AN: First off, my sincerest apologies for the long wait between chapters. Real life is a bitch sometimes. I promise, I am still writing and this story will, at some point in time, be completed. I cannot thank you enough for sticking with me for all this time.
{ 54 }
{ Professor Bones }
The conversation I had with Draco stayed with me. I kept rolling it over and over in my mind.
Whatever had happened to him that night, after Hermione had escaped from Malfoy Manor, it was bad. Even without the details, I could determine that much.
I thought about the testimony that Hermione gave less than a week ago. The same people…monsters…that had saw fit to torture that girl, had then turned around and punished their own kin because she escaped.
My stomach rolled at the thought of what that could have entailed. Whatever they had done to Draco, he wants to block the memories from his mind permanently.
Not for himself, though. For her. So she can heal.
"Amelia?" Jeremy's voice made me jump. "Are you alright?"
Am I?
No. I don't think that I am.
In the next room I can see Susan and her friend, Emily. They are fixing each other's hair. Talking. Laughing. Being normal teenagers.
"I was just thinking that Susan is the same age as Hermione and Draco." I released a melancholy sigh. "They have been through so much in their short lives."
His hand settled over mine and held it firmly.
"They certainly have." He is staring at me. There is a question in his voice.
"I am worried about him." I admitted quietly. "Both of them, really."
There was a momentary pause before he asked, "Moreso Draco than Hermione?"
He is far too perceptive. It's why he is so damn good at what he does.
"For today, perhaps." I held my teacup in my hands and stared down at the warm liquid. "Until I learn of some new horror from her past that will tip the scales yet again."
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked after another long moment.
Do I? Yes. I need to talk about it. Get it out of my head.
I promised Draco I would keep his confidence.
I released a deep sigh and took a sip from my cup.
"They have each received dozens of threats since the trial. Some of them are so vile, Jeremy." I blinked back the sudden moisture in my eyes. "They were not concerned. Not at all. I just keep thinking, good Merlin, why would they be? They have already lived through worse."
I wish that were hyperbole. I stood and walked away from the table. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to stave off a chill that has nothing to do with the temperature.
"They were more worried about the aurors assigned to protect them than they were about the threats." I stared out the window at the oak tree in the front yard. "I can't say that I blame them, either."
"Did they ask for auror protection at Hogwarts?" Jeremy asked as he joined me by the window. His brow was crinkled.
"No." I sighed and pushed my hair back. "No, they did not. It was Minister Shacklebolt's idea."
I should have known they wouldn't want anything to do with that.
"I imagine Hermione was more resistant than Draco?"
I nodded once.
"And yet, you are more worried about him than you are about her. For today, at least."
I closed my eyes for a brief moment and released a sigh. Why did I promise not to say anything?
"Yes." I confirmed. Really, there is no sense in denying it.
"You are not going to tell me why, though."
It was not a question.
I released another sigh.
"No." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I am worried about him, though. He is struggling, Jeremy. He is really struggling."
I finally turned to face him. He studied me for a long moment before he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me.
"I know, Amelia." He rubbed my back in soothing circles. "I worry about them, too."
[ - - - ]
After Jeremy left, I decided I needed to get out of my own head a little. I needed something to keep my mind occupied. A puzzle, if you will.
I just so happen to have one of those that needs to be solved, and with only a week remaining before students return to Hogwarts, I am running out of time.
With my cloak pulled tight against the winter chill, I ventured into the muggle world. My destination was a lovely two-story brick home with classy white Christmas lights adorning the eves and the bushes out front.
I rang the doorbell and stepped back. I could hear footsteps as someone approached the door quickly. The door swung open to reveal a middle aged woman with blonde hair and a soft smile.
"Hi there. I am looking for Hermione. Is she home?" I smiled brightly and waited.
"Hermione?" Her brow furrowed.
"Yes. Hermione Granger. I could have sworn this was the right address." I started digging around in my shoulder bag.
"Oh. Oh, dear. No. She doesn't live here anymore." A sad smile crossed her face. "I have a forwarding address somewhere, I think. Let me look. Please come inside. It is freezing out there."
"Thank you." I stepped through the doorway and felt the warm tingle of wards crossing my skin.
The woman did not notice anything was amiss. She turned and walked away, motioning me to follow her to the kitchen.
"Do you know her?" I asked curiously.
"No, not really. We bought the house from her over the summer. So young to have such a tragic life."
She has no idea just how tragic it has been.
"Here it is." She pulled an envelope out of a drawer and handed it to me.
