One Life for Another

Hermione stood in the woods just beside the lake, waiting for the Order to arrive by portkey. Not the entire Order, of course, but those three that she and Draco had agreed on. Professor Snape, Mr. Weasley, Remus Lupin, and of course Harry and Ron. She was slightly nervous about their reactions, but hoped it would work out for the best. They’d already taken care of a glamour for Draco to use until the story had been told, and he was waiting below for everyone to arrive. She’d sent a note to Mr. Weasley with a portkey to the Lake, and asked that he only tell those she specified. At least for now.

They appeared abruptly, the three adults landing from the portkey with significantly more grace than Harry or Ron managed. She greeted them all warmly with hugs, grateful to see they were relatively unscathed from the attack.

“This is going to be a complicated story,” she said seriously after welcoming them. “I just ask that you wait to question it or assume the ending until I’ve finished my explanation.”

“Of course,” said Mr. Weasley. “We trust you, Hermione. We’ve always known you are brilliant, so if you think you’ve found something to help us then we will hear you out.”

Hermione nodded, grateful. “Follow me.”

She turned and walked a few feet away to the pool of water, descending slowly and turning to smile in encouragement as they looked at the stairs doubtfully. They trusted her, though, and soon enough they were in the Lady’s home. Draco stood off to the side with his mask of dark waves and a broader frame. Only his eyes remained fully the same, and none but Hermione would have noticed them. She turned to the others and motioned for them to sit down. “This man is very important to the story. You may call him Galahad.”
All of the men nodded to each other and introduced themselves, something Hermione found particular amusing given the truth of the situation. Once they were done and had found seats she began the story. “You all know that I used the Time Turner to go back in time. I found wilderness for the most part, but while I was at it I was thrown in the path of a knight. We have all heard the stories of King Arthur and his knights. The knight I met was named Galahad du Lac, who we now know as Galahad the Pure. He took me with him to the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, who helped in healing my wounds.

“While I was there Nimue trained me to be the next Lady of the Lake, though it meant there would be centuries of the Lake going without a caretaker. For some reason, though, the Lake had chosen me, so she taught me as much as she could in the time we had. When I left, she wrote down pages upon pages of instruction for me to find when I returned here in our time.

“Each Lady of the Lake has a Protector who is meant to aid her. He is uniquely connected to her and has similar knowledge of the Lake so that they can understand and support each other as she fulfills her duty. That duty is to keep the magic of Britain in balance, to prevent dark magic from becoming out of hand. It is within her ability, with practice, to completely cut off the flow of dark magic within her realm.”

“Cut off the flow?” interrupted Snape. “To anyone? And is that only when near this lake?”

“I suppose I should mention that this Lake is on the Malfoy lands,” answered Hermione, “so I’m sure Voldemort may well be here at some point or another. In theory, I can control the flow of magic in all of Britain and don’t necessarily have to be here at the Lake to do so. It’s just easier to accomplish if I am here, but I’m working on practicing enough that I’ll be able to fully master the skill.”

“Who is this man, this Galahad?” asked Ron, and the others nodded in interest.

Hermione gave them all an exasperated look. “I was getting to that part, if you will just let me finish the story.” She waited until she was given complete silence before continuing. “Galahad du Lac was a good man that I became close to while in training. He was, as it happens, a sort of adopted grandson of the Lady Nimue. It was revealed that he was fated to be my Protector, but also that he could not merely return with me using the Time Turner. Fate seems to have a way of deciding how things should be then having us figure out a way to accomplish it. Galahad found his way. After I returned he sought out the Holy Grail, which he had been told as a boy the many magical uses of, and he gave himself as a blood sacrifice. Through the magic he was able to direct how and when he reincarnated.

“The memories of his life as Galahad du Lac did not return to him until I returned from the past, and though his current self has not always been on the side of the light, he is prepared to do what is necessary to help us now. He is my Protector, and is essential to my succeeding in my task.”

