Disclaimer: I only own everything that resides in my room. Oh, and my own original stories. Everything else is someone else's.

Chapter 18

Only the Strongest Will Survive

As Hermione settled a blanket over a sleeping Harry – whom she had levitated over to the couch after he'd fallen asleep in her arms – Snape quietly entered the han-akurei's rooms.

The Potions Master paused to look at the two of them for a long moment then motioned the Gryffindor over towards the fireplace. Hermione nodded and tweaked the blanket a little so it covered Harry's bare shoulders then moved over to join him.

They stood there for a long moment in silence before Snape broke it.

"I trust you saw the paper?"

Hermione nodded slightly and he sighed.

"Damn."

The bushy-haired teenager frowned then looked at him distraughtly.

"Oh God," she whispered. "There's more, isn't there?"

Snape nodded and replied, "I am afraid so, Miss Granger."

"Hermione."

Black eyes blinked and turned to stare into brown.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You said we were the same, sir," said the Gryffindor with a slightly smirk. "I think that gives you the right to call me by my first name."

Snape's lips twitched into a small grin and he said, "Indeed. Then you, Hermione, have permission to call me by mine. If you have the gall."

"Certainly, Severus. Now…what's the other bad news?"

The grin faded and Snape replied, "Miss Yui has been found after she went missing a few days ago."

Hermione frowned in confusion then gasped, hands flying to her mouth.

"Aika!"

"Indeed. Harry's young Japanese friend."

"Oh my God… Where?"

"Here, in Scotland," said Snape. He shook his head and he added softly, "They…the Death Eaters…it is not something for young ears to hear."

"I'm…"

"I was not referring to your ears, Hermione," whispered Snape, his eyes darting over his shoulder.

She turned and found both Meru and Wencia standing in the doorway of Harry's bedroom. The blonde Slytherin had dragged a sheet from the bed and had it wrapped about her thin shoulders tightly, violet eyes still sparkling with faint tears. Beside her the dark-haired girl that was Snape's niece had wrapped herself in one of Harry's robes and her gray eyes were darting from her uncle to Hermione.

"Meru, Wencia," said Hermione softly, "are you both alright?"

"I'm fine," replied Meru, glancing slightly at her companion. "But…"

"I'm okay," insisted Wencia. Her voice cracked a bit and she shivered before muttering, "Mostly." Violet eyes glanced towards Harry's sleeping form and then quickly darted away. "Is he…?"

"He's asleep," murmured Hermione. She then gave the girl a long look and added, "He'd never hurt you, Wen."

"I know. But he…he didn't tell me!"

Tears welled quickly up in the violet eyes and Wen sobbed out, "He didn't tell me!"

The bushy-haired girl quickly crossed the room and knelt down in front of the eleven-year-old, pulling her sheet clad body into a hug. She ran her fingers through the girl's blonde hair and murmured, "He was afraid, Wen. Afraid if you knew what he really was, you'd hate him. He'd never have told me if I hadn't accidentally found him once in his real form."

"B-but I'd n-never h-hate him!" exclaimed Wen, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "H-he's my f-f-friend! H-he was m-m-my only f-friend!"

"But not anymore," said Meru, throwing her arms about the violet-eyed girl from behind. "Harry's my friend and that makes you my friend. So now you have another friend."

Snape smiled – a true, genuine smile – at his niece's words and action. She was so like her mother…

"You are not without friends, Miss du Val," he said softly, drawing the three females attention to him. "And Hermione is indeed right. Harry feared telling either of you for fear of you turning away from him."

"B-but still…"

"Shh," whispered Hermione. She then looked at Meru and said, "Why don't you two go back in Harry's room and order some food? Wen, you remember how to do that, don't you?"

The blonde nodded and sniffed a bit before using the sheet to clean off her face. Meru then gently pulled the other girl back from Hermione and the two of them slowly vanished back into Harry's bedroom.

Snape pulled out his wand and warded the door behind them, casting a Silencing Charm as well. He then frowned slightly and muttered, "She's so much like her mother."

Hermione turned to look at him in surprise then her expression softened.

"Meru," she said softly.

He just nodded then frowned when she asked, "What happened to Aika?"

