Chapter 3
Harry paced back and forth in the large kitchen, while outside darkness had fallen. Harry ignored this, not even lighting candles to illuminate his path. Finally, he paused his pacing to stand in front of the large clock and looked at Hermione's hand, which was still facing 'missing'.
"Your not sleeping isn't going to bring her back home any faster Harry," Ginny came up behind him and put an arm around his waist and lent her head against his shoulder. Harry sighed and gathered her in his arms. Ginny waved her wand and lit all the candles in the kitchen so that it was lit with a soft orange glow.
"I know that, but I feel so useless and more than a little helpless sitting here doing nothing. I know that she is safe with this Primus but he doesn't care for her like we do, how am I supposed to know if he is taking proper care of her?"
"Oh Harry, we don't. But we have to face it that she is with him somewhere. However, remember Hermione was, and probably will always be, the most brilliant witch ever to attend Hogwarts and she can take care of herself. Regardless of the fact that both you and Ron always thought that she needed you to protect her."
"She would have gotten into trouble without us," came Ron's voice from the entrance to the kitchen.
"No, she got into trouble because of the two of you." Ginny corrected and both of the men had the grace to blush.
"I see no one is sleeping in this house tonight." Remus said dryly as he walked into the kitchen.
"Too much on our minds, I guess," said Harry as he and Ginny sat down at the long table. Ron and Remus took seats opposite the couple and with the flick of Ginny's wrist four steaming mugs of hot chocolate settled down in front of them.
"Ginny, there are times when you remind me of your mother." Remus said quietly as he wrapped his hands around the warm mug.
"I don't know whether to be complimented or insulted by that comment, Remus." Ginny said and Ron snickered. One side of Remus' mouth lifted in a half smile.
"I assure you that I meant it as a compliment." Harry laughed quietly, they all soon fell quiet, each concentrating on their personal thoughts. When they had all finished their drinks Ginny flicked her wand again and the dishes flew into the sink where they began to scrub themselves.
"Alright everyone, it's time to go to bed. We all need to be refreshed for the meeting tomorrow." Ginny said, getting up out of her seat.
They all said goodnight to one another and Ginny led Harry to their bedroom, which had once been occupied by Sirius.
"Harry, you need to sleep, you're no good to Hermione if you're like a zombie. Tomorrow we are going to work out a way to get Hermione back." After they had gotten into bed, Harry pulled Ginny tight against him. In his head, he held the irrational fear that he didn't keep her close she would vanish.
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Primus kept to himself the next morning, unwilling to get into another argument with Hermione about his loyalties. He didn't need the aggravation, he had saved her life and she should be happy. He had shown her the library and left her to her own devices. She would be happy there; she spent enough time in the one at Hogwarts, and the one that he had in his home was almost twice the size of that at Hogwarts, so that should keep her busy...For a day or two at least.
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"It's time for lunch," Primus said and Hermione jumped a foot in the air.
"You scared me!" Hermione said the book that she had been reading clutched to her chest.
"So I did," he said dryly and turned away to walk down to the kitchens, assuming that she would follow him. He knew that she still did not know her way around his home, and a part of him was hoping that she wouldn't learn the way. You never know what you may come across in the home of a Death Eater.
"Primus, I wanted to talk to you." Hermione said when they reached the kitchen. He walked up to the cupboard waved his wand and food flew out and began to prepare itself.
"Are we going to go over the same things that we went over yesterday?" He asked as he watched the lettuce, cucumber and avocado chop themselves and land in the salad bowl. He turned and watched the beef strips cook to perfection, trying to ignore the woman who was standing on the other side of his kitchen counter.
"I think that you would be a great asset to the Light side Primus. You are a good man, if you weren't you wouldn't have helped me for the past year nor would you have saved my life. Your actions have been that of a noble man, and even though I know that you were or are a Death Eater and you must have done some terrible things, you are still a good man." Hermione came around and began to get some cutlery so that she could set the table.
