It's first full chapter of the story. And I hope that you'll like it. It was a pretty hard work to translate this.
What do you think about the plot and the quality of the translation?
Please review.
And Enjoy!
Waning! A sex scene in this chapter.
I Sectusempra
The plaque on the tenement said: Grimmauld Place 12. Nothing, except the number, did indicate that there should be other buildings or any life around.
The plateau was empty and dead, winter didn't leave it for most of the year and rocky ground made it difficult for even mountain bushes to grow. A gusty wind hit the walls of the house, the pale sun shone in the windows, and brown smoke came out of the chimney. Fred saw all of these, but someone else, if somehow strayed into this inhospitable neighbourhood, would see nothing but the rocky surface, rising above the plain overgrown with a sea of tall grasses. The house was well hidden from the eyes of outsiders. Only nine members of the Order of the Phoenix could see it now; everyone has deserved this privilege for years of hard work and personal sacrifices.
He quickly climbed the stairs and opened the door. Impenetrable darkness greeted him from the threshold. After a long moment, a faint light shone in the dark, which then split into two smaller ones. These, getting closer to the boy, grew steadily. When they hung right in front of him, they were the size of an orange. They twitched strangely and unexpectedly entered Fred's body. The young wizard's eyes glowed, he shook his head firmly, as if he were denying accusations he could only hear. Then he mumbled some indistinct words, and the wand itself slipped from behind his belt to find his right hand. The lights came out of him, drifted off into the darkness and went out. At the same time, candles lit in the lobby and it became quite bright.
"You are finally here."
A familiar voice came from the top of the stairs.
"On Merlin's slippers, Remus, what are these new protections?! He asked, still unable to shake off his surprise."
Remus Lupine smiled wanly.
"Flitwick and McGonagall worked on it before we lost them."
There was a moment of silence that always accompanied the memory of those whose fate, for some reason, intertwined with the Order of the Phoenix.
"Your sister and Hermione did what remained to be done."
Fred shook his head in disbelief.
"A few days away, and you can already see the changes. Besides, I have to thank you. If you hadn't apportioned to the Ministry at the last minute, I wouldn't have a clue where to look for the house"
"Trifle," Lupine replied with a smile. "We'd better go upstairs. Everyone is waiting for the news."
Six people gathered around the table in the small living room on the first floor. Old Black's furniture, already worn and faded, some time ago was extremely fashionable and expensive. Now, once incomplete during Sirius' numerous alcohol frenzies, it all looked miserable – the couch didn't fit the sofa, the ottoman came from a completely different room, the table was from lumber kept for years in the basement, which had to be emptied to make a place for the laboratory. Fred looked at the gathered people in surprise because recently such a numerous group was rarely gathered. He might feel important because of the presence of so many listeners, but he was too tired for that. His only dream was to lock in his bedroom and throw himself on the bed.
Damn it.
"I don't have much for you guys," he admitted, finally taking off his coat and hanging it on one of the three free chairs. He looked questioningly at the group.
"She's not back yet, Fred" replied a young woman with a storm of untamed hair. "But it's been only three days, she should be here before the end of the week."
Redhead probably wanted to shrug his shoulders, but it looked as if he was unsuccessfully trying to shake off the invisible burden. He sat up, letting out the air from his lungs.
"Say something finally, in the name of Merlin!" a man snapped from the depths of the room. His armchair stood as far away from the others as possible, partly beyond the shimmering light of the candles, so that his face was hidden in the grey twilight.
"Don't fret, Snape," snorted Fred Weasley. "I'll tell you everything, but I'm tired, okay?!"
"Give him a break, Severus," Lupine said gently, standing in the doorway.
"And where have you been hanging around for so long, Moony?" black, matted hair and round glasses could not belong to anyone but Potter.
The werewolf waved a hand casually and headed for the chair next to Hermione.
"I had to check the security, just like you forgot."
After his speech, there was silence and all faces turned again to the surviving twin Weasley. The boy scratched his head in embarrassment.
"As I mentioned before... I didn't learn much about Nott or Shunpike, but…" he cleared his throat.
Fred was never wanted to be a spy. He did not strive for the role, he even tried to avoid every possibility to become one. That was his deal with Luna. The girl lost her father in the war and would have been completely alone if he had given his life in their just cause. Therefore, he promised not to expose himself more than necessary. Now that his twin brother left this world, who else could replace him as a spy so perfectly? Who knew George's thoughts and manner better than Fred Weasley? But could he call it a must?
"I've read a little about our gracious Minister of Magic and his intentions to prepare a new law applying to werewolves" he burned out. "Some nonsense about your unique qualities," he said to Remus, "that the Ministry would finally appreciate you, blablabla. Just nonsense, up to the point where the obligation to defend pure blood and noble sacrifice for the good of the race is mentioned.
"Apparently the Minister is trying to sound a bit sentimental" Lupine joked and smiled slightly.
"Yeah, anyway... damn it, he wants to make from you some fucking cannon fodder!"
There were whispers and shouts in the room first, but then they stopped when Lupine raised his hand.
"He's not the first to try such tricks with werewolves. Already many years ago, before my first meeting with Greyback, we were tried to be in some way" he fell silent for a moment as if looking for the right word "institutionalized."
"Yes, Remus, but now there are completely different times" Potter snorted "now the Ministry does not even pretend to fight the threat, explicitly supports this murderer."
"We all know that too well, Potter," Snape muttered from his corner.
Everyone turned at him; some with a sneer, others wearily looked at the man who was a living symbol of bitterness in these hard times.
"This is pathetic," Fred sighed and stood up.
