AN: Hello, FF and Harry Potter fans. I do not own Harry Potter, but feel free to enjoy this or hate it. If you enjoy it, please leave a lovely comment, if you hate it, then leave some constructive criticism, thanks!
Can You Take the Jump?
Chapter 57
NEW MINISTER OF MAGIC CRACKS DOWN ON CORRUPTION WITHIN THE MINISTRY!
By Corvus Macnair
Minister Harold Minchum spared no time for niceties and idleness as soon as he was put into office on December 19th, 1975. Well-known for his radical ideas, Minister Minchum has been very vocal about the security at Azkaban for several years before he set his eyes on the seat at the top of the ministry. It was no surprise to anyone following this hardliner's political journey when his first action as Minister placed more Dementors in the infamous prison.
Azkaban Prison, created in the 15th century, was originally not created for the purposes of a prison, but rather a fortress. Therefore, the cold and damp conditions cannot be maintained at livable levels, causing many humanitarians to question the ethicality behind the facilities' infrastructure. However, now with the addition of dementors, it is high time to question the government's inhumane methods of incarceration! How are these prisoners supposed to learn from their mistakes and assimilate back into society as functional individuals, if all they can do is suffer through years of mind-breaking misery?
The article continued for several more paragraphs on how terrible Azkaban was. It was funny because the truth was that Azkaban and the use of dementors were fundamentally unethical and cruel, but the fact that the Macnair family were Voldemort supporters, thus their words of inhumane treatment was simply hilarious.
It was clear why Macnair had written this article. Propaganda had proven time and time again as a powerful and effective tool. Articles like these have been littered throughout Wizarding England for the past few weeks for two purposes. The first purpose was to portray the new Minister as cruel, heartless, and against the wizarding community's growth. The second purpose was to sway the public's opinion to push for more lenient punishment for the current and future Death Eaters that were caught by the Aurors.
"Hermione," her father called. "Come downstairs, darling. Your mother needs your opinion."
She placed the paper down, tossed the owl on her windowsill a small treat, then stepped down the steps to her family room where her family was setting up for her and Lily's birthday party.
Streamers and balloons were set up. Party favours, champagne, finger food, and even name cards.
The whole chaos was instigated by the letter of notice sent by Dumbledore informing her parents that Lyana had died. Their mother had cried on behalf of Lyana, her parents, Lily, and the general loss of a young and vivacious life. Convinced that her daughters now need a cheering up, their small and private birthday party had turned into a whole affair. All of Lily's friends from Hogwarts, Reception, and Years 1 through 5 were invited. Since Hermione didn't have as many friends, their mother thought it was a great idea to invite their neighbours since "they've known and loved the children since childhood".
Hermione's father gave her a sympathetic smile at her overwhelmed expression at the fanfare that was their house.
"Oh, sweetheart, good you're here. Which do you prefer?" Ivy lifted two decorations to choose from for the gift table.
"Hm," Hermione looked back and forth between the two table decorations. To the untrained eye, they looked nearly identical, but their mother was a florist and little details mattered to her. Hermione, who had worked with her mother at their flower shop for most of her uneducated life, could easily see why her mother had the dilemma. They had the same flowers, and the same colour palette, but one arrangement was slightly more rustic and organic than the other.
"I think the organic one," Hermione chose. "The presents are going to end up becoming disorganized on the table as well. The decoration might as well go with the rest of the table."
"You don't think it'll blend into the presents if we go with the organic one?"
"An arrangement like this is a present in itself, mum. It's okay if it blends in."
Ivy gave her a gentle pat on her cheek in gratitude for her compliment. "Yes, you're right." Even with the decoration chosen, her mother fiddled with its placement on the table, moving it from the middle to the edge, turning it on an angle or facing forward.
"Mom?" Hermione gently removed the table decoration from her hand and angled it at the far corner of the table. "Maybe you should take a break. You've been slaving all day, not accepting any help cooking or cleaning from any of us. You kicked Lily out to hang out with friends."
"Well, Petunia procrastinated buying you guys a present until today, so she's not my fault," Ivy rolled her eyes. "Besides, I can't ask you to help me set up for your own birthday party! No no, there's too much to do before the party tonight, and it's such an important birthday too! 17! My babies are adults now!" She looked frazzled, a corner of her bangs stuck out, defying gravity. Her apron had dried batter and frosting, and her eyes never stopped moving to each corner of the house to make sure everything was in perfect order.