"Thank you." I turned the envelope over in my hands. There are no markings on the parchment, but there is a red wax seal holding it closed, and I can feel magic emanating from within. "Can I keep this?"
She tilted her head to the side and gave me a confused look.
"Of course." She blinked a few times. "Now I am sure I have that address somewhere."
She went back to searching through the drawer.
I slid the envelope into my cloak. I let her keep searching in vain for a few more moments.
"That's quite alright." I cleared my throat. "You have been most helpful. I can check with the post for a forwarding address."
She looked confused yet again, but showed me to the door. I thanked her and left the house Hermione had grown up in.
I walked to the nearby park and apparated away from the neighborhood.
My small house is empty. Susan is off with friends. I closed the door to my home office and placed wards, just in case she were to come home whilst I examine the envelope.
On the outside of the envelope is a compulsion charm and a confundus. That explains the woman's strange behavior.
"If she could do that to her own parents, what else do you think she is capable of?"
Jeremy's warning repeated in my head. I ignored it and broke the red wax seal.
A warm tingle of magic slid up my arm. I dropped the envelope quickly and pushed my chair back as far as I could.
What in the name of Merlin am I doing?
Rule number one in defense against the dark arts - never investigate possibly cursed items alone.
Hermione is a sweet and caring girl. She is also diabolical. Brilliant. Cunning. If it hadn't been for her blood status, she certainly would have been a Slytherin.
If she could erase herself from her own parents' memories, what else could she be capable of?
I swallowed hard.
Anything. She could be capable of anything.
That muggle woman had bought her house last summer. After the war was over.
My mind was spinning.
What kind of mindset was Hermione in at that point?
Certainly not a good one.
Who would she have been expecting to come looking for her? Someone, apparently. Someone from our world, a witch or a wizard. Someone friendly? Or not so much?
If she was expecting someone that cares for her to come to her childhood home to find her, there might not be anything to worry about inside that envelope.
If not…
I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath.
This is ridiculous.
She would not intentionally harm anyone.
Right?
Still…I retrieved my wand and checked for dark magic. The charm came back clear. No black aura covered the envelope.
I finished opening it and dumped the contents on the desk. A silver locket slipped from the confines of the parchment.
My fingers closed around the pendant before I gave thought to what I was doing. Suddenly, the room began to spin. My breath caught in my throat as I was sucked through the portal of a portkey.
As soon as my feet landed on a dirt floor, my wand was in my hand. The locket was still grasped between my fingers.
I turned quickly, looking for any kind of threat.
I found myself in a dark room. No windows. One door. A small desk was in the corner. A lantern sat on the corner of the desk. It flared to life as I approached. Sitting beside the lantern was a roll of parchment. The red seal on the roll matched that of the envelope the muggle woman had given me.
My hand hesitated over the parchment for a moment.
What the hell. I'm here now, right?
The same warm tingle of Magic slid up my arm as I broke the seal and unrolled the parchment.
I hesitated.
What was that?
Once again, I checked for dark magic and found none.
I sat down in the chair with a deep sigh, turned the lantern up, and started to read the neat handwriting that is clearly Hermione's.
If you are reading this, you have passed three tests in your quest to find me.
First, if you had crossed the threshold of my familial home with malice in your heart, you would have been given a different envelope with a black seal.
Second, if you have been marked and broke the red seal on the envelope, the portkey would not have been activated.
And third, if you had tried to remove this parchment from this room, it would have caught fire and disintegrated. The room itself, and any knowledge within, would have been sealed permanently.
Since you are still reading, I can only assume you are here for a reason. I can only imagine what that reason may be.
Why are you looking for me? Chances are, I am not the person that you think me to be.
You have come this far, though, and I do not want to leave you empty-handed. You may be interested in the contents hidden by a concealment charm in the third drawer down on the left.
Perhaps they will show you who I really am, and why you should not want to find me at all.
[ - - - ]
I read through the letter twice.
It's undeniable. This witch is brilliant. She set up safeguards to ensure anyone that was searching for her with an intent to harm her would never find this room.
Wherever this room may be.
I opened the third drawer and removed the concealment charm. A small box was revealed.
I lifted it from the drawer and placed it on the desk. Before I opened it, I checked for dark magic. There is none.
I lifted the blue lid from the box and set it aside. Inside I found a collection of pictures, drawings, newspaper clippings, and a spiral bound notebook.
A picture of a young Hermione standing with her parents in front of the Hogwarts Express.
A more recent photo of the three of them in dress clothes standing together in front of an art museum.
A third picture of her parents. Her mother is holding a baby whilst her father looks on lovingly.
