Disclaimer: Not mine…the only thing I own is the Monogatari family and friends and their story!
A/N: Sorry this took so long…I've had work and hadn't really felt like writing…you know what helps with that? Actual reviews! Please?
There is now a poll on my profile page about this fanfic! Please go check it out...hopefully it is showing up.
Chapter 13
Darkness
Hermione sat up suddenly, her pajamas sticking to her damp skin, her chest heaving in an attempt to catch her breath. Looking around the dark room, she pushed her hair off her forehead, where it had become plastered with sweat.
Then the dream rushed through her memory.
It was all so real.
She threw the covers off, exposing her bare legs. Quickly, she pulled her knee up closer to her, observing the inner portion looking for any hint of an injury. There was none. Automatically, on instinct, her hand reached up and cupped her neck, over the area she had allowed Kuro to drink from. She felt the slight swell of the area reminding her of just what a short while ago that was.
Her eyes drifted to the window. The sky was no longer a dark midnight, but slowly turning to a lighter shade of dark…a grayish shade of the coming morning. Was there any sense in going back to sleep now? She wouldn't be asleep long, if at all, before she had no choice, but to get up and start her day.
She slid out of her bed, enjoying the coolness of the floor on the bottom of her feet. She stepped toward the window glancing out over the grey landscape. Her eyes flickered over the grass and treetops before something caught her eye…a movement on the edge of the forest. She leaned out slightly as if that would help her see better at such a distance. She could have sworn she saw something…someone move only to be swallowed by the darkness the Forbidden Forest offered.
She could see no one though.
The treetops rustled in the breeze. Her eyes swept over the boundaries of the forest she could see. There was nothing…no indication of a presence. As the sun began to rise up over the horizon, she still felt eyes on her, watching her every move, but it was oddly comforting.
"Miss Granger, surely you do not plan to waste away in your room all day."
Hermione turned from the window to face the blond man…the only man the stairs to her dorm would recognize and allow up. She missed the cloaked figure moving from the forest only to disappear back into the darkness.
A coldness swept over Hermione.
She wrapped her arms around herself as if that would warm her. Lucius eyed her curiously.
"You still wear the bracelet," Lucius said as if to explain what he was about to say. "I am going to the Great Hall and will watch to make sure you arrive in due time. Do not dally."
He turned to leave the room. Hermione felt a surge of panic rush through her. She took two quick steps forward.
"No!"
Lucius turned and looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow.
"No," she said calmer. "I'll not be long."
Lucius turned fully to face her. He looked down his nose at her…his grey eyes dancing with delight.
"Am I to assume you wish for me to see you to the Great Hall?"
She hated admitting it, but the thought of being away from Lucius for any length of time sent a chill down her spine and fear coursing through her veins. Slowly, she nodded her head…averting her eyes to her feet as her toes twitched in nervousness.
"Very well," Lucius said looking around her room as if trying to find something. "I will give you thirty minutes and no more. If you take longer I will leave without you."
His eyes landed back on her and she was looking at him rather somber and subdued, but nodded her head in acceptance of his terms and conditions. The moment he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him, Hermione ran through the room gathering her things and thanking Merlin the Head Girl got a private bathroom.
In the common room Lucius waited…sitting on the sofa as if it were his throne, watching the various Gryffindors scurry passed him in their rush to breakfast. He really wasn't one to enjoy waiting, but it seemed since he was put in charge of Hermione's safety that was all he had been doing…waiting. He was tired of waiting. The room slowly dwindled of the few occupants it had and Lucius' mind remained on the young woman up in her room about to come down. The young woman that needed him.
"Is there nothing you would sacrifice for that which you hold dear?"
Those words Kuro spoke to him when he had him imprisoned seemed to replay in his mind. He smiled to himself. After all, the unbreakable vow he made with Severus regarding Hermione's safety died with Severus. Lucius was no longer bound by the vow. He experienced a sudden rush of freedom and power. He was not under the thumb of anyone any longer…even if only in appearances alone. Lupin hadn't come prowling in to make him perform the vow with him. No one seemed real worried at the moment…not with a mad vampire raving about for their precious little Gryffindor.
Suddenly his view of the fire was cut off…the light blocked from his face. Lucius looked up into the face of the young woman he was just thinking about. Her eyes swam with confusion and uncertainties making them appear darker than they normally were, her hair remained down, a habit she seemed to have picked up as of late and she fidgeted with her hands in front of her.
