Of Days and Ends

A/N: Okay, everyone, so I have put up another chapter and I think you will like this one… maybe. Heh heh…

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Chapter 22—Fury



When she made it back to the tent the sound of Harry and Ron whispering inside got her attention and she was glad they were awake. She wanted to be distracted from the way Snape made her feel, and she went to their bedroom. “Hello boys,” she said leaning against the doorframe. “How long have you been awake?”



Instead of the groggy-voiced answer she was expecting, she received a clear question that shocked her, “Who were you outside with just now?”



“What do you mean?” She hedged, pasting a perplexed look on her face.



“Don’t act like you don’t know!” Ron shouted suddenly, and it took all of the training Severus had given her to remain passively composed.



Unsure of what he saw, she hedged, “You mean outside just now?”



“No, I mean two months ago!” His voice dripping with sarcasm, snapped at her.



“Okay, calm down, Ron. I’ve done nothing wrong.”



“Who was it, Hermione?” Harry’s calm voice brought her back to the topic at hand.



“He was nobody.”



“We have a right to know.”



Ron snapped, “You weren’t treating him like nobody!”



Suddenly, she realized that he saw everything. It was time for some truth. “He is my friend.”



“That’s not the entire truth.” Harry said. His eyes focused on hers with an intense concentration. She narrowed her eyes at him and decided to raise her mental blocks.



“Where did you learn Legillimens?” she asked.



“Where did you learn such a strong Occlumens?”



“A book.” She truthfully said, holding up the blocks against him with ease.



“Who is your boyfriend?”



“I don’t have a boyfriend.” It was the truth.



“Who is the man Ron just saw you with? And don’t try to make it seem like he didn’t see correctly when I just saw it in your mind as well.”



She was impressed by the power of Harry’s new skill. “A wizard.”



“Obviously.”



“I won’t say.”



“Ron is right. We are on the run, and we have a right to know who else knows where we are.”



“We can trust him.”



“We aren’t sure we can trust you, Hermione.” Ron growled from behind her.



“Trust me.”



“This guy is newer in your life than either Ron or I--”



“Actually,” She didn’t let him continue, “No, he’s not. I’ve known him just as long as I’ve known you. In fact, I saw him for the first time on the same day I met you two.” This information shocked both boys and they fell silent. “Trust me.” She pleaded again, “I love you two dearly, but I know him better than anyone else does, and we can trust him!”



“So you met him at Hogwarts?”



“Yes.”



Harry yawned and blinked heavily. He had trusted Hermione for years. She was as close to him as anyone could be. One more night wouldn’t hurt. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow.” Nodding, she walked to the door and heard Harry softly say, “Oh, and, Ron, If you’re gonna take the piss out of her, will you close and silence the door please?”



After the door closed and Ron waved his wand at it half-distractedly, Hermione turned to face him. “Ron—”



He opened his mouth to interrupt her, but it took him a few moments to decide what to say. “I can’t believe that you lied to me.” His voice broke at the end and she fiddled with her wand at her hip nervously.



“Surely, you didn’t expect me to tell you the truth about him. I knew you’d only want to know who he was. You would only want to try to sway me back towards you.”



“Who is he, Hermione?”



“I already said all I will say. The information I gave you is enough. I won’t say anymore!” Hermione turned and drew her robes around her and began to walk away, but Ron’s insistent hand at her elbow made her whirl back around angrily. “Let go of me!”



“I love you, Hermione, I always have.” Ron said, and as a desperate, final attempt to change her mind, Ron pulled her in for a kiss.



She struggled against him and could feel the bond activating. Ron, by virtue of the fact that he was male, was stronger than her and didn’t release her. She pulled at his shoulders desperately and when he finally let her go and she staggered back, the look on his face made her spin around. “Severus!” She breathed his name before she could stop herself.



