I own nothing.
Chapter 39.
Hermione slowly began to return to the way she had been before the loss of her parents.
The first time she had spoken to Ginny, Fleur and Dora had been emotional. It was the day after she had given the ring to Charlie. The men were playing quidditch, something Charlie wasn't going to do. But Hermione all but forced him, telling him that she would be fine with the girls to keep her company for a while.
He had reasured her that her wouldn't be far away, before kissing her passionatly, and walking to the others on the pitch.
It had been Ginny who asked about the rings, although all three of the other women had noticed them.
The story was told in a matter of minutes, everything from Dubledore's meeting, up to the giving of the ring. Fleur was dabbing at tears, saying that it was a beautiful notion.
Ginny was also sniffing gently, a sad smile on her face.
Dora however was bawling her eyes out.
"What is ze matter Dora?" Fleur had asked her concernidly, rubbing her back reasuringly.
"Sorry, it's these bloody hormone's..." Dora managed to articulate through her sobbs.
"I nearly killed a house elf eralier over some cheese cake." She admitted sheepishly, making the others chuckle. Even Hermione.
While part of her felt guilty, she heared her mother telling her sternly that she couldn't be sad forever, that there were other ways for her to remeber them.
"Guy's, what do you think of a tattoo, to remeber my parents?" She asked out of the blue.
"I think it's a great Idea." Ginny said, "Something permenant, but unobtrusive." Fleur and Dora were nodding.
"Any idea's what?" Dora asked.
Hermione pondered for a while. She wanted something small, personal, she didn't want to be questioned about it constantly. She also wanted it to be something that would remind her of them, without making her cry all the time.
" I think perhaps a sun and moon motiff. My parents always used to joke that tehywere as different as day and night..." she trailed off, grinning fondly.
She conjured a piece of parchment from thin air, and began to design the mark, it would be small, and simple, in black ink, like her other tattoos.
Once she was happy with the design she showed it to the women.
"It ezz beautiful, cheri." Fleur said in awe, her eyes examining the sketch closley.
"Really Mi, Wow." Ginny said. "I never knew you were artisitc."
Hermione smiled. "That was my maternal grandmother's influence, She tought me to draw and paint, as well as how to play the Piano and sing..." She smiled at the memory of her Nanna.
"I didn't now you were musical either." Ginny siad, sounding shocked.
"I only ever told Charlie. Thats why there is a grand Piano on our room, He likes to listen to me play." Hermione admitted, blushing slightly.
They others smiled fondly.
"I would love to hear you play some time." Fleur said, and Dora nodded enthusiastically.
"I will later, if you like." Hermione said, her attention once again on her new tattoo design.
"Where can I put it that will be close enough for me to see, but easy to cover...?" She mused outloud. She had already desided that it would only be about the size of a golf ball.
"The under side of your wrist. It will take up pretty much all of it width wise, but easily covered." Ginny said quikly. Hermione smiled, perfect.
"What's happening over here?" Came a voice from behind them. The three women turned to see that the quidditch match had finished, and that all the players were headded towards them. The speaker had been Sirius.
"Where just admiring Hermione's design skills." Dora said, showing him the drawing.
"It's an idea I just had, a comemorative tattoo." She explained to Charlie, who had come to sit next to her.
He beamed, "I think that's a great idea. And the sketch is brilliant, very origional." Hermione smiled and reached up to kiss him softly.
He pulled out his wand, "Here." He said, taking the design in one had, and waiting for her to tell him the placement. Hermione turned her left arm over, baring her fore arm. She indicated the under side of her wrist, just above where her palm began.
Charlie grinned at her, then leveled his wand against her skin, murmering the incantaion. Hermione watched as her design blossomed in black ink across her pale skin. It looked natural, as if it were always ment to be there.
When it was done, Charlie kissed her newest ink tenderly, then handed the desing to her expectantly, he undid the top few buttons on his shirt, baring his left coller bone to her, a few inches higher than his heart.
