Disclaimer: I don't anything of the Harry Potter series nor could I ever, not talented enough for that. I do, however, own the plot line and the character Derek, he is mine!
Author Note: I hate Swim Team practice! It sucks, I can barely move after I am done! They do it just to spite us…I hope karma comes fast.
Well, on to a better note: Wow, thanks for all of the reviews you guys, I really appreciate it. I know I have said that a million times, but it really makes my day, keep them coming!
A Silent Wish.
Arcana
Hermione arrived home some half an hour later to see Harry and Ron munching on what she assumed was their dinner.
"Oh, hey. We got your note, pretty long walk I'd say," Ron said with a suspicious stare.
"I got carried away," Hermione said as she put her coat on the coat rack and headed over to the table they were sitting at.
"Must have been a pretty good walk," said Harry as he took a bite out of his sandwich.
Her mind reeled back only an hour before. "Yeah, it was," Hermione said slowly as she looked in no particular direction.
"Hey, have you guys seen Ginny? Is she still in her room?" Hermione asked.
"She must be, we haven't seen her since we got back," Ron answered glancing at Harry.
Hermione nodded and stood up to go to Ginny's room. She moved down the hall and saw the light creep between the crevices of the door. As she reached the end of the hall, she paused. Raising her hand, she knocked on the door softly.
"Who is it?" Ginny's voice asked from behind the door, he mind seemed to be on something else.
"It's Hermione," she responded.
Hermione waited patiently for a few moments before Ginny answered back, "I'm busy."
"Ginny, I need to tell you something," Hermione said back quickly.
This time, Hermione could tell she had her attention. It seemed to take Ginny back because she paused for a long while. Then, Hermione heard a muffle of noise behind the door and then it suddenly came to a stop. The doorknob moved clockwise and the door swung open.
Ginny stood in front of her and she looked heavy eyed. "Come in," she told Hermione and stood aside for her. Hermione walked in and Ginny closed the door behind her.
Hermione sat at the foot of her bed and Ginny sat at the head.
"So?" Ginny asked her in a mildly irritated tone.
"First, I want to say sorry for lying to you yesterday. I don't know what came over me," Hermione said, but at that moment, a painful throb struck her head and her hand instinctively shot up to her forehead.
"Are you OK?" Ginny asked in a worried tone, but she didn't move to help Hermione.
The pain slowly ceased and Hermione said, "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just this headache that keeps coming back, it's nothing.
"Anyway, I wanted to tell you about everything. I need your help," Hermione started again, but the pain in her head became twice as bad.
"Ah!" Hermione said gripping her head with her hands desperately.
"Hermione, are you sure you're OK?" Ginny asked, this time, moving across the bed to her.
Hermione didn't answer, she didn't even hear her. The only thing that was on her mind was focusing on getting the pain out of her head. After a few minutes, the throbbing died away again.
"Oh no, I knew this would happen," Ginny said patting her on the shoulder.
Hermione craned her head up to her and asked, "What?"
Ginny sighed deeply and said, "Well, I found it peculiar yesterday, your behavior. I don't know why, but you weren't acting yourself nor did you soundyourself. So, I looked up a few things today in a few books of yours," Hermione looked at her more sternly, "Sorry. Anyway, I found something in there called Arcana. It is an ancient spell that dark wizards used to keep secrets from being told by those they had told. The symptoms are things such as characteristics not seen in the normal person, misfortune, physical pain, and the list goes on. Hermione, you've shown all of these symptoms," Ginny finished.
"What, how do you know?" Hermione asked defensively.
"'Characteristics not seem in the normal person,' Hermione, yesterday, you were lying to me, I could tell, that's not like you. 'Physical pain,' your headache, obvious. The 'misfortune,' well, I don't know about that one," Ginny said baffled.
"Well, yesterday, I tried to call Derek on the phone and got the answering machine, but I hardly think that is considered misfortune," Hermione with a shake of her head.
"Well, you never know…" Ginny said with her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah…where did you get this information?" Hermione asked looking around the room for some sign of a book.
