Chapter 4 The Forbidden Forest
Once Hermione lay in bed that night, she had a hard time drifting off to sleep. She kept tossing and turning in her four-poster bed until restless slumber fell upon her.
Faint light radiated from the moon and shone through the very few arched windows along the dark corridor. An unsettling chill had her shivering from head to toe. The attentive Gryffindor couldn't remember how she'd ended up in this place. Carefully, she tried to move forward, pressing her hand lightly against the wall for support. A sickening feeling grew in her stomach. She took one shaky step after another in desperate search of some kind of refuge. If she was still somewhere at Hogwarts, she had no idea where that was. After a while she detected something that looked like a door emerge merely meters in front of her. Hermione contemplated turning around, but her infamous curiosity forced her to move on. And then she stopped dead in her tracks. Her body didn't seem to obey her anymore; she was paralyzed by fear. The heavy-looking, ebony door opened itself and the shadowy figure stood right behind it. Like a reflex, she reached into her pocket to grab her wand, but it was empty. The shadowy figure approached her fast and threatening. The unarmed witch screamed for help, falling into despair. A cold hand reached out for her, as a penetrating voice resounded in her head,
"When the blood moon reigns over the night,
an ancient threat shall rise.
A heart's true nature comes to light,
but not without sacrifice."
Her heart racing, she jolted awake. She rubbed her eyes reflexively to get rid of the frightening images. Disoriented, she reached for the nightstand to find her wand where she'd always put it. Lumos. Hermione's unease slowly settled down over the sight of her sleeping roommates. She was sitting in her four-poster bed. The clever witch chided herself for the unseemly reaction to a simple dream. This was just her fantasy that was running wild, so she admitted to herself. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore, except the upcoming N.E.W.T.S. and her tendency to provoke a certain dungeon bat, perhaps. Sighing, she decided to make use of the spare time that had just made itself available to her and began rereading her notes from her classes.
The following days passed by without anything out of the ordinary happening, though the nights haunted Hermione with more nightmares and uneasy sleep.
When Wednesday finally arrived, young Miss Granger woke up in a mixture of exhaustion and eager anticipation of what the day was going to entail for her. As usual, she met up with Ginny at breakfast in the Great Hall. She had just finished her breakfast tea when the distinctive sound of wing beating unfolded. Dozens of owls flew in and dropped off letters and newspapers to the students, just like any other day. A white owl with bright yellow eyes landed on the table and stared amicably at Hermione. The witch recognized the animal right away. It was Chester, Harry's new owl. After Hedwig's death he had had a hard time getting over her, so Ron and Hermione decided one day that they had to get him a new winged companion. Chester was a snow owl just like his predecessor had been and Harry had heavy-heartedly, but gratefully adopted him in honor of her.
Hermione gave the owl a few gentle strokes on the head and then began reading Harry's letter.
Dear Mione,
Ginny wrote to me a couple of days ago and told me about the other night. Are you doing alright? Did you find out what caused you to faint?
The Auror training is pretty neat, even though I feel like I'm a bloody first-year again. I'm learning a lot of new stuff every day. So far, I really enjoy the Concealment and Disguise courses the most and fortunately Potions isn't half as bad since Snape isn't the professor. I know he did all those amazing things and everything, but man…. He was an arse of a teacher. Hope, he is not being too hard on you.
Ron says 'Hi' by the way. He still can't really believe you went back to Hogwarts, but I get it. You want to do it the right way. Just sucks not to have you with us, you know? Anyway, gotta go.
Love from
Harry
P.S. Don't be a stranger.
The young witch sighed. Of course, she missed her friends, but Harry was right. She had invested so much time and energy into her education, she wasn't going to leave it half-done. She gave the owl another stroke and sent him on his way. Then she grabbed her belongings and went to her first class of the day – Advanced Arithmancy. It was her favorite subject and she enjoyed the challenges and possibilities it provided her with. Being in seventh year had also kind of sorted out the wheat from the chaff regarding the attending students in class. Only true enthusiasts of Arithmancy had signed up for the advanced course, so Hermione eventually felt less out-of-place.
She shared her desk with Eliza Beckford. The Ravenclaw had dark-blond hair and wore blue glasses. She came from an old pureblood family, but she didn't hold that much importance to it. She was almost as bookish as the Gryffindor next to her, but she was a lot more outgoing, too. And she was a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. That's probably why she got along with Ginny so well.
