Hermione woke from a nightmare. She was disturbed by the images still swirling through her brain. She slowed her breathing and began to meditate using mind exercises to occlude her racing thoughts. She slowed her breathing to a breath every 5 seconds, her body relaxed as the horrors of her mind washed away.
She could now think more rationally about her dream. It was like an alternate universe. In her dream she was beside a beautiful, yet dangerous Bellatrix. Her hair nearly identical as the crowds bowed before the two witches. The powerful rush of knowing the people were under her thumb, it scared Hermione with how much the rush excited her. She rubbed her eyes hoping the sensation would help ease some of the uneasy feelings that have settled into the pit of her stomach.
Hermione stood up and got partially ready for the day hoping to run a few charms over the book she discovered the day before. She procrastinated going near the desecrated text and the horrors within its very pages. Those days should have been long behind Hermione, yet, here she was going through some of the same pages as when she was a teenager.
The book hummed dangerously as she approached it. And the gray mist from before leaked out slowly while the shaking went from a slight vibration to bouncing and rumbling. Sparks shimmered across the spines and the runes took on a red glow. Hermione lifted her wand and began to slowly swish her wand in a practiced dance through the air and chanting a melodious revealing charm that made Revelio appear elementary.
Slowly, a blue glow surrounded the book. Various runes appeared in a bubble, some brilliant and others dull, none staying more than a moment. Hermione committed each to memory along with keeping in mind to pull from her memories later to review what she saw. She continued chanting, this time she changed the tempo to be a bit faster, her voice rising to a crescendo as the minutes passed in a blink of an eye. Her arm was beginning to tremble as her concentration faltered in exhaustion.
The book was violent in its protective bubble as the nimbus around it was swirling, the gray mist was gone now it was swirling blood red and emerald green the sparks now flying in every direction in warning. Hermione felt the sweat running down her temple. Her breathing was labored and she knew she needed to wrap up the spell quickly. She slowed the chant and began the closing of the spell, her voice dropping to a whisper and the spell ended unceremoniously with her arm dropping down and then Hermione collapsed.
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Draco was resting in his room when he bolted awake, a wave of magic flowed over him. A very familiar wave. He quickly grabbed a robe and slippers and left his room. Draco had his wand in his waistband and his hand angled for a quick retrieval if the need arises. He went further down the corridor, the powerful feeling increasing to a hair-raising level. He pulled out his wand.
"Point me," he commanded, his wand spun for a mere second before pointing to a door a handful of meters down the hall. Draco slowly approached, the hair on his body tingling as magic ran over his body in waves. He touched the door handle carefully. The slight movement caused the door to swing open and he watched as Hermione slumped to the ground. He ran to her body checking her pulse. It was faint but steady. He sighed in relief and realized her scent was what he smelled when he arrived. He shook off that thought.
He gently picked her up, placing her on the bed with the covers tucked around her. Draco swiped a sweat soaked curl away from her face. He went to the bathroom grabbing a washcloth and dampened it with cool water. He had just begun wiping her face when a bedraggled Harry came through the door. Draco stopped, his hand dangling in the air and a drop of water gathered at the tip of the cloth. It fell silently hitting Hermione's cheek.
Then the overbearing silence slapped. Harry was racing toward the bed with his wand in hand. Quickly, he had Draco pinned to the wall next to Hermione's head.
"I want a good explanation as to why you are here in my best friend's room while she is unconscious," Harry demanded. His grip tightened slightly and his wand was close to puncturing Dracos skin. The blonde gulped a miniscule bit barely moving unless he would set off the man's temper.
"I will explain but I would like to do so without a wand being stabbed into my neck," the blonde dryly explained. Harry loosened his grip slightly before going to the small couch nestled across the room from Hermione's bed. Harry nudged Draco onto the couch. His face showed no sign of friendliness.
"Alright, explain," Harry demanded. The blonde gulped and nodded.
"I woke up to a rush of magical energy. I didn't know where it was coming from at first, so I cast a spell to locate the source it pointed to Hermione's door. I barely touched the door and it swung open. I barely caught her in time as she slumped to the floor. I picked her up and put her in her bed and I was about to clean the sweat from her face when you came through the door," Draco explained quickly. Harry didn't seem completely convinced, his eyes narrowed as he thought about the blonde's words.
"Well, that is a beginning to why you are in her room. Now I implore you as to why you are in LA?" Harry asked as his curiosity got the best of him. Draco looked down to his hand. He nervously wrung them and his right leg began to bounce and his nerves were getting to him.
Draco shook his head and spoke quietly," I'm not comfortable with telling you why I am here in the States."
Harry was about to speak again when the book caught his attention. He could see the protection bubble around it was weakened. He sent a new protection spell around it and shook his head as he realized that Hermione had decided to study it by herself. He stood up and waved his wand to see what kinds of magical signatures were present and what the most recent spells that were cast in the room. Most of the magical signatures were from Hermione. Harry scrunched his nose in confusion at the extensive magic Hermione used, he would have to wait for her to wake up in order to ask her. The only signature he could ascertain as Draco's was a point me that was hardly malicious so he shook his head before turning back to the blonde. Harry sighed slightly.
"Fine I will allow you to not answer for now. I can see you had no dark magic coming from your wand or magical signature," Harry spoke hesitantly. Draco just nodded before slowly standing up.
"I will be on my way now, since you are here and can care for your friend. I will keep the book a secret and not mention it to anyone outside of myself or Hermione. I recognize the title as I have seen similar types of books in my youth," Draco finished his statement with a knowing look. Harry nodded, his gaze appeared distant as Draco's words brought up memories that he didn't want to relive outside of his nightmares. Draco left the room and quietly closed the door. He was shocked to see two-thirds of the golden trio here in the States. He made his way back to his room to get ready for the day. He decided a long spa day was just what was needed.
Unbeknownst to any of the parties a silent and hidden Maze untucked herself from her little nook in the hallway. She had a predatory smile on her face. Here was information that Lucifer would enjoy having especially with the current sullen mood he has been in. She quietly disappeared, her current subjects none the wiser that they were being watched.