Chapter Three - New Information and the Potion

Hermione found herself restlessly bouncing her leg in Potions on Monday. She had been running behind, having offered to assist Neville in finding an escaped Trevor as lunch ended, failing to allow her to access the storeroom before class. "Wound-Cleaning Potion" with the page number was written on the chalkboard. She had mastered the potion early in her adventures with Harry and Ron, both being prone to enabling, if not starting, conflicts. Hermione waited until she was certain she would be the last student to enter the storeroom before walking in. Ernie exited, leaving her alone. Casting several Accio spells to retrieve her ingredients for the potion in the Malfoy Grimoire, she tucked them into the bottom of her satchel, and quickly gathered the ingredients for class, placing them on top. With a deep sigh of relief at her success, she re-entered the classroom and began the assigned potion.

Professor Slughorn had expressed his astonishment at her perfected potion. It may have not been a difficult one, however she knew that even a slight deviation from the steps and she would be cleaning an explosive disaster, if it did not melt her skin, first. She shuddered at the memory of the only time she stirred the wrong direction and created a potion acidic enough to burn her skin. Madame Pomfrey had berated her for attempting potions outside of the classroom.

The remainder of the day went smoothly, along with rounds with Neville. Neville had attempted to comment on how frequently Gryffindor was paired with Slytherin for rounds, as he was paired with Pansy on the same nights Hermione paired with Draco. Hermione and Neville would only see each other for rounds on Mondays. Hermione had made a similar observation, however she was certain Professor Dumbledore intentionally paired them off with their conflicting house more frequently.

xXx

The next morning, Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table and eyed the blonde Slytherin boy she was beginning to innately trust as Harry cleared his throat from behind her, causing her to startle and turn to face him. "Harry…" she began.

"Hermione, why were you staring at Malfoy? Are you finally seeing what I see?" her former best friend asked, almost mockingly.

"I was trying to see what you see, but there is nothing there…" She offered a lie and the truth, simultaneously. She was observing him, but not for the reasons Harry would have hoped. Her desire was to observe the person she was beginning to trust more than her former best friends, and she had hoped, deep down, she could have a friend that she could trust to remain her friend when times were rough, something Harry and Ron failed to do. "So much for Gryffindor loyalty," she commented bitterly to herself as she rolled her eyes at Harry. If he wanted to remove her as his friend, she would honour that and not return to being his friend. Before Harry could respond, a magnificent black eagle owl swooped down, dropping an emerald envelope addressed to Hermione in beautifully scrawled calligraphy. Calligraphy that matched the notes in the Malfoy Grimoire. She knew where the letter came from.

"Who's it from?" Harry attempted to compel her.

"I will read it later and figure it out, Harry. As you plainly displayed the night of the feast by walking out and refusing to hear reason, we are no longer friends. Please, remember that going forward. Whilst I do not want to be your enemy, we are not eleven anymore. You chose for your path to be free of me, thusly mine will remain free of you," Hermione bitterly reminded him before standing, taking her toast and letter with her. As an afterthought, she offered, "Have a good day, Harry."

She chanced a glance at Draco across the hall and he offered her a slight nod as she slipped the envelope into her satchel and left the castle. Having decided to spend her free period by the lake with her thoughts, she began the descent down the staircase to the boat house. Since she was ahead of her year, the young witch planned to take advantage of her free periods to reflect on her dreams and future.

Finding the log she typically sat on, Hermione sat on the ground, leaning against it. It was cloudy and the air had a slight chill, but the skies only reflected what was going on inside her head. Taking out the letter from the owl, she began reading it quietly aloud:

"Nyx,
Things are changing for you, as they are here for us. We are preparing for your arrival once your mind has begun to sort itself. The answers you are looking for will always be found in your heart and we can help you with those. Draco will be with you during the experience on your birthday, he suggested the Room of Requirement for both of your protection. If you meet him there early, he can explain more before the spell wears off. You are powerful beyond measure and you will learn just how much after you spend a weekend with us. This letter will burn once it is read, as we need to protect ourselves and you.
Yours,
Narcissa and Lucius"

