Vengeance and Beauty chapter 2
Please read the Author's Note (It only takes a minute)
A/N: Before we begin it had been brought to my attention that I failed to "cover my ass" in my first chapter. As such I would like to go back and state that I do not own any of Rowling's (I'm not even sure that's how you spell it) material, her characters, settings, action figures you know the like.
Second, I apologize for my not updating in like…um…let's see…something like a year. I have an explanation. I spent some time in Japan, then Colorado, then Alaska, then I got a job, then school started, in which I had a 37 page research paper and a mentorship in the ER. So yeah…boohoo, poor me. Anyway, now that schools almost out I'll have a lot more time…so, yeah, more chapters and such.
Third, thank you to all those who reviewed my first chapter, I appreciate it (whoohoo, I have critics!) I hope you enjoy the rest of my story.
Fourth, lets see…what have I covered…legalities, absenteeism, thank yous…oh yeah. Later in this story I will be gearing the action towards a more mature audience…not just like that (scowl). However, I do plan to add a romance rating to it (I'm pretty sure rating isn't the term I want to use, but it's late) as well as some…intense thematic elements. There, you've been warned.
Hmm…is there anything else…oh yeah, I went back and read my first chapter…it's single spaced…I know…I'm ashamed…no I'm joking. However, it is a bitch to read on a computer, as such I'm going to begin double spacing things…honestly don't know why I'm letting you know this, you would have figured it out in a minute anyway. Alright, now on to our full-length feature film.
Vengeance and Beauty chapter 2
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in Ron's prefect dormitory. They were discussing the article that Hermione had found in the stack that Heian had checkout of the library. Ron's dormitory provided them some amount of privacy, as Heian seemed unusually apt at coming into conversations about him.
"Okay, so you think that there's something wrong with Heian checking out an article about the attack on the ministry two years ago?" Ron asked, sitting on his four-post bed.
"Well doesn't seem weird that he's been here only two days and he's reading the Prophet?" Hermione posed back to Ron. Harry looked a little puzzled.
"Um, no, it doesn't." Harry responded. Hermione looked at him accusingly. Apparently he had missed something, "Why would it?"
"Because, that article was printed two years ago."
"Wait," Ron sat up a little straighter, "she's got a point mate. Why would he be looking for an article two years old if he was reading up on current events?" Harry got where this was going.
"Because he's not reading up on current events."
"Exactly." Hermione exclaimed. Harry sighed inwardly, somehow he know what Hermione was about to suggest. "I think we should find out what those other articles are about." She offered. Yep, he was right.
"Well, how do you suppose we go about doing that?"
Both Ron and Hermione looked at him like he'd lost his mind.
"All right, fine, we can use the cloak."
"Okay then, tomorrow night we'll just go check out what those articles are about." Hermione said, with far more confidence than she felt. The two boys seemed to be feeling the same way, but both nodded and the three headed off to bed.
The next morning Heian was nowhere to be found in Gryffindor tower. A couple of first years claimed he had gotten up before sunrise and left the dormitories. Harry was concerned; he, Ron and Hermione had been out late before and were all too aware of the consequences. He was also fairly sure that being out in the wee hours of the morning was just as bad. Of course Heian would have no idea how little fun detention in the Forbidden Forest would be, if he were even that lucky. There was a rumor that Snape was taking inventory and that he had requested all upperclassmen that received detention to help him catalogue his less pleasant ingredients. Harry knew a few of those less pleasant ingredients from his trials with the Polyjuice Potion his second year. When the three friends had left the common room they caught sight of a slim figure out on the grounds. His hair reflected the morning sun with an unnatural gleam.
"Oh bloody Hell, what is he doing out there?" Ron asked no one in particular.
"I don't know, but we should go get him before one of the professors sees him." Hermione suggested.
"Sees who?" A painfully thin voice asked from behind the group of friends at the window. Please be an illusion, Harry thought as he turned around to stare Professor Snape directly in the eyes. "Well, Mister Potter?" he practically spat Harry's name, "Sees whom?"
