A butterfly was next, then a star, and another crane… so on and so on, one nearly every day. Something had to happen. Hermione was sure she would be caught if it continued on, and with each release, her heart fluttered ever faster until it was swift as a hummingbird's wings. And summer was easing toward autumn. She needed to get out in time to go to Hogwarts.
Perhaps she could convince Lucius to let her return somehow. She would be his ward until she was of legal age, after all— longer, even, as that law was being enforced.
The way his hands tightened on her waist, how he touched her cheek, even the way he guided her through the garden, made Hermione think that would never happen. He was too much the dragon he'd named his line to allow his hidden treasure to stray.
"I miss the library," she sighed one evening, staring at the book in her lap. She was seated at his feet, her head resting against his leg.
Lucius paused in stroking her curls. "I'll take you tomorrow."
Her heart leapt. It would be her first time outside this room in the manor since she'd come there. A small advancement, but an advancement, nonetheless.
"Thank you, Master Lucius."
He hummed and drew her up from the floor and into a kiss, for her to better express her gratitude.
Her next comment was that it might be nice to sit with him in his study some time, rather than stay alone all day. Surely enough, Lucius had her join him when he had to do paperwork there the following day. By inches, she gained access to the manor. Though her walks in garden diminished, they still occurred a few times a week, and she could see his shoulders relaxed, his manner less tense.
He was trusting her.
"Lunch in the garden would be nice— or tea." she remarked, smiling shyly as she stroked the petals of sunny yellow rose. Its name had something to do with friendship, she thought.
"I'm usually busy that time of day, pet," Lucius replied from behind her. His hands were on her hips, heavy and warm.
Hermione shrugged. "I didn't mean any day in particular. Just in the future. When we've a quiet day to ourselves, or something." It was best for him if she never mentioned doing these things by herself. She would let him decide to trust her, so that she seemed less inclined to manipulation in his eye.
His lips skimmed her throat. "We'll see."
One day there was a crane waiting at the fairy-lit fountain. It was one of hers. She knew from the little markings she'd placed on the wings, and the heavy vellum of the paper.
"You shouldn't leave these outside, pet. I didn't spell this one against the elements."
Hermione bobbed her head as though embarrassed. "I must have forgotten it. I'll be more careful." She took it into her hand, petting its head as though it were a real bird.
"Silly girl." Lucius waved his wand and the Impervius charm settled over it.
"Thank you."
When he led her back to her room, she surreptitiously buried it amid the other paper figures. It was hard to sleep that night as her fingers itched to unfold it and see what was there. If it weren't Lucius' arm around her, she might have tried to sneak to it. It wasn't until breakfast the next morning that she had the chance.
She was trembling as she ignored the steaming cup of tea and the still-warm pastry awaiting her in favor of the folded shapes piled atop each other. The little crane was there beneath a star and a butterfly, one wing slipped into a fold of another origami shape. She was gentle as she freed it.
Hermione cupped the delicate paper crane and spoke her name— but nothing happened. She frowned, then tried, "Draco." Still nothing.
"Harry?"
The folds began to unfurl. Delight spilled across her cheeks as she watched it.
Written in cramped emerald ink was, "Soon."
They'd received her message.
She could have danced for joy. She may have. It was hard to remember through the haze of unfettered joy. She had to keep herself under control, or she'd ruin it all. She gave herself a few moments of joy, wherein she might have laughed or cried or twirled; it was a bit of a blur, then composed herself.
Hermione blotted out the word with her black ink, destroying any hope of reading it. If Lucius saw that, he'd realize the writing wasn't hers, and then wonder how it had gotten to her— especially on one of her cranes. It was better he noticed no change at all.
Hermione had to school herself to normalcy that evening, and every day thereafter lest he notice.
In her mind, shebegan to prepare.
It came in the fashion she least expected, which she honestly should have figured, given her rescuers.
Hermione had thought Harry would ride in on his broom and grab her from Lucius as they strolled through the garden. Or maybe Charlie and Ron Weasley would fly a dragon, and it would distract Lucius with fire while she was retrieved. Draco might come with a sword and demand her, or Tom would appear and insist on a proper duel.
Instead, her rescuer, while familiar, was not one of her boys at all.
"Is Miss ready?"
Green eyes the size of tennis balls stared up at her where she was still curled in bed.
"Dobby?"
The house elf, Draco's personal house elf, nodded. "Master Draco saying Dobby fetch Miss. He didn't know where Miss was, but when Dobby heard 'mistress,' Dobby knew. All Malfoy elves know."
