Hermione lost her balance, landed on her knees, then jumped to her feet and shook herself angrily. Spontaneous Apparition had never been her forte, much less Apparition through time and space! She didn't split herself, and thanks for that. The beach was wet and windy. The heavy mist mixed with salt settled on hair and clothes. If she hadn't figured out to expose the protective shield, she would have gotten wet in an instant. The gray sky hung like a lead bag overhead, ready to collapse down at any moment and bury everyone under it. Hermione knew, of course, that her decadent moods were all the influence of a Horcrux, and not just any, but the very one that she had dragged around her neck for more than six months, but it did not get any easier.
The last thing she expected so soon was to be on this beach, hidden from everyone by the magic of the fairies. There, on the other side of the sea, Azkaban was frozen in time. And even through the protective charms, its corrupting influence reached them. It seemed as if one had only to close their eyes, and one could hear the groans of the prisoners and feel the icy breath of the Dementors. Hermione tossed her already hopelessly disheveled hair, slipped her wand into a bun that was carelessly twisted at the back of her head, and resolutely moved forward. Severus' pupils widened in panic.
"Don't you know, that it is strictly forbidden to stick a wand anywhere like that? Especially close to the back of the head! One awkward move, an accidental magic blow, and you're dead."
"It's blocked," Hermione said casually, moving closer to the water.
"What? The wand?! How?" Severus began his questioning, rushing after her.
"Occlumency."
"Nargles tear me apart! Is that what they taught you in DMLE?"
ЭNot really. I was homeschooled at the same time. In France, you know, they are not so prejudiced against all kinds of forbidden arts," Hermione explained, unlacing her boots, removing her socks, and entering ankle-deep into the water. Severus just shook his head in disbelief as he felt like learning again! She was strange, this witch, so similar and unlike everyone, he had ever known before. He wanted to look at her closer, she was like a strange plant, and for some reason, he remembered that beautiful flowers were most often prickly or poisonous. Well, Snape had always loved difficult assignments and unsolvable problems.
Black, not noticing anyone around, resolutely walked along the water, clearing the coastal line of debris, branches, and other flammable objects. He did not fancy rushing off the beach and evacuating the entire faerie settlement. In his family, no matter how crazy it was, they always respected the laws of the ancients. And the laws were as follows: first, ask for permission, and then say thank you. He did not want to invite the wrath of magic on himself and his half-dead brother. They had enough problems without it. As for this Maya… Something in her stubbornly haunted Sirius, like a splinter itching in the most uncomfortable place. She seemed to him too bold, too self-confident, as if hiding behind a mask. And her shields, they definitely didn't teach this in DMLE. But he was going to deal with all this later, for now, he needs to save his brother and destroy this rubbish, because of which, in fact, he dragged himself to the beach in such bad weather.
Hermione stood with her legs apart and palms outstretched in front of her. A Horcrux lay before her, flames coiling around it. It took on bizarre forms, turning either into a snake, then into a lioness, then into a phoenix. Sirius even stopped, thinking. He remembered how he had once read in one of the treatises on the Dark Arts, with which their home library abounded, that the Hellfire fed on what was hidden in the soul of the magician. Lioness, snake, and phoenix, what kind of fish were you, Maya, who were you? Finally, the fiery whip turned into a lynx and pounced on Hermione. Hidden by the flames, it took her a moment to realize that she had lost control. Too strong magic, too dark, too alien, but so familiar. Severus had always said that fire was her element. Sparks, candles, bonfires - all this nourished her soul with strength. But now this force threatened to burn her to ashes.
The guys looked at each other and rushed across the elements that escaped to freedom.
"Snape, shields, quick!" Sirius shouted, running close to the fire pillar. Hermione gritted her teeth and tried to hold back the enraged whip. Sweat ran down her face. Shields hummed, unable to cope with the infernal load, in the truest sense of the word. She knew that she could not give in to temptation, because if her inner darkness burst out, then it would be the end of her and all her crazy enterprise.
Sirius unceremoniously put his hand right into the fire and grabbed her by the wrist, yelling, trying to shout over the raging elements: "Give it back, I'll take it!"
Hermione was so taken aback for a second that she nearly slammed her whip into Black. No, she knew, of course, about the possibility of changing control over the Hellfire, but all this was purely theoretical and there were no fools to test the theory in practice. Sirius paid no attention to her dismay, spreading his legs wider, he grabbed the "snake" by the long tail. In the next moment, the local apocalypse suddenly stopped. Sirius held tight, and even the sweat didn't flow down him like hail, the bastard! Hermione was gasping for air in shock, she herself was ready to collapse from exhaustion at any moment.
"How?!" She yelled, trying to outshout the wind. Blake chuckled cheekily. For some reason, he really wanted to show off, as if playing, he folded the fiery reptile in his palm and showed it to the amazed witch.