"Oh," Ginny said reaching under the bed, "Ancient Spells and Potions," she said handing Hermione the book. Hermione took it and moved her finger down the spine. She moved her other hand over the top of the pages and found a bookmark. She grabbed the page and flipped open the book. There it was, on the middle of the left side of the page, "Arcana: Secret Spell."
It read of ancient wizards and how they used it to ensure their secret was safe. One of the stories spoke of two wizards who had put the spell on each other unknowingly after they shared a secret. Another spoke of a wizard who put it on his wife so she wouldn't tell anyone of him beating her. The last, and saddest, was a story of a young witch who had overheard a secret clan discussing important business, which wasn't meant for other ears. The young witch died a few weeks later after going to authorities on the problem. It was like an invisible torture spell, except they were trying to keep the secret in, not get it out.
"This thing is brutal, cruel, inhumane. And you say I show signs of having this curse put on me?" Hermione asked scanning the list of symptoms.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Ginny said gloomily at Hermione. Her heart pounded with horror as her eyes locked on to the description below it. Two words stuck out: possibly fatal.
It took Hermione a few hours to relax and get to sleep that night. After her mind had comprehended that she was in possible mortal danger, she began to fill with rage of thought as to who would do that to her. She didn't even have to question who had done it. It was him, that man, that stranger. She shook at the thought of how foolish she had been to let her guard down, to throw caution to the wind, and even begin to trust him.
The next day, Ginny and Hermione locked themselves in Hermione's room where they poured over the library of books she had hidden in her room, searching for some way, some counter curse for this spell she had put on her.
"Here, try this," Hermione said as she heaved an abnormally large book from the drawer. She shoved it into Ginny's out stretched arms and Ginny stumbled backwards onto the bed.
Ginny read the title and groaned. "Hermione, I've looked through this one three times already," Ginny said setting it down on the bed and slumped beside it.
"Look through it again. This time, read through the book, not just the glossary and index," Hermione said not looking up from the book she was reading.
"What? Do you know how long that will take?" Ginny protested in shock.
Hermione snapped her head up insulted. "Does my life mean that little to you?" Hermione asked with a hurt face.
Ginny was at a loss for words, she hadn't meant for it to come out like that. "Hermione, no…"Ginny said trying to find the words to explain herself.
"Then read," Hermione said looking back down at her book. The way she said it, it was more like an order rather than a request. With a sigh, Ginny picked up the heavy book, turned to the first page, and began to read.
The day went by as they read the pages of the many books Hermione had provided them. They read the books word for word for quite some time before Hermione decided it was taking too long (though she finished a few books before Ginny finished one), and decided it was better to scan.
It was not until they were well into the evening before Hermione glanced up at the clock as she took a drink from her water glass. Her nearly spit out the water she had drank when she looked at the time. It was almost 7:30.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione exclaimed and she slammed the book shut.
"What?" Ginny asked, excited she might have found something.
"I'm late for my Auror class! I was supposed to be there at 6:00! How could I have forgotten?" Hermione said frantically, saying the last bit more to herself then to Ginny.
Hermione grabbed her coat, checked her hair in the mirror, and ran out of the room toward the back door without saying another word to Ginny. She ran past as confused Harry and Ron without a word.
When Hermione got out the back door, she apparated to the Ministry. When she arrived, the room was empty. The window where the old woman had been before was vacant. She walked over to the window and looked inside, but it was empty.
"Hello?" Hermione called out and tried to look into the room.
The answer that came back was not what she expected. "Ah, Hermione Granger," a voice came from the hall behind the office. Hermione gave a quizzical look.
A moment later, non-other then Lucius Malfoy emerged from a door in the back. "Ah, Granger, why are you here, lost?" Lucius asked with fake concern.
"I'm here for my Auror Training class…why are you here?" she asked back in a revolted pitch.
"I work here," he said with equal disgust.
"So, training to be an Auror? I figured selling socks was better fitted for a woman of your class," he said with a sigh.
She sneered at him and asked, "What are you doing down here? I hardly find this a safe place for a Death Eater such as yourself."
"Why I am down here, that is my business and my business only. As for that second part, me being a Death Eater, are you sure you are willing to risk that accusation," he asked her with a smile.
"I am willing to risk the truth," she said back with confidence in her voice.
