Adventurous Hearts Part III: Merlin's Tomb

Chapter 9: The Tomb









Claire was scurrying across the frozen ground, her cloak clutched tightly around her as she carried a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. She didn’t like being outside in the cold climates, she much preferred it when they were working in the warmer, more tropical places. As she approached the mouth of the cave she saw Dr. Granger standing there with her hands shoved into the pockets of her leather jacket, her head covered by a cream colored knit cap with little ear flaps and a silly pom-pom on top.





“Dr. Granger, I have your coffee.” Claire said, extending the paper cup to her boss.







“Oh, thank you, Claire!” Hermione said excitedly. “It’s time to open the door and go inside, are you ready?”







“As ready as I ever am when it comes to entering someone’s grave.” Claire said with a shudder.







“Oh don’t get frightened, Claire.” Hermione said, patting her assistant on the shoulder. “It’s exciting!”







They watched as the ward breaker unraveled the magic that sealed and hid the stone door from muggle eyes. The man stepped back and smiled at Hermione, making a gesture that clearly said she could proceed. With an excited wave of her wand the stone slid back into the rock face and a rush of stale air hit her in the face.







“We need to wait a few minutes to go inside.” Hermione said as the tip of her wand glowed red, indicating that the air inside was unfit for breathing. “When things decay they emit gasses that can be toxic, in a sealed environment they can build up to dangerous levels. When the tip of my wand turns green we can go inside.” She said, bouncing from foot to foot as she anxiously waited for the green.







She nearly squealed when her wand finally turned green and she was able to take the first step into the tomb. Torches came to light the moment she entered and illuminated a long narrow corridor that led to a staircase the wound tightly down into the earth. Slowly, careful of the damp stones, she and her team descended the stairs and found themselves within a large central chamber with five antechambers.







“My god, look at this place!” Hermione exclaimed as she turned in a slow circle. The central chamber was filled with carpets, tapestries, paintings and statuary. Bundles of fabric and casks of jewels, stacks of books and racks of weaponry. It was a veritable treasure trove. A stone altar stood in the center; primitive runes were carved into the side. “Claire, you are going to need to gather some undergraduates to help you catalog this tomb.” Hermione said as she walked around.







She could see the magical wards shimmering across the entrances to the antechambers.







“Get the ward breakers down here; they will need to unseal the antechambers.” Hermione said.







“Do you think he is in one of them?” Claire asked. Hermione chuckled slightly; Claire was squicked by death and the dead. She absolutely hated any project that involved tombs or human remains; no doubt she would have had a breakdown on the island.







“I don’t know, Claire. It is possible that he simply moved on to another plane of existence or his body could very well rest just a few feet away from us. One thing I have learned over my time in this world is that you never know with magic.” She said. “Alright, get the ward breakers down here to clear these antechambers and we will get to work with the cataloging and sketching immediately following lunch.”





With one last, excited look around her, Hermione climbed the stairs and stepped back out into the frigid winter air. She took a deep breath and smiled, tilting her face up to the sunlight, enjoying the warmth of it on her face.







“Oh dear gods it’s like a dream or something!” Claire sighed from beside her. Hermione opened her eyes and instantly saw what had Claire all in a tizzy. Lucius was coming towards them, a thick, fur lined cloak with matching hat and collar was wrapped around him, his long flaxen hair draped over his shoulders and a rather sexy grin on his face.







“Arrogant peacock.” Hermione chuckled, watching all the women on her team stop what they were doing to stare.







“He’s beautiful.” Claire sighed, a look of longing on her face.







“He knows it too.” Hermione said, shaking her head as he came closer. “Don’t you have anything better to do than to strut about my work site?” She asked.







“Oh nothing more important than spending time with you.” He said as he walked straight to her and pulled her into his arms for a kiss. “I missed you.”







“You haven’t had time to miss me, Lucius; I left your bed not even five hours ago.” She said softly, kissing him back.







“Five minutes away from you and I start missing you.” He said, smiling.







“You are being ridiculous now you big flirt.” She laughed. They both turned at the strangled gasp coming from Claire. “Are you alright?” Hermione asked. Her assistant looked a little pale, her lips trembling and her eyes blinking rapidly behind her specs.





“Erm…you…ah….Mr. Malfoy and you…together?”







“Yes, Claire. Mr. Malfoy and I are together. Do you need a drink of water?” Hermione asked, trying not to find amusement in the girl’s discomfort. She knew Claire had a serious crush on Lucius, despite the fact that he ignored her whenever possible.





