A/N: Here comes chapter 33. I know you've been waiting. Enjoy!
Meet your prey
"Uhm… I came to Auror Office to report an attack on the Weasley's. Someone just pushed me through the fireplace." Hermione explained to Umbridge.
"Uh! That idiot! He's new don't worry about it." Umbridge waved her hand and pointed to the man who had brought Hermione into the room. This is Auror Wellington. He's the Deputy Auror of Gawain Robards."
"Pleased to meet you, sir." Hermione shook his hand.
The man smiled warmly. Umbridge coughed lightly and said "I'm really sorry. It's a very bad time, Hermione. We have arrested a Death Eater today-"
"Who will DIE if my assistant isn't here in five minutes." said a man behind Umbridge.
The pink lady pressed her lips together angrily. "We're aware of that Healer House."
"Yes, I'm sure you are. Meanwhile try to get Hadley to me a bit sooner."
Hermione looked at the healer. He was wearing a simple black robe with white muggle shirt under it, his hair was short and gray and his shoes were blue sneakers. Hermione looked into his piercing grey eyes and felt a child breeze down her spine accompanied by a slight pressure on her shields.
Hermione pushed him back gently without looking away.
"Have you considered becoming a healer, Miss … Uh… ?"
"Lestrange." Hermione said the name name swiftly and quietly. She hated it when she had to introduce herself.
"Well have you?" asked House impatiently.
Before Hermione could answer, a woman burst through the door. She was a brunette with large green eyes.
"House! Where's the patient?" She jumped to the startled healer.
"Behind me." House pointed at something behind him that Hermione now realised was not a rag but a man under one with only one hand and no legs. Hermione got closer and saw something on his remaining hand. There was no mistake. It was the Dark Mark. The mark was struggling as if it was trying to avoid being burnt by fire.
"This poor fellow here is suffering from severe magical burn caused by Fiendfyre fire. He has most likely aparated away when fire was attached to him. Even though he obviously knew who to stop it, for some reason fire didn't stop and continued to consume his flesh albeit much more slowly and painfully."
"He's still burning?" Hermione asked. She noticed the man was slightly emitting smoke.
"This is obviously not ordinary. We should have been able to stop it, but the fire is persistent. I believe it was designed in this manner or the emotions of the caster were so strong that the fire cannot be distinguished easily." House explained.
"I'm putting the Zamharir." said healer Hadley. She used a fork to put a block of icy stone on his skin. "Will it work, House?"
"If it does, we can put more. If not, it will kill him instantly." House said.
"What?" Hadley paused.
"Just do it." House ordered.
Hermione felt something wake up in the back of her mind. She knew what it was and she knew it was now or never. She resisted her alter ego with all her might. The ego wanted to activate the fire within Bloom's tissues to burn him from inside instantly, in order to eliminate the last witness of Hermione's crime. Unlike all the other times she succeeded to send her back to pit.
"It's working. The fire is being put out." Healer Hadley told House who nodded thoughtfully.
"Good, let's cover all his body and monitor him for the next four hours. Then we can bring the team to fix him up."
House sat on a chair furthest from the patient as Hadley was busy putting all the stones she had brought on Bloom's remaining body. Hermione could see that the body relaxed a bit and went limp.
"He passed out," said Hadley.
"Is he going to be okay, Healer Hadley." Dolores asked.
"I'm sure…"
"You're sure? He's going to die. The only thing we can do is fix him to a point that he can tell them" House pointed at the Aurors around him. "who did this to his poor bastard arse."
Dolores looked appalled by House. Hermione now understood why Budelier had hated this man so much.
"Hermione, did you say you wanted to report an attack?" Umbridge asked.
"Yes, you should probably sit for this." Hermione said as she led Umbridge to a chair. She pulled another chair and sat in front of her.
"Madam Umbridge… there was a Death Eater attack on the Weasley residence. I happened to be there for New Year's. My mother was… there, accompanied by my father. They… they were going to kill everyone, unless I … I killed Harry." Hermione explained.
Umbridge had dangerously pale face as she listened.
"Well, I decided to do something different." Hermione pointed at the man resting under the pile of Zamharir.
Umbridge nodded. She looked at the man with a frosty gaze.
