A/N: Thanks again to all of the reviewers it really helps keep me going, so you guys keep reviewing and I'll keep writing. Oh and to those who were wondering, the story is nowhere near being finished, just to let you know lol. I have much more planned for everybody's favourite wizarding heroes. BTW For those of you who don't know what colour Viridian is, it's like a chromed dark green. Now on with the story, enjoy
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Rags looked at the envelope in his hand, shrugged his shoulders briefly when no one gave his a suggestion he decided to go with the one with the many seals on it, and began to unwrap it, trying his best not to break the seals, seeing as he didn't know what they represented he thought that when he had a few spare minutes he would take them to the library and see if Madame Pince would know what they were, or could at least tell him where he could find a book on the subject.
Finally the letter was opened and Rags began to read, he didn't read it out loud, his intention was to read it fully himself and then pass it along and see what the others thought, or at least specifically Hermione, she was after all, the smartest person in the room.
Hermione had watched Rags opening the many seal covered letter with interest, she was curious about all things related to the magical world, and seeing something that Ginny, who was a pureblood, didn't understand was something that she was certainly interested in.
The three friends noticed that Rags stiffened in his chair and sat bolt upright, you could almost feel the tension coming of him in waves, he quickly placed the first letter down in his lap and barely noticed the two small blue boxes that fell out of the envelope and sat neatly on top of the letter, as if by magic. He grabbed the second letter ignoring Hermione as she asked him what was wrong; and with much more haste than the first Rags tore into the second letter and quickly scanned through its contents.
When he sat back down he whispered in Norwegian "Kjønn meg det kan ikke ha rett", the others looked at him in shock, it must be something fantastic, terrible or some completely unexpected news that would drive Rags back to his native tongue instead of sticking to Queen's English.
"Rags what's the matter mate?" asked Harry, he had noticed Rags' reaction to the letters and was concerned about what was written within them. Rags looked up and noticed the confused and concerned looks on his friend's faces and said.
"I suppose you should read them it yourselves" he then noticed the two small blue boxes that had fallen out of the main enveloped on the letter with the many seals, he picked them up and passed the letter to Harry and Ginny, Hermione then went over and stood behind the pair and rear over Harry's shoulder.
--
Dear Sir
It has come to the attention o the Wizarding College of Arms that you are the heir of two noble houses. We have, offcourse, done an extensive search into your genealogy and your family tree and have confirmed that you are the heir of both houses, as we suspected.
You shall find enclosed in this envelope, the rings that shall proclaim to all that you meet your lordship over these houses. Your titles are as follows, on your Father's side you are the last descendent of the Hogwarts Founder Lord Salazar Slytherin, please note that you are not the last living descendent, but you are the last that meets all of the requirements that Slytherin himself set down for an heir to ascend to his title. As such the College of Arms had confirmed that you are the new Lord Slytherin, and you shall be recognised as such, and entered unto our own List of Lords, when you set the Slytherin ring on your finger, by accepting this position you have the right to bear the Slytherin Coat of Arms on your robes, in the right ascendant position.
But this is not all; on your Mother's side we have confirmed that you are the heir of the primeginian line of Valerian, and as such you are the heir to the Valerian title of the Count of Wolfenspire, and the same as your Slytherin title, you shall be confirmed on our List of Lords when you place the Valerian ring on your finger, and as such you may bear the Valerian Coat of Arms on your robes in the right ascendant position. It may interest you to know that the primeginian line of the Valerian family can trace its ancestors back to the ancient warrior Jarl Beowulf Grendelsbane, so as such we offer our congratulations to you on being able to trace your lineage back to these revered people in history.
Another thing that you should be aware of is that your titles, like all wizarding titles, are very much real in the muggle world as well as our own. The only difference in the two titles that you have inherited is that the title of Count of Wolfenspire is based in the Kingdom of Norway, but is recognised throughout the Muggle and Wizarding worlds, so not matter where you go you shall be accorded the respect that is your due.
Along with this missive you should have received a message from Gringotts detailing any and all accounts and vaults that go along with your titles, if you have not received said letter then may we suggest that you get in contact with Gringotts at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your attention and if you have any questions that are pertinent to your new titles, or require any information on your family history, please contact me whenever you need.
Sincerely
Lord Nathanial Sinclair
King of Arms
Wizarding College of Arms
London
--
Hermione, who had finished the letter some time before Harry and Ginny, looked up at Rags in shock, an expression that was soon mirrored by Harry and Ginny. They were more than a little surprised by what they read, but at least in Hermione's case, she had already knows that Rags' family appeared to have been from old money by seeing the place that he lived in when he was younger, and Voldemort always referred to himself as the heir of Slytherin, and she had assumed that there was a title of some description to go along with the status as heir.
Rags tried, and was semi successful, in breaking the ice that had surrounded the four friends after the letter reading by saying "You three look almost exactly like I feel" there were a few chuckles from the group at that, as they realised that this news had come as great a surprise to Rags as it had to them.
There was a slight change of seating then as the three friends who had crowded together to read the letter now moved to where Rags was sitting as he was about to open the two blue boxes that presumably contained the two Lord Rings that would proclaim him as the lord of two houses.
Hermione settled herself next to him and Harry and Ginny stood behind him, so it was with baited breath that Rags opened the first of the two boxes. Inside was a ring that was nothing short of spectacular, it was a heavy mans ring made from flawless silver inscribed on the band were Nordic runes, and in the centre was a shiny black stone that although everyone though was spectacular it was only when Hermione told them in a hushed whisper what it was that they fully comprehended its value and rarity.
"That's a black diamond" Hermione said, Harry and Ginny looked at her in shock Rags hadn't taken his eyes of the ring since he had opened the box that had contained it. He turned the box slightly in his hands, letting the light from the candles play across the face of the stone, and the silver inscription on the face. It was obviously the Valerian crest, it was or a silver wolf like creature, standing upright facing the left side of the ring when you were looking at it.
"I don't recognise the crest or what the creature is" said Ginny as she looked at the silver figure inscribed on the face of the black diamond. It was Rags who held the answer though, and he replied in a hushed tone, similar to the one that Hermione had used when she had told the group that the stone in the ring was a black diamond.
"I do" without moving his head Rags knew that he had the eyes of his friends glued to him and the ring that he held in his hands, "The creature that it represents is one that exists more in myth than reality, legends of this creature have been traded around the wizarding world for centuries, some people call it the Thunder Wolf, the Night Stalker, or if you go further back than that it is sometimes called the Lunar Champion, its most common and accurate name though is the Wolfen."
He smirked slightly at Ginny, her reaction of a paling face and a short gasp lead him to believe that she had at least heard tales of the legendary beast, if not seen any pictures of one. "I see one of you have heard the stories of such a beast, there are very few of them left in the world, with only a dozen colonies or enclaves worldwide and only two in Britain they are exceptionally hard to find, and usually don't tolerate strangers within their lands. But they are some of the most fiercely loyal creatures in existence, you earn the trust of the Wolfen, and it will die to protect you. They are incredibly tall standing at least seven feet tall, immensely strong with large powerful muscles all over their body, and unlike werewolves they have the ability to stand upright and walk like a man as well as run on all fours like a wolf."
