Chapter II
A/N Thank you so much for the reviews for the prologue! I hope you like the first real chapter, do let me know if you do!
Waking up in an unfamiliar bed and not immediately recognising her surroundings was something that made Hermione all too often tremble with fear. She figured it was due to their year spent on the run and the constant fear of being discovered in their hide-outs. Wearily she opened her eyes, the garish white of the walls temporary blinded her, but she gradually got used to the light. They must have transferred her to St Mungo's, she thought faintly and carefully touched her head which was painfully stinging, she flinched at the touch and slowly sat up on her bed. Various pain potions were standing on the bedside table for her to take and while she was tempted to drink one she hesitated, her hands trembling as she struggled not to grab one of the bottles.
She remembered her own reflection in the mirror in the Gryffindor dorms, the dark bags under her eyes that seemed to never disappear and the ever ashen look of her skin and how she had struggled the first months after the battle of Hogwarts to go one day without a pain potion. To witness the destruction of her beloved school every day and missing familiar faces that she would never see again had been daunting.
For Hermione spending another year in Hogwarts had meant to relive the still fresh memories of the battle firsthand, but she had wanted to help rebuild with the intention of making the castle her home again and especially facing her very own fears that would not let her sleep.
It had been all too much though.
Most notably in the first weeks, she spent her free time hidden away in the comfort of her own room, staring blankly into the ceiling, a particular indifference had overcome her, possessing every inch of her mind. The nights were what she feared most, nightmares plagued her for most of the time with almost always the same result; she would wake up screaming hoarsely, her heartbeat painfully fast, sweat streaming down her face. The pain potions alongside sleeping draughts had made everything so easy at first, but soon she found herself drinking the potions in a regular fashion, only the thought of omitting them for a day caused an uneasy feeling to settle in her stomach. After a while Hermione had hated how dependent she had become of the potions, particularly when she realised she was running from herself, cowardly escaping the real world.
Grimly she leaned back into the pillows, willing herself to lay still, until she heard voices from the corridor, perking up her ears she pretended to sleep in case someone would enter the room.
" – We made tests, they're all negative, Minister. I assure you, he's very much alive", a female voice stressed exasperatedly.
"I know, I saw him. But you cannot deny that we are at loss here. He has been dead for over 20 years and now he's suddenly back... that reeks of dark magic."
The man! With sudden clarity Hermione remembered him, how he had been lying on the cold floor, barely breathing, appearing to be almost dead. He had been so cold, she thought with a shudder. Abruptly she pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle a surprised noise. If he had been dead for twenty years then there was only one person he could be. Only one person would wear the ring of the heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. A ring that had been lost ever since his death.
The person she had found was Regulus Black.
"Are you suggesting Hermione practised dark magic to bring him back?" Harry's voice inquired sharply.
"No, all I am saying is that – oh don't look at me like this, Harry. No one seriously believes Hermione has got anything to do with is, but please hear me out," Kingsley requested gently. "You must admit that the circumstances under which they were found were odd. Three bodies in the Death Chamber and no trace of what actually transpired in the Death Chamber."
"Well, we just have to wait until Hermione's awake then. Is it – is it bad that I am wishing it would have been Sirius instead of him?" Harrys voice sounded strangled, even guilty and Hermione wanted nothing more than to hug him at that very moment,
"Don't feel guilty, Harry. It is only natural that you are disappointed and by all means, you are allowed to feel that way. After all, Sirius returning through the Veil would even have been the, well more logical thing to happen, but perhaps the Veil does not work like that. Who knows."
"I am not disappointed, I am just confused... he looks so similar and yet I don't know him at all, he's a complete stranger and how am I supposed to explain that I am living in his home? I just don't know how I am supposed to deal with this."
"Harry, it's alright. You will figure out a way, I doubt Regulus will give you a hard time. Come on, let's see if Hermione has woken up."
Hermione set up straight in her bed, deciding she wouldn't sleep any longer and watched as the door was slowly opened, Harrys worried face was the first thing she saw, after him a stern looking witch wearing green Mediwitch robes followed and finally Kingsley, clad in fancy royal blue robes stepped into the room.
"Hey," croaked Hermione out, her heart suddenly racing as she took in the serious expressions of the three visitors.
"Hermione! I am so glad, you are finally awake," Harry exclaimed as he came up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. She smiled softly at his familiar scent and already felt much calmer inside, although she dreaded having to answer their questions.
"Harry, please. I was just unconscious," she replied awkwardly into his unruly hair "I am fine, just having a slight headache."
He finally let her go and sat down on the edge of the bed, exchanging a meaningful look with Kingsley, who stood by the window.
"You've been out of it for more than 24 hours, Mione. We were worried."
Surprised she looked up, had she really been unconscious for more than a day?
