One Soul Two Bodies

Chapter Ten

The Elders

Hermione felt cold. She was lying in snow, that much she could tell. Where did it come from? Wasn't it spring time? Slowly she opened her eyes, they felt heavy and it took her a couple tries before she could keep them open. She pushed herself up with great effort. She was in a forest, the trees were skeletal and white snow sparkled under a blue light that glowed from somewhere above. Hermione looked around, where was she? "Hello?" she called. Her voice echoed for what seemed forever.

Suddenly shadows formed all around her in a circle and gigantic animals stepped out of them, all of them white with white for eyes, they seemed to be made of pure energy. "We are The Elders, you have been called forth to receive a warning." The wolf in front of her said. His voice seemed to rumble throughout the land, yet his mouth never moved.

Hermione tried to get a mental grasp on what was happening, however, nothing was making sense to her. "What?" she asked.

"You used a forbidden ceremony to transfer your soul to a vacant body in another time. In doing so, you have changed the time-line permanently. You will not be erased however, for this time-line has righted itself to how it should be. Your race and your world must live through this dark time in order to grow." The owl to the wolf's left said gently. Large snowflakes began to fall slowly around them.

"Be forewarned, that if you use this ceremony again to change the time-line you leave us no choice but to erase you from the time-line. You will have never existed and therefore everyone whose life you have affected or touched will not remember you." The stag to the wolf's right said, his voice was booming and strong.

"Will what I change be permanent even if you erase me? Will what I change remain?" she asked, their words becoming clearer in her mind. She took their silence as a yes.

"You do not ssseem to undersssstand witch. Your world mussst go through thisss darknessss. It hasss been written and it shall be done. No mere mortal hasss ever changed the wordsss that are written in the ssstone." The snake behind her hissed.

"Your friend Harry made the choice to go to the beyond because he knew this was what had to be done. Now he lives, but is no longer cursed with the mark of the chosen one. Nevertheless, this darkness can not be stopped. You can no longer stand in its way. This is what needs to happen for your race and your world." said the wolf.

Hermione shook her head. "I can not believe that. How would darkness ruling over all be beneficial?"

"It must be done to equal the powers." They all said at once.

"If you disobey us you will be erased from the time-line." These were their final words as they faded back into the shadows. The snowfall picked up and whited out everything around her.

Hermione gasped as she awoke, the dream or hallucination was still with her in perfect clarity. Suddenly, she felt as if she was not alone. She looked up, "What are you doing here?" she asked surprised.

A/n: I know, this is the shortest chapter yet. However it was needed for later on. A new chapter should be out tomorrow or Tuesday.