Hermione stepped forward, nudging Ron more in front of the window. "No one Professor. We were just thinking out loud. We hadn't seen Heian in the common room, and thought he shouldn't be out in the halls so early in the morning, before breakfast." It was a decent lie, but Snape wasn't satisfied.
"Well, then, you'll have no objection if I take a look out the window will you…Mister Weasley." Ron looked at his two friends with a face of sorry resignation and stepped out of the way. Snape looked down to see Heian slowly walking back up the steps to the front doors. "What have we here? Well, Miss Granger, it would appear we now know where our young Mister Nailo has gotten to." Snape smiled cruelly and headed down to the front doors. The three friends looked at each other and hurriedly followed Snape. Heian was about to open the door when Snape appeared in front of him. The morning light revealing his pasty complexion.
"Mister Nailo. Just what were you doing out…" Snape started. Heian had reached into his robes, withdrew a teacher's pass and pushed it halfway into Snape's face without a word. The same icy glare from his fight with Malfoy was in his eyes again. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood frozen behind the potions master as he read the note. Harry looked at Heian. His cold blue eyes were fixed on Snape's arm, just where Harry knew the professor's mark was. Snape looked up from the note and found Heian staring at his forearm through his robes. He whipped his arm back behind his back and glared at Heian. "What do you think you're staring at?" He spat. Harry, Ron and Hermione waited for some kind of explanation. Their eyes went wide when Heian stepped forward, bringing his face within a hair's breath of Snape's. Heian whispered, staring straight into Snape's eyes.
"I agreed to behave as a student while I am staying in this school, and as such I shall. The Headmaster's vote of confidence goes a long way in your defense, but," His deathly cold eyes narrowed, "it would be a grave error to believe everyone shares his opinion of you. Professor." Snape was furious. The three friends thought for sure he would vaporize the outspoken visitor where he stood. Instead Snape turned on his heels and marched away from the trio. He called out to Heian just before he was out of view.
"Detention, at 5:00 tonight. Report to your head of house for details." Harry hadn't seen someone enrage Snape this badly since he had slipped into the professor's private pensieve two years ago. It was strange though, as Snape had turned to go Harry thought he'd seen just the slightest glimpse of fear in Snape's eyes, just for a moment, as if he'd thought of something terrible and then let it pass.
Heian turned away from the hall Snape had retreated down and looked at the three standing awed and confused in the doorway. The cold hardness of his eyes relaxed.
"Am I in time for breakfast?" The three friends stood gaping at what had just transpired.
"He's insane!" Ron exclaimed for the fourth time since they'd left Heian that morning. "Truly, honestly insane. He practically told Snape off to his face!"
"We know, Ron, we were there." Hermione explained, paging through her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. The three had been rescheduled to the same class, due to the fact that Potions had been temporally suspended to deal with a "mess" that had to be resolved before it was safe to work again.
"Yeah, I know. But…Insane!" Ron was nearly red in the face from talking so much, "What was he thinking!"
"Where is Professor LeFey?" Harry asked trying to change the subject.
"Yes, she's not normally late." Ron looked at Hermione puzzled.
"How would you know? We've had her as a professor for what…two days." Hermione glared at Ron.
"Not just for class. Professor McGonagall was talking about how she was always the first one to staff meetings and such." Hermione explained. As if on cue the office door opened and Alexandra LeFey stepped out into the classroom.
"I apologize for being late. I had to schedule a detention with Professor McGonagall." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other.
"I thought Snape was getting all the detentions?" Ron whispered. Harry shrugged; maybe Heian had really thrown Snape for a loop.
"It's probably the spill in the dungeons. Students aren't allowed down there until it's cleaned up."
"Miss Granger." LeFey's voice caused the three to turn toward the front of the classroom sharply. "Is everything alright." She asked raising a slender eyebrow.
"Yes Professor, I'm sorry I was talking. I was just…"
"Well, I would like to just start class, if that's alright with you three."
"Yes Ma'am, sorry." Hermione looked down slightly ashamed, and a little bit angry at having been singled out.
