ANGELUS SOL SOLIS

Chapter Two

Intempestus Nox (Unreasonable Night)

Hermione Granger stepped into the house, turning to wave at her Muggle friends who had given her a lift home from the centre of town. The darkness of the house surprised her. It was only a quarter to ten, which meant that her parents ought to have been still awake, watching the news as they always did.

"I'm home," she called, putting her bag down by the shoe rack.

Perhaps they had gone to bed early. Still, there was an unsettling eeriness in the atmosphere. Hermione tiptoed into the living room with the intention of catching the hourly news. She shut the door behind her to stop the noise from disturbing her parents if they were asleep. As the door clicked shut, strong arms grabbed her in a vice-like grip. Her scream was muffled with a simple 'Silencio'.

"Lumos."

The sight before Hermione caused her to struggle more against her restrictive captor. She wanted to do anything, anything to stop the haunting bewildered looks in her parents' eyes. A semi-circle of Death Eaters surrounded them, each with a white mask over their faces.

You evil bastards, thought Hermione, her fists clenching in her frustration at being helpless. If only there was some way that she could free her parents, maybe a non-verbal protective shield that she could perform. Something… anything.

One of the Death Eaters stepped forward, pointing the wand directly between the eyes of Hermione's mother. With the other hand, the Death Eater removed his mask, a split second before a jet of green light hit Mrs Granger squarely in the face, so that the poor woman caught a glimpse of her executor. Mr Granger's face turned pale in horror and fear, tears cascading down his cheeks as his lifeless wife slumped beside him. He tried turning to his daughter for help, but was killed instantly by the same person who had killed his wife.

Hermione's blood curdled as she saw the triumphant sneer in the Death Eater's eyes. An overwhelming emotion surged within Hermione at the shock of witnessing her parents' deaths. The feeling was indescribable, an immense giant of passion threatening her sense of logic. The electrical surge pulsed through her veins, and finally, the sheer power of her anger broke the magical bonds of silence around her vocal chords.

"How dare you?" she yelled, her face livid with anger, bottled up from years of bullying at the hands of wizards considering themselves superior to her. The harsh volume of her voice took the person who was restraining her by surprise, and unrestrained, Hermione strode up to the one who had just murdered both her parents, uncaring, or unaware of the fact that she was powerless against the Death Eaters without her wand.

"They were innocent! They did nothing to you!" she shouted, her voice becoming hoarse. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to bring justice to the looming Death Eater in front of her.

"Foolish Mudblood," tutted the cold voice of another Death Eater, whose wand was drawn out.

It was only then, when the wand was inches from her face that the sick realization of certain death dawned on Hermione. Afraid of the murderers, yet quite unwilling to just give up, she cast her strongest glares at the Death Eaters closing in around her.

Panic. The Death Eaters raised their wands.

"You're next," said another, pointing the wand menacingly at her face.

Too frightened to scream, Hermione looked at the Death Eater in fright. Instinctively, she shielded her face with her arms. The Death Eaters laughed at her pathetic attempt to protect herself from a curse.

"Save me," she pleaded, to no one in particular, "I've done nothing wrong."

The Death Eater removed her mask, grinning menacingly.

Oh my God, thought Hermione, feeling the inevitability of death edge ever closer.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" shouted Bellatrix Lestrange.

The jet of green light, aimed as such would normally have killed instantly. Light emitted from the body of Hermione Granger. The increasing brightness of this light was so bright that looking at Hermione was equivalent to being blinded by the brightest midday sun. The burning intensity of the white-hot light reflected the green jet, killing Bellatrix Lestrange instantaneously. The remaining Death Eaters screamed her name, and frightened by the power of this energy source, they Apparated away as quickly as they could without waiting to release the Dark Mark over the house.

Several hours later, the light was still being emitted from Hermione's body with as much intensity as there had been initially. The light was so strong that the house itself looked like a beacon of light from far away. Intrigued by the phenomenon he had just seen, Hermione Granger's original captor stayed rooted to the spot, uncertain of whether the girl inside the ethereal ball of light was alive or dead.

The young captor was unsure of what to do. He had come here by Side-Apparition with Bellatrix Lestrange. Now, she lay dead, and the other Death Eaters had vanished without one notion of concern for him. If he was caught loitering at the house, people would connect two and two together, albeit wrongly, and he would be accused of something he did not do. He was half desperate to leave the house, but his admiration at the girl's courage nagged at him to stay. The little compassion that he had in him surfaced made the possibility of a false criminal conviction seem insignificant. The important thing was that the girl, whatever state she was currently in, would become safe.

So he sat, and he waited for the authorities to come. He had a lot of time to contemplate what he had just seen. He hated to admit it, but the emotional whirlwind that the girl had gone through was incredible. And the fact that she had even conjured the psychological strength to face the wrath of her parents' murderers was amazing, considering what they thought of her lineage.

The grandfather clock in the living room chimed two times.

How long would he have to wait? The thought of being caught by the Ministry frightened him. They would take him away, lock him up, and feed him to the Dementors. There would be a heinous criminal conviction on his record that would be false.

He shuddered, despite the thickness of the robes that he wore. He moved closer, peering over the ball of light. Some warmth radiated from this energy source, from the girl. He rummaged around, looking for something tinted to protect his eyes with.

There was nothing. He quickly ran into the next room, found the light switch. Hurriedly, he opened the cabinets and took out a glass plate.

"Colorantio," he muttered. The clear glass darkened instantly.

He took the plate back into the living room, and holding it in front of his eyes, proceeded to examine the ball of light. When he squinted, he could just see the outline of the girl's body.

Glancing around, he tentatively tried to touch the girl, but the heat was so intense that he had to draw his hand back in pain. Thinking quickly, he put a heat-repelling charm onto his arm, and tried to touch the girl again.

"Get away from the dead people," barked a voice from behind him, "you filthy murderer… we've caught you now."

I hated the ending of that chapter. It was absolutely rubbish. Did anyone notice the 'Pearl Harbor' quote that I put in there? hehehe... Also, I was watching the lastest Atlantis Disney film the other day, and drew the inspiration for Hermione-the-light-ball from the idea in there where the girl becomes infused with the energy source of Atlantis. Watch it... it's quite inspiring...

Thanks go to:

Takarameri

Angharad Marared Rhodri Gwynedd

Jasmine-Signet

Wilden Fraulein

Mistress of Eternity

Fain Oakenbringer

Please review!