Suddenly an Auror put his hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"I think you should go back home, Miss Lestrange." he said. "This is not a good place for a Hogwarts student."
"But…"
"Don't worry, Hermione." Umbridge said. "I have your report. It's fortunate that nobody was harmed during the attack. I'll make sure to send some Aurors to keep watch."
Hermione looked at Umbridge. She seemed unphased by what Hermione had revealed to her.
It surprised Hermione that none of the Aurors had overheard them. This was not how she had imagined it to be. Perhaps when Bloom told them that she had done it to him and twenty more Death Eaters, they would come for her.
"This is Auror James Prescott." Wellington told her tapping on a young man's shoulder. "He will accompany you to our office where you can use the Floo network to go back."
"Miss Lestrange, it's an honor to meet you. Madam Umbridge only has good things to say about you…" Prescott trailed off when Wellington elbowed him.
Hermione smiled politely to Prescott which made him very happy.
He barely managed to keep quiet on their way. When they returned to the Auror Office the young man who had thrown Hermione into the fireplace raised his wand nervously. He almost shot her with a stunner before Hermione effortlessly redirected it to a wall.
"Calm down, Peterson! This is Hermione Lestrange." Prescott said.
Peterson squirmed a bit and then apologised. Just like Prescott, he seemed to be familiar with her name.
Hermione had no interest in chatting with two over-excited boys so she went back to the Burrow as soon as she could. The moment she appeared in the fireplace she was faced with a lot of surprised faces.
"Ah, thanks Merlin! You changed your mind." said Mrs. Weasley as she hugged Hermione.
"I saw Bloom." Hermione said.
"How?" asked Moriarty angrily.
"Well, they thought I was a healer named Hadley." Hermione explained. "They took me to him. Dolores Umbridge was there, so I stayed there for a few minutes and told Umbridge what I had done and she … she sent me home." Hermione said.
"How kind of her! You must have done her a great favour! How come a girl who hasn't even finished Hogwarts gets more access than us, Budelier?" asked Moriarty. Budelier moved his way from one feet to another and said nothing.
"They are apparently okay with the woman who tried to kill him in the first place. So what do we do about him?" asked Chang.
Moriarty paced a bit and stopped. "I don't think we have to anything. Dolores Umbridge will take care of it, after all. All she needs to do is a little confundus and large dose of Obliviate."
The wait was excruciating. They patiently waited for the daily prophet. Around nine, three owl appeared on the horizon. Two collided and broke through the window while the third landed gracefully on the frame.
Hermione, Mr. Weasley and Jim Moriarty each picked one and started to read.
DEATH EATER ARRESTED IN CRITICAL CONDITION DIES
The trio read the newspaper silently. Moriarty finished the article sooner than others and passed the newspaper to Dumbledore.
"Bloom has committed suicide by eating Zamharir." he said unhelpfully.
"What's Zamir?" Ginny asked.
"Zamharir, Miss Weasley. Zamharir means extreme coldness. It's a magical stone that is capable of diffusing Fiendfyre. It's very dangerous to touch not to mention eat." Moriarty explained. "I taught about it to seventh-years last month."
"Do you think Umbridge… Did she… Did she do it?" Hermione asked.
"I wouldn't cross that out just yet." Moriarty said. "But, maybe… just maybe … Bloom gained his consciousness while the fire hadn't been completely neutralised yet. The heat and pain might have forced him to try cool himself down by eating something cold that happens to sit on his chest."
"He was heavily damaged. He couldn't have moved without registering an insurmountable amount of pain. The Aurors must have been able to stop him in time." Hermione argued.
"Why are you upset, Hermione?" Moriarty asked. "No one even knows these people died. Now that Bloom is dead, Scrimgeor's got a dead Death Eater. Umbridge has gained your favor and you are free from any charges. There could not have been a better outcome. Even if not innocent, pretend to be one, girl!"
"How Machiavellian of you!" said Chang.
Moriarty gave him a sharp look that made him hide behind Budelier.
"Why shouldn't I be, sir?" Hermione said indignantly. "Why should I be happy that I have murdered twenty people?"
