The Prime Princess

The Prefects Bathroom had fallen into silence.

“Right then,” said Hermione with a sudden cheerful voice and looked at boys, “We do have a game with Huffies, and I believe you have a match with Ravenclaw, so I guess we should go and get some training done!”

Both slytherins and griffindors stared at her in shock, when Hermione turned around and was about to exit the room.

“Stop!” commanded Draco. Hermione halted but didn’t turn around.

“I dealt with you rejecting me, I went along with your Walker post but this, this, THIS has gone too far!” yelled Draco at her but she remained silent.

“Malfoy,” warned Harry with a groggy voice as he was still going through the info he had received.

“And you,” hissed Draco at his clone who had awoken, “All of you should have told something about this!”

“What? That she’s just a step away from becoming an Ancient?” sneered Draconis, “Like you’d listened until you’d see her in action.”

Draco stared hard at him, trying to come up with something sharp but his thoughts had decided to melt down. Then turned Hermione around and faced them all with a happy smile on her face.

“I’d love to chat with you but I have to gather up the team. We have a practice within an hour,” she said.

“Did Ginny’s spell came with a delay?” asked Harry in a low tone and Ron shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea what was going on. But he was sure that no way could Slytherin have a practice in 01.00 AM.

Blaise was trying to see through her, to find out if she was playing dumb or she was dumb. Something was really wrong and for a moment he suspected that one of the previous Walkers had emerged and taken over.

“Now that does it,” growled Draco and pointed his wand at Hermione, “I’m gonna hex you! You hear me?” Hermione just watched him and smiled.

“She’s having a mental breakdown,” whispered Ron. Draco advanced on her with still raised wand that he soon dropped to grab at her shoulders and shake her hard.

“Come on, snap out of this!” yelled Draco at her and in the process of shaking her, he bitch-slapped her. When Hermione opened her drowsy eyes, he noticed the different colors being drained from her eyes, leaving only blood red irises.

“Hey, come back to me,” pleaded Draco desperately. He looked intently into her eyes that slowly turned into coffee brown. And then her eyes turned even darker.

“Malfoy,” hissed Hermione and shoved Draco away from her.

“Ooookay,” drawled Blaise and stepped between them, “Why don’t we just take it easy and…”

“And take a bath!” quipped Hermione and pushed Blaise with such force he fell into pool-size bathtub with a loud splash.

“Still a lunatic,” told Ron and watched Blaise swim to the edge and drag himself out of water.

“I think I know the problem,” said Harry finally when he got his wits together. “She transferred besides the selection of memories also her entities to me.”

“What?!” shouted all others when hearing him.

“I can hear her and others in my head,” told Harry with more confidence.

“Potter, that’s just…” started Draco but was cut off when he also ended up in the water. Hermione giggled and clapped her hands together. She was bouncing around and found Major Draconis scowling at her from floor tiles.

“Wanna play?” she asked and knelt in front of him.

“If you have Cith Bane there with you, make sure not to let her take over,” growled Draco at Harry and spotted Hermione untying Major. “Somebody stop her!”
***
Two days later Hermione was in St. Mungo. Madam Pomfrey hadn’t been able to cure her condition. Mediwitches didn’t let anyone near her from fear to confuse her even more. Only Harry was in the same room with her and waited the time when he was the only one inside his own head.

He had had the time to study Hermione and the Hermione inside his head. There were 8 of them. The loudest one was Morrigan Malfoy, former Ariston. The frenzied Scot was a total headache when she started with Harry. Others were just soldiers. And no Cith Bane.

It was something past 11.00 PM when Harry stopped pretending to sleep and opened his green eyes to look into the dark. The bed next to him was empty. Harry stared at white sheets glowing in the moonlight and got up. He ran to the door and pulled it open. Hermione was wondering in the end of the corridor. She hummed silently and when Harry reached her, he heard the song playing ghostly around her. He recognized it as Nine Inch Nails – The Great Below. A beautiful, melancholically cryptic song. The lyrics were whispered, as the violins grew stronger around Hermione. She moved to the languid rhythm and took the stairs up. Harry followed her with all eight inside his head telling him to look after her and not let her get hurt.

All the world has closed her eyes
Tried faith all worn and thin
For all we could have done
And all that could have been

Harry walked into ward he already knew from 5th year. His insides turned into ice, as he looked Hermione dance on tiptoes between the beds like an angel in a white flowing nightgown. Harry dreaded to see the faces of once highly respected Aurors.

“No…” whispered Harry when Hermione sat onto the edge of bed that’s resident was Alice Longbottom. Neville looked so much like his mother when she was healthy and round. After the torture and hospital she looked worn out and skinny. Alice opened her eyes and stared at Hermione who smiled at the older woman. She reached out her hand and stroked Alice’s white hair.

“No mind, no fear,” said Hermione and touched her forehead. Light spread out from her fingertips and painted a fine design of symbols over fair skin. A hallowed glow flowed around Hermione entwined with the languid music, transforming into ethereal wings curved over her back and arching above her head in a protective way. Alice looked at her in great wonder and couldn’t speak from the amazement.

All becoming clear
The currents have their say
The time is drawing near
Washes me away
Makes me disappear

“No mind, no more,” murmured Hermione as Alice collapsed. She turned to look at Harry and an evil grin crept over her features.

I descend from grace
In arms of undertow
I will take my place
In the great below

“No mind, no one,” she sighed and rose from the bed and walked to Harry, “Only one,” she said and grabbed with hands from his head.
***
Morning light wake up Harry. He was almost sure his name was Harry. For a second he doubted in his own identity. And then there was clarity. He was himself again. No voices telling him what to do, no distracting thoughts, memories, and senses… All gone. Only a catalogued history of Rage Walker in his memory bank. It was planted, it fit well and was well accessible – so it didn’t cause trouble for him to look through some files stored there. He didn’t pause on that for a long time and rolled himself over in bed to glance at his neighbor. This time Hermione was in her bed. Sleeping. Or was she sleeping? He couldn’t tell but the amount of brews and potions that waited her was enormous. A mediwitch was leaning over her and checked her condition only to shake sadly her head and make a note on her chart.

The music he had heard was gone. The angelic creature he had seen was reduced to a pallid witch he had despised a long time. He didn’t know why but it just had seemed a right thing to hate everyone in Slytherin. Just because they appeared to become dark wizards and witches. Well, that’s what statistics showed and chronicles said.

It was so easy to hate. But it was hard to ask forgiveness. And even harder was to love.

Hermione Electra Rhiannon Ariston was in Slytherin. Did the House make her an evil hag? She was not a Death Eater like everyone once suspected when Harry was fighting with Lord Voldemort. He had won the war. Saved the world from terror but Hermione was fighting on another level – a much greater war, with much powerful enemy that wont rest until this world was its dinner table.

Voldemort was nothing compared to Ancients that once were wizards. And she was evolving into one of them. He had to know what was going on in her little crazy head. Was she already converted or was she a mindless twit?

Harry took his wand from the nightstand and pointed it at her.

“Legilimens!”