Yes, she was lost.
She was confused.
And Lucius would help her find her way.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Blimey, did you have to schedule a practice tonight of all nights," Ron asked with a mouth full of food and steadily adding more.
Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice, his eyes cut toward his friend and a smile of amusement on his face.
"Our first game is this Saturday, Ron. We need all the practice we can get if we want to win the cup," Harry explained.
Ron half nodded his head as if to say he agreed, but didn't really like it.
It was not so early in the morning that the Great Hall was nearly empty, but seemed to be at peak time for breakfast. The hall held a soft rumble of voices as it often did with the occasional squeal here or there evoked from this girl or that and a ruckus laughter of the student body every so often. It wasn't overly loud as it would be at lunch time when everyone was more awake and alert, but it was still distinctly noticeable when the soft rumble of voices slowly died away to utter silence.
Harry and Ron noticed and looked at each other questionably before looking around and noticing everyone looking toward the entrance of the Great Hall. At first, Harry thought he was seeing things until he heard Ron make an odd strangled sound as if choking on his food. Harry turned his attention to his red-headed friend for a moment, just long enough to whack him a good one on the back and dislodge whatever food had become stuck in his shock.
Lucius Malfoy had entered the Great Hall, not that his presence in the school was any great shock to anyone. By now, everyone knew he was there and why. And though, those reasons alone still held a wave of aftershock to them, it was Hermione's presence today that created the stillness. This was her first time back in the Great Hall since Severus' death and she didn't just enter as she normally would, with her head held high daring anyone to mess with her. No. She lingered in Lucius' shadow as if wishing to be hidden by it, embracing that shadow like a security blanket that would get her through the day.
Harry watched with the rest of the school as Hermione slid into her normal seat at the Gryffindor table, still in Lucius' shadow. He stood tall and proud, looking down his nose at everyone creating an uncomfortable atmosphere of hostility as if he were looking for someone to hex in the name of Hermione. Harry's forehead scrunched up in concern and worry as his eyes drifted from Lucius to Hermione. Her eyes were cast down at her plate, currently empty of any food. Harry didn't take his eyes off her though, not until he heard Lucius' footsteps moving from the table.
Harry never knew Hermione could be so fast.
In that instant she was worthy of a Seeker.
She turned and her hand reached out, grabbing a handful of Lucius' robes.
"Stay," she whispered.
Lucius turned back, looking down his nose at Hermione and then to the empty seat next to her. Her eyes looked up at him…pleading with him to just sit there with her. She really was broken. With a curt nod, he swiftly took the seat next to her. Harry's eyes quickly shifted to Ron, worried about the repercussions that would follow this little development. Ron looked positively ill and beyond angry. His ears had already turned bright red before he stood and left the table mumbling something incoherent. Hermione paid him no attention.
As Harry watched Ron flee the Great Hall his eyes glanced toward the Slytherin table. Draco's eyes were on Hermione…his forehead scrunched up in what Harry knew to be concern, but those around Draco thought to be annoyance. So, even Draco knew something was not quite right with Hermione. Harry's eyes fell back across the table, choosing to ignore the very Slytherin companion at her side. She had dished up a plate of eggs and bacon and was taking rather small bites as if to do nothing but make a show of eating, but not actually doing so. Harry picked up his goblet of pumpkin juice, eyes meeting Lucius' as he took a sip.
Something just wasn't right.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Hermione took a deep sigh and scanned the room. Professor Binns was at the front of the class where he typically hovered and lectured non stop, never bothering to realize he was unable to write on the chalk board anymore. Harry sat next to her, pretending to listen, but in reality she noticed a Quidditch play book in front of him and a parchment with notes about practice and the upcoming game. On the other side of Harry sat Ron looking just as disgruntled as he appeared at breakfast and doodling madly on a piece of parchment.
She shifted slightly in her chair and found the man that would follow her around…the man that would protect her…the man that would watch her through those otherwise icy eyes with something that seemed to thaw those cold emotions his eyes held.
He was all she had left.
Her last connection to Severus.
She would not lose him.
Hermione started and looked around. Harry was looking at her with deep concern. She seemed to be looking around in confusion as to what all the noise was about, taking her a moment to realize that class was over. Ron had already stood up, temporarily forgetting his displeasure with Hermione enough to lean over Harry and look down at Hermione's notes.
