The Plague

A/N: Read at your own risk as it is not beta. I have also warned you that I have no idea where the characters are taking this story I’m just along for the ride.


Chapter four:

A revolution is interesting insofar as it avoids like the plague the plague it promised to heal. -Daniel Berrigan


“I am curious about how you got these machines to work Miss Granger.” Severus asked standing in the door way to the lab Hermione had set up. He couldn’t help but smirk a little when she startled not hearing him approach.

“First I’m not sure how long we will be here so would you please call me Hermione.” She offered before turning back to her work, “Do I have to explain what electricity is?”

“No Hermione I was raised in the muggle world I know what it is,” he motioned for her to continue.

“So you know at it’s most basic level electricity is energy. Scientist have measured it in all living things. The magic that wizards and witches channel is almost the same thing just on a slightly different molecular structure. There is so much more here to study it could take years.” Hermione mumbled the last part to her self as she turned to a white board she had gotten not realizing her audience had grown. “Now I don’t know all that much about the molecular structure of either magic or electricity but muggles and wizards alike have discovered one thing in common.

“Crystals are used by Wizards to hold magic and spells to be used if the wizard is magically depleted, or as a focus for their magic as crystal have proven that they like soaking up magic.” Hermione explained drawing diagrams on the board, “Muggles have discovered that crystals will hold electrical charges and information so they use crystals to make computer chips which all their technology operates on.”

“That is why they burn out in magical areas as the crystals start absorbing the magic around them and over load.” Voldemort interrupted coming to stand next to her. “So an anti magic ward around the ‘chips’ themselves to protect them…”

“And using a large crystal to absorb the magic and turn it into electricity sort of like an AC/DC converter.” Hermione finished practically jumping up and down in her excitement.

“Miss Granger do you understand the field of research and magical development you have just opened up?” Voldemort too was now sounding excited.

“Did you understand any of this?” Antonin whispered to Rabastan.

“Nope, but I’m not even trying to follow those two’s brains. They are far to advanced for anyone.” Rabastan informed him getting a confirmation nod from Severus.

“Well that doesn’t even cover magnetic field verses magical or electronic fields.” Hermione said before she glared at Voldemort when he took her mark and started making notations on her white board.

“As much as I hate to interrupt you two we need to focus on the plague.” Severus didn’t even flinch when both of them glared at him. He was use to it by now from years of serving the Dark lord and seven years teaching the young witch.

“I asked Rose to get us the medical records on all those affected as well as blood samples, and genealogy on everyone.” Hermione grumbled, “I don’t know about you but I can’t even start to work on the problems with out symptoms at lest.”

“Have you eaten since I last made you?” Rabastan asked before she could go off on another lecture, her slight blush was all the answer he needed. “As your healer for as long as we are here I’m ordering you to the kitchen for food and since you haven’t realized that it is 11 o’clock at night, bed after eating.”

“But…”

“Everything will be here in the morning.” Rabastan said cutting her protest off. “If it makes you feel any better our Lord will be joining you. Crucio me when you get you magic back but for now eat.” The two knowledge junkies grumbled as they headed to the kitchen.

***

“Rabastan I wish to talk to you before you get involved in reading all those medical texts the elves got you.” Severus sat down next to him at the kitchen table. Shortly before this a subdue Hermione had come in and eaten breakfast the held a hand out to Rabastan. He had placed a key in her out stretched hand and which point she had nodded and stood up and left. There had been no raging or yelling or even whining about not being able to get into her lab.

“What is it you would like to know Severus?” Rabastan asked as he waited for the other three to sit down feeling this was going to be a group discussion.

“Can the type of isolation Hermione experienced change someone’s personality?” Severus asked.

“There are three things that can happen depending on the circumstance.” Rabastan started, “if she was just isolated by accident then she would have a temporary lapse of judgment and maybe even stop observing social niceties. This would fix it’s self after a short amount of time being with others once again. The third thing that can happen is actually a sort of brain washing. One is isolated with limited contact with only certain people, and when the limited contact happens the subject is often told lies about their self until they believe it. Example and only daughter of a pureblooded family is home schooled and taught that she is beautiful but her only purpose in life is to gift her husband with an heir. It becomes so in grained into their minds that they believe it with their entire being. This can be corrected once out in public with the help of mind healers.”

“What little I have seen of Hermione behavior leans more toward that though not quiet,” Severus said.

“Yes the little Hell cat is still as feisty as ever.” Lucius added while Antonin rubbed his cheek where it was red from her smacking him earlier.

“There is a third thing that could happen, right?” Voldemort asked sipping his tea. He knew the answer already but he wanted to hear it from the healer.

“The last kind I know of, and I’m not a Mind Healer so I can not be sure, is used to create a person. It’s a longer process taking years, you start by gaining the person you want or need to do it to trust. Maybe then earn their devotion or love in some way and convince them they are inferior to you in at least one area of life if not more. Most of us do some of this sub concisely.” Voldemort and the others all nodded at what Rabastan was saying.

Rabastan sighed and refilled his cup of tea, “Once the isolation starts the backstabbing compliments stop for a while everyone praises the person for going into isolation to help the person brain washing them. After a month or so they get fewer visitors and only select people who will show how to behave correctly, the double meaning praises start again I.E. ‘So what if she is pretty your smart’, ‘Your brilliant but scary’.” He took a sip of his tea and thought about how to phrase the next part. “At this point you might go as far as controlling what someone eats or even wears all with the hope of fostering a dependence on you and a willingness to do what you want no matter if it goes against their very nature.”