She beamed at him, kissing him soundly before pulling back and murmering the incantation, watching her design blossom on his musculed chest, the same size as on her wrist. Once it was done, as had become their routine it seemed, she kissed the smooth skin covering his ink, and smiled up at him.
"I love you." She said simply.
"Love you too, princess." he rumbled back.
They were brought back to earth with the sudden awareness that everyone was watching them, grinning like idiots.
"Oh...shut up." Charlie mumbled at them, making them laugh, and hermione kiss him sweetly on the cheek, smiling slightly.
"I really want one." Ginny distracted them all nicley, by turning her pouting face towards her oldest brother.
"C'mon Bill, you know you never could deny me anything." she said matter of factly, making the other's laugh, and Bill blush slightly, shuffling his feet, and determinatley not looking at his baby sister's puppy eyes.
"Yeah, you could get a Horntail to match Harry." fred cut in, making everyone, bar the 'boy who got a drunken tattoo' roar with laughter.
Later that day found the order members in the common room of the north wing. Ginny had just remebered Hermione's promise to play for them.
"Would you play something for us now Mi?" she asked eagerly. Hermione looked at Charlie, who nodded encouragingly. Fleur and Dora were also nodding eagerly, whilst the others, who hadn't been present for the earlier conversation, looked confused.
Fleur pulled out her wand and conjured a grand piano in the corner of the common room, much to the shock of most people presant. It was like the one in the room of requirement, only it was white, instead of glossy black.
Aeval perched himself on the opened top of the piano expectantly.
Hermione walked over to the instrament, lifting the lid and unning her fingers up and down the keys. Sitting herself comfortably, the piano facing so that Hermione was side ways on to her audience, she lost herself in the music.
She closed her eyes, imagining it was just her and Charlie, in the room of requirement. She played the first song she had ever performed for her love, the chopin, which was still his favourite. Her hands flew over the keys subconsiously, her mind was focusing on other things. Her dragon tamer, his smile, his hands...
When the song ended, she flowed without stopping into the next, her personal favourite, The River Waltz. It was shorter than her first piece, but haunting in it's beauty. Never once had she opened her eyes, as she moved on to her finall piece.
It was called silver leaves, and it was from a muggle film she had seen as a child. Memory's of her parents overwhemed her, flashing before closed eyes, making her bow her head over the keys.
When she had finished, she stayed silent, before turning to her audience, who all had their mouths hanging open.
"Blimey." George exhaled, still looking shocked, the others nodded emphatically.
"I never knew you could play Kitten." Sirius intoned, making hermione blush slightly, and shrug.
"My parents always wanted me to perform professionally," She admitted after a moment, "But when my hogwarts letter came...I only played durng the holidays after that, when I was at home." hermione smiled fondly, remebering her father helping her practice, and her mother requesting her favourite melody.
Hermione's small smile grew larger as she turned back to the keys, and played what had been her mothers favourite. It was called 'Atonement' by Dario Marianelli, and it had beauiful harmony's, something her mother had always liked about it.
She felt the bench on either side of her shift, Ginny and Fleur had come to sit by her, and others had crouded closer, to watch her hands dance along the keys.
"This was my mother's favourite." She smiled over the music, chuckling slightly to herself. She looked at the faces of those around her, but kept playing as she did so.
Everyone seemed impressed now, more than shocked. There were smiles on some faces, looks of sadness on others. She gazed into Charlie's eyes for a moment, smiling at him, he winked in reply.
When this song too ended, she spent some time trying to teach Ginny a simple tune, which everyone enjoyed. And after she left the keys, the instrament stayed where it was, for her to use in the future, if she wished.
There was an Order meeting three weeks into the summer holidays, nearly ten days after Hermione had discovered the loss of her parents. The meeting was held in an empty classroom on the first floor of the castle. The desks had been vanished, and in their place stood one long table down the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs.
