Chapter Five: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
"As fire turns to embers, and embers to ashes that blow away too soon. It's like everything after you's like havin' wine after whiskey."
-Carrie Underwood; Wine After Whiskey
Hermione's determination even shown through in her school work. She was congratulated on good charm work twice by Professor Flitwick in one class. Professor Mcgonagall also wore a smug look of pride whenever she looked upon her most talented Transfiguration student in decades. Professor Slughorn of course sung Hermione's praises to the heavens as well.
"I really want this," Hermione told Sirius fiercely that morning. He'd seen quite a change in her since Marlene had died. She went from a quiet, passive, pureblooded princess to something the likes of which Sirius had never seen before. She was manic, fearless, and her soul burned with a light so bright it emanated from her very body.
"I know you do, love," He said, he no longer cradled her in his arms. It seemed to be an injustice to hold a creature so wild and feral contained in his arms. Now he embraced her as an equal, because she was that and so much more. Sirius was seriously in love with this girl.
That night Hermione, and her six friends met in the room where things are hidden along with nearly all of Gryffindor House, some Ravenclaw's, Many Hufflepuff's, and one Slytherin, Regulus.
"Okay, I suppose all of you know why you're here?" Hermione asked pulling up to assume the front of the crowd. They nodded. "Now, as you can see, there are a select few that will be teaching you these vital lessons. First off, Myself, along with my fiancé, who are very well versed in Dark Magic, are going to demonstrate the dueling style you will come into contact with, should you ever be so unlucky to face one of our cousins. Also known as Death Eaters."
The group of students watched with bated breath as Sirius and Hermione assumed positions fifteen paces apart, and without warning began to duel. Flashes of light filled the room as they both dueled wordlessly. Each breaking chunks off of the high ceilings, and narrowly missing killing each other every other second. It suddenly stopped. "Incarcerous!" Hermione screamed; as ropes shot out of her wand and incapacitated her fiancé.
"Any questions?" A breathless Sirius asked the crowd.
"Yes?" Hermione called on a shorter Hufflepuff.
"Isn't proper dueling etiquette to bow to your partner?" He asked.
"Ted, if I bowed to her, I'd be a dead man, sure as where I lay. She dueled me just like Bellatrix, Narcissa, or Lucius Malfoy would've done. She just didn't use any unforgivable curses. Believe you, me, every single jet of light that escaped that wand was completely lethal, save that last incarcerous," Sirius explained.
"Why did you duel silently?" A half-blooded Ravenclaw girl asked.
"That's a good question Miss Thomas," Professor Dumbledore interjected, for the first time stepping out of the shadows. Darla Thomas gave a quiet squeak at the Headmaster's presence.
"So nice of you to join us, finally, Professor," Hermione said in a bored sort of voice.
"Are you going to answer the girl's question, Hermione?" He cocked his head to the side.
"My father, also known as Death Eater Scum, had me trained in the Dark Arts from a young age, on an untraceable wand. When I first walked through the doors of this school, I could torture a man a thousand ways using just my finger nails, and could preform all manner of curses wandlessly and wordlessly,"
Hermione said in a quiet voice. "And I'm quite sure Regulus and Sirius received quite the same education as I did. Being Black Lord's and all."
This bit of information was received with shock by anyone less than a pureblood, even some children whose parents were regarded as bloodtraitors looked quite shocked. Here they were thinking that the enemy was on the same playing field as they, when in reality they were on whole different quiddich leagues.
With that, Hermione split them into pairs. She purposely pitted people with weaker dueling skills against strong duelers. They had to know what they were up against. By the end of the night, most duelers were holding their own against their opponents, if not beating them. Finally, Hermione was satisfied. "Go back to your respective dorms. Same time, and same place, one week from today."
When the duelers had dispersed, Headmaster Dumbledore approached Hermione and Sirius, who had also stayed behind.
"I'm intrigued with your organization," He said, twirling his fingers in his beard. "Could I have your permission to recruit on your behalf? I wish to get a few trusted aurors, and some other talented Witches and Wizards to assist you."
