"Bella! Bellatrix!"
Bellatrix groggily ran down the corridor of the manor with her wand in her hand and was met with a distraught looking Narcissa.
"What? What is it, Cissy?" She ran towards her sister with worry etched on her face. What had happened to cause so much distress in her darling sister?
Bella… The girl… She's… Lucius…" Narcissa panted heavily and slumped to the floor. Her hands were shaking furiously as she pulled on her disheveled blonde hair while her eyes wavered in mixed emotions — fear, anger, sadness and regret.
Watching her sister in such a state was a sight to behold, to be honest. But Bellatrix would not do to dwell at the moment. Sh grabbed onto her sister's shoulders, shaking her out of her trance.
"Shh… Take deep breaths, Cissy. And then tell me from the start, with more words than before." She calmly said and stroked the blonde hair soothingly. It did not seem to be successful in making Narcissa calm, however.
"No. Come with me, Bella. Quick!" Narcissa jumped and pulled Bellatrix's wrist, rushing towards the cellar's entrance.
The cellar was dark, with the only light source was the lamp that hung in the corner of the room. Bellatrix did not remember leaving the light on before. She then saw a lifeless body of Lucius Malfoy against a wall, hidden in the shadow with his flaccid rod uncovered. Bellatrix saw blood smeared the wall down to his back and when she went over to check on his pulse, she was shocked to find none.
Lucius was dead.
She frowned and turned around. She saw the young witch lying on a table that was not there the last time she put the girl in the cellar. Narcissa was standing not far from the girl, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Bellatrix stepped closer and she gagged upon seeing the state of the young witch.
The girl looked like she was not breathing. Her brunette hair was messy, her torn clothes showed her pale nude skin. She was covered in sticky wet liquid, which Bellatrix guessed was the blonde man's semen. She saw the thin black smoke and felt the dark aura surrounded the girl.
"Cissy," Bellatrix called out to her sister, who had her fists clenched at her side. She was clenching so hard that blood dripped from her palm, but the blonde witch did not even notice.
No answer.
"Narcissa!" Bellatrix called out again, louder this time. It seemed to jolt her sister out of her stupor. Narcissa looked at Bellatrix questioningly.
"Clean up your wounds, then go and get help!" She ushered in a rush. It would not be good to leave the girl in this state for a long time. Who knew what had happened, and what would happen if let be?
Narcissa startled before she registered the pain in her hands. She cast a simple 'Episky' and her wounds now healed. She ran out of the cellar to go get help, certainly from a particular someone.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix conjured a bucket of clean water and a small towel. She wet the towel and tried to clean the young witch as much as possible. She wanted to use her magic, but she did not think it would be wise with the state the girl currently was in.
It was not unnoticed to her that drops of tears fell down her cheeks onto the girl's skin, but she made no move to clear them away. Her heart was clenching in pain as she regretted all her actions towards the girl, all the pain she had caused. The girl definitely did not deserve to be treated like trash.
Bellatrix noticed the bruises in the form of fingerprints on the girl's neck, the teeth marks on her shoulder and several bruises from the ropes that bound the girl earlier. Her eyes widened as she took in the faint scars marring the girl's skin — the girl probably had more scars than anyone she knew, including herself.
Her eyes caught a thin necklace and its pendant that had fallen to the back of the girl's neck. She reached for the pendant and saw a ring instead, with a beautiful insignia engraved on the ring. For a moment, her attention transfixed on the engrave before she realized she had stopped cleaning the girl.
Bellatrix wiped away the dry blood on the girl's left forearm and her eyes hardened at the word imprinted — MUDBLOOD. Her gut feeling told her to look around and she appalled at seeing her own cursed dagger lying on the floor not far from where she stood. She did not realize when Lucius had stolen the dagger from her. She picked it up with trembling hands, red blood was still fresh and covering its tip.
Her heart constricted as she registered the knowledge of what her cursed dagger had done to the young witch. Her eyes pooled with unshed tears as her body trembled with deep remorse.
She took out her wand and wanted to cure the wound, erase the mark, reversed the dark magic, anything. She wanted to do something!
But her body convulsed with sadness, anger and regret, while her vision was blurry with her own fresh tears.
