The Unseen

Ha ha! You all amaze me with your reviews each and every time. I'm so glad you've chosen to stick with this story. I promise you're in for a great ride. Now to respond to some reviews.

Starrynite45 - Aw...you make me feel all warm and tingly inside. Indeed there isn't a child between Ron and Hermione. COuld that be on purpose? WHo knows....I do!!

LadyBlueEyes - I'm so very glad you've started on this story, and I hope you finish the other one soon. I look forward to any more reviews you may leave for me, and I hope you're in this story for the long run.

smurphy - I like the connections between Hermione and James as well. You'll find out where those patronuses went in this chappie, and I hope that my cliff hanger is resolved for you. Look forward to your input on this next installment. Hmm... the Master? I can't say anything about him. But rest assured that it will be an AWESOME surprise. Just read carefully.

RyGirl824 - I'm sorry you thought it was too short. THis one is about five MS word pages, so I hope it's the right length for you, and I hope I can bring you up from the edge of the cliff. Draco said he's ready with the mint chocolate when you are, and wants to know if you mind if he brings his favorite leather belt. This update came as fast as I could get it written...I hope you're satisfied.

Lifvared - Ack! But if I let James slice him up like a Christmas turkey, it would ruin my plans for Ron. ANd they are oh-so-yummy in terms of revenge. *cheshire grin.* And I'm glad you liked Upside Down. I can only hope that this one holds a torch to that one.

tiger lily - *blushes* Thank you my dear, and I hope you enjoy this newest chapter.

LolaDiBlack - Aww...it warms me when you all come to Hermione's aide like that. I think I might use the phrase 'I'll kill that fucking carrot top' somewhere. Maybe not soon...but look for it. THat's a good one. I sincerely hope that you enjoy this newest chapter.

distinctlyME - SQUEEE!!!! I have missed you so much! I'm so glad you decided to join. Now I will review each of your 'chapter reviews' one at a time.

chapter 1 - Oh yes. James and his crew were meant to be an enigma. And I understand that using them in the first chapter was a risk. I was very well risking just what happened, except I was lucky enough that you came back. *THANK YOU* ANd I agree with 'The Unseen' being rather ominous. Such dark names...but I'm sure if you'll agree that you judged them by their names...which is why they banded together....

chapter 2 - I'm not sure 'hate' is the right word for James and Harry's relationship. It's quite complicated, and I can't go into detail bout it without ruining some key events. I will tell you this about Ron: THis wasn't an overnight 'i'm going to beat my wife' thing. ANd we'll get into that later. And like I said before...Harry wasn't really looking for his best male friend to be beating his best female friend. He thought the same as you: even though he had a hot temper, he didn't think him capable of doing such a terrible thing. And Harry....dear Harry....

chapter 3 - Harry is a mite clueless, but once again....he wasn't expecting this. Add in the fact that males in general couldn't take a hint unless it stripped down and wrote the message on its boobs....and you have a recipe for disaster. Now...once we convince him of what is happening...And again...the relationship between James and Harry is strained, yes, but the reasoning, and maybe even some resolution, will come later. Hermione's submission wasn't overnight either, but we'll get to that later...and you feel free to ask any questions that you feel weren't answered, and I'll keep attempting to either deter them, or fill you up with worthless twaddle until you're happy...

chapter 4 - Yes, we have Death Eater involvement on James' part. Umm...the Unseen are still an enigma....hmm...I'll try to explain it later on. As for Hermione. SHe was going to tell Harry....when Ron wasn't there. His presence spooked her enough to not tell him. It was the same with going home with him. She was too spooked to refuse. Hermione's condition will be made clear later...and James is indeed a savior.

chapter 5 - Hermione is indeed freer with James. And James is rather uplifted by her presence. People usually take one look at him and mark him off as crazy. I mean...he's a half-dragon. Dragons aren't exactly cuddly, despite what Hagrid says.... Hermione's decision to take the post at Hogwarts was rather simple: Ron wasn't there to debate it with her, and she's more emboldened when he's not there, and also she wanted to get to the safety of Hogwarts. Her instincts were kicking in here, where they'd failed her before. Oh...Ron won't like the teaching thing at all, but I have a feeling I can subdue him...*cheshire grin.* Oh...and things will get harder...I promise.

chapter 6 - Heh...yeah...I needed a bad guy and he'll do. I like the scary movie mentality. I was thinking the exact same thing. Now if we can just get her to listen....I'm glad you like the way the story is progressing, and I promise the thing about Harry and the thing about Ron's character will be resolved...soon...ish....

Okay! Now that I've caught up with all of your reviews, I hope you will leave an equally nice one for this chappie. It took me a while to figure out just what I wanted to happen.

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Hermione was tucked into a corner, her wand drawn and pointed at the door. Apparently the wards allowed knocking, and she could hear through them, but she suspected if Ron tried anything more violent, he’d be scraping himself off the walls with a spatula.

He’d been outside the door for the past twenty minutes talking to her. He’d gone on about forgiving her for her indiscretions, and taking her back even though she’d behaved badly. She was just about to send a hex through the keyhole when the floo flared green, and a young man stepped through.