"Only if we can all have permission to meet somewhere clandestine once a week or more, if we're to duel together, we have to act as a well oiled machine," Sirius said.
"It will have to be somewhere outside the castle," Hermione piped up. "I'm not saying it has to be outside the grounds, just that it'll be away from the other students if spells get out of hand."
"That sounds reasonable, I'll let you know when a meeting like that can happen, feel free to peruse the grounds, responsibly, mind you, after hours. It you can find a place let me know. I've also relieved the prefects of their duties on your chosen meeting night, I told them the teachers will be doing rounds," Dumbledore finished as he swept out of the room.
"Can we sleep in here tonight?" Hermione asked when they were finally alone.
"Sure," Sirius agreed. As soon as he said that, Hermione focused her mind. The room morphed into a smaller room, walls draped in billowy gold fabric with black adornments. The best central to the room had the Black family crest artfully carved into the headboard, complete with 'Toujours Pur' arching across it in lilting script.
"Is this your room?" Sirius asked Hermione, looking quite impressed.
"Yes, Sirius, this is my room. Alphard spared no expense for his little princess," Hermione said sarcastically.
Hermione went to the dresser and picked out her favorite pair of muggle pajama pants that Lily had given her for her sixteenth birthday, and a gray Beetles t-shirt.
She stepped behind her japanese changing screen and the magic in the screen changed her clothes out and left her previous outfit folded neatly on the vanity.
Hermione went to her king sized bed and pulled back the blankets preparing to snuggle in, when she noticed Sirius still standing there. "What's wrong Siri?"
"Everything. We haven't really talked to each other since Christmas eve. We've just been dancing around each other using magic and sexual tension. I want to love you Hermione, I really do," He said, his dark eyes pleading with her.
"I'm sorry Sirius. It's just-" She cut off.
"Hermione, I want you to know you can tell me anything," He said, stepping forward in a few huge strides to hold her face between his hands.
"It's just that since Marlene died, I don't think I'm the same person I was," She looked down. "I'm cavorting with half blood's, muggleborn's, and blood traitor's. I'm not the same girl I've been my whole life. It's a damn good thing my father hasn't looked me straight in the eye since I was three. Because he'd sense the change. I look so much like my mother, he'd know that I'm opposing the Dark Lord. I just- I want so bad to lay down and be a good little pure blood," She sneered. "but, I hate, oh Merlin, I hate him so much."
Sirius knew this was one of those times when Hermione was allowed to be vulnerable, she was a revolutionary in a war for Merlin's sake. So instead of trying to reassure her, Sirius just sat there next to her. She had to get her thoughts out somehow.
"I just hate everything that they've become. When I was young, he was like a God, he was faultless, and perfect. He had the answers for everything, but then he got mean. The Dark Lord has warped him, he's not my father anymore. All the people I grew up with too, the Dark Lord has warped them too. I just- I just, I think I hate too much to love," Hermione was trying her hardest not to cry, but her silver eyes swam with tears anyway.
"We have to do this Sirius," Hermione said taking his hand. "for them, for us, for the whole of Wizardkind," She hiccuped a sob. "For my Mother, for Marlene."
"Hermione," Sirius said, finally speaking. "I don't doubt your ability to do this, so much as I doubt how this will effect you. Do you think you can handle this, this war, the carnage, the aftermath. We're talking about war scarred people, what's that muggle thing 'STDP?"
"It's PTSD, Sirius," Hermione chuckled weakly.
"Yeah, that. We need to focus on all aspects of the war, we need healers, and purebloods willing to harbor people that the Death Eaters are after, we need people to be on the front lines, and spies to infiltrate them, we need people on all sides. We're just focusing on dueling to keep things from happening to our friends, to prevent things like what happened to Marlene, but Hermione, we need a full fledged army,"
` "We'll have the front lines covered, I think. Once Dumbledore gets those aurors. Madame Pomfrey will be able to train healers, and we might be able to find some healers at St. Mungo's to assist. My mother was a master potioneer, so I've got that covered, Her lab, and potion stores are beneath the manor. But Spies, I don't know. Maybe Reg?"