It was Harry who first realized --or at least first spoke of-- the glamour. “So this isn’t how he truly looks, is it? Who is he, ‘Mione?”

Draco didn’t leave her to explain things for him, but stepped up to do it himself. “This glamour is what I looked like when I lived as Galahad du Lac. In this life, you all despise me, and rightfully so, I just hope you will give me the opportunity to prove myself to you.” With that he pointed his wand at himself and released the glamour.

Snape was the only one not to react in anger, though his surprise could be seen from the moment he heard Draco’s voice. Draco had been a favorite student, but never had Snape expected to see the young Slytherin change sides.

“Whatever you think of him,” said Hermione, “remember that without him I won’t be able to fulfill my role. And without my fulfilling the role of Lady... how well do you think the Order can do against Voldemort’s forces? How many will have to die because of the inability to forgive?”

Silence filled the air and caused an awkward silence for them all. Harry and Ron’s feet shifted uncomfortably as they stared holes into the floor. Snape seemed nearly ready to speak, but thought, quite rightly, that the spy of the group wasn’t exactly the best for making the first move. Mr. Weasley was unnaturally quiet, and Remus Lupin had a blank expression except for his eyes. In them was calm and forgiveness.

Finally Harry stepped forward and extended his hand. “I can’t say I trust you yet,” he said frankly, “but if ‘Mione thinks you’re trustworthy then I guess I can give you a chance. Don’t screw up.”

“I’m really not planning on it,” answered Draco with a snicker, “but if I do then you have my permission to hex me into next year. That is, if Hermione doesn’t beat you to it.”

“Not to interrupt such a tender moment,” Snape sneered, “but can we get back to important matters? What must we do to take advantage of this?”

Hermione grimaced. “I can cut off some dark magic in a close vicinity,” she said. “Or, at least, I’ve been able to cut it all off in practice. I haven’t had a chance to practice more distant magic though. I was hoping a few different people could help with the practice, and as long as we can buy a week or so minimum before the final battle then I think I can pull it off. I will just need to be here at the Lake and be informed it’s about to take place so that I can prepare and cut off the dark magic most effectively. With luck, it will catch them so off guard that you will be able to overpower them quickly.”

“And without luck?” asked Snape.

“It will still help us,” said Hermione firmly. “More than you likely think possible. We are trained to fight without using dark magic. We know plenty of spells and can do it easily, like second nature. They will be at a loss, having become too dependent on dark magic to win their battles.”

“You will do fine, cariad,” said Draco softly, speaking to Hermione as though they were the only ones in the room. “By the end of the week you will be prepared.”

The others weren’t quite as convinced of her chances, but at least the truth was out and Hermione felt better for it. Then the air changed, and she felt a familiar tinge of something she didn’t like. “Who is doing that?” she demanded. “Is it one of you or is there someone outside?”

Snape’s lips twisted into something akin to a smirk. “Just testing you, Miss Granger,” he said. “So I will acknowledge you sense dark magic in your presence. What can you do about it?”

Anger flashed through her eyes at what a git he was being, but she could also see the need for a demonstration. Reaching out easily to the magic she felt around her, she found the flow of darkness and blocked it. It was her turn to smirk in satisfaction when he attempted more spells, resorting to his wand rather than wandless magic, and found that none of the dark spells would work.

“Keep me informed,” she said, dismissing them before she gave Snape a piece of her mind. “I’m going to be staying here and learning what I can.”

-x-x-x-x-

The rest of her day was spent ordering Draco around, sending him further and further away from the Lake so that she could expand her range of control. By the end she was feeling at least somewhat satisfied, though there was still a long way to go. Things needed to end, and soon.

That night Draco had been summoned through his Dark Mark twice, and she knew he was in a great deal of pain resisting it. The charms on the Lady’s underwater home prevented his being found, but that could only help for so long. Soon enough there would be a need to leave again, and then there would be nothing to protect him from Voldemort’s grasp.