He was about to leave, but Remus stopped him by grabbing the boy's arm.
"I'm sick of it," he growled at him and broke free from the man.
When Weasley left the room, Lupine sank into his chair. Hermione leaned forward to him.
"Come on, you know, Remus, that you won't help him. He needs time. As we all do."
The werewolf nodded but said nothing. The girl put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it friendly.
"I hope Luna will be back soon" she added, then got up from her seat, because it looked like nobody had anything to say anymore, and another meeting of the Order of the Phoenix ended in fruitless disputes.
A moment later, as she was walking down the hall to her room, a small, red girl joined her.
"You think he'll be okay" the words, almost whispered, sounded in Hermione's ears like an alarm.
"Guinevere, you scared me" she cough up, gasping for breath.
"We're all here like crouching rats, right, Hermione?"
Ginny Weasley looked at her with her big eyes. Recently, her friend more and more reminded her of Luna Lovegood, a crazy girl with an eternally absent, dreamy look.
"I don't know, Ginny, how did you come to this idea?"
She didn't have time to think about such issues. There were so many other duties, so many things to do. And she wanted to rest for a while. A night watch awaited her. While the two Weasleys, James and Sirius were moping around all the time, there were too many responsibilities on Hermione, Remus and Snape. She understood their pain, she felt sorry for them, but despite her mourning, she could never allow herself to break down completely. She was already at the borders ─ not sleeping, not eating enough, working at least two jobs at a time. There was no more space for her to constantly comfort, stroke and pamper Ginny. Recently, she has felt angry with her more and more often. Hermione tried so hard not to show it because she really cared for Guinevere. However, lately, their conversations usually fell out very awkwardly.
Didn't she mean to tell her to butt up? Or did she just she said that? Such things are not to be told to people who had so recently...
"I'll go," Ginny answered, and Hermione saw the shadow of a sad, understanding smile on her face.
So she said that exactly.
When Fred and Hermione left, James Potter and Severus Snape looked at each other with undisguised hatred. Prongs spoke first:
"If you think you're some sort of self-appointed leader ..."
"You know, Potter, that the Order has not had a formal leader since Minerva's death; everyone takes care of their duty. By the way" Snape smiled disgustingly, "please remind me, if you please, because I have already forgotten, what is that of yours, aside from moping and showing to everyone your self-pity. Oh wait, you belong to those spoiled loafers who cannot take care of themselves or their loved ones!"
"Call it off, Snape" James snapped, reaching for the wand.
"I do not intend to" the Potions Master folded his arms demonstratively."You treated me like rubbish all my childhood."
"Because you used to be damn Dark Magic!"
"Did I play with it when I was eleven?" laughed Snape. "Life has treated you so gently. You had a home, loving parents, and a fortune in the bank. You never had to worry about anything."
"Maybe you will give me a complete report about your difficult childhood?" James mocked.
"Don't count on it, Potter. And stop aiming at me with this stick, because you won't do anything to me. Do something finally and stop looking for the attention of everyone around you in a meaningless war with me. Stop blaming me for all your failures."
He paused for a moment.
"And with her death, we must live both" he added more quietly. "You are not the only one who lost someone, Potter, we are all alone here. Stop flaunting your mourning and hide your leadership ambitions far up your ass!
"I will never forgive you for her death, Snape" Potter drawled.
The Potions Master made a wry face.
"I won't myself ether", he thought without taking his eyes off his rival. Prongs finally stood up and went out agitated.
"Lupine," said Snape, not even looking at the wizard, who sat all the quarrel ready to separate the two friends in case of need. "I think we should consider choosing a new Order leader because Potter feels an overwhelming need to control me."
"I think this is a bad idea, Severus," the werewolf replied.
"Considering who would be chosen, I understand your scepticism," Snape muttered.
"Who do you mean?"
"You, Lupine" The Potions Master shrugged. "I certainly won't let this swamp fall on my head."
"I also" replied Lupine.
"Well, so there are two of us" Severus grimaced. "Then everyone is still responsible for everyone."
Lupine was silent for a moment, then said:
"I'll talk to James."
"I am not asking you to" ─ Snape grunted.
"This is not just about you, Severus" Remus shook his head, clearly tired. "It has been going on too long, and in recent years it has grown even stronger and..."
"This will not change, Lupine. We have at least one unsolved matter among us."
"Probably. But you have to get along because it's near impossible to stand you or determine anything around you both. Each conversation in a larger or smaller group, if you two are present, ends witha fight.
"If you want Lupine, go and talk to Potter. You will only waste your time" Snape snorted.
"This applies to you as much as to him" Remus replied, standing up.
"Are you suponing something?" Snape raised an eyebrow.
"Give him a break."
"Good luck Lupine" cut the Potions Master.
Remus sighed, feeling helpless against these two.
"Grow up both," he said and left without waiting for Severus Snape's next retort.
Almost ten years have passed since Dumbledore's death on the Hogwarts Tower. Ten long years, they resisted Voldemort's widespread cancer. They chose this day to be marked as the beginning of the war; the beginning of the end of the world that they knew and loved. The day when the largest of them left. The beginning of the Final Judgement, Ragnarok.
