A/N: Lord, this fic is officially 10 years old. If I am anything, it's persistent-even if it takes time. The past few years have been hard-especially the last one. I've lost a lot of loved ones and have went through many hardships, but I am still haunting the internet and determined to see this through. This is a short chapter, just to get things up and running. There are approximately 10-15 chapters remaining of this fic (depending on word count) and I recently quit my job to return to grad school, so let's do this. Once this fic is complete, I'll be moving on to original works indefinitely and hope you'll follow my journeys there.
As always, thank you for the lovely messages, reviews, and support you've given me. You all are the only reason I keep coming back. If you would like to follow me on Tumblr for Fanfic updates, original writing blurbs, and dark academia vibes-you can find me there at .com .
Happy reading!
A shock jolted up Hermione's spine as the cold touch of fear gripped her and refused to let go. She was rooted in place, her eyes watching the thick smoke billow up into the sky and cascade to earth in whispers. An unnatural, hazy darkness began to shroud Hogsmeade. The fog leeched into the alleyways as people fled in all directions. Many ran into nearby shops and homes in an effort to escape, but the darkness moved purposefully, racing on the heels of the civilians. Hermione watched in horror as the mist ghosted up the leg of a middle-aged wizard and pulled him into the darkness. She barely heard his shout before he was swallowed by the pulsating black wave.
The darkness then shattered and torpedoes of fog zipped past shop windows whose shutters were quickly drawn. Hermione's eyes never left the dark masses—their familiarity still haunted her in her dreams. Her worst fears were realized as the shadows slammed into the ground, blasting powdery snow onto the wind. The haze cleared and in its place now stood several men, shrouded in dark clothing, with masks covering the lower halves of their faces. Each clutched a wand in hand as they began prowling the streets of Hogsmeade.
Dark Wizards. She stood frozen as the masked men flicked their wands and flaming foxes materialized and clawed their way up the sides of buildings. The glowing creatures chased each other across the rooftops, leaving burning footprints in their wake that smoldered and spread.
Hermione was transported to a memory of the Quidditch World Cup where they encountered Voldemort's followers for the first time. The chaos, the violence, all in the name of their revered leader. It was uncanny. The same twisting smoke. The same hungry flames. She had seen these spells before.
Her eyes landed on the tall, dark-haired young man she had gotten lost in moments earlier. Riddle was transfixed by the flames skittering across the rooftops as they dashed at the whim of the one who wielded them. His jaw dropped as a few of the men collapsed into shadows, chasing the screams of the citizens through the streets. He was in awe. Hermione's stomach twisted painfully.
In the distance, a loud pop erupted over the sounds of chaos. Hermione watched as a red spark flew high into the air from somewhere in the town's center. As the ember climbed, the whizzing noise it had released increased violently. Hermione covered her ears as it grew painfully loud. Her eyes tracked the light high into the sky until it vanished into the overcast clouds, turning them an angry shade of red.
No sooner had she removed her hands from her ears when the sky shattered, sending shock-waves back down to the earth below the point of the explosion. The oppressive waves spread across the town, peeling off roof tiles and loosening cobblestone. The upturned rubble pelted citizens and sent debris crashing through windows.
The sound of splintering wood and crumbling stone raced toward Hermione. She closed her eyes and threw her arms in front of her, bracing for impact.
Something large slammed into her as she was tackled face first into the snow. All at once the world had gone completely silent. The screams, the shattering windows, the rumbling earth—it was all gone.
She wondered id she had ruptured her eardrum, but the pain did not follow. Her nose burned at the impact her face had made with ground. She attempted to raise her upper body, but the weight from above was still pushing her firmly into the snow. Suddenly she felt sharp exhalation of breath on the back of her neck and the rumble of a grunt from above her. She turned her head to the side and caught a flash of too-familiar blond hair.
It was Abraxas. Abraxas Malfoy, bracing himself over top of her. His hands bracketed on either sides of her head and his long legs covering her own.
His chest rose and fell with each harsh breath he puffed into the icy air. A splotch of red dropped from above, landing next to her gloved hand in the snow, coloring it crimson. Her gaze quickly darted to his face. Abraxas's disheveled hair curtained his face, which was screwed tight in pain. His left ear leaked a bright red as blood trickled past his sharp jaw and down his neck, staining the white of his shirt collar poking from beneath his dark winter coat.
She heard a hiss emanating from his wand which now lay in the snow, cooling from the heat of the rushed spell he must've cast. He stared down at her, his gaze pinning her into the snowy earth, eyes searching. Abraxas hadn't left for the winter holidays. He had stayed. And he had been watching her—her and Riddle.
"You're—you're bleeding." He scrunched his face in pained confusion as Hermione spoke. Abraxas winced, eyes squinting in confusion. A pang of fear raked across her. "Abraxas… can you hear me at all?"
Abraxas lifted his wand and gave a forceful wave, muttering something she couldn't decipher, and dismissed the spell. The sounds of crackling fire feasting on wooden beams and the wails of injured people rushed to meet her.
"Are you hurt?" Abraxas ground out.
"N-no." Hermione stared at him openly.
He looked her over, skepticism clouding his eyes, and shoved himself backward roughly until he fell backward into the snow that was now darkening with ash. Abraxas's eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze to where Riddle stood.
Stood—unharmed—not a hair out of place, facing directly toward the blast.
Riddle's hands were braced in front of him as he wandlessly conjured a glimmering shield to block out the sound, the debris, or anything that would inconvenience him from observing the dark magic unfolding before him.
His eyes held a fierceness to them that Hermione had only recognized twice before.
It was the same piercing gaze he had leveled at her when he tried to wrench the secrets from her defenseless mind.
It was the same one he had given her moments earlier before they kissed.
It was hungry and possessive.
It was determined, examining every minute detail, and devouring them all.
It was the look of a man savoring—and forming a memory.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I will be back in the next few days with an extended chapter and continuation of the story. Feel free to leave a review or favorite. I'm always happy to hear from you all!
Take care of yourself, take care of each other, & as always-CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
-VS