Chapter 9
The sun was setting as the group approached the Burrow, its familiar crooked silhouette outlined against a sky streaked with gold and crimson, as if paying homage to the large volume of Gryffindors gathered under the one roof tonight. The warm light spilling from the old windows beckoned them forward, and Hermione felt a pang of bittersweet nostalgia. The Weasley home had always been a place of comfort and laughter, a safe place sheltered from the terrible things around them, but tonight, the weight of her visions and the secret of her mark made her feel antsy and on edge.
Molly Weasley was the first to greet them, bustling out of the kitchen with a dishtowel in hand. "There you are! I was beginning to wonder if you'd decided to camp out in the hedgerows!" Her tone was brisk, but the affection in her eyes was unmistakable. She swept Harry and Hermione into a warm embrace. "Goodness, Hermione, you're so pale! Are they feeding you properly? And Harry, your hair's worse than ever…"
The duo let the matriarch of the Weasley fuss over them, relieved to feel the old familiarity of her maternal comfort. Hermione was surprised by the sudden blurriness of her vision as Molly continued her gentle nagging, reminded suddenly of her own mother, whom she might never see again. Thankfully, no one noticed her discreetly dabbing away the tears, fighting to keep a pleasant smile on her face.
"Molly," Sirius interjected with a wry grin. "Give them a moment to breathe before you start mothering them to death."
"Hmph," Molly sniffed, though she couldn't hide her smile. "Sirius Black, just because you don't like to be coddled doesn't mean that you get to be jealous of others who do. Come on in, then. Hermione, you'll be sharing with Ginny and the others. Boys, you're in with Ron." She gestured them inside with a wave of her towel.
The Burrow was as chaotic and cozy as ever. Ginny greeted Hermione with a grin, immediately pulling her upstairs to their shared room, where Fleur and Gabrielle were already unpacking. Gabrielle chattered away at her sister in French, her excitement at being involved in the preparations spilling over like a bubbling fountain. The last time Hermione had seen the younger Delacoeur was in her 4th year, during the chaos of the Triwizard Tournament, and even then, it had only been a brief glance. Fleur, who had of course been present during the events of that fateful night at Hogwarts, greeted Hermione with a pleasant warmth, hugging her briefly and apologizing for the mess, before resuming her meticulous arrangement of dresses and accessories, in preparation for the upcoming wedding, which was only a few days away now. Hermione found herself smiling despite the turmoil in her mind; the normalcy of it all was grounding, a welcome respite from the twists and turns her life had been presenting lately.
Dinner had been a quiet affair, with everyone eating in shifts as they finished the respective tasks set to them by Mrs. Weasley. They ate quickly, before Hermione, Harry, Sirius, Remus, and Ron went upstairs to gather in the boys' room. Ron flopped onto his bed, his expression caught between excitement and apprehension.
"Right," Sirius began, pacing in the cramped space. "We need a plan. Dumbledore's gone, the Horcruxes aren't going to destroy themselves, and it's clear you lot aren't safe at Hogwarts anymore."
"So what are we going to do?" Ron asked, leaning forward. "Because Mum's not going to let any of us out of her sight for the wedding, let alone go Horcrux-hunting."
Harry and Hermione looked uncomfortable for a moment, looking at each other to try and decide who would get to break the news to the temperamental ginger.
"That's where you come in," Harry said hesitantly. "We think it might be a good idea for you to stay here."
Ron looked taken aback. "So I'm just supposed to…stay behind while you lot go off risking your necks?"
"Not exactly. We need you to be our informant, basically. You're the only Pureblood among the three of us, which means that you're the only one that would be relatively safe at Hogwarts. If you keep Sirius's mirror on you, we can check in without risking your cover."
"It's not just that," Hermione added gently. "If you come with us, there's a good chance that someone could try to get to your family to get to you and us. We don't want to risk anyone getting hurt just because you're Harry Potter's best friend. And your whole family can't go into hiding."
Ron's face was rapidly turning the same colour as his famous hair, but before he could argue further, Molly's voice rang out from downstairs. "Ron! Sirius! I need you both down here this instant! The gnomes are back in the garden, and you're not getting out of it this time!"
Sirius groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Merlin's beard, you were right! Molly's not going to let us get anything done, not like this." He shot a glance at Hermione. "I'll fill Ron in on what we've discussed so far. You guys keep making preparations."
As the door closed behind them, Harry turned to Hermione. "You okay? You look…well, you look like crap."
"Just what a girl needs to hear, Harry," she said dryly, smiling lightly at her friend to show no hurt feelings. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day."
However, the truth was far more complicated. Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that something was brewing just beyond her reach.
That night, Hermione's dreams took another turn. She was standing in the meadow, the silver wolf at her side, her fur gleaming under the moonlight. The man appeared again, his expression soft and filled with affection.