During this time, Death Eaters was taking away fathers and mothers, children and grandparents from their families. The bravest and those who struggled only to save themselves from danger, both were dying. Strong and powerful, all stained the land of England with blood just as much as Squibs. Pureblood Wizards and Mudbloods. Beautiful and ugly. Children and the oldsters. There were no exceptions. Tom Marvolo Riddle changed into a monster and distinguished himself as a Grim Reaper he didn't pick and choose in the victims. And so almost all members of the Order left. There were nine of them now. Mourning, overwhelmed by desperation and fear. There was no chance of winning this twisted game, so why were they enduring in fight? That wasn't the right question, Hermione had long realized this. The real issue was not a reason for further struggle but how to stop it. How to give up? One fine day just to get out and be captured? Or maybe throw yourself from the cliff straight into the sea, like lemmings ... The escape did not make much sense. If it were any possibilities to move to another country, many would do it long ago to save the lives of their loved ones. However, Voldemort was everywhere. He spread like a damn weed and refused to let any piece of the garden go.
When she was finally in her room, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths, feeling the whole world spinning in front of her eyes. She was tired, above all tired and had enough of this life in a cage. Everyone became a different person when every minute spent outside number 12 threatened to lose their home forever. Downstairs, in the basement transformed into a laboratory, Snape was waiting for her. New mandrakes demanded preparation, and the day was slowly coming to an end. Hermione decided, however, that she should take a nap. She sat on the bed and lay down slowly, careful not to hurt her burned right arm. Snape said the pain should go away within three days ...
She ran. The forest was thick, grey, rustling with dry leaves. Around it gradually darkened, as if the sun was setting without dying the sky. Everything was colourless, faded and bure. She heard her quick breathing, felt the branches tickling her face and arms. Behind her, louder, there was a patter of chasing feet. She saw the bridge in front of her. And nothing else ...
Someone's knocking snapped her out of her sleep. Someone banged on the locked door of her room and shouted her name again and again between curses.
"Goddamn it, girl, open the door!"
She recognized Fred's voice, so she stood up and removed the spell from the lock, which in response clicked softly and grinded.
"Merlin, Fred, what are you doing? I have the right to a little rest and privacy!"
"You don't understand anything!" the boy shouted, waving his arms above her head.
"What exactly don't I understand, Weasley?" she raised her voice already, strongly annoyed with the whole situation.
"Ginny left the house. She has no idea about the next place of the apparition" he burned into her face. "You sent her to me, though you knew it would end in an argument. So do something now!"
Hermione wanted to shout out that she was not to blame for his sister's excesses, but she bit her tongue. There was no point in discussing with the Weasleys now. They were in mourning, though the way they were experiencing was getting on everyone else's nerves. Everybody lost someone. Everyone was alone.
Instead of insulting the redhead, Hermione went straight to Remus Lupin's room. She found him sitting behind a desk and writing something with an old, frayed pen on a scrap of parchment.
"Remus," she said, "forgive me for interrupting, but Ginny just went outside. We have to find her."
"I am a living Finding Ball, right, Hermione?" a weary smile blossomed on the mouth of the werewolf. Not only did she overwork here beyond her strength.
"Forgive me, Remus, I didn't mean any harm. Simply..." a tear dripped down her cheek, which she quickly wiped off her robe. "It's only getting worse," she admitted.
"I know, Hermione, I know," Lupine whispered in a sympathetic tone; he got up and put his arm around his former schoolgirl. "I didn't want to be harsh. As you say, it's fatigue. Let's go together, okay?" he suggested. "You'll need some fresh air before the fug of Severus' lab."
The woman nodded and followed the wizard to leave.
"I'm sick of it," she admitted, echoing Fred's words.
Lupine gave her a wry look. He was walking with his head down, his hands tucked in the pockets of worn mustard corduroys.
"What exactly do you mean, Hermione?"
"Mourning. What it does to people. If Fred were less self-focused, Ginny would not have escaped from Grimmauld Place today."
Saying this, however, she looked away, which the werewolf did not miss. He didn't ask for anything more. He knew that she would finally tell him what exactly was bitting her, but she needed to choose the right moment. He felt, however, that she considered herself guilty for young Weasley's disappearance.
And what exactly did Hermione think about all of this? During the last weeks, when she and Guinevere were commissioned to work on completing the new defence system of the house, the older girl learned that in the current situation she could not have any use of her friend. Ginny was flashing from work, distracted and absent most of the time. Granger even began to suspect that her friend might be under the influence of Imperius. She did not share these thoughts with anyone but herself, but instead she as discreetly as possible, cast a few checking spells on Griffindor girl. Fortunately, the fears turned out to be unfounded. It was important because the girl participated, at least with the body, if not the spirit, in all the last meetings of the Order.
The streets they walked were dark and foreign. It wasn't until she got into the puddle with a splash, that Hermione noticed the changing place where the house was, now surrounded by smoke from thousands of chimneys, the aura of a big city.
"I've never been here, "she admitted, looking at Lupine out of the corner of her eye. "What is this place?"
"As far as I know we are in Liverpool" the werewolf answered after a moment's reflection."I used to be here ... in my puppy years - he chuckled at his joke. He tried to make her laugh. It was nice and so characteristic to Remus that she involuntarily smiled at the man. However, she quickly returned to reality.
"Is this a safe place?" the girl's face was expressing concern now.
"Relatively yes."
The woman nodded silently. Was there any place in the British Islands at all that Voldemort could not comprehend with his power? At that moment she remembered number 12 and looked back. However, the house was no longer visible and disappeared somewhere in the quickly thickening fog. The witch, however, felt a certain relief in her heart, which, like the heat of the fire, spilt over her body with a soothing wave. As long as they lived and the Order of the Phoenix still existed and fought, the Dark Lord had no access to at least this one house. Hermione straightened slightly and saw a slight smile wandering on the lips of the werewolf.
