Title: Tangled up in Darkness
Author: Tzippi Meshugah
Summery: War changes people, in ways we never would have known. Old rivalries are put behind us as we forge new alliances. War is upon us now and Hogwarts is changing. Students that were light are going dark, arch enemies are joining together and becoming friends. Unimaginable sacrifices will be made and it all comes down to the final battle to determine who will be victorious and what the consequences of that victory will be. We are tangled up in darkness and we must escape before the light flickers out for good. Narrated by Millicent Bulstrode.
a/n Just a quick note, if my Italian is off, feel free to correct me it's only my first year taking it.
Tangled up in Darkness
Chapter 1
Fire licked the sides of the cabin, Hermione could only stare as she watched the walls of her house blacken and crumble. Her parents were no doubt buried under the fiery rubble, and a girl with as much common sense as she would not head into the raging flames, an inevitable death. Besides, the dark mark hovered over the mess, hardly visible through the tower of smoke which clouded the midnight blue sky. The bag she had been holding fell limply to the ground as she sunk to her knees, tears forming in her eyes. An act as simple as buying milk had saved her from this fate. Why had she been so deserving? It was almost as if her parents had known their fate, but that was impossible. The voice in the back of her mind advised her to call for help, but she could not bring herself to move even an inch. Her family and memories were being incinerated before her eyes and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Slowly her vision blurred and began to swim in dizzying circles. She felt herself slipping into unconsciousness but did not bother to fight it. The darkness overwhelmed her; she was too feeble to untangle herself and break free.
Emotions flooded her as the white room slowly spun into focus. She tried to push them away, black them out. Hermione tried to sink into her dreamless state once again, but her efforts were in vain. Succumbing to the unavoidable wakened state she found herself in, she cracked her eyes open. It took her a few moments to register where she was lying, but she finally came to the conclusion that it was the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Why she was there, was beyond her weak mind to figure out, so she waited for someone to notice that she was awake and brief her on the peculiar situation she found herself in. It did not take a genius to figure out that something was amiss, injured students were sent to St. Mungos or Muggle hospitals in their area over summer holiday.
As if reading her thoughts, Dumbledore stepped into the room, a newspaper clutched in his wrinkled hand. His face was etched with worry. He forced a smile as he saw Hermione.
"Good to see you are awake, Poppy said you would be. You must be wondering why you are here…" came the cheery voice that always accompanied Dumbledore, no matter how dire the situation happened to be.
"Yes," she replied, quietly fingering the cold white sheet that enveloped her body.
Soundlessly he passed her the newspaper in his hand. She stared at him, unsure of what to do.
He gestured at a spot on the page. "I think you might find this interesting".
A gasp threatened to escape her as she read what was on the page. Under the Deaths column were three names, her parents and her own.
"I managed to find out from Snape that Voldemort was after your family. You were out of the house, by no coincidence; we've been trailing your family for months. Apparently, the Death Eaters could not be bothered to find you, so they called you dead and left it at that. We could not leave you in St. Mungos, of course. If Voldemort was to find out you are alive, he would not stop hunting you until you died."
Hermione stared, open mouthed at him. Half of her wanted to react like Harry: screaming crying, hating, yet the more sensible side was telling her to be calm. "Why didn't the men trailing me try to stop them?" she asked in a controlled voice. Hermione was shocked at how calm that sounded. It did not betray her confused state of mind in the slightest.
Dumbledore fingered his long gray beard for a minute before answering. "This may be hard to explain Hermione, and it is certainly not what you want to hear, but I feel I owe you an honest explanation."
He paused for a moment, "You as a witch and a potential Order of the Phoenix member once you graduate in June and we need to protect you. However, more of our people die every day and we could not spare enough for a fight, which would probably bring Voldemort to the scene of the battle. We did all we could to save you. Your parents willingly gave their lives up; you could have gone into hiding, but they refused." He explained the events leading up to the present moment, his voice stretched thin with pain.
Nodding her head silently, Hermione reached over and touched the old man's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "You did the right thing," she insisted.
"You have to decide what you want to do for the rest of the holiday. I'm telling you now so you can think about it. You can spend the rest of the summer here, I'm sure Harry and Ron would like to keep you company…or I can send you on a mission."
"What kind of mission?"