"Hermione, do you remember what happened in the Death Chamber?" Even though Kingsley's voice was gentle, she could not help but notice the sharpness in his tone, his dark eyes seemed to look right through her and she hastily put up some Occlumency shields, although she knew he wouldn't dare to enter her mind without her permission.
"It is a bit fuzzy," she began slowly. "Smith sent me a memo that he made a breakthrough in his Veil studies, he – ah wanted to show me his results, so I went to the Chamber and he told me he did some experiments, I knew he wasn't supposed to practise magic on the Veil, so I already was apprehensive, but he just wouldn't listen to me and went on about using ancient ritual magic to... well, I guess activate the Veil."
"Activate the Veil?" Harry's eyebrows shot up. "I thought the Veil's magic is still a mystery."
Hermione flinched at the accusing tone that had found its way into his voice. Working in the Department of Mysteries had brought more secrets with it than she cared to admit and keeping them from her friends, especially Harry and Ron resembled walking on a tightrope and more than once she had been too close severing said rope.
"It is, Harry," she replied evenly and sent him a reassuring smile from which she hoped it reached her eyes. Hermione hated lying to him, however, she knew she could not entrust him with any more information, she already risked dismissal by telling Harry and Kingsley more about what had transpired earlier. "That is the reason Smith chose the Veil as his study project, he wanted to find out its inner workings. Frankly, I doubt someone like him wouldn't even be of scratching the surface, though his experiments did actually show an effect on the Veil, although not a particularly positive one. When I arrived in the Chamber it was unusually cold, and it felt as if the magic in the room had well shifted, was somehow set free, honestly, it was a bit creepy. Smith then showed me a book that he had used for deciphering the runes on the Veil...," she trailed off and stared out of the window. What was she supposed to tell them now?
How she had let him go. How he had died because of her. She instinctively knew Harry nor Kingsley would blame her, and yet vocalising what had happened would turn in into something real, not a weirdly hazy memory in her mind.
"Which book did Smith use?"
Dumbfounded Hermione looked back at Harry who watched her with a strangely blank expression. "I don't remember," she whispered, feeling ashamed. Why on earth didn't she know the book's title? Why had she not cared? "I didn't pay attention."
"I am just asking because there hasn't been any book in the chamber, nothing. Even Smiths notes are gone. To be honest, it's a bit weird, because he can't remember anything about the incident, it seems like his memory ever since he started researching the Veil is gone, conveniently wiped out."
He could not remember?
But wasn't he dead? She had seen him pass through the Veil, there was no way he could still be alive.
"Zacharias Smith is... fine?" She asked carefully, deciding it would be safest to not mention she had thought he was dead. The looks she earned from both men were enough for her to confirm that her lie had been noticed.
"What did you think, Hermione?" Kingsley suddenly sounded cautious, as if he was waiting for her to slip up.
Slowly she drew out her breath before answering. "Well, not soon after I arrived in the chamber, there was a sudden rumbling sound that seemed to originate from the Veil, we were both scared, but Smith told me to stay calm, as it got worse we wanted to leave and in that moment there was suddenly some sort of wind coming from the Veil, it strangely felt as if we were both sucked into the archway. I must have blacked out not soon after that. When I awoke I just saw... the man, but not Smith, that is why I am a bit surprised he was found," she explained softly, nervously glancing at Harry who absent-mindedly looked at his watch.
"There is no need to be nervous, Hermione. Investigating you Unspeakables is just – please excuse my language – a pain in the butt. No one tells us anything, no one ever sees anything. Merlin, I am actually surprised that we were even notified of this incident." Kingsley let out a sigh. "We have one person with no recollection whatsoever of the past two weeks. Then a man who has been dead for more than twenty years and is now lying unconsciously in his hospital room and finally, you, Hermione. You are the only one, who can actually give us answers."
Hermione didn't like the underlying tone of Kingsley's voice, the intensity with which he examined her. She quickly looked away and caught Harrys contemplative gaze
"So, what you are telling me, is that you want to use Legilimency on me, am I right?" She raised her eyebrows at the two men, silently judging how they suddenly seemed embarrassed and wouldn't even meet her eyes anymore. It wouldn't be her first time that someone would use Legilimency on her. Part of her training included extensive Occlumency and Legilimency lessons that she found gruesome but knew they were indispensable for an Unspeakable. To her surprise, she actually had a natural talent for locking her mind to intruders, but Legilimency had not come easily to her, despite actually being able to enter someone else's mind it wasn't something she ever wanted to practise on a daily basis.
"Yes," replied Harry seemingly uneasy.
"Miss Granger is still in shock, using Legilimency on her could prove to be extremely exhausting if not dangerous to her mind. I'd advise you to wait a few days., Minister Shaklebolt."
Surprised Hermione turned to the female healer who had entered the room with both men but hadn't said anything so far. Healer Wood it said on the nameplate of the stern looking witch who watched Kingsley attentively, a slight frown tugging at her lips.