“Erm…no….I think….oh….um…congratulations.” She stammered, her eyes looking a bit dazed. “I think I will just go get myself something to eat now.” She said softly, turning slowly and walking towards the “chow” tent.







“I think she’s in shock.” Hermione said, watching her assistant walk away. “She’s probably going to plot my murder now since she covets you for herself.”







“She can covet all she likes but I am taken.” He said, kissing her soundly.







“Is that so?” She smiled. “Would you like a tour of the tomb?”





“I don’t know; every time I get near one of your projects I get trapped.” He looked over her shoulder at the entrance to the tomb. “How do I know that I wont follow you in there and then be trapped for who knows how long?”







“I thought you liked being trapped with me.” She said, her bottom lip sliding out in a pout.







“That’s true…though I prefer it to be a trap of our own making, not someone else’s.” He said, nipping her bottom lip.







“This is perfectly safe, come on, come see the tomb of the world’s most famous wizard.” She said, taking his hand and pulling him behind her through the entrance. He followed her down the winding staircase and into the central chamber.





“My gods, look at all this!” He said, the awe apparent in his voice.





“Well don’t touch anything, we haven’t cataloged or sketched the site yet.” She said.





“Why not use a camera and photograph it?” He asked, stepping up to the wrack of swords.





“The flash can damage art work and trigger spells. Sketching is better when dealing with artifacts, especially magical artifacts.” She said.





“Is the sword here? Excalibur?” He asked.





“No, according to the legend it was thrown into the pool, returned to Nimue only to rise again when the heir of Pendragon returned. Nothing I have found indicates its current location and it was not on the island, I looked for it if you recall.” She said.







“Dr. Granger, the first antechamber has been opened.” Hermione turned to see one of the ward breakers standing beside her, smiling proudly as he gestured towards the cleared doorway.







“Fantastic!” She exclaimed, hurrying over to stand in the doorway. The room contained several large statues as well as a throne that Hermione suspected had been Arthur’s.







“What is it?” Lucius asked, looking over her shoulder into the room. Hermione stepped forward and he followed, watching her. She smiled as she turned slowly and admired her finds. She had the look on her face that another witch might have if she were taken into a jeweler’s shop and told she could have whatever she wanted.





“If I had to guess I would say that these are Arthur’s personal things, his throne, carvings of himself and Guinevere, and the knights of his round table.” She said softly. “You are staring at the proof of legend, Lucius. Do you see why I take the risks I do for this job? I get to hold history, proof of myth in my hands and they pay me for it, it’s fucking fantastic.” She grinned.





“Language, Hermione.” He reprimanded softly. Her excitement amused him and made him smile as her happiness touched him. The ground began to vibrate beneath their feet, setting them off balance slightly. “What is that?” He frowned. Dirt and gravel began to rain down from the ceiling as the walls began to shudder.







“Damn it! The wards on this chamber must have served as a brace of sorts…we don’t have anything in place to support the ceiling!” She said as larger stones began falling. “It’s going to cave!” She yelled. “Lucius, get out!” She shoved his chest with both hands, catching him off guard as she shoved him through the doorway into the central chamber. He fell onto his back, wincing at the pain of landing on the hard stone floor.





He opened his eyes and stared through the doorway just as the ceiling came crashing down, burying Hermione in the rubble. Lucius screamed her name, coming to his knees as he began frantically digging at the stones and dirt covering her. He clawed at the pile of debris, casting stones and hands full of soil over his shoulder, not caring if it damaged the precious goods behind him.





He shut out the voices calling for help as the ward breakers began helping him dig, calling for the rest of the team above them.





“Hermione!” He called her name over and over again, desperate to reach her. Her hand came into view and the digging grew even more intense as they began revealing more of her. Finally her head appeared her cap missing and her braid covered in a mixture of blood and dirt, creating a morbid sludge that turned his stomach. He pulled her slowly, putting all his strength into it as he dragged her from the mess. She was bloodied and broken as he pulled her into his lap just as the team came racing down the stairs.





“Oh dear god!” Claire gasped. “Someone go get Headmaster Snape!” She said as she raced over to kneel beside Lucius. “Mr. Malfoy, is she still breathing?”





Lucius bent his head low, listening for sounds of breath, any indication that she still lived. He laid his hand against her throat, feeling for a pulse. It was faint, barely registering against his touch.