"You know nothing about me or my past, and if you did you wouldn't stand there and call me a 'noble man'. I am no such thing so don't delude yourself to think that I am." Primus put together the remainder of the warm beef salad and placed the bowl in the middle of the table. Primus put some food in his plate and began eating silently. Hermione took the hint and ate her food silently as well.
"Look Primus, we need your help. The war draws nearer everyday and I fear that without more help we will not win this war. And I can't bear to think of the consequences of us not winning." Hermione looked over at him; Primus had his face down looking at the remainder of the food left on his plate.
"Hermione, I am not a nice person. I was a Death Eater and when we had our gatherings I assure you that it wasn't to sip tea and eat crumpets. We planed murder and torture, hell we did torture people, and we planned for the death of your best friend Potter. Don't confuse me with him or Weasley. I am an evil person, I only helped you so that this war would end quicker and I could live the rest of my life in peace." With that he stood and left the room without a backwards glance.
Hermione sighed and picked up the dirty dishes where she took them to the sink and cleaned them the muggle way. Washing dishes had always helped her think.
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Hermione made her way back to the library, which had once again become her haven, the musty smell of leather and paper filled the air that surrounded her and she felt at peace.
She had to think, to regroup and come up with some convincing arguments that would persuade him to join their cause. She couldn't believe that anyone would take an undecided stance in this; you either believed in the cause of the light side or the cause of the dark side. And since he had helped the light side so much his loyalties certainly did not lie within the dark camp.
For the rest of the afternoon and evening Hermione pawed over books, trying to build a case for him to join the light side, as if he were an essay. Checking facts and cases of similar situations she began to work out a plan of action. Knowing Primus she realized that if she presented him with a load of situations like the one they faced he would run a mile and never join the Order. Though going through the books comforted her she realized the futility of her actions.
"Hermione, it is late and you should probably get some sleep." Primus stood over Hermione who was seated at his large mahogany writing table, books were strewn all around her and he couldn't help but reflect on all the times he had witnessed similar scenes in the Hogwarts library when they were students.
"I guess you're right." Hermione said and with a flick of her wand all of the books that she had been looking at closed with a snap and flew to their positions on the many shelves.
"Find anything interesting?" Primus asked, trying to make friendly conversation as they walked to the bedrooms.
"A few things," Hermione said in an offhand sort of way, she had decided not to push anything tonight. She would start on him again tomorrow.
*****************************************************************
Primus had left her in the room that he had intended her to use before going to his own bedroom. Hermione did not know where his room was located and she was beginning to feel scared in the large room by herself. This was something that she considered ridiculous when you looked at the fact that she had been living alone since she had graduated from Hogwarts; something that Harry and Ron had both tried to talk her out of. Outside her room, a branch scraped along the windowpane causing chills to run down her back. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the noise by turning her back to the window. Eventually the wind died down and silence reigned over the room, she breathed a sigh of relief and snuggled further down into her blankets. Finally, after what seemed like hours she managed to fall asleep.
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Primus, in his own room down the hall silently paced back and forth trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts. He had left her in her own room because it was not wise for him to fall asleep in the same room as her again, the feelings he got when he awoke could only be considered dangerous, not only to her but himself as well. Today and yesterday Hermione had put up good arguments, but she was appealing to his 'good' side or his desire to redeem himself. She didn't realize that he had no such side, and he was beyond redemption. She would understand if she knew who he really was, but at this moment it was impossible for her to know, and if she did she would be obligated to turn him in. He would die before he would go to Azkaban, or he would kill again to prevent it. Moreover, after going to all the trouble to save her life he really did not want to end it. But keeping her a prisoner here for the rest of her life would be an inconvenience to him.
He stopped his pacing when he heard a loud thump from her room and then an earsplitting scream, he ran to the doorway, grabbing his cloak and covering his face while running down the hall to her room. Just as he reached it, she flung the door open and jumped straight into his arms still screaming.
"Hermione, Hermione! Calm down! What is the matter?"
"I-In m-my room," she buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, curious he pushed the door open with a toe and crept into the room, Hermione still in his arms clutching for dear life.
