Animal Magnetism

Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing of the Harry Potter 'Verse. I just like to play with them time to time. Especially Severus.

Chapter 21

She was in a cold, dark place, covered in blood from numerous cuts that weren't healing right. And the young woman with hair of red, gold and brown fought to control her breathing as the weakness attacked her. Her gaze darted around in a panic and found Harry, Severus and Ron. Her best friend was impaled on a support beam, trapped but still alive. Ron was on the floor, unconscious, and Severus was in The Dark Lord's hands, one step from being throttled. Apparently Voldemort had found out where his true loyalties lay. Fear and dread were in her eyes now as she lay hunkered down, clutching her chest and breathing abnormally. 'No. Not yet.' The strange thought echoed in her head.

"It's too late," their enemy hissed, an evil smile curving his lips. "It's already begun." Hermione straightened, trying to still the wild thumping of her heart with deep, calming breaths. "You're mine now. And your friends are as good as dead." The breaths did no good. Her heart felt ready to explode from her chest. "No!" she cried, trying to step forward, but blocked by a vaporous tunnel of blackness. Panic made her a wildcat, leaping and rolling to the side to push the devilish scion back and yank her friend free. She flung him with more force than intended, forgetting her strength in her haste to get Ron from under his foot. Ron hit the wall with a groan, his broken arm taking the brunt of the impact.

But at least his ribs hadn't been crushed by those iron boots. Still, Hermione cringed, watching as his unconscious form crumbled to the floor in a heap. She started towards him, Harry just beyond where she'd thrown him, when one of the lycans that had been in the background distracted her. Leaping, it sunk sharp, poisonous teeth into her pale, lean calf. Horrified, she felt the bite rip through muscle and sinew. Heard the crunch of bone. The hybrid screamed, surging forward with hands outstretched to twist his neck and free herself. Kicking free of the corpse, she dragged herself to where her wand had fallen, but it had disappeared in the fray so she settled for a wandless spell Severus taught her.

Closing her eyes in pain, she clutched her leg, frantically murmuring the healing spell between sobs and wondering why it was working so slowly. And Voldemort was advancing, striking her in the face as she struggled to stand, Severus's throat still crushed in his grip. She toppled back from the blow, cupping her cheek as Voldemort took her twice fallen wand, preventing her rebound attack. Even Severus moved to block the stinging hex aimed at her and his former master slammed him into a wall too, glass crashing around his head as he lifted the spy off the floor. "I'm not going to kill you right away. Killing is too good for you. Too easy. I'll keep you alive. Make you a slave to the pack, feed you the scraps."

The Dark Lord's voice sounded strange. Thick, almost strangled. A glance revealed why. He was beginning to shift, face altering, the bones elongating and stretching as his skin darkened to a deep grey. Fur sprouted over his leathery hide until his head sported a thick black mane. She suddenly raised a hand to her own face and felt the bones shift too. "Oh God," she whimpered, voice un-natural. "Help me." She was going to become like him, wasn't she? A gnawing hunger flared to life in the pit of her belly. Her heart still hammered at a frantic tempo, the air rushing out of her mouth in spurts. Dipping her head, she moaned low in her throat, a scratchy, tingling sensation overwhelming her.

Powerless to resist, she flung her head back, dropping to her knees, spine arched. Clutching her head, she felt like she was being stretched too, fangs popping in and growing extensively. Her hair tumbled over her body so her carefully cropped hair became like a shroud. Her cheekbones became sharp and angular, eyes re-shaping as a cats' must look, vision tinged red. She could even swear she grew those damn horns. And frame lengthened considerably, her hunger grew to monster proportions as well, eclipsing all else. 'It hurts,' she cried in her head. 'Why is this happening to me?' 'Trust me,' the creature whispered in return before she felt it fade out. No, not fade. Merge. Like it should've been.