"Mom!" Hermione forced her mother to look her in the eyes. "Relax. It all looks good. The party's going to be great!" She pulled her to the sofa and forced her to sit for the first time since the morning. She moved around the back and massaged her tense shoulders.
"Oh!" Her mother jumped at the pressure on her sore muscles but soon began to ease up. "Oh my, that's lovely. Hermione, where did you learn to do this?"
"Feels good, right?" Hermione mused. She'd learned to do this for herself on her tense muscles, but she realized that she'd never given her hardworking parents a massage before. Hermione was generally opposed to initiating casual touch. She didn't really hug her family, even pat them on the back. It wasn't that she rejected Lily's linking arms while they walked side by side or a hug from her parents, but she was rarely the person to start it, only reciprocating it. It was only Sirius, who loved physical touch, with whom she allowed and gave constant casual contact.
Realizing this, Hermione wrapped both arms around her mother's shoulders and gently squeezed the woman. She leaned her head to her and breathed in her mother's floral sweet scent. That was another difference between Ivy Evans and Jane Granger. Ivy always smelled nice. It wasn't that her mother in her previous life smelled bad, but being a dentist, she often smelled sterile or of eugenol from the dental fillings she did that day.
"Oh, sweetheart." Her mother cooed, reaching up and squeezing Hermione's arm to reciprocate her hug.
"Thank you for giving birth to us. Thank you for all your love, patience, strength, and kindness."
Ivy turned around with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you for being my daughter."
"Oi!" Her father looked offended from the side of the room. "What am I? Chopped liver? I've been helping out too, you know."
Hermione jokingly rolled her eyes, but waved her father closer and hugged him as well.
Hermione chuckled when she tried to let go, but her father hugged her even harder. "Thank you for being a wonderful father," she returned the squeeze.
"I'm only wonderful because you are wonderful," he released her and brushed her hair out of her face. "Seventeen. It's unbelievable how fast you both have grown. I still remember hearing your mother screaming because her pregnancy test was positive."
"And I still remember you fainting at the news that we were having twins." Ivy chucked.
Hermione smiled at their banter, but her smile slowly slid off her face when she thought about how much heartache she must've caused them. The baby that Ivy had taken so long to grow in her body had suddenly died, becoming stillborn, her soul had simply highjacked a dead baby's body. Then she'd been sick with the Obscurus causing these kind souls to be accused of being abusers to their newborn child whom they didn't even get to hold.
"I love you guys," she told them.
Ivy and Robert glanced at each other with surprise, then turned to her with watery smiles. "We love you." They rushed to hug her again. "So much. Forever and always."
…
Night fell quickly during the winter months, especially in England, but no one in the Evans home noticed, as the brightly lit party and warm home welcomed over just under two dozen people to celebrate the birth of the Evans twins.
Lily was dressed in jeans and her favourite emerald-coloured blouse that made her skin look creamy and made her eyes shine. Perhaps it was the high emotions of their coming-of-age party, but Lily looked mature with her neat attire, styled hair, and a touch of makeup. It was funny, considering that she was even more done up last year for the Yule Ball, however, she had still maintained a childishness to her.
Hermione was always an adult in her mind, but it only hit her now that her sister, the girl she'd watched from toddler age, was now an adult. Hermione had grown into her body, while Lily grew up.
She was smiling, surrounded by loving friends, but everyone wisely never mentioned her red eyes. Lily had been managing her grief, but when Lyana's preordered birthday gift arrived by owl last night the waterworks couldn't stop. No sadness and no tears would be allowed: that was Lily's motto for the day.
The Marauders had arrived early, wandering around their small home with a sense of awe, minus Sirius, who'd been at their humble home more times than they could count. Instead, Sirius immediately greeted her parents with a hug and walked into the kitchen for a snack as if he belonged there.
Warm hands circled her waist as the smell of leather and expensive cologne wafted into her nose.
"Why are you being antisocial at your own party?" Sirius kissed her shoulder as he hugged her from behind. "Is your sister stealing your thunder? Should I make a scene?"
She let out a chuckle.
"I think I'll hide even further in the corner if you do that."
Although there was music playing in the background, they swayed to their own rhythm, enjoying the feel of each other.
"Happy birthday."
"You already told me that when you walked into the house."
"But that was for everyone else to hear. This one is just for you to hear. I'm very glad you were born at an age-appropriate time for me."