Her own eyes widened comically, and she threw herself from the bed. "Oh, Dobby, I could kiss you!"
"Please don't, Miss." The elf sounded horrified.
She laughed. "Alright, I won't. But please, we need to go."
What if one of the other elves realized what was going on and reported to Lucius? There was absolutely no time to waste.
"Miss will have to take Dobby's hand."
Hermione took it, shaking and small in her own. There was then a pressure greater than that of her own apparition surrounded her. It felt like the pressure that builds in one's ears in high places, but it was everywhere all at once. And then—
—POP!
"Hermione!" Arms flung about her from all sides, and she shrieked, not expecting to be engulfed. Everyone backed way, and she took a deep breath to ground herself, then gazed around.
There was Harry, Ron, and Draco, all standing around her and the probable owners of said arms. At a table behind the boys were sat many familiar adults. Harry's parents were there, as was only natural, considering it was his home where she'd arrived. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, Andromeda Tonks, and Narcissa Malfoy.
On meeting her gaze, the elegant woman strode toward her, stopping at arms' length. "It's so good to see you again, my dear girl." She wrung her perfectly manicured hands before her, elegant brows furrowed as she studied her young ward. "Oh, Hermione, I am so sorry for what you've been through. I—"
Hermione flung herself at the woman, who immediately wrapped her arms around the girl. She sobbed into Narcissa's immaculate robes as the woman began making soothing sounds against her crown. The girl was murmuring incoherently against her.
By the time Hermione had finished crying out her misery, they were sitting on a couch, her head against Narcissa's shoulder. Hermione sniffled and opened swollen eyes to find that they were alone.
"Feeling a little better, dear?" She nodded. "I'm not going to ask what happened. You should only talk about that when you're ready, but I want you to know that none of it was your fault."
Hermione's bloodshot eyes widened, salty lips parted. It was like a thorn and its removal all at once, reminiscent of what Lucius had told her though also relieving in its comfort.
Narcissa stroked her cheek. "I should have seen the signs and taken action before it got to this, so I take some blame—"
"No—"
"But Lucius bears the brunt, and that is what we must all remember. No matter our parts, he is the one who took deplorable actions, and he is the one at fault."
Grey eyes bored into amber until Hermione gave a reluctant smile. "Good. Now, let's get some food into you." With that, she took the girl's hand and guided her back to the table.
"So… what are we going to do?"
Hermione glanced between Harry and the adults around the room.
The house in Godric's Hollow was packed full. She recognized many of the face— the Tonkses, the Potters, the Weasleys (all of them), Harry's father's best friends, three of her professors, Narcissa, Neville and his grandmother… and there were people she didn't recognize at all, though she had guessed the two identical older redheads were Prewitts and Molly Weasley's brothers.
"For the moment, the only option is sheltering muggleborns at Hogwarts. Not even the ministry can force the school to give up students," Dumbledore said.
James Potter ran a hand through his already messy black hair. "Will Old Sluggy go for that?"
"I believe Horace will, yes, at least until the governors start pushing." Dumbledore stroked his long, white beard. "We can and will help tie up as much of those proceedings as possible while we work to get this law overturned."
"A lot more than that needs to happen," came Sirius' outrage. "This— what they're proposing— it's enslavement, even worse than the bloody ward system."
"The ward system, at least in theory, was supposed to help bridge the gap between muggleborns' birth culture and their entrance into the wizarding world," Narcissa murmured.
"Yes, well, that was bullocks."
"Charlie!"
"No, mum, he's right. It was a thinly veiled child abuse law," Bill said. "The whole thing was just disgusting, and this is the result."
"Still," said the matriarch, "there's no need—"
"It's fine. They're right. I took advantage of that system and look where it's gotten my family." Narcissa sighed and Hermione squeezed her hand.
"So, we hide Hermione at Hogwarts. What then?" was Ron's big question.
"Well, we work on turning the tide." James and his wife exchanged a long look. "Those of us who work in the Ministry will get to work there. Augusta, can we count on you to speak to your friends and family?"
The old woman scowled. "My brother was a part of this whole mess, so I don't know how far I'll get. I will see what I can do."
"And we'll work on some of the other families," said one of the Prewitts, his brother nodding along.
"We're going to politic our way out of this?" Ron scoffed. "That could take years, and we don't— Hermione doesn't have years. Even if we get her into Hogwarts for the school year, there's still summer. And what about after graduation? Will she become a professor? Take over in the library for Madam Pince? Get a job there, and hide at Hogwarts for the rest of her life?"
