It has been ten days. Ten long, tiring days, she thought as she took off the luxurious chiffon dress and changed back into the provided leggings and long sleeve top before deciding to stretch her body a bit.
She jumped down from the sturdy iron chandelier and flipped over midair to test her flexibility. Her landing was near featherlight and crouched, poised for a strike in seconds. She had been lethal before but this new body of hers was the body of a predator. Her footsteps were without a sound, her senses were open and fast. So far she discovered that she couldn't fly but she can jump pretty high, even all the way up to the ceiling which she touched with her palm before gravity forced her back down. She also discovered that she wasn't tired. She only needed a couple of hours for a nap, whatever time of the day, and she was fine. If she felt restless, she didn't sleep at all but her body didn't suffer for it too much.
Bright sunny days irritated her eyes a little but not too badly, and her skin was just fine. She expected maybe an itch or something, but apparently they've evolved enough to adapt to the sun. That was an interesting thought, maybe she could write an accurate book about vampires for a change, instead of all the 'dark creatures, must kill' crap.
A rat slipped into her room earlier that day and she used it to satisfy her urge to hunt, observing and tackling it before letting it go and doing it again. And again. And again. The creature was petrified at the end of it so she sighed and let it go out the window so it could find a better place to stay. Her mind was sharp and utterly bored, tired of plotting and waiting for the right moment, but she forced herself to be patient.
They kept her away from their operations as much as they could. The room where they gathered was the most furthest from her room and their words were hard to make out, much more muffled and hard to focus on with all the other sounds such as traffic and the humans that were guarding them. And each evening she was brought a new dress to add to her growing collection and joined her maker for their version of a dinner and chat, sometimes chess. She sensed it won't be long now though. She felt his desire for her, his want. She would be invited to his chambers one evening, and that's when she would have a golden opportunity to slip him the poison. Her nose wrinkled in distaste at the thought of not being able to avoid having sex with the cretin, to make him relax his guard a little, but she would do what she had to do in order to get out of this place and back home.
She sighed and after hanging the dress up in the provided wardrobe picked up one of the English paperbacks the man had foresight to give her in order to keep her somehow occupied. But her mind kept returning to the four people in her life that she wishes she could see again. Draco, who was surely searching for her along with the whole team, Fred, who was probably keeping them all going, George, who was either pissed at her or worrying himself silly, and her little Roxy, whose heart she must have broken when she didn't fulfil her promise to spend another night. Her immortal heart clenched at the thought of the little girl, crying because of her.
If only there was some way to speak to them. She tried sending a physical message but her magical was still very volatile without her wand and with her body magic changing. She kept practicing but it was difficult to not overdo the strength of certain spells. It would be at least another three days before she managed to find her magical balance with enough time to train. There was also astral projection, which apparently was the natural gift of some vampires as she once read, but after endless failed tries, she concluded it was definitely not hers. She could just hear Draco's teasing comments 'You? The brightest witch of her age actually not good at something? My my, how the mighty have fallen'. She huffed at the perfect imitation of his snide voice in her head and rolled her eyes. This was getting her nowhere.
Her latest attempts have been to dream travel. Reznikov has done it to her, and she knew she could do it to others, but the instructions were vague to the point of nonexistent, as it was something the vampire community kept close to their chests. she couldn't recall one tome that mentioned any details, and she could recall 23 different tomes she had read on the topic of vampirism during Hogwarts. There must be a way. Maybe she was trying the wrong person. Draco would have been the most useful to speak to, but there was something stopping her from approaching his mind. She wouldn't be surprised if he took potions to stop his nightmares, making it all the more difficult for her to break in. Maybe she should start with the easiest, Roxy.
She got comfortable in the bed and checked the time to make sure her calculations were right. It was nearing 7 in the morning, so it would be about 4 am in Britain. Roxy didn't get up until five or six usually so she would still be hopefully sleeping. With a last check around her, she heard nothing that would disturb her and curled up comfortably, trying this again. She cleared her mind one thought at a time until all she could think about was Roxy. She visualised her beautiful little face with happy, chubby cheeks, caramel skin, her bright green eyes and bouncy tight curls. It was when she focused on those eyes that she felt herself traveling forward in her mind.