Venice is a lovely city, though it has been modernized considerably since my ancestors walked the same narrow passage ways, the ancient magic still flows strong through the stones of the buildings. Everything about Venice seems to be alive with magic, whether it was Muggle-made or not, the effect is there. I adore coming to Casa Bulstrode for summer holiday. It makes me feel so lively and free, as if nothing terrible could ever happen. And if it did, I would not care, because the city of wonder would lull me back to my dreamlike happiness. The very idea of Venice seems absurd, a city built on hundreds of thousands of pilings, it seems to float majestically in a lagoon. It is populated by a people who, if they had done nothing more than build this amazing city, would be renowned for their ingenuity. As I stroll through the streets I feel the presence of the illustrious nation that built this marvelous city. If while living here, I could be completely cut off from the real magical community, it would be like a trip to heaven. Though the war has not yet reached my serene hideaway, I am still connected to it, whether I like it or not. The Daily Prophet is dropped at my doorstep every morning, bearing news of the war that the Venetians can peacefully overlook. I like to pretend I'm one of the ignorant Venetians, I don't read it.
Blaise Zabini, the other Hogwarts Venetian, was the first to notice the shocking news. He flipped through the paper that fateful morning, humming joyfully to himself as we waited for Natter to serve breakfast. As his dark eyes scanned the page, his humming stopped and his expression turned to stone.
"There was another attack," he said solemnly.
"Why does that take you by surprise? There are attacks every night," I pointed out, refusing to let the news spoil my day. I was an ignorant Venetian, no bad news for me.
"This time it was someone we know."
"Who?"
"Granger." He tossed me the paper. I pushed it aside, daring myself not to look.
"We should be happy then. The bloody know-it-all bitch is dead," I pointed out trying to sound cheerful about it, but I could feel my face turning to stone as I spoke, and the ambiance of the room turning icy.
"It's not so much the person who died that's bothering me, its that here in Venice we're so cut off from the war. Now someone from school has died, and all of a sudden the war has popped back up in my face taunting me, telling me that there's no way to escape it."
"I know" I said softly, stroking his black curls. Blaise only had to look in my eyes to see the effect this was having on me, because although I was in denial, it didn't fool him. We have a strange connection, he and I. I never fully understood it, yet it has always been with us.
"Lets not dwell on this all day, it's only Granger; although I don't wish her dead, being given the chance to speak up in class might be a good thing," I said after a few moments of silence.
"I'll go get changed. Maybe we can walk down to Piazza San Marco, or take a gondola ride." As Blaise opened the door, we were greeted by a gust of warm air, the pristine city glistened in the early morning sun, still damp from the pervious night's rainfall. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on my face. It warmed me thoroughly. I felt like I was coming out into the sun from being in a mausoleum after dark. Blaise looked at the tranquil affable expression on my face and grinned.
"Or we can do both," he added as he crossed the street to Casa Zabini, the grand house across the street from mine.
I headed back inside to change to muggle clothes, rustling my little brother's hair as I passed him on the stairs. He wiggled out from under me but I didn't call attention to it. Today was going to be a fantastic day.
Hermione grabbed the portkey and flinched as she felt the familiar jerk behind her navel. After checking to make sure her luggage was still with her, she consulted the map she held in her hand. From the appearance of the stone passageways, she was in the right spot. A short, portly man with graying hair and a goatee approached her.
"I'm willing to break myself," he said, tipping his hat.
"To shake this hell from everything I touch" She replied rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the muggle song. Why Dumbledore had selected this one out of everything he could think of, was beyond her.
"I shall be escorting you to your destination," he replied, picking up one of her bags and walking of the narrow street into a lively square. Hermione followed, drinking in the delightful view while she followed the man as he waddled through the crowd.
Somehow, when I woke up the next morning, I knew that the fun and merriment of the previous day was short-lived. A foreboding air filled the house. Blaise felt it too, even though he denied it consistently. He sat perched on the edge of my bed in silence as I lay curled up under the covers, unable to will myself to get out and face the dreary morning. The day was no less picturesque than the previous day, but to my eyes it was blurred and dulled.
"Do you want to do something today?" he asked, fidgeting. I could tell he was restless, yet I was too drained to care.
"Mmm," was my bleak reply.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
"Mmm."
"Come on Millie," he groaned as he began to pace around my wooden floors.
"You'll wear them out that way," I said meekly. He gave me a strange look, but said nothing.
The shrill piercing ring of the doorbell broke the silence that enveloped the room. Blaise leapt several feet into the air. Smirking, I climbed out of my bed and dragged my feet down the stairs. Natter was sick, the poor elf, and my parents were most likely out.
Drearily I opened the door. As I saw who was standing there, my jaw dropped. Quickly I slammed the door and began to breathe heavily.
"Am I hallucinating?" I whispered frantically to Blaise.