She felt her jaw drop and a gasp escape her whilst she watched the letter burst into cold flames. "The letter explains the nod earlier. But what do his parents have to do with me? Is this an elaborate trap?" Instinctually, she felt she could trust Draco, however, Harry's disturbing ability to be correct about people seeped into her thoughts as she second-guessed her instincts. She gazed out at the lake, her mind wandering back to the dream she had the night before. It was normal for her to now dream about being adorned in an emerald and black Victorian dress at a masquerade ball, in what seems to be her honour, but this was different. She was not in this one as herself, however her mind said otherwise as she reflected further on the memory of the dream. "Nyx, why does that sound familiar and right?" Deciding to research the name in the library, with the hope to find records of a 'Nyx' existing in the last twenty years and a history of the name, Hermione went back into the castle and directly to the library.

Hermione had found all of the tombs and scrolls of births and deaths in the last twenty years, and texts on the myths of where her name could have originated from. Once she gathered all nine of the texts she wanted, she asked Madam Pince if she could borrow them for the night. With an eyebrow raised, the cautious librarian allowed her to use the texts, as long as they were returned in the morning. Nodding her agreement, Hermione levitated the texts and gathered her satchel; she needed to head to the Room of Requirement to hide the texts before going to Herbology.

Herbology went well enough. During the lesson on moly, Hermione was brought back to her knicked potion ingredients. Moly was one of them. Listening more intently, Hermione began to ask Professor Sprout about several of the other magical plants she would be utilising in her potion. Professor Sprout, whilst enthused that any student apart from Neville was showing interest, began to arch her brow at Hermione's increasing number of questions.

"Miss Granger, if I didn't know any better, I would believe you are recreating the Wiggenweld Potion outside of the classroom. To which you would have the incorrect ingredients, however close to the list you are, and I must insist that you do not attempt to create potions outside of the classroom that you have not mastered under supervision," Professor Sprout's sweet, matronly voice held stern in her admonishment.

"Professor, I was only curious, as some of these ingredients we do not study in Hogwarts, however they are ingredients in our potions. As they are plants, I had hoped you could have answered my questions," Hermione's demeanour held strong, even as she heard Harry admonish her for not being more polite towards their professor.

"All right, Miss Granger. If we can move on, now, we need to finish going over the effects of moly poisoning." The class continued as expected, and lunch arrived quickly.

After lunch, Hermione was joined by five Slytherins for Alchemy class. Draco, Blaise, Daphne, Millicent, and Theo strode in behind her. None of the Slytherins remarked on Hermione being the only other person. Out of the group that surrounded Draco, Hermione noticed this group consisted of the ones that acted with logic, never encouraged Draco to bully anyone, and were all top marks, just below herself and Draco. She sighed and released a breath she had not noticed she was holding. That was until Professor Snape entered the classroom. She could feel the smirk of the Slytherins behind her. Her history with Professor Snape was tumultuous, as he often berated her publicly for being "an insufferable know-it-all". Something she was relieved had not been directed towards her thus far this year.

She sat at the middle table in the front of the class, the Slytherins having split into two groups taking the tables on either side of hers: Millicent, Blaise, and Draco on her left; Daphne and Theo on her right. She had no sooner removed her textbook and note-taking supplies, than Professor Snape cleared his throat and began class. Once he explained the course's syllabus and his expectations, he informed them they would be working in three groups of two students. He waited for a volunteer to work with Hermione. Once none of his students offered, his sight turned towards Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, as you have been doing rounds with Miss Granger and not hexed one another, you will be working with Miss Granger for the remainder of the year. Take your seat." With an eye roll and muttering under his breath about his father hearing about it, he gathered his school supplies, stood, and made his way to the empty chair beside Hermione. She wanted to laugh, as she now understood he was putting on a show. Instead, she bit the inside of her cheek and glared at their professor. Their first task was research and write an essay, due their next class, regarding Golpalott's Third Law.