The four sat in silence after Rags had finished speaking, taking in not only what they had been told about the Wolfen, or about the ring, but also the simple fact that if rags chose to put on the ring he would then be a Count in both the eyes of the wizarding world and the muggle on as well. "Rags two questions, one how did you know all that stuff about the Wolfen and two are you going to accept the ring, or both rings?" asked Hermione, who found hat she couldn't take the semi-formal/ awkward silence any longer.
Rags couldn't help but smile at Hermione, she was always the one to ask the first question, or more accurately questions, which she did because she followed her own personal motto, or at least one of her own personal motto's which was 'The person who never asked any questions, never learned anything' "Well Hermione, I knew about the creature because Hagrid gave me a ridiculously old book on rare and dangerous magical creatures when I went to visit him a day after the incident in the Headmaster's office" he noticed the slight cringe from his friends at the mention of that particular incident but kept on going without pause, something that they were very grateful of, "in it was a rather accurate, or at least what I presume is accurate, description of a Wolfen, its abilities and characteristics, and some other light reading I've done in the library on the subject."
This caused the others to grin and look at Hermione, who had the good grace to blush, as it was well known throughout the school that for Hermione 'light-reading' was just about anything from five hundred pages upward.
"As for accepting the rings I don't know, I mean do I really have any right to them?" he replied honestly, at the moment he was sort of sixty percent to forty percent in favour of not putting on the ring, he felt he had no right to it, and wasn't sure he wanted to be a Count.
Harry then asked the question that Hermione was about to ask "Does anybody know what a primeginian line is though, its not a term that I've heard before" he glanced around but it was Ginny that answered, seeing as she was the only real pureblood in the room she knew the most about wizarding customs.
"A primeginian line is something that is used specifically in inheritance and family rituals; in this case with Rags inheriting this Valerian title, the primeginian line is associated with that particular title and him being the head of House. A primeginian line is essentially, the oldest male heir coming from the most direct bloodline to the previous holder of the title." Ginny finished what was the most knowledgeable, and in depth wizarding explanatory speech in her young life, only slightly out of breath, and rather impressed with herself that her friend Hermione, the self proclaimed 'know it all', hadn't known a thing about what was being said.
"Rags I for one think you should put the ring on, both of them in fact, not only would this be a way for you to re-connect with a part of your history and your heritage, but it would also make for some bloody brilliant jokes where the Slytherin's are concerned" said Harry, who was all for having a best make you had a couple of titles strung along after his name.
Rags glanced at Hermione wanting to get her opinion on this matter, but she only smiled encouragingly letting him know that the decision was his and his alone to make, and that he shouldn't rely solely on what people would think if he did or did not accept either of his titles.
Rags seemed to look at each of his friends in turn, and seeing only support for his actions, picked the ring out of its box with his left hand and slid it onto the middle finger of his right hand. There was a small flash of white light as the ring resized itself to his finger, then the deed was done, and unknown to him Ragnar Thorkild Valerian had inherited one of the oldest titles in Europe, dating back to five hundred A.D.
Rags suddenly, and much to everyone's surprise, let out a rather loud snort of amusement, and at that confused looks he received from it he burst out laughing, causing Ginny's look of confusion to be joined by a frown of annoyance, Weasley's were not great fans of people laughing at them. "What may I ask is so funny?" said the pretty red head through gritted teeth, which only increased Rags' mirth.
He got his laughter under control long enough to choke out "There was such a huge build up over this ring, with the stone being revealed as a black diamond, and a legendary beast being the crest. Then the whole thing is over in a little flash of light. Rather anti-climatic eh?" he then lost himself in another fit of laughter and was soon joined by the others as the humour of the situation hit them.
The humour helped settle everyone down, there had indeed been a large build up since the letter revealed that Rags was inheriting titles, and the title of one of the four founders. But being able to laugh about it, didn't detract from the seriousness of the situation, but allowed them to deal with that very same seriousness in their own way.
When the four of them had finally calmed down enough to not have to lean on someone to remain upright Rags picked up the second box, Harry was of the opinion that you could cut the tension between the four of them with a knife, well at least amongst the girls, Ginny loved all things shiny and expensive, and whilst Hermione may not spend as much time thinking about such things, preferring to immerse herself in books and theory, but Slytherin's ring was part of history, and the fact that it was priceless and shiny was merely an added bonus.
Rags opened the second box and the four stared at the ring that had once adorned the finger of one of the Hogwarts Founders. It was similar in size to the Valerian ring, except where the Valerian ring was made out of silver; the Slytherin ring was made out of pure gold, with faint serpentine silver swirls adorning the band. The stone was a large impressive emerald; the green of this emerald was a deep colour that would not look out of place in a forest's greenery. Adorning this precious stone was the coiled silver snake of Slytherin himself, even though it was exactly the same crest that adorned the banners and robes of Slytherin house the crest when shown on this ring, made the sign of the serpent seem more noble, and less dark and conniving.
Rags was looking at this ring far longer than he had looked at the Valerian ring, and Hermione realised that he must have been thinking about all the terrible things that the title of Slytherin had associated with it, especially seeing as Voldemort himself was using the title of 'Heir of Slytherin', she was about to say something but Rags said something as she was opening her mouth to speak.
"I accept this ring and the title that goes along with it for two reasons, first and foremost to keep it out of the hands of my father, and his ilk. Secondly because if this ring is bound to me by blood, then it would merely pass itself on to my own decedents, if I live long enough to see myself have any" the last part was said in so quiet a whisper that the three other people in the room barely caught it, and each had a different reaction to it.
Hermione was filled with sorrow at the thought that Rags believed that there was a chance that he would not live to see himself with a family of his own, and that probably in some deep dark level of his subconscious, he thought that he didn't deserve one.
Ginny was just moved to extreme pity, coming from such a large family, and from a family that loved its members deeply and truly, the thought that someone, especially this someone thought that they would not live long enough to experience it, especially when the person was only seventeen, moved her close to tears, and she had to restrain herself from launching herself at Rags and hugging him and telling him that it would all be alright.
Harry's reaction was different from all the rest, of course he felt upset that someone could thing like that but he also had a revelation, he himself had experienced similar thoughts many times during his life, especially during the last two years, during the Triwizard Tournament, and during his fifth year when he lost Sirius. He realised that he shared many similarities with Rags, and thought to himself that he should sit down and talk to his Norwegian friend, as they had both suffered so much, and in such a similar way, they each may be able to help each other to deal with their individual pain.
Suddenly each person in the room was brought out of their musings as Rags removed the Slytherin ring from its box, and then decisively slid it onto the index finger of his left hand, like before there was a brilliant flash of white light as the ring re-sized itself to its new owners finger, and then their was silence.
Until a few seconds later when there was a sound like a hundred condensed thunderclaps and a blinding flash of emerald light, which was accompanied by a rather loud "Eeep" from the resident seventeen year old Norwegian Lord, and then silence.
The silence lasted for about a minute until Ginny broke it by saying "Ok now that was a climactic finish" Harry and Hermione grinned at Ginny's rather obvious statement, 'Trust a Weasley to turn something this serious into something humorous' thought Harry. It was then that Hermione noticed something different about the room, something that for a moment she wasn't able to place, and then it hit her like a thunderbolt.
