Chapter 9
Hermione was the last of the three to enter the burned remains of the Snowflake Inn. Her body was cold from snow and still sore from the fight they with that "golem," that's what Logan called it. They had spent an hour examining the stone monster, but came up empty handed, once again. Since they could not find anything useful, Ron suggested returning to Winter's Crest. She was still shaking from the encounter, but the young witch tried to cover her compulsion to tremble by blaming it on the cold. The young witch even rubbed her hands together and pressed them against the sides of her arms to play the part.
Logan was in poor condition after the fight. He blamed his "performance" on poor dieting as they trekked through the forest. Ron had to support the masked wizard when they made their way to deserted village. Logan had a severe limp, but thankfully, there was no bleeding. However, Hermione's focus was on warm air rising from his right hand. She attributed the strange sign to the overuse of the gauntlet. Ron appeared to be in the best shaped out of the three. Hermione figured her friend was riding on he high of slaying the monster, and he had every right to be proud of himself, Hermione was. Unfortunately, she was not too impressed with his method of decapitating the creature and was going to be sour about the totem for a while.
They decided to use Harry's room at the Inn since it provided both a clear line of sight and adequate protection from the elements. When they entered the room, Ron plopped Logan on the bed of rags and grabbed one of the blankets on the floor. He used the dirty rag to cover the giant opening in the wall with an enchantment. Then with a flick of his wand, Ron started a small fire in the middle of the room. He pushed the brass dish closer to Logan and took his spot near the opening. The fire served as a great source of light, but generated very little heat.
Hermione took a seat close to the door and looked over at Logan as he tried to make himself comfortable. "Let me see your hand."
"It's fine," Logan muttered coldly, but raised his hand up anyways for her to examine. Hermione took his hand quickly before he could change his mind and twisted it slightly to capture as much light as possible from the fire. Logan was correct to her dismay. There were no burns or signs of healing, his hand looked perfectly fine. However, Hermione could not ignore the heat that his hand was emitting. It was actually warmer than the fire Ron had made.
"How did you do that?" Hermione questioned about the gauntlet. She took it out from her bag. It was also warm to the touch, but it did not burn her.
"Yeah," Ron joined the conversation, "that was wicked."
"It's an ancient weapon," Logan coughed. Before continuing, he opened his satchel and searched through it. He pulled out a small piece of bread and offered it to Hermione and Ron, but they both declined with a shake of their heads. With a shrug, Logan proceeded to tear it apart. "I found it during an excavation."
Hermione and Ron exchange looks. The young witch decided to push first, "You found it during an excavation? Just like that? And where were you excavating?"
"It's complicated," Logan chocked slightly on the bread. "I'm not comfortable discussing its origins, but I'll tell you what it does."
"That's obvious," Ron grimaced. "It uses magic."
"Yes and no," Logan replied. "It's magic, but you don't have to be a wizard to use it."
"Excuse me?" Hermione wondered.
"You don't need an aptitude for magic to use its power." There was a long silence between the three of them.
"You mean," Ron inferred, "a Muggle can use it too?"
"That's what I said, but it's not that simple." Logan finished his small meal and took the gauntlet from Hermione. "To power the weapon, it draws from the midi-chorlians in your body."
"Midi-what?" Ron asked.
"I'm just pulling your leg," Logan chuckled. "That gauntlet absorbs the energy and heat your body naturally creates."
"That means, the only way for the weapon to function at its fullest potential," the young witch deduced, "the user must be fully rested."
"Brilliant," Ron muttered.
"10 points to Gryffindor," Logan chimed.
"How'd you know we were in Gryffindor?" Hermione asked the masked wizard with great concern in her voice.
"Oh please," Logan defended. "You're both famous, maybe not as famous as Mr. Potter, but famous nonetheless." This put Hermione at ease, but she kept her reservations and suspicions to herself. She still knew very little about Logan, and she was confidant that he was hiding something from them. It may not have been important, but she did not like it. However, the young witch had to put some trust into him, regardless of personal feelings.
"If I put that thing on," Hermione gestured at the gauntlet, "I could create electricity and punch things too?"
"Possibly," Logan responded. "The weapon gives the user certain control over one of the elements. It depends on the person on which element is wielded."
"So I could create fire?" Hermione asked.
"Preciously."
"What about that golem?" Ron changed the subject. "It wasn't like any enchanted statue I've ever seen before."
Logan adjusted the sheets before answering. "I don't know. Probably another weapon."
"This doesn't make any sense," Hermione muttered.
"It's that why you're here?" Logan prodded.
"We should get some rest," Ron yawned loudly, interrupting the momentary silence. He removed some blankets from his personal bag and used them as makeshift padding. The young Auror sat up against the wall, making sure he had a clear view of the village before falling asleep. Hermione was always envious of Ron's ability to sleep anywhere, and bitterly followed his example.