She was silent again, too thick-skinned to dwell on the momentary eclipse of reason. The truth was that everything was going wrong, the situation was deplorable enough. There was no hope of any kind. Like what? For a dignified and glorious death? That's a laugh.
"We're not far away from her," the man suddenly informed her; he pulled a glass ball-like device out of his old coat pocket. "It's getting warm. That means Ginny is right in front of us."
The girl frowned, clearly surprised.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Do you know Muggle game in Warm - Cold?"
"It seems ... yes, I do."
"That's from where Harry came up with the idea for this device."
"Did he made it himself?" the girl looked at the object in disbelief.
"With the help of Ollivander and Flitwick. He gave it to me to make me a Seeker, as he brilliantly called my role in the Order."=
Hermione smiled crookedly. Indeed, Harry did not cease to surprise her even after his death. How could she forget that he was a descendant of one of the Three Brothers? The most prudent one. He was born in the Gordyk Gryffindor valley. And yet he was the one who died. It was he who let the Dark Lord get to close.
There was a long silence between her and the Moony, which was only disturbed by the tapping of the two wizards. It was empty and quiet all around as if Liverpool were all deserted. Shutters shut, curtains and blinds closed, some windows even boarded up. It came to her mind that the city had become so in the last few minutes. Suddenly a terrible truth came to her, she stopped, reached out to grab Remus by the elbow, but the material of his coat slipped between her fingers.
Then it happened. Nearby, there were the clicks of subsequent apparitions. Black silhouettes loomed before the girl's eyes. She wanted to scream, but only a muffled, hoarse squeal escaped her lips. Freezed, she watched over a dozen Death Eaters; among their unmasked faces, maybe one friend seemed to her as familiar. They quickly looked around and two of them rushed to the Hermione and Lupine. She felt a firm grip on her shoulder and heard Remus' urgent whisper, right at her ear:
"Hurry! We have to run!"
She did not move, however, she stood, as captivated, because the third Death Eater pulled out sobbing and screaming red-haired girl from a nearby tenement house.
"Ginny!" Hermione screamed, but she did not manage to do anything, because suddenly she felt a strong jerk around the navel and the world blurred in grey fog when the werewolf deported them God knows where.
After landing, the girl lost her balance and Lupine grabbed her arm, saving her from falling at the last moment. They were in the forest, surrounded by pines and spruces, a salty wind was blowing from afar. Soft moss underfoot. Hermione looked briefly at her companion, then threw herself at the man with her fists.
"You killed her! You killed her!" she repeated, constantly inflicting new blows on the man who unsuccessfully tried to immobilize her wrists. She howled like an animal and waved her arms so furiously that it took him a good moment to control her frenzy.
"Calm down," he said when he finally managed to neutralize the young woman. He held her tightly to himself, repeating to himself that he had done the right thing to save the two of them, for saving the young Weasley was not possible anyway. "I'm sorry, Molly," he repeated like a mantra in his thoughts, hoping the woman would hear him in the afterlife. If Hermione wasn't with him, he would try to save this stupid, desperate child. But he could not let the Order lose them both. Especially Hermione. She was too valuable.
"Calm down, Hermione," he whispered in her hair. "You can't help her anymore. Now we can only wait."
The girl raised her head from his torso and the werewolf saw tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Wait for what?" screamed. "You know well that we can't fulfil their demands. We can't let them go. And ... and as for HIM ..." she fell silent for a moment. "We don't even know if he is alive," she added almost in a whisper, then started sobbing again.
Lupine nodded. What could he say in this situation?
"Hermione" he began uncertainly "whatever happened between you and Guinevere today, this situation is not your fault." Even when he was saying that he already knew he was making a mistake.
"How do you know something happened, Lupine?" she shouted and stepped aside. He ended up as a nosy old moralizer.
The werewolf came up to her and touched her cheeks with rough hands, wiped her tears with his thumbs.
"From here," he softly replied.
It disarmed her. For a long time, no one has behaved tenderly or caringly towards her. She was always the one who lifted the spirits of all broken souls. Usually members of the Weasley family. They lost the most. She was always the brave, the hard one. Despite her pain, she pressed forward, because nothing else was left for her to do.
Still, she pushed his hands away, though she also hurt herself. She did not want to listen to Lupine and his wisdom and informative arguments now. She felt like at her third year at Hogwarts when he was her teacher.
Remus stood and watched her restlessly walking here and there. She was collecting thoughts and feelings together. Finally, the girl looked up and glanced at the man. She came up to him and hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around the werewolf's neck.
"I know it's not your fault," she whispered. "Forgive me, please. I act strangely because I'm so scared. I am so afraid…
Remus knew exactly what the young woman meant, every day he felt the same fear, that was difficult to be named, fear of the end and the next loss. He embraced her tightly and absorbed the closeness of another human, which was so difficult in this fucked up post-apocalyptic world.
"Let's go home" he finally suggested. "We need to determine what to do now."
Before she could speak, Hermione felt the familiar jerk again and was soon standing in front of number 12. At least where it should have been. However, the building has disappeared. They stood speechless, not knowing what to say. The girl looked at the werewolf in search of an answer, but in his eyes, she found only silent terror.
─ So you say the house moved automatically? The Potions Master's eyes searched through the young magician. "I have to believe it because YOU say so, Weasley?" He paused again for a moment to enjoy the effect his words had on Fred. He has been lacking in teaching lately more than usual. In a class full of chumps, he was great at getting rid of troublesome emotions. "Explain one thing to me? How can you be sure that the defence system reacts in this and not another way since until your return you didn't even know about its existence?!
Fred Weasley fidgeted, listening to the rant of the former professor.