The remainder of the day was successful. Hermione and Draco discussed the essay during rounds that evening, deciding to work on individual parts and combine their work during rounds on Sunday. Both students found themselves standing outside of the Room of Requirement as rounds were completed for the night. Hermione whispered, "Grimoire" with a wave of her wand, and Draco stiffened, feeling his memories return. "In here," she said loud enough for him to hear and stepped into the door she had begun to familiarise herself with… The Room of Requirement, when it adjusted itself to her intentions.

Having guided him into her "room", Hermione had asked Draco if he would help her look up 'Nyx' in the texts she had borrowed. His eyes widened at the name they would be looking for before he begrudgingly agreed. Sitting down on a soft sofa with a fire going, the two began sorting through the texts. She took the births; he took the deaths. A few minutes in, she noticed a witch named Nyx Peverell in the first text she picked up. "Nyx. Born as Nyx Peverell, though changed to Nyx Black at age two, suggesting the death of the child's father…" Hermione read aloud, finding no further information. The surnames offered her more insight. She turned to Draco and asked if he saw anything relating to a Peverell or Black dying in the previous seventeen years.

"Nothing yet, Granger. There is a Kronos, but his last name was horribly scratched out from the records and he died 17 September 1981. His kin were his wife and daughter, though nothing more was stated about either. I am still looking for Nyx and Atropa. I know those names. My mother used to tell me about Nyx and Atropa. Both were talented witches, and Nyx was once my best friend. I remember just small pieces of her. Atropa's beauty was said to rival that of the goddesses. Father talked about Kronos. He was one of the most powerful wizards the Wizarding World had ever known, but he was always hidden from the public eye when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named started to rise into power the first time, and tried to keep his family line from being known. Which explains much of why you couldn't find anything in the library and these records are almost nonexistent." Sighing, Hermione picked up a text from Draco's pile and cast a charm to allow her to search it without having to open it. She had invented the spell her third year after her parents had bought a muggle computer and she learned that there were shortcuts that she could implement with her studies.

Whilst she waited for her spell to locate the information she sought, she opened one of the texts on myths. In it, she learned that Nyx was a goddess of darkness, shadows, and sleep in Greek mythology. It was a strong name for the last living Peverell, if they existed. It was well-known that the Peverell line had ended generations past, but if it were true that there was one last Peverell, that she was that last Peverell, she wanted to know. Closing the last of the texts in front of her, the witch sought birth and death records from the last twenty years. She needed to know. Not knowing was beginning to drive her mad.

It took a few minutes more before the spell finished its search with no results. She laid the text to the side, she picked up another, casting the spell again. Draco followed suit, quickly correcting his wand movements as he repeated her words. His second attempt, the spell instantly found something. He opened the text to the page that was glowing and found Nyx's and Atropa's names. He had been momentarily astonished at the success of the spell, more so that Hermione created the spell. He knew every spell that aided with studying, this was not one of them.

Draco brought his attention back to the words in front of him, reading aloud, "'Atropa Black and her daughter, Nyx, were found dead by friends in their home. Authorities found remnants of a fiendfyre.' Dated 19 September 1982. Atropa was twenty-two and Nyx had just turned three." Something stirred in her chest. This was not right. It could not be. Her instincts told her that the documents had to be false and that either one, or both, of the witches were alive. Fighting Voldemort for five years with Harry Potter, she learned to trust her instincts.

Summoning an empty vial, Hermione cast several spells on it to ensure Draco's blood would remain viable and fresh for the potion. "Draco, I am sure you put this together, but I will need Malfoy blood for the potion. I have two spells that can retrieve the blood and close the wound, completely undetectable. I can do it against your will, however, I would feel better with your consent," she tightened her grasp on her wand, ready for the possibility she would need to forcefully take his blood. Instead, he held out his arm. The same one that held a violently red and inflamed, black Dark Mark. "Oh, Draco…" she felt her heart break for him. Not only was Harry correct in having seen it, but the way the mark sat, Draco never accepted it properly and his entire being was attempting to reject it. Draco had not intended to offer her the arm with the Dark Mark. It was instinctual. The pity in her voice… He felt his chest tighten as a dull pain seared through it.

"Grange-" he began before she interrupted.