Professor Vector entered the room, greeted the students briefly and handed out the assignments for today's lesson. It was a complex juxtaposition of numbers they were supposed to solve working with their tablemate. Eliza and Hermione got to work immediately and intently scanned through their textbooks. A few minutes into her research, the brunette witch's thoughts started wandering off, which was rather unexpected for her. She never lost her focus in class like that, especially when it was Arithmancy. Still, her mind shifted away from the numbers and to a strange string of words. When the blood moon reigns over the night, an ancient threat shall rise…
Where had she heard this before? The words seemed familiar, but their origin remained a fragile wisp of thought. Hermione brooded on it so intensely that it took Eliza several attempts to gain her attention. Receiving a discreet nudge, she snapped out of her trance-like state and heard her say, "Hey…Hermione, are you listening? I was asking whether you are finished with your section or not?" Half-stammering, she responded, "Oh, r-right…. I need another minute or two. S-sorry!" The Ravenclaw snorted jokingly in a low voice. "Don't worry too much about it. Whatever is distracting you of late better be worth the sleepless nights." Hermione smiled a crooked smile and pushed the intrusive thoughts back into the remotest parts of her brain. Despite the minor setback, the smart witches finished the assignment ahead of everyone else. It's safe to say that they made, in fact, a great team.
The conscientious Gryffindor had a free period subsequent to Professor Vector's lesson, thus she headed to the Potions lab and set out to check her Veritaserum again. Up to now, it had matured as anticipated, which was without a doubt mainly caused by her imperturbable devotion to any and all school projects. The classroom was empty when she entered through the ebony door. Unbothered, she made her way to the large cabinet in the back of the room where they had stored their cauldrons under a protection spell. It was designed to keep the stored potions in an ideal state to mature and each shelf could only be accessed by the witch or wizard using it.
She placed her cauldron on the countertop next to the cabinet and began examining the odorless liquid. From visual inspection, it appeared to be in adequate condition so far, but Hermione knew not to rely solely on first impressions. She fetched her notes and compared her observations line by line with the requirements of the assignment. The faint sound of bubbling created an almost peaceful atmosphere in the lab. Most students dreaded being here. The light was always too dim to write or read properly and the display of obscure and questionable potion ingredients on every shelf had curdled more than one stomach over the years. And yet, she didn't. She was fascinated by it. Ever since she first had set foot into the Potions classroom, she secretly wished to be able explore the contents of the countless bottles and jars one day. Hermione closed her eyes trying to take in the beauty of the moment and let out a content sigh.
"If that isn't Hogwarts most famous Know-It-All", she heard a husky voice remark from right behind her, which caused her to jump unintentionally. "Trying to redeem ourself from previous failure, are we? Do I have to keep distance from my own classroom or will you be able to refrain from attacking my wardrobe again?" Blushing, she quickly turned around and found herself facing the tall and slender Slytherin. His black eyes were fixed on her with an unreadable expression in them. Gathering every ounce of her Gryffindor courage, she flashed him a cocky smile and retorted, "Some folks might have embraced the opportunity and updated their wardrobe to the standards of this century, sir." As soon as the words had left her mouth, she regretted them. Snape wouldn't let that one slide; she was sure of it. Not breaking eye contact, she braced herself for the infuriated backlash. He inhaled sharply and his eyes stared at her with foreign intensity. He took another step towards her and thus cutting her off from escaping his response. When he opened his mouth, Hermione expected shouting and insults flying at her direction, but he wasn't shouting at all. His voice was an almost hypnotic whisper, "You are forgetting yourself, Miss Granger. I suggest you fix whatever causes your recent agitation, soon. Otherwise, you might find that my generosity has very defined limits. It would be such a shame if I had to punish you thoroughly for it." The young witch was taken aback by the way he had spoken and his physical closeness wasn't helpful at all. Normally, he met her and every other student with a degree of condescension and revulsion, but there was nothing of the sort radiating from him in that moment. Her cheeks turned a vibrant red. She had to clear her throat before she could speak again. "Professor, I didn't mean to… I … sorry. Please, can I get back to my work now? As you are well aware, this potion is rather delicate to deal with and I wouldn't want to disappoint you any further by messing it up", she vindicated herself. A smirk appeared on his face as he leaned forward, now only being inches away from her. She could tell that he was trying to trip her up, but she had no idea why.
The creaking of the door announced the entering of another person into the lab. Immediately, he put a fair amount of distance between them. Without saying a word, he turned around and quickly vanished into his office before anyone else had seen him.
Hermione shook her head in disbelieve. What had just happened? The only logical solution she could come up with was that she had been too exhausted from all the nightmares which must have caused her to hallucinate. Ignoring the student that apparently had also wanted to check on his work, she redirected her attention back to her cauldron. When she was finished with her inspection, she placed it back on the shelf in the cabinet and left the dungeons hastily.
During lunch, Transfiguration and Charms she managed to keep a clear head. At dinner, Ginny's and Eliza's animated conversation about her plans for the upcoming Christmas holidays provided enough distraction for Hermione to avoid staring at the staff table and at a certain Potions Master.
