact that I'm related to you. I want nothing to do with you," Eve said with a quavering voice, with more venom than Hermione had ever heard anyone use in their tone.
"Then why did you come?"
"I came to tell you that if you come near me ever again, you will utterly regret it."
"You are much too brave, my dear. Nobody has ever dared talk to me that way."
This was getting to be too much for Eve, who cried out slightly hysterically, her eyes shining with unspilled tears, " You killed my mother! Do you have any inkling of how much I hate you?!"
"You're definitely not the only one who does. But I understand. Your whole life you have been deluded with those high, moralistic ideals of Dumbledore. You have not tasted your true power yet. I can help you unleash it."
" I don't even believe you are Voldemort. I know that he now has nothing outwardly human in his appearance. Quite fitting, it matches his soul," Eve said, hatred dripping from her words.
"Oh, I am him, believe me. I just temporarily transformed myself to my original form. I thought it would be, er, easier for you." His calm, nonchalant tone in reply to Eve's harsh words was almost unnerving.
"Easier for me to do what?"
"Easier for you to accept me. Easier for you to accept yourself, and your actual power."
"I don't care what you look like! You're still the same monster," Eve had to keep her fists clenched to keep them from shaking as much as her voice.
"You must understand, Eve. Your mother kept me from you because she was too afraid. She wanted you to live as a lowly Muggle. She was terrified of your potential. Can't you see? You belong to me!"
A harsh gust of wind startled Eve, and the left sleeve of her robe was blown back, revealing her forearm. The hooded figure raised its hand, and the Dark Mark on her forearm started to glow a blood red color. The intense burning and pain on her arm cause Eve to moan and kneel to the ground in agony. Then she realized where her tattoo had come from.He had put it there, ever since she was a baby. He had marked her as his own. She was just a weapon for him to use to kill more innocent people. She managed to look up at the figure. She had never broken eye contact with it until then, and she wasn't going to continue to do so. The figure lowered its hand and walked near her. Finally, it lowered its hood, revealing a human face, which slightly surprised her, as she was half expecting to see a monster. It was a face of a man in his 60s, his dark hair twinged with silver. Despite the age lines, he was still handsome. He held out his hand to her, and the pain immediately stopped.
"This is what Tom Riddle would have looked like now. All I want for the present is what any father would want from a daughter he has been separated from for 16 years." His voice and face were so soothing. It was all Eve had been dreaming of for so many years. To have a father, one who cared for her and wanted to be with her. A charismatic figure who would protect her. But she wasn't nearly stupid enough to be fooled by all this. She threw his arm away, and now she couldn't help but look away also. She couldn't let him see the tears streaming down her face. Why had she come here in the first place? The cloaked figure kneeled down beside her, and with strong yet gentle motions helped her to her feet. With one finger he tilted her face towards his own.
"I know what you're thinking. You're afraid that I'll lead you towards a horrid life and make you subject to me. Do you think I'm as foolish as that? I know your power. I know you will never be subjected to anything. All I want is a little cooperation from you, just to hear what I want to tell you. No, what I need to tell you. If you want to join me, then you will be the most powerful human in the entire history of this world. Even more powerful than me. If you refuse to join me, then it is your choice." His dark eyes were so piercing and hypnotic, so convincing, that Eve had to constantly remind herself that this was the man who had devastated her known life. And yet.
"Please, meet me again at this exact spot in 3 days. My dear, you have been missing a huge part of your life for more than a decade. You only know half of who you are. Meet me here and let me show you what you have been missing. That is all I ask," he paused, and was silent for a moment when he looked at her so hauntingly, as if he wanted to probe deeply into her soul, as if he had never seen a girl properly before, "You are more beautiful than I remembered," he muttered, barely audibly.
Eve looked away again. Her face was still moist with tears. She wanted so much with her entire heart to believe his wooing promises. His face was almost.pleading. That was why she couldn't bear look at him anymore, or else she would almost believe him. Then he did something that almost shocked her. He was already quite close to her, but then he came even closer and enveloped her with a fatherly hug, squeezing her gently.. Eve was so taken aback by the embrace that she was too dumbstruck to fight back at first. When she had realized it, she then felt a surge of warmth and realization of new, strange abilities she hadn't thought of before. He finally broke away and seemed to have a look of great longing, as if he had wanted to do that for ages.
"Will you come again?" He asked. Eve was silent, not because she didn't want to come, but because she had no idea what to say.
"If you don't believe me, perhaps you'd like a demonstration."
Eve suddenly felt a ripple of fright. What was he going to do? Hermione was thinking the very exact thing, as she was listening to the whole scene, totally captivated.
