Hey Guys, sorry again for the delay. But this time, I was able to get two chapters done, so maybe that will compensate you all for the wait!
Disclaimer: I do NOT Own the Harry Potter series
"We're in the countryside; we're on the run-again. We're safe, and will send another Patronus when we intend to meet you."
Hermione dropped her wand hand back to her side, satisfied with the message that her Patronus would deliver. She was frustrated that she couldn't send more, but she would rather be safe than sorry; she couldn't risk the message falling into the wrong hands, though it was doubtful that the Burrow would be overtaken. There was since put in place a Fidelus charm since before the war, but even Shell Cottage had had one, and they had been found, somehow.
The otter gracefully swam through the air, waiting for her instructions as to where to deliver the message. "Grimmauld Place first, and then the Burrow." She told the otter, who immediately vanished into thin air. "Bill and Fleur will have gone to the Burrow, no sense in sending a Patronus to Shell Cottage then." Hermione muttered to herself. She watched as the evanescence of her Patronus faded into nonexistence, and sighed, not quite ready for another day out on the run.
Pulling her hair into a quick and easy ponytail, she turned around to face the dilapidated tent they had hurriedly set up the previous night. She watched Harry emerge out of it and stretch, banishing sleep from his features.
"Morning, 'mione." He yawned. Hermione smiled.
"Afternoon, you mean. You've slept a good fifteen hours; is that just a boy thing or were you especially tired?"
Harry's eyes immediately opened wide and he looked around him. There was a small fire with a portable cooking pot over it, Harry could smell oatmeal, and there was a bowl of it which Hermione had left on the ground to cool off. She handed it to him now.
"Don't worry; I took care of the food and unpacking." He blushed sheepishly and took the warm oatmeal in his hands.
"I'm sorry 'mione, I should have helped. I was just so tired and as soon as the tent was up I couldn't stop myself. I'm sorry." Hermione laughed.
"Its fine Harry, I didn't have to do much, and you can't control when you go to sleep. Just remind me to tell Ginny that she'll have to hire a maid when you two get your own place." Harry blushed an even darker shade of red, if that was possible.
"I saw you sent a Patronus." He said loudly, trying to change the subject. It worked, and Hermione's demeanor instantly changed into one of business.
"Oh yes, that. I sent it to the Burrow and Grimmauld place, like Fleur said to. It's been a few hours, and everyone was probably waiting, so…" She trailed of, unsure of what to say next. The smell of burning oatmeal brought her back to the present, and she quickly turned her attention back to the pot.
"Damn!" she scrambled over the log she was sitting on and grabbed the pot by the handle, wrenching it off the fire. Harry pulled out his wand.
"Aguamenti." he muttered, and smothered the flames. Hermione groaned.
"Now I have a dirty pot to take care of. It will take me ages to scrape burnt oatmeal crud off the bottom of that."
Harry smiled."Long as you have soap and water, the dishes can wash themselves 'mione. Are you a witch or aren't you?" She stuck out her tongue at him.
"I was raised learning the importance of a little 'elbow grease'. There's nothing magic can fix that that can't." Harry rolled his eyes at her obstinate personality.
"I've known a little too much 'elbow grease' in my time, thanks. I was glad when magic came along, I don't want to wash any more dishes for the Dursleys."
Hermione shrugged. "Well, you were a special case. We all had to do chores, but you got the worse end of the deal. We only had to do them a few times a week. And we got an allowance for it."
She stopped talking abruptly when a loud crash sounded from somewhere inside the tent. Wands drawn, the two rushed inside, to see a squirrel rush out under their legs, several pots on their sides everywhere, and a broken ceramic plate. Hermione couldn't suppress a giggle that escaped her, as the terrified animal scrambled up the nearest tree and cowered on a nearby branch, chattering obnoxiously and almost scolding the bronze pots that had disturbed his scavenging session.
Harry rolled his eyes and bent down to start picking up the scattered pots that had rolled off of the table, and put them back in their place, while Hermione set to work collecting the shards of the plate.
To be honest, she had never liked that plate, it was an ugly sort of thing that Harry had inherited from Sirius as well as the house. Obviously Sirius' mum had taken great delight in collecting various types of cutlery and dishes, all clearly designed by lovers of the dark arts, for they depicted awful scenes and snakes, fire, and mainly death were all prevalent in them. Upon picking them up, one would get a sort of empty feeling inside. But plates were plates, and it was either those or eating on a makeshift placemat made of cardboard. Hermione took the hygienic route and chose the plates, though she had always secretly wanted something like this to happen, so that she could have an excuse to throw it away.