"Guys where's Rags?"
--
Elsewhere in another part of the castle there was a flash of emerald light and a short cry, followed by a solid sounding thump, and then silence.
Ragnar Valerian groaned as he came back to his senses, his last memory was of sitting with Harry, Hermione and Ginny in the Room of Requirement, then he put on Slytherin's ring, he groaned again as he realised that the ring itself must have been the reason for his current predicament, and rather sore back. He felt a moderately heavy weight settle down on his chest, a rather warm weight.
He heard a hauntingly beautiful, melodic trill and managed to open one eye and noted the rather impressive Phoenix sitting on his chest. He groaned again and began cursing, rather foully in another language "Stupido maledetto piolo , quello lo , il la prossima volta quello alcuno merda cervello relativo mandare me un pezzo merda antico piolo , Sono contenitore dove si fondono metalli lo discendente e turno lo in presa poich‚ mio spada guaina", this profanity only got worse when said Phoenix looked at him and gave him the Phoenix version of a raised eyebrow, the noble bird obviously in as much confusion to his predicament as he himself was.
"Ah Mr Valerian, I understand that your current predicament may be rather unsettling, but I would ask you not to foul the air with such words, yes I know what you said, I happen to be quite fluent in Italian" Rags' head snapped around, now with both eyes opened he recognised two things about the place he was in, firstly he realised he was laying on the floor of the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, and secondly the man who had spoken was none other than Albus Dumbledore himself, who as usual was sitting behind his desk, his eyes doing their customary twinkle and his face wearing a mix of amusement and bemusement. He like his Phoenix was wondering why this young man had appeared in his office in a flash of emerald light, and hoped that he could use this opportunity to have a much needed chat with the young Valerian.
Rags had the good grace to blush slightly after getting caught swearing in front of the Headmaster, a man whose methods he didn't totally agree with, but gave his support to for the fight that he was trying to win, the fight against the Dark and for the survival of the Light. "Sorry about that sir, but this is the last place I thought that I would end up, that is of course, once I realised that I had been transported somewhere. Also I didn't know that you spoke Italian, it certainly does not mention it on the back of your chocolate frog cards" the last part of his statement was said with a small bit of humour, it was rather well known that while Albus Dumbledore was the greatest light wizard of his age, the only one of his many titles and accolades that he really cared for was that he was on the chocolate frog cards.
Dumbledore returned a smile of his own and motioned to Fawkes with one hand; a hand which the Phoenix flew to, and settled himself upon, therefore allowing the sixth year Gryffindor that was sprawled rather unceremoniously on the floor of the office to rise to his feet. "You are correct Mr Valerian, it is not a well known fact but I do indeed speak many languages, certainly most of the European ones at least."
Rags thought that this was an opportunity to get to know the Headmaster better so he went out on a limb and said "So if I had sworn not in Italian but in Japanese would you have understood me?" he asked with his quirky grin on his face.
Dumbledore actually chuckled and said "No, I seem to have a great deal of difficulty understanding Asian languages, they are similar to elfish, in that they flow along, but I have never been able to grasp them" he saw Rags' grin turn to a smirk that would not have looked out of place on Malfoy, either of them, and said "but something tells me that you have?" he made his statement a question hoping to find out a little bit more about the enigma that was this young man.
Rags actually smiled, properly, not a smirk or a grin, but a proper smile, and then rattled off a long sentence in Japanese, which caused the Headmaster to chuckle slightly, he was just pleased to see how far this young man had come since last year when he had been found and brought to the British Wizarding world.
"Well seeing that you are here now Mr Valerian, why don't you sit down and we can have a little chat" said Dumbledore indicating the chair in front of his desk, "lemon drop?" he asked politely, even though he could name the students who had actually taken one when he offered, there were only three of them, so he was pleasantly surprised when Rags took one of the muggle candies with a 'thank you sir' and settle himself in the comfortable chair.
"Now Mr Valerian why don't you tell me why you suddenly appeared in my office, especially considering the simply spectacular way that you were able to do so" he sat there his eyes twinkling as he regarded the young Gryffindor over the rim of his half moon spectacles.
Rags, feeling that he could trust the Headmaster began to speak, he told him all about what had happened since he had woken up in the Infirmary, including opening his letters, and this grabbed Dumbledore's attention, he completely ignored what Rags said about opening his Gringotts letter, and concentrated on listening to what he said about the letter, that he knew, came from the Wizarding College of Arms. "If it would not be prying of me I would like to ask you what news you received from the College of Arms?" at Rags' incredulous expression he gave a small chuckle "yes I recognised the seals but I wanted you to find out the information and make your decision by yourself, without being influenced by any others."
Rags frowned slightly, it was things like this that he disagreed with the Headmaster over; the Headmaster was a supporter of allowing people to find things out for themselves, providing cryptic clues and hints, that may point them in the right direction, but then again it might also lead them in the complete opposite, so all the leg work was being done by the seeker, whereas a simple answer may have saved time, and in some cases lives.
So Rags took a leaf out of the Headmaster's book and didn't say anything, he just placed his right fist on the table, so that the ring of the Count's of Wolfenspire was staring the Headmaster straight in the face, he then placed his left fist alongside the right, the ring of Slytherin contrasting quite nicely, in his opinion, with the Valerian ring, and waited for the much older man's reaction.
Rags was not disappointed, the Headmaster was surprised at the appearance of the Valerian ring, he knew that Rags must have been a member of that house, as his last name was an exceptionally exclusive one that was rarely found outside of the area of the families ancestral seat. He also knew that the Count's of Wolfenspire were a very old, and very powerful titular family, that wielded a considerable amount of influence in both the magical and muggle worlds all over the globe, but it was the second ring that caused Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the age to openly gawp like a first year learning the levitation charm.
"THAT'S SLYTHERIN'S RING" he bellowed, he noticed with some irony that Rags just smiled at him and let him continue "how did you get that, I thought it would have gone to Tom decades ago, when he was still a student here." The Headmaster took a deep breath and tried to steady his nerves, he had handled the revelation that Ragnar Valerian was in fact now Lord Slytherin quite badly, and the slowly expanding smirk on the same young mans face only proved to Dumbledore that he found the situation hilarious.
"Forgive me Mr Valerian, I handled that very badly, as you can see seeing you with that ring, in fact both rings, was quite a shock to this old mans system. I hope that you will indulge me in explaining how you came by them" Dumbledore waited, almost with baited breath, he knew for a fact that with Rags' new status he didn't have to tell him anything about his heritage as it didn't affect his standing within the school in anyway.
"Of course Headmaster, as you know both rings came in the letter form the College of Arms. I am not completely sure why the Slytherin ring came to be, but the letter outlined that I was the last heir of Salazar Slytherin that met all of his conditions for receiving his title, it is my assumption that the title did not pass to my father because he did not meet these conditions, and as a result Slytherin would have found him unworthy to inherit." Dumbledore nodded his head at this, although he was surprised that Tom did not meet Slytherin's requirement to inherit his title, he was not unfamiliar with the procedure, as many prominent wizarding families did the same thing in the present day, especially if they had multiple children and only wanted a certain one of them to inherit the family seat, regardless of that child's birth.