But it didn't stop the change, just made it hurt less. Hermione stumbled to her feet, struggling to hold onto herself and to what she knew, but it became increasingly harder as her body twisted inside itself. Claws replaced her fingernails, thick and sharp. She heard her name called as if from a great distance and vaguely recognized Severus's raspy voice. "Fight the hunger Hermione! Get the wand!" he shouted. Confusion mixed with pain in her eyes. Hers had been stolen away. "Use mine!" He gasped roughly as Voldemorts' giant paw squeezed tighter. Meeting his gaze, she hesitated. One wizard couldn't use another's' wand- it was an extension of ones' self, an embodiment of their magic, a finely tuned instrument.

Yet she didn't have the strength, with so much blood loss, to just leap at his attacker and rip him to shreds as she wanted- especially when he was in that transformed state. "Trust me," the man wheezed, the sick gurgle at the end snapping her out of it. She had to trust him. And trust in herself, even when it seemed impossible. Feeling as if her feet had been encased in blocks of cement, it became harder and harder to function as her cuts continued to flow. Taunting, Voldemort kicked the wand out of reach again, but she lunged for it. Though doubled over soon after, clutching her belly at the sudden cramping. Hermione inched closer despite the blinding pain, willing herself to do as Severus had asked. But the hunger was staggering, washing over her in hot, undulating waves, getting worse by the second.

She wanted to roll on the floor, tear her skin off and… Suddenly she caught sight of Ron stirring into consciousness. Every one of her senses, painfully heightened, zeroed in and made her aware of every breath, each rapid heartbeat, the sweet blood rushing just beneath the surface of his warm skin… He looked so… tempting, smelled so good. Delicious. Snarling, she clawed at another lycan who got in her way, tearing ribbons into his flesh. And then there was Harry, with his sluggish heartbeat, the scent of his blood strong, the ruby red color against his honeyed skin a delight. She no longer saw them, she saw food.

She could almost imagine their life force flooding her mouth, rushing through her teeth and over her tongue, its warm nectar sliding down the back of her throat… Saliva pooled in her mouth Hermione couldn't resist any longer. She took a step forward, kicking a third pack member out of the way to get to Harry. "'Mione?'" he whispered weakly as one eye crack open, struggling to move. 'Friend.' She stopped; her eyes squeezed shut as she battled anew the urges that washed over her, threatening to swallow her whole. She was so hungry… She flexed her hands, startled to feel the dig of talons cutting into her palm. Right, she forgot. No matter. Soon she would feed and be strong again.

"Hermione! Don't!" Severus's voice reached out to her again from the fog, body shuddering from the Cruciatus curse that hit him as he fell. "Hermione, I love you! God, please don't!" Her vision cleared a little and she turned from the temptation in front of her. Severus needed her. And if she fed now, if she killed, there was no turning back from the evil. With clumsy hands, she finally lifted his wand, finding the strength of will to level the wooden instrument at Voldemort instead of bite into the boy. The abomination kicked her lover to the side, stepping forward himself, red eyes gleaming. Releasing a growl, he circled her, his own claws contracting, clearly no longer confident about her shaky intentions.

He lunged. She fired, uncertain if the anguished howl splitting the air belonged to him or her. She fell back to her knees the same moment he collapsed before her. Head bowed, chest heaving, she dropped the still glowing green wand and watched her hands gradually go back to normal. Threat eliminated. And suddenly she was caught up in Severus's arms and he was crushing her in a tight hold. "You did it," he breathed against her hair. "God, I don't know how…" his voice faded on a sigh. Tears slipped from beneath her closed eyelids and the liquid warmth rolled down her cheeks. Yes, she'd done it. She ignored the hunger, the pull, and mastered the beast inside. And her love was the key…

A/N: Was it reality or a dream? Tune in next chapter to find out!

Next Chapter:

It felt like being slowly impaled with a butter-knife, perhaps less sharp but coming with an unbearable deep-down pressure before it finally broke the skin and kept going. And she damned her keen senses for multiplying it a hundred fold. She was dying, she knew it.