The week went by dreadfully slow for everyone. Their classes weren't keeping their attention because they knew all the material that was being covered and they had to keep an eye open for Ron, Ginny and Dumbledore.
Their test run with the dolls went better than even Hermione had hoped. They had waited until their rooms were empty when they activated the dolls. Then they arranged the dolls on the bed so that they appeared to be sleeping and they put spells on the curtains to prevent their roommates from touching the doll or anything. In the mornings they apparated back to their rooms while invisible thanks to their vests and deactivated the doll. After four days of sleeping in the trunk no one even noticed that they weren't actually the ones in their beds.
On Friday night, Harry, Hermione, Neville and their familiars stood in front of the message board in the Gryffindor common room and frowned at the notice that was in front of them.
"A Hogsmeade visit already?" Neville groaned quietly. "If we don't go it'll seem suspicious. I'll have to go talk to Chief tonight and tell him that I'll be late on my first day of training."
Harry frowned and bit his lip in frustration. "What is Dumbledore playing at? With Voldemort's return public knowledge then there should be extra precautions on these visits. Something tells me that there aren't even wards around Hogsmeade to protect the students."
Hermione lightly brushed Harry's hand with her own. Sadly, that was the most amount of contact that they were safe with currently while in Hogwarts. "If anything, we should go in order to protect the students in case there is an attack."
Everyone nodded in agreement. "Everyone wears their dragonhide tomorrow then," Harry said firmly. "Even the familiars."
Kex fidgeted on Harry's shoulder. "Wouldn't that look suspicious then? You guys can wear your dragonhide under your clothes, but we can't. What will people think when they see four animals walking around Hogsmeade wearing dragonhide armor?"
Harry shook his head stubbornly. "I don't care; I'm not risking your safety. We'll glamour them so they don't look like dragonhide."
Kex nuzzled against Harry's cheek affectionately. "Don't worry Harry, we'll be okay. If there is an attack then we'll finally get to put our skills to the test in a real situation." In a whisper he added, "you won't get rid of me easily so don't worry about me getting hurt."
With a sigh, Harry nodded. They went to their dorms and apparated to the trunk where they met Luna and Fay. Luna was pacing in the training room anxiously and went straight to Neville's arms when she saw them.
"I have a real bad feeling about this Hogsmeade visit," Luna whispered to Neville who ran his fingers through her hair.
"It's alright," Neville whispered to her. "We won't go unprepared. I have to go talk to Chief, but I'll be right back."
Luna nodded and stepped back so Neville could grab onto Sage and apparate. She and Neville had learned elf apparition from Hermione and were finally able to do short trips.
While Neville was with the centaur tribe, they went to prepare for the next day. If they were lucky then they were simply being paranoid, but they weren't known as the luckiest group in the Wizarding World.
Harry sharpened his sword on the floor of the training room while Hermione waxed her bow and bowstring before adding griffin feathers (a gift from Goldengaze) to her arrows. Luna took out her sword-breaker and went through a few slices and jabs to help her body get used to the weapon that she hadn't used in a while.
After a while, Harry looked at Hermione with somewhat pleading eyes. "Is there anything that I can say to get you to stay behind?" he asked quietly.
Right away, Hermione stiffened and she glared at Harry. "I don't need to be protected," she whispered hotly.
Harry got up and walked over to Hermione and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I know you don't, but please understand where I'm coming from Love. I have lost everyone who ever loved me, and if you joined them then I don't think that I could go on."
Hermione sighed and kissed Harry on the cheek. "I can't sit by and do nothing Harry. Please understand that I can't be a victim again, and by asking me to stay behind you are asking me to be one. I love you more than I ever thought possible, but I will not let you make me a victim."
Harry took in a deep breath and gave Hermione a shaky smile. "I'm sorry Mione'. But please…be careful."
Another tender kiss on the cheek helped calm Harry's nerves. "It'll take a lot to take me out," she whispered. "I will be marrying you Harry and I will be a very unhappy witch if either of us is killed before that can happen."
The next day, Harry and his friends walked to Hogsmeade while keeping an open eye for anything suspicious. The Heirs wore their dragonhide under their clothes and the familiars wore their armor but it was glamoured to look like their bodies. Their weapons were glamoured as well with a charm so strong that not even Mad-Eye could see through it and they wore them on their backs where they were quickly accessible.
While the Heirs were keeping an eye out, the familiars, minus Fay, were tasting the air for any hint of danger. Thanks to their bond with their wizards/witch, they knew what Death Eaters looked and smelled like even though they had never actually met any. Fay flew over their heads and kept a sharp eye out for any activity.
"We need to loosen up," Luna said when they reached Hogsmeade and Fay perched on her shoulder. "We'll gather attention if we look like we're expecting anything."
"What do you propose we do Luna?" Hermione asked.
Luna smiled and shrugged. "I propose that we just get some shopping done. If an attack happens then we'll be prepared, but we don't have to be on edge during the whole day."
Everyone agreed and they went in the shops to browse. When they entered the bookstore, Hermione and Ivy found a couple of volumes that they knew weren't in the Potter Library. They bought the books and stored them in Hermione's bottomless shoulder bag. After a quick stop to buy more ink and quills, they decided to head over to The Three Broomsticks for a drink.
They spotted Ron and Ginny scanning the area outside of the pub and quickly went into the nearest shop before they could see them.
Harry groaned in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. "Why can't they leave us alone?" he asked.
Hermione smiled sadly. "Maybe they will one day. Let's just go to Madam Puddifoots."
Before anyone could agree, they felt a large number of people apparate into the area. A second later screams began filling the village. They all shared an alarmed glance before they sprinted out of the shop.
Walking confidently in the village were fifteen Death Eaters. They wore their cloaks and masks so Harry couldn't recognize any of them. They sent curses all over the street and Harry gritted his teeth in fury when he saw one Death Eater hit a third year student with a cutting curse which sent the student to the ground, crying in pain.
"Follow Luna's plan," Harry instructed. "Neville, Hermione and I fight while Luna sends our prison's first prisoners to Flint. Neville and Hermione fight guard while I fight point. Sage, Ivy and Kex you need to body merge and Fay you continue to survey the fight from above." At everyone's affirmative nod Harry said grimly, "Time to work."
The familiars, minus Fay, body merged with their wizards/witch and the Heirs ran into the formation that Luna had planned. Luna activated her vest, which she still wore, and hung to the wall. Harry quickly put his Black ring to his mouth and told Flint to prepare Black Manor for the first round of prisoners and ran to face the people who were no better in his eye than scum.
Harry drew out his legal wand and sent a stunner at the closest Death Eater. The Death Eater fell to the ground and spun around to face Harry.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted.
The Death Eater dodged the stunner and shouted, "Crucio!"
Harry dodged the Unforgivable with ease and continued dueling with the Death Eater. He sent a stunner that was masked by a disarming spell and smiled in grim satisfaction when he saw the Death Eater he had just beaten along with the Death Eater he had previously beaten seemingly vanish into thin air.