Rags continued when the Headmaster's eyes met his again "As for the Valerian ring the letter stated that it had come to me because I was the eldest male heir of the primeginian line, and as such was the only one that could conceivably inherit the title, which is all well and good seeing as the title will remain in the family, but I have absolutely no idea of what to do with it, or either of them, now that I have the damn thing." He looked at Dumbledore and sighed and said "Any help you could give me on this matter would be immensely helpful Headmaster; I'm at a loss on where to start."
Dumbledore smiled at the young noble sitting in front of him and said "I would be delighted Ragnar", Rags was a little shocked at the Headmaster's use of his first name, but decided to not say anything as the man was still speaking "I would be more than happy to help you in learning your new duties, such as they are, in regard to your new titles, I should be able to get most of the books that should help you in a few weeks, and even the rarer ones that I would need to get from libraries in other parts of Britain, especially those pertaining to the Slytherin title, by the beginning of the Christmas break, how does that sound? Oh and you do realise that both of your titles will be registered with the Ministry of Magic here in Britain, and their might be a bit of media frenzy of the Slytherin one, not to sneer at you Valerian title of course."
Rags' smiled in gratitude and said "Thank you Headmaster it is most appreciated, and again thank you for the tip about the Ministry knowing about my titles, I suppose that they may find out about my father too but I think that it was probably inevitable. Oh the Gringotts letter that I received detailed that I had access to the vaults that went along with my titles." He said that bit about the ministry finding out about his heritage in a resigned sort of way, now that the people closest to him knew his secret and did not judge him; he cared very little for the preconceptions of the wizarding world.
The Headmaster cut him off by saying "I appreciate you telling me this Ragnar, especially what you told me about Gringotts, I know that it is very personal information, and as such I will not ask you to tell me anything about your vaults, how much money that you have, or what artefacts, if any, although I will be surprised if there are none, that you will have in your possession, but please feel free to come to me with any problems that you may have. I agree that your parentage may come out, it may not, but it is likely that it will, but it may also be advantageous to our own war effort."
As the Headmaster stood up to escort him to the door Rags turned to him and offered his hand "Thank you for your help Professor Dumbledore, I know we don't see eye to eye on everything" the pair winced slightly as they remembered the rather vocal debate the two of them had shared before Rags came to Hogwarts about a range of topics, but especially tat which was going on in the war, especially as they were fighting Rags' father. "Also if you like my friends call me Rags, and if we are being informal I would like you to do so as well" the old man shook Rags' hand with a smile and a thank you, as he appreciated the trust the young man was placing within him.
"Finally I've decided to honour your request to have a copy of my memories of my time with my father, I'm sorry I didn't agree months ago but I wasn't ready to deal with everything yet, but anything I can do to help in this war I will endeavour my best to do it, now if you'll excuse me I probably have a few friends who are looking for me."
"Thank you Rags" the Headmaster tested out Rags' nickname for the first time "I appreciate how difficult it was for you to allow me to see your memories, I promise I won't abuse the privilege and that I will check with you before allowing anyone else to see them. On that note go and find your friends, and hopefully you won't get into too much trouble from Miss Granger for your impressive disappearing act."
The old man smiled as Rags chuckled to himself as he left the office and went down the stairway to the hall that lead to the main castle, and though to himself 'It's times like these that I truly appreciate the gift I was given at being allowed to be a teacher, to be able to cultivate these young minds, and in the case of that young man see him change from the dark, brooding and lonely youth he was, to the fine person he is today', he finished his internal musings with the thought that it was a certain Miss Granger that had caused such a miraculous change in Ragnar Valerian, and Albus Dumbledore could not be happier with it.
In the corridor outside the stairway to the Headmaster's office Rags was scratching his head, he had seen from the clock in Dumbledore's office that he had been there for about an hour, and as such he had no idea where his friends might have gone, after such an impressive disappearing act he was sure that they would have gone looking for him, and as such they could be anywhere in the castle 'May as well check the grounds first' he thought to himself as he headed to the nearest castle exit.
He didn't notice the pair of malevolent blue eyes that followed him out through the doors, or the shadowy figure that exited soon after.
--
Ginny couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of Hermione running around like a headless chicken almost as soon as Rags had disappeared, she and Harry were no less worried about their large friend, but in a stranger reversal or roles they ere the ones who were trying to approach the problem of finding Rags rationally and logically, although it didn't seem to be helping much, as it had been about an hour and they still hadn't found their missing friend.
"Look you two, we've searched practically every single place we could think of inside the castle, not counting the areas that would take too long to search, I think we either have two choices, we either talk to Professor Dumbledore, or we start again and search the castle from top to bottom." Said Harry, as they finished searching along another deserted corridor, one that looked like it hadn't been used for the last few centuries, indeed the dust coating the walls looked like it was several inches thick.
Hermione nodded her head, she was almost in a blind panic as she was starting to believe that whatever had transported Rags out of the Room of Requirement had most probably taken him off the school grounds somewhere, and she prayed with all her heart, soul and strength that he was safe and not in the clutches of Voldemort or his Death Eaters.
They received quite a shock when they got to Professor Dumbledore's office and he told them the tale of Rags appearing in a flash of light, only to land on his back in the middle of the floor, Ginny couldn't help but smile at the thought that Rags had been caught swearing in front of the Headmaster, even if it was in Italian. This information spurred Hermione to find out exactly how many languages Rags knew, she knew that he could speak more than one, but two was a surprise, and she wouldn't put it past him to know a few more.
Dumbledore told them that he had last seen Rags heading in the direction of the grounds and suggested that the three friends look for him there. They decided that he probably wasn't down near Hagrid's hut as they had seen the half giant in the Library trying to find a book on how to protect a new kind of creature he was getting for Care of Magical Creatures.
They were heading around one of the further greenhouses when they heard what sounded like a rather vocal argument coming from around the other side, they quickened their pace and were surprised to see Rags and Ron practically at each other's throats.
--
Rags had wandered around the school grounds, the chill air making him feel alive and more carefree that he had felt in a long time 'I know the three of them often go on their own little adventures but couldn't they have decided to go on an adventure where it was easy to find?' he chuckled at the thought and realised if they indeed did that, then they would not be the people that they were today.
He had just gotten near the greenhouses when something felt off, he recognised it as that feeling he got when something was going to happen, he whirled around and came face to face with the furious Ronald Weasley.
"Just who the hell do you think you are Valerian, you waltz into our school, you break up my friends, and then you go and help yourself to my girlfriend. Its on now, no one messes with a Weasley and gets away with it." Ron snarled at the older man, his hatred, and what he believed was righteous anger, shined from his eyes.
Rags' eyes narrowed, a sure sign to those who knew him that he was pissed, as he looked at the youngest Weasley boy "Weasley why don't you grow some sense, Hermione is not a possession to be taken from anyone, she is a person, and she happens to be the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. Also I didn't break up your friendship with them you did that by yourself with your arrogance and bigheadedness, and your belief that the world should be handed to you on a silver platter, now get the fuck out of my sight before I send you to the hospital wing with some limbs missing" Rags was really pissed off, so much in fact that he hadn't realised that Harry, Ginny and Hermione had heard the whole conversation from where they ere standing only a few metres away.