"Alright then, we've been working on subvocal casting, is that correct?" A general head nodding of the class confirmed her suspicions. "Very good, please read the following pages detailing a group of particular spells that become much harder when cast without vocalization. After you're done I would like you to spend sometime thinking about the reasons for this phenomenon. Things to consider would be the general difficulty of the spell; it's effects and targets. This will be your homework; I would like you to explain this phenomenon in twenty-five to thirty centimeters of parchment. I will collect it at the end of the week. The remaining time is yours." With that she sat down at her desk and began reading a large, old vellum scroll. Several of the students complained quietly about the length of an assignment so early in the year. Hermione immediately open her book and started reading. Ron opened his book and began twirling his quill between his fingers. Harry couldn't help but think about what had gone on before breakfast. Heian somehow knew about Snape's past, as well as the trust Dumbledore had put in him. How? How could Heian have known anything about the Order of the Phoenix? Wait, what was he thinking, he didn't know that Heian knew about the Order. Of course not, how could he? He could have found out that Snape had been a Death Eater a bunch of other ways. Oh yeah, a voice in his head asked, like how? He wasn't sure, though now he was far more determined to find out what those articles were about. The class seemed to drag on forever. Eventually they were dismissed and the three headed to Transfiguration.
"This is the first time we've really had class altogether in a while." Harry remarked as they climbed the stairs to Professor McGonagall's classroom.
"Yeah, you're right." Ron remarked. "Might be nice."
"Have either of you started chapter five yet?" Hermione asked the two. Ron looked at Harry with eyebrows raised in disbelief.
"Hermione… I'm on chapter two. Almost done though."
Hermione sighed in resignation, old dog new trick, she thought to herself.
The three met Heian at lunch. He was looking over a large herbology handbook, most likely belonging to Professor Sprout. Hermione sat down next to Heian and poured herself a glass of lemonade.
"How are you Heian?"
"I'm well. Thank you Hermione." He responded, looking up from the book a moment before taking a bite of salad and returning to the old dusty pages. Hermione caught Ron and Harry's eyes as they sat down across from the two. Ron got her message. She wanted one of them to ask about this morning, probably to avoid being the bad guy, Ron thought, why doesn't she just shag him right out. He laughed inwardly at the absurdity of his idea.
"So, Heian what were you doing out this morning." Ron asked nonchalantly, trying not to sound prying.
"Hm, oh, I saw Hagrid going out to the Forbidden Forest early this morning, so I decided I would go with him." Heian answered turning the page in Sprout's herbology handbook. Ron looked at Hermione, then at Harry. Heian went into the Forbidden Forest, for fun. Just because he felt like it. He was crazy.
"Hagrid was alright with that?" Harry asked.
"Yes, he was going to check up on Norbert." The three friends looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"Um," Hermione started, "would Norbert happen to be a…"
"Dragon? Yes. Hagrid said he has had special permission to bring a dragon onto the grounds for the first few months of the year." Heian explained.
"No way!" Ron exclaimed, a little louder then needed be. "Guys, we have to see Hagrid, maybe we can see Norbert." He said lowering his voice slightly.
"Ron. You have Care of Magical Creatures this year don't you?" Hermione asked, disappointed that she couldn't fit it into her schedule this year.
"Yeah, but not until the winter, by then Norbert will be gone."
"Yeah, I'm with Ron." Harry agreed, "Heian said he's only here for the fall right?" The silver haired Elf nodded, not looking up from his studying. Wow, Harry thought, really not one for conversation is he. The four sat quietly, conversing about various aspects of school life to this point, with Heian fading in and out. Eventually lunch ended and the four went their separate ways to class.
Surprisingly no news of Heian's encounter with Snape was heard in the general gossip of the school as the day passed. The alleged spill in the dungeons was cleared up just before supper and Hermione, Ron and Harry sat down to another scrumptious meal provided by the Hogwarts house elves. Hermione had once again started the movement of house elves equal rights that had become a staple of the last three years. Heian was no where to be found, presumably serving his detention with professor LeFey. The trio finished eating early, since Hermione had thought that this would be a great time to investigate the articles that Heian had been reading.