"You are rejecting it. He will notice soon. I am going to research everything I can to help you. You don't deserve that mark. You might have a cruel streak, but you are not truly evil, Draco Malfoy. Not like this…" she pointed at the mark and the redness surrounding it. She cast her spells and her vial filled quickly. She touched his wrist with her wand, casting a spell she recalled from the Restricted Section that creates a barrier between skin and anything placed on it. They watched as the spell failed. Her fingers reached out to touch it, but Draco took her wrist and stopped her.

"If you touch it, you summon him or one of the others. Not only that, but you will give yourself away. I vowed to mum that I would protect our secret," he clarified his intent.

"Do you have what you need? We need to act as if we still hate each other out there and I cannot stay too much longer before others notice and come looking for us."

"I have everything. Draco… Soon. Whatever it is that is about to happen… I will have more information soon. And I will look for a way to remove that hideous mark before you succumb to it," she vowed to him before standing up.

Hermione thanked Draco, informing him she would be in the Room of Requirement three hours before the spells needed to be cast and the potion drank. She walked with him out of her "room" and waved her wand, "Grimoire". The memories she knew he could not keep, she removed, temporarily. "Sunday, we will meet here after rounds. We can combine our essays and be on our way," Hermione instructed coldly enough that she believed anyone peering into his memories would believe the animosity between the two remained. He gave her a short bow before leaving. Shaking her head, she turned back into the Room of Requirement. She needed to go over her plans for the potion and start preparing for the night she will be inevitably spending in the Room of Requirement, the following week.

xXx

Hermione entered the Great Hall for lunch after returning her texts, and heard the news of Stan Shunpike being arrested. Harry seemed to struggle with the concept that a wild man he met on the Knight Bus could have been a dark wizard. Once again, failing to see reason, Harry started connecting unrelated events to Draco. Hermione rushed out of lunch before Harry could suggest another theory regarding Draco. Since Draco accidentally showed her his arm the previous night, she has kept Harry at a further distance. She did not want to lie to him, but she knew she could not tell him the truth, either.

Clearing her mind, she set out to the Room of Requirement to begin preparing her potion. She had needed a safe and undisclosed area to set the cauldron in. Setting her vials down on the table inside of her "room", offered by the Room of Requirement, next to a gold cauldron, she transfigured a lectern out of a branch she picked up in the courtyard, and summoned her copy of the Malfoy Grimoire out of its hiding spot. Hermione finished measuring out the ingredients for her potion: salamander blood, valerian, moly, star grass, honeywater, rosemary, and root of asphodel had all been in Professor Slughorn's cupboards and easy to knick.

"Add the honey water and crushed root of asphodel into the cauldron simultaneously," she read aloud before completing the actions. Glancing back at the grimoire, she stirred the current potion clockwise four times before crushing the valerian and adding half of it in for the time being. The recipe required the potion to sit at a high heat for two hours before she could add the moly and the rest of the valerian. Deciding her time would be best used practising the spell she would need to cast just before she turned seventeen, she transfigured a timer out of one of the vials and began to work.

"Dolorem Resistentiae," her wand hand moved with grace in a small spiral before flicking upwards. "Mente Puriore," her wrist flicked down and to the right before she pointed her wand skyward. If she cast the spell properly, she would feel no pain as her mind instantly cleared and calmed itself. She continued to practise until she heard the transfigured timer ringing a bell. Focusing back on the potion, she included the last of the knicked ingredients before stirring thrice counterclockwise. She followed the instructions to add two drops of the salamander blood and would let it simmer on a low heat for another nineteen hours before adding both hers and Draco's bloods to the mix and speaking the incantation. Gathering her belongings and ensuring her potion would be safe, she cast a final spell to maintain the temperature and not allow the flames to spread past the cauldron's bottom, Hermione made her way to the Great Hall for supper.