"STOP!"
Bellatrix freeze as she heard a man's voice shouted from afar. She wiped her face with her sleeve and turned to look at the source, and she found Severus running in her direction with Narcissa trailing from behind. Bellatrix lowered her hand and stepped back to allow the man to come closer.
"Hermione! Hermione! Is she alive?"
Severus looked at Bellatrix, black eyes were searching for an answer but none came. He frantically searched for a pulse from the girl's neck and wrist, and he pinned his ear to the girl's heart but not even a beat was heard.
"Please, Hermione… Please…"
Severus hovered both his hands over the young witch's body, ignoring the thin smoke as he felt the unstable magic swirling in and around the girl. He nodded as he knew what he must do, and he needed to do it pronto. He conjured a blanket and covered the young witch before he scooped her up in his arms.
He turned towards the two Black sisters. "Thank you for calling for me instead of someone else. Worry not, for she will live, and I am grateful and honoured to be able to serve her once again. I will take her with me now and shall owl to you as soon a everything has settled down."
Both sisters' eyebrows furrowed in confusion upon hearing his words. It seemed like he suddenly changed to another person. Bellatrix stopped him before he went out of the cellar, and he turned to face her.
"Before he was dead, it was he who carved her arm with my cursed dagger." Bellatrix motioned towards the dead body of Lucius Malfoy, who only now did Severus notice.
Severus' face went red with boiling anger and he wished to castrate him — if only the blonde man was still alive. He instinctively held Hermione closer to his chest as if trying to protect her, but he immediately cooled down and nodded towards Bellatrix before politely taking his leave once again.
"That was weird," Narcissa commented, to which Bellatrix agreed.
Severus apparated to his house and quickly moved towards Hermione's room and laid the girl on the bed. He then went into the closet in his room and stopped frozen in front of an enchanted muggle safe he owned. His anger finally caught up again and he was shaking with so much resentment towards Lucius Malfoy. He punched the safe once, then he punched it again and again before he stopped and let out a loud scream full of anger and frustration.
Severus stood dejectedly — his shoulders slumped and his head hanging while facing towards the ceiling — and clenched his fists at his side. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his thoughts were full of regrets. He regretted not being able to save Hermione in time.
He regretted not being able to protect her again. He regretted ever leaving Hermione in the hand of fate.
'Fuck destiny and fate, I don't want to lose Hermione again!'
He sobered up and wiped the tears away. He unlocked and opened the safe and took out a sealed jar before he locked it again.
"Lori!" He called for the house-elf he hired, and Lori instantly appeared with a 'pop'.
"Yes, Master Severus?" Lori bowed and looked at him warily.
"Get me every type of healing potion from the apothecary and bring them all to Hermione's room. Immediately!"
"Yes, Master!" Lori immediately vanished and Severus rushed towards the girl's room again. He was not surprised to see Lori popped in with several jars of potions which he took and placed on the bedside table.
Lori gasped as she saw the young witch's lifeless body.
"Miss Hermione! Master? What happened to Miss Hermione? Is Miss Hermione okay?" Lori had tears running down her cheeks and she wiped her nose with her gown sleeve.
"Hermione will be alright. I will take care of her." Severus said with sheer determination in his voice.
"Can Lori help? Can Lori do something to help Miss Hermione?" Lori wiped her tears and had a determined look in her eyes. She loved her mistress and wanted to do everything in her power to help her.
"No, but you can help me. Go find Albus Dumbledore, inform him that I have a very urgent personal matter concerning my family that needs my whole attention. I will be taking leave for now until due time. Never, ever mention about Hermione to anyone. If you do, I will personally slice your throat!"
Severus delivered the threat with a menacing look in his eyes. Lori looked at him with fear at the threat but nodded with understanding. She took her leave and he was left alone again.
Severus stood next to Hermione and accessed the ancient magic from inside his core. He hovered his hand over her body and channeled his magic to assess the situation inside her.
Hermione's magic was haphazard and in turmoil. There was light, dark, modern and ancient magic, and they were all clashing and fighting against each other. Furthermore, her bones were broken at many places and blood was running low in her system.
'This wouldn't do,' he thought. After a while, he finished with his assessment and understood the condition throughout her form.