Snape stood silent for a long moment before he breathed, "The body was nearly unrecognizable. They…they tortured her for what looked like hours after raping her. Several times over."

"Where did they find her?"

"Here," he replied. "At the gate."

Hermione paled severely at that and cast a terrified glance over at Harry's sleeping form. The news of his foster parents being killed had sent him to his knees in tears. How would he react to knowing his oldest friend was now gone as well, tortured and raped by the same men who could have very well done the same thing to her?

"Oh God," she whispered. "How can we tell him that? How?"

"We cannot avoid informing him of it. All we can hope is that we can hold him within these walls."

"Sir, he's going to want to kill them. And not very quickly!"

"I know, Hermione," said Snape softly as he sank down into a chair. He then ran shaking hands through his hair and added, "We two as well as Meru and Wencia must keep him here. Under no circumstances must we let him leave this castle. Even if we have to chain him down to keep him."

"He'd…"

"Hate us. Yes, I know. But, alas, it is the only way."

"Not only that, sir. He'd probably have flashbacks. Those manacles we haven't been able to break…Voldemort chained him down when he released Harry's full demon half."

Snape frowned then cursed. He then shook his head and growled, "We'll have to find another way then. Until then let him sleep. We shall tell him when he wakes."

Hermione nodded feebly and sank down into a chair near him, barely taking note of the professor summoning a house-elf and making a lunch order. Her eyes stayed on Harry as he slept on the couch across the room.

- - -

Hermione awoke an hour later to shouting.

"I KNOW SHE'S HERE!" she heard Harry bellow. "NOW TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"

A voice she didn't know started, "Mister Potter…"

There was a grunt then and the sound of something large hitting a wall.

"WHERE IS SHE!"

"Harry, put him down!"

"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS FIRST! TELL ME WHY I CAN SMELL AIKA'S BLOOD!"

"She's dead," said Snape softly.

"No…NO! Nononononono no no NO NO!"

Hermione opened her eyes in time to see Harry crumple into a heap on the floor. Over him stood a very frightened looking wizard – an Auror judging by his navy robes – and off to the side stood Snape. There was no expression on the dark wizard's face but sorrow was fully visible to any that looked close at his eyes.

She rolled off the couch she didn't remember laying down on and sank down beside Harry despite the Auror's protests.

"Miss, you can't…!"

Hermione turned towards him with enough venom in her eyes to melt steel and spat, "Do not tell me what I can and can't do." She then looped her arms around Harry's shaking shoulders, her hair falling around her to mix with his.

Dimly, she heard the Auror speaking in violent tones to Snape.

"I've been ordered to take the demon in by my superiors!"

"That I do not doubt, Auror Walkens," said Snape calmly. "But what you fail to realize is that you can do no such thing."

"I can and will!"

"No, you will not. Despite the fact that he is here, Harry is a Japanese citizen. And their Ministry has deep relations with demon families. In fact, I do believe the Minister there is a quarter demon himself."

"I've been ordered…"

"Your orders are invalid, Auror Walkens," hissed Snape. Hermione could almost see his dark eyes narrowing imperiously and a sneer twitching across his lips in her mind's eye. She nearly looked up to see the Auror's expression in response to what was surely the Potion Master's current one. "Our Ministry of Magic has no true legal claims to Harry, despite the fact that his mother was a British citizen. And, as far as I know, the Japanese Ministry is quite thrilled at having him here. A…peaceful interaction, I believe they called it."

"B-but…"

"That will be all, Auror Walkens. I suggest you remove yourself from this school immediately."

The Auror gave a huff and pointed a finger at Snape, his entire body shaking with withheld rage. Snape looked down at the finger then back up at Walkens face and arched an eyebrow. Obviously, he wasn't the least bit intimidated by the man.

"I'll be back," snarled Walkens. "And when I do, that beast will be coming with me."

Snape's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth to truly give the ignorant whelp a piece of his mind.

"Petrifcus totalus!"

Walkens entire body seized up and as he toppled over onto his face, the Potion's Master turned slowly to look at the caster of the spell. Hermione had her wand out, her elbow braced across Harry's shoulders. And the look of sheer fury on her normally gentle face made Snape uncertain whether he should fear this girl or congratulate her.