Ron took a step forward snarled in anger and said "You don't get it do you? You Norwegian piece of shit, Harry is my best friend, Ginny is my sister, and she'll side with my on this if she knows what's good for her. As for Hermione, well she is mine she just doesn't know it yet but she will" he grinned darkly as he saw Rags stiffen and thought that he had struck a nerve, what happened next would just prove how wrong, and thick, he really was.
Harry was appalled; this wasn't his friend Ron, the guy that had stood with him for the first three years of Hogwarts without complaint, stuffed up in forth year but came round, than stood by his side last year in the department of mysteries, this was someone that he didn't know, and was at that moment considering hexing.
Ginny was also thinking the same thing, she would be writing a letter home to her parents outlining what Ron had said, maybe they would be able to talk some sense into him before someone beat it into him.
Hermione felt her anger building in her, here was a boy that she had thought of as a brother for the majority of her time at Hogwarts, now he had thrown that relationship away and was just about equal with Draco Malfoy on her books, she was about to step forward and give him a piece of her mind, when she, along with Harry, Ginny and Ron, noticed the change in Rags.
Harry realised that this was the first time since he had met Rags, and since Rags had told him about his parentage, that the older boy had resembled his father. There was very little physically similar between the two, but the expression that was visible on Rags' face was the same that Lord Voldemort wore when he faced Albus Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic last year, even to Harry who had faced the Dark Lord four times at school, and of course when he was a baby, the expression on Rags' face was terrifying. Such utter hatred had no place on the face of someone who was good and true and loyal to a fault, he knew what Ron had said was inexcusable, and he himself was almost spitting with anger, but it was nothing compared to what Rags was dealing with, and what was strange to Harry was that Hermione seemed to know why Rags was as angry as he was.
Rags didn't hear the gasps of shock from the people near him as his eyes slowly changed from a stormy blue-grey to a bright viridian green, in fact he didn't even realise that his friends were there, all he was concentrating on was the slowly spreading look of fear across the face of one Ronald Weasley.
Ron didn't even get a chance to scream as in a flash Rags was before him and had delivered a devastating uppercut to the youngest Weasley boy's gut causing to double over in pain as all the air he had in his lungs whooshed out, he was hit next with a double handed blow between his shoulders that forced him to crash face first into the ground.
Rags then delivered a crushing punch straight to the centre of Ron's unprotected back, no ordinary punch; his middle finger was extended slightly, making a point. Hermione recognised the strike from her training sessions with Rags; it was a nerve strike, one that would most likely paralyse Ron for a few hours.
They all watched as rags turned over Ron so that the other boy had no other choice but to look up into the frightening viridian gaze of Ragnar Valerian, who spoke in a terrifying whisper that seemed to carry and echo all around them "I didn't remove you from this world Weasley for one very important reason and that's because I have something to say, and I expect you to listen well" he waited for Ron's terrified nod before continuing "I am going to forget that this conversation ever took place so you may consider this your final warning, but if I so much as catch a whisper of you trying anything on Hermione, I swear by all the gods of Asgard, and all the terrors of Nilfheim that I will hunt you down and tear you apart, do you understand me? I care for her more than I have cared for just about anyone on this Earth, so you had better believe me when I say that if you so much as think of hurting her, you're dead, understand?"
At Ron's terrified nod Rags straightened up and looked at Ron with scorn showing from his viridian eyes and said "I don't understand you Weasley, you are jealous of Harry, thinking he has everything money, fame, and all at his young age. But you forget that he had to grow up treated like shit, not knowing what really happened to his parents nor having the advantage of a loving family. You have no idea what that can do to a person, knowing that the only family you have thinks that you are worthless, or a mistake. You have thrown away any chance of friendship with a girl who had been your friend for five years of your life, just because she didn't want to be with you, but were you truly her friend? You argued with her, called her names and belittled her in front of your house, and then cried and whinged because she didn't help you with your homework, you're pathetic. Oh and remember Ginny is an extremely talented witch, and you have to live with her throughout the whole summer, so I'd pray she doesn't hear of our conversation."
As he turned to leave he looked back and said "Oh and if your wondering how I know all of this" and Ron was not the only one wondering what was going on, Harry, Ginny and Hermione were curious too, "I listened, I listened to Gryffindor House, I talked to Hagrid, I even listened to some of the other houses so I know all about you Weasley, so watch yourself." With that said Rags turned and walked towards the lake, not noticing that his friends had not only seen his anger, heard Ron's words, or seen his eyes change.
The others were left standing there for a moment before Hermione snapped to her senses she turned to Harry and Ginny and said "I'm going to go after Rags and see if I can't get him to calm down and talk about what happened. Can you guys get all the stuff out of the Room of Requirement and take it back to Gryffindor Tower?"
It was Harry that replied "Sure Hermione, Ginny and I'll do that, we can meet the two of you in the Great Hall for lunch if you like, but right now I think that I have to have a word with my former best mate" Harry then strode off towards the prone form of Ron.
Ginny looked to Hermione and said "I wonder if Rags could teach me to punch like that, it would be so useful when Fred and George need to be taken down a peg, and I agree with Harry, don't; worry about Rags' stuff we'll get that just as soon as I go and have a little chat with that brother of mine." Hermione watched as the two of them loomed over Ron and was glad that she wasn't Ron's place, Harry and Ginny were quite formidable when they put their minds to it.
Hermione quickly set off in the direction that Rags had gone in hoping to catch up before he had gotten too far, she knew from personal experience that if he didn't really want to be found, then there was very little hope of finding him. Getting closer to the lake she spotted him sitting, in what she knew from their training sessions together to be the Lotus Position, he was meditating.
Rags was trying to get his thoughts in order, his confrontation with Weasley had left him feeling strange, similar to how he felt when he had confronted Malfoy, but not quite as strong, he thought that this was strange seeing as he hadn't used Umbra Intentus when he had squared off against Ron, as it was after the last time he had used The Shading Run that he had felt a little strange. He glanced down at the rings glittering on his fingers and wondered if this strange new development was because he had reached his magical maturity, as all wizards do, at the age of seventeen, and seeing as he had the blood of two extremely ancient and noble houses running through his veins, he wondered to himself what kind of powers might be locked away within his very blood. He sighed quietly to himself and leaned back against the tree he was sitting near 'So much for trying to forget my past and, as Professor Dumbledore put it "Make a fresh start at Hogwarts, meet new people and make lasting friendships" and what happens? My past is linked with my future; I wish I had someone to turn to."
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a leather wallet looking thing, he flipped it open and smiled sadly at the two photos that were sitting inside in clear sleaves made from a wizarding version of plastic, there were others in there too, you browsed through them by flicking them up like a book, since he had gotten the wallet for his birthday. The pain at seeing these pictures had lessened a bit since he had first seen them on his birthday, but he doubted that it would ever go away.
He was shaken out of his melancholy thoughts as he felt someone sit down beside him, and he quickly tucked the photo-wallet into his pocket, he looked up a little startled straight into the concerned eyes of Hermione Granger, it was strange, he thought, that he thought her first action would be to berate him for not immediately coming back to the Room of Requirement after his most impressive disappearing act. Instead she seemed concerned about something, and Rags wondered what it was, he wondered what new development had occurred in the hour that they had been apart.