Moriarty opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. He closed it and pondered a few seconds. Throughout his miserably long life he had killed many enemies. Some he killed gladly and others reluctantly and on many occasions unintentionally. He had never been happy a single murder so why Hermione had to be; Just because her ancestor enjoyed doing so?
"You are right. I wouldn't be happy either. You have the right to be sad and brood." Moriarty said. "I should go to the Ministry."
"Me too." said Arthur Weasley. He kissed his wife and daughter, opened the door for Moriarty and left after Budelier and Chang.
Dumbledore was about to leave as well when Remus Lupin and Severus arrived.
Lupin jumped to hug Harry and Hermione while Snape looked at Hermione in horror.
They were both very hungry so they stuffed themselves with eggs and bacon Molly had gladly prepared for them. Dumbledore explained what had happened on their end and waited for them to give their reports.
"How can you put it so … mildly, Albus?!" asked Snape with enraged eyes.
"Severus…" Lupin said with a warning glint in his eyes but Snape nonetheless continued his rant.
"What part of fiendfyre the size of a stadium don't you understand. Of course you wouldn't understand. You haven't seen the injured."
"Injured?" Hermione asked in amazement. She thought she had outright killed them all. Well, there was Bloom, but he was just one man. Hermione noticed that Snape's robes were different than usual.
"Professor, what's happened to your robes?" asked Fred innocently.
"Miss Lestrange's incendiary attack reached much further than you think, Mr. Weasley. Malfoy manor no longer has a third wing."
Dumbledore looked at Severus in shock.
"This was not a normal fire Albus. You know how dangerous Fiendfyre is. By the way Lucius isn't upset with you Miss Lestrange. He wanted his daughter to know that." Snape said mockingly.
"What happened, Severus?" Lucinda asked.
"Goyle was the first to arrive. He was the best case. I only had to chop his left arm!" Snape shook in horror. "All those who came later were much worse. I had to remove Malcibers skin entirely and grow him a new one. I couldn't grow his feet back. Most of those who came… I wish they hadn't. I don't know the identity of the last person who managed to get himself to us because he crumbled into dust when he got there. He was the one who caused the wing to burn. The Dark Lord isolated the fire as we took people out."
"Isolated?" Sirius asked in surprise.
"Yes, he barely managed to do that. As the fire grew, it became wilder and wilder. I've seen Fiendfyre before. This was on a whole different level. It didn't take the shape of a dragon or anything of such nature. It abysmally looked like a billion rats, trying to crawl out and burn anything on their way. You have a very nasty fire form, Miss Lestrange." Snape breathed deeply and continued. "It took ten people including Dark Lord himself to stop it. Even then we couldn't save the things that fire had touched. There isn't even dust where that part of the manor used to be."
Hermione tried imagining her fire like a mouse. It seemed funny and playful to her. Severus Snape's face became ashen as he saw blue mouse in front of himself. Since Hermione had closed her eyes and was imagining it she couldn't see it but she suspected that something was up when everything went quiet. She opened her eyes and saw everyone staring into something on the table.
"Merlin's Pants!" Hermione exclaimed. The mouse jumped on Dumbledore's hand and licked it innocently.
"It seems so intelligent." said Dumbledore as he was examining the mouse.
Snape pointed at the mouse with his wand. but the mouse simply hissed angrily and hid in Dumbledore's sleeve.
"Huh, it tickles." Dumbledore said cheerfully.
Hermione mentally ordered the mouse to come out and put her hand on it. The mouse disappeared.
"Sorry professor. I promise that wasn't my intention." Hermione apologised as she was profoundly sorry for what Snape had gone through.
"That mouse was so cute." Ginny said.
Snape growled, dissatisfied with her improper reaction.
"I'm sure that's what she says about werewolves, too." George joked.
"Am I not cute, George?" Lupin asked seriously.
"Eh… You are a very cute werewolf, Professor Lupin." George said uncomfortably.
Lupins laughed warmly.
"What happened on your side, Remus?" Dumbledore asked.
"Oh, I think we should talk about that during a meeting. I can only give you a watered down version now." Lupin said apologetically. "To sum it up. The wolves know that the attack failed last night. The wolves are talking about a new Dark Lord who might be even stronger than Voldemort."
"Severus, has Voldemort told you why he attacked Weasley's when Hermione was with them. He seems to be fond ofher." Dumbledore asked carefully.