He looked livid and he raised his wand with the obvious intention of killing Ron, but Hermione knew her husband and had reacted first, blasting Snape out of the tent flap where he hit the cave wall. She turned back to Ron and hissed, “Get Harry, quickly!”



He hesitated only briefly, but obeyed. While he was gone, Snape stepped back into the tent and she mouthed, “I’m sorry.” Before stunning him. His body collapsed to the floor and she summoned his wand to her before Harry and Ron ran in. She turned towards the boys, raised the wands, and repeated, “I’m sorry. Stupefy!”



Turning back to Snape, she pointed her wand at his ebony-handled wand and made it into a portkey. Then she placed it in his hand and activated it. Turning back to the boys, she took their wands away, and said, “Reenervate! Obliviate!”







“Ah… How was your sleep?”



“I haven’t slept that well since… well, ever.”



“Naw, Harry, you haven’t slept that well since the last time you were stupefied!”



Hermione froze. They knew.



“Oh yeah, I know! Last night was perfect, Hermione. I think it was your mother’s hare!”



She continued stirring the eggs around on the stove tentatively.



“I think we should start planning to break into the Ministry by next Monday.”



They didn’t remember. Good. The eggs were finished and she divvied it onto three plates before taking her own plate and gesturing to the other two. “I agree. There’s, uh…something else I’ve been thinking about too. You know that tree? I think we should see if the rune is a blood identity rune.”



The boys stared at her blankly.



“Uhm… that means that we have to see if Ron is the only one who can get through.”



“Excuse me?”



“You are the only pureblooded wizard of the three of us.”



“Well, yeah, but you think that that will work?”



“I think so.”



Ron shoved a large piece of biscuit in his mouth and nodded vigorously before standing up and leaving the cave.



With a nervous glance at Harry, she stood up and followed her ginger friend to the sapling. “Okay, so… blood first, blood forever.” Ron disappeared.



Harry and Hermione looked at each other and sat on the ground nearby to wait for him to return. About five minutes later, they began to get worried and Hermione stood to survey the sapling again. Just as she neared the tree, Ron came tumbling out, stumbling, running, and looking panic-struck. “RUN!” He screamed maniacally.



Harry and Hermione caught him and Hermione immediately raised her wand, inspecting their surroundings, prepared for anything.



“Ron, what happened?”



“Could they come through? They didn’t come through, did they? Let’s get inside just to be safe!” He exclaimed quickly and hysterically.



“Calm down, Ron. Could what come through?” Harry looked incredibly worried for his friend.



“Inferi, spiders, mummies, inferi, evil owls, werewolves, vampires, INFERI!”



“You already said that, Ron!” Hermione said, concern lacing her voice. “Okay, let’s move you. Where’s your wand?”



“I lost it.”



“What?”



“THE SPIDERS AND THE INFERI!” He was speaking unintelligibly now.



“Let’s get him inside.”



Once inside, they lay him on the sofa and checked him over. Harry pulled off Ron’s cloak and found a dingy brass cup with large handles sticking out of the sides. His mouth dropped open and he stretched his fingers out to grab it, but Hermione slapped his hand away.



“That could very well be what’s wrong with Ron!”



“RON? That’s me! Should we run? Should I run? Is it the inferi?”



Hermione used the blanket strewn across the back of the couch to move the cup and tossed it into the corner of the room. The charm she used to detect any changes in the curse left a pulsing aura that hovered over Ron’s chest. Pulling back his shirt with dread, Hermione and Harry clasped their hands over their mouths at the sight of the Riddle locket sitting against Ron’s chest. The chain seemed to dance along his skin like a sea wave and the pendent was stuck fast with a ring of black skin beneath it, spreading slowly from the spot like some insidious ink spot. Hermione reached for Harry’s shirt as he passed it to her and reached for the necklace. The metallic chain seemed to jerk away from her a bit and she jumped in surprise.



“What the—” but Harry didn’t have time to complete his sentence.