Without taking time to enjoy his grim victory, Harry turned to face his next opponent. He took down another Death Eater and saw with relief that Hermione and Neville were faring well against their opponents. As soon as a Death Eater fell, he would disappear before a fellow Death Eater could revive him.
"Incendio!" Harry heard Hermione cry. He turned around and felt a grim smile fill his face when he saw that Hermione had set a Death Eater's robes on fire. While the Death Eater put out the fire Hermione cried, "Stupefy!" knocking out her opponent.
Harry took down two more Death Eaters when he felt his body merge with Kex begin to waver.
"I'm almost out of magic Harry," Kex said tiredly through their bond. "I don't know how long I'll be able to hold it much longer."
"Just a little longer mate," Harry said determinedly. "There's only a handful left."
A quick look showed that Hermione and Neville were beginning to tire as well. "Damn," Harry cursed. "We trained for so long and we didn't even realize that we tire more quickly when we've body merged."
"Damn," Kex cursed as well. "We should drop the merge before you're drained."
"I guess we don't have a choice," Harry sighed.
There was a 'crack' and Kex was standing in front of Harry. The pine marten's eyes were tired and he swayed unsteadily on his paws.
"Stay out of the fight Kex, you're too tired," Harry instructed.
Kex glared at Harry for a moment before he nodded and got out of the way. When Hermione and Neville saw Kex take cover, they canceled their own body merges and instructed their familiars to hide.
There were only four more Death Eaters and Harry was beginning to have difficulty sending out a simple stunner.
The gem on my alder wand is full of magic, Harry thought while he wiped the sweat from his brow. But I don't want to reveal my wand in Hogsmeade when Dumbledore might not be far behind.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Neville's cry of pain. Harry looked at Neville in alarm and his eyes narrowed when he saw that Neville's arm had been hit with a bone-breaking-curse.
"Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" Harry shouted in succession at Neville's attacker when his back was turned.
The Death Eater's wand flew from his wand and was knocked unconscious before he realized what happened. Neville grit his teeth in pain and went on to duel the next Death Eater.
"Where's Dumbledore?" Neville shouted while he dodged the killing curse.
Anger at the headmaster filled Harry's veins as he grimly noticed that Dumbledore wasn't coming. He sensed Luna's worry for her fiancé right by his side and he turned to whisper, "leave two."
He felt Luna gently tap his arm to show that she understood. The few remaining Death Eaters looked like they were preparing to apparate out of Hogsmeade and Harry quickly cast an anti-apparition ward to keep them in.
When one of the Death Eaters saw who cast the ward, he pointed an angry wand at him. "Potter! The Dark Lord will kill you and all you love!"
The Death Eater's voice made the hairs on Harry's arms stand up. "You can tell your half-blood leader that it won't be me who dies at the end of this war," Harry said coldly.
The Death Eater laughed cruelly, but stopped abruptly. Even though the Death Eater was wearing a mask, Harry saw that he was looking past him over his shoulder.
"Well, well, well," the Death Eater laughed. "It looks like the mudblood survived! I thought that I did a pretty good job taking care of you, but apparently I need to be more thorough."
Harry looked out of the corner of his eye and saw that Hermione's eyes were wide with disbelief and she was shaking so hard that she was barely holding onto her wand. "You're the bastard that nearly killed her?" Harry roared in fury.
Fury clouded Harry's judgment and he almost reached for his alder wand to blast the Death Eater's head off when a stunner came from the other direction followed by two more to stun the remaining Death Eaters. Harry looked at the direction of the stunners and felt his stomach drop when he saw Albus Dumbledore standing there with his wand and looking rather pleased with himself. While Dumbledore wasn't looking, Luna sent Hermione's attacker to the prison before he noticed.
"Do not fear young Harry, you are safe," Dumbledore said a little smugly.
Harry clenched his hands in anger. "Thank you Professor," he said coldly.
Without waiting for a response, Harry went over to Hermione and gently shook her shoulders. "Are you okay Mione'? Please say something!"
Hermione blinked a couple of times before she registered that Harry was there. Tears filled her eyes and it was only the sight of Dumbledore watching them with a calculating look that prevented her from diving into Harry's arms. "He was one of them," she whispered. "He was the one who stabbed me."
Harry used wandless Legilimency to send feelings of love and comfort to Hermione. Everything that he couldn't convey through touch, he conveyed through their bond. Hermione smiled sadly and Harry felt her gratitude, but he still felt her overwhelming sadness.
Their moment was interrupted when Dumbledore walked up to them. His eyes were twinkling as if he was given an invaluable piece of information. "Mister Potter, Miss Granger, I am sending the students back to the castle. I would like for you to escort Mister Longbottom to the Hospital Wing to get his arm healed and to get yourselves looked over."
Harry nodded curtly and led Hermione over to Neville. He sensed Luna hovering behind Neville and he smiled reassuringly before he helped Neville to his feet.
They made their way back to Hogwarts at an irritatingly slow pace. Luna became visible halfway back to the castle and took Neville's unbroken arm in her own and she spoke softly to him. When they arrived at the Hospital Wing they saw that it was full of injured students who had been caught in the crossfire of the attack. Madam Pomfrey healed Neville's arm without even blinking and sent them on their way.
"I think it's time to check in with Flint," Harry said quietly when they left the Hospital Wing. "It looks like our Death Eater solution will be put into effect much sooner than we thought."
Albus Dumbledore answered the Auror's questions about the attack and quickly left the clean up to the Order members as well as some of his staff. With practiced ease, he cast a glamour charm on himself and apparated to his destination. He landed in a nice, muggle neighborhood and he swiftly walked to one house in particular.
Unknown to Harry, Dumbledore had arrived just in time to hear the little outburst at the Death Eater. Even though the Death Eater had vanished when his back was turned, he had heard enough to warrant an investigation.
He stopped outside of his destination and smiled when he saw the 'for sale' sign that was on the lawn. A quick wave of his wand showed that there were magical traces of the killing curse inside of the house.
Albus Dumbledore chuckled to himself and he felt the gears in his head begin to work at all the possibilities that were now within his grasp.
"Well, well Miss Granger," he chuckled. "It seems that you have been keeping secrets from me."
As soon as they were able, they used their portkeys to take them to Black Manor. Once they were there they saw that the Black elves were running all over the place doing the final preparations. Harry grimly led the way to the dungeon, but was stopped by Flint who bowed low.
"My apologies Lord Potter-Black, but we are still securing the prisoners. The wards haven't been used in a while and they're still warming up so to speak. I have your elves restraining the Death Eaters that you sent to me."
Harry nodded approvingly. "Thank you Flint. I'm sorry that we had to send you our first prisoners before you were completely ready."
Flint shook his head and smirked. "You can hardly plan when you're going to be attacked my Lord."
Hermione, who was still slightly pale after meeting her attacker, bent over so she could speak with Flint at eye level. "Flint, is the interrogation area ready?"
