Lendoren

Disclaimer: everything you recognise belongs to Jo

Story by kelokelo, chapter translated by septentrion and beta’ed by Tanit.

I've allowed anonymous reviews, if you feel so inclined...

I'm to attend a wedding next week. It shouldn't disturb the posting of the next chapter, but you never know.

Chapter 30. Christmas

On Christmas’ Eve, Hermione agreed to stop working earlier than usual, for Severus had told her that everyone would be at the Silvery Circle at midnight to perform a ballet all together. That would count like working. Besides, those days spent working had been very productive. Hermione had mastered the elements, she didn’t wear herself out as quickly as before and she needed his support less and less. Their combined efforts mad them a formidable pair, they knew it, but would it be enough against the Dictator, the crucible for Dark Magic?

Hermione and Severus had found a compromise for her holiday homework; she did the same as Harry, Ron and Ginny. Malko and Erich were impatient to play Quidditch with those three, and they’d decided to help them to get through their pile of homework quicker by pointing them to the right books in their library. That way, they spared the students the time it would take to look for the right references by themselves. If needed, they would even give them additional information or explanations. What one wouldn’t do for playing Quidditch?

Ron and Harry brought all their notes to Hermione to help her with her homework under Severus’ irritated eyes; they’d taken care to give her their Potions notes first. Hermione was torn between doing everything by herself, and use the material the boys had kindly given her.

“Come on, Hermione, you can’t refuse! Think of all our essays that you’ve reread and corrected without the professors noticing. Just for once, let us help! And you’ll be able to work more with Sn— er, Erwin,” Harry stammered. He had had a hard time uttering that name, but he and Ron had been thoroughly lectured by Ginny on the subject. Severus himself had started to call them by their first names, so they ought to do the same, even if it was a bit awkward at the beginning.

When Harry mentioned that Hermione had reread all the boys’ homework, Severus shot her a dark look, and she nearly stuck out her tongue at him like a child would do. She knew him to be formidable when he suspected some cheating, but it seemed that they’d been clever enough during all theses years not to have him suspect anything.

“You must be doing it on purpose, Harry!” Hermione interjected, lightly smiling.

“Me?” Harry asked, pulling an innocent face, while Ron was turning redder and redder from trying to restrain his laugh. “I don’t understand what you’re speaking about,” he added, broadly smiling. He kept his eyes on her, for he knew that he’d burst out laughing if he ever looked at Erwin who was still sitting in the armchair.

Hermione shook her head and simply said, “Go to the Hall now that you’ve reached your goal. Don’t believe an instant that I couldn’t send you to there with a strong draught. However, the landing could be a bit harsh!”

She neatly closed the chalet’s door and kept her eyes down on her friends’ notes. She was on the verge of laughing out loud. Harry had purposely mentioned in front of Erwin that their homework had systematically been overseen, reread and made better by Hermione.

“Hermione, tell me that you, at last, won’t stoop to using their homework to write your owns?”

“Erwin, you choose. Either I use this solution for my homework, or we sacrifice half of the days so that I can do it. Or maybe you’d rather that I go to bed in the middle of the night, after I’m done with my homework. Anyway,” she added, soberer, “I’ll have to tackle Arithmancy and Runes by myself since neither Harry, nor Ron take those subjects.”

Severus was in a corner. He was very insistent that they work full time on their magic, but he didn’t want her to be exhausted; he liked their talks in front of the hearth after dinner, Hermione snuggled up against him. Said discussions always lead to carnal love and passion.

“What good would it do to you to get a ‘T’ for identical work?” he grumbled.

“Erwin, we’ve been doing this for six years and a half, and you’ve never known. You could lay our essays side by side on a table and compare them. I defy you to find who has cheating on whom. Even Professor McGonagall can’t make it out, though she’s known since last year. Besides, since she’s known, we’ve refined our technique,” she said, looking pensive.

Severus rolled his eyes but didn’t add anything. If he had to choose between very cleverly copied essays—he had to admit it since he’d already compared their essays in the past—which would give him time to indulge in his favourite pastime—to seduce Hermione and have his fill of her, and to see her coming back exhausted from the library after she’d done her homework, in no mood for making love, he didn’t hesitate. They would cheat, but they’d rather go on being so good at hiding it. As for him, he’d go on fulfilling her without impeding her sleep.


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Christmas Eve dinner was a joyous affair. A little before midnight, they put on warm clothes and went for the Silvery Circle. Harry, Ron and Ginny were astonished to see such an enchanting place. It was even more grandiose by night, with the moon light making the falls look more silvery than usual. Nobody could have told who had begun, but animal couples made of a Patronus-like substance, just looking more real, were wandering in the air effortlessly. They moved away from each other to form a circle when two unicorns joined them. They looked alive, and their white horn—instead of the golden horn of the real animals—showed that they were the product of a more powerful magic.

Time wasn’t for seduction but for camaraderie with the other animals. The ballet then started again, before it froze a few minutes later, when balls of fire went up from the ground and exploded like Muggle fireworks. The only moving animals that remained were the unicorns, which seemed to play between the balls of fire. Harry, Ron and Ginny were flabbergasted, and noticed that the other Lendoren, whether in couple or alone, were too. The show seemed to be entirely new to them. It stopped after a while, but not before the unicorns had put their heads on each other’s withers, an obvious sign of tenderness. Everyone looked in Severus’ and Hermione’s direction. They felt like they were the only ones in the world. Hermione had closed her eyes and was relaxed in her companion’s arms, whose cheek was leaning against hers. They looked in each other’s eyes a long time, and then they gently kissed. There was no breeze.

Albane discreetly motioned them to leave the clearing, except for Hermione and Severus who were acting as if they were alone in the world. Harry, Ron and Ginny were still marvelling at what they’d seen, but it didn’t prevent them to notice that the Community was both astounded and amazed at the show. When Ginny asked Albane about it, the latter answered her, “Certainly, you did notice that the two unicorns looked more solid than the other animals, didn’t you?”

“Yes, they seemed nearly alive.”

“That in itself gives us an idea of how powerful they are when they’re together. But you must know that to, say, materialise those animals as much as possible, we use magic based upon water. Magic based upon air is used to make them move. You need to be powerful enough to use the two brands of magic together. We all are, but with different degrees, which can be seen by the consistency of our animals and the speed with which they move. What’s remarkable is that they’ve used magic based upon fire at the same time. The balls of fire that you saw were very real, and could have burnt us if we’d touched them. They can use the three brands of magic at the same time, and as far as I know, only the founders of Hogwarts could do that. They’ve been able to do that with only a few days of training. That’s enough for us to have no more doubts about the upcoming war against the Dictator. They’re the ones who’ll have to face him. The only thing that we don’t know is when. Let’s just hope it’ll happen after the spring equinox, when Hermione will get all her powers.

“But … they can sweep anyone away with those powers of theirs, can’t they?

“We’re not speaking about any normal wizard, Ron. The Dictator is as powerful as us. His powers are based upon Dark Magic’s foundation, fear and death. I fear that the war will be very balanced, and its end is uncertain. As is the end of the fight between Harry and Voldemort.”


Answer to reviews:

firewall: Hermione has better be comfortable with her powers soon enough.

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