"Right here there are no trees blocking our view of the stars," he said, glancing up at the sky. Eve eyed him curiously. So what, thought Hermione. He continued.
"Did you know that there are concentrations of magical force deep inside every planet? There is a balance of this force throughout the whole universe."
Eve was silent. The omen, did that indicate some upcoming imbalance?
"Yes, it does," he answered out loud. Eve looked at him disdainfully.
"You're not the only one who can read minds," he answered with a sly grin. That wasn't fair, Eve thought, because as much as she was trying, she hadn't been able to read his mind yet. All she could see were.clouds. "Look at the moon, Eve," he said, "We feel its presence the most, because obviously its the closest. So it shouldn't be too hard for you to.move it."
"What?" Eve asked, bewildered.
"You heard me. Let me help you, just do what comes naturally." He moved behind her, and raised her right arm towards the moon. He began coaxing her, mumbling incantations. Eve realized that she knew them, as if remembering an old nursery rhyme or poem she had always know. Instinctively, she began chanting the words with him, until she was the only one.
"I learned those incantations, but you, Eve, you were born knowing them," he whispered to her.
She felt a source of power surge through her arm, and to her astonishment, the moon was moving. It was moving very slowly, like a slow aircraft through the sky. She heard the sound of water moving in great waves. It sounded like the lake.
"The moon's magnetic pull on the waters is changing. There's your proof that its actually moving," he said. Eve stopped chanting, and the moon stopped moving, a good foot from where it stood, seconds before.
"Witches and wizards are able to concentrate these forces of the Earth. But you can concentrate forces from places outside this world. Just imagine what you are capable of now," he said. Eve looked at him with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
"Meet me here, again. Let me show you what else you can do. Oh, and I hope you liked your present," he said, smiling, "I have been raising that phoenix all these years just to give it to you." And with that he disappeared, leaving both Eve and Hermione mesmerized.
_____________________________________
Harry woke up, yelling with pain. His head was throbbing like never before. The whirling blurry images he saw of the room without his glasses added to his confusion. He blindly reached out for his glasses, and put them on, the pain not subsiding. He saw Ron's worried face seemingly out of nowhere.
"What's wrong, mate? Is your scar hurting?" he asked. Harry could hear Neville's and Seamus's voices, too. But all he could feel, all he could see was pain, and somehow. Hermione. He grabbed his forehead and moaned.
"It's never hurt like this before," he gasped, "only if I'm steps away from Voldemort."
"My God, Harry, you don't think."
"Hermione," was all Harry could say to interrupt Ron. All he remembered from his dream, although it was quite vivid, was Hermione in her room, right before the pain took over.
Ron somehow felt that she was in grave danger. "You blokes stay here with him, I'm going to check on her," he said.
"Are you crazy? Filch will see you and hang you by your toes!" Seamus cried.
"And Ron, what if.what if Harry's right, and you do meet.him!" Neville cried, even more terrified than any of them.
"If Harry's right, then I there's no chance in bloody hell I'm NOT going," Ron had utter determination in his voice.
"Nah, Harry, he's just using your suffering to have a late-night rendezvous with Hermione so he can snog her all night," Seamus said, batting his eyes and clenching his hands together, looking falsely romantic.
"I'm glad you guys find the fact that I'm in so much pain so hilarious," Harry grumbled through his clenched hands over his face.
"Shut up, you great prat," Ron said to Seamus, "I'm going to see if she's alright. If she is, then I'll snog her," he said, smiling. " Besides, Filch wouldn't catch me in a million years."
"Why not?" Neville asked.
" Because, I have my ways," Ron smiled. He grabbed Harry's robes from his bed, which conveniently held the Invisibility cloak, and went out the door.
_________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Draco was still looking outside through the window. He was debating whether or not to go after Eve and whatever was following her. He knew almost for sure that she was going to meet Voldemort, so he shouldn't intrude, but then again, what if that follower made trouble? Should he go warn them? He glanced at the sky and did a double take. There was something different about the moon, he couldn't figure out what at first. Then he realized that it was about a foot away from its position a couple of minutes ago. He had been unconsciously watching the moon all night while he was thinking. What did this shift mean? He couldn't keep himself from staying. He had to know. He grabbed his robe and went through the secret passageway on the floor of his room which led right out of the castle.
A/N : *gasp! * what will happen when they're all out of the castle and meet? You'll only find out if you REVIEW!!!! Because that encourages me to write. Please review, im getting virtually no feedback and this is my first fanfic. I think its pretty good, what about you?? Anything is welcome at this point, just so I know u read it. I'll promise 2 read the stories of all those who read mine. Thanx guys!!! P.S. I'll try to put more humor in later chapters