The last picture is of a tombstone. Her parents' names were engraved in the polished granite. Their dates of birth and death are clearly marked.
"Loving parents" was inscribed at the bottom of the stone.
Across the top of the stone, above the surname "GRANGER" were the words: "Death is not the end, for the ones we love are never truly gone."
Along with the pictures there was a clipping from a newspaper. An obituary for the Grangers. They were well respected, the article stated. Both lost their lives tragically when their daughter lost control whilst driving an automobile.
Good Merlin.
Jeremy told me they were dead, that she had attended their funeral. He did not tell me that if that were true, if they really are deceased, then she was the one that was responsible for their deaths.
I closed my eyes. Tears are building up and ready to fall. I don't know how much more tragedy I can stand to learn about Hermione or Draco.
I kept looking through the collection of items. There were newspaper clippings from the Daily Prophet. The three of them breaking into Gringott's and releasing a dragon. Causing mayhem at the Ministry. Breaking into the Department of Mysteries. All of their best hits.
Next, I looked through the drawings. They are incredibly detailed. One is a drawing of her parents with a baby. It is quite similar to the photograph.
Another is a drawing of a house. Nothing stands out about it in particular. It is a two story ranch with a flower garden out front and the name "Wilkins" on the mailbox.
A third drawing was of a Phoenix. It is wounded. Dying. A snake approaches.
The Serpent and the Phoenix.
Did she know? When she put this collection of memorabilia together?
The last drawing was of a dark figure. It sent a cold chill down my spine. Eyes that seemed to look at me from the page. Evil dripped from pointed talons. I shuffled that page to the bottom of the stack quickly.
A sense of dread had settled in my stomach by the time I opened the spiralbound notebook. The notebook was broken into two sections.
The first section was a collection of notes, potion formulas, charms and curses, all complete with detailed instructions, uses, and anecdotes about when she had used each. For example, there was a formula for brewing polyjuice potion and a story about her brewing a batch in second year in a girl's bathroom.
I want to read every single page. There is everything from polyjuice to protean charms, from portkeys to undetectable extension charms. I flipped through page by page, but did not stop until one potion stood out to me above the rest. Ingredients and directions to brew the Draught of Living Death potion.
"I have used this potion once," it read. "It certainly does come in handy when you want to fake someone's death. Especially if the person or persons are muggles."
My fingers drifted over her words. A small sense of relief trickled through me. I don't know if this is proof that her parents are still alive somewhere, but it gives me hope.
The next page held directions for an obliviation charm.
"I have used this charm many, many times, mostly on snatchers that had attacked us. After we defeated them, I would erase the memory so they could not pass along information on our whereabouts.
I have also used this charm to erase much larger chunks of memory. It is not easy to erase a lifetime of memories from someone you love, even if you are doing it to protect them. It is even harder to look at them afterwards and know that they have no idea who you are.
Unfortunately, you cannot obliviate yourself. I have tried. It does not work."
A bigger sense of relief washed through me. I suppose I would rather know that she committed a crime by using advanced memory charms against her parents, than to know that she killed them in an automobile accident and created that story to cover up her own guilt.
Of course, this journal is not proof one way or the other. She could be fabricating the lie, convincing herself it is true.
I released a deep sigh and kept reading. The second section of the notebook was like a journal or a memoir. It detailed her part in the fight against Voldemort.
I didn't intend to read it all, but once I started, I could not stop. It is fascinating and horrifying and heartbreaking all at the same time.
"At the end of the Final Battle, I captured the man that destroyed me. I had every intention of killing him. He deserved to die. The only thing that stopped me was Draco Malfoy. The ferret told me that my soul is still intact. I don't know if that is really true, but he seemed to think so.
The war is over now, or so they say. Time to go back to our normal lives, whatever the fuck that is supposed to mean. I have no life to go back to. I am broken, shattered beyond repair.
My parents are gone. The Wilkins' have never been happier. They have just welcomed a baby boy to their family.
My friends are moving on, excited to see what life will be like without the threat of Voldemort over their heads. They don't understand why I am not. They don't know everything that I lost, that I have sacrificed in this journey.
I am leaving. I don't know where I am going. I don't know if I will ever come back. I don't want to be a part of this world anymore. It is a dark and ugly place to be. There is no beauty in magic. There is only pain."
I reread the last page. I can sense the depression in her words. Her overwhelming grief.
There were a few blank pages at the end of the notebook. I looked at each one, just to be sure. Tucked between the last page and the back cover was a small pocket. Inside that pocket I found three muggle airplane tickets.
