HEY! So, this is part one of the two stories I'll load today/tonight.
I feel a little warning is in order - here is where the story will get a tad bit violent so... I'd like to say prepare, but I don't know how people will react, everyone reacts differently; just consider yourself warned, okay?
Enjoy nonetheless!
"It's burning! I'm telling you he's back!"
Snape was not quick enough to roll Karkaroff's sleeve down as Granger appeared for his detention. Both wizards stared at the young new-comer, who was intelligent enough to act as if he had seen nothing and set to complete the task Snape had prepared for him.
As Granger worked on cleaning out the potions store he'd assaulted, without magic of course, ingredients were very delicate, Snape watched him carefully. He was sure that he had seen the mark, but why had he acted as if nothing had happened? Surely as a friend of Potter Granger knew what the Dark Mark was… not only that, but he'd also been at the raid this summer.
There was, of course, a way to find out, though technically it would be illegal and if Granger was versed in the art of Occlumency as he suspected he was, then his actions would have nasty consequences, but it was still worth a try. Preparing himself to delve into the thoughts of his student, he was suddenly interrupted by no one else than the headmaster, who slowly walked down the staircase.
"Well, well…" the old coot crooned at the sight of Granger climbing up the ladder to put back a few glasses full of eyes – it irked Snape a little that the boy did not once even pull a grimace at what was supposed to be heavy physical labour. "Mister Granger, would you come down for a second?"
Granger was just about to set the eye-filled glass down, and now stopped mid-action, taking a deep breath. "Sir, if I might just deposit this first?"
Snape watched with rapt attention the precarious situation the student found himself in. Of course a question of the headmaster was as much as an order and any other student would have come down with the glass again, Granger however teetered with carefully measured muscle-involvement on the top of the ladder on the balls of his feet, holding the class at chest-height arms bent. The headmaster took his sweet time, leaving the student in his predicament, before he nodded. "Of course my boy, Severus if I might borrow him for a few minutes."
"He's supposed to serve detention for his… misstep, but if you deem it absolutely necessary, headmaster."
"I do, Severus, I do." Granger put the glass on the shelf with a grace and softness that Snape would not have expected from any of his students, but Burrcockle eyes were hard to get, and the quantity that he had accumulated over his years was probably legendary, he was glad that someone knew how to handle rarities.
"Granger, get down here and next time try to be careful about depositing invaluable things." He snapped. The Gryffindor mutely nodded and clambered down the ladder. "Your detention continues afterwards."
"You know… if no man is ever able to kill Voldemort, then just how did he die last time?" Cho asked Hermione over the table at the Restricted Section.
To their luck they had found a table at the very far end of the Section that was hidden in an alcove and therefore hardly ever visited; their imprints in the dust were proof of that. The Clover had huddled together after Hermione had recounted them what she had seen in her detention.
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think he died, per se."
Luna agreed. "Yes, because if he'd really have died, he wouldn't have sought the school out again. Only ghosts can do that and they do not have a chance of being revived at all." The dreamy voice of Lysander echoed silently through the walls.
Parcival narrowed his eyes. "So you mean to say that he never really died that he… is in a state of in-between?"
Again the Gryffindor negated. "I think that he was not killed, but also the in-between is too far away to describe where he has gone to." She sighed characteristically and the three friends leaned in, knowing that the witch would explain one of her theories to them in 3…2…1…
"I think that his body was destroyed, but not his essence, not his soul. The latter stayed in this dimension, but we weren't able to see it, to touch it, for it is only essence. Quirrell housed it in our first year, Luna… surely you remember. Also… I figured that… well, Potter really couldn't be described as a man at the age of one, so him disembodying Voldemort does not really cross out the prophecy."
The three nodded and Cho spoke up again. "So is it prudent to say that maybe we should start to train for the probability of him attacking…"
Luna nodded, but Pansy's eyes narrowed again. "That will not be pretty." She ground. "Death Eaters throw every hex that can be considered dirty and go even beyond that. Their repertoire consists of everything that we do not learn in DADA."
Hermione pinned her down with surprisingly hard, but determined eyes. "Then that is exactly what I will prepare for, who is with me?" It was decided that a preparation for the worst was just what was needed – desperate times call for desperate measures.
