Warning: Death
~o0o~
Everything was in order and everyone within Rosehill knew to keep their mouths shut about any news until tomorrow evening, but so far there were no taunts about Hermione's 'death'. No doubt they were rallying the troops.
Hermione paused in organizing her armor and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Cedric asked as he laid out everything he would need.
She flung open the bedroom door and hurried downstairs.
"I thought I said bedtime was at nine o'clock tonight!" she scolded, bursting into the playroom.
"Aww, Mum!" Micah whined.
"Huh," said Cedric.
"What?" said Hermione.
"Well, when I was a kid, I asked my mum how she always knew I was misbehaving," he said. "And she said the power was instilled in her the day she became a mother. I thought she was joking. Come on, kids. You don't have to go to sleep, but we'd at least like you settled down."
That usually worked, but there were still pouty faces.
"Everything okay?" Manuia asked.
"Oh, Papá," said Hermione. "I thought you were taking Amalea home."
"I blame you for being a bad influence," he said. "She's being stubborn."
Hermione chuckled softly. "Well, it's rubbing off on my kids. Think you can tell one of your famous bedtime stories? Get them calmed down?"
He smiled. "I think I can do that."
Chandra exclaimed happily and clapped her hands.
"Come on kids, into your jammies. Time to brush your teeth," said Hermione. "And then you can hear Tūtū Kane tell a story."
They managed to wrangle the kids and get them up to their bedrooms. She had to squeeze the boys in one and the girls in the other for the moment, but hopefully by the end of the week everyone could spread out a little more.
"Sorry to keep you all cramped like this," she said. "I promise, it isn't forever."
"You always say that," said Willow. "I guess it's always true but… it's no fun moving around like this."
"I know," said Hermione apologetically. "The scary bit is almost over though. That I can promise."
"So we won't have to hide anymore?" Pepper asked.
"That's correct," said Hermione. "I'd bet by the new year we'll be wrangling you into school uniforms."
"Blegh, do we have to?" she groaned.
"I like learning," Abigail signed.
The young boys came into the girls room with pillows and blankets.
"Be polite for Tūtū Kane," said Hermione, rising to her feet. "And then it's quiet time." She rested a hand on Manuia's shoulder. "Thanks, Papí."
"Anytime, precious," he said. "Just check on your sister for me? I don't want her to think she needs to act strong."
"Sure, Papá."
Hermione stepped out and took Cedric's hand. They went downstairs to tell everyone to start quiet time in a half hour.
"Cedric."
Cedric squeezed Hermione's hand and turned around to look at his father.
"Care to explain?" Amos demanded.
"Explain what?"
"Perhaps as to why Rosehill is fixed, why I forgot of its existence until now, and just what the hell you think you're doing, and why on earth are you back in the country and I had no idea?!"
"I would just like to make one thing quite clear," said Cedric.
"What?"
Cedric smiled. "I never explain anything!"
He and Hermione turned away, but Amos grabbed Cedric's shoulder.
"Don't you talk back at me, boy! I am still your father and you will show me proper respect!"
Hermione was ready to intervene, but Cedric smacked his hand away and looked at him darkly.
"I stopped being your son the minute I was infected with lycanthropy," said Cedric coldly. "You made that perfectly clear. But you stopped acting like a father when Mum died."
"I was hurting!"
"Shh! Don't yell," said Cedric. "You'll scare my children."
Amos blinked. "Your—Is that why Hermione left the country four years ago?!"
"Oh my God." Hermione touched Cedric's arm. "I'm going to check on my sister. Good luck dealing with… that."
"Sure," he said and kissed her lightly. "By the way, Dad. Hermione and I got married."
"YOU'RE MARRIED?!"
Hermione went down to the floo room, then entered Hawaii. She spotted her sister sitting on the hammock and went around to her. At a distance she appeared to be relaxed, but up close her face was drawn and she was hugging a heavily patched stuffed rabbit.
"Hey," said Hermione.
"Hi."
Hermione sat down on the sand. "Papá is worried about you."
"He's been worried since 1985," Amalea muttered. "It can get so annoying."
"I know Mom, Dad, and Mum are worried too," she said and looked at the window of the house. "Since I'm the big sister, I guess it fell onto me to needle you about your feelings."
"Guess so."
Hermione traced an aimless shape in the sand.