"You going to let me copy those," he asked completely confident that she would.
She looked at him completely galled at his behavior. Her fiery brown eyes burned into Ron before she turned and began to furiously shove her things into her bag.
"What," Ron asked totally perplexed at her sudden anger.
She slung her bag over her shoulder as Lucius approached ready to escort her to her next destination.
"Would it kill you, Ronald Weasley to just do your own work for once?"
She turned, barely registering Lucius' hand on her back in a guiding manner as she stormed from the room like a force to be reckoned with. Ron blinked and then looked down at Harry who was placing his things in his bag as the next class began to file in.
"Blimey! What is her problem?"
Harry shook his head and stood up.
"Sorry, mate, but you had that one coming for quite a while now."
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Miss Granger is just fine."
Lucius stood in the Headmistress' office looking down his nose at all present in complete exasperation of their mollycoddling where the young woman was concerned.
"She most certainly is not," Professor McGonagall said feeling so passionate about her position on the subject that she stood up from behind her desk and moved swiftly around to the other side, placing herself between Lucius and her desk.
Remus stepped forward at this point.
"Minerva," he said in an attempt to get her attention and calm her down.
Her eyes flickered for a moment on Remus with a warning not to interrupt, making him feel like the awkward eleven-year-old student of hers he once was. He held his hands up in surrender and stepped back.
"I have been watching her for days, Lucius. She hides behind you. What do you have her so frightened of that she doesn't want to leave your side?"
Lucius looked at the Headmistress with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"I have not created that fear in her…that vampire has by taking those she loves from her one by one."
McGonagall sighed in irritation and looked toward Remus as if pleading for help in a situation where she was limited to what she could say. Remus recognized the look and feeling his boyhood slowly moving back to manhood, he stepped forward.
"We can't be so sure of that," he said trying not to say too much.
Lucius' head cocked slightly to the side and looked between the two. Just like when he followed the Dark Lord, things were being kept from him. His icy glare landed on Remus, who didn't seem bothered in the least by it. Remus shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm sorry, but was it or was it not Death Eaters that attacked and consequently killed Severus," Lucius asked as if speaking to a child.
"It was," Remus answered.
"And is that vampire not the one leading them now?"
Again, Remus and McGonagall exchanged looks as if mentally communicating how much to give away.
"Well," Remus started slowly. "We received word of a schism in the Death Eaters."
"And," Lucius prompted.
"And," Remus continued. "All we know currently is that means there are two leaders with two different agendas. Also," Remus paused glancing quickly at McGonagall. "The Lestrange brothers have been split in this schism…they are on opposing sides of whatever is happening amongst the Death Eaters."
Lucius' eyes narrowed as if that thought angered him…his lip curled up in his classic display of disgust.
"And I take it Rodolphus chose the wrong side?"
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Harry walked through the library…hair plastered to his forehead by the sweat that still clung to his skin, t-shirt half tucked into his jeans and smudges of dirt across his cheek from what appeared to have been a rough Quidditch practice. Ron followed behind in much the same condition as Harry, but perhaps less harassed looking. That was a privilege that came with being captain. The soft giggles of some of the female student body was largely ignored by Harry, but definitely noticed by Ron as he slowed down enough to flash a smirk their way and run his hand through his hair.
When Harry reached the corner Hermione normally studied in, he turned around as if double checking where he had just been.
"She's not here," he said with a hint of surprise to his voice.
Ron pulled his eyes away from the female population of the library and glanced around the little nook Hermione was nearly always found in, as if she would be hiding behind a book or something.
"Now what," Ron asked sounding rather perplexed at her disappearing act and reluctant to have to put forth that much more effort just to apologize for his behavior. With a deep sigh of annoyance at Ron, Harry reached into his back pocket and produced an old looking piece of parchment. Unfolding the parchment, he laid it out on the table before them and with the simple words, the lines began to appear on the parchment creating an outline of the school and the dots began moving about. Harry saw McGonagall in her office with Lucius and Remus…odd. He saw the professors in their various quarters and students all about scurrying back to their common rooms before curfew was too close. It wasn't wise to be caught out after curfew.
"There it is," Ron said pointing to a labeled dot in the Astronomy Tower.
Harry looked where Ron was pointing and sure enough Hermione's dot could be seen moving across the room, probably from the door, and there her dot became rather still…oddly still to Harry. He leaned down closer to the map.
