Title: The Geminus
Author name: Berna
Author email: charmedhpfanatic@yahoo.com Category: Mystery
Sub Category: Drama
Keywords: Harry Hermione Draco Geminus
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. There are quotes here from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which belongs to the UPN, 20th Century Fox, the Kuzui people. etc. not to me), and other places.
Chapter Three: A Malfoy
Hermione sat on her own in the Great Hall the next day, trying hard not to notice the people blatantly gaping and staring at her. Absolutely no one had spoken to her. They were all just content to stare. Now she knew what Harry felt like. Well, Harry had never been alone. Harry had had she and Ron. or at least one of them. She? She had no one.
Harry watched Hermione come into the Great Hall. In a typically Hermione fashion, she brought a huge book with her, one she put up to read. but probably to ignore everyone staring at her.
"Ummm. Hermione?"
Harry watched as Hermione slowly, reluctantly, lowered her book. It was Dean.
"Hey Dean." she said glancing at Harry and Ron.
Dean followed her gaze to see Harry and Ron at the other side, who quickly averted their eyes and pretended to be engrossed in discussing the prospects of Gryffindor's impending Quidditch match with Hufflepuff. "I. I. I just. I just wanted. uh. wanted to s-"
But Dean got no further. The doors of the Great Hall opened with a bang and a burst of wind. Every head turned to look at the figure that loomed in the doorway. It was Lucius Malfoy.
Harry paid attention to every detail as Lucius Malfoy strode towards 'Hermione.' He was dressed in a billowing black cloak, his boots echoing through the halls of Hogwarts. He looked as he always had, but this time he didn't' have the walking stick he normally had. This time it was a gold thing with a clear jewel at the top.
Harry watched as the girl stubbornly refused to show weakness. She was the only one still eating in the hall. Those were two other traits of Hermione's- refusing to show weakness. and stubbornness. Lucius pulled her up violently. Her water goblet clattered to the floor, but she didn't look scared, or even intimidated.
All attention was on them now, the teachers seemed unable to move. Dumbledore watched the scene, wand at the ready. Not a sound was heard in the hall.
Lucius stared intently at the girl. Hermione met his gaze defiantly.
"What is your name, girl?" he asked softly. maliciously.
"Hermione Anne Granger."
Lucius' eyes narrowed. He took the scepter he was holding and waved it over her head. The clear jewel on top of it glowed brightly. Everyone looked away.
"What's that?" Harry whispered to Ron, who's eyes were fixated on the scene playing out in front of everyone.
"Sanguinis Scepter," Ron hissed. "Each pureblood family has one. Detects purebloods. Each pureblood wizarding family has a color. Ours is orange. Red-gold if you wand to be specific."
Harry watched as the jewel on top stopped glowing and changed color. "Which family's color is black?"
Ron cast a sidelong glance at him. "The Malfoys."
Harry's eyes darkened. "Figures. How often is it wrong?"
"Never."
Lucius Malfoy straightened up and smiled wickedly. "A Malfoy."
Those words were to forever change her life.
Hermione stared at the scepter. She knew what it was, she had read about it in the book Purebloods through the Ages. It was a Sanguinis Scepter, one that would detect purebloods. She had looked up the Line of Gryffindor. Underneath Gryffindor were the Potters, and several other families that were wiped out by Voldemort's attacks. Their color was red. Black. was the color of the Malfoy's.
Lucius Malfoy took out his wand, and muttered a few words. Hermione recognized the Paternis spell. It was a spell that would reveal the parents of a person. It was a sixth-year spell, one that she really didn't see the see the use of. Now she did. Horrified, she watched the names Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy appear in green writing. They glowed for an instant, and faded.
Lucius could barely conceal his delight. but Hermione bet that it wasn't fatherly affection he was feeling. It was as if he had gained a valuable treasure. like a painting or corporation that he had finally got.
That was when it struck her. He wasn't the loving father. he wasn't that way, even with Draco. But why was he so happy? Not happy-happy, she doubted he could ever feel that. but he was Yes-I-Got-It!-Happy.
If Lucius had been a child he would have jumped up and down, if he had been a teenage-girl he would have jumped up and down while squealing, unfortunately all he could do in the situation was smile even wider. But as it was, he lifted Hermione's head up, placing his hand under her chin.
"Powerful, intelligent, driven." he murmured softly. "I knew you were too smart for a Mudblood. You were greater. You are greater. Now I know why Draco has had competition. Another Malfoy."
Hermione didn't know if she should be revolted or pleased. "I'm not a Malfoy."
Lucius Malfoy stepped back as if to get a better picture of her. "So nothing happened on your tenth birthday?"
