The Enchantress Within

Sand squished between Hermione's toes. The smell of salty air filled her nostrils and she gagged. The beautiful white gown still adorned her body, its elegance leaving her tear stained face looking even more awful than it really did. She felt so empty. So dead inside. The wind whipped around her in a cyclone leaving marks of windburn on her already red face.

Why did she have to be someone so important? Why was she the one for the world to depend on? Why couldn't it be anyone else? Hermione fell to her knees, the ocean rising up to her thighs as the tide came in. Her hands flew to her head as she tried to squelch the thousands of question screaming in her head. They all lead to one thing.

WHY?

But she couldn't answer. Hermione didn't know enough about it to even begin to fathom what was going on. She had gone to Selena, though how she had found her Hermione couldn't completely recall. She had begged the woman to reveal something of significance that just might settle her thoughts, maybe even her heart. But all Selena had done was look at her with brown calm eyes. In her delicate, satin robes, she had seemed to stare down at the unsteady girl. That was until she had noticed what Hermione was dressed in, along with the diamonds that had begun to glow making her eyes sparkle along with them. Selena had inquired about it, but Hermione had just stormed out.

Now she was defeated—her heart in peaces along with her memories. The questions wouldn't stop thundering in her. Pressure was building and soon it was too much. Another word burst through the madness at her and she felt power surge behind it.

"Yisdatrae!" Hermione screamed with all her might. Silence.

The air around her lulled, the thoughts in her head ceased, and her heart went numb. Such tranquility was beautiful. She breathed in a sigh of relief and looked out at the ocean. The moon reflected off its surface bringing Selene to thought. But as soon as the notion of her presence came, Hermione shoved it away again.

This isn't how she wanted to live out her life. She didn't want to hide from her own memories. They were something very dear to her. But if they brought so much pain, then they couldn't be that precious.

"Dasha..." Hermione's eyes widened and she spun around. A hand was reached out to her and she took it out of sheer curiosity, hope even.

"Selene spoke no lies I can see." Hermione stared at the figure in her presence but she couldn't quite put her finger on anything.

This person was a man without a description. She stood no more than two feet away from him, yet she couldn't identify the color of his eyes, or the color of his hair or skin for that matter. He was nondescript which both puzzled and intrigued her. "You are impatient young philanthropist. You could not wait for my arrival in later hours?"

Hermione stared at the man for a moment and then decided that she would try to get anything out of him about her status that she could. "Who am I?" The man smiled and headed down the beach away from the mansion.

"I understand what you seek Dasha, but it is not my prerogative to tell you anything." Hermione ran to his side and kept his pace. "In truth, I know little more than you do. Your history is on the mountain." Hermione's face sunk into question. The man glanced toward her and sighed. "All I control are dreams…"

A thought wisped into the front of her mind. "Morpheus!" He glanced towards her again and smiled. "You really are more clueless than I comprehended." He walked in her path and turned to face her. "Ah well, don't you wish now that you read a book on ancient Greek history?" Several little knobs in her head began to turn. "Oh dear, I have to get going. Things to do, dreams to mold."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "Selene was a lot more…well, god-like." She paced around him in a circle. "You seem almost human." Morpheus put his finger under her chin and smiled.

"You, Dasha, are hope for us all. And hope is a beautiful thing. Can I not rejoice? Can I not show my care for the world?"

"Well you can but…" He put his finger on her lips to shush her.

"No buts. If you expect every god and goddess to be exactly like Selene, than…You are preparing yourself perfectly. Not many gods rejoice in a human manner. In my case however, I spend most of my nights dawdling in the dreams of mortals. There emotional tendency's have, I guess you could say, worn off on me." Morpheus glanced towards her. "But keep in mind the Olympians are nothing like me."

He glanced towards her again and frowned. He slowly leaned in closer to her. Morpheus took a deep breath in as if to taste the air around her and then smiled again. "You have his heart Dasha."

"Draco's?"