The first was in Hermione's name and was dated this past June. The other two were for a Wendell and Monika Wilkins. They were dated a year earlier. All three were flights to Sydney, Australia.
Wilkins.
I flipped back to the last page she had written.
The Wilkins' have never been happier. They have just welcomed a baby boy to their family.
There was a picture of her parents with a baby. I picked through the pile until I found it. On the back, written in her neat script it was dated June of this year and labeled 'Wendell, Monika and Henry Wilkins'.
"Good Merlin." My own voice in the silent room brought me back to the present.
She actually did it.
I scrubbed my hand over my face.
"Did you find what you were looking for, Professor?"
Hermione's voice startled me. My eyes darted around the room until they landed on the witch that now stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yes." I cleared my throat and willed my heart rate to go back to normal. "I believe I did."
"I had almost forgotten about all this." She turned in a small circle, taking in the room. "When my alarm went off, it took me a minute to remember what it was for."
"It was a brilliant set up." I tapped my finger on the desk. "I am curious, what did the envelope with the black seal contain?"
She smirked.
"They would have found a card with the address of the cemetery and a few stray leaves of belladonna."
She moved closer and picked up the picture of her parents with a baby boy. Henry.
I don't know what I expected. From our previous discussions about her parents and the guilt she holds inside, I suppose I expected her to act, well…guilty.
Instead she smiled.
"Isn't he beautiful?" She asked.
Something has changed.
"Yes. He is."
She stared at the picture for a long moment before setting it on the desk.
"Why are you here?" She asked quietly.
I hesitated. I'm not sure how to answer that question.
"You didn't believe me." She gathered the items and placed them back in the box.
"I did."
"Healer Edinfield does not believe me." She gave me a half smile and sat down on the desk. "You wanted to prove him wrong."
I gave a short laugh and a small nod.
"Something like that."
"Men." She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Why are you here?" I asked. I don't even know where the hell we are, but she shouldn't be out and about alone.
"Curiosity." She shrugged her shoulder.
"Hermione. There are people out there that are threatening your life."
She raised her brow and smirked once again.
"You don't think I came in here blind, do you?" She pointed to a small mirror hanging on the wall by the door. "I knew it was you before I came."
That is not really the point.
"I should get back home soon, though. Draco is trying to hide it, but he has been freaking out since I told him I was leaving the castle."
Yes. I imagine he is.
Still, there is something…off. Different. I can't put my finger on it.
"Hermione, is everything alright?"
She ran her hand through her hair, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. As she exhaled, her lips tilted up into a small smile.
"Yes," She answered confidently. Her smile grew bigger and she threw her arms around me in a tight hug.
There is a very special place in my heart for this girl. I can admit that. I have grown to care about her in the past few months. Her and Draco both.
As I held her, I realized what had been different.
She is happy.
"Have you tried casting a patronus lately?" I asked her as she stepped back away from me.
"Oh. No. It has been awhile since I tried." She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and pushed her hair behind her ears.
"Maybe you should."
"Maybe I will." She smiled. "But not right now. Are you ready?"
She held her hand out for me. I took it without hesitation. A moment later, I was sucked into a side-by-side apparition.
When the world stopped spinning, I was once again standing in front of the gate at Black Castle.
The sun is shining here, reflecting off the snow in a blinding glare compared to the dark room we had just left. It took a moment for my eyes to become accustomed to the light.
Beside me, Hermione stumbled and grabbed my arm.
"Damn, that's bright." She laughed.
"Are you alright?" I blinked several times and smiled at the younger witch.
"Fine. I'm fine." She covered her eyes with her hand. I can hear the smile in her voice. "I just need a moment."
The gate opened and Draco materialized out of the wards, followed closely by Harry Potter.
Draco looked relieved. Harry looked furious.
"Where in Merlin's name have you been?" Harry fumed. "I thought you were upstairs, sleeping!"
"Since when do I have to update you on my whereabouts?" She rolled her eyes at him.
"Are you serious right now?" He threw his hands in the air. "People are threatening your life! Damn it, Hermione! You cannot just run off like that."
"That's enough." Draco stepped closer and placed his hand on the small of her back. "Obviously she was with Professor Bones."
He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She smiled up at him and nodded in response. She released my arm and leaned against him instead.
Harry scrubbed his hand over his face and growled in frustration.
"You knew she was gone. Didn't you?" He threw his hands in the air.
"Of course he knew." Hermione rolled her eyes again. Then she turned towards me. "Professor. Thank you. For everything."