"You feeling okay?" she asked. "Your glucose levels and all? I was worried about you not being able to regulate it."
"I… had a seizure," said Amalea. "During the rescue."
"I'm sorry… I didn't realize…"
"I'm okay. Cedric got me to the base and the healer knew what potion was needed," she said.
"Well, physically you're okay but… do you need to talk about anything you saw? What you experienced? If you even want to yell at me that's okay too, but don't bottle it up."
Amalea bit her lips and shook her head.
"I'm not angry at you," she said. "But a lot of the stuff they were talking about was scary. Sorting us by our blood rank. Talking about… our place since they were honor bound not to spill our blood. As slaves… or as wives. Though to them I don't think there's much difference."
She shivered and hugged the rabbit tighter.
"One even picked me," she said. "Some creepy old guy."
"Oh, Ama, I'm so sorry," said Hermione. "He didn't—do you need a kit?"
"No! No. I would've set him on fire," she said. "Viktor actually went crazy. Reached through the bars and started strangling him. I think he said some very creative curses in Bulgarian. That's when… When they took him upstairs."
Hermione hummed, then got up and squeezed into the hammock next to her.
"I still feel gross," Amalea murmured, shifting uncomfortably. "The things they said… it's like what you hear about from colonizing. To actually experience it—I never even knew they were coming. If… If I hadn't been so stupid."
"Hey, no. You're not stupid."
"Yes I am! I thought I was far enough away and Uluru is underground but… there's this guy I really like and… he invited me and my friend Rebecca to go camping with him and some friends. And I thought this was my moment. Like your and Cedric's love story, kissing under the stars!"
"Well, technically I laughed in his face," said Hermione. "And we kissed in an almost empty ballroom."
"Shut up. It's romantic. So kawaii!"
"What the heck does that mean?"
"It's Japanese for cute!"
"You're Korean."
"Shut up! I know!" Amalea swatted at her and she grinned. "Turned out he was into Rebecca and was trying to set me up with his friend."
"No!"
"Yes! I felt so stupid!" Amalea pressed her palms over her eyes. "I went out, got kidnapped and held in a dungeon and I feel so pathetic! You get a near death experience and you just pick yourself back up! I got a couple bruises and I'm—a—nervous—wreck!"
She broke down into sobs. Hermione hugged her tightly.
"You're just so awesome and bad ass and I can't even fight off a bad guy! I'm soft!"
Hermione was silent as her sister poured out her insecurities and feelings. Finally, her sobs dwindled into snivels. Hermione gave her a tissue and hugged her tightly.
"There's more freedom in softness," she said. "Me, Esperanza, Cedric, half the people we know all became tough because we didn't have a choice. There's no empowerment in knowing you're only training because you have to fight for your life tomorrow. I hate running, I'd rather dance than fight. And too many people see crying as a weakness, so I learned to hold them back until I was alone. For years, I had nightmares every night and they only stopped when Cedric started sleeping next to me. Well, that's a bit of a lie, I still have them just… not as badly.
"And sometimes, I sit in the freezer and cry my eyes out. I'm so tired of fighting. I'm tired of being the hero. I'm just… tired. It's a gift to worry about things like getting a boyfriend or if your hair looks good or wondering when the next comic book is coming out."
"They're called manga."
Hermione smiled and wiped her face.
"I'm sorry. I never wanted you to get pulled into my mess," she said. "But listen. It's almost over. In less than twelve hours we're going to be one step closer and all that's left is Hogwarts."
"Really?"
"Yeah. And guess who's going to be on babysitting duty while Cedric and I are off on our honeymoon!"
"No! Those kids are great but no! No, no, no!"
Hermione laughed. "The Residents actually agreed to take care of them. I just wanted to see what you'd say."
Amalea rolled her eyes but laughed, then started crying again.
"Is it wrong?" she asked. "People died, can we really be laughing?"
Hermione sighed softly and hugged her.
"Hey, on the next sunset here let's go to the beach," she said. "Just you and me. Do you still make bracelets?"
"Nah, not anymore. I'm really into drawing comics! Can I show you some?"
"Sure and then I should get to bed."
"That's one thing that stinks about those doors," said Amalea. "They can't sync up the timezones."
Hermione chuckled and went into the house with her.
"Are you staying for breakfast, Mimi?" Beatrice asked.
