Chapter 14
Warning! Some slightly darkish rituals ahead
Summer 1996
"How about this one?" Claudius put an open book in front of Hermione and ran his finger over the pages with the spell he was referring to.
"It traps the soul in an object. You could summon him out whenever you'd want to, he wouldn't be able to stick around for longer than few hours a day at most, since we don't have his body and he's been… gone, for a while, there is no guarantee his memories will remain intact and he would essentially become a ghost, but it's better than nothing." He gave her an encouraging smile.
"Let's keep looking" she said to her grandfather with a grateful smile which hid great sadness. Maybe it really was the time to call it quits?
Voldemort was officially back but Hermione was tucked away at the Greenfell library with her grandfather. It felt as if every summer was the same ever since she returned. Hermione was desperately looking for a way to bring Regulus back, but she wasn't even sure if he was dead or not. Despite what everyone said, Hermione refused to believe he was dead. But, with no progress, she was slowly losing hope.
There were thousands of books within these walls she hasn't even touched yet. Not that she especially wanted to touch them, she just saw no other way. Druid magic was her best chance in saving Regulus, and she would taint her every moral and every value with its savage processes.
Suddenly, Klaus ran into the library with a sword, waving it around and shouting crazy, as if a ghost was chasing him, which as Hermione found out, was the case, after he had fallen over a pile of books and ended up on the floor.
"Get away! Get away! Oh, please have mercy, I promise I won't talk to her again I promise please!" He cried looking away with his eyes closed but bravely holding the sword, pointing it at the empty space before him.
"Klaus, are you alright?" Wondering which spirit he provoked this time, Hermione got up from her seat and went over to help him up.
"I keep saying this to you Niklaus, spirits can't hurt or kill you, my courageous grandson" Claudius laughed holding an open book in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. Ever since Hermione has shown interest in dabbling in the old magic and asked him for help, Claudius became warmer and smiled much more than previously. This was another factor which kept her looking through those barbaric books, which were entirely neutral from the 'light magic' - 'dark magic' classification. Or so her grandfather kept saying…
Looking at her favourite cousin, Hermione shook her head in amusement as she was collecting the books off the floor.
"It's easy for you to say. They don't come charging at you with various weapons looking all scary, threatening to end your life through all sorts of other terrifying things." Klaus whined still clutching the sword tightly, and looking around for any sign of the scary spirit.
"Be careful with that sword, it is as old as our family." Claudius closed the book he was holding in his hands. "Morgana made this sword for Mordred, who used it to kill her brother King Arthur at the battle of Camlann. I believe it's the most powerful weapon in this house. It was burned in the ancient dragon's breath, if you get stabbed with it, that's it, there's no saving you." Claudius told him taking Excalibur off his hands and passing it to Kiwi, asking her to lock it away in the vaults. The elf stopped dusting the books and obeyed right away.
"Now there's an idea! Maybe I can stab myself with it and end this suffering." Klaus moaned as he was opening a fresh bottle of wine he just got from an 'emergency stash'. He kept those all around the house.
"If you want to die, why not let the scary ghosts do you a favour?"
"Because they will make it hurt more than necessary."
"Is there really no way to save you if you were to get stabbed with Mordred's sword?" Hermione interrupted the lively discussion between the two men of the house.
"Well, until not long ago I believed there is none." Claudius folded his arms. "I had my speculations that maybe the Cauldron of Arianrhod would be able to, reverse the fatal effects, but after some experimentation I came to a conclusion it wasn't strong enough."
"Isn't that the waterfall lake with very strong healing powers?" Hermione asked.
"The strongest." Claudius' eye twinkled. "But after looking more into it, in one of the earliest family diaries, I came across a mention of Merlin attempting to take dying Arthur to the lake of Avalon, unfortunately he was too late."
"Why is it always the lake?" asked Klaus. He was sitting in the chair, holding his bottle loosely.