Hermione did something then that surprised Rags like nothing else, although he wasn't really complaining, she reached forward and cupped his face with both her hand, the leaned forward and kissed him full on the lips. Although Rags was surprised at first he soon responded, it didn't take long for the kiss to progress to a snogging session with Rags leaning back against the tree, his arms around Hermione's waist, and her sitting in his lap with her own arms looped round his neck, both of them kissing passionately.
This had not been how Hermione had wanted to begin her conversation with Rags but found that it was indeed a worthy substitute, after the kiss finished, leaving both teens slightly breathless Hermione leaned in and rested her head against Rags' forehead as he said "Not that I am complaining Hermione but what did I do to deserve that?"
He may not have shown it but Hermione only had to look into his eyes to see the humour dancing in them, she smiled and gave him another quick peck on the lips and said "Well if you must have a reason" and couldn't help but grin at his slight smirk "there are two really, firstly for being who you are kind, generous, caring, strong and loyal." She noted the slight blush on his cheeks and continued before he could refute what she ahd said, as he was want to do in situations like this. "Secondly, for what you said to Ronald" she noticed him stiffen in shock at that, and just held him tighter in case he got any ideas about trying to leave again.
Rags sighed quietly at what Hermione said, he didn't quite agree with all the praise that she heaped on him, but he wouldn't deny that it was nice for someone to say it to him, coming from his background he didn't think that he deserved any sort of special accolade, but he got a strange warm feeling inside of him when someone said it to him, especial when it was someone that he cared about, especially when that someone was his girlfriend.
"You heard that did you?" he asked quietly, refusing to meet her gaze, he hated it when she saw the darker aspects of himself, and if he was being honest with himself there was a part of him that almost enjoyed what he did to Ron, letting the anger loose felt good, it was seductive, and he tried his hardest to force it deeper down and bury it under his memories and things that eh didn't want to think about.
"Yes" Hermione stated simply "and Harry, Ginny and I want you to know that we agree with everything that you said to Ron back there, he was not only way out of line, but he has, at least a far as Harry and I are concerned thrown away any last remaining shred of his friendship with us, and even though he is her brother, Ginny is going to limit as much contact as she can between her and Ron. But there is something that I want to ask you, if I may?"
Rags nodded his head wondering what Hermione wanted to ask him, that judging from her facial expression, was something that she felt was extremely important.
"Rags what I want to ask you is about what you said to Ron before you left him, about how much you said that you care for me, is that how you truly feel? Or was it just in the heat of the moment?" Hermione hated to ask but she had to know, she had to.
Rags wouldn't meet her eyes and he shifted his head so that it was nestled in against her neck, and Hermione was about to cry. After hearing what Rags had said to Ron, something in her had soared at the prospect that someone could care about her like that, it had filled a void that she had refused to admit that she had after seeing Harry with Cho, and after with Ginny, and all the other students at Hogwarts that had found a partner, it hurt that for so long she ahd been overlooked, to be fair she had not done a lot to encourage attention, but it still hurt. Then in her now mot serious relationship of her life, she finds that the affections of her boyfriend may have only been said in the heat of the moment, and she was scared that he had, perhaps, not even meant it at all.
She was cut off though, in mid thought, as both her heart and her soul to a leap for the heavens when she heard Rags whisper "Yes, they were true, its…its how I feel deep in my soul" he seemed to hesitate a moment before he continues by saying "I have known you for less than two months, yet I have never been so sure of anything in my life, and it scares me."
Any further conversation, at least on his part, was cut off as Hermione pulled him in for a searing kiss. Once it had ended and both of them had caught their breath enough for them to have a fluent conversation Hermione said "You don't need to be scared of those feelings Rags", she reached up and cupped his cheek lightly cupped his cheek with her hand, gently running her thumb over the end of the scar over his eye. "I feel the same way, I know that things may seem rushed and progressing too fast but I think that to deny these feelings would be wrong, but I want you to know that I do care for you as you care for me."
It was then Hermione's turn to be cut of as Rags captured her lips with a passionate kiss of his own, which showed her almost as much as his heartfelt words had his true feelings for her. The tears that followed this kiss were not from sorrow but rather from such joy that it could not be expressed in any other way.
Rags had once again nestled his face again against Hermione's neck so that she would not see the tears that had gathered in his own eyes, he could not remember the last time that someone had told him that hey had cared for him, it was a strange feeling, but a very good feeling.
The embrace was something that both of them had needed, for it allowed the both of them to collect their thoughts and think about what was said. It was during this time that Hermione gave a slight shiver, for it was only now that the heat and the passion of the moment had left that she was sitting out in the cold weather in nothing more than a thin t-shirt.
Rags noticed the shiver and said "Your cold, here take this" he quickly lifted her arms from around his neck and held them above their heads, then in a quick fluid move he slipped the long sleeved shirt from over his own head, turned it so that it sat the right way and then pulled it down over Hermione's outstretched arms, and then further down so that it covered her torso completely "There" he said "that's better isn't it?"
Hermione snuggled back down into Rags' warm embrace, the blue long sleeved shirt that he had pulled over her, warming her up very nicely, it was things like this that made her feel so strongly for Rags, it was ability that after he had been a part of so much pain and suffering in his life he was able to perform such simple and pure acts of kindness, also the fact that it was warm because of him was very nice. Glancing down at the muscled right arm, now only clad in a thin white under t-shirt she noticed something that she, and just about everyone who knew Rags, had not noticed before.
"Rags why you have a TATTOO?" she screeched, looking at the impressive design imprinted on the bulging bicep muscle, doing a more than fair imitation of a pair of female Weasley's in full fury, so in short she yelled extremely loud next to Rags' ear.
After a rather painful wince Rags managed to answer Hermione's question "I don't have a tattoo, or eardrums for that matter" Hermione blushed slightly at that, she did scream rather loudly, she thought to herself, but Rags' peck on the lips got her attention again. "Well at least I don't think it's a tattoo, the mark itself began to appear the day that Aesir hatched for me, and as such I inferred that it appeared as a direct result of the two of us bonding" He then grinned at Hermione who was gently stroking the falcon figure with her fingertips "I suspect that you, Harry and Ginny will get similar marks when your own eggs hatch."
This little titbit of information was stored away in Hermione's brain for later examination, and consideration, but right now she was interested only in cuddling, she shifted her position so that she was still sitting in Rags' lap but with her back to him and his arms looped around her waist. This provided them each with a great deal of comfort and warmth, from Hermione's perspective she was held close by someone that she cared very deeply for, wrapped up in a warm sense of being cared for that was difficult to come by when you were single, also the powerfully muscled arms around her gave her a sense of feeling and security that she hadn't really felt before, it was strange and unique, but at the same time comforting.
For Rags it was a very similar feeling, being held by someone and holding someone that cared for him provided feelings of both comfort and security, plus having a beautiful girl sitting on his lap felt wonderful, it also allowed him to use Hermione's hair as a pillow. Hermione had often complained about her hair when he was around, and he knew from conversations with the rest of his friends about their previous years at Hogwarts that she was not fond of her bushy hair.