Hermione let out a laugh.
"What?" Sirius asked defensively. "Imagine how terrible it would be if you were born now! Or 5 years from now. It was fate that you were 11 when I was 11. It was fate that made you open the door of my compartment in the Hogwarts Express on September 11th."
"Do you really believe that? That it was all fate?"
"No," Sirius frowned, offended. "I put way too much effort to grab your attention to give fate all the credit."
Hermione turned around in his arms, looking up at him. His eyes were soft and filled with love as he looked at her. Bliss. He was in bliss.
"Grabbed my attention, did you? What if I was the one who chose you out of the crowd? Saw your good looks and decided, you'd be my boyfriend from the very beginning."
"Then, my little stalker, you certainly have wonderful taste in men."
"Mmm," he kissed her, and she sighed with contentment.
"My goodness, aren't you kids sweet." Their elderly neighbour chuckled at them. "Where are the rest of your friends, Hermione?"
Mrs. McLauchlin was a nosy woman, not necessarily bad-meaning, but she didn't know when she was welcome and when she wasn't. Even this party, the average age of the whole party—excluding her parents—was 19, with some of their younger neighbours, two of Petunia's friends and Vernon, and Lily's friends from Hogwarts and Years 1-6.
Hermione gave her a small smile. Her Slytherin boys wouldn't likely be welcomed by everyone else, and Severus was taking care of his mother who had a fever, so her party was looking pretty pathetic as it only consisted of Sirius. "You know I like to keep to myself, Mrs. McLauchlin."
"Managed to get yourself a very handsome boyfriend though."
Sirius puffed his chest at the compliment, "Thank you, ma'am. Sirius Black, at your service." He reached forward and kissed Mrs. Mclauchlin's knuckles in Pureblood gentlemanly fashion.
This caused the elderly widowed woman to blush and giggle like a young girl.
"Oh, my." She fanned herself. "This one is trouble, Hermione," she winked as she walked away. "You better keep him close."
Hermione whacked him in the chest when her neighbour was gone, "You incorrigible flirt."
"What can I say?" He shrugged. "I'm just too handsome to keep it all in. Honestly, if I could share it, I would give some of my looks away to the less fortunate."
She let out a laugh at his ridiculousness.
"Time for presents!" Her mother called them to the living room where a pile of gifts was waiting for them. Everyone gathered around to see what the twins received, and it was at that moment their mother realized that this might have not been the best idea. It would become obvious how few presents Hermione would receive in comparison to Lily.
"Actually, why don't we—"
"It's fine, mum." Hermione picked up the first present at the front of the table and looked at the name tag.
To Hermione Evans
- Sirius Black.
She set it down, then picked up the next present.
To Hermione Evans
- Sirius Black
She picked up the next and the next only to continuously see her name on the tag. She whipped her head to Sirius who sat on the couch with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Sirius, how many…" She turned around and started counting the number of presents that had Sirius's name on them. Seventeen presents. She was sure he was only holding 2 presents when he walked in, one for her and the other for Lily.
"I couldn't decide which ones would be better for you, so I got them all."
Ivy clapped her hands with glee and hastily clapped her hands as she quickly divided the presents between the twins.
It wasn't just the quantity of presents that Sirius had gotten her that was shocking, it was the quality of them. First-edition books with signatures, real gemstone-embedded jewellery, designer clothes (both muggle and magical), dragon-hide boots, and so much more.
The noise level in the room decreased each time she opened a new present from Sirius, replacing it with shock at the amount of money and thought put into each gift. The items were not only expensive, but it was her favourite books, they matched her hair or her eyes, or they were engraved with her name, or they suited her so perfectly as if they were made for her.
Now it felt like Hermione was the one who should stop opening presents in front of her sister in fear that Lily would get upset at the difference between the quality of their gifts. Of course, Lily's friends had given her good presents as well, but most of Lily's friends were normal teenagers, with limited funds from allowances or part-time jobs, not multi-generational inheritances.
"Sirius, you have to take these back and get a refund, this is too much!"
"What? What do you mean, this is nothing. Besides, this is my way of paying back your parents for all the food I've stolen from their fridge over the years."
"Why did I pay for pizza that one time if he was this loaded?" Vernon Dursley's mutter sliced through the silence causing Petunia's friend Barbara to snort a laugh.