"Because grandson, the closer you get to the natural source, the stronger healing power you can reach, and you can't get any closer than water. Water is the element that connects us the best with nature."
"If wine contains water, am I getting closer to the nature by drinking it?" He asked grinning at Claudius stupidly, making the older man sigh loudly. What did he do to deserve this?
Just as Claudius preceded to tell Klaus off for giving into the alcohol and ruining his young body, Hermione picked up the last book off the floor and before she managed to close it and put back onto the pile, the page with a strange drawing caught her attention. She sat down and read the page of the book.
"Grandfather! I think I found the spell" She said with excitement she hasn't felt in a long time. Her grandfather stopped trying to take the bottle of alcohol away from his grandson and came over immediately.
"A summoning ritual?". He turned the book towards him and scanned over the page with his clever eyes..
"This might just about work" He said to Hermione. "This, if done correctly, will summon anyone or anything, dead or alive, no matter the time or place. It's very old and requires a sacrifice as you will be breeching the barrier between life and death. Summer isn't the best time for such rituals, but if we were to do it on the Summer solstice, when the planets are lined up in a more advantageous way, which is in 5 weeks. I reckon we should try it."
Fully committed to the task at hand, Claudius and Hermione spent the rest of July looking for and collecting the ingredients. Some were very hard to find. Hermione had to alter her appearance and went into Knockturn Alley to buy some, as Claudius' usual trader was taking too long to get a hold of what they needed. Soon the 5 weeks were gone and the summer Solstice was here.
"Remember to set these candles with their runes anticlockwise, since we are going against the time fetching the lad, he's been dead for quite a while." Claudius was saying to Hermione who was placing the candles on specific places around the diagram they drew on the ground in the back of the house. They almost finished preparing for the ritual and Claudius just went to fetch the silver dagger Hermione would have to use.
Soon the sun set and Hermione along with Claudius and Klaus, who they thought could be useful and make it easier for them to break through the veil with his personal talents, were standing around the diagram, wearing druidic hooded cloaks. They even locked Klaus in the dungeon and ordered all house elves not to answer to him, to stopped him from drinking any alcohol. He was looking unstable and nervous.
This was going to be a long night for all three of them.
Soon it began to rain and they were reciting the spell over and over again, walking in circles throwing various things in the boiling cauldron, in a specific order. Hermione poured all Regulus's blood she had left into the cauldron and began to recite another part of the spell holding her pendant in both hands, hoping the ritual would bring the owner of the other pendant to her.
To seal the spell Hermione took the dagger and stabbed a small black bird, letting its blood drip into the cauldron as one, final act. Suddenly the rain stopped, the candles went out, the contains of the cauldron evaporated and everything fell silent.
Nothing happened.
"It that it?" Klaus asked looking around.
"Why is nothing happening?" Hermione asked in a small voice looking at her grandfather.
"I'm not sure" Claudius answered truthfully. "Maybe it needs time to work? Some spells have no time limit on them and this one was extremely old. Klaus, has the veil opened?"
"I didn't feel anything. Usually I can go in and out, so maybe I wasn't able to tell because it remains open for me" He said shivering slightly from cold.
"Maybe we got it wrong." She said trying to keep a straight face but tears were gathering in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Hermione. We were taking a big risk with this spell, especially with the curse lingering over our family. It is possible that we got something wrong, the old tongue is vague. But we might have simply been unsuccessful." Claudius was saying as his devastated granddaughter hugged him tightly and cried.
Standing in front of Morgana's portrait, looking into her vibrant but empty eyes, she never felt closer to the witch.
Hermione finally understood why the dark magic was so dangerous and consuming. It offered an escape to those who looked to fulfil their greatest desires, and gave hope by providing solutions that were not enough.
It sold them for a terrible price. The price of one's soul.
The price of tainting one's soul by sacrificing an innocent life so many times, until you lose compassion and all sense. It was so dangerous because it was so irresistible and easy to lose yourself in it for the sake of chasing a dream that would never come true in the way you wanted it to, and by the time you succeed it's too late to turn back, because you're an altogether different person.