"Bastard," she spat, her brown eyes blazing as she glared at the immobile Auror. Then the anger vanished from her face as Harry shifted and sat up, tears he had stopped crying slowly drying on his cheeks.

There was an uneasy silence in the room then he asked softly, "Where is she?"

Snape frowned then replied, "Miss Yui's body is currently in the hospital wing, awaiting someone from the Japanese Ministry to claim her."

"It'll be her father," whispered Harry. "He's pretty high in their ranks. If he's still alive, that is." He then looked at the professor and added, "I want to see her."

"Harry, no," breathed Hermione, remembering what Snape had told her had been done to the poor girl.

But Snape just nodded and said, "Come then. But I must warn you, Harry…she is not a pretty sight."

Harry just stared at his professor in response.

"Harry, please," breathed Hermione, clutching at his arm. "She's…"

"I have to see her, Mia-san."

She frowned at him then shook her head, her bushy hair falling over her right eye.

"Alright," she said softly. "Let's go."

- - -

"It's him!"

"Are those ears?"

"Hey, he has a tail! He has a tail!"

"That's kinda neat…"

"What are you talking about? He's a freak!"

Hermione saw one of Harry's ears twitch violently at the last hiss. All around them as they passed through the corridors behind Snape were other students, all pausing on their way to their next classes to watch as Harry passed.

"Mudblood!"

She gasped then grabbed Harry's arm in fright as he lunged around her, eyes gleaming darkly. His claws sprang from his fingertips as he moved and froze millimeters away from the throat of a fifth year Ravenclaw, the silver manacle about his wrist flashing with the movement. The blonde-haired boy swallowed nervously then glared at Harry from behind a pale fringe of hair.

Hermione had to applaud him for that. She wouldn't have been able to glare at Harry if his claws were at her throat.

"What do you want, freak?" spat the fifteen-year-old.

Harry's eyes narrowed and a girl behind the boy gasped as they shifted from human to feline in that instant.

Baring his fangs, the han-akurei snarled, "Call her that again, baka, and my claws will open your dirty throat."

The Ravenclaw sneered and started to open his mouth. Harry's claws twitched and Hermione whispered, "Leave him, Harry. He's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" sneered the Ravenclaw. "Heh, you're right, Granger. I'm not worth a hundred of Potter here." He then leaned forward and added in a vicious voice, "But at least I'm not a half-blooded freak."

Emerald eyes flashed at that and Hermione cried out as Harry whirled around her, his ears lying flat against the top of his head. The Ravenclaw let out a girlish shriek of terror that was echoed by the students around them.

"Harry!"

"Scared, little boy?" hissed Harry in the Ravenclaw's ear as pinned the teenager against the wall, his feet dangling several inches from the floor. He sniffed and grinned ferally, purring, "Oh, yes, you are. I can smell your fear. And do you know what it smells like?"

"Wh-what, freak?"

"Honey," replied Harry, eyes flashing. "And you have no idea – oh, no idea at all! – how much your fear delights my demon side. We are hunters, you see. And do you know what emotion prey most often feels when pursued by a hunter?"

He didn't wait for an answer, choosing to answer it himself.

"Fear."

"Harry," whispered Hermione, mindful of the wands being drawn around them. "Please. Let him go."

An ear twitched in response to her plea then Harry took a step back, dropping the Ravenclaw to the floor. But his hand still remained on his throat.

"That's it, freak," sneered the Ravenclaw, suddenly regaining a bit of his courage. "Go run back to your Mudblood bitch and curl up at her feet like a good kitty."

The han-akurei snarled and flicked his claws upward, slashing four red lines across the teenager's face. He cried out in pain and lurched backwards against the wall, Harry throwing him harshly against again it a moment later.

"I have no master, you little wretch," he snarled and was going to continue when Snape's voice snapped out.

"Mister Potter!"

"Yes, sensei?"

Snape scowled at first Harry then at the Ravenclaw before he growled, "We don't have time for this. Fifty points from Slytherin and two weeks detention with Filch for attacking a fellow student!"