But as there was no form of trash disposal handy at the moment, she decided it would be best to just repair it. After muttering a quick "Reparo.", she stood up with the plate in her hand. Hearing a sharp intake of breath from Harrys direction, she set it down on the table none too carefully, and looked curiously over his shoulder, where he was still couched on the floor, surrounded by the pots which he had left unattended.
"Hey 'mione, come look at this." She heard him call, but she was already behind him, reaching for the small letter now in his hand. She grasped it firmly and Harry relinquished it to her grasp. She brought it up to her eyes and studied the calligraphy on the front of the envelope.
It was neatly addressed to 'Harry James Potter' in dark green ink, and upon turning it over, Hermione saw it was sealed with a neat red wax insignia. The Black Family Crest was clearly shown on it, pressed into the wax. Harry, when he saw the crest, started to shake. He reached for the envelope, and Hermione pulled it away from his grasp with a shake of her head.
"I need to see that it's not dangerous. It could be a trick." She cast a quick revealing spell over it, and nothing happened. "It's safe. Here." She handed it to him, and he took it from her, still trembling. He carefully opened it, and let a folded up piece of parchment fall out. He bent to retrieve it, and unfolded it to reveal the message it contained.
Hermione watched his eyes as they followed the words across the page, and saw as his expression changed from one to anxious curiosity to one of emotion and regret. Finally he finished reading, and wordlessly handed it to Hermione. "Sirius last words." Harry said without introduction. "Read it." Hermione looked down at the letter and began to read.
Harry,
I knew as soon as I saw your picture in "The Prophet" that you must have been James' son. You are alike him in many ways; your looks and speech, your talent in quidditch and your love for adventure and your bravery, but your manners, your skills, and your appreciation for everything, your ability to believe and have faith in people, seeing the best in everyone, that is from your mother. You have had the best of both, my dear Harry, I knew it when you refused to have Pettigrew killed. You knew what he was capable of doing, what he had done, but you knew that your father would not want to have his two best friends become killers. I thank you for that, Harry.
I am writing this letter so that you will have it always. After I am gone, you shall have the house and it's occupants at your disposal, and so that may too remain. You also shall have my inheritance, all of my money and valuables, as they have been transferred into your Gringotts account already. You could say this is my will of sorts, or you could say that it is simply a farewell letter. I am planning to die, for I do not wish to. But I have had a dream, and I know that I am soon to go. I did not want to tell you, I am sorry, but that is why I have written this, which you hopefully have gotten after the whole war is over, and you can understand.
I know that life is difficult for you at the Dursley's and I have spoken to Dumbledore once again about you living at Grimmauld place after I am gone. It would be much safer, with all the Order Members there anyway, and I know that having you there would certainly make the atmosphere less gloomy. Buckbeak would love it too. Please remember this after everything, that those who love us never really leave us, and that I will always be with you, my dear godson, and so will Lily and James. Remember this, and never despair, for we are beside you always.
My most sincere of apologies go with you, as well as my best wishes. Do not lose that precious faith that Lily has given you, nor your bravery and strength. You are the Chosen One, Harry James Potter. And I have cherished every moment I have spent with you.
Sincerely,
Sirius A. Black
Hermione finished reading the letter and looked back up at Harry, whose face was as blank and cold as Hermione felt. He sat down abruptly in a wooden chair beside the table, and stared into space.
"He knew. He knew that he was going to die. And he didn't tell me. If he had, I never would have gone into that bloody Ministry. I never would've dragged you all into needless danger. He never would've died. He never would've died! Why didn't he just TELL ME!"
He shouted the last two words, and clenched his fists, crushing the envelope, and pounded the table. Unsure of how to try to calm him, Hermione let him be, setting the letter down gently beside him, and stepping back outside.
The sky had since turned darker when she had last gone inside, and from the the moist warm breezes, she knew that a storm was coming. Looking high to the left, she could already see the storm clouds rolling in. But something was wrong. A shift in the air, not caused by the storm, seemed to have settled across the area. She walked a short distance away from the tent, no more than 200 meters, and stopped dead.
A man, covered in dirty clothing and with dark brown hair, was walking slowly through the woods. She gasped, and quickly stepped behind a tree, breathing hard. Looking back, she saw that the man was joined by another, and they were talking in hushed voices. She saw a wand in the hand of the man's companion, and barely contained a whimper. How had they gotten past the charms? She thought wildly, mind racing.
She knew that the men were snatchers, and that they were certainly searching for them, more were probably on the way. As quickly and quietly as she could, she crept back to the tent. No point in trying to take everything, she knew that they needed to get out of there. She grabbed her bag, already filled with all she needed. Harry had since fallen asleep, and she raced around the tent, grabbing the rest of the necessities. Peering outside the tent again, she shook Harry awake.