"You see, Maya, you are used to the fact that everything is obtained by labor, overwhelming smart and responsible wizards, but you forget the simple truth: everything has its price, and now I am paying it to this fiery monster. You should know that not every power can be controlled, no matter how much you would like it."
"What are you doing then?" ' Hermione asked, shifting from foot to foot. Snape stood next to her and tried to catch his breath. With a cursory glance at him, the witch realized that he, too, was not surprised by Sirius' trick.
"I let it feed on my darkness. Merlin sees, there's plenty of that stuff in the Black bloodline! And in exchange, I ask it to help me destroy the Horcrux, which has even more darkness."
"But… but I…" was all Hermione managed to stammer out weakly.
"And you, little sorceress, are trying to command the darkness!" Black said in a didactic tone. "Darkness can only be accepted."
Snape nodded in agreement.
Hermione watched in surprise as Sirius extended his palm forward and let loose a lethal fire into the air as it licked the Horcrux merrily. She had never felt so stupid in her life! And never in her life had she been so clearly aware of the gulf that lay between Muggle-borns and pure-bloods! She wanted to go home. She wanted to smoke. And get drunk. Not necessarily in that order.
Sirius, meanwhile, watched with satisfaction as the last sparks scattered in the sunset sky; dusted off his palms, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and turned to his companions. There were shadows in his eyes, worse than the ones Hermione was sure were now staring at the world from her own reflection. He flaunted, of course, but he also got it.
"Will you find your way home? I need to see my parents. And Reg... Snape, can he still stay with you?"
Snape nodded and shook the outstretched hand.
"You are in my debt."
"You have my word!" Sirius slapped him on the shoulder and was gone. Snape busily picked up Ashwinder's eggs left over from Hellfire and the mangled remains of the artifact, shoved the wealth into his pockets, and turned to Hermione.
"Hey, how are you?"
She stood paler than the canvas and thoughtfully chewed her lips.
"Ah? What? No, no, it's all right... Go home. And I ... will go to the hotel too. I'm staying here, on the outskirts of London," for some reason she launched into lengthy explanations, not noticing the piercing gaze that Snape bored her with.
"Are you sure you can manage? I could…"
"I can handle it! I'm tougher than I look," she pressed firmly and closed her eyes. Snape rustled along the beach for a while, then shrugged and vanished with a pop. She followed suit.
In the hotel, without even bothering to turn on the light, Hermione threw her boots in all directions, threw her coat on the chest of drawers, missed, slammed the door, and sank wearily into a chair. Her head hurt like hell, and this irony made her want to howl. She felt bad. From everything. From this risky event, from her own insolvency, from the number of skeletons in the closet with which the local world was filled. From fear and darkness, through which, it turns out, each of them went. And from secrets, she didn't know. And to top it off, this new Severus irritated her terribly. He was knocked out of the local "landscape" so much as if someone's evil hand took him by the scruff of the neck and threw him right into the center of Hermione's personal drama. Was he ever really like this? What…
"Let's lie down on the sofa and you will try to relax." The portrait of her husband reminded her of her "permanent place of residence" in her head. Hermione sobbed through clenched teeth.
"Severus... I feel so bad, Severus..."
"Close your eyes and trust me," a familiar voice whispered into her ear. Hermione wanted to bury her face in the pillow and just howl.
"It's not you! It will never be you again! How can I live with all this, Severus?"
He didn't seem to hear her, but Legillimency pulled off the trick Snape had planned: Hermione felt him take her into his arms, rocking her and comforting her as before. How many were there, those hugs, in their short family life? She surrendered herself to his magic, feeling the warmth of his beloved embrace, the heat of his body, the smell... The smell always drove her crazy: the smell of a winter forest, the sea frozen in anticipation of a thunderstorm, tobacco, and firewhiskey. Intoxicating and so dear. He whispered something, soothed, and caressed her. She wanted to die here and now. And touch him.
"It's all mind games, Severus, snap your fingers and the magic will dissipate..."
"We will call on it again. You are mine, and I am yours, in whatever reality we are. And that he who irritates you so much is also me. And you are the one who made him that way. You don't know until you see it, but he is already devouring you with his eyes. If he hadn't been me, I would have punched him in the face. Even in portrait form."
Hermione rolled onto her side and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"How did you live all these years with a clueless version of me, knowing that she would never be Maya?"
"But she did, wife. After all, it's still you. Find something in the younger version of me that piques your interest, and develop it. For now, don't think about anything. Today you are mine. Not in the body, but in the mind."
"You will leave me... How will I live without you?"
"I will never leave you, and our parting is still too far away to spoil such a beautiful evening."
"I miss you so much, Severus."
"I am with you today. Lower your shields and come to me."
And she obeyed because she loved him.