Several surprised gasps came from the lingering students at this pronouncement.

"And fifty points from Ravenclaw, Mister Gohst!"

"For what?" gasped the Ravenclaw, one hand clapped over his rent face. He pointed at Harry and snapped, "He harmed me!"

Snape leaned towards the fifth year and hissed, "And you were a fool to provoke him. Now get to the hospital wing and see if Madam Pomfrey will heal you for your idiocy. The rest of you get to your classes or I take twenty points from your House's for each of you!"

Squeals of surprise and shock made Harry wince and the lingering students cleared out of the corridors in a flash at Snape's threat. Gohst stood glaring at Harry for a moment before he took off running towards the Hospital Wing, droplets of blood spattering on the stone's behind him.

"You should not have attacked him," said Snape as they started forward again.

Harry scowled and replied, "He called Mia-san a Mudblood." He then lifted his hand and peered at the blood on his claws for a moment, a strange expression in his eyes. Then Hermione tugged his hand down and he looked at her, the expression fading.

"Sorry, Mia-san, I…"

Hermione laid a finger over his lips and shook her head, saying, "Thank you for defending me. But you can't just go around attacking everyone that insults me, Harry."

"I know. I…I can't control anything right now, especially not the part of me that's protective of you."

She looked sadly at him and whispered, "I know." Then she took his hand in hers and muttered a cleaning charm before interlacing her fingers with his. The tips of his claws rested lightly along the back of her hand and he looked down at their entwined hands for a moment.

Then his dark head lifted and Harry smiled slightly at her, the tips of his fangs just barely showing between his lips.

"Arigato, Mia-san."

Hermione just smiled then looked at Snape, who was eying them expectedly. Then the professor shifted and said, "Come along, then. And, Harry?"

"Hai, sensei?"

"Do try not to injure the entire student population."

- - -

Hermione sat gingerly on the edge of one of the hospital beds with Snape lingering nearby as she listened to Harry and the Japanese Ministry members that had come to claim Aika's body speak. She was surprised with how comfortable the three men and one woman were when speaking with him. Any member of the British Ministry would have had him at wand point and called the Auror's by now.

A fourth man was standing over a covered female body lying on one of the beds, his head bowed slightly. She noticed that both of his hands were tightly clenching the sheet covering her that overlapped the edge of the bed.

Harry said one last thing to the other men and the woman before bowing slightly to them. He then turned and walked over to the other man, cautiously laying his hand on his shoulder. The man's head lifted and turned to look at him, giving Hermione a glimpse of the tears streaming silently down his cheeks.

She looked away to give him his privacy then glanced back up when she heard Harry speak softly. It broke her heart when she saw the pain in his eyes as the fact that his best friend was truly gone settled in.

Aika's father squeezed Harry's upper arm and whispered something. Harry just nodded in response then slowly reached up to tug the sheet covering the body back. Madam Pomfrey started forward at this but ceased the movement when Snape shook his head sharply.

A moan came from Aika's father then and Harry quickly threw the sheet back over Aika's bruised face. He then muttered something to the man standing beside him before he began to walk towards Hermione.

"I'm sorry," she whispered once he was close to her.

Feline eyes filled with sorrow met hers then he reached out and took one of her hands in his, tugging her off the bed and towards him. She slid to the floor then wrapped her arms about his waist, pressing her face into his shirt as he hugged her close.

"Don't ever leave me," she heard him breathe into her hair. His body shuddered against hers and claws pricked her back as he tried to pull her as close to his body as he could. "I couldn't bear it…"

"I won't," she whispered in his shirt.

They then turned to watch as Aika's body was transported out of the hospital wing on a stretcher, her father following along behind it. When the doors closed behind them and Madam Pomfrey had disappeared into her office, Harry sniffed then gave a short, cat-like yowl.

Hermione winced and hugged him tightly as she heard the same emotions within it as she heard when Crookshanks made the same type of noise when he was in pain.

He'll pay for this, she thought viciously as she clutched the material of his shirt in one hand. He'll pay for hurting us.

Author's Notes

Chapter title taken from Breaking Benjamin song "Blow Me Away" from the Halo 2 Soundtrack