“Seems like a lot of work when you can tell them to do something and then punish them if they don’t,” Voldemort said with an eye roll.

“True, but your not suppose to be someone of light and good.” Severus pointed out.

“I really don’t care if their destroying one of the things that would help them win the war.” Voldemort growled, “unfortunately we have to work with her for the un seeable future. I would like to have her at her best for this so is there a way to fix what they did?”

“Yes my Lord,” Rabastan started, “we need to know exactly what they have convinced her of, the extent of the damage, then we can fix it by proving it wrong.”

“They were probably trying to create another Molly.” When everyone looked at Lucius like he grew a third head he groaned. “Do none of you remember Molly Weasley when she was in school? She was intelligent, powerful, and a true pureblooded witch. Now her life’s goal is to raise good little blood traitors for Dumbledore’s army.”

The room remained silent as everyone thought this disturbing fact over. They couldn’t help but wonder how much the wizarding world had become stagnate not by them like everyone though but by the meddling old fool. “We will not get answers sitting here thinking about it.” That said Voldemort stood up and left the room.

***

“It’s not making any scenes!” Hermione said out loud as she looked at the note book in front of her.

“What is not making any scenes?” Voldemort asked standing over her causing her to shiver and mumble something about ‘putting bells on all of them’.

“There is no sign of the sickness in the blood samples we were given,” She took a deep calming breath. “Either it’s a curse that has somehow mutated to spread on it’s own or the ‘plague’ is hiding as something else. I just don’t know much about micro biology or any other healing subjects to spot it.”

“There are five other being here to help you,” He stated pulling over a chair and holding his hands out for the notes.

“Yes of course, I’m sorry for forgetting, I’m use to doing the research and having others do the spell work for me.” She babbled handing over the notes and moving so he could use the microscope if he wanted to.

“Do the spell work for you?” Voldemort asked nonchalantly knowing most people will spill their lives story if you looked uninterested yet asked.

“Oh,” Hermione blushed, “I’m good at the research and whole book thing but shortly after graduation I tried to do a complicated spell for the order and passed out. It was then Dumbledore informed me that I could only do minor spell as my magical core had hit it’s maximum and to many advanced spells would turn more into a squib.”

“You believed this?” Voldemort asked with a growl.

“Why else would I pass out from a spell?” Hermione said frustrated, she hated the fact that it seemed like there was something she didn’t know.

“I know of three reasons besides those lies you have been fed.” He huffed, “Were they wrong saying you were intelligent? You have the world largest library at your finger tips. Figure it out your self instead of waiting for the answers to be handed to you.”

“Why would they lie to me I’m nothing special?” Hermione huffed getting agitated.

“Then they have truly won Miss Granger, leave the plague alone for awhile you will not find the answers to it until you figure out what is wrong with you.” With that he got up and left with out even a back wards glance.

“I’m the great Lord Voldemort I know everything but I will not tell you, I know you must figure it out your self.” Hermione mocked, “someone needs to get laid and it isn’t me.”

“Miss,” The house elf said popping into the room, “the sickness is only in England. Both a Marcus Flint and a Luna Lovegood have recovered from it,”

“Can you bring them here as it would be easier to ask them question if they were here in person.” Hermione asked pleadingly hoping for another woman in the house.

“I shale ask master and if he agrees then I will do it.” The elf replied.

“Also can you get him to give us our magic back, it’s almost impossible to do half the stuff we half to do with out magic.” She took a deep breath and went on trying to make the elf understand so he could make Merlin. “If he doesn’t want to give us all our magic back at least one person so we can get this done.”

“I will ask,” with that the elf popped away.

***

“So there was no trace of a disease in any of the blood samples,” Rabastan pursued his lip as he thought about this. “It would seem then that the sickness is magical in origin. Why is it effecting mainly purebloods and females?”

“I’m not sure but I find it funny that the first person to get it was Ginny Weasley and the reports say it was like her own magic turned on her and ripped her apart from the inside out.” Severus read the last part off the report.

“Yes Miss Weasley was first then the Brown girl followed by Cissy.” Lucius said, “there has to be a pattern but where is it?”

“We need the pattern as well as how it was transmitted.” Rabastan added.

“I have a feeling that our Miss Granger plays a part in it.” Voldemort said as he looked around the table. “Where is Dolohov I have not seen him in a while.”

“Last time I saw him he was watching Miss Granger as she read in the library. Said something about wanting to make sure she didn’t over do it.” Lucius informed them.

“Idiot,” Severus hissed as Voldemort stood up and headed out of the room they had been sitting in followed quickly by Severus and Rabastan.

“What?” Lucius asked trying to catch up with them.

“He has been obsessed with her since she blocked his attack at the Department of Mysteries. Since we’ve been here he has done nothing but stare at her longingly.” Rabastan informed the blond.

The Library door was creaked open but none of the men walking down the hall heard anything. They were moving fast with out running as they didn’t want to show up out of breath just to find the two reading together. Besides running when you do not need to was undignified as Lucius would tell you if you felt like listening. Voldemort pushed open the door and at once wished for his wand and the ability to Crucio some one. The sight was not what any of the men had wanted to see and what they had feared.