"B-because Ginny told me a bit and Lupine..."
"Bad luck wants neither werewolf nor your sister, Weasley, so maybe you will enlighten me, who can confirm your words? Do you suspect at all in your red-haired head what problems you caused to the Order? Of the nine still alive, there are only four of us remaining in the Headquarters. Three are missing. Two wouldn't get back before Lupin brings them. And the damn werewolf is not here anymore!"
"But why do you suspect that I did something, Snape!" cried out the boy, who finally reached his limits.
"Because ALWAYS, I repeat ALWAYS, when something unexpected happens, when someone is botching something, it is you: you and your brother!"
The Potions Master noticed the meaning of his words, only too late. Fred's face turned the colour of a ripe tomato, his eyes filled with tears, but Snape had no intention of admitting his mistake or showing the slightest remorse or empathy. He sneered at that.
"Maybe you, Potter," he spoke, turning to the black-haired man who stood at the boy's side, "do you deserve to confirm his version? Although it makes no sense for you to bother. No Potter's word is worth a broken knut!"
Potter grunted significantly, for which the younger man withdrew from the living room.
"If you forgot, Snape," the black-haired man murmured, "nobody gave you the right to judge us all according to your moral sense. We are all here on an equal footing and the same principles apply to us."
The Potions Master winced.
"You know, as well as I, that Weasley is hiding something and that Black's house did not move by itself. Merlin knows where."
"Snivellus, do you always have to be so dramatic?"
"And you, Potter, are you stalling in the seventh year of Hogwarts? As if you didn't know that war changes people. Do you not remember?"
The nasty smile that appeared on the face of the former teacher could no longer hurt the man wearing glasses. A shadow ran over Potter's face, his jaw muscles twitched dangerously, but Severus Snape's expression seemed to say: come and hit, wonder if you'll hit this time.
"She died for all of us," Potter growled. "Do not claim to yourself what is not yours! You always…"
Hermione opened her eyes and saw someone holding her shoulders, shaking her lightly.
"Merlin, it looked like you were pretty stiff!" Fred sitting next to her on the bed shook his head, a shadow of fear still glowing in his eyes.
"What happened?" she asked, frowning.
"You were unconscious, Hermione," Lupine explained calmly, though his face was worried and pale. "You were not to be woken by knocking on the door or attempting to open it, or by using a spell. We both stood and shouted at you."
"Finally, Remus shook you several times and you came back to the world of the living," finished Fred.
Hermione shook her head in disbelief.
"I have had a very shallow dream since my parents' home was attacked. Even the rustle of trees outside the window wakes me up."
Everyone fell silent for a moment, and the girl stared at her knees. Suddenly she raised her head and turned her eyes to Remus.
"Where is Ginny? Are you looking for her?"
Fred and Lupine looked at each other, then the werewolf put a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture.
"It was only a dream, Hermione," he assured her. "Nothing bad happened to Guinevere or anyone else."
The brown-haired woman buried her face in her hands with a sigh.
"I really dreamed of bullshit. You, Remus, were looking for Ginny with me and ...
She blushed.
"It was a very strange dream. So lively, full of impressions ... I felt and thought just like real me."
"Come on" Lupine got up and gave the girl a hand to help her get up from the sheets. "Severus, he can start screaming if you don't show up at your laboratory soon."
"HIS laboratory" she muttered.
Lupine laughed softly but fell silent under the woman's glare.
"Where does this bitterness come from?"
"He acts here like in his dungeons" she grunted, bending her neck from one side to the other so that her neck would stop cracking so badly.
"Maybe he lacks them, Hermione?" Remus asked, winking at her.
Maybe, she thought as she followed her friends out of the room.
"You'll have to fix this," she said loudly, her finger pointing at the broken mechanism in the door.
"Okay, Hermione," Lupine laughed. "But go now, please, because I don't want to have your life on my conscience when Snape falls in here, sparks from his eyes."
The girl managed to turn on her heels and take a few steps down the corridor, towards the stairs leading to the ground floor, when Potter's loud voice could be heard from the hall:
"Does anyone know why Weasley went out?"
Hermione paused.
"Remus," she whispered with her eyes wide open, "say whatever you want, but it is getting weird. In my dream Ginny..."
"I know, Hermione," Lupine murmured, passed the girl and started climbing down the stairs quickly. With long strides, he crossed the hall and was reaching for the door handle when the door opened and Guinevere Weasley burst in.
"Forest, river, small lake, several villages in the distance," she said as if to justify her behaviour. The defences darkened up the hall and the lights quickly approached the girl.
"What are you mumbling, Weasley?" Snape hissed, appearing out of the blue on the ground floor of the house. Then he raised his head and glared at the brown-haired Gryffindor woman. "And why the heck are you standing here like this, Granger with your eyeballs googled? I don't know any good excuse, including the Dark Lord's intrusion, that could justify your absence from work!"
"Severus..." Remus began gently, but the other man interrupted him.
"Why are you still there, stupid girl, move down!"
Hermione ran down the stairs, her steps echoing the old house, she was escaping the eyes of the people gathered in the hall. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Remus's comforting smile, but in her mind, she wanted to laugh at it all. Everyone believed in the fairy tale that both of them had sold every one, the tale of a wolf and a sheep. She followed the Potions Master into a narrow passage and went down the stairs to the basement, where they set up a small warehouse and laboratory. As soon as the door closed behind them, the man grabbed her chin and kissed her greedily. The girl closed her eyes, feeling Severus's tongue slowly slip into her mouth, his hands grip her hips and pull her closer so that she could feel the excitement bulging under the wizard's robe.
