Disclaimer : I don't own anything in the world of Harry Potter, that's J.K.Rowling's job. The plot is mine though.

Chapter 7 : The Torch

For an instant nothing happened, then she burst into flames. Her eyes opened and she screamed…

As soon as the screaming started Dumbledore leapt to his feet. No matter how much he trusted the newest member of his staff, there was no way he could stand by and listen to someone in so much pain. However he took no more than a step towards the bed before the Professor looked up from what he was doing.

His eyes were the same as the ones the figure in the classroom had the day before, and it shocked Dumbledore just how terrifying it made the man look. His journey towards the bed was cut short and he found himself sliding across the room on his feet, then tumbling over backwards onto another bed. He tried to get up, but it was as though someone very strong had placed their hands on his shoulders. He drew his wand and tried any spell he could think of that would propel himself forwards, but nothing worked. All he could do was remain there and listen to the horrible screaming sounds echoing around the ancient walls of the castle.

He could see Madam Pomfrey standing in the doorway of her office, frantically trying to enter the room but being held back in much the same way as Dumbledore was. Hermione was still lying on the bed, screaming in pain, and her skin was still burning with bright orange and red flames. He could see the burns growing and spreading across her skin, and even smell the awful smell of skin and hair burning. He forced himself to look away and tried to focus on breaking free. Just as he was about to give up all hope the screaming came to an abrupt end, leaving the sound to echo itself out. The bright light surrounding the professor started to gradually fade, and then suddenly the force holding Dumbledore back disappeared causing him to spring up and once again tumble across the room. Madam Promfrey also fell into the room.

Dumbledore just stood where he was and stared. He stared at the motionless professor, and at the burnt outline of a person where Hermione had previously been lying. He couldn't do anything but stare.

The Professor was exhausted. It had literally taken every ounce of his strength to complete his task, and now his injuries were beginning to catch up with him. He didn't even think he would have the energy to make it back to his own bed. Not noticing Dumbledore staring at him, he allowed his head to fall onto the bed. As he fell into darkness he thought to himself, I hope I've done the right thing.

The pain ripped through both her mind and her body. Every part of her was aching, screaming for the pain to stop. She felt sure that she was dieing. Surely nobody could live through such pain. Even her vision had gone completely black, overcome by the sheer agony. It was so hot she could almost feel her skin being torn away. Then finally, a bit at a time, the pain began to fade away. She instinctively tried to open her eyes to see where she was, but nothing was making much sense to her yet, and everything was still dark.

Even in the midst of all the darkness and confusion she could feel pressure in her left hand. It gave her something to focus on, and slowly but surely, her mind started to come back together. As everything began to come back into focus she tried to remember what happened and work out where she was.

I was… the Professor! But this isn't the classroom… Hospital Wing? But I'm not on a bed…Where am I?

With great effort she forced her head to the side and the person she saw next to her was probably the last person she would have expected.It wasn't one of her friends; it wasn't Dumbledore; it wasn't even the Professor.

The young girl at her side noticed her movement, smiled sweetly, and then said in a very childish voice, "Hiya!"

It was the girl from the Professor's photograph, looking exactly the same as she remembered. Her fairly long black hair flowed down just past her shoulders, and she wore a plain white dress down to just above her bare-footed ankles. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and perfectly happy and content, as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"Hiya!" she said again, "Are you awake now? I'm Ilana." She thrust her free hand forwards as if to shake Hermione's hand.

Hermione tried to reply, but all that came out of her mouth was a strange croaking noise, and she could feel herself falling back asleep.

"That's ok, you get some more rest. I'll still be here when you…"

Hermione was asleep once more.

When Hermione next came to she was definitely feeling a lot better. Her joints were still very stiff, and her head was still throbbing, but it was a definite improvement. With a great effort she opened her eyes and once again saw the girl sitting beside her, gazing off into the distance with a calm look on her face. She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a dress identical to the girl's.

After taking a few deep breaths she took a good look around at where she was. She was lying down on her back on what looked like a garden lawn. In the direction of where her feet were, about fifty meters away she could see a small thatched cottage with smoke drifting serenely from the chimney. The sky was a bright blue and the faint chirping of birds could be heard in the distance. Surrounding the lawn in every direction was a thick layer of trees, blocking off any view of where this place might be. Her stomach did a funny jump as a horrible thought struck her.

"I'm not dead am I?"

The girl glanced across at her and giggled. "Everyone always asks that. No you aren't dead. You took a nasty bump to the head I think, but you should be alright now."

Hermione frowned slightly as if trying to remember something and asked tentatively, "Who are you?"

The girl thrust her hand out once again. "I'm Ilana."

Feeling rather stupid Hermione took Ilana's hand and shook it, causing the girl to smile even more than she was before. Strangely as soon as their hands touched she could feel the pain in her head begin to fade a bit and she could feel a strange warmness inside her, putting her slightly mroe at ease. It felt like drinking hot chocolate on a cold day. Unable to help herself, she smiled back. "Where am I?" she asked.

"That's my house," Ilana waved her other hand towards the cottage. "Do you want to come inside?"