He was of medium height, but he was built very solidly. His hair was the most interesting shade of silver, shot through with grey-white that made him look almost old. But when he turned his head towards her, he looked far from it. His face was rather smooth, his skin pale. His lips were a bit thin, but they seemed to be pursed anyway, so…. But she froze completely when she met his eyes. They were yellow, like a wolf’s…like…

“Greyback!” she hissed, and immediately began throwing off hexes at him. Phelan yelped and dove behind the sofa, just as the floo turned green again, and another figure stumbled through. Hermione looked up, floored by the figure all in black. Tobias’ black eyes rested on her, and his mouth tugged into a frown. He looked very much like his father in that moment.

“Phelan isn’t going to hurt you, Madam. Please stop hexing your rescuers.” Tobais said softly, his voice taking on a hint of annoyance.

“Ph-Phelan? I thought for a moment…” she stammered. Phelan’s head appeared from behind the sofa, and he looked at Hermione.

“Quite all right, duckie. I get it all the time. Children cry when they see me. Genetics is quite the bitch.” He said, and stood, brushing himself off. Hermione looked at the two, still shaking.

“Um….can I help you?” she asked. Phelan grinned. But that only gave Hermione the willies. Phelan’s teeth had been sharpened to points, which was another ‘gift’ from his father. On his eleventh birthday, three weeks before he started Hogwarts, his father showed up for one of his visits. Phelan had the bright idea to ask his father why he had sharp teeth. Fenrir, ever the fair being, proceeded to bind his son and grind his teeth to a point, and using an elongating spell mixed with his own magical signature to lengthen Phelan’s canine teeth. It had been painful and permanent.

“No, no, poppet. We’re here to help you. James sent for us. Seems you have a bit of a problem?” he asked. Hermione looked to the door, and then back at the two young men.

“How do I know I can trust you? James said not to trust anyone.” She said softly. Tobias’ mouth twisted into a familiar smirk.

“And he’s usually right. But in this case, he was unable to make it himself, and sent someone he trusted in his stead.”

“Tell me something only friends of James would know.” Hermione said, her wand still pointed. Phelan gave a short bark of a laugh.

“Smart biscuit, this one…” he said. “Hmm….well…James absolutely hates vegetables. But I guess you would know that if you saw him eat a couple times…hmm…ah! James once had a stuffed bear named Mr. Bigglesworth. He kept it until his fifth year, when he accidentally set it on fire when he sneezed. Cried like a baby for a week. Threatened to gut me like an Alaskan salmon if I told…” Phelan said. Hermione smiled. She remembered Mr. Bigglesworth. She gave him that bear.

“Okay.” She said, and lowered her wand.

“So what do you want us to do with Mr. Happy Face?” Phelan asked, nodding towards the door. Hermione looked at the door, and shrugged.

“Do what you want.” She said softly, wrapping her arms around her knees. Phelan grinned nastily, and tilted his head to the side, popping his neck. Then, he drew his wand.

“Time to play with fire…..hair.”

Tobias rolled his eyes skyward and mumbled something about ‘werewolves and their inability to recognize a bad joke if it bit them in their furry arses.’ Hermione giggled at the sheer insanity of her predicament.

~~

Two sets of eyes were watching the little country house with interest. The first, a set of deep brown eyes, belonged to a hawk, whose bird head twitched ever so often as it took in the scenery. The second, a pair of the most beautiful sapphire blue, belonged to a coyote, whose canine-esque head swiveled between the hawk and the house.

The hawk hopped forward suddenly, and began to bobble towards the house, followed by the coyote. The animals entered the house through a loose basement window, and padded- or flew- up the steps into the main house. There was the immediate smell of magic in the kitchen, a sort of metallic smell. They followed the smell into the library, where the two noticed a figure trapped under a bookshelf.

James’ hand was still outstretched, and his breathing was frighteningly shallow. There were four slight grooves in the floor under his hand, where his claws had dug into the wood in an attempt to escape.

The animals shifted form, and resumed their human shape. They knelt next to James, and Romulus quickly checked his pulse.

“Gods! He’s barely there. He’s suffocating!” he said, and immediately drew his wand. It took both Romulus and Orion’s full magical strength to lift the large bookshelf off of James. Once the shelf was back against the wall, and out of the way, the two immediately set about moving the heavy books and tomes away from him. James took a gasp of badly needed air, and began to cough.

He pulled his pinned arm out from under him, immediately twitching as the blood began to flow back into his limbs, causing painful ‘pins and needles’ sensations. Romulus carefully rolled James on his back, careful not to pin his wings awkwardly beneath him. Orion pointed his wand to the gasping Halfling.

“Ennervate.” he said softly. James sat bolt upright, groaning as his body tingled painfully. He looked at the surprised Orion and Romulus, and then pulled his lips back off of his teeth.

“Thanks, mates. Now we have to get to my flat. There’s about to be some shit going down.” James said. Orion gave him a strange look. James really needed to stop watching that American television network….

