The Houses Competition

House: Hufflepuff

Class: Potions

Category: Standard

Prompts: (creature) fairy, and (emotion) fear

Word Count: 1,745

Warnings: Kidnapping, a slight bit out of character, and Fairy!AU.

I hope you all enjoy The Fairy Mortal.

The first time I saw the land of fairy I had been but a young girl. A child who was easily lured away from the safety of home and parents. It seemed a beautiful country to me. Flowing green grass. Trees with colorful leaves that seemed to never change color. Flowers of every shape, size, and color were spread everywhere. It never occurred to me that this place of great beauty could also be a place of great fear.

The people who were short in stature but very beautiful were always so kind. Most looked like they could have been ripped out of the pages of some of the gothic literature my parents liked to read on the taller end of being short with dark features. One in particular always seemed to catch my eye. He was taller than most of the taller ones. About five foot something. He had long curtains of dark hair almost pitch black. He had the most wonderful shimmering midnight blue wings I had ever seen in my life.

I later learned that on the first trip I'd taken to Fairy I'd been gone for a month. To me, it had only seemed like an hour before Severus, as I would later learn the dark brooding fairy's name to be, led me back to my home.

If I'd known that the next time I went back to Fairy, I wouldn't be returning I'd never have followed what I had assumed to be a young girl around my age into the nothingness of the day. But hindsight being what it is, I had and I made the cardinal sin that every mortal makes upon entering Fairy.

"Hermione, don't eat the food!" Severus cried out, rushing toward me but it was too late for him to do anything about it.

I had been frightened of the anger in his voice then. But not as frightened as I was by the delighted gleeful look upon the face of the imp that had tricked me into eating the food of Fairy. I should have known it was a trick but I wanted to believe this child was my friend and a child. I didn't want to believe that anyone in Fairy could wish to harm me or trap me. Which is precisely what eating the food of Fairy did.

Time passed normally for me which took me by surprise as I started to age faster than I normally would have. Fear prickled my heart until Severus explained how time works in Fairy.

I could hear his explanation echoing in my head as I walked over to the cowering girl who looked to be about my age. Her frightened eyes darted this way and that. Trying to discern friend from foe.

"You didn't eat the food, did you?" I asked, kneeling by her side.

She shook her head staring in shocked awe that someone had taken notice of her and was talking to her.

"Good," I said, looking around us to make sure that no one was listening. I was sure that if anyone was I would be in trouble with the King of Fairy and no amount of talking from Severus would get me out of it. "No matter what they offer you, don't eat it. That's how they trap you here."

"But—But look at me," she cried, motioning towards herself. "I'm aging faster than normal. I might die before I get out of this place."

"No," I said, gently echoing the words that Severus had said to me long ago. I'm not sure how long ago. Time tends to stand still in Fairy which made use of such illusions a rather frightening thing. But it seemed like ages ago to me now. "That's just an illusion that the good people of Fairy pull over the eyes of mortals once they sneer in. Roll that around in your mind enough times and you'll be able to see past the illusion. I promise."

"Really?" she asked in a frightened whisper.

I nodded. "What is your name?" I asked her, smiling a friendly smile.

"Hannah," the girl said, "Hannah Abbott."

"Let me advise you upon another thing, Hannah," I said, looking over my shoulder as an impish young fairy grinned menacingly at Hannah. "Don't trust anyone in Fairy. There are good folk here but the bad far outnumber the good."

Hannah nodded.

Footsteps approached from behind me and I could see the sharp features of fear crossing the features of Hannah Abbott quickly. I looked over my shoulder to find Severus standing over me. The look on his face spoke volumes. It told me that I shouldn't be talking to this child. He'd had a hard enough time talking me out of the last bit of trouble I had gotten myself into. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to talk me out of any more trouble.

"Severus," I whispered gently, giving him my best pleading look, "we can't just allow to snatch up whoever they wish to."

"But that's exactly what we must do," Severus said, taking my arm gently. "You know His Majesty isn't going to be happy about this, right?" He beat his heavy black wings against each other to drown out the sound of our conversation. He did this whenever we spoke of things that would get either of us in trouble with the law of Fairy.

"But—"

"Hermione, I barely talked you out of the last bit of trouble you got yourself into," he reminded me. He didn't need to remind me I knew that. I also knew that people were watching me too. "One more bit of trouble and we're both in danger, don't you understand that?"

I looked at him incredulously. Once upon a time that would have had me as frightened as Hannah looked. But not anymore. Not now that he'd taught me how to look through the disguise of Fairy and see to the ugly heart of things.

"I'm not afraid, Sev," I whispered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm not that frightened young child you took in after she was tricked into staying here."

"Hermione—"

"You protected me when you didn't have to, remember?"

I could see that he remember as clearly as I had. I could see the war that was going on behind those cold bleak eyes of his. The ones that only lit up around me.

"I want to do that same thing for others who like me would be trapped here without the help of someone who knows better. The same way you did with me."

I could hear the intake of breath at the end of my sentence. I knew that he saw my reasoning, it had after all been his once upon a time. I could still see the war on his face but knew he would give in. Severus could never say no to me.

"This once!" he said, giving an exasperated sigh. "But if this one returns there will be no second chances at freedom."

I looked over at Hannah whose frightened face had turned hopeful. Then turned back to Severus and nodded my agreement. I returned my gaze to Hannah and nodded for her to follow me.

I knew the pathway back to the mortal world like the back of my hand by now. I had tried to help numerous young mortals back to their homes the way that Severus had tried to do with me. I could hear Hannah's frightened trembling in the way she walked. Feet sending stones skittering in every which direction.

"You have to be careful," I told her. "These passages are guarded by the Riders on the Storm. They aren't as friendly as most Fairies are."

Hannah paled but continued to walk this time more carefully across the stone passageway. I could see that she was almost in tears by this point.

"Don't worry, Hannah," I told her comfortingly. "We're almost there."

"We're almost there," she repeated softly. She kept repeating it as though this was a mantra to keep her going. "We're almost there."

Then I saw it. The blessed light of the mortal realm. The realm that I was born into the one where I truly belonged. The one I could no longer return to because at this point there was too much of Fairy in me. But I could at least bring this one girl back. I could do that for her and her parents.

I led Hannah Abbott to the emergency room of the nearest hospital. After all, the first time I had gone to Fairy I had been gone for a month. I knew that her just appearing back at home would seem rather strange and puzzling to her parents the way it had to my own. Thus I took her to the hospital to make it seem like she'd just wandered in from off the street. Hungry, disheveled, and delirious but safe and sound.

"What is your name?" Hannah asked quietly, looking around her and then back at me.

"Hermione," I told her. "I used to be Hermione Granger. Now I'm just Hermione." I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and couldn't believe my eyes. Staring at me was a young woman who was older and wiser. Her hair was less bushy than it once had been. Her eyes were bright and keen. She was tall and willowy. A factor that could be contributed to the effects of Fairy on a person. She had thin shimmering wings of light blue almost crystalline color. Her dress was a soft green almost like the leaves on a newly sprouted tree once they'd grown.

"Hermione," Hannah said, smiling and shaking my hand which I hadn't realized that I had held out to her, "thank you. Thank you for saving me."

"It was no problem," I told her. "I just did what someone very dear to me had once tried to do for me."

She had turned to talk to one of the nurses who had noticed us standing there and I took this as my time to take my leave. I vanished from the mortal world as easily as if I had never been there, to begin with. But as I did I made a vow to myself to watch out for Hannah Abbott and others who would be easily ensnared by Fairy as I was. What happened to me was never going to happen again.

I hope you all enjoyed The Fairy Mortal as much as I enjoyed writing it.