But the dark magic wasn't the real problem, it was just a tool.
The most dangerous was love.
It was like an illness that tied you down and pushed you into doing things you wouldn't have done normally, it made you desperate and vulnerable.
It was like an addiction that caused the greatest pain, and there was no cure for it. Hermione fell victim to her, but enough was enough. It was time to say no to her and walk away.
And walk away she did.
Hermione was on her way to Madame Malkin's with Harry and Ron.
It was the last week of summer and time to gather their school supplies for the next year of education ahead of them.
She was putting up a brave face in front of her friends but she was still quite upset about the ritual failing. Hermione spent three whole days in bed, crying and then another week in a drawing room with Klaus, drinking like professionals. She wasn't old enough to drink but Claudius never forbid it seeing as Klaus turned into a full time drunk before he turned 15.
And she was mourning, because she decided to finally give up her foolish hopes and instead focus on defeating Voldemort.
She also remembered her vow to Walburga Black… If they got through this upcoming war alive, Hermione would have to find Sirius a nice witch to marry and make a new generation of Blacks with.
"If you're wondering what the smell is, Mother, a Mudblood just walked in." said Draco Malfoy as Hermione entered the shop, making Madame Malkin, who was talking with Narcissa Malfoy, gasp at the use if such uncouth word. Harry and Ron were still outside talking to Hagrid, whom they met by accident. Malfoy looked incredibly offended when she didn't reply.
"Did you not hear what I said Granger? No response?" He frowned.
"I'm trying something new, it's called raising above petty insults" She smiled going over to look at the robes.
"What? why?" He got off the stool and walked up closer to her. "Is it because you finally accepted that you can't beat me?" Draco smirked.
"Your famous arrogance exceeds your grades Malfoy." She said not paying him much attention. "Your grades, which are lower than my grades." She tilted her head, knowing how that annoyed him. "You better study harder or they won't accept you at that school you're transferring to."
"What school?" He blinked in confusion.
"The death eater school." She smirked. Draco was preparing a hasty comeback which was about to roll off his tongue when Ron and Harry entered.
"What are you doing here Malfoy?!" Ron asked angrily as soon as he set his eyes on Draco, his cheeks reddening.
"Flying on my new broom that you will never be able to afford, I don't know Weasel, what does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting new robes. Merlin, you really are thick sometimes." The blonde sneered.
"Shut up Malfoy." Ron blushed tomato red so Harry came to his rescue.
"And what will you do If I won't, Potter? Go cry to your mother? Oh, right, you can't, she's dead!" He smirked.
"Ron, Harry, we're leaving." Hermione said grabbing their arms and pulling them towards the door before the fight between the three could break out.
"Do send my regards to your father Malfoy-Oh! But I forget! He's in Azkaban" Harry managed to say before Hermione pushed him and Ron outside.
"How could you forget when it's your fault he's there in the first place, Potter!" Draco shouted after them.
The next time Hermione saw Draco was at Hogwarts. He was acting a bit different than usual.
He looked worried too.
The amount of times Hermione caught him absorbed in his thoughts during the meals, or daydreaming during the classes.
He hasn't bothered Harry or Ron nor did he seek her out for an insulting match like he always did before.
Something was wrong with him and she had a tugging feeling in her stomach. He even looked openly sad sometimes and she had her suspicions of what caused this sudden change in his behaviour.
She saw something similar before, when Regulus got his dark mark.
Ah, Regulus…
How she missed him…
All this time, she missed him terribly but she had hope that one day she might see him again, now that hope was gone.
She had no more of his blood even if she did want to try anything more, which she didn't. She accepted her failure and decided it was time to move on. It was time to forget about the past and with every day she felt she was moving forward.
But if she really was moving on, then why was she sitting on the stairs in an empty corridor, with a bottle of firewhisky and tears running down her cheeks for the third time that week?
Merlin… How pathetic.