"Sirius, son," her father looked torn between looking proud at him and exasperated. "While it's very sweet of you to put this much effort and money into Hermione's presents, I agree, this is far too much."
"No, dad. Sirius doesn't do anything in halves, asking him to return the gifts would be like telling him not to be himself or that Hermione deserves less love, but we both agree that she deserves this much love and more, don't we?"
Lily looked into her sister's eyes as she spoke.
Hermione's observations were right, Lily had matured. There was a noticeable shift in her, just like there had been a shift in Harry when Cedric Diggory died in front of him.
"I'm starving. Is anyone else hungry?" James squeezed Lily's shoulder and broke the silence.
"Yes. Food. Lovely idea, James." Ivy stood up and ushered everyone toward the dining room.
...
Dinner was a grand affair, reminding Hermione of holiday dinners at the Weasleys back when she was Hermione Granger. Plates were passed along the table, several conversations were happening all at once, some people were laughing while others were arguing.
"Hermione," Lily tapped her on the shoulder and pulled her aside. They went to the sitting room where most of their wrapped and unwrapped gifts remained.
She gave her a small smile while pulling a small box out of her pocket.
"It's no black opal necklace, but I hope you like it."
Hermione opened the box and a small golden locket sat in the box. She opened the locket to see a small ordinary rock suspended in the center. She looked up at Lily and gave her a questioning glance.
"It's from Hogsmeade. From that moment. Well, actually, it's half of the stone." She reach into her shirt and pulled out the same locket necklace. "I have the other half to always remind myself what we lost, what we gained, and what I learned."
Lily took the necklace out of the box and pulled Hermione's hair back to put the necklace on.
"And what did you learn?" Hermione asked quietly.
"That you love me," she whispered. "You love me, more than you love yourself. You will do anything for me. Die for me, and even kill for me. That you're willing to become a monster for me." The latch of the necklace was on, and Lily turned her around to center the locket on her chest.
"Hermione…I don't want you to do all those things for me. Don't become a monster for me. You don't have to lose yourself for me." Lily pushed a strand of her hair behind her ears with tears in her eyes. "My beautiful baby sister. You knew it would happen, didn't you?"
Hermione's heart froze. Did Lily know her involvement with Voldemort?
"You Saw it, didn't you? That's why you planted the idea of that party in my mind, you went to Hogsmeade, although you never go, just in case. I was supposed to die, and you saw it. You tried so hard to prevent it."
Relief spread through her body. That was what she meant.
"I'm so sorry and thank you for saving my life."
Lily pulled her into a fierce hug, cradling her like she was a child. Hermione didn't know how to respond. Although Lily was technically older, she had always been the baby of the family, she was the one who was considered adorable in their family, the one who could pout to their father to get her way, and the most spoiled. But that Lily was now gone.
They were both mourning for each other: Hermione mourning for Lily's loss in child-like ignorant bliss, Lily mourning for Hermione lack of being able to have a child-like ignorant bliss.
Hermione hadn't done it all for the sake of receiving gratitude but hearing her thanks after their fight made her eyes water more than she cared to admit, so she needed to take a moment and close her eyes. Saving Lily was no longer about simply saving Harry's mother and ensuring Harry's future, it hadn't been about that in a long time. Lily was her sister. Lily was her family.
Hermione always protected her family.
She opened her eyes to find her vision covered by her sister's hair. She raised her arm to push the hair out of her line of sight.
Someone was outside.
"Guys, aren't you eating?" Remus knocked on the open door, causing Hermione to jump. She turned to look at Remus, then back at the window where she was sure she'd seen someone standing there looking into their home, but no one was there.
Apparation? In the middle of a muggle neighbourhood? So out in the open? Had it been a reflection from within the house?
No. She was sure someone had been there.
"You should be relieved that our Lord is leaning towards being impressed at how Bellatrix was handled rather than upset, but his benevolence will not last. This was the last warning. You are to make contact soon."
Mulciber's message echoed in her mind.
"Hermione?"
"I'm going to get some air," she pushed past her sister, not waiting for a response and ran out the door.
She ran around a three-block radius to check signs for any suspicious individuals lurking around, but no one was there.
Why were they here? Her house was secure, Dumbledore had made sure of it, so why show up?
"Go back." Harry urged. "It's better you're with them in case something happens."
Her chest rattled at the mere thought.
"It can't happen again. It can't happen again." She kept muttering as she ran towards her home.