Hermione gave an audible gasp. "How. how did you."
"Every Malfoy has gone through that and has received that gift. a gift given by the Powers that Be."
"I. I'm not a Malfoy." But she didn't sound as confident as before.
"Surely a child as smart as yourself knows what this is." He thrust the Sanguinis Scepter at her.
"The Sanguinis Scepter." she whispered.
"It proved you were a Malfoy. Do you know its history?"
Hermione nodded.
"So you know that it is never wrong. It is a powerful wizarding object. more powerful than the Eye, the Goblet of Fire, the Sorting Hat, and the Plume combined," he hissed.
"You are a Malfoy, a pureblood," he went on. "And there is only one Malfoy who has gone missing, well, a Malfoy who has gone missing recently. who would be your age, if she had lived. You're a smart girl. Do the math."
Hermione was surprised at that. She didn't think Lucius knew expressions like do the math. She didn't think that wizards even knew math.
Lucius pressed on. "Draco had a sister you know, a twin about four minutes younger. but she was-"
"I'm not your child." But Hermione was fooling no one. Even she was starting to believe it.
"You're not a coward, thank God for that."
"I'm a Gryffindor."
Lucius Malfoy sighed a little. "Brains, beauty, power. Can't have everything I suppose. But it isn't a matter of consequence. You have been revealed, and the bond has formed. All that is left is for it-"
"Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Dumbledore called sharply. "You have no business here, no right to be here. I must ask you to leave the grounds."
"I've simply come to take her back where she belongs, Headmaster," Lucius said smugly.
"She belongs here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore approached them quickly. "You cannot take her anywhere."
"I am her father."
That didn't really surprise Hermione. not after everything she had been envisioning. Nor did it surprise Draco, Harry or Ron.
Dumbledore didn't contradict him. "Not legally."
"By blood, by what matters, I am. The Paternis spell proved that. And you know full well I am. Do you think I would have given up the search? Do you think I don't know that you put glamour on her, hid her from me, and put her in a filthy muggle home? I will take my daughter with me, Dumbledore."
"Hermione is muggle-born. Magic will be of no help there." He moved between Lucius Malfoy and Hermione. "I'm asking you again, Mr. Malfoy. Kindly leave."
Mr. Malfoy's eyes grew colder. "She is not muggle-born. She has Malfoy blood. pure, untainted blood. coursing through her veins, no matter what those muggles have exposed her too. I will not have her degraded."
"You still have no business here. Unless you are to speak or give something to your son."
Lucius looked at Draco and back at Dumbledore.
"You cannot leave with her, the wards on the castle forbid you too. She must go willingly, and I strongly doubt she will do so. Please leave, Mr. Malfoy."
Lucius Malfoy looked ready to explode. But he abruptly turned on his heel and walked towards the door. "You're only putting off the inevitable you old fool." (At this, several teachers had to cast restraining spells at Hagrid, who had nearly knocked over the table in an effort to reach Lucius Malfoy.) "There is no stopping them now."
The doors banged shut. You could have heard a pin drop. Dumbledore lowered his head. "Ms. Granger, my office please."
Harry watched Lucius Malfoy leave and turned back to his food, feeling better than he had in a long while. "That's a relief. Now we know. We can go apologize to her later."
Ron looked at him in disbelief. "We know she's a Malfoy. a Malfoy. The twin of the guy who hates your guts, and is probably a deatheater. and you're going to apologize?"
"You missed something out Ron. Our best friend, who wasn't and who never was an impostor, like we thought, suddenly discovers something strange about herself. I know what she's going through."
"Yes, but you being a Parselmouth was different."
"Why? I could have been a Dark Wizard, related to or the great-great-great- great-grandson of Salazar Slytherin!"
"But. the Malfoy's are worse."
"Worse than Salazar Slytherin?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"They just are, alright?"
Harry didn't press the matter. Ron's prejudice and hatred of the Malfoy's were too deep to comprehend. But he did speak up again. "Still. how she acted, she really didn't know she was a Malfoy. she knew that she was Hermione Granger."
"It could have been an act."
"Maybe, but I doubt it. The Hermione I know-"
"Harry, you might never have known the real Hermione. It could all have been an act," Ron said patronizingly.
Harry ignored his tone. "It could have, but I don't think it is," he pondered.
"She's a Malfoy, Harry. She's evil," Ron said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. as if he was explaining to a toddler that water is wet.
Harry looked at Ron strangely. "Why are you being so prejudiced? It doesn't matter what people are, all that matters is what they do. Remember Hagrid's giantess mother?"