Hermione reached for it again and it jerked away with a piercing scream, “NO! MINE!” Hermione got a hold on the chain and started to pull it over Ron’s head, but the voice continued to scream and the chain fought her. Ron trembled beneath her hands and a tear slid from her eye at the sight of the horrified expression on his face. The chain shrieked, “YOU CAN’T TAKE HIM FROM ME! HE’S MINE! NO, THIEF! MINE!” The chain tightened around his throat and Ron began to choke. “IF I CAN’T HAVE HIM, NO ONE WILL!” The chain laughed maniacally.



“The clasp, Harry! Try the clasp!”



“It’s… really… hard… with this… uh!… shirt!”



“Quickly Harry! He’s turning blue!”



“I’M TRYING!”



“YOU CAN’T STOP ME!”



“Almost…”



Ron’s eyes closed.



“HARRY!”



The end result was incredibly odd. Harry managed to unclasp the necklace and it went suddenly dead. As though it were a normal necklace, the chain fell silent and the locket popped off of his chest as though spring-loaded. Harry dangled the necklace away from his body and tossed it into the corner as though it were something filthy.



Ron’s eyes opened and he groaned. “Oh, Ronald!” Hermione said, flinging her arms around him.



“You alright, mate?”



“Yeah… why?” Ron touched his bare chest in the presence of Hermione and looked down at the black spot on his chest. “What the hell is that?”



“We aren’t really sure yet.” Harry said.



“What the hell happened?”



“We aren’t really sure. You went into the tree and came out screaming.”



“Oh, yeah. I remember that. There was a long hallway on the other side and I walked all the way down to the cavern without realizing that it was not a hallway, but a path lined with inferi. The light of the cavern is what illuminated them as I got closer, so I lit my wand and walked into the room with the necklace and the cup. The cup was making threats on my life, so I knew not to touch it, and the necklace was trying to tell the cup to be polite, so I thought I could put that around my neck. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about dropping it as I ran out.”



“So where do the mummies come in?” Hermione asked.



“Mummies? Heh heh heh… what are you talking about?”



“You were screaming about mummies.” Harry confirmed.



“And spiders, and vampires, and… and werewolves, and…”



“And evil owls.”



“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ron laughed and drew his wand to scratch his back with. “I was totally nutters.”



“Yeah, mate.”



“Hey! You said you lost your wand.” Hermione laughed.



“Lost? Naw! I put it in my inside cloak pocket.”



“We were really worried about you.” Hermione added before getting back to business. “At what point do you stop remembering?”



“When I came out of the tree. I don’t remember any of—FUCK!” Ron pointed over Hermione’s shoulder and she turned around just in time to see the necklace walking out as though the chain were its legs.



Harry and Hermione jumped up and chased the necklace out of the tent when the necklace began to scamper out. Ron got to the flap of the tent just in time to see Harry and Hermione struggling to pry the necklace off of the tree. The chain was screaming and eventually Hermione was able to unclasp it. This time, the necklace didn’t go silent. It just continued to scream hysterically. They took it into the tent and Ron had a box ready for it.



The little necklace’s scream was muffled, but it was still quite ridiculous so they sealed and silenced the box. Hermione rendered the walls of the box see-through and placed it on the mantle. To be safe, they used a sticking charm to make sure the cup wouldn’t try to walk out as well.



Ron’s mark, upon closer examination appeared to be a layer of dead skin over what would soon be a dark scar. It was becoming the type of thing that he would tap on or scratch or stare at when he wasn’t paying attention. Aside from that one physical change, Ronald Weasley was still Ronald Weasley. He had turned his attention to plotting the trio’s escapades with Harry, and Hermione became the designated researcher.



In this way, Hermione got the chance to go back to Kent and Elizabeth often. Snape had been angry with her at first for stunning him when he wanted to kill Ron, but calmed down enough a few days later to calmly say hello. As frequently as she returned, she still rarely came in contact with Snape. When she did, they were each so busy with their own agendas that they would merely nod at each other and continue through the house.