She never knew why he had chosen her. She had no idea why the power of his touch and voice enslaved her. Even now, after a few months of their affair, she couldn't understand how she could have sex with her Potions Master and what was causing a man a generation older than her to put his hands under her blouse, like an ordinary schoolboy.
Yes. She loved when he touched her breasts, not yet taking off her clothes. First, he slid his hand up the ribs wonderfully slowly, and when he found this particular soft piece of the woman's body, he clenched his fingers, almost to pain. Then he found the edge of the blouse and slipped his surprisingly warm hand under it and gently stroked the skin, inch by inch, to finally slip under the bra and find Hermione's swollen nipple.
Test tubes and jars on the shelves rattled warningly as Snape knocked one of the shelves while removing his clothes. There was never a shadow of tenderness between him and her, a spark of sensitivity. There was only some magnetism incomprehensible to both of them, which pushed them towards each other regardless of the price. Hermione was his for real. Snape was the first she devoted her body to and he felt her master. He also had a vague feeling that the girl knew this very well. He clenched his fingers on the witch's curled knees and looked at her, gorgeous, lying in front of him on the old table; her arms were resting on the sides of her head, her eyes darted with anticipation. Snape's hand slid down her thigh, and the man entered her slowly, satisfyingly watching Hermione's which face expressed everything he wanted. He almost closed his eyes and watched her from under his black eyelashes as she took his every touch and every push of his hips in growing pleasure.
James Potter and Remus Lupine have already sat in the living room sunk in a quiet conversation, as Snape entered the room.
"How are you Snivellus?" the man with glasses immediately turned his face towards him with a sneering smile.
Snape answered him in the same manner. He didn't feel like Potter's damn games because the matter that brought him here was nothing but serious. Therefore, he instantly got to the point by directing his words to the werewolf, sitting a bit further away.
"We need another spy, Lupine," he said in a flat voice as if he were looking for some triviality, not another naive, willing to put his life at danger."
"Two operating, is not enough?" Remus frowned.
"It turns out that it doesn't," muttered Snape, wincing grimly.
"If you want, I can move at least, Snivellus" James, despite his bratty expression, looked at the Potions Master with utter seriousness. for
"Thank you Potter, but for now the Dark Lord is not looking court jesters," Severus replied coldly.
"You take care of our moles, so tell me who you are looking for," said Lupine. "Although I think we should convene a meeting." We cannot make such decisions for anyone."
"Is anyone here talking about making decisions, Lupine?" Snape was impatient. "I do not just want to wrangle with the band of kids at subsequent meetings of the Order. I will show you what I know and you will find me a suitable candidate, or rather a she-candidate, by any of the methods available to you."
"Wait, wait" James Potter felt his tousled hair. "Do you want some girl, Snape?"
"You seem to be following, don't you Potter," hissed the Potions Master.
"Calm down, you two," Remus interjected. His face was tired and irritable." Tell me what you mean by that, Severus."
Snape sat comfortably in one of the armchairs and wore his leg over the other one after pulling up the trouser leg of black pants.
"The Dark Lord is looking for his lost favourite pup who accidentally lives in the pit of Moodie's chest. I need a woman who will play her. Is that enough for you, Lupine? Or you want me to plot it for you?" a venomous smile crawled into the professor's narrow lips.
"I could have use of it," the werewolf replied calmly. " You could at least let us know where she came from and why you pushed her there. Given that you expect someone to risk your life, it would be nice to at least tell that person what we can gain from it."
Snape was smiling crookedly.
"Do you really still believe it Lupine?" he asked.
"Well, I'm here..."
"It was a rhetorical question," said the Potions Master quietly.
"I don't quite understand you, Severus," Remus said gently. "You risk your death to capture the wanted number two, the most dangerous witch in the British Isles, and now you are making sarcastic remarks about my involvement. What is then that drives you, if not faith, even if only residual, that one of us can survive this hell?"
Snape sighed visibly impatient.
"All right then, you want me to treat you like naive noodles needing to be brought down. So please, here you got this: we have the tenth year of this damn civil war. It officially ended six years ago, then we changed Grimmauld Place into a self-moving fortress. The end of the amnesty was announced, by the Ministry, as well as merciless executions of members of the Order and all those who supported or hidden them. Do you remember Lupine? Or has lycanthropy completely devoured your brain? Whole families were killed at the time of public executions. And we still didn't have the promised breakthrough. We still don't have it, to be honest... Then the Dark Lord still trusted me those times" he swallowed hard. He felt his mouth go dry. "We dragged them out of their homes, Lupine," he continued after a moment leaning toward the two men. "Grabbing them by hair and hands. Men, women and children. At any age. Do I have to tell you how it was done? We asked one question: "Where are the members of the Order of the Phoenix hiding?" Then we murdered them. Or we tortured. Depending on the personal idea. Do you want me to keep talking?"
"What good will be that?" ─ Potter asked.
"My talk?"
"Don't be stupid, Snape."
"If someone is lacking in reason, it wouldn't be me, Prongs. Ah, your famous animagus form. What an adequate animal it turned out to be. Isn't it?" Snape mocked.
"Be careful Smnivellus" James clenched his hands into fists, and Lupine grabbed his arm in a warning gesture. "Watch out, because someday I'll forget whose side you are on. And about everything you did for us, and then..."
"As you wish, Potter," laughed Snape. "As you put it, after ALL, I've done, your threats don't scare me."
There was a heavy silence.
"What will change sending someone as Bella?" Lupine gave some clarifications fo his friend's question.