Rags however loved it, it was soft and warm with a faint smell of the shampoo that she had used in its washing, and to be completely fair to Hermione, even though she still saw herself as the bushy haired bucktoothed little girl that had arrived at Hogwarts five years ago, she no longer had buckteeth, or bushy hair, the teeth problem having been solved thanks to an altercation with Draco Malfoy, and over the years her hair had become wavy and slightly curly, no longer bushy. But it still made an excellent pillow for her boyfriend, and it wasn't long before Rags was dozing, more at peace at this moment than at almost any other in his life.
Hermione held Rags hands at her waist and looked at the two rings on his fingers that glinted faintly in the October sunlight, 'I wonder what these will bring? If they will cause him joy or pain, or maybe even be able to bring him some peace' she wondered to herself, but she soon stopped thinking such things and just enjoyed the moment.
But like all things this too came to an end, she was also loath to wake him, even though a doze was not sleeping, because she knew how little he actually slept Hermione gently shook Rags' hands and she heard a muffled sound coming from behind her, she smirked slightly, Rags had been using her hair as a pillow, and at that particular function it excelled, but when one tried to talk through it the results were less then spectacular.
"Come on Rags you can't sleep the day away its nearly lunch time and I'm getting hungry" at Rags' slightly petulant look at being woken up and forced to get up from what was a very comfortable position to be in, she smiled and playfully said "don't you want to know what Harry and Ginny did to Ron after we left."
That little gem perked the big Norwegian right up, so the pair slowly walked up to Hogwarts with their arms around each other, and a smile on their faces, talking about many things ranging from books, ie Hermione recommending books that Rags should read, and interesting conversation on the merits of the different text books that each of the school disciplines relied on, and if there were any in the library that were better suited to the task.
All in all from both of their perspectives, it had been a truly great day, with more than one surprise thrown in for good measure, but then again they were at Hogwarts, and it wouldn't be a usual day at the Wizarding School if a little excitement and mystery didn't come along.
When she had offered to help Rags up from his seated position she noticed that he had stuffed something into his trouser pocket, it was the same leather wallet looking thing that she had seen him given on his birthday, but had never confronted or asked him about, now seemed as good a time as any.
"Rags?" when she had drawn his attention away from smiling at a bunch of first years chasing each other through the grounds she asked her question "I noticed your wallet" she stopped with him, as he had halted his steps as soon as the question had passed Hermione's lips. "I saw the little house elf give it to you on your birthday, and your reaction to it, and I was wondering what it was?"
At the look he was giving her she quickly continued by saying "I'm sorry I didn't mean to pry, I just saw how deeply affected you were by what was in it, and I just wanted you to know that if you needed anything I'm here for you."
She then found herself in yet another hug for the day, with Rags burying his face in her hair, she also heard his whispered "Thank you" so she just hugged him back and waited for him to continue.
Hermione nearly missed Rags nod his head before, once again with his am around her, he lead her towards the paved courtyard near the Entrance Hall, the pair sat down on a bench and both were thankful that there were not many of their fellow students around, they had the cooler weather to thank for that, as a majority of the students were in their common rooms, only those who wanted a true sense of privacy or were not bothered by he cooler weather.
Rags held Hermione's hand in his left one and pulled out the wallet with his right, he handed it over then clasped both his hands in front of him and waited for her to open the wallet in front of her.
With the thing in her hands Hermione knew immediately what it was it was a photo wallet, she opened it tentatively and started slightly as the first photo met her eyes it was a picture of a young Rags and a young Freya with their arms slung about each others shoulders smiling at who ever was taking the photo, which she thought was strange seeing as he was older than when she had first seen him in his memories, so the photo must have been taken while he and his sister were in captivity.
Seeing her confused expression Rags smiled sadly and said "You are wondering when the photo was taken correct?" at Hermione's nod Rags continued "House elves have a unique and strange ability, they are able to go back and review anything that they have seen or heard throughout their entire lives, rather like a pensive, except they do this in their won minds. They then can use this ability to call forth a scene of anything that they have seen, and then it is a simple matter of extracting the picture and transferring it to a flat surface, in this case photo paper. So yes this was a scene that Dizzy saw, there are a few more pictures from her in there, as well as some that she took from my own memory, and my sisters, although I am sure she did this while we were asleep as I have no recollection of the event."
Hermione quickly shut the wallet and offered it back to Rags and said "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried like that, these are your most private memories, and I had no right to ask to see them as I did." She couldn't meet his eyes as she thought that he would be upset with them.
Hermione would never be able to describe how shocked she was when she felt Rags large hand cover hers and press the wallet down, locking it and her hand together with his own larger one, but this was nothing compared to what he would say.
"That may be so but I want you to see them, believe me there is nothing in those photos more unsettling than what you saw in my head. Also it may help having someone else see them, I don't want the others to see them just yet, but I'd like you go over them with you if that's ok?" it was his turn to not meet her eyes, he hated showing any form of weakness, and in his eyes asking someone for help. Especially on a matter this personal, was a sign of weakness. He also didn't understand why his emotions and feelings were so close to his surface thoughts, he could not bury them as he was used to, and he was unsure what to do.
Hermione, ignorant of Rags' thoughts gave his hand a squeeze and opened the wallet again flipping past what she had already seen she saw more and more pictures of Rags and his sister as they grew up. Some made her smile, like one of Rags completely covered in mud looking quite surprised. There was one with Freya cuddling Dizzy that brought a tear to her eye but made her smile, there were a few others that were obviously taken from Rags' own perspective, and some even from his sisters. Like one with the elf Dizzy doing a rather impressive lotus position on Rags' head.
The final photo in the sleeves was one that shocked Hermione to the core; it was a photo, one obviously taken from Dizzy the house elf's point of view, and what surprised her even more was the fact that she had seen the memory from which this scene was taken in her trip into Rags' past. There was Rags silky black robes flowing around him his sword Matsuro held upright, the hilt about level with his midsection and the blade lowing alongside his right cheek in the classic Kuro-Uindo first strike stance, the stance from which any attack can be started. He was turned slightly so that his back was turned slightly to the viewer, and standing the shadow of Rags' powerful frame was his sister, there stood Freya Valerian in grey work robes bold and beautiful a captured wand in either hand, her fierce gaze matching her brother's except looking at anyone foolish enough to approach them from behind.
It was quite simply a stunning picture, each sibling a different side of the same coin, one an ethereal beauty of pale perfection, the other dark, commanding foreboding and yet protective and powerful each face betraying neither fear nor panic, but only a fierce sense of determination, as though nothing could stop them. Hermione's thoughts on the photo were interrupted by Rags' speaking.
"That is always the hardest photo to look at, on my birthday when you saw me in such distress this was the photo that I opened the wallet to, so as you can probably imagine, I was a little surprised and of course all the old wounds opened again." Hermione didn't know what to say so she just nodded her head, she had no idea hat it must have felt like to carry round a reminder of something that was so terrible, but then again, she supposed, these were the only visual memories that he had of his little sister.
The final picture was not in plastic sleeve, it was tucked behind them, and from its appearance it did not come with the rest of the wallet, it was crumpled slightly as though it had been looked at many times, constantly pulled form pockets or other places, and it was a photo of a witch, a witch that Hermione knew immediately, Brunehild Valerian, Rags' mother.
