"Again!" She yelled.
Hermione was bent over, hands on her knees – out of breath, while Narcissa stood across from her – wand in hand, a stern expression on her face.
"I can't!" Hermione yelled back. "We've been doing this for far too long! I'm exhausted! Please let me get some sleep! Why can't we start again tomorrow?"
"And that is why you can't control your magic." Narcissa replied. "You are unwilling to do the necessary footwork. You would rather run on emotions."
"That is when I am most powerful!" Hermione panted.
Narcissa took calculated steps toward Hermione, grabbing her chin and looking directly into her eyes. "And that is when the Dark Lord is most powerful too. It is unstable, dangerous and dark. You are mimicking him."
Hermione pushed Narcissa away, angrily. "I am NOT mimicking Voldemort!"
"Yes. Yes you are." Narcissa replied in an even tone. "It is all about power, with him – with you. And that is why you have been so unstable – why you have been falling apart. Why you are failing."
Hermione was angry, yet inside she knew it was the truth. She took several deep breaths – calming herself, and turned to look at Narcissa once more. "Again." She said.
They pointed their wands at each other and dueled back and forth. Narcissa was becoming increasingly frustrated. She was holding back – trying to ensure that Hermione's unborn child would not be harmed – and yet Hermione was having trouble fending off and firing back. She knew that because Hermione's magic was unbalanced for so long, it would take a great deal of effort to get it back to a place of precision, rather than emotional power – but this was beginning to get ridiculous.
Narcissa dropped her wand to her side, a look of disappointment upon her face. "You aren't trying." She said, sounding weary.
"I am, how dare you think that I am not!" Hermione's eyes flashed.
"And THAT, is how I know you are not trying!" Narcissa yelled. "You are still letting yourself be consumed by emotion. You are quick to anger, and slow to learn. How can you expect to survive if you keep giving up? How can you expect your family and friends to survive?" At this point she was nose to nose with Hermione, a sneer on her face. Hermione became acutely aware that Narcissa's wand was poking against her stomach – her womb. Fear gripped Hermione, all breath gone from her body.
"How." Narcissa said. "Can you expect to protect your unborn child? The one prophesized to bring down the greatest Dark Lord this world has ever seen?"
Their eyes met – Hermione's wide, Narcissa's dark. Hermione feared they may have been wrong to trust her all along
At this moment, Minerva happened to walk through the door. She took one look at the wand pointed at Hermione's stomach, and instantly fired off a spell at Narcissa. Narcissa was flown backwards, but the spell was so powerful – fueled by Minerva's fear and anger, that it backfired – striking Hermione directly. It was as though all sense of time had stopped. Minerva ceased to breathe. She looked from Hermione, to Narcissa – who was looking at Hermione – mouth agape. Hermione stood – unaffected by the spell that sent a skilled Death Eater flying across the room. Instead, Hermione looked down – feeling a warmth grow in her belly – a belly which glowed a brilliant red and orange…like a Phoenix.
"The prophecy…" Narcissa whispered.
Hermione looked up – a mixture of fear and confusion on her face.
Narcissa stuttered through her next sentence. "The prophecy is not that of your child facing the Dark Lord…but you…with her as your shield…"
"I don't understand…" Hermione whispered, her eyes never leaving her slightly swollen belly.
By this point, Minerva made it to Hermione's side and held her. Hermione's eyes met with Narcissa's as she replied, "The prophecy was that a child born unto you would have the power to defeat Voldemort…maybe that prophecy meant that the child would not have to literally be born yet in order to defeat him." Narcissa scrambled to her feet and continued. "You are the most powerful witch known to man, Hermione. I wondered how many years we would have to endure for this child to grow and mature until she would be able to defeat Voldemort." Narcissa, wide eyed, exchanged glances between Minerva and Hermione. "I guess we do not need to wait. Your child is protecting you, Hermione." Narcissa backed up a step, "She is protecting us all…"
Hermione stood tall. She walked across the room, stooped over to pick up Narcissa's wand, and walked over to her – chest heaving. Narcissa closed her eyes, waiting for the curse she expected Hermione to deliver. Instead, when she opened them, she saw the handle to her wand – Hermione offering it to her. Narcissa looked from the wand, to Hermione, and accepted it – as Hermione said, "Again."
They trained for hours - which turned into days, and weeks. Narcissa gradually gave them more and more information. They learned that Hermione was ordered killed not just because of the power she and her family had, but because of the Dark Lord's fury over her becoming a pure-blood. Hermione was gaining better control over her magic, yet she seemed to be losing her self-confidence. One afternoon, Narcissa looked up at Hermione – bathed in sweat, an almost manic look on her face – and motioned to a couch in the training room. "Hermione," she said, "sit, take a break."
Hermione looked grateful and disappointed at the same time as she sat down. Hermione looked into the quiet, thoughtful face of Narcissa and realized how strange these turn of events had now become. But she also began to realize that compassion has many faces – many names, and she was looking into one of those faces right now. Hermione sighed and looked down at the wand in her lap. "What is it?" Narcissa asked calmly. Hermione looked out the window, closed her eyes, and replied "I don't think I can do this."
"Strength gives way to the cowering child I can no longer suppress."
Narcissa clucked her tongue at Hermione and said "I've heard this before."
"I wish you could lend me some of your strength. I feel as though I have none of my own." Hermione replied. "What is to happen in this war? What happens if I stumble – if I fall?"
"Then you will pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again – never stop trying. Never stop fighting for what you believe in – what you know to be right." Narcissa paused, took Hermione's face in her hands, looked directly into her eyes and said "I want you to listen to me. You are allowing the past to hold you hostage. You need to walk past your own self-loathing. And at some point, you are going to have to stop running – turn around, and face whoever wants you dead."
The light returned to Hermione's eyes and she had a renewed strength about her at these words. She smiled her thanks to Narcissa, and stood to take her place at the opposite end of the room. She turned to face the curious woman who had brought new hope to them and Hermione realized that this tiny wisp of a woman had the strength of an entire army. Hermione envied that.
"This I swear, you're the fiercest calm I've been in."
"Again." Narcissa said calmly, and they began again – preparing for war.
"From now on we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. They want an apocalypse? Then we will give them one."
TBC! Reviews please!