Not waiting for an answer Ilana pulled Hermione to her feet and led her towards the house. They walked inside hand in hand.

The warm and friendly feeling inside the cottage reminded her somewhat of the Burrow. On the right hand wall was a log fire, burning away calmly and surrounded by a pair of comfortable looking armchairs. On the opposite wall there were any number of muggle paintings of various witches and wizards, none of whom looked familiar. Over on the far wall were a handful of doors leading through to other rooms, which the house shouldn't really have had any room for if it was in the muggle world. Ilana guided Hermione over to one of the chairs and sat down in the other. Even though it was fairly warm outside, it felt nice to be sitting by the fire.

"So why am I here?" Hermione asked.

"It seems you have been chosen," replied the girl, with a slightly more serious expression than before. "Chosen to be trained as the Guardian."

Hermione racked her brain to try to think where she had heard that name before, but came up with nothing. "Guardian?"

"Yes. You probably wouldn't have heard of them before. There is only ever a single Guardian at any one time. There just simply isn't enough magic to sustain more than that. Your Professor was the last one, and now the torch has been passed to you."

"But…but…why? Why me? There must be some mistake. I hit my head just now in the classroom…"

"I don't know why. That isn't up to me. Obviously something happened to the Professor which meant he couldn't be the Guardian any more, so now I'm here to teach you."

"He's not… dead is he?"

"I don't. Probably not.Without the Guardian magic to protect him, he could be. That's why you need to take your place quickly. There are many evils in the world that will always try to win over good. And that is what the Guardian is for, to fight for the side of the light. Your Professor must have chosen you for a reason."

"But how can you teach me? You just a…"

Ilana giggled a little, and then her expression changed. She looked straight at Hermione with a steady, calculated gaze that looked out of place on someone so young, and spoke in a slightly deeper voice that sounded more like a woman speaking than a little girl. "Do not be fooled by appearances Hermione. I may appear young to you, but I am older than the oldest of your kind. I have been here teaching for a very long time."

Hermione couldn't think of anything to say to this, so she just nodded her head slightly.

Ilana broke out in a grin once again, and continued in her usual voice, "I will show you around the place today, and tomorrow we can start on some of your studies. If I'm right in thinking what it was that attacked Christin, it won't stay away for long, and you will need to be ready."

"Christin?"

"That would be the name of your Professor. Before he became a Guardian of course. When he took on the responsibilities, like a lot of people before him, he wanted to leave his past behind him, so he chose to give up his name. He faked his own death so nobody would come looking for him, he didn't really have a family, and wasn't that close to any of his friends. I believe he knew another of your Professors at school thoough. Some people just aren't cut out to being in the press all the time."

"Will I have to give up my name as well?"

"Not if you don't want to. It's up to you, but you have plenty of time to decide?"

"How long will this training last?" Hermione asked, not liking the idea of giving up her name one little bit. "I should probably get back and let people know I am alright…"

"There won't be any need for that," Ilana answered, standing up and moving towards one of the doors, gesturing for Hermione to do the same. "It isn't safe for you to go back yet. Not until you are properly trained. Besides, we could spend months here and only a few days will have passed back there.

"Oh," she added, "and don't go having any strange ideas about time being slowed down or sped up. That is certainly much more complicated. Time runs perfectly normally in both places, they just are linked together rather strangely…

A figure stood almost completely surrounded by tall trees. He was standing just on the edge of a clearing, listening to the sounds of voices within. He knew the person he wanted was here, but he had been waiting and observing the proceedings for some time, clutching his shoulder awkwardly. He knew he only had a limited amount of time left, but patience came naturally to him. He had witnessed at least two people tortured and then killed using a green curse he didn't recognise. He then saw a number of people have a strange magical tattoo burned onto their skin, including a blonde haired boy he had paid particular attention to. He concentrated harder on the voices.

"Tell me Severus, what news do you have from Hogwarts?"

"No changes my Lord," the other man replied.

"This is not what I want to hear. I want progress! Crucio!"

There were muffled cries of pain for some time, before the leader spoke again.

"Get out of my sight. I want results Severus, you have been hiding away in that castle for too long. It is time for you to prove youself."

When the other man had left, he decided to make his move. He walked calmly out of his hiding place and into the clearing; his long robes making it look like he was almost floating. The obvious leader of the group spotted him.

"Who are you? How dare you disturb this meeting? Come over here and address your Lord properly."

He completely ignored the snake-eyed man and walked on.

"Stop! I command you! Avada Kadavra!

Out of the leader's wand shot a green bolt of light, seen all to often by this group of people, but the light simply washed over the figure as if it was nothing more than water. Continuing to ignore everything that was happening around him, he continued to walk on. When he had reached his target he held out his hand, summoned every ounce of strength he had left in him, and much to the amazement of all the people gathered there, his target burst into flames.

A/N – Nice long chapter this time. Hope it doesn't disappoint. Just passed 10,000 words! Here's to 20,000! Thanks to all the reviewers. I do try and reply to them all. Critisim welcome, but so are compliments!