Eventually, the three witches left the Great Hall and headed to their common rooms.
Once Hermione and Ginny had gone through the portrait of the Fat Lady, the curly-haired witch excused herself for the night and went to bed, or so she told the Weasley anyway. In reality, she hurried to her dorm to fetch a few particular items that would without a doubt prove to be very useful for her extracurricular plans.
A couple of day before the beginning of term, Harry had pulled her aside with a mischievous expression on his face that would have made even the Weasley twins proud. To her surprise, he handed her a newspaper-wrapped present and said, "Now that you are going back to Hogwarts, I thought you should have this. You'll probably need it more than I do with Filch and Snape roaming the corridors." He and his two best friends had numerous first-hand experiences regarding the value of the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. No wonder he had considered them a useful gift for her and she'd had no reason to argue about it.
Hermione took the cloak and the map from her trunk and studied the latter thoroughly. After a while, she discovered that Filch and Mrs. Norris were walking towards the kitchen, whereas Snape still occupied his office in the dungeons. Without hesitation, the forward-thinking witch grabbed her wand and performed a quick transfiguration spell on her pillows and blanket to imitate her sleeping silhouette. Then, she threw on the enchanted piece of fabric, casted a silencing spell and snuck out into the dark hallway. The corridors were mostly empty. One or two couples were snogging in secluded alcoves, but were too busy to pay attention to anything other than themselves. She could have easily walked past them without any magical precautions, she jokingly thought to herself.
She made her way to the Clock Tower Courtyard and headed to the Wooden Bridge that had been rebuilt to its pre-war state. The brisk Scottish winds were blowing unceasingly tonight, howling menacingly through the arches of the bridge. Hermione crossed it quickly, increasing the distance between her and any unwanted audience. A few moments later, she arrived at Hagrid's Hut and knocked cautiously on the door. The half-giant ripped open the door a little too eagerly and almost knocked her over because of her disguise. She removed the cloak swiftly, tugged it into her beaded bag and entered.
"S-Sorry, didn' see ye there, Hermione", Hagrid apologized. "Oh, that's quite alright. No harm done", she replied. Sighing in relieve, he reached for a lidded clay pot and handed it to her. "Are these woodlice by any chance? I've read that in order to lure a Bowtruckle out, one has to offer woodlice to it", she recounted thoughtfully. Of course, she had gathered information about the peaceful little creatures beforehand. She didn't want Hagrid to become suspicious of her by acting any different than her usual self. His eyes widened happily. "Well done, Hermione. That is righ'. Once we find a spot, I'll show ye how to do't. Just stay close, alrigh'?" He grabbed a rusty lantern and motioned her to follow him, as he and Fang walked out of the door.
For a few short minutes, they walked eastward alongside the edge of the forest. Then, the tall professor finally stopped and said, "We'll enter here." The young witch nodded, but subconsciously reached inside her pocket to check for her wand. When they had ventured deeper into the forest, Hermione fallback a few steps and started to look around in hopes to catch sight of anything out of the ordinary, which was presumably going to be quite the challenge considering where she was.
Hagrid was rather invested in his search for Bowtruckles; therefore, he didn't notice how they were continuously moving further away from each other. After a while, the only thing that gave away his presence was the faint light of the lantern dancing ever so slowly though the trees.
All of a sudden, Hermione beheld a dark shadow moving fast through the thicket. She took a closer look and recognized a man wearing a black cloak, hasting northward through the woods. It has to be Snape, she presumed. Fueled by her Gryffindor courage, she rushed after him, oblivious to her environment. The woodland was so dense, her school cloak kept getting caught in the branches. It slowed her down and she couldn't have that. Not now. Swiftly, she loosened the clip around her neck and dropped it to the forest floor. As she rushed onward, she felt a stinging, slicing sensation in her arms, but she didn't even flinch. There was no time for that. The unidentified man was moving faster now.
She had a hard time keeping up with his speed, until he jerked to a halt. She stopped at once, hiding behind an oak tree. Her heartrate increased rapidly. The atmosphere made her flesh crawl. With every ounce of strength, she tried to steady her respiration.
Peeking from behind the tree, she saw the man step onto a clearing, but she couldn't see his face. He walked slowly, approaching a rock formation that looked like some kind of ritual altar. With a flick of his hand, he lit some candles that surrounded the alter. Hermione could hear him chant in an unfamiliar language that had something ancient and long-forgotten to it. Almost as if she fell into trance, she took a few steps forward. Alerted by the sudden movement, the man became aware of his audience and turned around to face her. Just like that she was staring into his radiant amber-colored eyes. His expression changed from belligerent to surprised and then to worried, when he recognized his student. Hermione shook her head in disbelieve. When she opened her mouth to speak only a moment later, Professor LeBlanc was gone.