He withdrew his wand from his robes and held it out on guard incase there was someone there. He couldn't see anything out of place in the semi- darkness and was beginning to relax when he heard a long scraping noise against the windowpane, confused he turned to see what it was, body tense with adrenaline. As he turned he heard a low humming sound and something cold and wet reached out and touched his shoeless foot. With a yelp he turned and ran from the room, slamming the door behind him.
"Magical Merlin's mushrooms, what in all of Great Britain was that?" Primus leaned against the wall breathing hard, still holding Hermione. Hermione had regained some of her composure and motioned for Primus to let her go so she could stand.
"I have no idea, I was just falling asleep and this thing that was all cold and wet touched my face and tried to eat my nose! So I rolled over trying to get away from the thing and I fell out of bed, then I screamed and ran into you." Hermione said. She was shivering in her nightgown so she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill.
"Eat your nose? That doesn't make sense, what sort of creature would want to eat your nose?" Primus asked.
"Wait a minute, it couldn't be a, not of course not I wouldn't be scared of a..." Hermione trailed off, her mind trying to process a million thoughts at once.
"Well what do you think it is then?" Primus asked frustrated, he wanted to know if the thing was dangerous.
"I think that it was a Puffskein." Hermione said finally.
"A Puffskein? It couldn't be one of those. They aren't dangerous and this thing tried to eat us!" Primus said not willing to believe that a child's pet could scare him.
"Well think about it, it was furry, it hummed and it licked me, and you which we both mistook for it trying to eat us. Don't you see, it makes sense!" Hermione said going over to her bedroom door, she took out her wand as a precaution. Though it didn't happen often she had been known to get some things wrong.
Cautiously she pushed the door open inch by inch trying to peer through the crack of the door, there huddled by the foot of her bed was a small mustard coloured ball of fluff. Hermione sighed in relief and walked over to it, picked it up and began to cuddle it, once again it emitted the low hum that meant it was content and Hermione smiled down at it.
"Can you believe that we were scared of this little fella?" Hermione said as she stroked the mustard coloured fur. Primus shook his head from where he stood in the doorway.
"How about you don't tell anyone that I was scared of a Puffskein and I won't tell anyone that you were?" Hermione looked up at Primus, a wide smile on her face and she stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"Deal," Primus took her hand in his and sealed the deal. When he took her hand Hermione felt a current of electricity run up her arm and down her spine, and she gave an involuntary shiver, she was so busy trying to work out what the tingle meant that she didn't notice the matching shiver that ran down Primus' spine.
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Hey All! :)
Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than the last one but that was a good place to stop. It is going to get more exciting from now on, and for all those who asked the spy will be revealed... In chapter 5, or 6 at the latest! That is the only hint that you are getting! But I hope that you enjoy this chapter anyway because trust me it is going to get better! :)
Spaced Out Space Cadet!
P.S. Trinka, I never give you enough thanks!! So this chapter is especially for you! Thanks for all of your help! :)
Big thanks to all who reviewed!!
Jules37 - Sorry that I didn't thank you in the last chapter!! You are just gonna have to wait to find out who the spy is *wink wink* lol! And another thanks for the review for chapter 2! I work hard at trying to get their conversations sounding right and I am happy that you appreciate my efforts! :)
Mesmer - Great question, and I am going to answer it soon! Promise!
Meg - Good question, and all will be revealed soon! Lol! Sorry I can't give you a better answer than that!
Weirdo-Loser-Freak - Keep guessing, lol! And I think that Blaise should be a boy, for no particular reason!
StephaineWong - Thanks!
J Wish - You will find out soon, promise!
Shedraconis - I like long chapters, they seem more fulfilling that way! Hope that you like this one!
Azn-Sweetie - Keep em crossed, he may just be!
BMSMagicsChic - Aww thanks!
Hopelessromantic2 - Thanks for the review!
Jenny - lol, your that sure its him??? Lol! You will find out soon though! And you could be right about that!
Ghypscee - There is more and all will be revealed in time! Lol!
KissyFit - Thanks so much! You review means a lot to me! Glad that you liked it! And I think that your story is fantastic! :)
Anonymous - Hey! Thanks for the review!
