Saving Her; Saving Us All

Author Note: Please note the age of consent both in my home state and in the UK, which covers London and Hogwarts (someone would have asked), is 16 years of age. Hermione Granger turned 16 on September 19th of the Golden trio's fifth year. Thank you and have a nice day.
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My Dear Husband is a Poser Artist...a damn good one if I do say so myself. So he (under duress) created a Poser Cover art for my Lost Prophecy Story Saving Her; Saving Us All.
You can view it here: http:/mrsynnerster(dot)deviantart(dot)com/gallery/#/d30lozh
Hope you enjoy, and if you are over 18 feel free to view his other works.
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Chapter 1

Hermione Granger was considered by most to be the brightest witch of her age. That was actually a gross understatement. However for all her intellect, and power she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head. Fortunately, she had some very good friends. When Pansy Parkinson threw a curse at Hermione on the Hogwarts express as it neared Kings Cross Station the last day of fifth year, Neville, Ginny And Luna had her bound, gagged, and stunned in a thrice.

Quickly, while Neville, Luna and Ginny dealt with Pansy; Harry and Ron supported the now semi conscious Hermione. Checking rapidly to make sure that the still healing curse scar from her fight with Dolohov at the Ministry had not broken open; they checked her back for any sign of physical damage. Finding none, Harry dispatched Prongs to find Susan Bones. The DA hadn’t quite gotten to the point where they could send messages using their patroni; they did know how to direct them to be seen by the needed person.

Susan recognized Harry’s stag and rushed to their compartment. She quickly ascertained the situation and started running the simple diagnosis charms. Shaking her head in confusion, she encased Hermione in the highest level of Stasis charm she knew. Susan turned to the other members of the Ministry Six, “I don’t know what spell she used, but it’s causing rapid growth in Granger’s Core. She was already one of the strongest witches at school---the stasis field seems to have halted the progression. But since I doubt the pug had any positive motives here, I have no clue about the ultimate purpose of the curse, nor why it is affecting her core like it is. Soon as we get to Kings Cross, I’ll grab my aunt and we’ll get her to St. Mungos.

Harry’s brilliant green eyes focused on Hermione’s still face and a plan formed in his mind. “Ron, you grab Ginny and gather your parents, Neville’s Gran, and Luna’s dad. Get the Grangers, and get them to St. Mungos; the healers may need special permissions or something. I’ll help Susan with Hermione. Neville you and Luna bring that bitch. She’ll tell the healers what they need to know—or we’ll make her.

Luna quickly left and organized the DA members to keep everyone in their compartments until they got Hermione safely off the train. Ginny took a few moments to shrink and pocket all their trunks, one less thing to slow them down. As the slight red head moved about the cabin, she “accidentally” kicked Parkinson several times. But as soon as the train stopped, they were ready.

Harry picked up Hermione, and cradled her close, telling himself that he didn’t want to do any magic that might interfere with Susan’s stasis spell. The moment he cleared the train’s steps, he almost dropped his cuddled best friend.
“Sirius!?!” Harry gaped at his godfather. Happiness that Sirius was standing there conflicted with worry that he was standing next to DMLE head, Amelia Bones, and confusion as to how Sirius was there at all. But Harry put all that on hold. He refused to get Sirius back just to lose Hermione.

Susan apprised her aunt of the situation and in moments the three teens and two adults apparated to St. Mungo’s. As soon as the healers say the faces of the aware members of the party, they whisked Hermione into diagnostics. Susan went with them, bringing the up to speed on what she had found. Susan also wanted to be there in case she had to throw her aunt’s weight around. She did not want them taking less than the best measures simply because of Hermione’s blood status.

Before Harry could gather his wits enough to question Sirius, the others arrived. While Ginny, Neville, and Luna explained the situation more fully to the flustered Grangers, Harry and Ron roughly dragged Pansy Parkinson over to Sirius and Amelia. Ron didn’t even blink at Sirius. Instead he was focused completely on getting answers, getting Hermione better, and getting the hell out of this stupid place.

“This sneaky Bitch hit Hermione in the back with a curse. The trail wasn’t red…it was pink…like really, really pink. I couldn’t catch what she said, but I can tell you that it wasn’t English, Welsh, or Latin.” Ron growled; he stressed his words by shaking Pansy for emphasis.

Amelia took the pureblood princess into custody and used a floo to call for aurors to take her in. a look of displeasure crossed her face at the first red robed Auror to come out of the floo. Dawlish annoyed her greatly, and the bigoted asshole never knew when to keep his mouth shut. Fortunately, Auror Brand was with him. Brand was a Moody trained auror and much more to Amelia’s taste. Madam Bones gestured Arthur Weasley over as well. You could never have too many witnesses present at a field interrogation.

