Chapter 18: Blacks and Blondes
"Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls.
"Percy, you said this place had wards on it to repel things like insects and rats, right?" Penelope Clearwater asked Percy Weasley. Percy had recently made enough money, working at the Ministry, to buy a small home which he and his longtime girlfriend could share. The couple had been living in the house for a couple weeks, and the place still needed some repairs. The wards against infestation were among the things in perfect condition.
"Yes, Penny. Why do you ask?" Percy said, puzzled by her look of unease.
"I saw a big rat outside, in the yard," Penelope said. "Actually, it kind of looked like the rat you had at school. Scabbers?" Percy froze.
"Penny, when did you see that rat?" He asked, drawing his wand and looking out the window anxiously.
"Earlier this morning," Penelope said. "What's wrong?"
"Don't you remember our seventh year?" Percy asked, turning to face her, looking very pale. "My brother, Ron, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter found out Scabbers was really Peter Pettigrew—"
"But you didn't believe—"
"Until Sirius Black was murdered inside the Ministry, and we found out Pettigrew was still alive!" Percy snapped. He blinked. When he spoke again, he tried to sound as calm as he could. "Penny, Pettigrew is alive and he's a Death Eater. You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters are looking for my brother, Ron, and his friends. You saw that in the papers. You saw Scabbers earlier, but Scabbers is really Pettigrew." Penelope went even paler than Percy when she realized what was happening.
"What are we going to do?" She whispered, terrified.
"Have you tried to Disapparate recently?" Percy asked. Penelope shook her head. "Try just going from one end of the room to the other," Percy said. "I will too." Penelope and Percy both spun around on the spot. Nothing happened. Percy's stomach plummeted. "They've warded the place so we can't Disapparate out," he said. "Penny, go get the Floo Powder! We have to get out of here! Hurry!" Penelope disappeared into a nearby room and Percy ran to the fireplace to check if he could activate it for Floo travel. Percy breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Floo escape would work. That is, until he heard Penelope's scream.
"Penny?!" He called out to her, tightly gripping his wand. He heard her scream again. "Penny!" Percy rushed in the direction of her scream. When he reached the room, he stopped dead in his tracks:
"Honestly, Weasley, could you be any more predictable?" Draco Malfoy drawled. Beside him, Pettigrew and Macnair were holding a struggling Penelope. Ropes had been conjured around her arms, tying them behind her back. "Four years after you two were Head Boy and Head Girl, and you're still fawning over each other like lovesick puppies?"
"Leave her out of this, Malfoy," Percy said as firmly as he could. "Hurting her isn't going to make Ron, Harry, or Hermione come out of hiding."
"Well, they aren't the ones I was assigned to find, are they?" Draco said. Percy stared at him, confused. Draco laughed harshly. "It's not your little brother we're after, Weasley. It's your sister." Percy blinked.
"Ginny?" He asked, "What do you want with her?"
"That's what happens when you ignore your family, Percy," Pettigrew said tauntingly. "The whole lot of them could be forced into hiding and you wouldn't know the difference. Ginny is Harry's girlfriend, Percy," Pettigrew sneered. "Taking you and your girlfriend might just stir the rest of your family up enough to show themselves, don't you think?" Percy gulped, but he tried to appear as calm as possible.
"All you need is me, then," he said. "You don't need Penny. Just let her go." Draco, Pettigrew, and Macnair laughed. Penelope whimpered.
"We'll be the ones to decide that, Weasley," Draco said. Percy's stomach turned when Macnair raised his wand and pressed the tip of it into Penelope's shoulder. "Clearly, you're not going to know exactly where your family's hiding or what the best way to get their attention will be, but we can at least get an idea of what we're working with."
"Crucio!" Penelope screamed and fell to the floor as Macnair's curse rushed through her. Percy had his wand aimed at Macnair in an instant, but still too late.
"Expelliarmus!" Pettigrew's spell ripped Percy's wand out of his hand. Pettigrew conjured ropes around Percy, binding his limbs together and making him topple to the floor. Macnair knelt on the floor beside Penelope, his curse lifted, and he held her down instead.
"Now, that is what you don't want to do, Weasley," Draco said harshly. "That will just get your girl hurt worse. Cooperate, and she won't have to come to much more harm." Penelope let out a loud sob as Macnair restrained her. Percy felt horribly sick.