"He gave you a blessing to protect you from harm. It is ceremonial that for a blessing to be fulfilled an offering must be made. He sacrificed his heart. Aphrodite must have seen it as too harsh to take it for herself because it belongs to you now. It's deep inside you. Be thankful for such a great blessing." Hermione's eyes watered once again. He really did love her. And she had just destroyed anything that was possible. But it was for the best…

"Now before I forget, take this." Morpheus held his palm out to her. In it was a small pendant the size of a penny. She looked over it carefully as a crystal clear eye stared back. "Hera chose the diamond herself and Hephaestus carved it..." Hermione took it and slipped the nearly invisible chain over her head. "A gift as precious as this should not be taken lightly." As it touched her skin a chill ran up her spine. It shot through her head creating an ice cold barrier around the very depths of her mind. "I have blessed it, along with Hera and Zeus. That voice that you kept hearing will no longer be audible."

"So it's gone?" Hermione's face grew excited—her voice almost bouncing. But Morpheus shook his head solemnly.

"No, it's still there. I said no longer audible. But for now you are free from the nightmares." She sighed but kept a smile on her face. "Also, this necklace is here to help you control your mind. To keep it within it's confounds. If your conscious can escape your head, the barriers that hold back Stacia will weaken dangerously."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Stacia?" Morpheus looked around nervously.

"I've said too much. Go now. Find your body. Sleep calmly tonight." He raised his palm and she met it with her own. "Goodbye Dasha. We will meet again."

"Goodbye."

Morpheus evanesced into nothing leaving but a whisper behind. "Be strong."

The sea around her slowly vanished revealing the bedroom that she had been in shy of an hour ago. In that little amount of time so many things had changed. But Hermione was beginning to find that 60 minutes could inverse her entire world with ease. She turned towards the bed and saw herself asleep under the blankets. "So talking to Morpheus was all a dream…"

A yawn escaped Hermione's mouth. Fatigue was tugging at her eyelids like weights signaling that she needed rest. As she walked over to the side of the bed, she stripped off her dress exposing her bare skin. She slipped under the covers and faded into her unconscious self. The calm of a dreamless sleep took her in seconds leaving a horrendous day of worries behind her.

A beer bottle slammed against the wall of the ballroom crashing into thousands of small shards. "TAKE THAT!" Draco drank down another one and sent it flying like he had with the last seven. He could hear the walls laughing at him. They were telling him he had been foolish. Why would someone so beautiful both in looks and personality care about him at all?

He hadn't meant to tell her right at that moment. He hadn't meant to be so straight forward. But the way her eyes sparkled as he looked into them made Draco forget all of his plans.

Another smashed against the wall as Draco laughed at it drunkenly. "You see what I am capable of?" In his mind he heard whispers—hundreds of them—all talking at once.

"She's too good for you."

"She never loved you."

"You aren't worth the trouble."

Draco leaned his back on the wall and closed his eyes. Hermione did love him. She did. He knew it with all his heart. At least, he hoped she did.

He heard the click, click, click of heals on the marble floor and he turned towards the noise. Selena was walking towards him in her nighttime attire with a look of worry on her face.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Her voice was stern, but motherly.

"I am worth her love you know!" He walked towards her slowly, stumbling every other step. "I'm not just any guy. I'm the man she's going to marry!" He tripped and fell hard on the ground. Selena called a butler forward and he hoisted Draco up. His eyes began to glitter with tear drops. "I love her so much…"

She smiled gently and held his chin in her palm. "I know darling. But she is not just any woman. You know that." He looked down again. "Give her time." Draco mumbled an OK and Selena sighed. "Good. Now I think you should go check on her. She came and visited me earlier in near hysterics."

Draco shoved the butler off of him and stood. "Where is she? Is she alright?" Selena laughed and took his hand, leading him down the hall.

"Yes, I believe she is. But I think it would make me feel a little better if you watched over her tonight." They walked for awhile in the silence of their thoughts. Selena stopped in front of the door to his room.

"She's in here?" She kissed him gently on the forehead. "Get some sleep. The Gods know we all need it." Draco didn't even see her leave. He was too preoccupied trying to get the door open in his current state. After a minute or two he gave up and pulled out his wand.

With a whispered "alohomora" and a flick of his wrist he was in. He opened the door to Hermione's room and peeked in at her. She was lying in her bed peacefully making Draco sigh with relief. He was about to leave when Hermione's figure appeared before him in a translucent form. He fell backwards, the door shutting as he did. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the beer bottle in his left hand. "That's it. I'm laying off the alcohol."

