Chapter 15
Voldemort was not used to being ignorant. The bond with Hermione Granger was something he was now considering himself ignorant about. His own magic had changed the moment the bond had been completed, and he felt singularly dependent on the girl. He felt the moment she left the mansion, and his magic seemed to mourn the loss and colour his castings. His wand was no longer responding well to his promptings, and he no longer had Ollivander to interrogate at his leisure. He would need a new wand, if he couldn't find the issue.
There was more to it than him, however. It seemed like Granger was in pain if she denied the magic. It shouldn't even be possible to deny the magic that forced her to protect, and yet it had happened just the night before. The more he read the more the magic seemed like a possession of will, where the witch might not want to react but was forced to much like an imperio.
He had scoured the texts and records from centuries back when he had first looked at performing the ritual himself, revised them when he considered bonding himself, and yet he felt as if it was singular and strange what was occurring.
He took out his wand and examined it. Still the same wand that had reacted so to Potter all those years ago. What had happened to it?
The rarest tomes concerning this magical upheaval would not be easy to find. Yet, it needed to be done. Throwing his cloak around him, Voldemort went to collect a few followers to accompany him. He needed to visit Alexandria.
Harry had never felt happier in his life, and for the life of his he couldn't tell why. Hermione was missing, for crying out loud! He shouldn't be happy! Two days ago he had had a fainting spell, confusing and worrying everyone in the Burrow. He had seen Hermione's crying face in his vision and then . . . nothing. Not a peep from Voldemort in days. No ominous feelings, no anger at the scary and immortal prick.
He was sitting at the Weasley's kitchen table eating dinner, everyone strangely quiet for the situation. No anger or accusations, just quiet.
Dumbledore decided then to pop into the Burrow, emerging from the fireplace with a look of caution on his face. Everyone simultaneously rose, looking to him for some kind of word on the situation. Mrs. Weasley was the only one who seemed to have her tongue.
"Albus, come in," Mrs Weasley hustled forward to greet the Headmaster. "Cuppa for you?"
"Your hospitality does you credit, Molly," Dumbledore said kindly, his eyes sad. He turned to the Weasley family and Harry and gave them a sad smile. "Please, sit. I did not intend to intrude on your family meal."
"Any news, Albus?" Arthur asked him, voice soft.
Dumbledore's face looked strained to Harry. "Yes, Arthur. Quite a bit. There have been two order meetings over the past two days regarding the situation."
Molly frowned. "We weren't called?"
"Your family has always been close to Miss Granger," Dumbledore placated the man. "We felt it best to wait to tell you until we were sure of the situation."
Dumbledore remained standing at the head of the table, but now everyone had stopped eating and was simply looking at him, waiting for him next words.
"So . . ." Ginny finally braved the silence. "Hermione?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Miss Granger appeared in the hospital wing early yesterday morning," he told them all. "It is as we feared."
His words hit everyone with mixed feeling. The parents looked sick. Ron looked as murderous as Charlie and Bill, while the twins just shared an incomprehensible glance. Ginny was shaking next to Harry and he put his arm around her comfortingly, their previous boundaries forgotten in the worry.
"So, she's back?" Harry hoped. "She's still in the Hospital wing?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Harry, it is not so simple. Tom has, well, Tom technically has possession of Miss Granger. She is bound to him."
"Where is she?" Ginny asked, her voice sad. "Did she go back?"
"Not by choice, dear Ginevra, I assure you," Dumbledore said sadly. "Miss Granger did, however, strike a blow to Tom before he could summon her back to him. She has rescued many prisoners from Tom's forces, including Mr. Ollivander and the niece of our own Hestia Jones."
The twins smiled at that, sad though it was. "That's our spitfire."
"This is awful!" Molly cried out. "What's going to happen to her?"
"Ah," Dumbledore grabbed a rustic chair and sat himself down. "That is something Miss Granger herself has been trying to find out. Tom may have bound her to him, but the ritual he chose to perform was meant more to defend the estates of old magic families. As Tom is a descendant of Salazaar Slytherin, Miss Granger has discovered that she is also bound to Hogwarts."
"Wait, how is she getting away for him?" Harry demanded. "If she can escape, come to Hogwarts, why can't we keep her there?"