"If you are I'm having the same hallucination," he whispered back.
Slowly I opened the door again.
"Eciò casa Bulstrode?" Is this the Bulstrode House?
"Sì," I replied nervously. Yes.
"Well, may I come in?" she asked me switching to English.
"Are you a ghost?" Came Blaise's voice from behind me. I shot him a look which clearly said, What are you stupid or something? Blaise took the hint and shut up.
"Do I look transparent to you? I don't mean to be rude, but can we continue this awkward little pow-wow inside, please? My guide has to leave." I then noticed the portly man who was standing behind her. Between her baggage, height and bushy hair, he was hidden behind her.
I sighed. "Come in." It came out in a whiny voice, but aside from being shocked to see her, a dead girl standing on my doorstep looking very much alive, it was also one of my sworn enemies who never, in my wildest nightmares, would I expect to see invading my hideout. She stereotyped me, the cruel, cold-hearted little freak; even back in second year, before she knew of the inner workings of the Magical world, she had assumed I was evil. When we were paired up in dueling club, we took the meaning of sparring to a whole new level. We verbally sparred. I took as much verbal abuse as I could bear, and dished out plenty of my own, before I gave up and head locked her. We had not encountered each other since, but her words cut me as I came to realize the consequences of being a Slytherin. The wounds she created have still not healed, and they will scar me for life. It's shocking how much power a twelve-year-old can have over someone. I brushed away the painful memory and turned to face her.
"If you saw the Daily Prophet, I have two options. Either I can trust you to keep quiet, or I can modify your memory. And yes, I have special permission to use magic over this vacation, if I feel it's necessary. So what will it be?" She twirled her wand like it was a baton.
"Let's see, have my memory erased, keep quiet, have my memory erased, keep quiet…"
"I'll go with having my memory erased, as long as you can erase my knowledge of your existence from it," Blaise spat angrily at her.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Blaise. Just keep your mouth shut, it won't kill you."
"If I don't die of shock first, it may," he said, still staring at her in disbelief.
"Well then, I was ordered to be killed by Voldemort." She paused as both I and Blaise flinched at the name. I never quite understood how people can say the name; they think it shows nobility and bravery if they can do it without wincing, but what about those who don't need to boast about their bravery, and who don't need to vie for the title of non flincher? Yet they insist on saying the name every time, which bothers me to no end. It's rude, inconsiderate and all it shows is that they are so pathetic that in order to prove their worth they have sunk to the pathetic level of saying the names of mass murderers that threatened the world. "However, the Death Eaters he sent could not find me, so they listed me as dead to avoid being killed and left. If word gets out that I'm still alive I will be killed in an instant, so I'm spending the summer here."
"What's the fastest way to get in touch with a death eater?" Blaise whispered to me. I ignored his comment.
"Joy to the world. I think I'm going to take a vacation as far away from here as I can go," I said sarcastically, heading back to bed and hoping that this was God's way of torturing me with cruel and unusual nightmares.
"Count me in," Blaise said, following me.
"And where is my room?"
"Go find a nice soft spot in the yard and lie down. Have a nice summer."
"That is no way to treat a guest, Millicent!" my mother's reprimanding voice shot.
"Merda," I muttered and turned around.
"Ciao, Mamma." Hi mom
"Take her up to the guest room, Sergio," she said to my little brother.
"Sì, Mamma," he said, scampering off as he gestured at her to follow him. After shooting me a vile look of pure hatred, she followed him.
"Why didn't you tell me she was coming?" I spat out her name as if it was venom.
"Because cara, I knew you would not like her; Dumbledore told me, and I did not want a fight. Once I agreed to keep her here I knew there was nothing we could do about it." dear, sweetie, something like that
"Fine, but I'm not talking to her, I'm going to pretend like she's not here."
"You will do no such thing. Get to know her, I've been told she is a lovely person."
"Well, you heard wrong, mamma," I said before storming up to my room, Blaise following at my heels.
"We should try to get to know her, maybe she has changed." He didn't sound very convinced.
"And I'm a pink flying monkey."
a/n: Feel free to correct my Italian, I just started learning it so it's most likely wrong. I look forward to reading reviews, constructive criticism is appreciated. I will even accept flames if you feel it necessary. This Chapter is only 7 pages, still a bit shorter than normal, but I felt like this was a good place to end it.
I'd like to thank my reviewers: chaste-aeon and TacsGurlJess who doubles as my Beta reader. Hugs and Chocolate Chip Cookies to both of you!
Next Chapter has some Harry, Ron etc in it… Keep an eye out for it, it should be out soon!