"Mm? Maybe just a bite," said Hermione. "And then I should get to bed. I have a heist in the morning."
"A heist? So soon?" said Roger.
"It's important we act while they're still scrambling," said Hermione. "However, the bank doesn't open until eight."
Hana furrowed her brow.
"Don't heists usually happen during closing hours?"
"That's exactly what they'll be expecting!" said Hermione.
Amalea grabbed her hand and tugged her up the stairs. Hermione followed her to her room.
"Still messy as ever," Hermione noted and flicked her wand to send the clothes into the hamper. "They have spells for this, you know."
"Geez, you're speed-running this whole adult thing," Amalea laughed. "Please tell me you're going to start knitting sweaters and baking cookies like some grandma."
"They're cardigans, actually."
Amalea laughed and pulled out a sketchbook, flipping it open to show her drawings.
"Oh wow, these are great!" said Hermione, flipping through it. "You've really gotten good at this."
"Thanks! I still can't get the hands right and I think the eyes are a little wonky."
"That's the thing with you artists," Hermione chuckled. "Always thinking about how you could've made it better instead of basking in the fact you created something and decided to make it everyone's problem."
Amalea gasped and punched her shoulder, making her laugh.
"Thanks, Nia," she said. "For talking to me. I don't know if I feel better but… the world doesn't feel like it's ending for the moment."
"Good," said Hermione, heading back downstairs. "It's important to breathe between these things."
Cedric and Manuia were talking in the newly added dining room as they set the table.
"I'm proud of you, kid," said Manuia. "You really held your ground."
"It was tough. I kept thinking I was going to crumble. I just don't get it. I became a legilimens to read his mind and yet I still can't make sense of anything in his brain."
Hermione wrapped her arms around her husband's waist.
"You alright?" she asked.
He nodded. "I told him to keep away from my family. He tried to hit me but my reflexes have gotten too fast. Tonks took him to stay at her parents house so he wouldn't be around."
"Mm, good."
"She also wants to help on the mission," he said. "So I filled her in."
"Oh, that's good too. So I take it you're joining us for brunch?"
"Mmhm. Thought it'd be a good bedtime snack," he said.
It felt almost normal. It was good to sit and eat with her family, she missed this.
Though Cedric practically had to carry her back to their room at Rosehill.
"Are you feeling alright?" Cedric asked, laying her down in bed. "You're not getting sick are you?"
"I'm fine," she said. "Just tired. My soul is tired."
"Almost there," he said, kissing her tenderly.
Hermione smiled and drifted off quickly.
~o0o~
"You made a pretty convincing Bellatrix Lestrange," said Cedric. "Why me?"
"You look better in the outfit," said Hermione.
"Yeah, alright."
"Last kiss," she said, entwining her arms around his neck.
He grinned and nuzzled her.
"Excited for the hunt to be over?" he asked.
"Very."
Hermione hugged him tightly, then let go to put everything in her utility belt. Just in case, she wanted to be ready to go from this fight to the showdown at Hogwarts, so she made sure she had everything she would need for the ritual.
"Mione?"
"Yeah, Harry?"
He held up his own invisibility cloak.
"Since you're going to be carrying us, I think it's better if you use my cloak instead of yours," he said.
"You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah. Just for this mission," he said. "Don't get it ruined or I'll be cross."
She smiled and used Gryffindor's Pin to hold it fast. She tested it by pulling the hood up. True invisibility. She could even stick her hands out and they'd be hidden.
"Thank you, Harry," she said, pushing the hood back. "Here's the backpack, get everyone inside."
He nodded and went off to do just that.
Hermione finished securing Cedric's armor before covering it up with a long overcoat.
"Oh! One more thing!" She got a pink hi-vis safety vest out and put it on him. Velcro'd onto the back was: POLYJUICED. "There we go. Drink up."
Cedric pinched his nose and took a gulp. He shuddered and tucked the flask into his pocket.
"Egh, Charlene tastes better than this," he said, then made a face. "I'd like that struck from the record."
"I'll probably bring it up during an argument," said Hermione, winking.
And then Bellatrix Lestrange was standing there, but she could still see Cedric's core. After piling the mass of curls up onto his head in that tell-tale style, they went downstairs to meet the others.
"How do I look?" he asked.
