Title: An Inevitable Fate
Chapter Twenty Two: Sine Sensus - Without Feeling
Author: KissThis
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Rating: R - maybe later...if I feel like it.
Pairing: He obviously remembers her
Setting: 6th year in Hogwarts.
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Disclaimer: All Harry Potter is copyrighted to J.K. and Warner Bros., etc. Basically I don own nuthin' 'cept the plotline. And it's going to stay mine! *pointed stare* Are we clear? [Mutters:] Crazy plot pirates...
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A/N: Chapter 22! Make a wish!
September 23 8:05 AM
"Draco."
Draco looked up from his parchment to see Tonks framed in the library's doorway. Gathering his robes about his body he stood up from his chair and collected his meager school supplies together into his school bag. He glanced up to see Tonks shifting impatiently from side to side. He finished quickly.
Falling into step beside her, Draco matched Tonks' hurried pace. Nymphadora looked over at the boy and sympathy pulled at her heartstrings. His hair was a greasy, dirty mess that hung over his dull, sunken eyes. No one ever saw him at meals anymore and it was obvious he wasn't getting food from the kitchens in the way that his wrinkled robes dwarfed his bony body. Hermione's disappearance was affecting him the most out of all of them.
"Is the Order meeting?" His voice was grating and low.
Tonks made a noise in the affirmative then quickly changed the subject. "You haven't been sleeping Draco."
Reflexively, his hands reached up and he rubbed at his red and puffy eyes. He lowered them and turned his weary gaze on her. "Neither have you."
"More so than you, I'll warrant."
Draco shrugged.
"You're of no use to the Order when you're dead tired like this, Draco." Tonks said, "You need to sleep -- you can't stay awake forever." She reasoned.
Draco shifted his bag higher up on his shoulder, "I can't sleep...not without knowing..."
"Pink bubble gum." The gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office sprang to life. Tonks turned to the younger boy. "Don't be such a fool to think you're the only one that cares about Hermione! We're all waiting for any news."
He looked away.
"Hermione wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."
Draco started on ahead of her up the stairs. "Hermione isn't really in any position to give orders."
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"You're all here; good, good." Dumbledore murmured through his beard. Ever since Hermione's disappearance he'd been more distracted and absent-minded as if all the ages he'd never shown were finally wearing down on him.
"Why haven't we heard from Fletcher?" Diggory asked from beside the fireplace.
Dumbledore mumbled something under his breath and patted his robes. Letting out a triumphant noise he retrieved his wand from one of his robe's numerous pockets and lit the fireplace; startling the nearby Amos.
"He told me he had news that was best uttered within safe company."
Draco's sagging head snapped up from near-sleep and Ron leapt up from his chair. The defenseless oak piece went toppling over and skidded across the polished floor. "Did he say anything about Hermione?!" Ron demanded.
Dumbledore's eyes lowered beneath his half-moon spectacles and he seemed for an instant sadly dwarfed by his long white beard. "I'm sorry, son."
Ron stared off with glazed eyes and pained confusion. Draco barely allowed himself to meet his headmaster's dimmed eyes before he dropped his head into his hands.
"I'm afraid he didn't mention Hermione. We still have no information on her whereabouts."
"Then what's the point..." Draco demanded in a soft voice.
Sirius grabbed a fistful of the boy's robes and lifted him from his chair. Draco didn't even struggle.
'There is still a war going on!" He emphasized his words with several shakes of the suspended Slytherin. "You stupid kid! Hermione's life isn't the only one that matters!"
"Sirius stop it!" Remus shouted. Sirius ignored his friend's pleas and the hands pulling on his arms.
"You talk about her like she's already dead." The room froze. Draco looked around, as much he could due to his position, and then back down at Sirius. "Everyone is thinking it...I just said it..."
Sirius snarled and threw him back onto his chair in disgust. The furniture piece had not been built to withstand such a momentum and collapsed. "You self-involved, son-of-a-bitch. Harry was with her too! So don't think you're the only one who cares!"
"Sirius!" McGonagall exclaimed as Remus and Tonks pulled the angry man to the other side of the room. "Please! Everyone! We must not let our tempers loose. This situation is tense enough without our petty quarrels."