She came to an abrupt stop when she saw her house. Everything was fine. Through the lit windows, she could see her family and friends talking at the dinner table.
Everything was fine.
"Maybe it was just a neighbour walking by. It's not like they had those ominous cloaks on."
Hermione nodded. Happiness had made her paranoid, suspecting everything, wariness of the normal. She walked back in, composing herself, pretending she hadn't just run a kilometre searching for danger that didn't exist.
"Where in Merlin did you go?" Petunia asked, looking her suspiciously up and down.
"Just stepped out for some air."
…
"Oh, look how adorable you guys were in your little bathing suits!" Mrs. Evans squealed as she watched the homemade video their father made when they were kids. It was the summer before their first year at Hogwarts. Prepping for the family's first long period spent apart, that summer had been all about making memories and having fun.
The party was done, and everyone was gone. The dirty dishes were piled up in the kitchen to deal with at a later time since everyone was too lazy to do any of the major clean-up that night. The family decided they'd rather lounge in the living room and watch some old videos their father had found in the garage when he was looking for more wine glasses.
"Do you remember how mad at me you were for buying that camera?" Robert asked his wife with a smug smile on his face, "But if I hadn't, we wouldn't have these adorable videos, would we?"
Ivy rolled her eyes but smiled at her husband's childish delight at being right.
"Fine, you were right." She admitted. "I love these videos."
"I don't." Petunia grimaced at her 15-year-old self. "Oh lord, what in Hells am I wearing? And I thought I looked good."
The family laughed as the younger Petunia Evans placed her hands on her hips, attempting to pose like a teen vogue model. She was wearing a deep orange and bright pink striped bathing suit that had a frilly orange lace detail around the waist. She had on a neon green swimmer's cap and blue goggles.
"You were adorable, Petunia." Their mother insisted. "What's life without a few comically awful fashion choices."
"Mum!"
"I did try telling you that the cap didn't match your outfit, but you insisted on wearing it." Ivy giggled at her daughter's stubborn insistence on bad fashion.
Suddenly Lily busted out laughing, "You…you look…like a watermelon!" She said in between her laughs.
The rest of the family glanced at the telly, then at Lily. Although the pink and green did have a slight resemblance to watermelon colours, there was nothing that hilarious about the observation, but the family laughed at Lily's laughter.
"She's drunk." Petunia hummed into her glass of Chardonnay.
"Am not!"
"Yes, you are." Mr. Evans sighed. He gave his wife a small squeeze before getting up. "Let's get some carbs in you to absorb some of the alcohol as well as some water, then it's time for bed. For all of us."
He walked into the kitchen, in search of some late-night snacks to help his daughter sober up, and it turned out that he didn't need to look far. In the center of their kitchen table, there was a plate of beautifully delicious-looking cupcakes.
"Ivy, who gave us these cupcakes?"
"Cupcakes? What cupcakes?"
"It must be from Mrs. McLauchlin, she told me she was sorry for not buying us any presents, probably dropped in while everyone was busy playing drinking games," Lily explained. "Look, 5 of them. One for all of us."
"They're beautiful. I kind of feel bad eating it." Petunia claimed, as she reached for one of them and took a huge bite out of it. "Mmm!" She exclaimed. Her brow shot up as the sugary sweetness filled her mouth with delight.
Mr. Evans smiled at the reaction and took a cupcake for himself. Lily and their mother quickly followed suit. Hermione, despite never having an appetite for sweet treats, smiled quietly at the chocolate cupcake with pink frosting. Were the cupcakes a gift from Pinky? She took the last cupcake from the plate and took a large bite out of the dessert.
As everyone enjoyed their cupcakes, they turned to the telly that was still playing the videos of their childhood.
"Look at how young we are." Hermione was awed at the video.
"Don't say it like we're old now," Lily rolled her eyes.
The entire family burst into laughter.
Lily passed a glass of wine to her twin sister.
"Lily, I can't." Her body could barely digest the sugar in the cupcake let alone alcohol.
"Just a sip. We're legally adults now."
She knew it was a bad idea, but she looked around the room. Her family was relaxed and having fun. It hadn't been like this in some time, and she didn't want to ruin the mood by mentioning her health. Hermione took the wine glass from her sister and gave her a smile of gratitude. She sat on the carpeted floor and wiped the corners of her mouth as she took her first sip of wine in this life.