Her parents were just as scarce around the house as Snape. Having found a few hobbies around the house, they too stayed busy and in the later weeks, her parents could often be seen discussing the next stage in the potion with Snape.



Even though Harry had asked Hedwig to leave, it did not stop her from returning with mail for him. Pigwidgeon on the other hand refused to take mail for Ron now and merely sat hooting in the tree at the edge of the clearing, heralding Ron’s entries and exits.



The Daily Prophet was brought to Harry whenever Hedwig could find one and the trio were gradually more and more horrified to find out that Voldemort was gaining a hold in the public magical community. Rabastian had been placed over the entire Ministry and a different Death Eater ran each department.



The most recent newspaper said that Snape had been put in charge of both Hogwarts and the media. Suddenly, it became abundantly clear to Hermione that she had not spoken to Snape beyond a casual hello in the halls of his mansion in a little over a month. These days, she had begun to feel the effects of the curse again, but couldn’t really tell if it was just the winter’s cold permeating the tent more now that there was snow on the ground.



At the end of their second month on their own, Hermione had decided that she was definitely ill. She couldn’t keep neglecting her need to see her husband much longer. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sighed with her head in her hands. This was not bound to be a pleasant day if she couldn’t find Snape.



A screech at her window made her jump and the sight of a large black owl at her window took her by surprise. She dropped her jaw and approached the creature slowly. The parchment on its leg was pressed with Snape’s seal and she untied it from the bird’s leg with care.



“Hermione,



I hope to see you soon. It’s been quite a while since we have met and I know that you too are falling ill. I’ll be available for the next three days, so please be sure to come as soon as possible. I suspect that we may need every second.



HB.P.”



The owl’s piercing stare was so focused and intense that she knew that Snape expected a reply. Sitting on the bed again and summoning a quill, Hermione began to write her return letter.



“HB.P.



I will see you shortly, but I can only guarantee you three days. We have our first mission upcoming, so I needed to meet with you anyway.



Hermione Granger”



Grabbing a treat for the owl out of the box under her bed, Hermione approached the creature. After refusing the treat, the owl took the letter and flew out of the window. Shaking her head at it as she watched it soar between the walls of the cave and the tent, she wondered why he thought they would need three days.



Glancing back over the short letter again, she didn’t see any particulars, and turned around.



“Hey ‘Mione! There was an owl in the cave with us just…” He looked at the letter in her hand. “Oh, so it was for you, huh?”



“Uh, yes, Harry.” She closed it quickly and shoved it in one of her pockets. “I have to go see my mother today. I think that I should go spend some serious time with her before our first mission. Besides, we never know what can happen.”



“Okay.” Harry said. “When will you be leaving?”



“As soon as I get dressed.”



“I’ll let Ron know.”



“Uh-hm…”



Within ten minutes she had decided and dressed in a simple, tight-fitting, white t-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes, beneath light pink robes and a large, pink, rose clip in her hair. A simple glamour made her face look less sick and she straightened her posture before leaving the tent with a quick good bye to the boys.



They watched her leave with a bit of curiosity. She looked very pretty, and they wondered where she was headed. Shaking their heads in tandem, they returned to their porridge.



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A/N: Ooh! I love you guys soooo much. You have been so kind to me, but I must remind you all, that reviews are my fuel. The little voice in my head can sometimes be a major pain, but with reviews to stroke its ego, it always gets happy and talkative. The more reviews, the better, besides, this chapter I am currently writing will be fairly complicated and I will need lots and lots of fuel. I forsee this chapter taking a while in both the creative and editing processes, even though I do my own editing. This one is going to be difficult for continuity sake, I think.



Anyhow, I would like to extend a very special thank you to my top ten:



1. catysmom

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I would also like to thank carha for your review. I appreciate you all! Please review! Please, please, please, please, please review!!!!!