"Hagrid thinks monsters are cute. Raised a huge giant spider that grew up to try to eat us when he was a boy. He nearly got us killed with that lovely little hint of his."
"The Dursley's then."
Ron gave Harry a sidelong glance. "Let's talk about something else."
"No," Harry said flatly. "Ron, why are you being so prejudiced? It isn't like you."
Ron banged his fork down on the table. "Here's why," he said in a low, fierce whisper. "My dad raided Malfoy Manor last week, and found loads of Dark Arts stuff. You want to know what happened? Lucius Malfoy was never exposed, and my dad was fired."
Harry immediately felt sorry for his friend. "I'm sorry Ron, I didn't know. But. don't take this hatred of the Malfoy's out on Hermione. She's your best friend, she doesn't deserve that."
"The reason my family is suffering now is because of the bloody Malfoy family. Do you know what Malfoy. Draco, I mean, did?"
Harry was almost too afraid to ask, Ron looked beyond anger. "Last summer, he knew Ginny had a crush on him, and he played her. He dated her, led her on, and broke her heart. You want to know what the worst part was? He found it funny. Forgive me if I don't feel very friendly to this person's twin."
"Hermione has done nothing to you or your family."
"Except be from the same family that nearly drove mine to ruin."
Harry sighed. "I give up. Like it or not, tonight, in Gryffindor common room, I am apologizing to Hermione, and have every intention of being her friend again."
"Until she spills all your secrets and vulnerabilities to dear old dad."
Harry shot him a glare. "Hermione wouldn't do that."
"How do you know?"
"She just wouldn't. Hermione's too good."
"The Hermione you knew." Ron sighed. "She made you believe that she was good. The Hermione you knew probably wouldn't spill your secrets, but would this girl. this Malfoy?"
"Ron, I'm not listening to you anymore."
"Fine."
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. Didn't Hagrid himself say it once? Whole family's rotten to the core."
Harry and Ron were silent for a while. Until after a length, Ron spoke. "Harry, give what I'm saying a chance. Don't be so quick to trust, it's always been your downfall."
"Who have I trusted that-"
"Moody, for one."
Harry didn't reply.
"Anyway, back to what I was saying. Don't jump to trust. Observe Hermione, or whoever she is for a while. See if she'll do anything knowing her secret is out."
Harry shook his head. "I can't wait to prove you wrong, Ron."
Author name: Berna
Author email: charmedhpfanatic@yahoo.com Category: Mystery
Sub Category: Drama
Keywords: Harry Hermione Draco Geminus
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. There are quotes here from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which belongs to the UPN, 20th Century Fox, the Kuzui people. etc. not to me), and other places.
Chapter Three: A Malfoy
Hermione sat on her own in the Great Hall the next day, trying hard not to notice the people blatantly gaping and staring at her. Absolutely no one had spoken to her. They were all just content to stare. Now she knew what Harry felt like. Well, Harry had never been alone. Harry had had she and Ron. or at least one of them. She? She had no one.
Harry watched Hermione come into the Great Hall. In a typically Hermione fashion, she brought a huge book with her, one she put up to read. but probably to ignore everyone staring at her.
"Ummm. Hermione?"
Harry watched as Hermione slowly, reluctantly, lowered her book. It was Dean.
"Hey Dean." she said glancing at Harry and Ron.
Dean followed her gaze to see Harry and Ron at the other side, who quickly averted their eyes and pretended to be engrossed in discussing the prospects of Gryffindor's impending Quidditch match with Hufflepuff. "I. I. I just. I just wanted. uh. wanted to s-"
But Dean got no further. The doors of the Great Hall opened with a bang and a burst of wind. Every head turned to look at the figure that loomed in the doorway. It was Lucius Malfoy.
Harry paid attention to every detail as Lucius Malfoy strode towards 'Hermione.' He was dressed in a billowing black cloak, his boots echoing through the halls of Hogwarts. He looked as he always had, but this time he didn't' have the walking stick he normally had. This time it was a gold thing with a clear jewel at the top.
Harry watched as the girl stubbornly refused to show weakness. She was the only one still eating in the hall. Those were two other traits of Hermione's- refusing to show weakness. and stubbornness. Lucius pulled her up violently. Her water goblet clattered to the floor, but she didn't look scared, or even intimidated.
All attention was on them now, the teachers seemed unable to move. Dumbledore watched the scene, wand at the ready. Not a sound was heard in the hall.
Lucius stared intently at the girl. Hermione met his gaze defiantly.
"What is your name, girl?" he asked softly. maliciously.
"Hermione Anne Granger."