Dumbledore nodded sagely. "Minerva is right. Until Mundungus arrives..."
There was a sharp squeak from behind the headmaster. Dedalus Diggle, an easily excitable man, was bouncing back and forth in front of a sparking fireplace attempting to keep a ridiculously large violet top hat from falling off his head. "He's here!" The tiny wizard squeaked just as the flames burst into deep emerald.
There was a series of loud popping and snapping sounds echoing through the fireplace. The flames flared once and out of the grate shot a soot-covered Mundungus Fletcher. Diggle and Mrs. Weasley rushed forward to help set the man to rights.
"Tea, Mundungus?" Dumbledore asked — as if they were meeting for nothing more important than a friendly chat over a good book. He motioned to a steaming kettle resting on his desk.
Fletcher nodded gruffly and shook his shabby trench coat, knocking a thin layer of ash and soot onto the immaculate floor. He shuffled forward and took the offered drink with muted thanks.
The assembled Order grouped around their reconaissance agent as best they could and waited eagerly for the man to speak.
Ron turned at the soft sound of scurrying feet. A tendril of smoke was rising from the floor beside Dumbledore's desk. The wood gleamed in the firelight without a trace of soot or debris.
"S.P.E.W." he murmured under his breath. "Hermione..."
"What's going on, Fletch?" Tonks asked impatiently.
He set down his teacup and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
"It seems the young girl was right to leave so early," He wheezed, shifting under his massive coat. "It might've helped."
"Might have?" Tonks voiced.
"If whatever happened to her hadn't happened we may have had a chance in this war." He pulled a small flask from the dark interior of his robes and took a long drink — reveling in the bitter, burning taste that scorched his throat.
"What are you saying?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
"Beauxbatons has emptied." He deadpanned. "They're gone."
Molly turned away from the group, "Oh God..." She whispered. She looked sick.
"They're fleeing." Severus spoke for the first time since the meeting had started. Several people jumped — his silence having made them forget he was there at all. He emerged from his customary position in the shadowed corner of Dumbledore's office and stepped into the light, "I figured as much; a small percentage of Durmstrang has also disappeared. It is rumored they are being led...by Krum."
"Is Hogwarts the only one brave enough to make a stand?"
Dumbledore smiled weakly at the youngest Weasley boy. "They are afraid. This threat has long been concealed by the Ministry. They're panicking."
"They're fools." Sirius said loudly. "Where do they think they can go?"
No one answered.
"Voldemort's spies are everywhere — his reach is growing farther each day. And each second he is tightening his hold on this world. The Dark Lord is ever watchful; there is nowhere they can run where he won't see them...won't find them."
"They're doing what they think is right by them." Remus answered in his soft voice, "We can ask no more of them."
"Lupind is right." Moody added brusquely. "Now we must do what is right by us."
A small ruby crustacean scuttled across the bottom of the waterbed and disappeared into a crevice hidden within a nest of coral. It seemed to have taken cover just in time; a small merchild tumbled clumsily to a stop holding a large, jagged rock in her small, webbed hand. In a child's inquisitiveness the mer circled the spot where her prey had taken refuge, attempting to see into the shadowed hole. The second time she swam above the coral, the crustacean, believing the danger had passed, poked its head out of the coral. Instantly, the merchild was upon it, banging her rock across the opening.
"ROCK!" She shouted at a particularly strong bang. "Rock! Rock! Rock!"
The crab had eluded her once again.
"Kerab!" The girl screeched. Her rock began to chip away at the coral and the pieces flew back at her.
Her crude weapon instantly tumbled from her clawed fingers as she shrieked in pain sending a stream of bubbles up to the surface. Twisting frantically around, the mer clawed at the burning coral trying to dislodge it from her skin. She flung herself down upon the sandy bottom and writhed across the grit and pebbles until she could no longer feel the burning pain.
CLICK! CLICK!
The merchild frowned, baring its jagged teeth, at the crab as it sat poised on top of the coral clicking its large pincers at her.
"Kerab no burn!" She whined angrily and grabbed her rock. Then darkness.