"Indeed Mistress," Flint said with a bow. "I did have to explain to a few elves that you weren't going to torture your prisoners. You have a warded cell that is separate from the others as well as goblin-made chains to secure your prisoner."
"Thank you Flint," Hermione said with a dry smile. "Could you have some of the elves bring one prisoner to the room? It's time for me to do my work as Slytherin's Heir."
Five minutes later, Hermione was standing outside of the secured room while a couple Black elves finished securing the random Death Eater. Behind her stood her best friends, the familiars and Goldengaze who had joined them after Hogsmeade had been cleaned up.
"Are you sure that you don't want one of us to do it Mione'?" Harry asked for the third time.
Hermione looked over her shoulder and smiled bitterly. "No offense guys, but your Legilimency isn't good enough to get the information we need. Even if each Death Eater has amazing Occlumency shields it won't be enough to stop me."
Harry frowned at the tone Hermione used to talk about her gift with mind magics. "Love…you aren't a bad person for doing this…"
"Aren't I?" Hermione interrupted. "I'm basically raping this person's mind, even if it is for dire information for the war." She took in a few deep breaths and calmed herself. "I'll be fine. Just please have the other room ready for when I'm done."
Harry put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "If it's him," he whispered, "call for me right away. Please."
Hermione nodded in agreement and took in another deep breath. With slightly trembling hands, she opened the door.
The room was blank with the exception of multiple runes on the walls and two chairs. Sitting in one of the chairs was one of the Death Eaters that Luna had sent to the prison. Determinedly, Hermione took off the Death Eater's mask and her eyes narrowed when she recognized Macnair, Buckbeak the hippogriff's would-be executioner. He was still unconscious from a stunner, but otherwise he wasn't too banged up.
After a few more shuddering breaths, Hermione pointed her wand at Macnair and muttered, "Enervate."
Immediately, Macnair regained consciousness and began surveying his surroundings. His eyes were cruel and they made Hermione feel even more uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to let him intimidate her.
"Don't bother struggling," she said in a cold tone, making Macnair realize that he wasn't alone.
His eyes narrowed when he saw who was standing in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest. "You," he spat. "Mudblood, where am I?"
Hermione's eyes were cold as she pulled the spare chair so that she was sitting right in front of him. While she sat down Macnair struggled against the goblin chains and fervently searched the room. "I said don't bother," Hermione whispered. "You're going to help us and as thanks you'll walk away from here…with only a couple alterations."
Macnair glared at her and Hermione felt him throw up Occlumency shields. With a bitter smile, Hermione pointed her wand at Macnair.
"Legilimens."
Instantly, Hermione pushed herself through Macnair's Occlumency shields. She did have to give him credit though, they were rather impressive. She waded through all of his memories and grimaced at every scream and felt nauseous at the sight of every dead body. The things that Macnair had seen and done were almost enough for Hermione to abandon her mission and run back to Harry.
After a minute of searching through memories, Hermione settled on one that caught her attention.
Sitting on a throne in a large, dark room was a pale man, almost white, with a snake-like face wearing black robes. At his feet was a cowering and whimpering figure who was softly pleading with the cold man sitting in front of him.
"Please my Lord," the young man whimpered. "I'll do it, just please don't use it again."
Voldemort laughed cruelly and pointed his wand at the trembling figure in front of him. "Crucio!"
The young man screamed in pain and began so convulse violently as the curse hit him straight on. "Please my Lord! I'll do it! I'll do it!"
A cold smile barely graced Voldemort's face as he ended the curse. "Do not disappoint me young Draco. Lord Voldemort does not forgive weakness. You have until Christmas. If you do not succeed then your father will have the pleasure of killing you."
Hermione felt tears fill her eyes at the sight of the Slytherin who had always done his best to belittle her. Even though she couldn't stand him, she would never wish that kind of treatment on anyone.
"I'll succeed," Malfoy whimpered. "I'll succeed."
On the side of the room, Macnair looked towards Lucius Malfoy and noted that he also had a cruel smile on his lips. It was as if he was looking forward to killing his son…
Hermione jerked out of the memory and cursed when she realized that Macnair was only the muscle-man. He didn't have any idea about what Voldemort's plans were, he only fought who he was told to fight and killed who he was told to kill.
With a frustrated sigh, Hermione exited Macnair's head. The Death Eater was glaring at her, hatred evident in his eyes.
"You will not defeat the Dark Lord," he spat viciously. "He will kill you and Potter! Mudbloods, half-bloods and blood traitors will all get what they deserve!"
Hermione heard enough. With a fury that she rarely felt, she slapped Macnair with everything that she had. The Death Eater recoiled and looked at her, shocked that she had actually struck him. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth and stained his robes.
At the sight of blood, Hermione's gaze hardened again. "Your blood is just as filthy as mine," she whispered. "Your blood is stained with all of the pain that you have inflicted upon others. If I didn't want blood on my own hands then I would say that you should be killed. But, that's what makes us better than you. I am a human being just like you, but I am better than you despite my heritage."
Macnair stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and anger. Before he could reply, Hermione opened the door to find Harry waiting right outside anxiously.
"He doesn't know anything," she said coldly. "Let's take care of him now. I don't want him anywhere near me."
Harry looked at her in concern and took her hand gently in his own. "Alright, we'll get rid of him."
For the first time in many years, Macnair felt afraid. Death Eaters were meant to defy death by ridding the land of dirty blood, but it sounded like today the earth was going to be rid of him.
One stunner and five minutes later, Macnair, who was shirtless, was chained to the floor in a different room. He was chained in the center of a five pointed star. At the top point was a large, light gray stone that was placed on a pedestal and at the other four points were Harry, Hermione, Neville and Luna. The familiars waited on the side of the room, looking on in fear and awe about what was going on.
Harry pointed his alder wand at Macnair and revived him. The Death Eater woke up and struggled in fear at what was going on.
"You say that you're better than us," Macnair spat at Hermione. "Yet you chain me to the ground just to kill me!"
Before Harry could hex him, Hermione said coldly, "I never said that we were going to kill you. We're prepared to kill if we have to, but we don't have to kill you. I'd imagine that you'll rather dislike our solution."
Harry gave Hermione a small, comforting smile. He felt her shock and anger over the things that she had seen in Macnair's mind, but he could also fear dread at what they were going to do.
"We have no right to decide what justice is," Neville said gravely. "But we can prevent you from hurting another living being ever again. Luna, are you ready?"
Luna nodded and stepped forward with a quill and a thing of ink. After dipping the quill in the ink, she drew a bunch of runes on Macnair's back.
Macnair yelled and shouted profanities that nearly made Neville curse him on the spot, but Luna continued drawing runes on his back.
"The runes that I have drawn on your back will prevent you from harming another physically and will prevent you from harming yourself," Luna explained while she activated the runes with her hazel wand. "Any pain that you inflict upon others you will feel as if it was inflicted upon you, and any desire to harm yourself will result in a compulsion charm, that is impossible to resist, to prevent it."