"Could we walk any faster?" Hermione, though her legs were about a foot longer than the maid's, was beginning to fall behind again.

"Zuh Mistress does not take tardiness lightly." Her French accent played smoothly over her words. Hermione just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, she will have to stand it from me considering I'm not only her guest but her daughter." The maid glanced back quickly but Hermione caught the glare in it anyways. "So where are we headed to anyways?"

"We are 'eaded to zuh library. Zuh Mistress should be awaiting your arrival." Hermione nearly jumped with joy. "I have a library!" Her speed increased and before she knew it, she was standing in a doorway overlooking walls packed with thousands of books.

She hopped down the stairs excitedly leaving the maid behind her. Strolling through the shelves, she pulled off several books that looked interesting. As she got to the end of an aisle something caught her eye. She set down the novels carefully and headed towards it.

Freshly picked lilies hung closely together in lines creating a wall yellow and magenta. The strong fragrance drifted into her senses and she smiled. She reached forward to grab one but as she bumped into a strand, it pushed back revealing a small hallway. Hermione looked back once at her pile of abandoned books and then disappeared behind the wall of flowers.

The small foyer lead off into a beautiful indoor garden. In the center was a marble alter held by a woman carved in gold. The craftsmanship looked amazing. But as Hermione drew closer she could see a small divot in between her collarbones. The shape looked almost familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She reached out her hand to touch it when a voice was heard from behind her.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find you here." Hermione turned to see Selena standing at the entrance. "I would always come across my mother here."

Standing up, Hermione put on a rigid face. "Did you call me here to tell me about your mother? Or is there something else on your mind?" Hermione cringed inwardly at herself. She was being too harsh. But the reaction on Selena's face said otherwise.

"Actually this is all about my mother." Hermione cocked an eyebrow. "You are here, in Hawaii because of my mother. You are experiencing strange things that you do, and that scare you because of her. And she is the reason you are standing in front of that alter with a familiar feeling in the pit of your stomach." A tear rolled down Selena's face and Hermione took a step towards her. Selena just rubbed it away quickly. "Come with me."

Hermione took her mother's outstretched hand and followed her to a circular pool. The water was still, bringing calming feeling to her head. Selena sat down, and Hermione followed suit. "Tell me about your mother…my grandmother." Selena stared off into the water and sighed.

"I shouldn't. The gods forbid me to." She glanced over at Hermione once, but then resumed her gaze. "But there are things you need to know." Hermione smiled and shifted to get comfortable. Something told her that this was going to be long.

"Long ago, all muggles knew about us—our powers, our elite capabilities. And they accepted us, as we did them. But as time went by, wizards and witches began to see them as lowly and unfit. That their pathetic lives had no worth. And eventually we attacked."

"They, as muggles, had no defense against us whatsoever. They tried to escape our clutches and the few that did, were killed mercilessly. Hera, who is Queen of all Gods, looked down on it with worry. She took pity on the muggles in their state of weakness and decided to get rid of all witches and wizards. But just as she was about to vanquish them all, one witch stood up against her kind to end the blood baths and the injustice. Though ignored by other magical beings, she was noticed by Hera. One night, she visited the witch in a dream and she gave her special godlike powers and immortality to protect mankind. That next day she used her powers to their greatest potential and separated the two beings apart, erasing the muggles' memories in the process."

"As years passed Zeus, who had always had a tendency to cheat on Hera, became enchanted with the witch and visited her. Since he was a god she felt couldn't turn him down and they had an affair. Hera, displeased, ended her immortality deciding that a woman of such power and innocence could not live forever. She established that the position of power would be passed down in the witch's blood line to every first daughter. And that each one would serve for 100 years. In time, each daughter became known as an Enchantress because of the way the first had enchanted Zeus, the King of all Gods."

Hermione looked off into space. "When did your mother die?"

"Almost twenty-one years ago."

Hermione turned back to face Selena. "So you've been an Enchantress since then?"

She frowned and looked at Hermione. "No. You have."

Author's Note: Ok then. You guys now know more about the whole "situation" that they were talking about earlier. Please review and tell me what you think of the plot. Dun dun dun!