She looked at her weapon in surprise and flung it away. The darkness remained. The merchild swam upwards — a shadow was passing through the waters. Humans.
She followed.
A knock. " 'Mione?"
Hermione rested her quill in the inkwell and pushed her chair back so that she could stand. "Yes, come in." As the door opened she pulled the loose wisps of hair behind her ear and straightened her clothes as much as possible.
She motioned for Harry to step inside and moved to close the door behind him. "Hullo Harry."
She watched him walk into the room, then change direction as something on her writing desk caught his eye. Her hands fidgeted nervously and she followed him inside reluctantly. The ship creaked.
"Hermione!" He said in awe. "What is all this?"
He slid stacks of parchments aside; picking up some, glancing at others. He picked up a parchment with a considerable amount of writing on it. Hermione reached for it half-heartedly, but Harry held it out of her reach and she didn't have the strength to fight him.
"Firecrabs, chimaeras, abraxans, manticores -- " He whirled around to face her. "Hermione! These things are dangerous."
Hermione's chin raised in defiance. "I am not afraid."
"I'm afraid enough for the both of us. What are you planning to do with this list of creatures?!"
"Harry," She said quietly. "We can't fight this war alone..."
He shook the paper violently, "So your going to gather a bunch of animals who'd soon as bite us in the back then help us fight!?"
Hermione grabbed the parchment just as violently and let it flutter down onto the table, "They're NOT animals!" She hissed vehemently. "I have faith in the good of this world -- they WILL fight."
Harry grabbed her and crushed her body against his, one hand held the back of her head, the other clutched to her back. Hermione was startled, "Harry?"
"I'm sorry Hermione." His hand tightened on her back. "I just came in here and started yelling at you...you don't deserve this."
She smiled into the thin fabric of his T-shirt. Her arms crept around his back and she hugged him back. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Harry. I know you care and you're worried, but don't be --"
She raised her head and smiled up at him. "--I can take care of myself." One of her hands touched his cheek. He pulled it away.
"No...you can't!" He held her hands in his looking down into her shocked and confused face. "Not after what you've been through!"
"What--"
"You haven't been sleeping, Hermione." She stepped back. "Don't think I haven't been noticing."
"I'm not tired, Harry." She told him forcefully. "Besides, there's so much work to be done..."
He grabbed a fistful of papers from her desk and waved them around. "Battle plans and maps?!"
Hermione rubbed her face distractedly.
"It's been two days Hermione! You haven't even closed your eyes!"
Hermoine pressed a hand to her chest; her breathing was suddenly ragged. "I can't do it, Harry." She breathed. Her legs began to tremble and she fell forward onto her bedside table; the inkwell rattled. "I can't sleep...I can't..."
She looked up at him and her wide, amber eyes were glowing with fear. "Every time I close my eyes...I can see Her. She's laughing at me." She whined piteously. "It's so cold...Eyes...always watching..." Her voice died down into a whimper, then, "I'm naked in the dark! If I close my eyes -- She'll find me. SHE'LL TAKE ME!"
Harry grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her 'til her head rattled. "Hermione!" He grabbed her face in both hands and held it firmly; her eyes drifted away. "Look at me! Look at ME!" He demanded. Hermione quaked and did as she was told.
"I. Will. Not. Let. Them. Take. You." He told her. "Do you understand?"
Hermione nodded into his hands -- she looked ready to cry. Harry pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She fell into his strong and warm embrace. Against the comforting scratch of Harry's T-shirt, Hermione let loose a single tear; feeling it sink into the cotton fabric and disappear.
Harry's grip loosened allowing Hermione to step back and she turned to look out the window. She turned back to Harry with dry eyes, "We're here."
Harry glanced out the window, "This isn't Hogwarts' lake."
"Of course not. That's still miles off." Hermione reminded him as she slipped on her black robes. She sounded just like her old superior self. Harry smiled.
"Then where are we?" As if in response the ship lurched slightly and then stopped moving completely. They'd dropped anchor.
Hermione opened her door and stepped into the hall, "We're directly below the Ministry of Magic.