As expected, Harry sat next to Lavender and Neville, in deep conversation. Things had certainly changed since they returned to Hogwarts. Hermione found herself engulfed in school work, Draco, and her own problems whilst Harry's mind became paranoid and seemingly falling into a depression.
Hermione knew that in five days, her life was about to change, but she wondered how it would affect those around her. Quietly, she sat down at the end of the table and ate a slice of toast with apple butter before collecting an apple for later. Returning to the Gryffindor tower, she made her way to the girls' lavatories and soaked in a hot bath to relax. The stress of wondering the unknown had begun taking its toll on her.

xXx

Hermione had awoken the next morning to Lavender screeching about dreams. Huffing, Hermione got dressed and gathered her satchel. As she exited the girls' dormitory, she came face-to-face with Harry. "Hi," he sheepishly offered as a greeting.

"Hi," was the terse response from Hermione.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go on."

"Why are the girls all staring at me, but not talking to me?" he asked.

"You mean other than Lavender throwing herself at you?! It's because they are under this impression that you are the Chosen One and therefore you are their saviour," Hermione burst into laughter.

"But I am the Chosen One," he laughed as she shook her head at him before warning him that some of the girls would attempt to spell or offer a hidden love potion to him, in an attempt to make him fall for them. He continued to laugh, as she exited the tower.

She turned back around as she noticed Harry behind her. "Off to Hagrid's," he called out and waved. Returning the wave, she ran to the Room of Requirement to check on her potion.

Her potion seemed to be the correct colour for the time marker. She would need to return before the first Slug Club supper and add the blood.

xXx

Hermione found her way back to the Room of Requirement with half an hour to spare before she needed to add both her blood and Draco's to the potion. Gathering her satchel and texts, she made sure she had the vial of Draco's blood and it was still fresh. She was relieved that her potion remained undisturbed and that it had come along perfectly over the last 22 hours. Leaning back into the sofa, she allowed her mind to wander…

"...Nyx… you must remember her. She was born to the late Lady Atropa Peverell née Black and the late Lord Kronos Peverell. We are her godparents and whilst we delivered her to muggles to protect her, she remains the one true heir to rule this world once again. Her magic is unrivalled, her intellect and cunning are that of a true Peverell, and her power has only just begun to take root." Last night's dream had been different, she thought as the memory briefly flashed through her mind. She had never heard the woman's voice before, but she garnered it was Narcissa Malfoy. The person the woman's voice belonged to was speaking to was cloaked and their face hidden. Briefly wondering if she had a premonition or if had astral-projected, she needed to clear her head for now. With a shake of her head, she decided she would focus on what the dream meant after the potion was completed.

Reviewing the potion, Hermione added Draco's blood first and then hers. Stirring the liquid clockwise seven times, she noticed the colour changed from clear to dark green. Looking at the instructions, she noticed that it was nearly done. Two strokes counterclockwise later and she twirled her wand in a complex weave over the cauldron whilst incanting "Claritatem Fortitudo". A black spark flew from her wand and into the cauldron, causing it to fizz for a moment and become motionless. The potion had thirty minutes of cooling before she could place it into her vials and leave the Room of Requirement.

After ensuring the flames were doused, Hermione continued to practice the spell she would need in four days' time. She wanted to master it nonverbally if she could. The stronger she was at casting it nonverbally, the stronger the spell would be. Having spent immense time casting the spell and inflicting harm to her body and mind to ensure its successfulness, Hermione had finally mastered the spell nonverbally. All that remained was resting and waiting.

Her potion had finished cooling and she bottled it in five vials, as a precaution if she needed another dose or one broke. Scourgify was cast on the table and cauldron, Hermione placed her vials down and cast an unbreakable charm on them. It would only last a week, but that was more than she needed. Placing her copy of the grimoire in her satchel, she gathered the vials and placed them in her undetectable extendable charmed beaded bag before placing the bag in her satchel. Turning around to ensure she had all of her belongings and no traces were left of her being there, she ran to the Slug Club meeting in the dungeons. The supper went smoothly, until Harry became flushed when Luna entered. Hermione noticed, but did not bring it to Harry's attention.

As she lay in bed, she could sense it, already… Her birthday was going to be a day of confusion and surprise.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading!

I would love to hear what you think. Please, leave a review, favourite, and/or follow! I would love to hear your feedback! Though, take note, I will delete and report flames; there is no need to be hateful and spiteful just because you do not like the topic. Constructive feedback is accepted, however.

Thank you, again! Much love!