The lantern in his hand glowed softly as his eyes raked over the soft features of the figure in front of him.
Actually he'd known that something was off with Granger, he'd known that student had been different from anyone else – he just hadn't been aware just how different Granger had been from the rest of the masses.
The smooth curves of a young woman could be seen, now that the Glamours were gone and Severus could not help himself but to rake his eyes over the beautiful lines that were offered to his sight. Hermes Granger… or simply Granger, for he did not know her true name, was a woman – a witch actually, and a very powerful one at that.
She could not have known about the magic of the Restricted Section, tying anyone to the desk they were sitting at if they sat too long and transforming the desk into a bed that would be so criminally soft that the intruder would be found in a bed, if not caught in flagrante.
But here he stood, lantern in hand, eyes raking over what would one day be a beautiful woman, for sure. She shivered slightly from the cold night air and on a gentlemanly reaction – for he might be her professor, but he was not a Neanderthal – he removed his cloak and placed it on her for extra warmth, before extinguishing the lantern and sitting down next to her pondering on his next step concerning the witch.
Her breath smelled sweet and as he took up his first guard, he wondered just how she had found herself in an all-boys wizarding school – he hadn't even been aware that witches existed at all…
Taking a cleansing breath to rid herself of any unsavory thoughts, Hermes positioned herself opposite of Harry.
A day prior, the Champions had been informed that they would need to conquer a labyrinth in order to get to the Cup. Whatever would happen inside the labyrinth would stay inside the labyrinth. But it was obvious that if Champions run into each other, there would be duels – nasty ones; after all: the determination to win could overtake anyone.
She was reluctant to let Harry close to her again, she was aware that he would hurt her again sooner or later, and even though she'd proven herself by standing up and plucking Snape's detention from him, she still hadn't been redeemed. It was hence that they found each other in the third-level corridor, in the same room Fluffy had once inhabited.
"What would you like to learn, Potter?" she asked. Her voice was calm and friendly, but measured correctly in order to keep the established distance. The black-haired young man flushed when she addressed him and stammered incomprehensibly. Hermione's eyes narrowed just a little bit. "If you have no idea what you want to learn, then why did you ask me to come?"
Surely they hadn't gone back to ambushing her…
This time when the boy spoke up, she finally understood him. "I… kind of thought that you would have a plan… as to what could be useful… and stuff…"
Of course – she repressed a groan – Potter would always rely on Hermes Granger, even though he'd never say it aloud. He'd expected his friend to be helpful even though he shunned him like the rest of the school. She should probably be angry at the boy for that, but somehow she found that she couldn't be: he didn't know better, did he?
"Well, let's just see what you can do already, those years of fighting Voldemort must have paid off somehow, and then we'll see what we can do to refine your techniques and add a few spells to your repertoire, yes?"
Potter did not argue and Hermes silently drew her wand, casting a silent spell at the young man – the stunner hit him unawares. When he scrambled up, Hermione was waiting patiently.
"First lesson: Your opponent will always enter into a duel with you, whether you notice it or not."
Harry nodded a bit stiffly, before they started again. Hermione was largely relentless, Harry could not take a pause when he wished to, he needed to build up his stamina even getting him used to a two-hour period of fighting would do nothing for that. They were finished when he was depleted and then some.
"I doubt that there will be… physical combats." She said when they sat down and calmed their bodies back into normalcy, Hermione had less of a hard time, she was used to fighting three at a time. "Wizards don't enter a combat if they don't know if they will have a chance – that's unlikely, especially when there is a chance that they might outrun you and still get the Cup without needing to spend much needed energy. It is unnecessary hence to start grappling… but if I were you I'd start running rounds."
Four-eyes looked at her a bit startled. "Running rounds? Why?"
The aggravated sigh made it past her lips, even though she'd tried to hold it back. "Potter, use your brain." She bit. "You'll be in a labyrinth, you have no idea how long it will take any of the participants to get to the Cup and finish it for you, or for you to get to the Cup, you need the stamina!"
He shook his head. "You're an odd one, Hermes… I am seeker, I have stamina."