"He told us that he wanted Miss Lestrange to kill Mr. Potter. Bellatrix had failed to tell the Dark Lord that Miss Lestrange knew how to make Fiendfyre, or so they claimed. Bellatrix wasn't punished for her failure." Snape said doubtfully.
"Do you have any other ideas why?" Dumbledore pressed the issue.
"Well, all those who perished were expendable. The only exception was Octavian Bloom who never returned. I don't suppose he died with the others."
Dumbledore smiled bitterly. "Unfortunately, he didn't. He was found by the Aurors last night. He died this morning. I don't believe he has told anything to the Ministry, but that was most likely his mission tonight. I believe, he was chosen to tarnish Hermione's reputation."
Snape looked unmoved by hearing headmaster's theory.
"Just as I suspected." Snape said. "This was perfectly planned."
"Voldemort knew Hermione would be here. He made it sure by first taking her to their headquarters and then he sent her here."
"But why?" Hermione asked.
"Because he knows you won't join him, so he wants you far from Harry, where you cannot help Harry much. He also wants to secure Bellatrix and Lucius as loyal servants." Lucinda reasoned.
"So he was expecting me to massacre his followers?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"He was counting on it, Hermione." Dumbledore said, "Tom knows that you hate losing as much as he does. He knew you would destroy anything that might threaten things that are precious to you."
Hermione had never felt so offended by being compared to her biological father. She looked at Dumbledore hatefully for a moment before understanding his words. She could never hide from the fact that Voldemort was her father.
"I can't run away from the truth, can I?" she said to herself sadly.
Snape was looking at her meticulously.
"Have you seen something interesting in my face, Professor?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing." Snape said cooly.
"I suppose it would be wise to take children back to Hogwarts. Don't you agree Severus?" said Dumbledore.
"I do." he faced Harry, Ron and Ginny. "Go pack your stuff."
Hermione huffed and joined them after glaring for half a minute at Snape.
Before leaving Dumbledore pulled Harry aside. "Harry, come by my office on Monday at two. I have some new things to show you."
Sirius and Lucinda asked Harry to keep in touch via mirror calls and Lucinda's dog licked his hand as a goodbye.
After loads of hugs and kisses, Snape took them to McGonagall's office, who greeted them warmly.
"I want your essays by Monday." Snape warned before going back to the Burrow.
After putting their luggage in theirs dorm rooms and dressing up, they went to Hagrid, who gave them some dark coffee and rock cakes.
The term had a pleasant surprise for Harry and Ron.
"Hey there is a banner for Apparition lessons." said Ron excitedly. "We are eligible."
"I know." Hermione said as she already knew a better way to transport herself. According to Voldemort only a handful of people could apparate his was. Hermione guessed it had to with being his daughter.
"It's only 12 Galleons." Harry said and signed his name right after Ron.
Hermione knew she needed the license anyway so she signed it after him albeit a bit reluctantly.
"Um, guys, I have to go." Ron pointed to Lavender Brown who was walking toward Ron.
"He's really into her, isn't he?" said Hermione.
"Yes. I hope it works out." said Harry who clapped excitedly. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to read something." He leaned forward and kissed Hermione lightly.
Harry spend the next few days reading on Necromancy, Potions and Alchemy in that order. The Necromancy book was truly morbid so he would only read it during daytime when scary thoughts wouldn't come to his mind.
Gradually other students returned to Hogwarts as well. Draco Malfoy returned the same day they arrived while Neville came back two days later, looking surprisingly tan. He and his grandmother had apparently been to Australia for Christmas to visit a family farm that belonged to his great uncle Algie.
To Hermione's dismay Harry and Ron weren't the only people excited about the Apparition Lessons. Almost everyone in their year was thrilled to be able to learn it and vanish at will.
She had to restrain Seamus Finnigan's hoselike jet from wetting everyone as he became overly excited about being able to apparate.
"Harry has apparated before." Hermione said as they were leaving Flitwiks class. "Haven't you, Harry?"
"I have. Sirius has side-apparated me a few times. It's a bit unpleasant initially, but you get used to it."
Admitting that was a mistake. Harry barely managed to make an excuse to get to Dumbledore's office.