"Sweet child," his voice was quiet, but the words seemed to echo throughout the empty meadow. "I wish I could tell you everything, but it's too dangerous. For now, this is all I can give you. Take this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a delicate necklace, the pendant shaped like a wolf howling at the moon, just like her mark. "If ever you need me, just hold the pendant and think of me."
Hermione's fingers closed around the cool metal, and a surge of magic pulsed through her. The dream faded, leaving her with the weight of the pendant in her hand as she jolted awake. She looked around her to make sure she hadn't roused any of her roommates, before examining her new treasure.
She stared at it in disbelief, the silvery chain and pendant glinting faintly in the moonlight streaming through the window. Her heart raced as she clutched it tightly. "This isn't possible," she whispered.
Hermione was no stranger to magic, having spent every spare moment since Professor McGonagall arrived with her Hogwarts letter all those years ago studying everything she could get her hands on related to the topic. But never, in all her research, had she come across dreams that could transport a physical object into the waking world. While she had already suspected that the strange man wasn't a normal wizard by any means, this just solidified her theory.
The next morning, Hermione showed the necklace to Remus. He examined it carefully, his wand tracing intricate patterns in the air, casting multiple detection charms to search for Dark Magic or other nefarious spells.
"It's enchanted," he finalized, confirming what Hermione had already suspected. "But I can't detect anything malicious. There's something in there, but it's not going to harm you."
Hermione felt a strange mix of relief and unease. "Should I keep it?"
Remus hesitated before nodding. "I'll run a few more tests today, but I think it's safe. Just don't…use it until we're sure what it does. While it seems innocuous, let's just be sure before jumping into anything."
Hermione agreed and tucked the pendant away into her pocket, not ready to risk wearing it without any more information.
By evening, the Burrow was buzzing with preparations for Bill and Fleur's wedding the next day. Hermione found herself back in the girls' room, alone for a moment as the others were still downstairs. She sat on Harry's bed, turning the necklace over in her hands. The temptation to put it on was overwhelming. Surely, if there was nothing dangerous in it, it couldn't hurt to wear it?
As soon as the clasp clicked into place, the world shifted. She was running on all fours again, her senses heightened, the wind rushing past her. Beside her, the silver wolf matched her stride, their movements fluid and synchronized. She glanced down, seeing giant paws and vast amounts of fur, and realized she wasn't human, though she couldn't discern what she had become exactly.
Suddenly, Hermione shifted back into her human form, stumbling slightly before laughing and calling out, "Papa!" She ran at the silver wolf, which transformed into the man just in time to catch her, lifting her into the air and spinning her around. His laughter echoed in the meadow, warm and rich.
From behind them, a woman's voice called out. "Ban, Mia! What do you think you're doing?"
Hermione turned to see a strikingly beautiful woman approaching, her expression stern but softened by a smile. The dream began to fade, and Hermione's heart ached as she reached for the vision, desperate to hold on.
She woke to find Ginny and Fleur hovering over her, concern etched into their faces. "Hermione, are you okay?" Ginny asked, her voice tight with worry.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just got a little dizzy. I'm alright, I promise."
"Maybe you should go see Remus, he knows some healing magic, right?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea, let me go there now."
Hermione declined Ginny's offer to help her to the boys' room, getting up slowly and taking her time. When she opened the door, Harry, Remus, and Sirius were there, in the middle of some discussion.
"Another dream," she murmured, sitting down slowly on the nearest bed. Her head throbbed, and she touched the pendant at her throat. "This time, I learned some new things."
Hermione recounted the vision in detail, telling them that the strange man in her dreams was named Ban and apparently, her Papa.
"But how could he be my Papa? I know who my father is! He's Willian Granger, a dentist! So why is Ban my papa?"
Harry immediately rushed over to pull Hermione into her arms as the tears began to fall. She was so frustrated. Nothing was making any sense!
"Kitten, could I please look in your mind again? Maybe, there's some clue in there?"
Hermione nodded through her tears, letting them clear up before looking into Sirius' eyes. He didn't spend long in her mind this time, pulling out less than a minute in.
"The wall has more cracks in it," he said grimly. "And I can see something behind the cracks. Something moving, a creature of some sort. But I still can't get close enough to figure out what."
"Then we need to break it," Hermione said, her voice resolute. She clutched the necklace tighter. "That wall needs to come down if we're going to get any answers. I need to know what the hell is going on."
Author's note: Hello everyone! Yes, I'm back, yay! Sorry for the long wait, it has been a very busy couple of weeks. Hope eveyone is doing great. This chapter isn't as long as I would have liked, but there was just a natural stopping point here that I thought I should utilise. I'll have the next chapter out before the end of the month, which is only 10 days away, I know, but I already know where it's going so it should be a quick enough write up. Thank you to you all for following along on this journey, I really do appreciate each and every single one of you. See you all soon.
LS