"Okay, we just go in and look for the articles." Hermione tried to justify to herself, more than anyone else. "They're technically the school's property, so it's perfectly legal."
"Hermione, you're not making us feel any better." Ron remarked as they climbed the moving stairs to Gryffindor tower. The three reached the porthole and passed through into the common room. To their relief no one was there, though it would have been a perfect excuse to call the whole thing off. However, they climbed the steps to the boys' dormitory and went inside. Heian's bed was at the far end of the room. Harry, having not quite adjusted to the title of Head Boy, had chosen to remain in the dormitories for the beginning of school. Hermione had of course moved in to the private rooms, since it facilitated a more private studying atmosphere. The three moved across the room, constantly checking over their shoulders incase anyone else finished supper early. Heian's trunk sat at the end of his bed. The four poster bed was immaculately clean.
"They're probably in his trunk." Harry speculated. Ron nodded, but made no move to open the trunk. Hermione looked at it closely, there were five patterned locks on the front, but there were no keyholes.
"That's odd, how does he get into the trunk without any keys?"
"Magic locks?" Ron suggested.
"I suppose, then maybe…" Hermione withdrew her wand from her robes and pointed it at the first lock. "Alohamora." The lock remained still.
"Maybe you have to unlock all five." Ron offered, Hermione shrugged and repeated the process on the four remaining locks. The trunk refused to budge. Harry was having second thoughts about this whole idea.
"Guys, maybe we should just go, it's probably for the best."
"Yeah, alright mate. Let's go back down stairs. I doubt anyone will notice we're even early." Hermione silently agreed, and the three turned around and went back out into the common room. Harry and Ron began discussing the upcoming Quidditch season. Hermione began absentmindedly paging through the transfiguration book she'd gotten from the library. After a while she stood up and walked to the porthole, she paused for a minute then finally stepped through. Ron and Harry looked at each other questioningly for a moment before Ron spoke up.
"Two butterbeers says she's going to see Heian."
"I'll take that." Harry answered.
Hermione passed the multitudes of students on their way back to their dormitories to finish, or more likely begin their assignments. Fortunately Hermione's destination was more out of the way then most. She waited until the halls were mostly empty then made her way to the third floor entrance. She checked over her shoulder, then cast a concealment charm on herself. Not quite as good as Harry's cloak, but in the feeble light of the third floor it would do the job. She made her way down the corridor counting the pillars on her right. At the seventeenth she stopped and looked at the wall between them, written ever so small on the floor below was a strange rune. A combination concealment and locking charm that she had picked up last year. For some reason she had decided to craft a niche that she could go to when she absolutely did not want to be disturbed. Why she had put it on the third floor was still something of a mystery to her. She glanced around once more before pressing her hand against the wall, the stones began to shift and melt away revealing a cozy room, complete with queen bed, chair and of course desk with reading lamp. The desk had yet to be used this year and so was clean of books, for the moment. Hermione flopped down on the bed as the wall behind her closed up again. She was in the middle of quite the dilemma. Her, Hermione Granger, Head Girl, top of her class, one of the most promising students to graduate Hogwarts in centuries had a crush.
"So what?" she asked out loud, "I'm eighteen, I'm allowed to have a crush." Well, she thought, Viktor Krum had been a crush, but this wasn't like Viktor, was it? No, not entirely. "But still, at the very most it's purely an infatuation, and I'm certainly not obligated to pursue it." She told herself matter of factly. She looked at the clock. Good, almost eight. Wait, why did she care that it was almost eight. Was it because everyone would be out of the halls, and she could…No! She was no going to look for Heian. She knew where he was. And so what, she wasn't going to go see him. Why would she? She lied on the bed for a minute more then got up. Oh Hell! She thought as she stormed out of the room and proceeded to sneak off the third floor down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. By eight thirty most of the hallways were lit with torches, so her concealment charm proved to be as effective as needed.
