Chapter 3
I Put A Spell On You
“GRANGER!” An arm gripped her roughly by the shoulder “Granger we have to go now!” The death eater was shaking her. “Merlin, Granger! Snap out of it!” A smack across her face. “Fuck, I can’t levitate you both. We have to go.” His arm reared back to strike her again. Somewhere far back in the back of her head, she was aware that the full body binding jinx was released, as she brought up her hand to block the blow.
“What?” she heard herself say distantly.
Punctuating each word, “We have to go. This is a trap.”
“W-who are you?”
“We have to go now.” he hissed from behind his mask.
Reality came flooding back in. Hermione started hysterically “Why did you stop her? Why didn’t you let her kill me?” She launched herself furiously at the hooded death eater.
Grabbing hold of her wrists with both hands, he stopped her, “We don’t have time for this. I am here to rescue you. But it’s a trap and we have to go.”
Voice rising into a scream, “You shouldn’t have stopped her!” She yanked her wrists out from his grasp, rearing back to attack.
The masked man held his hands up in front of him. She stopped, panting heavily. Very slowly he held up his wand “Expecto Patronum.” The baby silver dragon burst forth, coming to twine between her legs. Dropping to her knees, she tried to hug the patronus to her, arms ghosting through the silver light.
Softer now, “Granger, please. We have to go.”
Looking up, her vision blurred with tears, “I thought I was hallucinating.”
“Wingardium Leviosa” and with a swish of his wand, Bellatrix, or rather Bellatrix’s corpse was levitating.
Standing up quickly Hermione asked, “What are you doing?”
“Improvising,” he said smugly from behind the mask.
“What for?” disgust laced her voice.
“Throwing the scent off of me. Let them think she took you.”
Levitating Bellatrix out the dungeon door, the man followed with his wand held out in front of him. Hermione took in the macabre scene of Bellatrix’s long black curls barely skimming the floor. She thought even in death Bellatrix was still eerily beautiful.
Turning over his shoulder, “You coming?”
They had made it up the dungeon stairs and down a hallway before hearing voices. Whispering he said, “Shit. That was quick.” He lowered Bellatrix’s corpse to the floor. “Wait right here”. Pulling back his shoulders, he strode out to meet the voices.
“Oi.” someone called out, “What are you doing here, tosser?”
“Same thing you’re doing here.” drawled out the masked man.
“Didn’t know you were working the Pottah trap.”
Cooly, “You wouldn’t. We aren’t all privy to the Dark Lord’s plans.”
“Whaddya mean by that?”
They were coming for her. Blood pounded behind her eyes. She couldn’t go back. She wouldn’t go back.
Another voice, “Stop standing around, the wards were breached over ten minutes ago.”
Hermione scrambled over Bellatrix’s corpse, feeling through her robes until she found it, the walnut wand. Her wand. Gripping it she rose, dark magic humming in her veins for the first time in months.
“Too late.” calm amusement from her would-be rescuer. “You already missed the fun.”
“Huh,” a disbelieving voice.
“I already took care of it.” he sneered. “I’ll be sure to tell my Lord of your late arrival.”
She slid along the wall, her bare feet slipping over the plush carpeting. She peered out from behind the staircase. She counted five masked and robed men. All who wanted to put her back into her dark cell. Well, they didn’t know it yet, but she was not going back.
Stepping out from behind the staircase Hermione muttered, “Praestare Canticum.” Magic flooded from her, alighting her nerves in the best way. She had missed this. Missed the powerful feeling of control magic gave her.
The five masked death eaters fell into a V formation. Her would-be rescuer takes center point. Heads pointed down, feet together, they fling their arms out to the sides and begin to sing, “It’s tearin up my heart when I’m with you. But when we are apart, I feel it tooooo.” Pointing at her, they begin to dance in earnest. “And no matter what I do, I feel the paaaain. With or without you.” Hermione grins as they break out into synchronized dance moves. Sliding, twisting, crouching, and then back up jumping to the side.
Reforming, the one on the far left, takes center point singing, “Baby I don’t understand.” Hermione breathes in delight. It’s been too long since she last heard music. “Just why we can’t be lovers.” He holds his hand to his heart, bopping his head along. “Things are getting out of haaand. Trying too much, but baby, we can’t win.”
“Sectumsempra.” with a swift flick of her wand, she watched him crumple to the floor.
The four death eaters chorused “Let it go. If you want me, girl, let me know.” Dropping to their knees, their eyes darting nervously to their bloody fallen companion. “I am down on my kneeees. I can’t take it anymore.”
She spun, bobbing along to the music, wand arm shooting out, grinning, she pointed to the death eater on the far right. “It’s tearin up my heart when-”. Hermione in a sing-song voice “Confrigo”. A ball of flame shoots out, igniting the robes of the far-right death eater. “And no matter what I do, I feel the paaaain.” In flames, the death eater continues dancing in sync with the others, before falling, still alight to the ground.
