Hermione and the Radiant Chaos
Chapter 10
The Harbinger
"Hey, Hermione what do you think of the news?" Harry asked as he shook his head at the newspaper.
"I don't think anyone expected someone to make such demands. I betcha she's got the power to carry out her plans though." Hermione replied thoughtfully.
Harry nodded as his captivating emerald eyes seemed to peer into her very soul. Hermione felt her heart race as he looked into her eyes.
"Harry..." Hermione whispered weakly.
Her heart yearned for him, she had felt her strength diminish as time continued to progress. Now that he lived once more, her soul had tied to his. But he was still unbound. Their current connection was merely one way and until his heart healed it would remain one way.
Harry's eyes widened in shock upon hearing her plea.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
At this point Neville had grabbed Susan and pulled her away from them.
"C'mon Susan, let's let them have some space." Neville whispered.
"But..." Susan protested feebly as she allowed herself to be pulled from the breakfast table.
The students around Hermione and Harry shifted away and some third years pulled several of their house mates to different parts of the table.
A certain Weasley had to be physically restrained by his twin brothers as the reckless boy had begun to charge up to them angrily.
However, Hermione didn't notice any of this as Harry's gaze had captured her, and she was helpless to the enthralling life in his eyes.
"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked.
She wanted him to love her again. She wanted nothing else. Yet, he hated her. While she didn't blame him it still tore her apart.
Hermione sighed in defeat.
"It's nothing Harry." She said, masking her feelings.
The students around them sighed in frustration at her words. Even a few teachers looked disappointed. Harry naturally was oblivious to all of that and Hermione was too caught up in her gloomy thoughts to catch the pitting glances thrown her way for the rest of the day.
Time passed all too slowly for Hermione. She felt her shattered heart trying to put itself back together.
She wasn't having much success at that.
Potions was as it had been all year, entertaining. Snape's classes had become wonderful affairs. Students (First year Gryffindors) began looking forward to Snape's classes more than any other. It was assured that in most classes something was going to happen. Because, whenever Snape would attempt to harass Harry something would happen to him or to terrify the class. It was different every time but always had one thing in common: it was disruptive. In particular after an event that would shape the class' image of their snarky potions teacher.
"Potter, didn't think that you'd have to work because of your fame did you?" Snape had sneered before Hermione took action.
Professor S S Snape didn't notice that he now wore a tie dyed pink and yellow, and neon green shirt, wild, curly brown hair, a beard, and a pair of khaki shorts. Resting on his face was a pair of ostentatious sunglasses. The change was gradual and as Snape's clothes changed the student's began to laugh. However, the laughter was nothing to what happened after the Professor opened his mouth.
"By this point dudes your potions should be tranparently green kids. If you didn't follow my chillin instructions then your potions should be the classic pink color dudes." Snape said in a voice dreamier than Luna's most dreamy voice.
He had been turned into a hippie and for the rest of the lesson Snape spoke to the class like that.
For the rest of the month Snape couldn't look anyone in their eyes and for the rest of the year he could be silenced with a single phrase. It was a phrase known as; 'Far out dude'.
Needless to say, it became commonplace in Hogwarts to emulate Hippies. Students greeted each other with hippie phrases and gestures. After all, Snape was a hated instructor and this was a direct sign of disrespect for the oily man. The students loved it.
Neville had taken a shine to calling out to the man in the halls.
"Duuudeee! What's Up my maaan?" He'd say to the Professor every single time he saw him.
Snape would flush in shame and stalk away before any more could be said about his greatest humiliation.
Hermione had thought that during the week following the incident Harry would die of laughter whenever he'd see the bat-like professor. According to Madame Pomphrey's medical journals several students had to be given a calming draft that month to help settle them down.
Naturally Headmaster Dumbledore rushed in to try to do damage control but by then it was too late. The Daily Prophet had already found out and printed an article.
POTIONS MASTER REVEALED TO BE A HIPPIE!
The article covered the potions masters new status as a hippie and before long it had become a generally accepted fact that the greasy man was a hippie. (Even though he wasn't.)
The month passed slowly after that, Hermione watched as the 'adults' in government would gather and deliberate on a neigh daily basis.
Near the end of the month the Daily Prophet printed the Ministry's reply to Nemesis' threat.
MINISTRY TO BATTLE 'GODDESS'
After a month of deliberation and discussion the Ministry agreed that they would not accept Nemesis' demands. Because of this the Ministry has placed a 1,000,000 Galleon bounty on Nemesis' head. However, not all ministry personnel agreed with the Fudge Administration's stance. Most noteworthy of these is the former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Amelia Bones (She was mysteriously fired during the debate) was quoted saying: "Even if we should fight Nemesis is besides the point; we don't have the resources or manpower to face this unknown threat and protect our people at the same time. Furthermore, Nemesis; while threatening the Ministry had valid points and they are many that we should consider. While I won't agree with her methods I do agree that our pureblooded bigotry is destroying our society, and furthermore, if she is correct about the Department of Mysteries then her demands are not so extreme after all."
However, Senior Undersecretary Madam Delores Umbridge was confident in the ministry's ability to defend the ministry's 'sacred rights and duties' and assured reporters that they had the funds and ability to stop Nemesis.
Minister Fudge denied any such 'evil experimentation' being done in the department of Mysteries and assured us that the Department; while focusing on research and other subjects also was a critical ministry asset due to it's destruction of dark magical objects....
Hermione smiled grimly. The ministry response was one that she had anticipated. So first Saturday of the new month Nemesis appeared in the Ministry's entry chambers. Her eyes were calculating and cool. The expression she wore was grim. She had forewarned them and now she was taking action.