When the runes activated, they burned into Macnair's skin causing him to shout in pain. When the runes were done burning, the ink was gone and the runes were scarred into his skin.
"What…" Macnair stuttered.
Before he could finish, Luna went back to her point and put the quill and ink on the ground before she and the other Heirs drew ancient-looking daggers. With practiced ease, they cut their palms and let the blood fall onto the points. Once the blood touched the star, the star started glowing blood-red and surrounded Macnair whose eyes widened in fear.
"You will not harm others anymore," Harry said solemnly. "This is the fate of all Death Eaters we catch."
The Spiritual Heirs pointed their illegal wands at Macnair and said in unison, "Vox Semotus."
Macnair screamed in agony as he felt something rip from his very core. The five pointed star turned a dark blue with light that was being pulled from Macnair. The blue light covered the red and flowed into the top point where the stone sat. The stone absorbed the light and turned white before it and the five pointed star stopped glowing and resorted to their original coloring.
In the center of the star, Macnair panted heavily and sweat dripped heavily from his forehead. Harry and Neville shared a grin nod before they stepped forward and undid the chains. Without the chains to hold him up, Macnair collapsed to the floor and twitched slightly.
The four Heirs held their wands at the ready while Harry used his other hand to take a foreign wand out of his pocket and toss it at Macnair.
"That's your wand," he said dryly.
Macnair stopped trembling but continued to pant. He grabbed his wand and was surprised to discover that it felt cold in his grip. "Lumos," he said desperately but nothing happened. He continued saying spells, but nothing would happen. His magic didn't feel drained…because it wasn't there.
"What did you do to me?" he demanded. "What have you done?"
Luna walked over to the stone and put her hand on it. It felt warm under her touch. "I found a ritual in the Potter Library a long time ago. It's considered dark, but like all 'dark' magic it depends on what it's being used for. It's a ritual to strip a witch or wizard of their magic permanently. All of your magic is now stored in this stone forever. Congratulations Mr. Macnair, you're a muggle. Even a squib has more power than you now."
Macnair stared at Luna in horror and fervently tried to cast a spell. No matter how many spells he said, his magic didn't react.
"No…no!" he shouted in fury. He made a move to attack Luna when the runes began to glow and he collapsed to the floor in agony with a barely repressed yell.
The other occupants of the room looked on with a mixture of disgust and pity. Luna knelt down in front of Macnair and reached a tentative hand out to him but quickly pulled it back. She was ghostly pale and looked like she was going to be sick. Neville quickly went over to her and pulled her in his strong embrace.
"It's okay," he whispered to her while she started to cry. "Just think, now he'll never hurt another living creature again. Think of all the lives that we've saved by doing this."
Luna nodded but she didn't stop crying. The ritual had felt as dark to them as it had sounded in the book, and it made them feel dirty. Neville gently pulled Luna away and made room for Hermione who knelt in front of Macnair with her wand pointed between his eyes.
"Enjoy your new life. Stupefy."
When Macnair fell unconscious, Hermione got to work. With her mastery of Legilimency, she completely destroyed the memory of him being captured and the ritual that they used to strip his magic. By the time Hermione was done not even Voldemort would be able to recover the memory. It was impossible to recover a memory that wasn't there.
They took care of five more Death Eaters. When a Death Eater was interrogated, stripped of magic and their memory destroyed Flint personally dropped each Death Eater off hundreds of miles away from the Manor and from each other before reviving them and leaving.
After they did the last Death Eater, none of them had the energy left to do another ritual. With a weary sigh, Neville kissed Luna and he and Sage went to the Forbidden Forest for his first training session with the centaurs.
Harry did a final sweep of the dungeon to make sure that the other prisoners were secure. Luna and Hermione didn't want to see anymore Death Eaters that day so Harry went down with only Kex and Flint for company.
In nine cells were the remaining Death Eaters. None of them had their masks on and Harry noted that he didn't recognize any of them. But he didn't need to know the name of the man he was looking for.
He stopped in front of the last cell and glared at the man who was sitting in the corner with a terrified expression in his blank eyes. As an extra precaution, Flint had the guard elves use their magic to temporarily blind the prisoners. Now, sitting inside of the cages were a bunch of blind, scared men instead of the ruthless killers that they were.
"We take care of you tomorrow," Harry told the Death Eater in a dangerous voice. "Enjoy your last night as a wizard."
The Death Eater whimpered. He along with the other Death Eaters had heard the power-ripping ritual that their fellow Death Eaters went through, and now the terror that filled his stomach was enough to almost make him pass out.
"Please don't," he begged. "I'll tell you anything. Just please don't take my magic away!"
"You will not be able to hurt anyone again," Harry said fiercely. "You will not hurt Hermione ever again."
The Death Eater whimpered again and pressed himself against the wall.
"Not so brave when you're the one being cursed are you?" Harry spat in disgust.
Without sparing the captured Death Eaters a second glance, Harry, Kex and Flint left the dungeon. Once they were outside Flint sealed the doors with elf magic and looked at Harry.
"Will you be returning tomorrow to take care of the rest Lord Potter-Black?" he asked.
Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes I just don't know when. If possible Flint, could you drug that last Death Eater just enough to make his magic weaker? I don't want Hermione to have to interrogate him and unfortunately most likely the only way I'll be able to break through his Occlumency shields is if he's drugged."
"Of course my Lord," Flint said with a bow.
"Also," Harry said with a serious expression on his face. "I'm not saying this to offend you, but I want to get guards for the prison. I'm a friend of the goblins, and I'm sure that I will be able to get a squadron to help guard the prisoners. Also, having goblins add their own protections to the Manors as well as yours wouldn't be a bad idea. What do you think?"
Flint's eyes widened in surprise when Harry asked for his opinion. "I think goblin guards would be a great idea Lord Potter-Black. If it is acceptable, I could personally give a tour to a goblin representative and explain the magical layers on the Manor so that the goblin could decide the best course of action from there."
Harry smiled. "That's a great idea Flint. I'll bring a goblin with us tomorrow when we come back and you two can talk while the rest of us take care of some more prisoners."
Flint smiled and bowed. "I do believe that you will gain the respect of the Black elves after all my Lord. We will do as you ask and I look forward to meeting your goblin friends."
Harry's smile widened and he knelt down to shake Flint's hand. "Thank you Flint. You and the other Black elves. Thanks to the effort that you and the other elves put into this place, a lot of people will be able to sleep more soundly."
After saying goodbye to the other Black elves and praising them for a job well done, he went back to the foyer to meet with his friends. Hermione and Luna were sitting together on a couch with their familiars in their laps while Goldengaze was curled up on the floor.
As soon as Hermione saw Harry she put Ivy down on the couch and ran into his arms and began crying. Harry rubbed her back and whispered in her ear.
"I saw so many terrible things," she sobbed. "So much pain. Harry, I don't know if I can read his mind tomorrow…"
"It's alright Love," he whispered. "I asked Flint to mildly drug him so that I'll be able to do the interrogation. You won't have to go anywhere near his mind."