The questioning was quick and dirty. Parkinson admitted to acting in collusion with Draco Malfoy. She used a spell Malfoy Jr. had found in his family library. She learned only the words, and the wand movements; not what the spell did. She hated Hermione out of jealousy and ignorance. She didn’t care if it killed Granger as long as it made Draco stop talking about the other girl.

Hearing the words of the curse, only Sirius was even able to identify the language. He was almost positive that it was old Frankish, which meant the spell was from somewhere in France. He ran to Molly and suggested she bring Bill and Fleur.

While Sirius was talking to Molly, Amelia spoke to Dawlish and Brand. “Take the girl to a holding cell. She is 16 and this is a serious offence. And Dawlish, I don’t care who her family is…if she isn’t kept in a cell the ENTIRE TIME she is in custody, you are out of a job.” Parkinson was placed in Magic suppression cuff and taken away. All that was left to do was wait.


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As they waited on Bill and Fleur to arrive, and hopefully help; Harry finally managed to get a moment with his resurrected godfather. “How?” Harry croaked around the lump in his throat as he clutched Sirius into a Hermione-like hug.
Sirius looked at Harry deeply, for the first time realizing how shocked Harry really was that he was there. Something was very wrong here. “Pup, I wrote you all about this before I was out of St. Mungo’s an hour.” Sirius shook his head, “we’ll talk about that later. Apparently the ‘Veil of Death’ is actually the ‘Veil of Judgment’; because I was innocent, I was returned. According to Amelia and the St. Mungo’s staff, I’m in better condition now than I was at 20.”

“Um…Sirius, I know that you weren’t guilty of the crimes of which you were accused---but I know about what you did to Snape and almost to Moony—” Harry let the sentence drop.

“You know I actually asked that myself. You know Pup you are much more mature than I was at your age. Anyway; the Judges, for lack of a better term, felt that since I was actually dumb enough not to realize that Snivillous could have been killed; I just wanted him to stop following us every month. And to get such a fright he peed his trousers. Anywho I guess since I didn’t have intent to do harm, they released me.” Sirius looked at Harry closely. Despite his very real desire to know how Sirius was alive, Harry’s eyes kept wandering to the door the healers had taken Hermione through. “Hermione will be alright, Harry, We’ll make sure of it.”

Bill and Fleur arrived with a worried Molly. The twins were right behind them. Only they knew that while Hermione was against testing on unsuspecting first years, she had helped them work the kinks out of some of their Wheezes. They truly cared deeply for their super intelligent friend.

Amelia, Sirius, and Harry joined the curse breakers, and quickly ran down what little information they had about the spell. They were just finishing summarizing what Susan had told them about the rffects of the spell on Hermione, when Fleur released a torrent of French and ran full bore to the back. “L’arrêt, Non vous la tuerez. Arrêt ! Non, Non. STOP!!!!” (Stop, No you will kill her. Stop!)

Harry and Sirius were right behind the French native, and when the healers weren’t quick enough to halt their actions; the two dark haired men pulled out their wands and started casting. Stunners and Petrifying charms flew until there wasn’t a healer standing. Placing themselves between the downed healers and the unconscious Hermione, Sirius nodded to Susan.

Susan enervated the senior healer in the room. Fleur grabbed the indignant man and pulled him to the side. “You must not cast any healing magic at her. Diagnosis only. Nothing that her core can absorb. You will speed the progress. It is an old. Really old French spell. Created by Eleanor D’Aquitaine. How that idiot girl even managed to cast it---I don’t know. Put Hermione in a level 10 stasis field. I will write my father; we must find out the EXACT right way to break this. None of your throw magic at it and hope for the best merde.”

The healer looked affronted, but with one look at the men hovering protectively over his patient, and all the healers who were stunned and petrified around him; he made the only wise decision. He put Hermione under the strongest Stasis spell he knew. As he turned to reanimate his collogues he noticed a large snowy owl at the window.

Susan noticed Hedwig at the same moment. She crossed the room and let in the owl. It flew directly to Harry, and looked at him expectantly. Everyone in the room, except Harry, gaped. All wondered how the owl had know she was needed. Fleur shook off her astonishment, and ran to the lobby calling for parchment and pen. Bill read over her shoulder translating the letter into English. He made copies and sent it to the Order’s best researchers. To expedite the delivery, Bill used a little know Goblin spell that delivered them instantly. The spell was supposed to only be used inside the Goblin Nation. But his bosses would understand. It was for family. Bill felt better for finally having done something to help his surrogate little sister.