She stepped closer and gave me another hug.
"You are very welcome." I have no idea what she is thanking me for. "Take care. Both of you."
I stepped away and apparated back home.
[ - - - ]
The house is quiet, which suits me just fine. I poured myself a glass of wine and a hot bubble bath.
As I soaked in the lavender scented bubbles, I let my mind revisit the events of the day. From my conversation with Draco, to my discovery of Hermione's treasures.
My heart breaks for both of them. At the same time, though, I am so bloody proud of both of them.
Despite everything, all of the odds stacked against them, all of the challenges and tragedies they have endured, still they persist.
Lesser people would have given up by now. Not these two. They keep pushing forward.
It wasn't enough for them to start dating. They had to start sitting at each other's tables, causing quite the stir at Hogwarts.
I thought they were up to something then. The way they almost seemed to orchestrate their movements, switching back and forth between Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Occasionally throwing in a stay at the Ravenclaw table for good measure.
"All that it takes for evil to thrive is for good people to do nothing."
Hermione said that to me once. When I asked her what the two of them were up to.
Suddenly a piece of the puzzle clicked into place.
Oh, Merlin!
My eyes snapped open.
It was orchestrated.
It wasn't enough for Draco to testify against his Father. He had to turn in evidence that would bring down members of nearly every pureblood family, and a portion of the half-blood families, in this country.
He doesn't have remorse for his actions, either. Not even knowing that the consequences for himself and Hermione could be severe. He expected them. He planned for them.
They…they planned for them.
Another piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Less than a week ago I was sitting in a waiting room at St. Mungo's. Andromeda was beside me. Jeremy and Minister Shacklebolt were sitting across from me. Harry and most of the Weasley family were at the other end of the room.
All of the flesh and most of the muscle had been burnt from Draco's arm. Hermione had fractured her skull and lost so much blood. When they pulled Draco off of her, I thought for sure that she was gone.
The mood in that room had been somber. Tears fell from many eyes. No one dared to speak whilst we waited for word from the healers.
The update for Draco came first.
"His arm will be sore. The scarring will be prominent. It will take time for him to build his strength up again."
Andromeda broke down in relieved tears. She cried on my shoulders. Everyone else held their breath, waiting for the update on Hermione.
An awful thought had filtered through my mind in that moment.
What would Draco do if he woke up and she was gone?
"I do not fear death, Professor. At times I have even welcomed it."
It seemed like hours before a different healer had come in to let us know that Hermione was out of the woods.
"We stopped the bleed and repaired the fracture. We won't know anything else until she wakes up. The rest is up to her."
It was Molly Weasley that had spoken up and said what everyone was thinking.
"Hermione is a fighter. That girl is a force of nature if I have ever seen one." She patted Harry's arm in a motherly fashion.
My eyes had met Jeremy's. I thought to myself that it is true. She is a fighter. How much more is she going to have to fight through, though?
How much more will either one of them need to fight through?
The answer finally came to me in that moment, soaking in the bathtub with a half empty glass of wine beside me.
"Do you think the war is over, Professor Bones?" Hermione asked me months ago.
"I think evil will always exist." My careful response to her question.
"The Darkness is still out there. Quietly attending to its wounded. Recruiting new forces. Waiting for the next moment to strike. I do not intend to sit back and wait for that to happen."
Good Merlin.
In the hospital, after they had both finally woke, when we knew they would both be okay after some rest and healing…Andromeda had hugged me and whispered in my ear, "Those two don't do anything halfway."
The last piece of the puzzle fell into place.
An unexpected laugh escaped my mouth and echoed in my bathroom. Followed by another, and another, until I found myself laughing uncontrollably.
I can see it now.
They are both forces of nature.
"If she could do that to her own parents, what else do you think she is capable of?"
My laughter trailed off.
Anything.
She is capable of anything.
Bloody hell.
My breath caught in my throat.
Draco…Draco single handedly brought the pureblood establishment to its knees, starting with his own parents.
If he could do that to his own parents, what else could he be capable of?
Anything.
Bloody fucking hell.
They are orchestrating a dynamic shift in power.
Not just orchestrating it.
They are executing it.
"You are not scared for her. You are scared of her."
Those words echoed in my mind.
An accusation that I made to Jeremy.
Good Merlin.
Perhaps he was right and I was wrong all along.
These two could literally rule the world someday.
[ - - - ]
AN: Again, sorry for the long wait on this one. I love this chapter though. Bones is figuring it out.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I promise the next chapter won't take so long to post.
Until next time.
-mezy