"Thank you," Hermione sniffed. She wiped her eyes and took in a shuddering breath. "Let's get out of here."
Harry nodded in agreement and turned to face the remainders of the group. "I don't really feel like going back to Hogwarts just yet. What do you guys think about moving into Potter Manor right now?"
Luna smiled with a hint of happiness. "That sounds great. I would love to have a little time to decorate mine and Neville's room before he gets there. He's a terrible decorator."
Hermione giggled and picked up Ivy. "So we'll meet at the trunk and finish packing. Goldengaze," she added turning to the griffin. "Would you like to join us?"
Goldengaze looked at her warmly but shook his feathered head. "I'm afraid that my presence is needed at Hogwarts. Even though I've been gone for barely an hour, Dumbledore is sure to be looking for me. I'll return to work and I'll distract his attention away from you."
They thanked the griffin before they all activated their portkeys with the trunk clear in their minds. Once Harry, Hermione and Luna were on solid ground along with their familiars, Harry called for four Potter elves. He politely asked them to move the packed belongings to their rooms at Potter Manor and informed them that they would be there as soon as they finished magically packing up the Potter Library that was located in the trunk.
The magic in the library went deeper than even Hermione went possible. To store the books all they had to do was write 'store' in the directory and the books began swarming before shrinking and storing themselves in multiple bags. Fay noticed with her sharp eyes that each bag had a different book topic. Once all of the shelves were clear, the directory closed and the pedestal that it was on merged with the book. Hermione immediately stepped forward and picked up the precious directory before she gaped at all of the bags that were scattered throughout the library. Without the books on the shelves, the room seemed remarkably empty.
Once the library was done storing itself, a Potter elf, Nova, collected the bags and directory and apparated back to Potter Manor to return the books to where they belonged. With the library done, Harry, Hermione and Luna went to check to make sure that nothing was left behind.
After they were done with their last sweep, they met with Dobby in the training room who was storing their weapons and training equipment.
"Can we help with anything Dobby?" Hermione asked kindly.
Dobby smiled and shook his head. "Thank you Miss Grangey, but I have it under control. Winky has already emptied the kitchen of all food items and put spells to prevent dust and rust."
Harry nodded in approval. "Thank you Dobby. We're going to head to Potter Manor now, so I guess we'll see you there. Don't work too hard Dobby," he added with a wink.
"Me? Work hard? Never," Dobby said with a large grin.
Harry laughed and they all activated their portkeys to head to Potter Manor. They were bombarded with elves as soon as they were steady. The elves were cheering about having a Potter Lord living in Potter Manor once more. Hermione gently nudged Harry and pointed towards the hallway.
"Looks like Winky has an admirer," she whispered.
Surely enough, Dolon and Winky were having a very enthusiastic conversation. Dolan seemed very interested in Winky and Harry noticed that Winky had a slight blush on her cheeks.
I hope that Dobby doesn't hesitate for much longer, Harry thought, knowing Dobby's infatuation with the other head elf. I'd hate to see him get hurt.
Stone walked up to them and led them towards their rooms. Harry's and Hermione's room was done with a mixture of red, gold, and silver and green as tribute to the houses of which they were heirs to. There was a huge four poster bed against the wall with a window on the opposite wall with a beautiful view of the mountains. Harry opened one door to find that the privy was incredibly large while Hermione opened the wardrobe to find that it was magicked as a walk-in closet that was almost as long as one of the tables in the Great Hall.
They went to Luna and Neville's room and found that it was an exact copy of theirs except for the coloring. Once they were done exploring the main rooms, Stone led them to another room.
"I had some of your elves make up another room my Lord for your familiars," Stone told Harry. "I believe that they will enjoy it."
Harry opened the door and gasped in astonishment.
If he hadn't known better, he would've sworn that he was standing in the middle of a forest. In one corner was a large cluster of rocks with a large hole underneath them, a perfect size for a wolf den. On the other side of the room were a cluster of smaller rocks that had enough room for a fox den. In the center of the room was a large tree that had a hollowed hole in the middle and a large nest in the branches. In the far corner next to the window was a small pond that was big enough for even Sage to swim in. The entire floor was covered with grass and Harry could even smell the forest and feel a breeze blow through his hair.
Immediately, Kex, Ivy and Fay swarmed into the room with excitement evident. Ivy immediately ran to the smaller rock cluster and dove into the gap while Kex climbed into the hole and Fay flew up to the nest.
"This is wonderful," Kex yipped excitedly while he poked his head out of the hole. "It's like we're real animals!"
"You are animals," Luna remarked with amusement.
Fay jumped from branch to branch and was pleased to find that they took her weight. "We're not technically 'real' animals. We're more magical than our species. But I agree with Kex, it is nice to have a bit of stimulation for our animal side."
Harry, Hermione and Luna left their familiars to get comfortable in their new dens. Hermione unpacked all of her stuff in half of the closet with an elegant flick of her wand and was quickly off to the library to see how the elves were organizing the books.
"The directory gets all of the books for you Love," Harry laughed before she was gone.
A small spark filled Hermione's eyes. "But I love the experience of searching for a book."
After sharing a quick kiss, Hermione left Harry alone in their new room. Harry was unpacking his stuff the muggle way, it helped him to think. He was almost done when there was a soft knock on the door. Turning around, Harry saw that Stone was standing in the doorway.
"Pardon the intrusion my Lord," Stone said with a bow. "But I thought that you would like a welcome home present so to speak."
Harry dropped the shirt that he was holding when Stone carried in something that was easily twice as high as he was. The portrait was still relatively new and there were two achingly familiar people sleeping within the frame.
"Mum? Dad?"
ch 24
Harry gaped at the portrait of his parents that Stone was holding in the doorway. His parents were asleep, but they were there. In a sense at least.
Stone carried the portrait in and leaned it against the bed. "I thought that Lord Potter-Black would like some time to talk with his parents' portrait. They will awaken under your touch. Where would you like me to hang the portrait when you're done talking with them?"
"Um," Harry stuttered. "The library please. My parents have a portrait?"
"Yes my Lord," Stone said with a bow. "I'll leave you alone with your parents' portrait."
The head Potter elf left the room and closed the door behind him. Harry stared at the portrait for a few moments, almost afraid to awaken his parents. With a slightly shaking hand, Harry touched the portrait.
Immediately, the two people in the portrait grunted and shook themselves awake. The woman, who Harry recognized as Lily, rubbed her eyes and scanned the room. When her eyes rested on Harry, tears immediately filled her eyes and she shook her husband vigorously.
"James, James wake up!" she whispered fiercely. "It's Harry!"
James shook off the remaining weariness and gaped at Harry. "Bloody hell…Harry…you've grown…"
Harry looked at the ground, feeling a little embarrassed and shy. "Hi Mum, hi Dad."
"My baby," Lily sniffed. "You're so handsome. How old are you now?"
"Well," Harry hesitated. "I'm sixteen to the rest of the world, but I'm technically somewhere around nineteen."