"You've ignored my warnings and instead have elected to try to hunt me down. It is time to burn your pathetic excuse of a government to ashes." Nemesis said grimly.
Almost immediately Aurors began to pour into the Entry hall; wands blazing as they fired curses at the intruder.
Nemesis merely shook her head before she popped behind the attacking force and fired an incinerator hex. The smell of charred and burning flesh clung to both her robes and her nostrils even as several Auror's screamed.
Hermione's heart went out to them but she had a mission to complete.
"I warned you all. Now, the ministry will not exist by the end of this day."
Nemesis waved a hand and placed several anti-transportation wards up even as several people tried to escape the building via Floo or Apparition.
"There is no escape for the corrupt." She said before she blasted the remaining Aurors out of her way. The twenty Aurors were sent sprawling in every direction and Nemesis made her way to the Minister's office.
As she walked away she heard several of them groaning in agony.
On her way there she was attacked by several groups of Unspeakables. These she did not show mercy to.
"You are dead men walking." Nemesis assured the assembled group.
The leader of the last group barring her way to Fudge snorted.
"Honestly, Nemesis, did you expect me to just blindly oppose you? No...After all...Even goddesses have weaknesses."
Nemesis looked at the Unspeakable for a long moment; amusement flickered in her immortal eyes.
"You truly believe you've uncovered a weakness of mine?" She asked curiously.
"A millenia might have given you tremendous knowledge, but it didn't give you immortality."
Nemesis' eyes narrowed.
"You presume far too much." She said as she fired a created several javelins and cast them at the group.
Most were unable to dodge and found six foot steel lances going through various body parts.
Soon only the group leader; last of the Unspeakables remained.
Nemesis shot off another javelin at the Unspeakable to see if he would dodge. He did so easily and fired a purple curse at her. Angrily she batted it away. The pace of their skirmish picked up then and after one of the Unspeakable's curses slammed into the tiled floor chunks of debris flew everywhere, and it temporarily blinded Nemesis who was the closes to the impact zone. Suddenly, Nemesis felt something she was familiar with but thought she would avoid today. Pain. She felt blood drip down her side and slowly make it's way down her side.
She quickly cleared her eyes and touched her side curiously. When her hand pulled away from her wound blood covered her hand.
"How can this be? I hit you directly with a severing curse." The Unspeakable said in shock.
Nemesis smiled coldly.
"I can't be killed by the likes of you." She said and this time a javelin connected with his chest.
The impact made a sickening thud before the javelin left the wound and left a gaping hole where the man's chest had been.
"Only one thing remains." Nemesis noted.
Before the hour ended the injured goddess of revenge had destroyed the entire pureblood power base in the Ministry, destroyed Fudge's administration and now only a hollow shell remained. A shell of less than 10% of the former ministry. As she went about her 'business' she had to occasionally banish any blood that fell from her side. Until she had finished her work she knew that she couldn't take the time to heal her wounds. If she did, then Fudge and his incompetents might make a getaway and find a new place to set up shop.
Hermione knew that with so few people, and even fewer who would be brave enough to enter now that the word was out that she could crush a government; Anarchy might take root in the broken society.
However, she also knew that the ICW was bound by it's charter to assist countries that were in serious trouble. and this would constitute as 'serious'.
With her mission completed Nemesis returned to the school. By the time she had finished she had grown light headed at the loss of so much blood.
Hermione allowed her disguise to drop and looked at her injury. She was grateful that her blood hadn't fallen upon the ministry's floors but her side was a complete mess. She quickly banished the blood on her right side and found the wound.
It was a eight inch gash running up and down on her rib cage. The wound was deep and she could see her ribs in the wound.
Hermione winced as she struggled to knit herself back together.
At several points Hermione had to bite back a scream as she slowly sealed her side.
Once she finished she felt her exhaustion overtake her and she lost all coherent thought on a desk inside an unused classroom just outside of Gyffindor's common room.
She had passed out before she had been able to clean the area once more and her blood coated her side and trickled down the legs of the desk, and slowly pooled at it's feet.
Wow, that's nuts. The Ministry of Magic in the U.K. has been destroyed. Now there's a few reasons I let the Ministry of Magic die so quickly. Hermione's gonna have other things to deal with that are more worthy for someone like her....The Ministry was just a side thing...
Still, she did get hurt...Sorry Hermione... I'll admit that it was rather gore-some.... She isn't invincible and I think that her injuries will help both the readers and herself realize that...................
Characters that died from the attack: Fudge, Umbridge, Several Department heads, Nott, Any Voldemort Sympathizers/followers in the Ministry (Malfoy doesn't work at the Ministry...Pity)
Characters that made it: Mr. Weasley, (Tonks is a 7th year currently), and Amos Diggory (and a few others)
Fudge's administration law enforcement.
I'd say maybe 10-20 Aurors and 20-40 Hitwizards....
That could defend the Ministry of Magic against a minor riot and that's all Fudge ever expected to see.
Oh, milestone for LOH happened just recently! It's hit 1000+ Reviews. Thank you all for reviewing for LOH and Radiant Chaos, you guys rock! (and Ladies too!)
Oh yes, for the chappie might sound a little off but...she foreshadowed the end of the ministry as they knew it.....As well as other things...
Haha! Snarky Snape the Snarky Hippie! (Try to say that 5 times fast!)
Okay so I lost a huge chunk in the editing process. (Size wise) but there were a couple things that had to go. I just hated the flow of them and I wasn't happy with them at all and even with a few new changes It wasn't enough to push the size back up to what it was. However, I'm happier with this version and I guess that's what matters more right...?