The very room was well lit by sunlight and everything seemed to be in order. Dumbledore put his pensive on the table as Harry entered.
"Ah Harry, you arrived just in time. I had an interesting talk with Minister this morning. It seems that he has finally managed to corner you." Dumbledore said with a mild irritation.
"Well, it was more like he came over to corner me, but he himself was cornered by Professor Moriarty." said Harry.
"Ah yes. Jim is very good at what he does. He just forced Rufus to replace Gawain Robarbs for barring his Unspeakables from meeting poor Mr. Bloom. I must say Minister truly fears him." Dumbledore said. "How did Rufus convince you to help him."
"Professor Moriarty wasn't against the idea. I felt it might help people a bit. Especially since Scrimgeor confessed to their inability to control the situation."
"Ah, honesty. I didn't think he would go for that."
"Professor Moriarty had a big role in that." Harry said.
"Well if Professor Moriarty agrees, then it's okay. He is the better politician." Dumbledore said with a finalising tone.
"Professor, what are you going to about Draco Malfoy's … issue?" Harry asked.
"I suppose Hermione has told you all about it. Harry, I'm afraid I have only a few ideas none of which can be used in a practical plan without causing some sort of damage. Professor Moriarty is working on it as well so we will have to wait and see." Dumbledore said.
Harry knew this might become problematic because Moriarty was more than busy with the retrieval of the Philosopher's Stone.
"Professor, he might not have the time to plan things ahead. He's quite busy." Harry argued.
"Harry trust me. You shouldn't worry yourself about it. We have more important things to do." Dumbledore pointed at the pensive. "We have two new memories today that I've acquired recently. Both of them were very difficult to obtain but the second, I believe, is of more importance than any other I've collected so far."
Dumbledore then went on how Tom Riddle had been during school. A few times he mentioned a few similarities between Tom Riddle and Hermione Granger without intending to. He was knowledge thirsty, alone and popular with the staff. He had showed no bad behavior.
"Professor, did you know that Hermione once stole potion ingredients from Professor Snape in our second year?"
It was as if Harry flipped a switch in Dumbledore's brain.
"Ahh… so that was Hermione. You should know, Severus never suspected her. She like her father is very capable of painting a good picture of herself. The main difference between them is that Hermione does it to help her friends and other people while Tom did it only for his own benefit."
"Hermione adheres to the rules. Riddle never believed in them." Harry tried to point out a difference.
"That's where you're wrong Harry. Many of those who knew Tom Riddle believed him to be the same. Tom does care about rules but as long as it's useful and not a hindrance. He will simply bend the rules when they become an obstacle. I can name a few occasions Hermione did the same. In fact, I initially tried to avoid interacting with her because she was very much like her father in the department of attitude. I feared that I might cause resentment in her. A foolish idea that I hope she can forgive me for harbouring it. "
Dumbledore and Harry continued and tried to avoid comparing Tom Riddle to Hermione. Talking about the Chamber of Secrets made it easier, talking about his desire to know his parents brought Hermione back to Harry's mind.
Fortunately, Dumbledore opted to show him the memory, so Harry managed to put the disturbing thoughts aside.
The memory belonged to Morfin Gaunt and it ended abruptly causing Harry's surprise.
"So what do you think happened, Harry?" Dumbledore asked patiently.
"Well I guess Voldemort stunned him. that's why the memory stopped so suddenly and Voldemort seemed to be interested in Morvolo's ring. Did he take it?"
"Well deducted, Harry, considering that you only saw the memory." Dumbledore said and then explained how Riddle had killed his father and grandparents while framing his uncle Morfin. He told Harry how he had futilely tried to free Morfin before his death.
"How the Ministry didn't notice that Riddle had done magic? Did he take a potion like Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Harry. He invented that potion early on. He knew that even if he could blame someone else for the Killings, his trace would register the killing curse." Dumbledore waited for Harry to make his own conclusions.
"Like when I was blamed for the Hover Charm. They couldn't say it was me or Dobby, but they knew what it was."
Even though Morfin had been a nasty man, it was sad to hear that he had died that way.
"I think we should proceed to the second memory." Dumbledore emptied a tiny vial into the pensive. "This is a relatively short memory, Harry. We shall be back before you know it."