Hermione wasn't alone.
Draco was there, but that wasn't what was bothering Harry.
It was the other dot…the dot that seemed clear at first until the dot seemed to waver between clearly being there and being some transparent sort of dot, but its label…its name was blurred making it completely unreadable. Someone was up there with those two and who knew who it was. Harry and Ron both looked at each other. Harry snatched the map up, not bothering to wipe it and began a mad dash for the door of the library, Ron quickly followed both ignoring the disapproving sounds of Madam Pince.
Harry kept his eyes on the map as he and Ron moved quickly through the school. Harry noticed Hermione's dot shift slightly when Draco's dot came closer. Their dots were meshed together and it gave Harry an odd feeling. Exactly what was going on between those two? Ron had been looking over his shoulder at the map and it was safe to say Ron was no longer in an apologizing mood. This was obvious when Ron suddenly stopped.
Harry took about three or four steps before he realized Ron was no longer with him. He nervously looked down at the map and then back up to Ron.
"What is it, Ron? We need to get there…she could be in trouble."
Ron shook his head.
"You can go, Harry. She doesn't need me."
Harry stood there with his mouth hanging open as Ron turned and walked in the opposite direction. Harry shook his head, deciding to deal with Ron later and looked down at the map. Something definitely was not right.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
She was sitting on the ground with her back against the wall when Draco found her. He didn't say anything at first, choosing to only walk over toward the edge of the tower and look up at the sky thinking back to his time up here with Dumbledore.
Hermione watched him wondering what was wrong…what was on his mind and what he planned to do. Finally, he sighed and turned around to face her.
"So," Draco said leaning back against the low hung wall of the tower. "What happened to the Know-It-All Granger that I once hated?"
Hermione's eyes shifted from the moon to Draco and shrugged one shoulder before shifting her eyes down toward Draco's feet.
"I don't know," she whispered. "Nothing's the same."
Draco looked around for a moment…he had a strange feeling they weren't alone. Then he took slow steps toward Hermione, sliding down the wall next to her. His knees were pulled up some, his wrists resting on them as his hands dangled between his knees.
"Nothing stays the same, Hermione," Draco said.
He looked at her as if looking for some sign, some indication that perhaps he should go to the Headmistress about her. She gently laid her head on his shoulder.
"I just feel…I don't know lost and cold…except…"
Hermione stopped. Draco's eyebrow arched in curiosity as he turned his head slightly to look down at her the best he could for the position they were in. Her hair tickled his nose, but he paid it no attention.
"Except…," he tried to urge her to continue.
She shook her head and whispered, "nothing."
Draco took a deep breath. It really irritated him that something was clearly bothering her, beyond Snape's death and she still wasn't comfortable enough to tell him.
"Except what, Granger?"
Hermione felt the deep rumble of his voice from where her head lay on his shoulder. She could hear the sound of his voice and the inflection of annoyance.
"Except when he's around," she said so softly Draco almost missed it.
"My father," he asked, not real sure if that was who she was referring to, but part of him told him it was not so.
He felt her shake her head slightly.
"No, when your father is nearby…I feel…I don't know…thankful and relieved I can hide in his shadow. I don't wish to let go of that."
Silence followed that statement. Draco sat there contemplating who it could be, trying to deny what he had figured out in his own mind. Hermione had her eyes closed, thankful for the silence. Finally, Draco swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Hermione, is it Kuro? Is he the one…?"
The door suddenly burst open and Harry came running in looking like a mad Potter on a mission. Hermione's head rose up from Draco's shoulder looking at Harry curiously. Draco smirked; one eyebrow rose up in amusement. Harry stared wide-eyed between the two and then proceeded to look all around. Hermione stood up, wiping her skirt for any potential dirt.
"Harry, what are you looking for?"
He held the map out to her, eyeing Draco as if to warn him to stay away. Draco shook his head, but remained there on the floor staring up at the moon. Hermione looked down at the map and where Harry was pointing. There was a dot that seemed to waver between being clearly there and not…its name was a blurred block or letters that could not be read. She looked up to Harry and then her eyes shifted over to the low wall where the dot apparently was at.
No one was there.
She took a tentative step in that direction. Harry jumped to grab her, but she shook her head no and indicated for him to stay put. He watched nervously as Hermione stepped over by where the dot was on the map. If he looked at the map he could see she was standing directly next to it. Her hands rested on the low wall and she looked out at the darkened landscape. She took a deep breath.