Kylee Rookwood stifled a yawn and scratched her itching wrist. Taking a sip of her now lukewarm coffee she looked up at the clock and groaned. 1:13 -- Her fourth graveyard shift in a row; she was probably the only person there.
She glanced down at the pile of parchments yet to be read and filed away before she was able to leave. God! Muggle Artifacts sure was a boring department.
Wood creaked in the hallway outside her office and her ears perked up. She set down her coffee and turned silently in her swivel chair to look at her light, wooden door. She waited. The sound did not repeat itself.
"All these late nights are getting to me." She'd just turned back to her work when her door was flung open with a bang.
The first to enter was nothing more than a rush of blue; then two boys and a blonde girl. Kylee grabbed her wand from her desk and turned back around to find herself at the receiving end of three other wands.
"What the hell--"
A glint of metal and a sudden refraction of the lamplight temporarily blinded Kylee. When she was able to open her eyes She was there.
Completely beautiful and entirely terrifying. An athletic and deadly body hidden beneath simple clothes; a wild mane of rich curls masking the frightening power in her eyes. Her grip tightened on the massive sword she held in her hand. Closing her eyes to block out Kylee's scared face she lifted the blade above her head and swung it at the woman's frozen body.
Wood clattered to the marble floor
The swordmaiden slowly opened her eyes and turned haunting, glowing amber orbs on her captive. Kylee withered under her gaze and looked down at the floor in relief. The two pieces of her wand rolled across the smooth floor and disappeared under her desk.
"Postvorta." The swordmaiden ordered.
From behind her a wave of water engulfed Kylee, and the next thing she knew her feet and wrists were bound by swirling rings of water. She struggled against her bonds, but found her efforts only succeeded in making her constraints tighten.
"What do you want with me?"
"You're asking the wrong questions." The girl answered. "You were going to kill me four nights ago."
Kylee's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "You!"
The girl smiled.
Kylee began to laugh. "What are you going to do to me, O Pure-hearted One? Are you going to kill me?'
The girl's smile never faltered. "I may not yet be able to kill you in cold blood; as you would have done to me, but you cannot be allowed to live. I will wipe the world clean of your impurity."
"I'm shaking," Her words dripped with sarcasm. Her next words were silenced as the breath was knocked from her lungs. Another water ring had seized her around the torso and as it flung her back into her chair it melded into the seat, widening so that there was no chance of her escape.
The blue blur appeared before her eyes again, and this time she recognized the shape as that owned by water nymphs. The sprite sighed softly and Kylee's bindings hardened into thick rings of ice.
Then, the blonde girl stepped forward and set down a small, rectangular box a few inches away from Kylee's feet. Thick, red numerals counted steadily back from five minutes.
Kylee glanced down at it, "I am in "time out"?" She snickered.
"You could call it that." The girl said -- her voice held a note of sadness. "Sine sensus"
The icy coldness of her restraints disappeared, and for a moment she foolishly hoped that she'd been freed. But when she looked down she found herself still anchored to her chair.
"I've shut down your nerve endings." The girl told her. "You'll be mercifully unable to feel anything -- not even pain."
Her stomach clenched. Her eyes dropped down to the box at her feet. "What is that thing?"
"It's a Muggle invention..."
Kylee looked up in surprise to see Harry Potter as the one who had spoken. He smiled -- a sinister yet innocent act that made fear finally rise up in the woman.
"They call it a 'bomb'."
The foreign word had no meaning for Kylee, but she felt afraid nonetheless. When she looked up again they were gone.
Reluctantly...hesitantly she looked down at the 'bomb'.
Attached to the top of the 'bomb' was one of the Ministry's visitor badges. It read:
HERMIONE GRANGER
Mission of Mercy
YAY! Twenty-two is DONE! Mostly in part to the fact that I'm FREE from school for 2 whole weeks. I'm excited, how 'bout you? Well, no I'm off to write my chapter of Stars IIand then maybe I'll get around to Crystalline Revelations; I'm kinda behind on that one.
Much love to Meg, my muse! ("If you like my stories, you'll love hers!") Lol -- inside joke.
KissThis