"Absolutely not, Hermione. I won't risk my little brother," Sirius told her.
"But think about it Sirius, who else could we send in? We know without a shadow of a doubt Regulus is loyal to us, and he's got enough training to prove himself to the Dark Lord, and he's got enough sense not to get himself caught." Hermione tried to reason with Sirius, but to no avail.
Sirius leveled his gaze with Hermione, "Send anyone, Me, James, Peter, Remus, just not Regulus. I'm not going to bargain with you about this Hermione, I'm not sending my baby brother to join the ranks of a madman."
"If that's how you feel, Sirius. I won't send Regulus." Hermione amended.
"Good, now can we not talk about this. The war can wait. I want this to just be us for a little bit," Sirius said.
"Okay, just us," Hermione amended.
It was two days later, a sunday when the full Order of the Phoenix met officially. Hermione was surprised at the turnout of adult Witches and Wizards.
They were many in number, and surprisingly mostly pureblood. Agnes Longbottom was there, she had been one of her mother's outspokenly brilliant friends. There were three aurors there, Alastor Moody, his father Samuel Moody as well as Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Unsurprisingly Molly's two older brother's Gideon, and Fabian were there as well. Alice had brought Frank Longbottom, whom Hermione suspected had almost fainted at the sight of his mother dueling against three aurors.
It took them damn near all night to work well as a team, the whole lot of them dueling in such a way that they seamlessly made up for each others weaknesses with another strength. Hermione was satisfied with their progress, and continued to work with them twice a week for the next two years.
It wasn't until nearly the end of their final year at Hogwarts that Hermione and Sirius, flanked by the Order of the Phoenix engaged Voldemort's followers in battle.
Surprisingly, the two sides were evenly matched, and thanks to Sirius' suggestion of battle field healers, no lives in the Order were lost. However, very soon into the battle, Sirius was hit with the cruciatus curse, falling to the ground, he writhed in pain. Hermione abandoned the masked man she was dueling to look for the source of Sirius' pain, only to be met by the unmasked face of Bellatrix Lestrange née Black.
"Bella!" Hermione bellowed. "to the death," she challenged her cousin.
"to the death," Bella agreed.
The two sides parted to different sides of the battle field, the Order to one side, and death eaters to the other. Bella and Hermione took the center of the field.
"Hermione, don't-" Sirius cut of as Hermione silenced him. Bella had dared encroach on what was hers. Now that bitch was gonna die.
"Crutio!" Bella shouted, only for her curse to be deflected.
"Sectumsepra," Hermione shouted. It was a cutting curse of her own invention, designed to kill.
Her curse hit it's target, as Bella was sliced open. "You- you'll pay for this," Bella gargled as blood began to dribble from her open mouth.
"It looks like the only one paying is you Bella. It's time to pay the piper, you've cheated death for too long cousin. It's time for you to go to hell!" And with that final word a jet of blue light shot from Hermione's wand and Bella quite literally disappeared.
It wasn't until the next day when Hermione received an owl from Gringott's that she discovered, in the heat of the moment, she'd defeated Bella in one-on-one battle to protect her Fiancé, and now she owned all that Bella had owned.
The letter stated that Hermione was now the owner of Bella's dowry which had been transferred from the Lestrange vaults to hers, as well as Lestrange Manor, various vacation homes, and many artifacts. Since the Lestrange brothers had been presumed missing by the Auror's, Hermione and Sirius inherited everything as the current Black heirs.
According to Professor Dumbledore, it was an old law that when a witch or wizard was defeated in a one-on-one battle, to the death, the winner gained not only all that the defeated witch or wizard had, but they absorbed all the magic of the defeated witch.
Hermione was pleased to find that all the spells she attempted were much stronger than usual. Hermione just hoped that she hadn't absorbed any of Bella's craziness.
A/N: Thoughts? I'm working out from here... I don't really know what I'm doing but I like it.