"And what about the others?" Harry added. "We can't possibly hide every muggleborn indefinitely. With the new law, anyone who takes a muggleborn can deny them an education."
"Harry—" his father began.
"No!" The boy slammed his hands down. "You think what happened to Hermione was the exception? There will be more of that unless we stop it."
Hermione reached out and touched her friend's shoulder, and he fell quiet, his ears tinged pink. "He's right. The way things are worded, I wouldn't be surprised if other muggleborns are treated the same. It's imperative we get them to safety before those with worse intentions take custody."
"I suppose you have an idea for that, Miss Granger?" came McGonagall's lilting brogue.
"The families against the law will take them in," she said evenly.
"You can't possibly expect—"
"That's a lot—"
"The cost alone—"
She allowed the noisy protestations to run their course, then cleared her throat to speak again. "You were all willing to have me marry Harry for safety but taking in a child or taking guardianship over an adult, will provide them the same protection with an easier means of reversal. And you're against that?"
"Hermione, dear, taking someone into your family is no small feat," Molly said gently.
"Keeping muggleborns from abuse is no small goal, nor will it be simple. It will require sacrifice. From all of us." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm not asking for myself. I'm just one person, and I don't deserve—" she choked on the word, and hands from either side soothed over her until she could speak through the tension in her throat. "I'm asking because there are so many others out there. Any given day, a muggleborn child will be found and brought into this system, and it is not okay. It cannot be allowed to continue, not as a ward system, and not as this— this evil law allows."
"You're right." It was Lily Potter who said this. "Of course, you're right, Hermione. I was lucky to live a life of relative safety, but not all of us have been so fortunate. I should have been using my position to help, but I haven't, content to raise my children, thinking that making good citizens would be enough. It isn't, or we wouldn't be in this mess. We have to step forward now."
Bottle green eyes stared down everyone who had protested, faces falling in shame.
"I'll get a list of muggleborns and we can start negotiating for the release of those who are held by unsuitable families." James broke the silence, fingers tapping against the table as he thought. "The others, we will reach out to, and offer our support. For the adults, we should additionally bring them to these meetings as full-fledged members."
"Members of what?" Hermione hadn't been aware they were an organization.
A few of the adults exchanged glances. "Not sure, entirely, but we should have a name. Instead of saying, 'get all the lads together— no, not the pub lads, the lads fighting the government,' we can say, 'we need a meeting of the group.'"
Sirius grinned at his best friend. "We could be Prongs' Prongs. It has a certain ring to it."
Remus Lupin rolled his eyes. "That's a dreadful name. We won't be using anything you come up with. You're the absolute worst at naming things."
"You're breaking my heart, Moony. You don't mean that," was the Black black sheep's response. "Oi, how 'bout The League of Anti-Ministerial Bullocks? LAMB for short?"
The Weasley twins snorted, then baaa'ed like sheep in perfect symphony.
"Then you'd really be a wolf in sheep's—"
"This is serious," Lily cut him off. Her eyes narrowed as she added, "And don't make the name joke, or you'll be in the doghouse for a week."
Rather than be put off, Sirius roared in laughter and saluted.
"It should be a symbol of freedom," Hermione said when everyone had fallen quiet again. "Like a bird, a symbol of hope and restoration. It should be…"
"A phoenix," Dumbledore supplied, a faint smile curling amid the cloud white facial hair.
She nodded. "A phoenix, yes. I like that."
"All in favor of the Order of the Phoenix," called James, and a chorus of "aye" rose from the people in the room. "All opposed?" Sirius started to put up his hand, but Remus smacked the back of his head.
"Good wizarding folk, we have a name. We are now the Order of the Phoenix."
Notes:
For those wondering, I *do* have ways to see sneak peeks and get more content- all fanfic content is eventually posted here or on another free site. Those places are only for early access, original/erotic work, news, commissions, etc. You can find out more info on my tumblr or my twitter.
freya-fallen and freyafallen (twitter) ... it also includes ways to post extra/update faster.
Life stuff- my health seems to be slowly getting better. I miss my dog. Life goes on.
Also, I made a generic darkfic discord server because I can never have too many places to sprint. It's 18+, so feel free to join if you think a darkfic server is right for you and you are a grown-up. Be forewarned: it is a place accepting of all "dark" themes in fictional works.
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