"Shh! Snatchers, here. A few hundred meters away, we need to move! Everything is packed! Hurry!" As Harry blinked, barely registering what she said, and then snapping into motion, stuffing Sirius' letter into his pockets and grabbing the rest of his stuff.
"Ready?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded, and she grabbed his hand, apparating directly into Diagon Alley, the busiest place Hermione knew, and the one where they would most likely be safe. They landed a few blocks away from Gringotts, and quickly ducked out of view behind a shop. Peering up the street, Hermione could see a few Death Eaters, lounging around. "Shit!" I haven't been here since before the war, I didn't know that Death Eaters had taken control of this place too! Now we're trapped!
Hermione tugged Harry along the street, and upon seeing Death Eaters heading their way, she shoved Harry further into the alleyway, and waiting for a group of death eaters to go by, then dragged him back out.
"Flourish and Blotts, the owner knows me, he can help." Hermione cautiously stepped outside again, looking around for any snatchers or Death Eaters. Everything seeming quiet, nothing moved, and it made her slightly uneasy. She stepped out further, and ran, with Harry beside her, down the street, and burst into the bookshop.
The owner, an elderly man by the name of Gerald, immediately and without a sound took them by the hands and led them upstairs.
"Quiet, and they will not find you. It is dangerous, you know, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, to come back. You must leave as soon as you can."
He opened the door to a storage closet and ushered them in. The smell of old books and new parchment was enough to make Hermione feel as if she was in heaven, and she gave a contented sigh, forgetting their purpose of being there. They waited in the dark, shallowly breathing, waiting until it would be safe to some out again, knowing that as soon as they could, they must leave.
After it had been deathly quiet for a good 20 minutes, Hermione opened the door a crack. Under the cover of darkness, she slipped out, warning Harry to stay there until she was sure it was safe. He shook his head.
"If anyone's out there, I'm not going to let my best friend go first." Not willing to argue, Hermione agreed, though she led the way, with Harry behind her. They stepped into the hallway of the deserted bookstore, and looked around. A window to their left showed a quiet and peaceful street scene. Hermione could almost pretend that it was like a summer back when she was shopping for her school books and supplies. She gave a small smile, and, letting go of Harry, went to examine the next hall. Suddenly, a strong hand from behind the shelf grabbed her roughly, tugging her back. She screamed, alerting Harry, who spun around towards her, wand drawn.
He lifted his wand to curse the brute who was restraining Hermione, but was disarmed by a Snatcher from behind. Thinking quickly, Hermione stomped hard on her captor's foot, while at the same time twisting away from his grip, and kicking him the knee. As he went down, she grabbed her wand from his hand. She heard the sound of many heavy feet rushing up the staircase to their floor, where the scuffle had alerted them. Knowing that both she and Harry could never be able to survive this, Hermione grasped her bag with all of their belongings, pointed her wand at it, and shouted "Portus!" turning it into a Portkey. She cast a sticking charm on it, so that once Harry touched it, he couldn't let go, and as it started to glow bright blue, she threw it at him. Harry, surprised and unprepared, caught the beaded bag in his hands. Staring at it and realizing what Hermione intended to happen, Harry desperately tried to let go of it, but Hermione's charm held fast. Harry watched in horror as the snatchers caught up with Hermione and grabbed her, tearing her wand away and forcing her on the ground, as she fought back with all the force she could.
Hermione saw more coming to take Harry as well, and could only hope that the portkey would work fast. Harry could feel the Portkey beginning to tear him away from the scene. "HERMIONE! HERMIONE, NO!" Screaming, and trying vainly to stop the portkey from taking him, Harry struggled, his eyes focused on the girl who had saved him, her eyes tear-filled, and her face full of defeat.
Hermione watched as the portkey disappeared, taking its unwilling companion with it, and tried to stop her tears from coming, though they came anyway.
The snatcher who Hermione had kicked was up again, and yanking her hair, forced her head up to face him. "Well, we couldn't get your pretty little boyfriend, but we've got you. And I'm sure the bosses will be plenty happy to see you again."
He laughed, showing a mouth full of black teeth, and Hermione grimaced. Noticing, he stopped laughing, and glared at her. "You think that you'll be alright again, don't you, sweetheart. You don't know what's going to happen. They'll break you. You hear me? They'll break you."
She spat a mixture of blood and saliva in his face as response, and stood staring defiantly at him. She felt the retaliation of a stinging slap, as he brought his hand up and across her face, a ring on his finger cutting her cheek. The blood trickled down and pooled beneath her chin. The man called the rest of the snatchers, who had previously been searching the store for loot, over to him. "Get this filth tied up." He motioned to Hermione, and leered at her. "It's time for her to pay a visit to an old friend of hers."
You can all probably guess who the 'old friend' is... Hope you liked it, more to come!
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