"What are you going to do now?" Logan asked as Hermione lied down next to the fire.
"What do you mean?" She turned her head towards the masked wizard, looking over her shoulder. He was eating beef jerky. What was with this guy? Despite her suspicions, Logan seemed familiar to her. She gave in to her curiosity to continue the conversation and rolled over, her back now facing the fire.
"To be honest," Logan bit off a chunk of the jerky, "we've hit a dead end. Harry's not here, and we don't have any more leads. What are you going to do?" Logan pulled a blank from the bed of rags and tossed to her. He must have noticed she was shivering, and she took it begrudgingly.
"That doesn't matter," Hermione replied and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. She thought about his question for a moment. He was right about their current situation, but that did not mean she was going to give up. Harry would not give up on them, and neither would she. "I'm going to keep looking and never stop."
"Really?" Logan continued pushing.
"Yes," Hermione said firmly. "I might have to start over and look somewhere else, but I don't care. I refused to give up."
"What is he to you?"
The young witched opened her mouth slightly to respond, but stopped to gather her thoughts. What was Harry to her, exactly? Harry was more than just a friend to her. He had always been there for her and she was always there for him. However, she had not seen him for months, and she has never fully expressed her feelings to him. What would his reaction be when they found him? Hermione pushed her doubts out of her mind and focused on the fact that she loved him. He was the one.
"He's everything to me," Hermione replied coolly as she rolled back over. She closed her eyes, and the young witch finally released how exhausted she was. It was nice to be relaxing and somewhat comfortable. She let the sleep take her to a better place.
"Hermione," the young witch heard her name called out from the darkness. It was merely a whisper, and she tried to push it out of her mind. Hermione wanted to sleep and dream more about happier times. She had only closed her eyes a few moments ago.
"Hermione." This time the voice was a loud hiss and grabbed her attention. She gave up on sleeping and slowly lifted up her head towards the direction of the voice. It was Ron.
"What?" Hermione asked, agitated. "It's been like five minutes."
"What are you talking about? It's almost morning, get over here," Ron muttered as he waved her over. Hermione let out a sigh and crawled over to him, the blankets and robes still wrapped around her.
"What's going on?" she wondered.
"Just stay quiet," Ron whispered. Hermione peered through the opening between the wall and blanket. She could see Logan standing in the street below; he was near the entrance of the Inn. Two hooded figures stood before him, and Hermione could see the reflection of last remaining stars off their respective masks.
"More Vanguard," Hermione whispered, and Ron nodded in agreement.
"You were ordered to stay away from the temple," the wizard on the left said.
"It's not my fault they found the map, Morris," Logan explained. "You should have done a better job of cleaning up the place."
"But Logan discovered the map," Ron corrected.
"Why did you lead them to the Inn?" the other wizard asked.
"It wasn't that simple," Logan argued. "Don't underestimate them, I warned spectres."
Before the wizards could continue their argument, another hooded figure apparated behind them. The wizard wore dark red robes with a red mask to match. The young witch could see the red tint shining off the mask.
"Logan," the wizard greeted. "Morris, Jacobs."
"Your Grace," Logan gave a low bow. "I was not expecting your presence, or I might have picked a better—" Before he could finish his pleasantry, a spell erupted from the wizard in red's wand and hit Logan squarely in the chest. Hermione watched in horror as Logan was knocked off his feet. She tried to jump out of the window to join him, but Ron held her back.
"But, Your Grace…" Morris muttered.
"Shut up," the wizard in red barked. "Enough, I am tired of your games, Logan. The spectres tell me you were the one leading them."
To Hermione's relief, Logan began to move. When her body lost its tension, Ron released his grasped on her shoulders. The masked wizard slowly forced himself onto his feet and brushed the snow off of his robes. "What games would that be, Your Grace? I wasn't aware you had spirits watching over me. I feel so blessed." Logan chuckled as he pulled out Hermione's wand from his robes. Hermione looked down at her robes and frantically searched for her wand, it was not there. He took it again.
Morris took the offensive first. Jets of light shot through the air, but failed to make contact with Logan. The masked wizard deflected each spell with great ease and then repelled one with the shield. The spell was launched back at its caster, and it hit Morris' legs, lighting his robes on fire. The wizard screamed in agony as he fell to ground rolling in the snow to extinguish the flames.
Then Jacobs picked up on the slack and attacked with much greater veracity. Logan's shield quickly shattered into little pieces, but again, he was able to deflect each spell. However, he was starting to lose concentration due to the strain on his body. Every time he whacked a spell away, he would take a step backwards. Jacobs laughed hysterically as he allowed his hubris to grow.