The inhabitans of the castle, as well as those order members that were staying elswhere were all there. Dumbledore had taken his seat at the head of the table, with Kingsley on one side, and Severus on his other.
It had been decided that Ginny could sit in on the meetings, but not take an active role in the order until she was of age. Harry, who would turn seventeen in three days time, had been inducted early, for the purposes of this meeting.
Hermione sat inbetween the boy who lived, and Charlie, Aeval was still guarding them at this point, and was pearched on the back of her wooden chair, watching the proceedings wearily. The fire bird had caused quite a stir amongst those order members who had not yet seen him, and Hermione was getting some firtive glances from up and down the table.
"After the death eaters failed attemp on Dumbledore's life, and disasterous battle within the castle, the Dark lord finds he has lost a great many of his core followers. This has weakened his possision greatly, and from here on in, I belive he can only get weaker. The order and aurors alike have been routinley apprehending snatchers, and small time you know who followers. The ones branded with his mark prefering to stay close to him for the time being." Snape was telling a victorious looking crowd.
"So it really does look like we could win this?" Harry asked from Hermione's left, looking directly at Dumbledore, who seemed to ponder something for a moment.
"Harry, Hermione," Dumbledore began, "I think it is time we share our mission of the last few months with the rest of the order." He announced. Hermione tightened her grip on Charlie's hand, this was the only secret she had from him, and it scared her to think that he would feel betrayed by her.
Harry had agreed easily, but Hermione had hesitated, before nodding resinedly, knowing that it wasn't her decision to make. The order members were now looking between the three with curiosity.
"Do not worry my dear," Dumbledore said kindly, "It was always out of your hands." he said somewhat chryptically, but she nodded, understanding. He was saying that it hadn't been her choice to keep things secret.
"You all know of the exsistance of a prophacy," Dumbledore began, filling the order in on the events at the end of Hermione's fifth year, leading right up to her discovering the horcrux.
"So we were know aware of Lord Voldamorts seven horcruxes," he said to the enraptured room, "Harry having destroyd one in his second year, voldemort himself, and his snake Nagini, both of whom are the last remaining pieces. Severus destroyed one during last summer, as did I."
Dumbledore turned to Hermione, signalling that it was now her strory to tell, she sighed.
"It was the end of my fifth year," She began, "Harry had explained to me about the Horcruxes, what they were, and where Tom might hide them. It made sense to me that one should be at Hogwarts, and I thought I knew where. Anyway, it took some digging, but I found one, Roweena Ravenclaw's lost diadem." She said, many let out gasps of shock.
"I took it back to the headmaster, to be destroyed, but Horcruxes are dark magic, tempramental. Being that I had found it's hiding place, it had to be me to destroy it." here Hermione stood, lifting her t-shirt, and lowering the band of her jeans, showing them all clearly the damage left by Voldemorts soul.
"I killed it, but it fought back. The thing broke through all of those protective enchantments that Dumbledore had placed upon me, right through to my actual skin." She lowered her top, eyes unseeing.
The order had lookes of mingled anger and incredulity at this point. Anger at her injuries, and that they had not been told sooner, and incredulity and amazement that she had succeded.
"Then, about two months ago, the night of the attack on Hogwarts, Harry came to find me in the common room, Albus had found another one." Hermione was now completley oblivious to her surroundings, cought up in her memorys, remebering a pale, out of breath Harry bursting into the common room to find her.
"We...", she trailed off, looking to Dumbledore, raising an eyebrow, "Can I show them, it would be easier?" She asked, he nodded, smiling benignly.
Hermione stood from her chair, pulling out her wand, and bringing it to her tempal. She extracted a copy of the memry of that night, and magically projected it onto the clasroom's wall. The wizards and witches all turned to watch in fascination.
Hermione stayed standing, one hand on her wand, the other on Charlie's shoulder. The whole room watched as memory Harry found her by the fire in the common room, they watched as the two of them ran towards Dumbledore, agreeing to follow his instructions. They apparated to the cliff face, and the order listed to Memory Dumbledore, saying it was a place Riddle had visited as a child.