After countless events, fundraisers, Ministry Galas, and business dinners, Hermione Granger grew to love the taste of full-bodied and dry wines.
Hermione Evans, however, grimaced at the sour grape juice her family called wine. She took another bite of the cupcake to mask the taste of the alcohol.
Robert and Petunia laughed at Hermione's face, "I think she doesn't like the wine much."
"It's very…" She glanced at the bottle, wondering how cheap it was, only for her brows to shoot up at the rather luxurious bottle of wine. "Nice?"
"I bought an expensive bottle so that when you girls grow up and a boy tries to show off by ordering a bottle of wine, you'll know what real expensive wine is supposed to taste like." Robert puffed his chest out.
"Dad, Sirius literally bought Hermione actual gemstones for her birthday and more, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I think he's got you beat."
He grimaced, "I know, I should have opened the bottle before they opened the presents so that my gift could shine."
Hermione took a larger sip of wine to show her appreciation for her father's gift.
"I think it's growing on me," she said, pushing through another grimace as the abominable taste shrivelled her tongue. She took another large bite out of the cupcake.
"Don't push yourself, I can finish your glass."
She snuggled into a blanket that her father threw placed over her shoulders. He kissed her on the crown while taking the glass of wine off her hands. She leaned back and watched her and her sisters build sandcastles together on their small television screen. She smiled at the warm and comforting touch of her mother's hand stroking her hair.
"All of our girls are adults now, Robert." Ivy smiled sadly.
"Look at how much they've grown." He remarked, comparing them to how small they were on the screen. The three of them were working together to build the largest sandcastle on the beach. Petunia was bossing them around, Lily adding creative details to their fairytale castle, and Hermione fixing the structure in order actually make the sandcastle as large as it could be.
"In my eyes, they're still the same." Ivy shook her head. "I hope they remain like that forever; helping each other, being there for one another. The three of them, even when we're not around anymore to take care of them."
Hermione who sat on the floor next to her parents heard their conversation and smiled at the sentiment. She looked over at her sisters sitting on their sofa together. Lily and Petunia were still close. The words "freak" hadn't left Petunia's mouth, irrevocably breaking their bond.
The family ate their cupcakes and any leftover food, as they watched the videos, but the warm and cuddly feelings didn't last. Soon, drowsiness overwhelmed them like a tsunami before they could even finish their homemade video.
"I think we're done for the day." Mr. Evans blinked rapidly, also feeling sleepy.
Mrs. Evans nodded, as she stretched in her seat. "It's late, and we've all had early mornings."
Hermione shook her head at their rationalizations. If there was anyone familiar with the feeling of artificially induced sleep, it was her.
"Something's wrong."
"I swear we didn't have that much alcohol," Lily muttered in agreement. She attempted to rub the sleep out of her eyes, but it didn't help.
She looked over to find Petunia already fast asleep. "Tuny," Lily shook her sister awake, but Petunia remained unresponsive. She shook her even more vigorously, but it didn't work.
A sense of terrible omen seized Lily frozen, "Hermione?" Her voice trembled, but unable to fight the waves of lethargy, Lily's eyes closed.
Hermione looked around the room, scanning the items of food and drink that the entire family had consumed.
"Was it the wine? The cake?" She wondered, but her eyes fell on the cupcakes.
"The note." Hermione shut her eyes firmly and opened them as widely as she could. "Where's the note for the cupcakes? Lily!"
She turned to her family to find everyone fast asleep. Hermione struggled to stand, the room blurring before her. She stumbled several times, "How much sleeping potion did they put in that thing." She wondered out loud.
Hermione was not someone who was affected by most concentrations of sleeping draughts, but the potions she took were made by world-class healthcare professionals who had her health in mind, taking side effects and toxicity into account. Whoever made those cupcakes, didn't care about the after-effects of high concentrations, nor did they care about the health of those who consumed them. They only had one objective in mind, which was to make everyone fall into a deep sleep.
Hermione fumbled around her clothes to pull out her wand, "Expecto… Patro… Patron…"
Before she could finish the spell to send for help, the world went dark and she fell to the floor with a painful-sounding thud.
…
AN: I made my Thursday deadline! With 7 minutes still left to go. Maybe for some of you, it's not thursday anymore, but for me it still is, so I'm taking it as a win and my promise to you guys and myself completed LOL. I'm not a perfectionist, I'm a completionist, so yay!