Lucius' eyes narrowed. He took the scepter he was holding and waved it over her head. The clear jewel on top of it glowed brightly. Everyone looked away.
"What's that?" Harry whispered to Ron, who's eyes were fixated on the scene playing out in front of everyone.
"Sanguinis Scepter," Ron hissed. "Each pureblood family has one. Detects purebloods. Each pureblood wizarding family has a color. Ours is orange. Red-gold if you wand to be specific."
Harry watched as the jewel on top stopped glowing and changed color. "Which family's color is black?"
Ron cast a sidelong glance at him. "The Malfoys."
Harry's eyes darkened. "Figures. How often is it wrong?"
"Never."
Lucius Malfoy straightened up and smiled wickedly. "A Malfoy."
Those words were to forever change her life.
Hermione stared at the scepter. She knew what it was, she had read about it in the book Purebloods through the Ages. It was a Sanguinis Scepter, one that would detect purebloods. She had looked up the Line of Gryffindor. Underneath Gryffindor were the Potters, and several other families that were wiped out by Voldemort's attacks. Their color was red. Black. was the color of the Malfoy's.
Lucius Malfoy took out his wand, and muttered a few words. Hermione recognized the Paternis spell. It was a spell that would reveal the parents of a person. It was a sixth-year spell, one that she really didn't see the see the use of. Now she did. Horrified, she watched the names Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy appear in green writing. They glowed for an instant, and faded.
Lucius could barely conceal his delight. but Hermione bet that it wasn't fatherly affection he was feeling. It was as if he had gained a valuable treasure. like a painting or corporation that he had finally got.
That was when it struck her. He wasn't the loving father. he wasn't that way, even with Draco. But why was he so happy? Not happy-happy, she doubted he could ever feel that. but he was Yes-I-Got-It!-Happy.
If Lucius had been a child he would have jumped up and down, if he had been a teenage-girl he would have jumped up and down while squealing, unfortunately all he could do in the situation was smile even wider. But as it was, he lifted Hermione's head up, placing his hand under her chin.
"Powerful, intelligent, driven." he murmured softly. "I knew you were too smart for a Mudblood. You were greater. You are greater. Now I know why Draco has had competition. Another Malfoy."
Hermione didn't know if she should be revolted or pleased. "I'm not a Malfoy."
Lucius Malfoy stepped back as if to get a better picture of her. "So nothing happened on your tenth birthday?"
Hermione gave an audible gasp. "How. how did you."
"Every Malfoy has gone through that and has received that gift. a gift given by the Powers that Be."
"I. I'm not a Malfoy." But she didn't sound as confident as before.
"Surely a child as smart as yourself knows what this is." He thrust the Sanguinis Scepter at her.
"The Sanguinis Scepter." she whispered.
"It proved you were a Malfoy. Do you know its history?"
Hermione nodded.
"So you know that it is never wrong. It is a powerful wizarding object. more powerful than the Eye, the Goblet of Fire, the Sorting Hat, and the Plume combined," he hissed.
"You are a Malfoy, a pureblood," he went on. "And there is only one Malfoy who has gone missing, well, a Malfoy who has gone missing recently. who would be your age, if she had lived. You're a smart girl. Do the math."
Hermione was surprised at that. She didn't think Lucius knew expressions like do the math. She didn't think that wizards even knew math.
Lucius pressed on. "Draco had a sister you know, a twin about four minutes younger. but she was-"
"I'm not your child." But Hermione was fooling no one. Even she was starting to believe it.
"You're not a coward, thank God for that."
"I'm a Gryffindor."
Lucius Malfoy sighed a little. "Brains, beauty, power. Can't have everything I suppose. But it isn't a matter of consequence. You have been revealed, and the bond has formed. All that is left is for it-"
"Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Dumbledore called sharply. "You have no business here, no right to be here. I must ask you to leave the grounds."
"I've simply come to take her back where she belongs, Headmaster," Lucius said smugly.
"She belongs here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore approached them quickly. "You cannot take her anywhere."
"I am her father."
That didn't really surprise Hermione. not after everything she had been envisioning. Nor did it surprise Draco, Harry or Ron.
Dumbledore didn't contradict him. "Not legally."
"By blood, by what matters, I am. The Paternis spell proved that. And you know full well I am. Do you think I would have given up the search? Do you think I don't know that you put glamour on her, hid her from me, and put her in a filthy muggle home? I will take my daughter with me, Dumbledore."
"Hermione is muggle-born. Magic will be of no help there." He moved between Lucius Malfoy and Hermione. "I'm asking you again, Mr. Malfoy. Kindly leave."