"Everything or nothing. At best, we can find out how to get rid of the Dark Lord, which I truly doubt. At worst, the girl will die in agony, previously betraying us all. But most likely we will gain some time thanks to this. Maybe one of the captives could be released. If they are still alive..."
"I understand that you are asking me to settle this matter for you?" Lupine clearly endeavoured to talk in a patient and calm tone.
"You are so much better than I am at arousing in people favourable feelings for what you propose to them" Snape concluded the case.
"I will convene a meeting tomorrow," said the werewolf. He rested his forehead on his open hands to massage his temples. He was nervous, inhumanly tired and he really didn't feel like dealing with Severus Snape anymore.
"It won't be needed" suddenly a low female voice came from the corridor.
All three looked in this direction.
"What do you mean by that, Hermione?" Remus asked, though he already knew the answer. Snape stared at her. The girl was already opening her mouth to repeat her proposal, but someone kindly anticipated her.
"Miss Granger seems to want to be a hero" mocked the Potions Master.
"No, Snape," she said wearily. "I'm going to prove to you that I'm actually good for something."
The man shrugged.
"As you like, Granger. You won't prove anything to me anyway, finally moving the lazy ass to a real job."
She frowned. Did he have to be so unpleasant? So coarse?
"Snape, watch your words" Remus warned him, seeing Granger was starting to exasperate. "We're all on the same side here."
"On the losing?" the Potions Master's cold eyes could liquefy all the nitrogen in the air. "That's what do you mean, Lupine? On the side of the dead?"
He stood up and started toward the exit from the living room. James and Remus looked dumbfounded on each other. They had no idea what upset the Old Bat so much. Snape was cynical, surly and eternally grim, but no one tried to argue with him this time. He got what he was looking for. The perfect candidate.
"You damn idiots," he snorted at his departure, and Hemiona could have sworn that his right hand twitched as if he were about to hit someone. "Come, Granger," he snapped at the girl. "If you want to get into this shit, I have to show you the whole extent of its stench." Then he turned and walked quickly down the stairs, not looking back. The girl stood a few moments, exchanging silent gazes with the two men, then she followed her mentor.
When the Master and his associate left, James cursed quietly.
"What's gotten into him, what do you think Remus?" He rubbed a short bristle on an under-shaven chin.
"I think Hermione and Snape make us fools," said Moony after a brief reflection. He smiled slightly at his thoughts, then breathed deeply with relief that he had this difficult conversation behind them.
"You think..."James smirked.
"I think our Master of Spies and Miss know-it-all connects something much stronger than working together.
The lab door slammed shut behind them.
Hermione gave the Potions Master a mocking smile. Without a word, he looked at the wall behind her.
"Relax, or you are going to have a heart attack here soon" she snorted. She tried hard to lessen the tension between them. However, it accumulated between them in the cramped space of the improvised dungeon like a cloud of heavy coal smoke. She didn't know what to do with herself in this rapidly shrinking space. They had never talked seriously about their feelings before and the girl felt like one of them could simply explode.
"Shut up!" Snape snapped warningly. He evidently avoided her eyes.
"Someone who makes a jester in public can't make me sit quiet now. I guess you have already forgotten that I have long ceased to be a good girl" she added smiling provocatively. She didn't know why she was acting like that. Maybe it's nerves? In fact, she was very nervous. She had no idea how to talk to him, she got to a solid rock wall in front of her, which the Potions Master had piled up around him all these years. Or was it her wall?
Snape turned his back on the woman.
"You have never been the obedient one, Granger," he murmured. Error. At least once she tried to follow the rules. And then all the principals, one by one lost their meaning.
She laughed. There was too much of it all. She had no strength for Snape's fools. She came up to the man and put a hand on his shoulder.
"What upset you, Severus?" she asked from behind him. A question that could be answered by the smell of his sweat, the texture of the venous shoulders.
"Your idiocy."
"Perfect" she breathed out. "What did Remus and James get for?"
"A bunch of morons," he said through his teeth. He was really angry, not the usual legendary anger for the whole world together and each creature separately. He was having a hard time controlling himself, and Hermione realized that she was seeing a new kind of Potions Master's emotion. It was a private rage.
She felt his tense muscles under her fingers. She thought he was about to shake in fury. What happened to him? She guessed, but she didn't want to believe her premonitions so much. Or maybe…
"Do you remember what we promised each other?" she asked in a whisper. It got meaningfully quiet somehow.
In response, she received a grim murmur. So, after all ...
"Severus, I'm talking to you."
She heard the man's deep sigh. He rubbed his forehead with his hand.
"I know damn well" he growled and shook her hand.
"Severus ... I know how you felt about her, I know what happened to her, but I am not..."
"Shut up!" he said coldly. Hermione sighed. And so much for the mature conversation of two people. She could howl, shout and whine. If the gentleman would not listen to her, his will could not be broken.
That was what she was afraid of the most. It got melodramatic. Melodramatic Snape - funny. She realized that's why she volunteered. When she woke up from this strange nightmare, she still felt Remus' warmth, still remembered how good it was to let someone so close. But she also remembered all too well how to lose such a person. She couldn't break down like that a second time. She would not survive and the Order would lose one of its last members. She thought it wasn't too late to leg it. And when she was returning to her bedroom, she accidentally heard a conversation going on in the living room between three men. She thought that why not, why not take advantage of the opportunity to escape.
Contrary to herself, she tried to reach the stubborn former teacher again.
"Severus," she repeated, feeling that the man's name was slowly becoming her mantra "we can't, I can not..."
"Oh, calm down, Granger!"