Many winced sympathetically as they watched the three dive into the icey water, and swim to the opening of the cave.
"Ahhhh. How crude." He murmered.
"Miss Granger, can you feel anything diffrent about this wall?" He asked.
Hermione moved to the wall, running her fingertips along it. It didnt feel like a wall, in fact it didn't feel like anything. She closed her eyes, moving her hand again, there was nothing there. Opening her eyes, she met with rough rock.
"It's not a wall, an ilusion?" She said uncertainly, the headmaster beamed and nodded.
"We must make an offering." He said, pulling a knife from his robes, and slicing into his injured had, making Harry cry out in shock, Hermione just grimaced, she had expectd something like this.
"To weaken whoever enters." She murmered to herself.
"Quite right, I would give you points, but..." he trailed off teasingly, making the others laugh.
The order chuckled along with the memory, and then were all silent as Hermione and Albus dissimalated Voldemorts wards, the wall melting as it was touched by blood.
"Accio Horcrux." Harry said clearly. A large pale shape erupted fro the glassy serface of the water, only to crash back through again seconds later, leaving silence once more.
When it came to Harry trying to summon the horcrux, and the inferius leaping out of the water, many in the room yelled. Ginny had gone very pale, and was shaking in George's lap, where he held her reasuringly, his face uncharictaristically grim.
They all watched in amazement as the shadow memory's crossed the lake, Hermione on a broom, which a few people did raise eyebrows at, making Harry laugh bitterly, he knew what came next.
"I can skip it if you like Harry." Hermione offered quietly, but it was Dumbledore who answered.
"No." He said, his voice sad, his eyes lacking their usual twinkle, "They must know." he finished, his voice leaving no room for argument. Hermione sighed, and nodded.
Everyone turned back to the memory, where shadow Hermione had just conjured a goblet, looking into the basin.
The locket was clearly visible in the bottom, but protected by a clear possion which Hermione couldn't identify. She tried vanishing it, but nothing happened. Dumbledore tried to touch it, but his hand met with an invisible barrier.
The whole room watched in fasination that quickly turned to horror as shdow Hermione spoke;
"It won't kill will it?" Hermione aksed, Dumbledore shook his head, "I'll do it, i'd rather Harry be with you." Hermione finished, resigned.
The entire room burst into fruitless protestations, shouting and jumping to her feet, they all turned to the real Hermione, who mearly stared straight ahead, to her memory.
Plunging the goblet into the liquid, and drinking deeply. Dumbledore watched in grim acceptance, but Harry exclaimed loudly. Hermione ignored them both, and continued to drink. It tasted foul, sweet at first, but then an achrid after taste, making her cough and splutter.
Nothing happened untill her third full goblet, her mind seemed to fast forward to her darkest memory's. Like a dementor in liquid form.
To Hermione's horror, the memory seemed to split, on the one hand, you could visibly see a screaming Hermione, collapsing in front of the stone basin. But before the rooms eye also came her memorys...
She was six years old, and at her Grandfather's funeral, watching helplessly as her Mother and Grandmother cried, not understanding, and wishing she could help. she was nine, and being shouted at by a teacher for being a know it all. Eleven, and being bullied by her 'friends' for her bushy hair, and big teeth.
Hermione closed her eyes, willing to stop, it didn't.
Being called a mudblood by Malfoy when she was twelve, the basalisk in her second year, seeing a dead Cedric in her fourth, and hearing his Father's terrible, heart sattering cry of agony.
Her leggs gave out, but the others were to buisy staring in anguish at the memory to notice. Only Charlie and Aeval moving to bend next to her.
Almost loosing Sirius, and the unimaginable pain from Dolahov's spell in her fifth. She relived the boggart from grimauld Place, watching Charlie die slowly before her eyes, not being able to help him.
There were others crying now, and everyone was silent, and deathly pale, looking in horror, affraid what was coming next.