Lily stopped sniffing and looked at Harry with an understanding look on her face. "You used my trunk didn't you?"
A nervous chuckle came from Harry's mouth while James grinned at his son. "I did use your trunk Mum," Harry muttered. "I've trained for over three years in it along with my friends who didn't train as long as I did."
"And why did you feel the need to train for over three years?" Lily asked sternly.
Harry met his 'parents'' eyes squarely. "Voldemort is back and Dumbledore has been manipulating me my whole life. I've been training for the final battle and I've also been preparing to go public with my titles."
"Wait a minute," James interrupted. "I know that you're entitled to the Potter title, but what's the other?"
"The Black title," Harry said softly.
Shock filled James' face. "Sirius is dead? What's happened since I'm assuming that we're dead."
Harry pulled up a chair and sat down heavily. "It's a long story."
Lily and James sat down. "Better start from the beginning then," Lily said softly.
For the next hour Harry talked with his parents' portrait. They were shocked to hear that it was Peter who betrayed them and were furious to hear about what Dumbledore had done. The marriage contract that Dumbledore had made was what pushed Lily over the edge.
"That bloody…manipulating…fool," she gasped in her fury. "How dare he make a marriage contract for you? He was not even to be your magical guardian! And you were never to go to Petunia. If anything happened to us you were to go to the Longbottoms or the Tonks! I could kill that arse for meddling with my baby's life!"
"Calm down Love," James said soothingly while he draped an arm around her shoulders. "Imagine the shock that Dumbledore will get when Harry goes public. When are you planning on doing that son?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't have any real plans. I guess I'll go public when the time calls for it. What I'm looking forward to is opening declaring my engagement to Hermione."
Lily looked at her son lovingly. "When do we get to meet Hermione?"
A true smile brightened Harry's face at the mere mention of his fiancé's name. "I could go get her right now if you would like. She's probably still in the library."
"So you got yourself a smart one too huh son?" James laughed. "We Potters always did like smart women."
"She's brilliant," Harry said proudly. "I'll have Stone hang your portrait in the library and you can meet Hermione. You can also meet our true familiars."
Lily clapped her hands together in joy. "I'm so happy that you got the familiar eggs. It took me every Potter connection and a whole year to track those down, and I'm not even going to mention the spell work."
"You'll love Kex, Mum," Harry promised. "But you won't be able to understand what he's saying though."
Harry summoned Stone and asked him to hang his parents' portrait in the library. Once the portrait was taken care of, he went to the familiars' room and poked his head in.
Amusement sparkled in Harry's eyes when he saw Kex, Ivy and Sage swimming in their small pool while Fay stood on the sides trying to stay dry. Once Kex saw Harry he climbed out of the pool and gave himself a shake before running over to Harry.
"This room is great," Kex said happily. "The pool is spelled so that it never gets dirty so not even Sage can pollute the water with his fur."
"Sounds great mate," Harry laughed. "Hey, my parents left a portrait that Stone is hanging in the library. My mum wants to meet you."
Kex immediately climbed up Harry's pants-leg and settled on his favorite spot. "Let's go then."
Together, they headed towards the library. As soon as they were in the library, they heard Hermione's voice echoing through the tall bookshelves.
"We've only been engaged for a short amount of time," she said. "I'm so excited about being his wife, but I'm afraid that I don't know when we'll be wed with the upcoming war."
Harry smiled sadly and walked towards his beloved. He found her sitting in a comfortable armchair in front of a fireplace, talking to his parents' portrait which was hanging above the mantel.
"We'll marry Love," Harry promised when he sat down next to her.
Hermione looked at him in shock before blushing slightly in embarrassment. "I know that we will Harry," she sighed. "But I just worry that with everything…"
Harry kissed her full on the lips. "We can start planning right now if you'd like."
Hermione smiled but shook her head. "There are more important things right now, but I'm sure that Luna and I will be able to plan in our spare time. Anyway, I was talking to your parents."
An amused cough above the mantle reminded Harry about their audience. Harry looked up and smiled at his parents.
"Well Mum, Dad, I see that you've met Hermione, the love of my life and the future Mrs. Potter."
James nodded happily. "She's a catch son. You've got excellent taste in women. It's in the Potter gene."
Lily elbowed her husband lightly in the ribs with a smirk on her face. "So Hermione, did you get one of the familiar eggs as well?"
"Yes," Hermione answered. "Ivy, she's a fennec fox. I'd imagine that she's still getting accustomed to her new room."
"A fennec fox, that's interesting," Lily said thoughtfully. "And you seem to have a pine marten Harry."
Harry nodded and gestured to Kex. "This little troublemaker is Kex."
"Nice to meet you," Kex said respectfully with a bowed head.
After Harry translated for his familiar, Harry leaned back in his chair and took Hermione's hand in his own. "I guess now's the time to tell you what we've been doing for the war. But I don't know if you'll like it."
His parents shared an anxious glance before turning back to their son. "If it helps you to survive Harry," his mother said softly. "Then we're okay with anything."
"I hope so," Harry whispered. "Because we're not totally okay with it ourselves."
The next day they were back at Black Manor, preparing to deal with the rest of their prisoners. Harry had gone to Gringotts and Ragnok sent over one of his inspectors, a quiet goblin named Teg, to go over the Manor's protections. After Flint went to give Teg a tour, Hermione made quick work of interrogating the other prisoners with the exception of her attacker.
Hermione made the irritated conclusion that all of the Death Eaters that they had caught weren't important enough to actually know what they were doing. She ranted about how they were all so stupid that they didn't even know who to kill unless their wand was being pointed for them.
"How can a person kill another without even knowing the full reason why?" Hermione asked them through furious tears which she didn't even bother to wipe away.
Harry quickly pulled her into an embrace and gently stroked her hair. "They don't deserve your tears," he whispered to her. "They aren't worth the energy."
Hermione nodded but she didn't stop crying. "Just go take care of him Harry. Please."
"I will Love," Harry promised. "And we'll take his power first so that he's gone that much sooner."
Hermione smiled gratefully and stepped aside so that Harry could get in the room.
After taking in a shaky breath, Harry put his hand on the door handle and opened the door.
Chained to the chair was the pitiful Death Eater who had nearly taken Hermione's life. The man was staring at Harry with wide, fear filled eyes that clearly saw who was standing in front of him.
"Please don't take my magic away," he pleaded again. "I'll tell you everything!"
Harry immediately noticed that the man's words were slightly slurred and his eyes were slightly out of focus. With grin satisfaction, Harry sat in front of him and pointed his wand at the man's head.
"You'll tell me regardless. Legilimens."
It took Harry a couple tries, but eventually he managed to break through the drugged man's Occlumency shields. He sorted through the man's memories and quickly discovered that the man didn't know anything either, but Harry wasn't interested in what he knew about Voldemort. Harry was digging for a certain memory so that he would have the names of the Death Eaters who had caused his beloved so much pain.
The Death Eater stood in front of Voldemort, looking eager for his assignment. Voldemort looked at him with a sadistic grin on his face.