Harry dived in and landed in front of a man who he recognised very well. Although Slughorn was much younger with tick shiney straw coloured hair, there were signs that he was gradually going bald. He had a glass of wine and some crystallised pineapple. Harry tried to look around before Dumbledore arrived. This was Slughorn's office. Behind him was a small shelf of books with various Potions books and a few Muggle books tilted Pride and Prejudice, the Prince, Othello. What really interested Harry was a book titled THE DYNAMICS OF AN ASTEROID by James Moriarty. Next to that title sat a book without a name and title and only a messy embroidered signature could be seen on it, which was an odd place to sign a book. It said 'To Horace, J.D.' Harry wondered who J.D. could be. Dumbledore landed next to him with a bright smile. Harry looked at him and noticed a dozen boys sitting behind him. It was a shame he hadn't noticed them first. Harry immediately recognised Riddle between them and saw he was sporting Marvolo's ring. Apparently, at this point he had already killed his grandparents and father. He seemed very comfortable where he was.
"Sir, is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?" he asked Slughorn.
There was a glint in Slughorn's eye. "Tom my boy, you know I couldn't tell you even if I knew." Slughorn took a sip of his wine. "Although, I'd love to know where you get your information, boy. More aware of than half of staff, you are."
Riddle smiled, the other boys laughed and looked at him with admiration. Slughorn smiled softly, too.
"What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't, and your careful flattery of the people who matter – thank you for the pineapple, by the way, you're quite right, it is my favourite –" suddenly there was a jump to Harry's vision. "-you can go very high but be careful because you also might go very wrong as well. Mark my words." There was another vision jump and the clock on Slughorn's desk chimed eleven o'clock.
"Good gracious, is it that time already?" said Slughorn. "You'd better get going, boys, or we'll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay by tomorrow or it's detention. Same goes for you, Avery."
As the boys left he left his armchair and put the glass over the book shelf. Riddle, wanted to be last in the room with Slughorn.
"Look sharp, Tom," said Slughorn, without turning round. 'You don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect …'
"Sir, I wanted to ask you something." Riddle said.
Slughorn slowly turned around with a smile. "Ask away, Tom, ask away…"
"Sir, I was wondering what you knew about … about Horcruxes."
The memory got distorted only for a fraction of a second.
"Well, I'm afraid cannot tell you anything about them as I don't have much of a knowledge regarding such forms of magic. Perhaps you could get a more informative answer from Professor Dumbledore. He is quite knowledgeable in obscure forms of magic."
"I think we've seen enough. Time to go, Harry." said Dumbledore.
A few seconds later Harry was standing in front of Dumbledore in his office.
"Sir, was the memory… touched?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes, Harry. I'm sure you saw noticeable glitches within the memory. Professor Slughorn has tempered his memory and re-engineered them in a way to convey that he didn't tell Tom Riddle anything about Horcruxes." Dumbledore said. "I must say I've never seen someone do it so masterfully, especially in the short amount of time he had to provide the memory. I believe he feels ashamed that he had told Tom Riddle about them so he has tried to show a more positive image of himself. He still has the real memory, of course. Therefore, for the first time, I am giving you homework, Harry. It will be your job to persuade Professor Slughorn to divulge the real memory, which will undoubtedly be our most crucial piece of information of all."
Harry smiled to himself. Interestingly Moriarty wanted to know about Voldemort's Horcruxes as well, and Horace Slughorn was the one holding the answers.
"Professor, couldn't we use Legilimency or Veritaserum?" Harry asked.
"I'm afraid both will prove to be useless. Professor Slughorn is a well accomplished Occlumens and a professional potion maker. He most certainly has the antidote to Veritaserum on his personal disposal at all times."
"Then I cannot force him. I have to simply convince him." Harry said.
"No, I think it would be foolish to attempt to wrest the truth from Professor Slughorn by force, and might do much more harm than good; I do not wish him to leave Hogwarts. However, he has his weaknesses like the rest of us and I believe that you are the one person who might be able to penetrate his defences. It is most important to know what Horace told Tom about Horcruxes. We will only know when we have seen the real thing. So, good luck, Harry … and goodnight."
"Goodnight, Sir." Harry stood up and left immediately.