She cried out in aggony, but Harry and Dumbledore helped her to drink the last few drops. Dumbldore then pocketed the locket, before bending before Hermione, who was watching from above as Ron viciously attacked her unconsious form in a deserted bathroom, leaning over her bloodied body, and ripped clothing, violating her with his teeth.
There were more shouts of anger at this. Hermione gazed at charlie, who was kneeling next to her, his head in his hands.
"Water." she rasped. Dumbledore conjured her a large goblet of water, which she downed greedily.
"Thank You, Hermione." Came Dumbledore's shaking voice, breaking through the horrified silence. Hermione halted the projection with a wave of her wand, making it dissapear. She then helped Charlie back into his seat, kneeling before him, looking up at him with worried eyes.
The rest of the order had sat again, and were all gaping, silently waiting for an explination.
From her place on the floor, before Charlie, Hermione adressed the room again.
"That potion, was creted by Riddle himself. It combindes the effect of the crutciatus, and a dementor attack." She said calmly, "It forces you to re-live terrible memory's, and pushes your mind to the point of insanity. It was designed to render the drinker incapable of stealing the horcrux. It failed." Hermione said, looking at the others for the first time.
"We got the horcrux, and it was destroyed." She finished simply.
Silence echoed around the room, Hermione raised her hand in Aevals direction, he flew forward, and landed on her shoulder, proceeding to sing.
As he sang, reassurance washed over the shaken order members, a calming balm, the hysteria vanished, replaced with looks of sadness, or awe. Charlie slowly began to come back to himself, lifting his head, and looking into Hermione's worried green eyes.
He nodded once, and she sighed in relief, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, kissing him fervantly as she did so.
Aeval stopped singing, his head bowed, he landed on Charlie's shoulder, and waited there, offering support to the part of his mistress that needed it most.
Sattisfied that Charlie was fine, Hermione got to her feet, and turned to the watching room.
"Go ahead." She said, and the whole room exploded into questions, and angered shouting at once.
Hermione was becoming quietly frustrated, her emotions begining to get the better of her. It must have shown on her face, for silence fell quickly. Her green eyes were alight with raw power, and her curls seemed to be trembling with pure magic.
"One at at time." Hermione growled out dangerously. Many looked at her in shock, it was Remus who finally spoke up.
"So the only two horcruxes left are the snake, and him?" He asked. Hermione nodded silently, waiting fore further questions.
"How do you destroy them?" Came mad eye's voice from the corner of the room. Once again, Hermione projected a memory, the one of her swinging the sword of griffyndor over her head. The silent room was suddenly full of the tiara's agonised screams, many people flinched, and then jumped as it exploded.
"Like that." She said flatly. The room stared a her in shock, she felt a hand on her lower back, and relaxed slightly into Charlie's touch.
She looked about the room expectantly, waiting for the next question, it came from Sirius.
"Why didn't you tell us?" The question was aimed at Harry and Hermione.
"Because I forbade them to do so." Dumbledoree stated from his spot at the head of the table, effectivley ending that line of questioning.
"We wanted to, but it wasn't safe." Harry said, greatly aware that he was parroting back the same thing they had been telling him fore the last three years.
Hermione was shaking her head, she understood Dumbledoree's motives a little better than Harry did she thought. He hadn't wanted to risk the operation being discovered by an outsider, or have someone with a hero complex - Sirius- jepordizing it completley.
She looked directly into Albus' eyes, and knew she had been right. She didn't envy him the choices he had to make in this war, neither of them, she thought, locking eyes with Snape for a moment.
"We should have been in on this opperation, not children." Moody's gruff voice came from the corner again. Harry looked as if he'd been about to argue, but Hermione got there first.
She laughed. Laughed in the seasoned aurrors face. "You could gladly have taken my place, Alistor, if it had been possible." She chuckled darkly, her laughter was joined un-expectedly by Snape, who was shaking his head at Mad-eye.