Hermione glared at him. "Sitting on a broom, yes, you can do that for hours, but can you keep on your feet, constantly in a fast pace for hours? Through the night even? I somehow doubt it."
"Crucio."
Hermione's body burst in agony when her friends cast the spell. She was rather used to it now, to the strange sensation of hurt and fire licking at her nerves, grating on her consciousness and trying to rip her Glamours from her. It took everything of her to not open her mouth and simply scream – to let it all out and be done with it. But she had been willing to undergo this treatment, everyone of them was; it was necessary after all.
"Merlin…" she panted, just when her fingers started to feel like cotton and her mind was about to give in to the beautiful blackness that she could see dancing in front of her eyes.
On cue the feeling stopped and she breathed relieved when she felt the floor underneath her hands – it was stony, solid and even if she was still immersed in blackness, at least she could feel something else but pain.
"Hermione?"
A hand carefully turned her on her back, before she felt the soothing energy of Healing Magic settle over her. Groggily she opened her eyes. "Luna … become a nurse … velvet magic." She babbled and above her the mouths of her friends parted into friendly smiles. Luna's healing was legendary in their small group; no one was quite as apt at it as Luna was. Her magic felt like a warm, fleece blanket settling over you and healing your wounds in one go. The blonde smiled as she continued to heal the broken skin of Hermione. She was still a bit woozy from the curse, but still she turned to Pansy. "How long?"
The Slytherin smoothed her locks back, before she answered. "Ninety minutes, we took turns in the casting you know. You're a strong one little Shrimp."
Hermione nodded and closed her eyes again, fighting the urge to vomit – there was always a small moment, where she wished for nothing more than to empty her stomach, but she knew from experience that once she started, there would be no stopping for a good amount of time.
"That's it, Hermes, deep breaths, good girl."
Hermione knew what she looked like, she had seen Cho in her position, had seen Pansy in her position and even Luna – the faces were sweaty with perspiration, pale from the onslaught of illegal curses and their eyes normally glassy and unfocused. The occasional twitch of a limb was also nothing to be too concerned off, as well as the broken skin that would issue from the muscles straining against their containment.
They always took care of one another afterwards, but once a month, the endurance had to be re-evaluated and they needed to look just how long they'd be able to keep their wits about them. Ninety minutes wasn't bad at all, she had to admit to herself, feeling a little proud of her accomplishment, maybe they'd be advanced enough to take it a level farther even.
As she was carefully perched on the bed, the Clover huddled together, pressing their bodies against the cursed one, she sighed in relaxation. Being subjected to a torturous curse as the Cruciatus always left one bereft on the inside they had noticed quite early, and cuddling, as strange as it sounded, helped knit the psychological scars together more quickly.
Hermione sighed as Luna nestled into the crook of her neck and cooed softly, while Cho pulled her onto her lithe form and Pansy gently laid her arm over her chest. Hermione felt safe in the arms of her companions, she felt as if no matter how often she'd fall, she'd always be caught by them. Exhaustion took over before she really noticed it, lulling her into a dreamless sleep.
Thank you renaid (he's not silly... much; he just wasn't used to being beaten at his own game - how many of us really are?), Anon (thank you =D), douglas. bailey. 9746 (lucky you then ;P), bushyhaired-american-nerd (thank you, Severus is a very challenging character for me to write sometimes...), Helleana (doing so now, ma'am), Allyll (I hope you'll still like it in the future), nikyta (she's a tough one, our Hermione, no worries ;)), Paloma Gomes (uhm... obrigado? is that correctly said?), arabellagrace (understandable, hum?), quattrecskids (thank you for the compliment, it just gave me an enormous ego boost :D), TequilaNervous (I thought about putting it in his chambers, where it should be logical, but that would have been... well somewhat awkward to write... and apparently JKR thought the same, because Hermione was certainly not in his chambers when she stole the Boomslang Skin so... yeah, his private storage), semicharmed (yes, that's possible... where precisely?) and ousia (thank you very much, I'll strive to do so) for all your lovely reviews.
My thanks go to GreenandGold, LB2008 and Meian as well for the Story Alerts.
And lastly, I'd like to thank douglas. bailey. 9746, Charyan and Will love ever come for the Story Favs =D
Please Review!