"Please don't hurt her," Percy said softly. "I-I'll tell you what I can, but I… I can't. I don't know much. I don't know what you expect me to say…"
"Don't worry, Percy," Pettigrew said mockingly. "Not much talking is going to be necessary. Just don't try to resist."
"Resist what?" Percy whispered, his eyes glistening.
"Legilimency," Draco said triumphantly, "Snape will be here any minute. We sent for him a while ago. He'll be able to find anything of use to us in your mind—"
"Stupefy!" Two voices shouted from behind the Death Eaters. One of the voices shouted the spell twice. Draco, Pettigrew, and Macnair all keeled over, Macnair falling on top of Penelope. Snape quickly rushed forward and pulled him off her. Dumbledore hurried around Snape and Penelope to untie Percy and pull him to his feet. Percy was gaping at both Dumbledore and Snape incredulously. Penelope, too, looked extremely confused and terrified as Snape untied her arms, helping her up and muttering a spell to ease some of the lingering pain from Macnair's Cruciatus Curse. Percy opened his mouth to attempt speech through his shock, but Dumbledore raised a silencing hand.
"Not now, Percy," he said gently. "We'll explain later. Right now, we must get you and Ms. Clearwater to the rest of your family. I'm afraid nowhere else is safe for the two of you anymore."
"Percy!" Mrs. Weasley collided with her son in a bone-crushing hug. "When we got word from Severus that the Death Eaters had found you…" Mrs. Weasley trailed off, too overwhelmed by all the emotions that flooded through her to dare speak what she'd thought her son's fate would be.
"Penelope Clearwater, right?" Mr. Weasley asked, stepping forward to greet the frightened young woman Snape and Dumbledore led into the Shrieking Shack. The girl nodded nervously.
"Macnair had already used a Cruciatus Curse on her by the time we arrived," Dumbledore said to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "They were more interested in getting information from Percy than really harming him, so Penelope took the brunt of the damage. Both of them should rest first, then they will need to be caught up on what has truly transpired with all of us, and what we expect is still to come. As much as these past few years have distanced them from you, it seems Voldemort and the Death Eaters have lost any patience necessary for discrimination."
"Of course," Mrs. Weasley sniffed. "We'll fit them in here somewhere."
"Already done," Ginny said, coming forward and taking the couple bags of Percy and Penelope's things. "Charlie is moving his things out of Bill and Fleur's room now. He's going to move in with me, Fred, and George. Percy and Penelope can share Bill and Fleur's room." Mrs. Weasley nodded and Ginny led Percy and Penelope upstairs. Mrs. Weasley sniffed again.
"Draco Malfoy was behind this?" She asked bitterly.
"Draco was assigned to the search for all of you, but Wormtail helped him plan this attack," Snape said somewhat defensively. "Draco was assigned to his task as punishment for his mother's believed suicide. He may instruct another Death Eater to torture with the Cruciatus Curse, but he has yet to use one himself, and he still doesn't have it in him to kill. Draco's current position is to your advantage. He won't be able to see it through. The greatest thing you have to fear is that someone else will recognize that fact and take over." Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley both nodded.
"Thank you for your help, Severus," Mr. Weasley said softly. "We know that this was a terrible risk to your cover." Snape nodded to the Weasleys before turning and leaving the Shrieking Shack without a word. Dumbledore said goodbye to the Weasleys and left shortly afterward.
Almost twenty-four hours after Hermione and Snape were attacked by the acromantula, many of the students who had left the castle for the winter holiday had returned, so they could be at the castle for the New Year's party. Lucius Malfoy, Pettigrew, Molly, Frank, Alice, and Rinoa Garnet were among those who had returned.
Hermione had yet to make contact with Snape or any of the other Death Eaters since the incident. By the time Madam Pomfrey had cleared Hermione to leave the Hospital Wing, Snape had already gone. At dinner that night, he and all the other Death Eaters glanced over at her frequently, but looked away quickly if their eyes met. Hermione assumed Snape and Regulus had explained what had happened to the others. After all, she had only given the true story to Lily, but Pettigrew seemed to also know what had transpired.
"What did Hagrid do when he was in school?" Pettigrew whispered to her while James and Sirius debated loudly and passionately about which quidditch teams were having the best year. "We all know he was expelled as a third-year, but we don't know why. Is that what you were talking with him about?"
"I didn't give any details in front of Regulus. Do you really think I'm going to tell you?" Hermione whispered coolly, "One of the biggest problems about being a traitor to your friends, Peter, is that no one who knows will trust you."