Snape walked over to the trunk in the corner of the room and opened all the padlocks and locks that secured it, then lifted the lid, which fell with a silent slam on the stone floor.
"I invite you" he muttered towards the girl who slowly came over and stood at the side of the man. She looked into the chest. Underneath her feet, a hole was opening, quite deep. Stairs led down from the side of the trunk and disappeared in the dim light illuminated only by the wobbly light of a single candle in the room. Moodie's portable prison. She shuddered.
"Is she there?" Hermione asked instinctively.
"Don't ask stupid questions, just go" the man growled, pushing her lightly towards the stairs. She began to descend, shining her wand. Then a piercing scream reached their ears. For a moment they stood petrified, unable to guess where the excruciating sound comes from. The malicious, crazy croak of a woman imprisoned in the trunk joined the scream.
"Snap Bella!" growled Snape and waved his wand to silence the Death Eater.
"Up there," Hermione said in a muffled whisper. She stood still with her hand to her mouth.
"I know," moaned Snape, who had had enough of that day and contact with all the morons who lived in this damn house. What the hell happened here again?
Hermione overcame the numbness first and started toward the exit from the trunk. Snape followed her.
When they were already in the basement, the man grabbed her forearm and stopped her on the run.
"Close the trunk," he commanded, and Hermione automatically carried out the order.
Closing the lock after the lock, she could hear the man's terrifying scream, now joined by the sounds of bustle and the clicking of feet of people running there and here. It all sounded like total chaos. Did someone break-in? Death Eaters must have found them. Maybe they came for Bella. Maybe for a completely different reason. This is the end.
Suddenly everything went quiet. The muffled sound of a key twisted in the lock reached her ears. She cursed over the stupidity of the Potions Master, closed the last two padlocks and hurried to the door with her wand ready.
She pressed the door handle. As she thought. Closed.
"Alohomora" she whispered, but still nothing happened. She cursed in her mind. Fucking Severus. She cast several other opening spells, used the password that usually secured the lab (Snape was crazy about security). But it was all for nothing. Yeah. He had that damn key that Sirius had given him as part of reconciliation. It opened all the doors in this house and closed them so that without using it they could not be opened by any other method. She leaned against the wall and sat down snarling furiously. And what will she do now? Was she supposed to wait when a tragedy happened on the other side? She could still pierce the door with her stupid head ...
Then from the other side, she heard the sound of approaching fast steps. (Sirius!) And then the angry voice of the Potions Master.
"Hermione! Bring Hermione to me"
She heard the key again in the lock and the door was opened by a red-faced, middle-aged man.
"There you are," he choked out of breath. - Fast. Upstairs. Fred. Snape.
─ Take a first aid kit girl!" screamed Snape.
Without a word, she stepped back for a suitcase with basic trauma potions and ran upstairs, leaving Black behind with the precious keys of the Dungeon Bat.
She was on the first floor.
"Here, the twin's bedroom" the Potions Master's voice was already calm. "Hurry up."
"If you hadn't locked me in the basement, I'd be..." she paused. She was standing on the threshold of a room spattered with blood. Fred Weasley lied motionless by the bed. Blood was everywhere. Not only on the floor and bedding but also on curtains, walls and even the ceiling.
"He is cut like ham for Christmas," Snape said coldly.
"What happened... for Merlin's beard, Severus!"
"Sectusempra" he replied in a matter-of-fact voice. "Hand me the suitcase," he ordered dryly.
"Alive" he answered Hermione's unasked question. "But barely. Now go and prepare more potion..."
"Replenishing blood, I know Severus," she said soberly.
"Good" Snape smiled slightly at her. "And look into Lupine. You are probably interested in who is the culprit of this mess."
Hermione turned without a word and left the room. Who on earth could do this to Fred?
Fred Weasley sat alone by the window of his attic room. It was quiet here. Too quiet. Once, when he and George were living in a similar room at the Burrow, there was no time without laughter or arguments. They constantly had something to talk about, plan and remember. They were not just brothers. They were perfect copies of themselves, like one being cut in half. Now one of those halves was gone forever. Fred felt emptiness emanating from his heart. Painful and boundless nothingness. It felt as if someone had taken away his personality, soul and sense of life. He tried to find it in Luna, for her and the Order. What a husband he was if he could not be supportive of his wife? What a soldier of the Order of the Phoenix he made as he could no longer find the will to fight? Under the closed eyelids, shifted the faces of those, whose fates were ones mixed with his for various reasons. Harry, Ron, parents...
There was a knock on the door. Fred shuddered in his dark thoughts. Before he could dismiss the scoundrel, he heard a creak and his sister's red head appeared in the gap between the door and the door frame. He sighed.
"Can I come in?" she whispered, looking at him pleadingly with her big eyes.
"Sure you can" he replied and smiled artificially.
"Do you think it will take a long time?" Ginny sat down next to him on the bed.
"What do you mean?" for a moment he was too distracted to comprehend the girl's words.
"We, the fight, the Order. World. I don't know how to put it,'' she replied, but Fred had already understood what the subject of his sister's question was.
"I have no idea," he admitted honestly. "Sometimes it seems to me, that the time came already and at other times I hope to see the next morning."
"Do you think there is a reason? Why is this happening to us?
"For Merlin's beard, Ginny!" Fred was already losing patience. "Why are you so philosophizing?"
"I just am..." she looked at him smiling strangely.
Fred turned back to the window. He wasn't sure what to say. These questions, this world, everything was very weird.
"Fred..."
"I'm listening" he looked at his red sister.
"Sectusempra."