"What's so funny?" Logan shouted and started to dance around the spells. He leg was obviously feeling better and his moment of weakness was an obvious ploy to put Jacobs off guard. Logan's body moved with the fluidity of water as he dodged each spell. With a single spell, Logan disarmed his enemy. Jacobs looked at Logan and then his empty hand. Before he could make a move, another spell hit him in the chest, sending him flying into the darkness.
"Ridiculous," the wizard in red grumbled. "Time to end this." With a flick of his wand, Logan began to scream in agony as he crumbled to his knees. He dropped Hermione's wand and cupped his head in his hands. The white mask burned red as it tortured its bearer. With Logan immobilized, the wizard in red unleashed fiendfyre on his wounded enemy. The cursed fire exploded from his wand, taking the shape of a charging boar.
"You can't," Ron grabbed Hermione again before she could jump out.
"Why not?" Hermione cried out.
"You don't have a wand, he has it."
"And what about you?"
"Damn it," Ron muttered as he pulled out his wand. However, it was too late for the young Auror to interfere. It was an amazing sight. Before the boar could make contact with Logan, it broke into two pieces, wrapping around him as if there was an invisible wall surrounding him.
"Impressive, I knew there was more to you," the wizard in red remarked. Logan was able to gain control of the cursed fire and sent it into the air in the form of a dragon taking flight. It exploded in the night sky, illuminating the entire village. The wizard in red lifted up the sleeve of his robe and unbuttoned his cuff, revealing his own gauntlet.
"Now that's not fighting fair," Logan joked as he pressed a handful of snow against the mask to cool it.
"What happened to yours? I hope you didn't lose it."
"Of course not."
"To be honest, I figured the golem would have killed all of you when I found out what you were doing." The wizard in red began to play with the fire he was creating with his hand.
"Well, we kind of destroyed it."
"Wait, Logan lied to us," Ron whispered.
"But why?" Hermione asked.
"Do you really think he was trying to kill us?" Ron responded with his own question.
"Doesn't matter," the wizard in red replied to Logan. "Thing was damaged goods."
"I know," Logan answered.
The wizard in red remained silent. "How do you know?"
"Simple, I was there," the mask wizard replied coolly.
"Impossible. Both intruders were killed by the rampaging golem."
"Your men were half right. Only one of us died that night, the other continued the mission."
"Do you think?" Ron muttered, but Hermione refused to answer him. She did not want to finish the train of thought. They both knew that Logan was Harry's traveling companion. If Logan was alive, that could only mean Harry was the one who died in the temple. If Harry were dead, why would Logan drag them along on this wild goose chase? For the "mission?" For personal enjoyment? Hermione could not help herself as these thoughts rushed through her mind. Her only reaction was the vomit, but she held it back.
"I will be happy to rectify that," the wizard in red lifted up his gloved hand. The air around his him began to swirl violently and converged around his closed fist. The energy emitted form his gauntlet created a vortex and he launched it like a cannon. The air collided with Logan, hitting him in the chest, but he managed to keep his footing by taking a step back to brace himself. Hermione let out a short scream and Ron was too slow to cover her mouth.
"Who's there?" Instead of waiting for a response, the wizard in red pointed his weapon at the Snowflake Inn and started to fire off "rounds." Hermione and Ron ducked for cover as the wall was decimated in an instant. Brick and dust covered their bodies, but they came to no harm.
"Are you okay?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I think so," the young witch responded.
"Who's there?" the wizard in red asked again. "I am tired of these shenanigans." He was answered with laughter. Hermione and Ron exchanged looks, neither of them was laughing. They slowly sat up and saw that it was Logan who was laughing.
"I'm sorry, but did you just say…" Logan said in a mocking tone, "'shenanigans?' Really?" He failed to stifle his enjoyment.
"Enough," the wizard in red shouted.
"I agree," Logan replied. "I'm tired of this charade. This thing can be quite the bothersome. Also, the jinxes and curses on this thing are simply mediocre." He pulled out another wand from his robes, liar, and pressed the tip against his mask. The mask shattered into tiny pieces, the face behind it brought Hermione's heart to a stop. She knew he was hiding something from her and she just realized what he was keeping from her. How stupid could she have been? All the signs were there, yet she failed to see it. It was like one of those reveals or "surprise" twists she often read about in her mystery novels. The brightest witch of her age fell victim to the con.
The man behind the mask was none other than Harry Potter. All one had to do was trim the hair out of his eyes and shave the grungy beard. However, he appeared much different since she last saw him. It was not he hair, but the look in his face and eyes. Despite the physical distance between them, she could see the scars and experiences in his demeanor. Harry had definitely matured over the months and he was certainly a different person. And the young witch was going to make him pay for the pain and stress he put her and Ron through.
"Now," Harry said with a bright smile on his face, "lets finish this."
A/N: Sorry about the long delay, been busy, but there is more to come very shortly. This story can finally get on its way! Happy face. :)