"Like my sister," said Narcissa, handing over the backpack.
Hermione put it on and adjusted the cloak.
"Okay," she said. "Let's go."
She took the vest off Cedric and they apparated to Diagon Alley. Hermione hid herself and Narcissa pulled the hood of her own cloak up. The place was littered with wanted posters. Hermione's hadn't been taken down yet, still labeling her as Undesirable No. 1, they used her most recent yearbook photo.
"You look adorable," said Cedric. "Wait, why am I Undesirable No. 2?"
"You're my number two," said Hermione. "Harry's No. 3 because of the prophecy thing."
"Let's try and be quick," said Narcissa.
"Bellatrix Lestrange?" said a passing wizard. "What are you doing here? Last I heard the Dark Lord was looking for you."
Cedric beckoned the wizard over. He cautiously approached.
"MIND YOUR BUSINESS!" he shrieked with twenty years of pent up rage.
The wizard collapsed to the ground then ran away.
"Nicely done," said Narcissa.
"Thank you."
They hurried along down the street to Gringotts. Cedric hissed at anyone who maintained eye contact for too long and sent them skittering away. The day was cold and cloudy. Those dementors were going to be a pain to round up.
Gringotts was no less affected, there were a couple guards as usual, but inside Hermione could see magical shackles keeping goblins to their desks. Their heads were stooped and many had injuries. Some looked to have had their fingers broken and curled back making it difficult for them to hold their quills or examine precious artifacts.
Narcissa approached the one at the help desk. Hermione set the backpack down and helped Griphook out.
"Ahem!" Cedric coughed.
The goblin looked up.
"Miss Lestrange! Can I help you?"
"No, I just like to come and stand around at the bank for no reason," he snipped and slammed down Bellatrix's wand and vault key. "Add my sister Narcissa Black and niece and nephew Nymphadora Tonks and Draco Malfoy as authorized users to my vault."
"Why?"
"You know, I have half a mind to make the next person who questions my decision eat their own boot!" Cedric growled.
The goblin quickly called for the proper paperwork.
"I'll just need a few signatures please," he said.
Cedric made eye contact with Narcissa, then scribbled out a signature that was close to Lestrange's. When it was sent away to be notarized, he spoke again.
"I also want access to my vault. What's that going to require? My left kidney? My first born? A blood oath?"
"Just your key," he said, picking it up. He also reached for the wand, but Cedric snatched it back.
An assistant hurried back.
"Everything is in order, Miss Lestrange," he said. "Now only you can undo what has been done."
"Promise?"
"On my word."
He grinned toothily. "Lovely."
"Shall we go to the vault then, Bogrod?" said Griphook, stepping out from beneath the invisibility cloak.
"Griphook! Why are you here after stealing those weapons?! You want your fingers broken that badly? Miss Lestrange, I swear I had no idea this traitor was here."
Hermione pulled her hood back.
"Congratulations," she said loudly. "You are now being rescued. Resistance is useless."
Her team burst out of the backpack.
"Bogrod, you can't tell me that you want to spend your life as a slave to the Death Eaters," said Griphook. "Will we continue to be subservient?! Or will we stand up and fight?"
"We fight!" a goblin cried out, thrusting her fist in the air.
Cedric tapped his wand to his head and returned to his regular cute self.
"There needs to be two of us, Bogrod," said Griphook. "You will be joining us, willingly or not."
Bogrod sniffed and climbed down from his desk to go with them. Bill and Charlie came along while the others spread out to free the Goblins from the chains.
"This is all null! That's not the real Bellatrix Lestrange!"
"You already notarized the document," said Narcissa. "As I am the real Narcissa Malfoy, I would like to access my deceased sister's vault."
"We're wasting daylight," said Hermione. She inhaled and tipped her head. "The anchor stones… they're here, but they're not."
"It's true then," said Griphook, leading the way to the carts. "You are connected to anchor stones."
"Yes. I don't understand why I couldn't sense it before."
"We are well settled here," said Ragnok, falling into step beside them. He looked worse for wear. "The longer you remain, the more stable a portal will be. More seamless. The vaults, the forges, even our living quarters are not actually below Diagon Alley. Griphook, be quick. As soon as we can, we will be moving."
"Yes, sir," said Griphook.
"And Miss Granger, we welcome the assistance from our most trusted ally."