"Look who's talking," Pettigrew snapped back. Hermione grabbed his left sleeve and jerked it upward. He ripped his arm away from her and moved it under the table.
"No need to ask what you got for Christmas," Hermione said acidly. "I'm associating with my friends' enemies. You are one of their enemies now." Pettigrew glared at Hermione, but he said nothing.
As Hermione walked up to Gryffindor Tower with her friends after dinner, she was surprised to notice Narcissa trying to catch her attention and draw her away from her companions. Hermione pretended that she'd dropped something and excused herself from her Gryffindor friends to double back toward Narcissa. No sooner was Hermione around the corner she'd seen Narcissa disappear behind when her surprise turned to utter shock—Narcissa Black was hugging her.
"Thank you, Gra- Hermione," Narcissa said softly, to avoid being overheard, "for saving Severus from those acromantula." Narcissa released Hermione and stepped back. "You knew how dangerous that entire colony was, but you still went back for him! You were so brave! And you were bitten while protecting him? After the tree fell on him?" Hermione nodded, still too stunned by Narcissa's dramatic shift in behavior to know what to say.
"That's what Regulus told us," Narcissa said, staring at Hermione with surprisingly appreciative, kind eyes. This girl was very different from the one who had been furious with Hermione for protecting her from Lucius. It was then that some understanding came to Hermione: Narcissa really cared for Snape, possibly more than Lucius, not that she'd ever deliberately let anyone know that. Narcissa's loyalty was to Lucius, and for her to suggest otherwise to Lucius or any of his friends could bring her great harm, if not death. Hermione shrugged.
"What else was I supposed to do?" She said, "I knew he wouldn't make it out of there alone, so I went to help. I couldn't knowingly leave someone to die." Narcissa smiled briefly, but then she suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"I should go," she said. "Lucius just got back to the castle, after all. I should be with him." Hermione nodded, wanting to protest but saying nothing. Narcissa turned away and hurried off down the corridor toward the dungeons.
"How did you manage to lose Percy Weasley when you had him and his girlfriend outnumbered and restrained, alone in their home?" Voldemort hissed and the Death Eaters around him shuddered. Draco looked even paler than usual. Snape took a subtle step forward to shield Draco's body with his own, in case Voldemort lashed out with an Unforgivable or some other painful curse.
"The Order must have arrived at the scene shortly before I did, my Lord," Snape said calmly. "I walked into the room and Draco, Wormtail, and Macnair were all unconscious. Ropes they had conjured were broken and left on the floor. The two targets were both gone, as were some of their belongings, by the look of it. The Order members that came to their rescue must have taken them to join the other Weasleys." Voldemort clenched and unclenched his fists so tightly that his already pallid skin looked almost translucent at the knuckles.
"Lucius," he spoke in a voice that was deadly soft, "you're off the search for Granger, Potter, and Ron Weasley. You are in charge of the search for Ginny Weasley. Draco will continue working the search with you. If you don't find the Weasleys' hideout within two weeks, you'll both be reunited with Narcissa." All the Death Eaters stirred at that threat. While Voldemort frequently used setup assignments or torturous spells as punishments for displeasing him, he rarely threatened them with death. He valued his army of followers too much. To threaten to kill off two of his servants meant he was getting desperate, and when Voldemort was desperate, he was at his most dangerous.
"My Lord," Lucius began tensely, "I—"
"Two weeks, Lucius," Voldemort hissed. "Your family has failed me enough. Fail me again, and I will have no more use for you."
"Ladies, you look beautiful," Sirius said as Lily, Hermione, Molly, Alice, and Rinoa emerged from the girls' dormitories to head down to the New Year's Eve party with the boys. Dressy muggle attire tended to be the standard fashion for the annual party. All the girls were in pretty dresses and gowns, Hermione in a red dress with just a hint of sparkle.
Arthur had come to the castle for the party that night, leaving Bill in the care of Andromeda and Ted Tonks. He stood amongst the other boys in the common room. Molly darted forward and hugged him fiercely. Alice and Lily joined Frank and James. Rinoa edged around the pack to join Sirius. The couples led the way out of the Gryffindor portal and Hermione, Remus, and Peter filed out behind them.