She got up and walked down the corridor and then down the stairs. When she got to the bottom of the stair case, she heard someone coming in her direction.
It was quite well past the curfew so she hid in the nearest alcove.
Hermione watched as Draco walked past her.
He was subconsciously touching his left forearm, like Regulus used to after he got the mark.
She suddenly felt sick in her stomach… after that came pity and sympathy for the boy.
He must have been in so much pain.
After he was out of sight Hermione came out and made her way to the potions lab. She wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway so she might as well have done something useful instead.
The next day she sought him out when he was alone and bumped into him on purpose.
"Watch where you're going Granger" He remarked turning to her.
Hermione used this moment to take the small round silver jar out of her pocket and slipped it into his pocket. When he was about to reach for it to see what it was she tightly grabbed his arm stopping him, and looked into his eyes.
"It's an ointment for strong pain. Put it on as many times as you need, but three times a day should suffice. Let me know if you need more." She let him go, quickly turned around and walked away. She used to make the same ointment for Regulus when he needed it.
Hermione was startled when she found out about Slughorn returning to Hogwarts.
She worried he would recognise her, but he did not. But she had no doubt he must have had a photo of her, Regulus and other students from the past. If there was one thing Hermione learned about her potions Professor, it was that he liked to keep trophies.
"As I was saying, I prepared some concoctions this morning, any ideas what these might be?" Slughorn gave his class an encouraging smile. Hermione put her hand up.
"Yes? Miss...?"
"Granger Sir" She provided. It looked as if he really had forgotten her. Hermione walked up closer to the potions to examine them "That one there is Vartiserum, it's a truth telling serum, and that one, is the Polyjuice Potion, terribly tricky to make, and this one is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world, it's rumoured to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them, for example I smell parchment, rain, vanilla and …biscuits" the last two made her heart beat faster.
Regulus' hair always smelled of vanilla, and if that wasn't enough of hint, the biscuits were a dead give-away.
It was all he ever ate.
It seemed that she would suffer the rest of her life loving him.
Maybe she could ask her grandfather to arrange some strategic marriage for her since it didn't look like she was going to let go of Regulus for a while yet. And if she couldn't marry for love then she would at least marry for her money and connections. A practice that was still common among the circles in the muggle world, her family was a part of.
"Excellent! Amortentia doesn't create actual love, that would be impossible, but it does create powerful fixation or obsession, and for that reason it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room" Hermione slowly went back to her spot trying to keep her eyes from watering.
She felt she was being watched and looked up to meet Draco Malfoy's eyes. She looked away trying to escape his piercing gaze.
"Sir, you haven't told us what's in that one" someone said.
"Ah yes, you see ladies and gentlemen, curious little potion, known as Felix Felicis, it is more commonly referred to as…"
"Liquid luck" it slipped out.
"Yes Miss Granger. Liquid luck. It's awfully tricky to make, disastrous should you get it wrong. One sip and you shall find that all your endeavours succeed." He sniggered. "At least until the effects wear off"
Slughorn tasked them with brewing the Drought of the Living Dead.
Knowing how to brew it correctly she made a perfect mixture, but so did Harry. Slughorn offered they share but Hermione declined, giving it up to Harry and left the lesson early claiming she wasn't feeling well. She began to half run as tears began to fall before she got to her spot.
Struggling to catch breath through her tears she stopped and leaned on the wall.
"Granger what is wrong with you?" Malfoy came after her. She didn't know why he did but had a very bad timing. She didn't want him to see her like this, but it was too late now.
"Granger what is it? Are you hurt?" He came closer and put his hands on her shoulders to keep her standing straight. When she didn't reply, he sighted and hugged her awkwardly
"There, there…" He patted her on the back. "Here" He passed her a tissue to wipe her eyes and nose.
"Thank you Draco" She said with her tears dry, back straight and her chin up. She swallowed hard.
"Don't mention it" He said quietly.
She never told him why she cried, and he never asked.