"Of course," she said. "I only wish I had acted sooner."
"I understand why you did not nor did we ask you to."
It seemed the anchor stones were unhappy. Antsy. Hermione winced and rubbed the back of her neck as the sentient magic reached out to her, crying to be heard.
"All enchantments must be undone," Griphook warned as they climbed into the cart. "We don't want Thief's Downfall to trigger."
They all squeezed into the cart. Griphook sent it down to the vaults while Ragnok took a separate cart to the forge.
Cedric put an arm around Hermione and kissed her cheek.
"Nearly there," he murmured.
"There won't be any apparition," she said. "Not even house-elves. If all goes south, we may need Biggs to dig a tunnel."
The cart took off and went down, down to the deepest parts of the caverns. Where was this really? Hermione closed her eyes and tipped her head, connecting to the Spine. Huh. The Yorkshire Dales. She passed over that area a few times and never had any idea.
"Hold tight!" Griphook called out.
They passed under a waterfall. Hermione ducked her head, clinging to Cedric. Everyone spluttered but no alarms rang. They continued down a spiraling way, finally coming to a stop. Hermione furrowed her brow.
"A dragon," she said as they climbed out.
Charlie nodded grimly. He, Griphook, and Bogrod grabbed strange looking bells out of a barrel and started shaking them before moving around a corner.
A massive Ukrainian Ironbelly shrank back from the sound. The poor thing was chained up, emaciated, its white scales were marred red with blood from its injuries.
"We'll need to fit you with an Automaton," said Hermione. "This is inhumane!"
Griphook rang the clangers louder to drown her out. Hermione set her jaw and grabbed Cedric's hand. They skirted around to the correct tunnel where massive ancient iron doors stood.
"Key, please," said Griphook.
Cedric passed it over.
Bogrod pressed his hand against one door while Griphook did the other. An old mechanism clanked and creaked, then the door opened. Hermione sent light spells inside.
"Holy smokes," she said.
It was jam packed with precious objects that must've spanned back centuries. It looked like the inside of One-Eyed Willy's ship from the Goonies. Piles of gold and silver, chests of it. Platters and goblets glimmering with precious jewels.
"The skull is a bit much," said Cedric.
"That bitch!" Narcissa spat and stomped over to the skeleton. "I don't know where your pearl necklace is, Cissy! I don't even like pearls, Cissy! Pink is such an awful color! Pick something else for your wedding day!"
She knocked the skeleton head off and grabbed the genuine pink pearl necklace, stuffing it into her pocket.
Remembering their task, Hermione covered her brown eye and scanned the room. There. Ugh, of course it was on a very high shelf. Should've brought Alejandro.
There was a resounding boom.
"Times up!" said Bill. "Is it in there or not?"
"It's here," said Hermione, going in. She accidentally kicked a silver basin.
It shuddered and duplicated itself, the two pieces duplicated themselves.
"Dammit!" Hermione hurried over to the cup, her hip bumping into the armor, which then duplicated.
There was a rumbling sound.
"Hey!" Cedric shouted.
Bogrod was closing the door. Narcissa ran and blocked it with her body, but couldn't seem to push it open.
"Coward!" Griphook shouted. "Traitor!"
"You picked the wrong side, Griphook!" said Bogrod.
"Stupefy!" Bill shouted.
Hermione could hear shouts of anger, the sounds of battle, and the clinks, clangs, and hiss of the duplicating objects. She drew her scythe and reached for Hufflepuff's Cup with it. Her blade caught items along the way and they showered over her head, duplicating and growing white hot.
"Mimi!" Cedric ran over and hissed in pain as his legs and hands were burned. Still, he wrapped his arms around her thighs and picked her up.
She grabbed the handle and held fast even as it tried to burn and duplicate. The horcrux inside was weak, unable to breathe in this cold, dark vault. Big mistake. It would take a long time for it to wake up enough to be a problem.
"Got it!" She shouted.
The room was filling up, Narcissa was still trapped while Griphook tried to pull the door open.
"Get to the exit!" Hermione said, collapsing her scythe. "Force the door open! Touch everything!"
Holding onto the handle like she saw in the vision, Hermione punched the cup out and was thrilled to find it expanded into a shield. She slid it onto her forearm then dragged her hands along the objects. Cedric did the same as they backed towards the door. She used the shield to guard them as much as she could.