Harry paced back and forth in the large kitchen, while outside darkness had fallen. Harry ignored this, not even lighting candles to illuminate his path. Finally, he paused his pacing to stand in front of the large clock and looked at Hermione's hand, which was still facing 'missing'.
"Your not sleeping isn't going to bring her back home any faster Harry," Ginny came up behind him and put an arm around his waist and lent her head against his shoulder. Harry sighed and gathered her in his arms. Ginny waved her wand and lit all the candles in the kitchen so that it was lit with a soft orange glow.
"I know that, but I feel so useless and more than a little helpless sitting here doing nothing. I know that she is safe with this Primus but he doesn't care for her like we do, how am I supposed to know if he is taking proper care of her?"
"Oh Harry, we don't. But we have to face it that she is with him somewhere. However, remember Hermione was, and probably will always be, the most brilliant witch ever to attend Hogwarts and she can take care of herself. Regardless of the fact that both you and Ron always thought that she needed you to protect her."
"She would have gotten into trouble without us," came Ron's voice from the entrance to the kitchen.
"No, she got into trouble because of the two of you." Ginny corrected and both of the men had the grace to blush.
"I see no one is sleeping in this house tonight." Remus said dryly as he walked into the kitchen.
"Too much on our minds, I guess," said Harry as he and Ginny sat down at the long table. Ron and Remus took seats opposite the couple and with the flick of Ginny's wrist four steaming mugs of hot chocolate settled down in front of them.
"Ginny, there are times when you remind me of your mother." Remus said quietly as he wrapped his hands around the warm mug.
"I don't know whether to be complimented or insulted by that comment, Remus." Ginny said and Ron snickered. One side of Remus' mouth lifted in a half smile.
"I assure you that I meant it as a compliment." Harry laughed quietly, they all soon fell quiet, each concentrating on their personal thoughts. When they had all finished their drinks Ginny flicked her wand again and the dishes flew into the sink where they began to scrub themselves.
"Alright everyone, it's time to go to bed. We all need to be refreshed for the meeting tomorrow." Ginny said, getting up out of her seat.
They all said goodnight to one another and Ginny led Harry to their bedroom, which had once been occupied by Sirius.
"Harry, you need to sleep, you're no good to Hermione if you're like a zombie. Tomorrow we are going to work out a way to get Hermione back." After they had gotten into bed, Harry pulled Ginny tight against him. In his head, he held the irrational fear that he didn't keep her close she would vanish.
*****************************************************************
Primus kept to himself the next morning, unwilling to get into another argument with Hermione about his loyalties. He didn't need the aggravation, he had saved her life and she should be happy. He had shown her the library and left her to her own devices. She would be happy there; she spent enough time in the one at Hogwarts, and the one that he had in his home was almost twice the size of that at Hogwarts, so that should keep her busy...For a day or two at least.
*****************************************************************
"It's time for lunch," Primus said and Hermione jumped a foot in the air.
"You scared me!" Hermione said the book that she had been reading clutched to her chest.
"So I did," he said dryly and turned away to walk down to the kitchens, assuming that she would follow him. He knew that she still did not know her way around his home, and a part of him was hoping that she wouldn't learn the way. You never know what you may come across in the home of a Death Eater.
"Primus, I wanted to talk to you." Hermione said when they reached the kitchen. He walked up to the cupboard waved his wand and food flew out and began to prepare itself.
"Are we going to go over the same things that we went over yesterday?" He asked as he watched the lettuce, cucumber and avocado chop themselves and land in the salad bowl. He turned and watched the beef strips cook to perfection, trying to ignore the woman who was standing on the other side of his kitchen counter.
"I think that you would be a great asset to the Light side Primus. You are a good man, if you weren't you wouldn't have helped me for the past year nor would you have saved my life. Your actions have been that of a noble man, and even though I know that you were or are a Death Eater and you must have done some terrible things, you are still a good man." Hermione came around and began to get some cutlery so that she could set the table.
"You know nothing about me or my past, and if you did you wouldn't stand there and call me a 'noble man'. I am no such thing so don't delude yourself to think that I am." Primus put together the remainder of the warm beef salad and placed the bowl in the middle of the table. Primus put some food in his plate and began eating silently. Hermione took the hint and ate her food silently as well.