"You lot will be taking care of a particular mudblood. She's Potter's main source of information and without her he will be easy to defeat. Do what you'd like with her, so long as you kill her and her whole filthy muggle family." Voldemort looked to the side and nodded to a man who entered the room. The Death Eater scowled when he recognized the man with the long, blonde hair. "Lucius," Voldemort continued, "You shall lead this mission."
Lucius' grin was as cold and bloodthirsty as Voldemort's. "It would be my pleasure my Lord."
Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously at the Malfoy Lord's cold expression. Now I know who to get next, Harry thought grimly.
After taking a moment to prepare himself, Harry sorted through the Death Eater's memories once more until he found himself staring at an achingly familiar house.
The Death Eater group apparated right outside of the house. They all had their wands drawn and eager grins on their faces. Lucius stepped up to the door and opened it quickly.
Together, the Death Eaters entered the house throwing curses wherever they wanted. Hermione's parents, who were sitting on their couch, leapt up in alarm. Two of the Death Eaters went after them while the other two, including himself, ran after the Hermione who had started coming down the stairs.
"Run Hermione," Harry whispered as if it would change the inevitable outcome.
Hermione let out a scream and fumbled for her wand, but the other Death Eater shot a curse at her, forcing her to run up the stairs.
"Mum, Dad run!" she screamed as she ran upstairs.
Her plea was met with the agonized cry of her father. Tears dropped from her eyes as she continued to run away while her father was tortured.
The Death Eater and his companion slowly followed Hermione to her room, enjoying the fear that she was feeling. Once they got to her room, his companion blasted open the door. The Death Eater frowned when he saw a white owl flying away from the window with a note in its talons, but thought nothing of it.
"Well, well, well little mudblood," he sneered. "It's time for us to have some fun."
Hermione started saying a spell, but his companion was quicker and shot a disarming spell at her, causing her wand to fall to the floor behind them.
"Well that's not nice," his companion laughed.
"Maybe we should have a little extra fun with her," the Death Eater said while he stepped forward and twirled Hermione's wavy curls with his finger while the she flinched and tried to step away from him.
"Get your filthy hands off of her!" Harry shouted in rage. He wanted nothing more than to punch the Death Eater to within an inch of his life, but Harry was just a spectator and had no physical form.
"Don't touch me," Hermione whispered defiantly.
Anger replaced the grin on the Death Eater's face. "Think you're actually worth something you mudblood?" he sneered.
With all his strength, the Death Eater punched Hermione in the stomach, forcing her to double over and fight for breath. While she was winded, he effortlessly threw her over his side into the wall, causing her to cry out in pain. The Death Eater laughed at her pain while his companion used the cruciatus curse on her, forcing her to scream in agony.
His attention was grabbed by a red flash on Hermione's bed. He looked over and saw that there was a large egg that was faintly flashing red.
"What the hell is this?" he asked out loud while he picked the egg up and recklessly tossed it in the air.
"No…don't…touch," Hermione gasped while she fought for breath.
A sadistic grin reappeared on his face. "Is this important to you mudblood?" He enjoyed the look of horror and dismay on her face while he threw the egg to the floor with all his might. The look of anguish on Hermione's face was so delicious that he didn't even bother to see if the egg was broken.
His companion cast the cruciatus on her again with a bored expression on his face. "If you're going to have fun with her, then have it not. I don't feel like wasting my magic on something as filthy as she is."
The Death Eater looked at the trembling girl in front of him for a moment before he shook his head. "Nah, she's too filthy for that. But, I think a prolonged demise would be appropriate for this mudblood."
A gleam of silver was caught in the room while he pulled out a silver dagger from his robes. Hermione's eyes widened in fear and she tried to inch away from the blade.
"I hope that Potter finds your body mudblood," he said while he knelt down and roughly touched her face.
His companion looked at the blade doubtfully. "What if they find her and take her to St. Mungos?"
The Death Eater scoffed scornfully at his companion. "We have ways to take care of her there too. But they shouldn't find her in time since Lucius isn't sending up the Dark Mark. I personally hope that by the time they find her she's covered with maggots."
His companion shrugged. "Then do it."
The dagger gleamed again, as if eager to draw blood. With great strength, the knife was driven right into Hermione's side.
"No! Hermione!" Harry cried in agony.
He didn't even realize that he had lost his hold on the Death Eater's memory. He punched the pitiful man in front of him with all of his strength, sending the man who was still chained to his chair to the floor.
Harry continued to mercilessly punch the Death Eater until he felt that his fists wouldn't do enough damage. He stepped back and pointed his wand at the crying figure in front of him. "Cru…"
"No Harry!" Hermione's voice came from behind him as the door flew open.
Before Harry could finish the curse, Hermione threw her arms around his waist and sobbed into his back. "Don't do it," she pleaded. "Don't become like him"
It took Harry a couple of seconds before the rage completely left him. His wand fell to the floor as he whirled around and pulled Hermione into a tight hug. Without shame, he sobbed into her shoulder while she sobbed into his chest.
"I'm so sorry Hermione, I'm so sorry," he sobbed over and over.
While Harry and Hermione left the room to simply cry in each other's company, Neville and Luna had the elves take the still whimpering Death Eater to the room where they would strip his powers.
Harry and Hermione sat in one of the Black rooms crying until they calmed down. It wasn't until a half hour later when one of them spoke.
"Love," Harry whispered hoarsely. "How did you know that I was about to use an Unforgivable on him?"
Hermione sniffed and looked at Harry. "I don't need to be an empath to know when you're in so much pain."
More tears fell from his eyes as he buried his face in her hair. "I-I just wanted to know who else was there. It was Lucius who led the mission."
The breath got caught in Hermione's throat and Harry felt fear so powerful that that it was difficult for him to breathe.
"We'll stop them," he promised. "We'll stop them from hurting anyone ever again."
After another fifteen minutes, Harry guided a trembling Hermione to the room where her attacker was for the power stripping ritual. They both let out a breath of relief when they saw that the man was stunned and Luna had already drawn the runes on his back. Neville and Luna looked at them in concern while Kex and Ivy nuzzled against their respective partners' legs in an attempt to comfort them.
"Let's get this over with," Hermione said dryly.
Without even bothering to wake the man up, they stripped him of all his powers and Hermione destroyed the memory with so much force that it was quite possible that other memories were destroyed as well. But she didn't care. It was the first time since her parents and Crookshanks were killed that she felt like some justice had been served.
The rest of the term went by quickly and before any of them realized it was almost Christmas. Nothing of great importance had occurred after the Hogsmeade attack. Black Manor was still a prison that would have the occasional prisoner that the goblins caught and they were held there until the four Heirs had the time to strip their powers.
Luna had found the fairy colony the week after the Hogsmeade attack and was still earning their trust. While fairies were bright and mischievous creatures, they were still mistrustful. The colony queen, Shimmer, found Luna interesting and made a deal with Luna that if she could gain her whole colony's trust by summer then she would train Luna personally. So far most of the colony approved of Luna, but Shimmer would only accept Luna if the whole colony accepted her.