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At Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place Remus Lupin and Severus Snape received Bill’s missives simultaneously. The two very different men showed their inherent similarities with their almost identical reactions. Both men let loose with a torrent of expletives, from several languages. Severus immediately floo called Madam Pomfrey, after appraising the matron of her patient’s current situation, he flooed to the headmaster’s office he interrupted Dumbledore and McGonagall’s end of year conference.

“Miss Granger is in critical condition at St. Mungo’s.” Anyone else would have been shocked by the strong note of concern in the Potion Master’s voice.

“But Poppy said she was almost fully healed!” McGonagall broke in.

“She was; that stupid brat Parkinson hit her in the back with some obscure French curse. She is under a stasis spell until the counter can be found.” Snape answered.

“And Miss Parkinson?” Questioned Dumbledore.

“Does it matter? She hit a fellow student with a dark spell knowing it could kill her. Does it really matter what happens to Pansy soddin’ Parkinson?” Snape’s voice was incredulous.

“Everyone deserves a second chance, my dear boy.” Dumbledore said sagely.

“No, they do not Albus, and even if they do…Miss Parkinson is on chance number 12 at this point. When do you finally stop giving evil more chances and protect the pummilling innocents?” Minerva McGonagall was livid. Not only was she tired of having the same argument over and over, but now the innocent in question was her favorite student since Lily Evans. Another innocent done in by Albus’s refusal to kill when needed.

Severus said nothing. He was all out of compassion for those too willfully stupid to rise above their parent’s idiotic beliefs. Parkinson, Malfoy, Nott. They were all worthless, unredeemable; just waiting their turn to serve Voldemort. This year had shown that with blatant clarity. Instead he continued, “The words of the spell are mourir avec la douleur de mon Coeur.” With that Snape excused himself and hurried to his Library. He had a small section on French spells, one could never have too much knowledge with ‘friends’ like Lucius.

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At Grimmauld Place, Remus had retreated directly to the library, grateful that Sirius had included him in the family wards as soon as he returned from the veil. And yet after several days filled with almost constant research by Snape, Remus, and McGonagall and help from M. Delacour and supposedly from Dumbledore; they were still no closer to a cure. Until help came from the most unlikely of sources.

Phineas Nigellus Black was far more than pissed off. He was in fact madder than he could remember being in all the years since he had awakened as a portrait. Dumbledore was always one to play fast and loose with information; but here he sat giving lip service to helping, while the little muggleborn who had saved his descendant languished in the hospital. Well that could not be allowed. She may be a mudblood but she had helped to save the last Black male and thus the line.

Phineas had a problem, no one he could trust came into the room in Grimmauld place often enough for him to catch their attention. But when he saw the little house elf the Potter boy had freed from the Malfoys…he had an idea. “House elf, I’m sorry I can’t remember your name. I need you to get someone, either Remus Lupin or Snape and have the go to my portrait at the Black home. Can you do that? I may have a way to help the muggleborn girl.”

Dobby’s head bobbed so erratically, Phineas worried that the creature would snap his own neck. But taking it as an affirmative, Phineas moved to his home portrait to wait. He didn’t have to wait long. Upon hearing that the Headmaster Black knew something to help “Harry Potter’s Miss Grangey;” Snape and Lupin, who had been researching together in the Black family Library, made their way so quickly to the third floor Bedroom that Phineas had be relegated to, one might have assumed they apparated.

Phineas told them of a book he had hidden in the library. It was a grimoire that contained all the knowledge of all the headmasters before him. In this information was a spell used by the founders to heal Slytherin when he had been cursed by a French witch for killing her father. The father was actually killed for Muggle Hunting. But that fact was of no concern to the witch. Finding the proper book the Potion Master and lycanthrope once more were only able to express themselves with a slew of curse words.

The spell was actually a ritual containing a rather complex potion and well…before they could fully wrap their minds around what the ritual’s second portion called for; Phineas called their attention back. He warned them about Dumbledore’s manipulations and his extreme lack of help. The grimoire Phineas had directed them to was a copy of a compendium located in the Headmaster’s library at Hogwarts. Dumbledore should have been able to locate this material in matter of minutes. Instead he had lied and pretended to be looking.

Phineas; as Severus wrote out a list of what he needed to begin the potion and Remus wrote a letter to Sirius and Harry to let them know a counter had been found; laid out to the two wary allies all the misdeeds of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.