"Look Primus, we need your help. The war draws nearer everyday and I fear that without more help we will not win this war. And I can't bear to think of the consequences of us not winning." Hermione looked over at him; Primus had his face down looking at the remainder of the food left on his plate.
"Hermione, I am not a nice person. I was a Death Eater and when we had our gatherings I assure you that it wasn't to sip tea and eat crumpets. We planed murder and torture, hell we did torture people, and we planned for the death of your best friend Potter. Don't confuse me with him or Weasley. I am an evil person, I only helped you so that this war would end quicker and I could live the rest of my life in peace." With that he stood and left the room without a backwards glance.
Hermione sighed and picked up the dirty dishes where she took them to the sink and cleaned them the muggle way. Washing dishes had always helped her think.
*****************************************************************
Hermione made her way back to the library, which had once again become her haven, the musty smell of leather and paper filled the air that surrounded her and she felt at peace.
She had to think, to regroup and come up with some convincing arguments that would persuade him to join their cause. She couldn't believe that anyone would take an undecided stance in this; you either believed in the cause of the light side or the cause of the dark side. And since he had helped the light side so much his loyalties certainly did not lie within the dark camp.
For the rest of the afternoon and evening Hermione pawed over books, trying to build a case for him to join the light side, as if he were an essay. Checking facts and cases of similar situations she began to work out a plan of action. Knowing Primus she realized that if she presented him with a load of situations like the one they faced he would run a mile and never join the Order. Though going through the books comforted her she realized the futility of her actions.
"Hermione, it is late and you should probably get some sleep." Primus stood over Hermione who was seated at his large mahogany writing table, books were strewn all around her and he couldn't help but reflect on all the times he had witnessed similar scenes in the Hogwarts library when they were students.
"I guess you're right." Hermione said and with a flick of her wand all of the books that she had been looking at closed with a snap and flew to their positions on the many shelves.
"Find anything interesting?" Primus asked, trying to make friendly conversation as they walked to the bedrooms.
"A few things," Hermione said in an offhand sort of way, she had decided not to push anything tonight. She would start on him again tomorrow.
*****************************************************************
Primus had left her in the room that he had intended her to use before going to his own bedroom. Hermione did not know where his room was located and she was beginning to feel scared in the large room by herself. This was something that she considered ridiculous when you looked at the fact that she had been living alone since she had graduated from Hogwarts; something that Harry and Ron had both tried to talk her out of. Outside her room, a branch scraped along the windowpane causing chills to run down her back. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the noise by turning her back to the window. Eventually the wind died down and silence reigned over the room, she breathed a sigh of relief and snuggled further down into her blankets. Finally, after what seemed like hours she managed to fall asleep.
*****************************************************************
Primus, in his own room down the hall silently paced back and forth trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts. He had left her in her own room because it was not wise for him to fall asleep in the same room as her again, the feelings he got when he awoke could only be considered dangerous, not only to her but himself as well. Today and yesterday Hermione had put up good arguments, but she was appealing to his 'good' side or his desire to redeem himself. She didn't realize that he had no such side, and he was beyond redemption. She would understand if she knew who he really was, but at this moment it was impossible for her to know, and if she did she would be obligated to turn him in. He would die before he would go to Azkaban, or he would kill again to prevent it. Moreover, after going to all the trouble to save her life he really did not want to end it. But keeping her a prisoner here for the rest of her life would be an inconvenience to him.
He stopped his pacing when he heard a loud thump from her room and then an earsplitting scream, he ran to the doorway, grabbing his cloak and covering his face while running down the hall to her room. Just as he reached it, she flung the door open and jumped straight into his arms still screaming.
"Hermione, Hermione! Calm down! What is the matter?"
"I-In m-my room," she buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, curious he pushed the door open with a toe and crept into the room, Hermione still in his arms clutching for dear life.