Neville's training with the centaurs mostly involved weapons training. While Neville was fair with his sword, by centaur standards he was terrible. Chief worked on Neville's sword technique and had the herd's healer teach Neville how to use the herbs of the land to heal and how to use magic to strengthen their natural powers. Thanks to Neville's Forest Speech ability he knew where all the herbs were and he understood what they needed so that he could strengthen them without the aid of magic. Predicting the future by gazing at the planets was part of his training as well, but so far he was pretty lousy at it.
So far there hadn't been any real moves done by either Voldemort or Dumbledore. Occasionally at dinner Dumbledore would look at them with a calculating look on his face, but what unnerved Harry was the way he would look at Hermione, like he was a predator waiting for the best moment to strike.
One night a couple weeks before the term ended, Harry sat with his friends at the Gryffindor table for dinner. He was discussing Professor Griffin's latest DADA class with Neville when one particular emotion stuck out among the sea of other emotions that he usually drowned out.
"What's wrong Harry?" Neville asked when he saw the change in Harry's expression.
Harry shook his head in confusion. "I don't know," he whispered. "But it's not good."
The next day Hermione and Ivy walked the halls towards Hermione's Ancient Runes class. Hermione was discussing her runes translation with Ivy when she was stopped.
"Miss Granger," Snape's cool voice came from behind her.
Suppressing a cringe at Snape's poor tone, Hermione and Ivy turned around looking pleasantly at the greasy potions professor. "Can I help you Professor Snape?" she asked politely.
"Come with me," was the cool reply.
Hermione and Ivy were immediately on their guard. "But I have class Professor."
Snape sneered at her with so much contempt that Hermione had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from snapping at him. "Professor Dumbledore needs to see you."
Fear quickly replaced her irritation. Before she could think of an excuse to keep away from the headmaster, Snape started walking towards Dumbledore's office with a simple, "Come."
Knowing that there was no way to avoid meeting with Dumbledore, Hermione started putting her energy into her mind magic so that if Dumbledore tried to use the imperius on her again it wouldn't take as long to fight it off.
They arrived at the entrance to Dumbledore's office before Hermione even realized it. Snape gave the password and stayed outside while Hermione and Ivy nervously climbed the stairs.
"Are your shields secure?" Ivy asked once they were standing outside the door.
"I hope so," Hermione whispered back. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in Miss Granger," Dumbledore's condescending voice responded.
Hermione opened the door and walked in with Ivy right beside her. She sat down in one of the chairs that stood in front of the headmaster's desk and picked Ivy up and put her on her lap. "You wanted to see me Headmaster?" she asked quietly.
Immediately, Hermione felt Dumbledore test her Occlumency shields. Satisfaction replaced some of her nerves when she saw Dumbledore's eyes widen in surprise for a brief moment.
"I did want to speak with you Miss Granger," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "It has come to my attention that you have been an orphan since summer."
Hermione gasped and Ivy barked in alarm. "H-how?" she stuttered.
Dumbledore smiled and waved his wand faster than Hermione could even follow. "I have known for quite some time Miss Granger. It hurts me that you didn't come to me straight away. But you do not need to worry, as your magical guardian I have secured a place for you to stay. You will be going there until I have arranged for you to continue your education at Hogwarts. But, seeing as this has to go through the Ministry, it might take a while."
"Let's get out of here Hermione!" Ivy cried.
When Hermione tried to move her legs she found that they were weighed down by magic, the same thing with her arms. "What did you do to me?" she demanded.
"I have done nothing Miss Granger, it must be your grief for your parents that prevents you from moving," Dumbledore said with a shrug. He stood up and walked around the desk to face Hermione. "Do not fear Miss Granger, I am a kind guardian. You will be well cared for."
Ivy snarled and leapt at Dumbledore, but he simply waved his hand and sent Ivy crashing into a bookshelf.
"Ivy!" Hermione cried out in worry.
Before Ivy could regain her balance, Dumbledore created a cage with a wave of his wand and sent Ivy in it with another wave. Once the door shut the cage glowed as it locked. Ivy snarled profanities at Dumbledore and tried to apparate out, but found that the cage was blocking her magic.
"Now Miss Granger, a gift," Dumbledore continued as he ignored the fox barking.
He pulled out a simple silver necklace and placed it around Hermione's neck. As soon as it touched her skin, Hermione felt her connection to her own magical core and to Ivy become blocked. She even tried to tap into her limited knowledge of elf magic and found to her dismay that it was blocked too.
"That's a power suppressor," Dumbledore explained smugly. "I can't have you going off to avenge your parents now can I?"
He's saying this to make it seem like him kidnapping me is the right thing to do, Hermione thought furiously.
Just before Dumbledore called for an elf to come take her and Ivy away, Hermione focused on Harry and pushed all of her fear towards him in hope that he would sense it out of all the other emotions in the castle.
Harry!
When Hermione woke up she found herself on a bed underneath a pile of warm blankets. She sat up and shook the fog from her head. A small, pitiful whine from beside her bed helped to clear the remaining fog.
"Ivy," Hermione gasped while she struggled out of bed and let Ivy out of the cage. "Are you alright? What happened? When did I black out?"
Ivy limped out of the cage with her left leg tucked under her body. "The house elf that Dumbledore summoned used elf magic to stun you. He went out of his way to make sure that no harmful magic could be connected directly to him. The elf took us here and told me that you would wake up eventually. It's been a couple hours."
Hermione gently picked Ivy up and sat on the bed. "Your leg…do you think it's broken?"
"Probably," Ivy sighed. "Dumbledore keeps a lot of hard books in his office. Can you apparate us out of here?"
Hermione tried, but found much to her irritation that the power suppressor was still on her and that she couldn't take it off. "This thing suppresses my connection to magic. I can't apparate and I don't think I can do any magic."
Ivy curled up in Hermione's waist and sighed painfully. "That explains why Dumbledore didn't take your wand I guess."
Hermione gently put Ivy down on the bed. "I'm going to see where we are."
When Ivy nodded wearily, Hermione left her to explore their surroundings. They were being kept in a small shack. The whole building was at the most twenty feet long and twenty feet wide. There was a small bathroom on the side and a small fridge that Hermione found was full of food. Hermione went to the front door and opened it. She took two steps outside when she was stopped by a harsh gust of freezing cold wind, and the sight of a ledge that was ten feet in front of her. Hermione carefully stepped up to the ledge and gasped in fear when she realized that hers and Ivy's new lodgings were located on the top of a rather tall mountain.
"Oh bugger."
A/N- I know that this chapter was a little darker than my usual chapter, but seeing as Dumbledore technically had Harry kidnapped as a baby, I could picture him pretty much kidnapping Hermione as well. Next chapter you'll see Harry's reaction to Hermione's kidnapping and most likely the next animagus form. I'll try my hardest to get it out in a couple weeks! Review! -Phoenix