He picked up the sealed jar from before and moved his hand in circles above its lid while muttering some words — to break the seal and counterspell various wards placed on the jar. A dim light shone through the lid for a few seconds before it opened.
"Master Severus, Lori had done as Master asked. Lori did not tell anyone about Miss Hermione. Can Lori do anything else for Master?" Lori popped out of nowhere.
"Please cook something for me, Lori. I'm going to be very tired and I will need meat to replenish my energy." He did not look at her but she nodded and vanished again.
Inside the jar were green coloured ashes that were collected from the deceased body of Queen Morgan when she passed away Severus picked up a handful of the ashes and placed his hand on top of the girl's chest where her heart lay beneath. He opened his fist and let the ashes fell from his palm onto the chest. He started rubbing above the heart while chanting some words.
"Gyfer y corff hwn, byddwch yn gweithio gyda'i gilydd" (for this body, you will work together)
Severus kept on chanting the words over and over again while at the same time channeling his ancient magic into the girl. He could feel Hermione's magic had all started to move towards her heart and concentrated at one place. The ashes spread was slowly absorbed into the skin underneath, moving towards where the magic pooled. He did not stop his movement as he felt the magic mixed together until they formed an undeniable and unspeakable connection with each other, causing a faint light glowing out of Hermione's chest. The magic would be contained and controlled for now, but only Hermione would have the power to fully access and control all her magic.
Severus finally stopped and retracted his own magic back into himself when the light had all vanished and no ash remained on Hermione's skin. He panted heavily from the heavy usage of his ancient magic, and he was sweating as if he had just been running a marathon.
Soon enough, he could feel light thumps under his hand, indicating that Hermione's heart had started beating again. He checked for the pulse on her neck and wrist — just to be sure — and was glad to feel it.
The faint, light sound of 'thump', 'thump'. He let out a grateful sigh; he could only hope for the better. Conjuring a clean syringe, he used it to inject the potions into Hermione's mouth, one by one.
He vanished the torn clothes but Hermione's pants did not go away. Frowning, he realized that everywhere on the pants were ripped apart except for her pocket.
'Must be enchanted,' he thought. He pulled it off and placed it aside, he will deal with it later. Lori was called again and was ordered to cleanse Hermione and covered her with a blanket for the night. He sealed the jar containing remaining ashes and placed some wards on it before he stood and left the room.
He had much to do but for now, he needed to eat and rest. His body felt drained.
Hermione woke up with a jolt and her heart was beating fast, panic rose in her chest. She looked all over herself and noticed a few things which she found impossible: 1) she was still in her previous clothes — jeans and long sleeve shirt — but they were no longer torn; 2) there were thin smoke and dark energy swimming around her, and she tried to access her magic but was unable to; 3) if she looked closely, there was not a single bruise or scar on her body — not even any of the scars she made on herself for years — she looked totally clean.
She looked around and realized that she was somewhere unfamiliar. She was standing on a hill with a majestic castle in front of her and saw a forest of green was in the distance. As she turned around, she was faced with a very peaceful lake that ended at the horizon. She circled around and noticed there was not any presence of anyone and she was alone. It was very peaceful and not any sound was heard.
"Where am I?" Her voice broke the tranquility of her surroundings. "Am I dead?"
She looked around again and there was still no one. She presumed that it was weird if she was dead because it did not feel like she was in heaven or hell. There were not any other souls of the dead currently with her. She shrugged as she realized there was nothing, she could do in the situation so she sat underneath a huge tree facing the lake.
The day was as bright as daylight although she could not see the sun. The clear water of the lake reflected the blue of the sky and the green of the forest. The warm weather and gentle breeze made her felt relax and her eyes felt heavy. She did not know what time or day it was.
As she was about to doze off, she suddenly felt a weird sensation was tickling on her chest, just right over her heart. She opened her eyes and pulled at her shirt to see a glow of light emitted from her chest, while the black aura and the dark energy that surrounded her skin before were now slowly concentrated to her heart.
Hermione was amazed and looked in awe at whatever that was happening with herself. When everything was done and the light had dimmed, she tried to feel for her magic again and was glad that she still had it although it felt faint.