"Getting to her and keeping her are bery different things, Harry," Dumbledore informed him with infinite patience. "Tom has taken to many old pureblood traditions to restrict Miss Granger. Firstly, the binding. Secondly, he has taken to collaring her with family blood stones."
The Weasleys gasped while Harry just looked confused.
"Harry, blood stones are, we shall say, relics of previous marriages within the family bloodlines," Molly explained. "They are extremely powerful. If they were made by Hermione's family, they would have given her additional power and protection. Since they're from You-Know-Who, it is a direct link in blood from him to her."
"He has the power here, Harry," Dumbledore summarized for him. "He has shown he can summon her from within any wards, and she is unable to remove the stones herself. Between that and the bond, Miss Granger is at the Dark Lord's disposal."
"She's a slave," Harry pronounced, looking for Dumbledore to deny it.
He didn't. His wise eyes weren't twinkling, his face was sad, and all he offered to Harry was a nod.
"Then what are we going to do?" Harry demanded. "We have to break her free!"
"We cannot," Dumbledore intoned gravely. "These bonds are formed through virginal magic, and as it is only accessible at one time, unless we had gotten there the moment of the binding we cannot reverse it. These bonds have been considered dark for at least a century for that reason."
"We have to do something!" Ron exclaimed, banging his fist on the table.
Dumbledore raised his shriveled hand to stop the outcry from the table. "Miss Granger has been given a degree a freedom from Tom, much to his detriment. Because of this, Miss Granger has been taking occlumency lessons from Professor Snape, hopefully enabling her to gain some privacy over her mind with her proximity to Tom. She will progress quickly, Severus assures me, and as such will be able to use her unfortunate circumstance to aid the Order. And as she now has access to Hogwarts wards and can apparate there anytime, she is being allowed to return to school each day for term. This is all we can do for her."
"We can see her?" Harry caught on, his eyes now wide. "She'll be at school?"
Dumbledore shook his head reluctantly at the young man. "Miss Granger will not be able to interact with anyone affiliated with the Order except Severus until her Occlumency is strong enough. She knows the risks, and has agreed to avoid interacting with you all."
"No!"
"We need to see her!"
"But she's our friend!"
"Enough!" Arthur yelled out in Dumbledore's defense. THe quiet man's exclamation had everyone silent. Arthur turned to Dumbledore. "How is this going to work?"
"She will be placed in Severus' house," Dumbledore told them. "You will see her, but know that you will make it harder for her if you interact with her."
"The Snakes will tear her apart!" Ron protested loudly. "She's like dirt to them!"
"Severus has taken her safety upon himself," Dumbledore assured them. "As I understand it from both Severus and Miss Granger, she has a unique and important position with Tom, akin to a pet. Any children from homes with one or more of his followers will know not only to leave her be, but to not allow harm to befall her. Miss Granger will be safe in Slytherin house."
"Poor Hermione," Ginny murmured, her voice shaky. "A pet to him."
"There is some good news," Dumbledore told them. "We believe that the bond with Miss Granger has affected Tom's strength. He may be in a vulnerable, mortal state because of Miss Granger."
Ron and Harry shared a look. They knew what he meant. They might be able to kill him.
"There is another piece of good news, although that may depend on you and your children, Molly, Arthur," Dumbledore looked on them deferentially. "Miss Granger rescued many prisoners from Tom's grasp. This included one extremely scared, heavily abused young man who was unwillingly given the Dark Mark."
"Goodness," Molly shuddered, "I can hardly imagine."
"Indeed," Dumbledore said gravely. "This young man asked Miss Granger to save him from his home, and is now in mortal peril should any of his followers find him. Currently, he is being treated by Madame Pomphrey, but should anything happen at Hogwarts, and for the summer breaks, he is very much on his own . . . and in need of a family."
"Of course he'll be welcome here," Arthur offered generously. It didn't escape his notice that Dumbledore didn't wish to reveal his name, but he knew enough from what he said to trust his word.
"Thank you, Arthur," Dumbledore accepted gratefully. "However, he will also need people to look out for him should overly zealous students take his punishment for defecting into their own hands once term resumes. I'm sure Miss Granger will protect him when she can, but she is at the disposal of Tom. Harry, Ginevra, Ronald?"
They looked at each other and nodded.
"We'll protect him," Harry announced. "Who is he?"
"The young man I refer to is the young Lord Malfoy."