She whirled to face her boyfriend a shocked look on her face, of all the photo's that she had been expecting to see in this wallet, one of the woman who refused to acknowledge his existence, insulted him and was downright cruel to him was nowhere even near to being on the list.
"Rags….why?" she struggled to get the words out so great was her shock, she could hardly believe what was in front of her own eyes, but she brought her attention back to Rags the minute he opened his mouth to answer her question.
Rags took the picture from her limp fingers and gazed at it sadly, the photo depicted Brunehild at approximately age twenty, her face lit up with happiness and a large smile adorned her features. "I took this photo from a frame in my mothers house many years ago" he said his voice deeper than usual as though he was thinking very carefully about what he said, or was contending with a great deal of emotional stress associated with the photo, knowing Rags it was probably both Hermione thought.
"When I think back on that time I can remember the very instant that I took it, and the reasons behind it" he turned slightly and gave Hermione a sad smile that shook her o the core, but he continued nevertheless "I took it because I wanted to see my mother smile, she would never smile at me, always sneer, or snap. It's quite pathetic now that I think back on it, but I used to pretend that this photo was actually her, and that she was smiling at me, and the photo had just captured the moment."
He tailed off for a moment before continuing in that same deep sad voice "Does that sound as silly to you as it does to me?" he asked Hermione, not realising the deep look of pain she as giving him so he was somewhat surprised when she leant forward and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.
"No far from it" she whispered, today was certainly turning out to be one of her most emotionally straining days at Hogwarts, and that was saying something. "But it is sad that you have to be the one to deal with these troubles" she couldn't say anything else, so great was her emotion.
Rags pulled her tight against him, and rubbed soothing circles on her back trying to calm her down, he kissed the top her said "I know" he tilted her head up so she was looking at him and he said "but enough of this, it was you who said that we should enjoy this day, I promise you that we can discuss anything that you want, but not today alright? Today is for us to enjoy, even if I vanish when ever I put on jewellery."
That got the desired effect of drawing a laugh out of Hermione, she smiled even through her tears and leant forward and kissed his cheek. She leant back and said "You're right, now come on lets get some lunch, not many people got a chance to say 'welcome back' at breakfast and I shouldn't be monopolising your time like this."
Hermione wasn't one to gloat but when she heard him mutter to himself 'I don't mind if you monopolise my time' she had a very self satisfied smirk on her face, which broadened into a smile as she heard all the people talking about Rags' 'tattoo', by the morning the Hogwarts rumour mill will be working over time again.
She wrapped her hand around his, and was happy to see that this simple gesture brought a smile to Rags' scarred face. "While we walk there are some things that I would like to talk to you about."
Rags sighed in fake exasperation and said "This means that you have questions" at Hermione's sheepish grin he said "very well ask away" the words were serious but the tone was filled with affectionate humour.
"Well I was wondering how many languages you speak, I already know that you can speak English and Norwegian, and the Headmaster commented that you spoke both Italian and Japanese in his office, are there any more?" she looked him in the eyes as she asked her question, this was much more in line with her own interests, although the lessons that she had received from her boyfriend were certainly useful and interesting, and should be started again she thought privately, she was more interested in knowledge than in violence.
Rags nodded his head "Yes there are more, twenty years on one place allows you to pick up some things in total I speak nine languages" at her shocked look he grinned "finding out I practice an obscure form of Dark Wizard swordplay didn't phase you much, but the fact that I can speak nine languages does?"
That earned him a smack on the arm and a 'Don't be a prat', before Hermione turned and said "I know of four but what are the others?"
Rags grinned and said "Well I speak fluent English, Norwegian, French, Japanese Italian, Latin which are very similar by the way and Goblin, and I am conversant in Bulgarian and Russian. Goldfish Hermione" the last part of his statement was said because Hermione had once again done a goldfish impression, something that she had tried to avoid doing at all cost, it was uncouth after all.
"Rags! Why on earth were you forced to learn so many languages? Don't get me wrong I think the idea of speaking different languages is brilliant, but why would your father", she didn't name him as there were other people around, "need you to know so many?"
Rags sighed and pulled her off to the side away from prying eyes and ears and said "It's all to do with Harry; I was supposed to be sent against Harry to weaken him enough for my father to finish off, but before that I was to have other missions, other tasks to perform. You may not know this but the Death Eaters come from all across the globe, and the Dark Mark may be an exceptionally powerful and useful way to summon them to his side, but Voldemort would need an agent to got and deliver his instructions to his international followers, also if my ability to understand their native language was kept a secret then I would be able to effectively spy on their most important meetings, listen for any betrayals. Oh and I learned Goblin because my sword master only spoke Goblin and Japanese so it was learn either of them, or be punished for not understanding him."
It was then that Voldemort's plans for his son came into full scope for Hermione and she squeezed Rags' hand in sympathy, which she hadn't released since they had gotten up from the bench in the courtyard, 'It must be horrible to think that your only purpose in life is to be the slave of an evil megalomaniac, and to know that the person you would have been sent to try to kill is now one of your closest friends' she thought to herself.
"Rags that's terrible, I can't say this enough but I am sorry that you had to go through all of that" she squeezed his hand again and after a moment smiled a small flirtatious smile and said "but lets put that behind us today, and will you please answer one more teensy little question for me?"
Rags mock-sighed again and said "Well if it's for you, I suppose I could. But what's in it for me? Nothing in this life is for free Hermione, you should know that."
Hermione just smiled that little flirtatious smile again and winked at him, she had no idea that she herself could tease someone like this, but if the look in Rags' eyes was anything to go on she would to this to him more often.
"Well" she said going back to being serious "I wondered why you never told us that your eyes change colour when you access your magical core?"
Rags' eyes widened in shock "My eyes do what?" he exclaimed, his voice was so loud that it reverberated around the alcove like room that he and Hermione were standing in.
Little did the pair of them know but there was someone else who had heard their entire conversation up to this point, for after all Harry Potter was not the only one to have made use of the secret passages and pathways of Hogwarts, indeed this mysterious person, hell bent on revenge, had been taught by the best since the Marauders.
This person had listened carefully to the whole conversation and had pieced together enough information to get an accurate idea of the overall discussion, so with a sinister smirk lingering on their faces, they moved away from their peep hole, and with a swirl of Gryffindor robes and red hair, they moved off up the passage to report on this latest development to their ally.
A/N: Jesus, Mary and Joseph that was a long freaking chapter, hope you enjoyed it. Oh and thank you to all that reviewed, and those who left constructive comments they are greatly appreciated, I'm trying my bets to improve my writing style, but it is an ongoing process.
Oh and there are two parts in this chapter that need to be translated, just so everybody is clear, I am neither a native Norwegian nor Italian speaker and the text provided is from an online translator. The Norwegian bit says "Fuck me that can't be right" and the Italian is "Stupid fucking ring, that's it, the next time that some shit brained relative sends me a piece shit antique ring, I am melting it down and turning it into clasps for my sword sheath".
Also and for those of you who want to get an accurate idea of what a Wolfen looks like, try to imagine a traditional Werewolf, not the one from the third movie, looked a bit like a Rat to me, more like something out of Underworld or Van-Helsing please Read and Review Cheers TBK