She smiled but immediately turned around as she heard a light chuckle that came from behind her. She stood up and came face to face with a beautiful stranger — a woman with long wavy dark brown hair that flowed down past her back which was tied at the end by a ribbon. She has a small face with round eyes, a small pointy nose and supple lips. Her eyebrows and jaw were sharp and she emitted an aura of intimidating, while her pale white skin was hidden beneath a beautiful brown and green coloured dress that clung to her curves like a second skin.
Hermione trailed her eyes up and down the figure before noticing the smirk on the pale lips. She blushed and looked away. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to stare." She sent the woman an apologetic smile.
The woman smiled as she said, "it's fine. Never apologize for appreciating beauty. You are a pleasing sight yourself."
Hermione felt ashamed at the sight of herself. She definitely could not compare against the beauty of the woman, as she only wore plain jeans and long sleeves shirt. She shrugged without care and introduced herself.
"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger."
"I know who you are way more than you know yourself, my dear Hermione." The woman said with a soft smile. Hermione tilted her head, brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know who you are but I feel like I have heard your voice before."
"Well then, do you remember this? I am your past and your future. I am your destiny and Fates will bring you to me. However, your time has not come yet so you must live."
Hermione's eyes widened as she recalled a memory from the past. "Of course! You're the voice I heard when I thought that I was dead before. Right after I was assaulted by my adopted father. You didn't show yourself back then but you said that Death has not come for me yet."
She glanced around before she looked at the stranger again. "Is Death coming now? Am I dying?"
When Hermione was raped by her adopted father, her magic had burst out from herself and caused her to pass out in the cold of the night. She woke up in total darkness and had thought that she was dead but out of nowhere, a voice sounded from afar had told her that Death had not come for her yet. When Hermione asked who the voice was, she only received the previous words as her answer, then she was jolted awake to a new world.
The woman shook her head. "You are in the Limbo, my dear — the space in between life and death. Not everyone gets to be in the Limbo but those who do, their own Limbo is different from each other." The woman said and Hermione nod her head.
She moved closer to Hermione. "The time here will be different from the real world. There will be no night or day, it's just as it is. When you are in the Limbo, you'll be visited by a deity and be given the chance to either continue living or to greet Death." The woman said again.
One hand flew to cup Hermione's cheek. "My dear Hermione, do you still have the will to live after everything that had happened to you? Or are you finally giving up on your life, as you have always wished for?" She asks Hermione and Hermione look at her.
Hermione opened her mouth as she wanted to answer the questions but was stopped when the woman held up her finger to her lips.
"No, don't answer it. Not yet anyway. For now, I am here to answer any question you may have."
Hermione nodded before she opened her mouth again and asked, "who are you?"\
The woman smiled at Hermione. "A good place to start. I came by many names. My real name, given to me by my mother, is Anastasia but you may have known me as Morgan—" The woman said.
Hermione's eyes widened as she interrupted, "you're her? You're the Queen of Avalon? The most powerful witch in history, Morgan Le Fay?" Hermione looked at the woman in great astonishment.
The woman chuckled at the girl's reactions and nodded her head. "I am more than just that, my dear Hermione." The woman said and she chuckle at Hermione's face.
"What do you mean? Can you tell me more about yourself? I would very much like to know." Hermione was super interested and did not want to waste the chance she had. She looked like a small puppy who was eagerly waiting to play with its master.
"Are you sure? It's going to take a long time and I'm not sure if you can handle knowing the truth. It will be out of context from human's general knowledge and understanding." The woman simply raised her eyebrow but she did not doubt Hermione capabilities as she had been living inside Hermione since her birth so she knew what Hermione's limits are.
Hermione nodded furiously as she said with an eager voice, "try me. I'm in the Limbo anyway, there's nothing for me to do other than getting the answers to the questions I have and I definitely don't want to waste this chance."
"Very well, then. Come, let's sit down." The woman whose name was Anastasia simply waved her hand and several big tree roots sprouted from the ground before they hardened in the shape of a bench. Hermione was astounded and they both went to sit on the bench underneath the huge tree.
"Where shall I start? Hmm, let's see. Have you ever heard of the term demigod?"