Pop! Twang!
Over and over. The room filled to the ceiling, the objects continued to duplicate, pressing them against the door. More and more. White hot. Searing.
Finally, the door creaked and bent, unable to contain everything while it was slightly ajar. Narcissa slipped through, and Bill and Charlie held the door open. Griphook was next, then Hermione, then Cedric.
"Let's go!" she shouted. "Aw, hell!"
They skidded to a stop on the edge of the dragon's nest. There were dozens of Death Eaters, maybe a hundred. Some of them were fighting off her team. She could hear Biggs roaring.
"Hermione Granger?" Voldemort hissed. "But I saw your dead corpse!"
"Wasn't me," she said. "Did you know if you die under polyjuice you remain in polyjuice form? Kinda embarrassing to desecrate your baby mama's corpse."
His eyes widened and Hermione grinned toothily despite her fear at facing him again.
"Avada Kedavra!"
She ducked behind the shield and watched in glee as the curse wavered over it with no harm. She peeked out over the top.
"Wow, this works great!" she said and spat a jet of fire at them. She brought her scythe back out. "Let's go."
The fighting was intense, they were outnumbered and it was all they could manage to regroup together. Biggs roared and swung his battle axe.
Then everything shuddered. Hermione furrowed her brow and looked up. The anchor stones showed her what was happening. Gears that only stood the test of time due to their magical nature began clanking.
"GRINGOTTS IS SEPARATING!" she bellowed. "WE NEED TO GO! BIGGS!"
He landed next to her.
"What do you need?" he asked.
"You are not leaving this place!" Voldemort roared. "You will give back what is mine or you will watch as I kill everyone you love! Oath or no!"
She believed him. Thinking quickly, she looked back at the dragon.
"Cover me!" she said and retreated.
The dragon shied back. Hermione ignored the fighting and remembered her research. Ironbellies were maternal, second-most to Vipertooths. It was a chance. She breathed deeply and blasted fire into its face, then screeched.
She stomped around, shrieking and spitting fire. She sent spells at the chains, breaking them away. She sent a final blast of fire at it.
The dragon's pupils doubled in size like a cat's and it made a nurturing rumble. It sniffed her, then flexed its wings.
"ALL ABOARD!" she called.
"I… love you!" Charlie gasped and ran over.
"Hey, she's my wife!" Cedric protested.
"I'll duel you for her!"
Hermione waved them along. The dragon snarled and sent a blast of fire at Voldemort and his troops while the "baby dragons" climbed onto her back for safety.
"Go!" said Biggs, giving her a boost. "I'm right with you!"
Hermione nodded. Everyone was a little worse for wear but they would live. Just a little more. They just needed to get out.
The dragon took off, flying up to freedom. Biggs leaped from stalactite to stalactite, keeping pace with them. The dragon barely had enough room to spread her wings, mostly gliding and kicking off from stone bridges and breaking the tracks.
Everyone was grinning madly, clinging onto the dragon spikes for dear life. The inner workings of Gringotts kicked into full gear and Hermione could sense the building in Diagon Alley standing up on mechanical chicken legs. The portal stretched and wavered.
Almost there.
Hermione looked back and saw Death Eaters smoke traveling after them.
"Oh, COME ON!" she roared. "That shouldn't count!"
She sent nets of spells after them.
Almost there.
The cavern began to split and pull and shake.
"Careful!" Hermione raised the shield over her and Cedric's heads to block stones.
The dragon slowed to crawl out of the gap between Gringotts and the portal. Hermione spotted a witch catch up and throw a knife. Cedric threw a spell to stop the witch and Hermione raised her hand to stop the knife.
She missed.
As the witch disintegrated into nothing, the knife landed in the center of Hermione's chest, splitting her armor where the Hunter's bolt hit her almost two years ago with a loud crack like a watermelon splitting. The air was knocked out of her.
Cedric was screaming, but he sounded far away. Hermione toppled backwards. He grabbed her arm but she slipped right through, leaving behind her biker glove in his hand.
She plummeted down into the abyss below, the dragon disappeared just in time for the portal to cut off and several Death Eaters to slam into the cavern ceiling.
The cloak engulfed her, darkness creeped into the edges of her vision, and she felt nothing.
She felt nothing.