"Listen here girly..." Mad eye began, only to be silence by the look Hermione sent him. Her head snapped in his direction, eyes flasing dangerously. She never said a word, mearly glared at him for a long moment, before looking away.
The room was in shock, they had never seen her like this.
"Why didn't you kill Bellatrix?" Alistor growled, effectivley signing his own death warent. "She is an evil creature, the scum of the earth, and you let her escape..."
Many people protested at this, "Alistor..." Sirius began warningly, but Hermione silenced them with a wave of her hand.
"Because I showed compassion. Compassion she did not deserve, that she herself was not capable of. And I have regretted it ever since, for I am acuttley aware of what it cost me." Hermione finished sharply, her expression cold. Many were now glaring at Moody, who seemed oblivious.
"Mad-eye..." Charlie all but growlled when the scarred aurror went to continue.
"I'm only trying to understand, why her. Surley you all see that an integral part in this war is being played by a girl who's foolishness got her parents killed..."
The rest of his speach was lost in the shouts of outrage. Charlie had gotten to his feet, as had Bill, Sirius and Harry. The twins were glaring at the aurror. But it was Aeval who reacted. Shrieking furiously and launching himself at Moody.
"AEVAL." Hermione roared, jumping to her feet, waving her hand towards her fire bird, stopping him inches from a shocked moody's face.
The power eminating from her shook the room, making everyone fall back to their seats, silent. Her curls were quivering with power, her back straight and shoulder's back. There were sparks flashing in her vibrant green eyes, and she looked truley frightning.
As the dust settled, Hermione held out her arm, and Aeval grudgingly flew back to her, after hissing and spitting flame at the monster who dared upset his mistress. Aeval settled on Hermione's shoulder, nuzzling into her cheek.
"Auror Moody," Hermione began, her voice formal and cold, the listeners flinched, "I was chosen for this task in a time of war by you're superior, it is not for you to question why." She finished sharply, glaring at him.
"I belive that answers your question mad-eye," Professor Snape spoke up from across the room, "As to why Albus chose this 'girl' as you call her, instead of someone else." His voice was calm, slightly mocking, he didn't seem to fear Hermione at all, perhaps because he knew she would never hurt anyone willingly.
Hermione looked at snape, green eyes boaring into black, she saw nothing but sinserity, she nodded her thanks, which he returned stiffly. She then turned her eyes on Dumbledore, who looked sad. He saw what this young woman had been forced to become, and knew that it was partly his fault. The shame he felt in that moment was terrible.
Aeval felt his shame, and sang one long quavering note, comunicating Dumbledore's feeling's to Hermione.
They young women shook her head, "I never envied you the choises you had to make, Albus." Hermione said quietly, her voice heared clearly throughout the room. Dumbledore understood this to mean that she didn't blame him.
"You are entirley too kind, my child." Dumbledore said, his head bowed in respect of the young woman before him.
"And you entireley to wise, old man." She said chuckling. The order members watched in shock, never having heared anyone speak to the headmaster this way. Hermione and Albus however were now laughing together.
"Which of us should complain more, do you think?" Dumbledore joked to the young witch, making her laugh harder, tears running down her cheeks.
The room was now watching them dumnfounded.
"I think I've finally gone mental." Sirius mumbled, the occupants of the room snickered. Hermione and Albus however just laughed harder that before, going slightly pink in the face.
"Maybe it's us?" Hermione choked to Albus, who nodded his agreement, whiping tears from his eyes.
Once they had calmed, they carried on with the meeting, not giving any explination as to their strange behaviour.
"Right, protection for the castle this coming year..." Dumbledore began, and thus the meeting continued in normallcy.
It had been decided that those who could be spared from their every day work, like the weasley's, Remus, Sirius, and a few others would stay at Hogwarts throughout the coming year. With the support of the minisrty, they would all be employed as temporary aurror's for the castle, and students protection.
None of them questioned why this coming year only, for everyone seemed tp be aware that they were at a cross roads, the war would be won or lost in the coming months.