Mr. Malfoy's eyes grew colder. "She is not muggle-born. She has Malfoy blood. pure, untainted blood. coursing through her veins, no matter what those muggles have exposed her too. I will not have her degraded."
"You still have no business here. Unless you are to speak or give something to your son."
Lucius looked at Draco and back at Dumbledore.
"You cannot leave with her, the wards on the castle forbid you too. She must go willingly, and I strongly doubt she will do so. Please leave, Mr. Malfoy."
Lucius Malfoy looked ready to explode. But he abruptly turned on his heel and walked towards the door. "You're only putting off the inevitable you old fool." (At this, several teachers had to cast restraining spells at Hagrid, who had nearly knocked over the table in an effort to reach Lucius Malfoy.) "There is no stopping them now."
The doors banged shut. You could have heard a pin drop. Dumbledore lowered his head. "Ms. Granger, my office please."
Harry watched Lucius Malfoy leave and turned back to his food, feeling better than he had in a long while. "That's a relief. Now we know. We can go apologize to her later."
Ron looked at him in disbelief. "We know she's a Malfoy. a Malfoy. The twin of the guy who hates your guts, and is probably a deatheater. and you're going to apologize?"
"You missed something out Ron. Our best friend, who wasn't and who never was an impostor, like we thought, suddenly discovers something strange about herself. I know what she's going through."
"Yes, but you being a Parselmouth was different."
"Why? I could have been a Dark Wizard, related to or the great-great-great- great-grandson of Salazar Slytherin!"
"But. the Malfoy's are worse."
"Worse than Salazar Slytherin?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"They just are, alright?"
Harry didn't press the matter. Ron's prejudice and hatred of the Malfoy's were too deep to comprehend. But he did speak up again. "Still. how she acted, she really didn't know she was a Malfoy. she knew that she was Hermione Granger."
"It could have been an act."
"Maybe, but I doubt it. The Hermione I know-"
"Harry, you might never have known the real Hermione. It could all have been an act," Ron said patronizingly.
Harry ignored his tone. "It could have, but I don't think it is," he pondered.
"She's a Malfoy, Harry. She's evil," Ron said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. as if he was explaining to a toddler that water is wet.
Harry looked at Ron strangely. "Why are you being so prejudiced? It doesn't matter what people are, all that matters is what they do. Remember Hagrid's giantess mother?"
"Hagrid thinks monsters are cute. Raised a huge giant spider that grew up to try to eat us when he was a boy. He nearly got us killed with that lovely little hint of his."
"The Dursley's then."
Ron gave Harry a sidelong glance. "Let's talk about something else."
"No," Harry said flatly. "Ron, why are you being so prejudiced? It isn't like you."
Ron banged his fork down on the table. "Here's why," he said in a low, fierce whisper. "My dad raided Malfoy Manor last week, and found loads of Dark Arts stuff. You want to know what happened? Lucius Malfoy was never exposed, and my dad was fired."
Harry immediately felt sorry for his friend. "I'm sorry Ron, I didn't know. But. don't take this hatred of the Malfoy's out on Hermione. She's your best friend, she doesn't deserve that."
"The reason my family is suffering now is because of the bloody Malfoy family. Do you know what Malfoy. Draco, I mean, did?"
Harry was almost too afraid to ask, Ron looked beyond anger. "Last summer, he knew Ginny had a crush on him, and he played her. He dated her, led her on, and broke her heart. You want to know what the worst part was? He found it funny. Forgive me if I don't feel very friendly to this person's twin."
"Hermione has done nothing to you or your family."
"Except be from the same family that nearly drove mine to ruin."
Harry sighed. "I give up. Like it or not, tonight, in Gryffindor common room, I am apologizing to Hermione, and have every intention of being her friend again."
"Until she spills all your secrets and vulnerabilities to dear old dad."
Harry shot him a glare. "Hermione wouldn't do that."
"How do you know?"
"She just wouldn't. Hermione's too good."
"The Hermione you knew." Ron sighed. "She made you believe that she was good. The Hermione you knew probably wouldn't spill your secrets, but would this girl. this Malfoy?"
"Ron, I'm not listening to you anymore."
"Fine."
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. Didn't Hagrid himself say it once? Whole family's rotten to the core."
Harry and Ron were silent for a while. Until after a length, Ron spoke. "Harry, give what I'm saying a chance. Don't be so quick to trust, it's always been your downfall."
"Who have I trusted that-"
"Moody, for one."
Harry didn't reply.
"Anyway, back to what I was saying. Don't jump to trust. Observe Hermione, or whoever she is for a while. See if she'll do anything knowing her secret is out."
Harry shook his head. "I can't wait to prove you wrong, Ron."