The usual tables in the Great Hall were replaced by several smaller, round tables which were arranged in clusters around the room, leaving plenty of floor space for dancing and mingling. Perpetual fireworks were going off outside and their colorful light danced across the hall through the bewitched, transparent ceiling. The large pack of Gryffindors made their way over to a group of tables where Hermione recognized several students from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff quidditch teams, helping themselves to the mass of delicious food which blanketed the tables and laughing joyously. After a few minutes of scattered conversation, Hermione headed over to the butterbeer fountain, near the doors to the Entrance Hall, to get herself a drink. Remus followed her over.
"It's a beautiful night for this party," he said when he and Hermione reached the fountain. "Last year, there was a full moon, so I missed it. Unfortunately, just coming off a full moon phase, I'm too tired to keep up with some of the others." Hermione laughed.
"You hide it well," she said. "Really, you look great tonight."
"So do you," Remus said shyly. "You look beautiful." Hermione smiled warmly and took a step toward Remus to hug him.
"Thanks, Remus," she said. "I'm glad you could be here this year."
"I'm really glad you're here this year," Remus said, hugging her back. Hermione was a little surprised when she started to step back from Remus, only for him to pull her back and hold her for a moment longer. When they finally did separate, Hermione was also a little staggered by how he was looking at her. His kind eyes glowed with even more warmth than usual and he almost seemed to be looking at her as though he…
"Loved your notes on the effects of Felix Felicis, Hermione," Slughorn said genially, coming up behind Hermione and Remus. "The mass duel you described—one spell after another narrowly missing you, friends dueling with expert skill—it was riveting!" Hermione forced a laugh through her discomfort.
"Thank you, Professor," she said, truly thanking him for interrupting the awkward moment between her and Remus. "It was really by pure luck that we had access to such powerful liquid luck at the time."
"And thus, lucky for us all that it helped you survive," Slughorn gushed. "Such a loss would've been a horrible misfortune for all our kind." Hermione smiled and blushed slightly at the echo of some of what Remus had been saying, not to mention the ironic truth to Slughorn's statement, considering her position in the fight against Voldemort. Slughorn beamed back at her, then he turned to Remus.
"Could I borrow you for a moment, Remus?" He said, "Several of your friends have been insisting that I talk with you about possibly joining the Slug Club." Remus nodded and gave Hermione another warm, though nervous smile, before walking with Slughorn toward a cluster of tables where most of the staff was gathered. Hermione smiled timorously back at him before turning on her heel and walking out into the Entrance Hall, heading outside for fresh air that she prayed would clear her head of the unacceptable thoughts that filled it.
"No," she thought aloud to herself as she walked out onto the snowy grounds, too preoccupied to register how cold she was, wandering out there in her dress with no coat or cloak, "this can't be happening! Remus can't feel that way about me! He's just a friend. Truly, my much older friend. He loves Tonks! Ron and I finally got together!" Hermione walked all the way down to the Black Lake and glared at the icy water as she continued to mutter to herself, her ramblings becoming continually more incoherent. "He can't… I can't—"
"Possibly be in your right mind, standing out here in just that dress?" Hermione jumped at the sound of Regulus' voice and turned to see him walking up to her. "Not that it isn't a nice view to look at," he continued, "but you must be freezing." Before Hermione could answer, Regulus had pulled off his cloak and swung it around her shoulders. As he fastened the cloak at her front, he touched the turquoise otter pin on the narrow right strap of her dress. "Do you ever take that pin off?" He asked before glancing down at her left wrist, "Or that watch?"
"The pin was the one thing my mother left for me, when she left me and my dad," Hermione lied, "and the watch was a gift from my dad. It was on my bed when I got home, after leaving Beauxbatons to come to Hogwarts. He didn't make it home that day…" Hermione looked down at her feet to emphasize her point, trying to make her story as convincing as possible. It must have worked. She jumped slightly when one of Regulus' hands lifted up her chin. She blinked when she saw how close his face was.
"That's reason enough," Regulus said. He moved still closer and Hermione's stomach turned as she thought he was going to kiss her, but he only hugged her. He hugged her close and snugly. "Warming up yet?" He spoke softly in her ear. Hermione laughed nervously.
"Starting to, yes," she said more breathlessly than intended. She silently scolded herself for her behavior. 'What are you doing?!' She thought to herself, 'Remus and Regulus?! You're in this time for a reason! Your boyfriend, Ron, is waiting for you back in your real time, where Remus is over twice your age and Regulus is dead!' Hermione blinked and realized Regulus was still holding her. She pulled away abruptly. Regulus looked at her inquiringly.
"What's wrong?" He asked, "Was I holding too tight?"