He withdrew his wand from his robes and held it out on guard incase there was someone there. He couldn't see anything out of place in the semi- darkness and was beginning to relax when he heard a long scraping noise against the windowpane, confused he turned to see what it was, body tense with adrenaline. As he turned he heard a low humming sound and something cold and wet reached out and touched his shoeless foot. With a yelp he turned and ran from the room, slamming the door behind him.
"Magical Merlin's mushrooms, what in all of Great Britain was that?" Primus leaned against the wall breathing hard, still holding Hermione. Hermione had regained some of her composure and motioned for Primus to let her go so she could stand.
"I have no idea, I was just falling asleep and this thing that was all cold and wet touched my face and tried to eat my nose! So I rolled over trying to get away from the thing and I fell out of bed, then I screamed and ran into you." Hermione said. She was shivering in her nightgown so she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill.
"Eat your nose? That doesn't make sense, what sort of creature would want to eat your nose?" Primus asked.
"Wait a minute, it couldn't be a, not of course not I wouldn't be scared of a..." Hermione trailed off, her mind trying to process a million thoughts at once.
"Well what do you think it is then?" Primus asked frustrated, he wanted to know if the thing was dangerous.
"I think that it was a Puffskein." Hermione said finally.
"A Puffskein? It couldn't be one of those. They aren't dangerous and this thing tried to eat us!" Primus said not willing to believe that a child's pet could scare him.
"Well think about it, it was furry, it hummed and it licked me, and you which we both mistook for it trying to eat us. Don't you see, it makes sense!" Hermione said going over to her bedroom door, she took out her wand as a precaution. Though it didn't happen often she had been known to get some things wrong.
Cautiously she pushed the door open inch by inch trying to peer through the crack of the door, there huddled by the foot of her bed was a small mustard coloured ball of fluff. Hermione sighed in relief and walked over to it, picked it up and began to cuddle it, once again it emitted the low hum that meant it was content and Hermione smiled down at it.
"Can you believe that we were scared of this little fella?" Hermione said as she stroked the mustard coloured fur. Primus shook his head from where he stood in the doorway.
"How about you don't tell anyone that I was scared of a Puffskein and I won't tell anyone that you were?" Hermione looked up at Primus, a wide smile on her face and she stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"Deal," Primus took her hand in his and sealed the deal. When he took her hand Hermione felt a current of electricity run up her arm and down her spine, and she gave an involuntary shiver, she was so busy trying to work out what the tingle meant that she didn't notice the matching shiver that ran down Primus' spine.
*****************************************************************
Hey All! :)
Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than the last one but that was a good place to stop. It is going to get more exciting from now on, and for all those who asked the spy will be revealed... In chapter 5, or 6 at the latest! That is the only hint that you are getting! But I hope that you enjoy this chapter anyway because trust me it is going to get better! :)
Spaced Out Space Cadet!
P.S. Trinka, I never give you enough thanks!! So this chapter is especially for you! Thanks for all of your help! :)
Big thanks to all who reviewed!!
Jules37 - Sorry that I didn't thank you in the last chapter!! You are just gonna have to wait to find out who the spy is *wink wink* lol! And another thanks for the review for chapter 2! I work hard at trying to get their conversations sounding right and I am happy that you appreciate my efforts! :)
Mesmer - Great question, and I am going to answer it soon! Promise!
Meg - Good question, and all will be revealed soon! Lol! Sorry I can't give you a better answer than that!
Weirdo-Loser-Freak - Keep guessing, lol! And I think that Blaise should be a boy, for no particular reason!
StephaineWong - Thanks!
J Wish - You will find out soon, promise!
Shedraconis - I like long chapters, they seem more fulfilling that way! Hope that you like this one!
Azn-Sweetie - Keep em crossed, he may just be!
BMSMagicsChic - Aww thanks!
Hopelessromantic2 - Thanks for the review!
Jenny - lol, your that sure its him??? Lol! You will find out soon though! And you could be right about that!
Ghypscee - There is more and all will be revealed in time! Lol!
KissyFit - Thanks so much! You review means a lot to me! Glad that you liked it! And I think that your story is fantastic! :)
Anonymous - Hey! Thanks for the review!