A/N: I know this is two days late. *gets boo-d* I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Last week was finals week, so I couldn't devote a lot of time to writing. I've also been going through a suckish temporary depression thing, and my muse kind of died. Not an excuse, I know, but it's the best I've got. Anyhow, here is this today. I made it longer than usual to make up for posting late. Be warned that the language is slightly stronger in this chapter than I normally write. I think it's still T, but do let me know if I need to change to M.
Also, a huge thanks to Dagnita and FarTraveler31 for reviewing the last chapter! *hugs* I'm super happy to say that this story has more faves and follows than any of my other stories! Thanks!
Enjoy!
Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her away from Walburga's portrait. "What in the name of Merlin was that?!"
Hermione sagged onto the couch, all of the fight leaving her body, the stress of the past week catching up to her. She felt tears pricking at her eyes again, and dug the nails of one hand into the skin of her other palm, the slight pain just enough to keep her from crying or having a panic attack, but not deep enough to cut her skin. "I… I'm not who you think I am, Harry."
"Why, of course you are. You're Hermione Granger, brightest witch of our age. You –"
"I'M NOT! THAT'S THE POINT!" Hermione screamed louder than she'd intended. Harry, who was kneeling on the floor beside the couch, leaned back in astonishment. It was so rare for Hermione to lose her cool. And it wasn't the first time she had done so that day. Hermione sighed. "Maybe it's better if I just showed you…" She grabbed his wrist and disapparated to the Manor. As the squeezing sensation subsided, Hermione saw the iron gate for the second time in two days, in a similar distraught state but for an entirely different reason. She continued to drag Harry along with her, too caught up in planning how to tell him everything to notice his confused expression. To him, there was no Manor. It was simply just an open field, as no one not a Sagitta could see it, unless they were keyed into the wards. Hermione stepped through the gate, but as Harry's fingers passed through, he yelped as a burning sensation zapped through his veins. Hermione immediately let go of him, spinning around.
"What the hell, Hermione? What was that? Where did you go? Merlin, my hand hurts. It's even swelling now. Hermione!" In the tone of one in excruciating pain, Harry gritted out sentences rapidly, cradling his arm against his chest, looking around blindly for Hermione, who seemed to have disappeared. He tried to follow in the direction he last saw her in, only to be pushed back by another wall of pain. Curious and somewhat panicked, Hermione stepped back through the gate toward Harry. "Where were you? What the hell is going on? I swear to Gryffindor, this isn't funny." He ground out, writhing on the ground.
Hermione dropped down next to him, digging through her bag to find a potion for the pain. She pulled out the little vial and poured it past his lips. The convulsions subsided only slightly, and Harry lay there panting, almost twitching, and Hermione was reminded of the after-effects of the Crutiatus curse. "Harry, are you okay? What happened? Why didn't you follow?"
"What do you mean? You just disappeared!" Both were clearly confused by this point. Suddenly, Hermione slapped a hand to her forehead, and ran back into the manor, telling Harry to wait. He rolled his eyes, not yet recovered enough to move, much less to go anywhere. He watched as her retreating body disappeared. Laying his head down on the soft ground, he closed his eyes, curled into a ball against the effects of whatever curse was on the gate.
Hermione dashed inside and called for Spotty. When the small elf appeared, the witch breathlessly asked about the wards and the enchantments around the Manor. The elf told her that the Manor was invisible to anyone who the wards didn't accept. If someone tried to approach it, they would unknowingly be turned away from that direction, remembering something they had to do elsewhere. If the person saw a Sagitta disappear through the gate and attempted to follow, they would be inflicted with a dark curse only known to the family. Created by a witch in the family in the 1300s, it caused a pain similar to the Crutiatus curse, except no pain potion or spell would help the victim. Hermione gasped at this, her concern for Harry tripling. Spotty noticed this and disappeared with a crack, when she reappeared, Hermione heard the clink of vials. The elf reached out her hand to reveal three small bottles of a blue-purple potion. "Master Patroclus created an antidote, also only known to Mistress's family."