Lucius looked at her for a moment before inclining his head. "Well, it looks to me like you are later for class. Lost your touch have you?" he asked with amusement.
"No, but last I checked, the Death Eater's meetings weren't in the middle of the Ministry of Magic," Hermione said with a smile of her own.
Lucius did not flinch at the name like so many people had, but instead, he stood straight and glared at her evilly. He stared at her for a moment before walking over to her and talking to her in such a small voice, she had to strain to hear him.
"Don't you dare speak the Dark Lord's name with your Mudblood tongue, you are not worthy," he said with rage in his hissing voice. Hermione didn't recoil at his words, but decided it was better not to speak either.
His face, surprisingly, turned to a wicked smile. "Looks like this isn't a good time for revenge, we will have to postpone our "meeting" until next time. Then, maybe, we can be alone," he said with a bigger grin.
At that moment, a similar woman's voice came to her ear. "Ah, Lucius, how nice to see you," the old woman from two days before said giving him a bright smile.
"Mrs. Wallow, long time no see," Lucius said stepping away from the window that separated he and Hermione. The woman was about to respond when she caught Hermione out of the corner of her eye.
"Ah, yes, you. Miss Granger, is it?" the woman asked with her warming voice gone. "What are you doing here?" she asked with disgust in here voice; she must have been Muggle-hating pureblood like Lucius.
"I'm late, I need to get down to class," Hermione said politely and her cheeks turned a bright red.
"I was just giving her a stern talk about responsibility. She's still working on it," Lucius said with professional poise, but he whispered the last few words to the old woman for dramatic effect, but loud enough for Hermione to hear.
Hermione blushed as the old woman glanced at her with a smile. "Thank you, Lucius, always so concerned for the broadening mind. She unfortunatelyhas a lot of that to do.As for you, Miss Granger, you need to learn to get here on time from now on. Now, come on, let's get you down there. I can't wait to see the look on Professor Peck's face," the woman said with amusement as she opened her window/door and stepped out. Hermione wasn't paying attention to her though; she had her eyes glaring at Lucius. He smirked and simply turned and walked away.
Hermione ran out of the glass elevator and walked briskly to the class no farther then fifty feet away.
Looks from the class caught her and they followed her as she walked up to the Professor.
Professor Peck whipped around just as Hermione began to speak, "Why were you late?" he asked and he didn't look at all handsome.
"I'm sorry, sir, I lost track of time-" Hermione explained, but he cut her off.
"There is no excuse to be late, so don't be. Now, take a seat and get out your book," he said harshly and whipped around to the board where he wrote with his wand. Hermione tried to get his attention to try and explain, but he seemed to have zoned her out. She sulked back to her desk next to Neville.
"Where were you? I was worried, never seen you late for a class before," Neville whispered cautiously looking to make sure no one heard him.
"Nowhere," Hermione said plainly as she opened her book to page 559 where she saw Neville had his. She didn't look at him, but she could tell he was eyeing her curiously. This was going to be a tough day.
Author's Note: OK, I have seen author's do this all the time, so I figured I would take a shot at it, I know it makes me feel special when an author acknowledges me in a chapter :smiles brightly!
JerseySaint19: Thanks for your review, I can't wait for more!
PadfootIsMine: Wow, thanks for your review, I always enjoy them! They are always so touching, so sweet, so full of wonderful comments! I thank you so much, it helps me sleep at night. Ha! Just have to say, I lover your name, too bad I got him first! Ha, no, you can have him as long as I get Lucius. I hope you review again!
CareBearErin: Maybe, maybe. You never know what an author is thinking...so beware...it could get scary...I am glad you liked the way I described it, I try wink.
CharmedLeoLvr: You are another one of my favorite reviewers! Sorry I didn't review last Friday, but I am trying to keep them to weekly updates, it is more regular that way. I always get amazing comments and humorous commentray from you! I love it, it definitely makes my day. I just read your most recent chapter of, "Anything But Mine," (I had to advertise yours, though I am sure it is popular enough) and loved it. I can't wait for more, keep up the reviews!
NikkiEvans: You will find out soon enough, it is the fun of the story. I think I have given enough clues, but some don't know yet, but once you know, the "Hot Moments" will be even hotter. Thanks for your reviews, keep them coming!
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