She found herself inside a dream. They were in a meadow, in the Forest, and she could see herself and Roxy as they walked around and she taught her about the different muggle and magical herbs. Hermione waited a moment, knowing her presence would be noticed the moment she stepped forward. There was something serene and simple about the dreams of an eight year old and she hated to burst the bubble but there was no telling how long she would maintain the connection.
Taking careful steps she came closer to dream Roxy and watched her dream self dissipate as Roxy focused on her and the team became lucid instead of natural.
"Mimi?" she asked, her voice soft and bit broken as he bottom lip shook with suppressed tears.
Hermione knelt down and pulled her close into her embrace, feeling the little arms come around her tightly. "I came to visit as soon as I could," she sighed before pulling away a little to look at Roxy.
"I know I am sleeping, but how can you be here when I'm sleeping?" she asked confused.
Hermione caressed her cheek gently. "Because I learned how to speak in dreams," she explained, knowing she was smart enough to relay that to Fred and George as well.
"When will you come back? I miss you," Roxy liked like she was going to cry again and Hermione pulled her close to soothe her.
"Soon, a few days hopefully. I'm sorry I had to leave so suddenly. I miss you very much, and promise to take you for a hot chocolate when I come home," she smooched her cheek until Roxy giggled at the tickles.
"Okay, but daddy is sad and sometimes angry, and uncle Freddie is always with the blond man whispering about something. Will you take them out for a hot chocolate too?" she asked hopefully.
Hermione sighed internally, understanding that George was unhappy with her and Fred was as always keeping things together and badgering Draco for information. Good, there was a chance they were working with the blond and that meant they would all get the message. "I promise to do so if they want to come with us. Now, I need you to listen carefully, and when you wake up tell daddy, uncle Freddie and the blond man that I came to you while you slept and that I have a message for them. Will you tell them the message?" she asked.
Roxy nodded her head seriously, sensing this was important. "What is the message, Mimi?"
"I am in Belarus. Sasha holds me with his coven. I will dispatch him and return in a few days. Don't follow," she said everything clearly. "Do you remember all of that?" she asked gently.
Roxy nodded. "You are in Belarus, Sasha has you in his cave, you will…dispash him and return in a few days. Don't follow," she repeated proudly.
Hermione nodded. Good enough, that will do. Draco will know what that means. "That's my clever girl. Tell in to them as soon as you wake up so you don't forget it. And remember, I will always love you," she kissed her forehead.
"Don't go!" Roxy hugged her tightly, unwilling to let her go just yet.
Hermione rubbed her back gently and looked into her eyes. "I will be back soon. Wake up now, it is morning…."
She pushed with her mind and found herself back in the chamber, alone again and with the knowledge that Roxy was awake.
…
His tea cup hit the ground as George turned around in haste, complete disbelief in his face as he listened to his daughter talk over her cereal. "What do you mean she came to you in a dream?" he asked, wondering what the hell that meant.
Draco grinned over his coffee and looked at the little girl across the table from him. Smart girl, and smart Granger. "She was in a dream but it didn't feel like a dream? Did you know you were asleep and will be waking up soon?" he asked, describing something the girl probably didn't have a capacity to.
She nodded, her smile bright once again at the knowledge that her Mimi will be back soon. "She says she has a message for you, and daddy, and uncle Freddie,"
"And do you remember this message?" Draco coaxed, hoping it would be somewhat coherent.
Roxy nodded vigorously. "Mimi said she's in Belarus, Sasha has her in his cave, she will dispash him and return in a few days. Don't follow," she repeated proudly.
Draco worked through the message and leaned back in his chair heavily. Good, that meant Hermione had her wits about her and a means to kill the bastard. Cave though? Creepy much? And Belarus of all places? This will be a diplomatic hazard, but he'll leave that up to Kingsley to resolve. He just prayed that Hermione was alright, thought the traveling in dreams worried him. That was something very few wizards and witches could do, but something vampires were practiced in. If she was turned, her life would be forever affected by it and she would watch them all die some die in her immortality. He shuddered at the idea of such an existence but decided not to dwell on it. They will have to simply wait and see what happened to her.
"Hey! Where are you off to? What does that even mean?" George questioned him when Draco got up.
"And why is she in Belarus?" Fred added, crossing his arms over his chest.
Draco sighed tiredly. These two were formidable for sure, but gave him a bit of a headache. "Ministry. It means we wait for her to come home. And Belarus is where her mission was," he answered one question after the other and slipped past, heading for the floo. "Later!" he called over his shoulder and was gone.