“Please, don’t leave me.” He whispered desperately. “Not now, not when I finally have a chance to be happy, don’t leave me alone, I love you too much.” His eyes were filling with tears. He cradled her to his chest, rocking back and forth as he pleaded with any god who might hear him.







“Give her to me, Lucius.” He looked up to see Severus kneeling in front of him, his arms out waiting for him to hand her over.







“She’s dying, Severus.” Lucius choked. “She can’t die!”







“Give her to me, Lucius, now, you know I don’t want anything to happen to her, I would never let anything happen to her.” Severus said. Lucius passed her gently into Severus’s arms, watching as he laid her down on the rug and tilted her head back, covered her mouth with his and began breathing into her.







“What are you doing?” Lucius asked, confused.







“Breathing for her. I want you to reach into my satchel and get the bottle of healing potion, its gold in color. She has internal bleeding and I think a collapsed lung, the potion will stop the bleeding and buy us some time to get her to the hospital.” Severus said, lowering his head to blow air into the witch once more. Lucius presented him with the phials of potion, watching as Severus poured them down her throat, then lower his head and blow air into her lungs again.







“Lucius, I need you to focus and apparate us to St. Mungos. I need to keep breathing for her, are you able to concentrate enough to get us there?” He asked, between breaths. Lucius didn’t answer, he curved his body around Severus’s back and with a loud crack he transported them to the center of the emergency ward at St.Mungos.







“What the devil?” A nurse stopped suddenly and took in the scene before she began calling for doctors and orderlies. Severus and Lucius were shoved aside as a small army of medical professionals came racing in and carried Hermione off to a room where they worked to save her life.







“Lucius, what happened?” Severus asked, his voice trembling slightly as he stared down at the blood, her blood staining his hands.







“She was taking me on a tour of the site and while we were down there a ward was removed from one of the chambers. She went inside and it began to cave, she said something about the magic serving as support then suddenly she shoved me out and all I could see was the room caving in…” He closed his eyes tightly, tears seeping from the corners. “Severus, if she dies…”







“She won’t.” Severus said stubbornly. “She cant, I won’t lose another to death, I can not, it is too much to ask of one man.” He said, his voice monotone and his expression stoic.







“How did you know to do that, to breathe for her?” Lucius asked.







“It is a muggle first aid technique.” Severus said, staring at the room where they had taken her. They had the curtains drawn over the windows so he had no idea what was going on inside.







“I am glad you were there, Severus, because I could not think to do anything other than pray.” Lucius said softly.







A middle aged nurse came towards them with a clipboard and quill, a stern look on her face as she stared at the two of them.





“The patient is Hermione Granger, correct?” She asked.





“That is correct.” Severus said.





“Person to contact in case of an emergency is Severus Snape Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” She looked up at Severus, then down again. “I recognize you. Does she have allergies?”







“She reacts poorly to belladonna and wolfsbane.” Severus said. “Is she alright?”







“The healers are working on her. They will update you when they learn something.” She said. “Who are you, sir?”







“This is Lucius Malfoy he is Ms. Granger’s significant other.” Severus said, irritated by the detached way the nurse was dealing with them.







“How nice, I need you to sign this consent to treat form, Mr. Snape.” She said, passing him the clipboard and quill. “I also need to know how the costs of her care will be covered.”







“Send any and all bills to Malfoy Manor, they will be paid for immediately.” Lucius said. “When will you know something on her condition?”







“Someone will come speak to you shortly. I suggest you have a seat in the lobby until then.” She turned abruptly and disappeared back into the room, closing the door behind her and leaving the worried wizards standing in the hall.







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Hello everyone! OK sorry about not answering all the reviews, just too many and time got away from me with work being so hectic, well baby checkups and all the other crap life throws our way.





But since a lot of it has to do with Sev I think I’ll just focus these comments there. Everyone is so worried about him, it makes me smile. Sev is in love with Hermione, clearly. But he is also very good at compartmentalizing his emotions. He knows he isnt right for her, that she is where she needs to be with Lucius and he has always sacrificed himself for the greater good. This is just one more example. There have been and will continue to be bittersweet moments with Sev, how can he not react to some degree. Ultimately though, he just wants to be with her, in any way, platonic or otherwise, he is happy just to have her in his life.





And don’t worry, Sevs got a story coming up….sweet, smutty thing LOL