She found the classroom door slightly ajar, and mustering up what courage she had she crept to the crack still illuminated by the many candles in the room. Professor LeFey sat at her desk with a quill and a book taking short notes. Heian was pulling books off the shelves and looking at the inside covers. Hermione could just make out their conversation.
"So, Mr. Nailo. What brings you here, anyway."
"To Hogwarts, or to your office?"
"Both.
"Well, the first answer I prefer to keep to myself, begging the professor's forgiveness." LeFey raised an eyebrow without looking at the elf, and half scoffed, "the second, well, Professor Snape believed it was necessary to instill a disciplinary measure in order to correct my behavior here as quickly as possible."
"Yes, I heard. What exactly did you do?"
"Exactly, I expressed my opinion of Professor Snape's previous choice of lifestyles." This time LeFey did look up.
"Heian. That was uncalled for."
"Well, clearly."
"I'm serious Heian." This time the elf looked up at her.
"You're always serious." There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. "112."
"What?"
"The book number. It's 112."
"Oh. Right, thank you."
"So, what brings you here to Hogwarts Professor. 285"
"I was offered the job, and decided I would enjoy it."
"Really. I hear the position has quite a reputation. 145"
"Well, I suppose it does. But that doesn't bother me."
"No I suppose it wouldn't."
"What makes you say that?"
"Hmm, nothing. 401"
"No, tell me. Why doesn't that surprise you?"
"No reason. You've always been one to take risks. 206" LeFey stood up and walked down the stairs to where Heian was reading book numbers. She stopped in front of Heian, her arms folded over her chest.
"What do you mean by that?" Heian looked up into LeFey eyes. He raised his eyebrows.
"Nothing. What did you think I meant by it."
"If this is about ten years ago…" Heian cut her off.
"For the record, you're the one that brought that up"
"...all the same. If this is about ten years ago, I recall it was you who left." Heian reshelfed the book he was holding and pulled the next one down.
"I left to keep you from making a huge mistake."
"Is that why?"
"Yes. You had no idea what you were getting into, and you would have regretted it." Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. What were they talking about? She prayed it wasn't what is sounded like. But that was impossible, Heian was only eighteen, nineteen at most.
"That's so like you Heian. You knew how to solve all my problems didn't you."
"No, but I did know how to solve this one."
"I don't recall ever asking you to solve my alleged problem."
"That's because you were too young to realize it for what it was."
"Oh, and what was it Heian. Wasn't it more the fact that twenty years down the road you wouldn't have been happy with a human wife." Heian turned around in a flash. His eyes narrowed and he became frighteningly quite.
"Don't you ever accuse me of not loving you." Hermione pursed her lips, and blinked back a startled tear. She shouldn't be here. This was a mistake; this whole thing was a mistake. She turned and hurried back towards Gryffindor Tower.
Over Heian's shoulder LeFey noticed a hazy outline flee from outside the room. She turned back to Heian. "I think I'm all done for the night. Why don't you go back to the Dormitories, Mr. Nailo." Heian put down the book in his hands.
"Very well. Good night, Professor."
Hermione bolted up the steps to her private dormitory, careful not to draw to much attention to herself. Luckily almost everyone else was already asleep. She closed the door and collapsed against it, silent tears dripping down her face. Why was she crying? She didn't actually love Heian. Hell, she didn't even like him, well, not like that at any rate. This was stupid; it was none of her business, none at all. She wiped her eyes and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. What did it matter who Heian had been with, even if it was a Professor. But how is that possible? Ten years ago, Heian would have been a little kid, right? Why am I even thinking about this, she asked herself, it's none of my business remember. A tiny voice answered her. Because you don't want it to be true.
Author's Note (Please read this one too): Hey, just wanted to say that if you guys catch something that's misspelled…or grammar snafu, or whatever. Please don't hesitate to point it out. I would seriously hate to misspell something for the rest of my story, and perpetuate the "I'm an ass" visage floating about. Thanks.
P.S. I decide against double spacing…it looks goofy, sorry.