"N-No," Hermione stuttered, "not too tight. I-I mean, not—" Regulus' fingers covered Hermione's mouth to stop her babbling.
"Too fast, I get it," he said soothingly. If he was disappointed, he didn't show it. His fingers did leave her lips somewhat reluctantly. "Since you're already out here though, would you come out to the quidditch field with me?" He said, "I want to show you something."
Hermione glanced up toward the castle a little uncomfortably. She blinked when she thought she saw someone watching them. In fact, she could've sworn it was Remus. She blinked, and seeing no one she assumed it had been an illusion from all the firework lights. "As payment for the repellant tip?" Regulus asked. Hermione turned back to him. "Do you really want to start the New Year with a debt hanging over your head?" He added slyly. Hermione stared at him for a moment, considering.
"Alright," she said. She pulled Regulus' cloak a little closer around her as they walked and lifted up the hem so it didn't drag in the snow. After a minute of walking in silence, a question Hermione had been thinking of asking Regulus since the day in Animagi Abloom began to nag at her mind again. Without even realizing she was doing it, she asked him outright. "Why did you become a Death Eater?" Regulus stopped abruptly and turned to stare at her, somewhat staggered. Hermione shrugged. "You just seem too nice to be one of them," she said. Regulus nodded understandingly and kept walking. Hermione walked closely beside him.
"Honestly," Regulus said, "I'm still not entirely sure. Most of the students here that have been my friends since first and second year joined. Then there's my family. They have certain expectations, you see. As you know, Sirius ran away because of them, and as you might not know, Andromeda was essentially disowned for marrying Ted Tonks, a muggle-born." Hermione grimly nodded her understanding while smiling inwardly at Regulus' non-use of the term 'Mudblood'. "As for any other reasoning," he continued, "I plead reckless need for excitement and adventure." Hermione laughed.
"You sound more like Sirius and James now," she said.
"Oh yes," Regulus laughed, "the Marauders. I noticed you used that map of theirs in the forest. They all seem to be very fond of you. If I'd befriended those Gryffindors instead of the Slytherins, and become a Marauder instead of a Death Eater, would I have a better chance with you?" Hermione blinked and smiled nervously.
"No," she said. "I really try to not buy into the house prejudice here, and I really can't pass judgment on a Dark Mark alone." Regulus stopped again and faced Hermione directly. He was looking at her with a mixture of disbelief and amazement. "The Mark shows you are one of their group, not that the group is one person," Hermione said. "You're all different people." Regulus smiled warmly at Hermione. He nodded toward the quidditch field.
"C'mon, it's almost time," he said.
"Time for what?" Hermione asked.
"You'll see," Regulus said, his sly demeanor returning. He quickly led Hermione the rest of the way up to the quidditch field and toward the stairs that went up to one of the top boxes usually reserved for staff and special guests. Hermione halted again.
"Wait a minute," she said. "Why are we going up there?"
"To pay off your debt, remember?" Regulus said distractedly. Hermione started to protest again, but Regulus grabbed her right hand and pulled her forward, up the stairs. When they stepped out into the box, Regulus grabbed her left hand and lifted it up to check Garus' watch for the time. "Two minutes 'til midnight," he said. Still holding both of Hermione's hands, he pulled her down to the front row of the seating box. Still utterly confused by Regulus' behavior, Hermione pulled her hands out of his.
"Regulus, how exactly am I paying you back?" She asked, both nervous and a little frustrated.
"Just by being here," Regulus said, all innocence.
"For what?" Hermione asked impatiently. Regulus pointed back toward the castle. Hermione turned around and gasped at the sight before her. As the countdown to midnight began, twice as many fireworks started going off. From this height and angle, Hermione could see the fireworks reflecting off the smooth surface of Black Lake, bursting in an array of brilliant colors and lights over the castle. The snow on the ground glistened with each flash of light, and the night sky itself was clear and beautiful.
Hermione felt Regulus' arms wrap around her from behind and his chin rested gently on the top of her head, reminding her of how Ron had held her back in the Lion's Den. Part of her felt like she should protest, but she couldn't. Even this far from the castle, she could hear all the people back in the Great Hall as they shouted out the final seconds of the year. "Ten… Nine… Eight... Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One…"
"Happy New Year, Hermione," Regulus whispered in her ear. Hermione's eyes welled up so that the fireworks reflected off them like they reflected off the lake.
"Happy New Year, Regulus…"