"While I see your point, Mrs Wood, this is a matter of urgency and entirely up to Miss Granger, who will decide on her own," responded Kingsley, his mouth set into a thin line.
Hermione sighed, while she ultimately agreed to Healer Wood's assertion deeming her too weak for Legilimency she felt that Kingsley would press the issue further if she wouldn't agree. For the first time since the Death Eater murders of Sussex one year ago, he seemed to be visibly shaken, if not furious under his ever so friendly behaviour.
"I'll do it," she finally said after a while, locking the memories of Zacharias Smith being pulled through the veil and her own guilty feelings over it away. She had doubts over whether it had been the right decision to lie to Harry and Kingsley but she grimly noted she could not take back her story without making them suspicious.
"Very well. Harry if you would," requested Kingsley with an apologetic smile in Hermione's direction. "I am terribly sorry, Hermione," he added softly.
Nervously Harry skidded closer to Hermione on the bed and pulled out his wand. Reassuringly Hermione nodded as the tip of his wand touched her temple.
"Legilimens," whispered Harry with a pained expression in his eyes. His Auror training had included the same lessons as Hermione had, but for him, it had been even more painful because of his excruciating history with Voldemort and his use of Legilimency on him.
She felt him enter her mind immediately, which felt different to when her teacher had done it during her practice, more intruding, less elegant. Though she figured Harry wouldn't care about his finesse as much as someone like her who had tried countless times together with Zabini to improve her skills so no one would notice they had even entered her mind, but so far they both had failed and only earned laughter of their teacher, who had told them it could take decades to master the fine art of Legilimency.
She willed the memories of last evening to replay in her mind, starting from when she walked down the corridor of the department, her initial talking to Smith and the odd atmosphere of the chamber. As they got closer to the crucial memories, she suddenly felt Harry pushing, pressing deeper to the point she groaned in pain. After a while, he disappointedly left her mind.
When she opened her eyes after some time, she saw him furrowing his brows and slowly shaking his head.
"I couldn't see them. It was like there was some sort of blockade that kept me from watching the memories. I only saw incoherent bits and pieces, that is all," he explained visibly drained from his efforts. "I think something messed with your mind, Mione... maybe even the Veil itself because it felt like I wasn't supposed to see any more than that."
"But I can see them? Nothing seems distorted to me," she whispered, not trusting her own voice. Something was terribly wrong, she felt it. It neither made sense that Regulus Black was back in the world of the living nor that Zacharias Smith was still alive and the thought someone had tampered with her memories did not ease her either. Hermione resolved to look into this when she would leave the hospital, she frankly did not trust the Auror Office to do a throughout job, especially since they were already prejudiced against the Department of Mysteries.
"We could try once more –," began Kingsley unconvinced, he was interrupted by the healer.
"No, absolutely not." She shook her head, challenging him to object, while Hermione was secretly relieved.
"As you wish, Mrs Wood," he begrudgingly admitted, before looking at Hermione. "I am so sorry we had to put you through this, but with Black returning and this group of death eaters still on the run, everything's a bit chaotic. I just hope you understand."
"I do, Kingsley. Don't worry." Hermione smiled assuringly at the minister and gave Harry a warm hug. "See you on Sunday and give Ginny my kisses, yes?"
"Alright, we'll see you then. Is it alright Ron's bringing Lavender?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, Harry. I already talked to Ron about this, so don't worry."
The men both bit her farewell closing the door behind them when Hermione exhaustedly fell back into the bed. She dimly registered Healer Wood sitting down next to her, golden sunlight shining through the window, immersing the room with the warm light of the setting sun. Suddenly she felt drained out of her energy and could hardly keep her eyes open, too tempting was the thought of finally sleeping.
"I must say, I am a bit disappointed, Hermione."
She groaned into her pillow as she recognised the voice, but did not dare to look into her teacher's eyes.
"Did you use a polyjuice potion?" she mumbled drowsily.
"Naturally. Healer Wood is currently at a conference in Rome, but the Minister does not concern himself with such insignificant information. How are you by the way?"
"Well how do you think I am?" she snapped before she could stop herself. "I.. I am sorry, I'm just feeling a bit..."
"Drained?" He provided, which led her to finally face him, his light brown hair shimmered reddish in the sunlight, while his face was laced with shadows. "You were hit with an enormous amount of magic, obviously your are exhausted," he stated in an almost bored tone looking at his fingers.
Hermione nodded. "Does that explain the barrier in my mind as well? I have been reading that the mind can shut down some memories due to stress or trauma."
He slightly cocked his head. "No, that's not it. After all, you consciously as well as unconsciously weren't the one deciding to distort the memories, the Veil did. For whatever reason, I truly wonder. What I am more interested in, is why you thought Smith was dead, and please do not take me for a fool, I know you lied to those two earlier." He raised his eyebrows questioningly at her.