"Kuro sent you," she whispered.
She didn't know how she knew, but she knew it was not Kuro himself.
"Is that why I've been so out of sorts," she said softly. "Because he is nowhere near me? Why is it like that?"
No one said anything. She glanced behind her and across the tower. Draco watched curiously and Harry nodded as if telling her whoever it was was still there. She sighed and turned back around, glancing down over the wall at the ground below.
"Tell me," she continued to whisper. "If I jump from this tower…plummet to my death will you then show yourself…or face the consequences when you return to Kuro? I know…I know he doesn't want me hurt. Perhaps we should test this theory."
Hermione made a move to climb up on the wall when she suddenly felt something grab her upper arm and hold it tightly…so tightly she wondered if the others could see. She stopped her movement and looked down at her arm where she felt the vice grip.
"Baka! You will do no such thing."
She recognized that voice…she thought.
"Hermione, let's get out of here," Harry said suddenly, having a bad feeling.
Hermione turned to look at Harry noticing whoever was sent to guard her on Kuro's end had released his grip on her.
"Fine," she said and slowly wandered out the door with a slight wave to Draco on her way.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Their side of the world was sound asleep…resting their eyes…their bodies…waiting for the rising sun.
Kuro sat at the head of the long dining room table, slowly savoring each bite of blood red meat he took…allowing the red liquid in his goblet to tease his senses and bring back the memory of her taste. He slowly lowered the goblet, moving his tongue slowly across his top lip.
The double doors that led to the dining room suddenly opened and Ayame walked in as if he were king…his usual stance of arrogance and aristocracy. Kuro's dark eyes looked up from his plate, watching Ayame's every move. Ayame held the book from the archive…the one Chi brought back…the one with the Oracle's words. Ayame plopped it down on the table where the sound echoed. Chi sat at the table enjoying his meal. He looked from the book to Ayame and pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger.
"Well, Ayame? Everything she says points to Kuro does it not?"
Ayame's jaw was set as it often did when he was angered…when he had to admit he was wrong. His eyes darted toward something on the wall before looking down at Chi with the same set jaw and angry fire dancing in his eyes.
"Yes, Chi, it appears to, but these things can still be deceiving."
Chi nodded, conceding the point as he picked up his goblet. Then, Ayame's eyes shifted to Kuro.
"She knows someone is watching her, Kuro."
Kuro dropped his chopsticks and looked up at Ayame, suddenly standing up and moving toward Ayame.
"What do you mean?"
Ayame rolled his eyes.
"I mean she knows. She couldn't see me, but she spoke to me. This connection, Kuro? This attachment you have to her? She can feel it and she doesn't understand it. You are treading on very dangerous ground."
Kuro looked at Ayame from the top of his eyes, nostrils flaring in anger.
"That is for me to decide, Ayame, not you…"
In Ayame's anger, he interrupted Kuro.
"Kuro! Do you know what this connection to her is? Do you know the cause?"
"Yes, I do!" Kuro stepped closer.
Chi dropped his chopsticks watching anxiously, yet ready to attempt to break up any fight that appeared close to breaking out.
"Then you know this is insane! She is nothing more than an answer!"
Chi saw the anger…the insanity boiling up in Kuro. He knew it was coming and immediately stood up and backed away from the dining room table, barely getting out of the way in time before Kuro sent everything on the table flying across the room with a loud clatter followed by the sound of shattering plates barely audible over his yell of insane anger and denial. Kuro turned back toward Ayame, who looked perfectly calm with his anger simmering just above the surface.
"I am not whole without her," Kuro spoke in a deadly quiet voice.
Ayame snorted.
"She is an ordinary girl, Kuro and we live in a darkness she will never understand." He turned and moved toward the door to leave. Then, Ayame stopped with his hand on the door knob and turned to look back at Kuro. He took a deep breath as if to keep himself calm. And like an eerie foreshadowing of the future or a haunting memory of Ayame's past, he softly spoke his final words on the subject.
"The darkness devours…it is unforgiving…no outsider will leave untouched…unharmed by it…your life is best spent alone."
A/N: Please review…I'm starting to think all those people with this story on alert aren't really reading it!
Baka: Japanese for idiot, silly, foolish, ect.