Romulus’ eyes betrayed his fire. “Where you go we follow, James.” He said. James nodded, and held out his hands. Orion and Romulus both grabbed one of his hands, and pulled him to his feet. James stumbled a bit, his feet still rather asleep, before he disappeared in an angry puff of smoke, followed closely by his two friends.

~~

Ron stood in the hallway, staring at the door. It seemed like such an innocent looking thing. Just wood and screws. But he could literally feel the magic wafting away from the door, like the waves of heat that radiated from pavement on a hot summer’s day. He had knocked gently on the door. He had tried to talk to Hermione, trying to catch her with the old ‘it’ll never happen again’ line. She’d fallen for it before…why not now?

He had his wand held so tightly in his hands that his knuckles had turned white. When he got hold of her…
His head jerked up as the doorknob turned. But instead of being met by his wife stepping into the doorway, he was met by a stranger. A young man with silver hair. He looked vaguely familiar…but Ron couldn’t place where he’d seen him before.

“Where’s my wife?” Ron asked roughly. Phelan closed the door behind him with a flick of his wand.

“Inside, where she’s safe. I came out here to dispose of you.” Phelan said calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Ron sneered at the young man.

“Take your best shot.” He snarled, and raised his wand.

That’s all it took to set Phelan off.

They dueled in earnest, each firing off more dangerous hexes than the last. A few doors were singed violently, and a few people stuck their heads into the hall to see what the hell was going on.

Ron finally managed to knock Phelan’s wand from his hand, but without flinching Phelan charged him, tackling him and knocking his own wand from his hand. Phelan reached up to grab Ron’s throat, but pulled back with an agonized yelp. Ron looked down, and grinned nastily. He reached up and grabbed the silver phoenix (a gift from Harry on the Christmas after the Final Battle) around his neck and yanked it, breaking the chain. Then, holding it in his palm, he reversed Phelan’s movement, grabbing the young man by the throat.

Phelan’s loud screech of pain drew Tobias and Hermione out of the flat. Hermione gasped when she saw the smoke rising from beneath Ron’s hand. He was burning him….

Hermione pointed her wand at Ron.

“Let him g-go, Ronald!” she cried. Phelan reached up to attempt to pry Ron’s hand away, but pulled back again when his fingers came in contact with the loose silver chain that had wrapped around Ron’s wrist. He could draw in a breath because Ron’s fingers were biting into his windpipe, and he was being burned by silver, which was a painful thing to begin with.

“Let him go!” Hermione said again, this time pairing the exclamation with a well-aimed Flippendo.
Several things happened at once.

Phelan sat up, clutching at the perfect phoenix-shaped burn on his throat. Then, with three loud pops, James, Orion, and Romulus appeared in the hallway. All of the inhabitants of the flat building that had been close to where Ron fell made their way away from him quickly, as if he carried the Plague.

Tobias stepped out, pointing his wand at Ron, who was starting to sit up.

“You’re a fool!” he snapped. Hermione went to Phelan and knelt beside him, wetting a small dainty handkerchief with cool water from her wand and pushing his hands away to press the cool cloth against the angry burn. There wasn’t much that could be done to a silver-burn except keep the werewolf comfortable. She realized it was a silver burn when she recognized the shape. Phelan was a werewolf…Hmm…but it made sense if you thought about it…. Especially since she knew what she knew about Romulus and Remus.

“Do you not know who that is?” Tobias asked, pointing to Phelan. Ron sneered at the black-clad young man.

“Am I supposed to care?” he asked angrily, wiping a smudge of blood from his mouth. He’d bitten his tongue when his bitch-witch of a wife had used that Knock-back Jinx.

“The last man brave enough to touch him ended up gutted like a fish on the night of the full moon. That’s Fenrir Greyback’s son, you idiot!”

Ron seemed to pale a bit, and lost most of his venom. Fenrir Greyback….that animal was the last thing he wanted to have to deal with.

“It’s…uh…just a burn…” Ron said lamely. Romulus growled, smelling the strong scent of silver.

“You burned him with silver! That’s like a centralized Cruciatus for a werewolf!” he snapped. James stared at the scene with dismay.

“You’ve just signed your own death warrant.” He said softly, his tail swishing out lazily behind him. Not that he cared. “It’s just a matter of when. It could be next full moon…it could be this full moon next year. It could be tonight… But rest assured…Fenrir will find you, and he’ll protect his own.” James said.

It was very true. There were a few people in the world that had chosen to target Phelan because of who his father was. Those people generally ended up dead very quickly, because Fenrir ‘protected his pup.’ And since Fenrir had managed to evade the Ministry for years, the public soon learned just to ignore the misbegotten youth. It was better than having your throat ripped out or having your innards used to strangle you, because Fenrir didn’t always wait until the full moon to take care of his victims.

James bound his Uncle and then called the Aurors on him, using the attack on Phelan as enough to get him put into Ministry lock-up for a few hours, and out of their hair. James then made himself an appointment with Headmaster Snape.

He had to get his Aunt out of harm’s way, and the safest place in the world was Hogwarts.
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Uh oh. Ron....you just fucked yourself over. Tsk tsk....

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