After learning how to key someone into the wards, Hermione dashed back outside to a quivering Harry Potter. Waking him from his tormented sleep, she poured the antidote past his lips. The shaking ceased immediately, and Harry began to stand up. "You've got some serious explaining to do."
"I already told you, I just have to show you," she said, pulling her knife from her bag. Harry took a step back, wondering if his friend had lost her mind. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Calm down. I just need to key you into the wards. Give me your hand. Please, Harry."
"What wards?!" he yelled back at her, still unable to see the Manor. Nevertheless, he held out his hand to her. She made a small cut on his palm, healing it with a wave of her wand. She let drops of the blood fall off of the silver blade, muttering the incantation Spotty had told her moments before.
"Harry, touch your wand to mine for a moment." She added another spell, and a faint glow emitted from the point their wands touched. Harry blinked as the Manor appeared in front of him. He stared at it in awe.
"Hermione. What is this?"
She smirked slightly at his awestruck expression. "Welcome to Sagitta Manor," she explained. She began pulling him through the gate, and he flinched fearing for the pain again, but he passed through with no issues.
"What is Sagitta? The is the second time I've heard you mention that word. Why did it make Walburga flip? I swear I've never seen that woman shut up." He asked just a few of the questions on his mind.
"Sagitta is Latin for 'the arrow'," she began, leading him through the foyer. She paused a moment to call for Spotty. When the elf appeared, Harry looked at her questioningly. Knowing he was remembering S.P.E.W and her campaign to free house elves, she shrugged and said, "This is Spotty. Spotty, this is Harry Potter. Harry, she's been so helpful, and I've just come to accept that this is how it is."
"Mister Harry Potter sir! It's is nice to meet you! Friend of Mistress must be good Mister." The elf spoke enthusiastically, bobbing her head. "Mistress, what can Spotty do? Is Mistress be needing to go to the library again, with Mister Harry Potter sir?"
Hermione nodded, stifling a laugh. The elf led them back through the long, winding halls, chattering about the various rooms. Hermione listened carefully, trying to remember everything, glancing occasionally at Harry, amused by his expression as he took in the grandeur of the Manor. When they reached the room, she dismissed Spotty and settled down on one of the couches. Harry sat next to her, and she turned to face him, noting that Neoptolemus was no longer in his portrait. Her best friend looked at her expectantly.
"Harry, you know how I've been gone this past week?" At his nod, she continued. "Remember the locket I always wore? My mother gave it to me; it has been passed down for generations in my family. When my mother was killed, I pushed the locket deep into a drawer and forced myself to forget about it. I haven't thought about it in two years. Last week, I felt it almost calling for me. I opened it, and a note fell out. In fancy handwritten script, it mentioned something about me being Pureblood and the heiress of Sagitta. A second note appeared, in my mother's writing this time. It simply said 'I'm so sorry, Hermione dearest. It's true.' When I looked at the first note again, more words appeared at the bottom. It just said 'The password is Home.' The locket turned into a portkey, and I found myself here."
She continued her story, relating all of the information she had found out. He was a wonderful listener, gasping and nodding at all of the right points. When she was done, she leaned back against the arm of the couch. "So…"
He stared back at her. "So… looks like it's you and me against the world. Let's go find out where you came from."
"You're serious? You'll stand by me?" she whispered with a hint of disbelief coloring her voice. "Even against Ron?"
"Clearly some families know and have passed on the information to their kids. Enough, at least for them to know they existed and that your return would mean hell for them. We need to find out if the Weasleys know. If they do know, and if they react badly to you afterwards, I don't care if they're almost family. They don't have that right. If it comes to it, I'll stand with you. Always, Hermione." He paused. "Now. For those who do know…"
"Let's go figure out how to get the sons of bitches back for destroying my family."
A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter! Let me know thoughts of course! In fact, I'll make a deal. When I hit 50 follows, 10 reviews, or 20 faves, I'll post double chapters! Also, I'll be at the beach on Sunday, so next update will be on Monday, just a heads up...