She frowned slightly, staring at his expensive dark blue robes instead of his face. "I saw him being pulled through the Veil... I was the one who let him go. He was holding onto me, and – and I realised that he was the one who was being sucked into the Veil but not me, so I – I let him go," she whispered with a strained voice, he soothingly touched her hand which felt surprisingly warm. "He told me that he would take me with him."
"Interesting," he commented thoughtfully. "However, if I had been in your situation I would have done the same, there's nothing wrong with wanting to survive, Hermione. After all, self-preservation exists in everyone more or less." He regarded her for a moment, Hermione felt her cheeks heat up in his scrutiny.
"My my, with every month of knowing you, I'm more convinced you should have been in Slytherin," he added with a smirk. "A more pressing issue is obviously Smith's loss of memories though. We can't even trace back his movements in the past two weeks, nor his research and what is even more baffling; there is absolutely nothing left of his notes for the Veil, everything is gone. I talked with Unspeakable fifteen, who asserted me that Smith kept large files of his current research within the chamber. Either everything has been pulled through the Veil, or someone...," he stopped, a solemn look appeared on his face.
Hermione didn't like the direction of his thoughts, because it meant someone within the Department of Mysteries had been in the Chamber of Death before anyone else, disposing of Smith's notes for a reason currently left unknown.
"He actually behaved strangely when he showed me the book. He seemed so sure of his results, to the point where I found it weird... and he did not want me to leave when the Veil began to act oddly. I – I honestly think, he already knew what would happen, but did not expect him getting pulled," she suddenly remembered.
"A serious allegation, indeed. However, I have been wondering as well why Smith would choose the Veil as his first research project, there has been a serious discussion between the other Unspeakables whether a trainee should receive that much of responsibility, he had some vocal advocates though." He stood up, straightening his robes. "We will have time to talk about Smith later, I have a meeting with the Wizengamot now, discussing Regulus Black's return to the world of the living," he mocked with a small smirk, Hermione couldn't help but smile
"What will happen to him?" She asked curiously.
He shrugged. "That is for the Wizengamot to decide, though I would wager his final betrayal of the dark lord will weigh in his favour –"
"You should stop calling him the dark lord, people will think you agreed with his ideology," Hermione interrupted bossily.
"They already regard me as a former silent supporter, if not financial contributor. A side effect of being a pure-blood, I fear. But I have no such time for idle gossip, ignoring what other people say will improve your life immensely, Miss Granger. Take my advice," he softly said, turning to the door. "Oh, and for the rest of the week you are on sick leave, do not turn up at work if you do not want me to send you back personally."
"Very well, but I will use my time to look into this," Hermione replied haughtily when the door to her room was opened once more. A young healer stepped into the doorway, he appeared to be confused about Hermione's current visitor.
"Mister Warrington, what a surprise... I didn't know Miss Granger and you were close," he finally had found his voice, furrowing his bushy brows he intently watched her teacher, who had assumed his mask of usual pure-blood indifference and arrogance.
"We aren't. I was here on Wizengamot business. Miss Granger is an important witness to our current case. If you would excuse me now."
The healer hurried to step out the way and both watched Mister Warrington walking swiftly out of the room without looking back. Silently Hermione rolled her eyes at his dramatic exit, although she admitted that he did look dashing in his robes.
It wasn't an unusual practice for Unspeakables to lead a double life. Pursuing an official profession everyone knew of, that functioned as a cover, while in reality working in the Department of Mysteries was a choice the majority of the Unspeakables selected. Although Gaius Warrington was a member of the Wizengamot, as well as a former lawyer who took one or two cases a year if he felt like it, his actual work lied within the Department of Mysteries. Ever since she started her training he had been her personal teacher and advisor, who she valued for his intelligence and most importantly his determination wanting to see her improve. She astonishingly had actually come to like him in the past year, even if she would never admit it to his face.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you that you are free to go home. Take these two potions, they will help with the magical exhaustion. If you like I'll add a pain potion as well?" His round face looked questioningly at Hermione.
"No, I am fine. Just the other potions, please."
He nodded and left her with a shyly spoken good-bye. The sun had already disappeared behind a tall building, leaving the room in a bluish twilight. Yawning, Hermione sleepily packed her bag and put on some clothes that undoubtedly Ginny had chosen for her in a hurry. She blindly walked to the elevator, where she stopped dead in her tracks. Her curiosity got the better of her so she turned back.
She had someone to visit before going home.
A/N: No Regulus interaction, I am SO sorry! I will do my best to have him appear next chapter. And for Gaius Warrington, logically it is not the Warrington we know from Hogwarts, who is just two years older than Hermione. It is his father, but we might see him as well some time... who knows ~
Oh, and there are so many mysteries to come, guys! I am excited!