Merlin, it felt good. Dark magic burned through her hot and delicious. She wanted more. The three remaining death eaters kicked out, elbows to the side, spinning they jumped up to the splits mid air. “Glacius” the spell came out of her, smooth as butter. Freezing the death eater on the left as an icicle. The man fell out of the air mid splits. Hitting the ground, he shattered into a thousand pieces skittering along the floor.
“Baby don’t misunderstaaaaand” Her would-be rescuer sang. The other man chorused “don’t misunderstand.” Hermione joined in the dancing, remembering the moves from last summer, dancing around with her childhood muggle friends. “Whhhat I’m tryna tell ya. In the corner of my miiind.” Hermione chorused, “Corner of my mind.”
Spinning she laughed out a curse, “Entomorphus.” The death eater on the right transformed into a grasshopper. The last one continued to sing as she stomped over, “Baby, it feels like we’re running out of time.” Hermione lifted her foot, driving her leg down, she squished the grasshopper beneath her bare heel. “I am down on my kneeees.” The remaining death eater dropped to his knees.
Turning her wand on him, dark magic thrummed in her veins. His eyes widened in fear. Suddenly, Hermione was very aware of what she what she was doing. She could feel the guts of the death eater grasshopper on her foot. The man in the corner was still smoldering. Merlin, what had she done?
The last masked man, jumps up, switching songs, “I get knocked down, but I get up again.” Hermione turns, dark magic still pounding powerfully through her. The man jumps in time to the music, “You are never gonna keep me down. I get knocked-”. She breathes in shakily, trying to slow the pounding in her veins. Her stomach churns when she inhales the smell of charred flesh. She bends over and vomits. It catches in her hair and splatters on her feet. “-but I get up again. You’re never-”. The grim vision of her vomit-covered, uncut toenails painted a macabre scene against the backdrop of the ornate rug of Malfoy Manor. She heaved again. “He drinks a whiskey drink.” She tried to catch her breath. “He drinks a lager drink.” She breathed in slowly through her nose, trying to quiet the riot in her chest. “He sings the songs that remind him of the good time.” Catching her breath enough to speak, she breathed out, “Finite” canceling her spell.
“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT GRANGER?”
Straightening up she breathed out “Chumbawumba.”
“What?” He asked incredulously.
“Chumbawamba,” she said, a little more composed now.
“Chumba-what?”
Trying to finger comb the vomit from her hair, she rushed out, “Chumbawamba. It’s a band. It’s a, uh, it’s a muggle band.”
“What the fuck, Granger.” He rubbed both hands over his ears.
She continues. “It’s uh, really popular. Or at least, uhh, it was. I don’t know about now, but yeah…” She trailed off.
“Sure, Granger,” he said slowly as if talking to a rabid animal. “Chum-ba-wamba. What was the spell for Chumbawamba?”
“Oh. That, yes, well, that was, uh, my spell… I guess.”
“Your spell?”
“Yeah. It’s from the movie Hocus Pocus.” she rambled. “I thought when I got my letter from Hogwarts, it would be like I was a Sanderson sister. And when I couldn’t find a spell to spell people to sing and dance for me, I made one.”
He stared at her in silence.
“I’ve never used it like this though…” she continued. “Uh, just for a bit of choreographed fun in the girls' dormitory. You know, girls night.” She snapped her fingers and did a little shimmy as if that helped to explain.
“You’re fucking insane.”
“Excuse me? I just saved us!”, voice rising indignantly.
“Sure, Granger. I guess thanks for saving us and not squishing me in the process.”
She blanched. “I wouldn’t have”, she blurted out. Then pausing, “or at least I, uh… yeah.” She ended lamely.
The death eater exhaled loudly and held out his hand to her. “More will be coming when they don’t report back. Let’s go.”
They were at the door when she remembered. “Bellatrix.”
“What?”
“Bellatrix. Her, uh, corpse?”
“Shit,” he said doubling back. He returned, corpse levitated in front of him.
Hermione filed away the novel feeling of grass beneath her and the smell of fresh air, as she rushed after Bellatrix’s floating corpse. A few minutes later they arrived at a stable. “Horses?” she asked.
“Thestrals.” He threw open the wooden door.
“Oh,” she sucked in a breath. The creatures before her were black skeletal, winged creatures. She had never seen a thestral before, only ever having read about them. “They’re beautiful,” she whispered. The realization of why she could see these magical creatures now and not before at Hogwarts was like a knife piercing her chest. She hadn’t just seen death. She had killed. And then she had killed again and again.
Kneeling to give her a boost the masked man said “Climb on.” Hoisting herself up onto the bony frame, she slid around, trying to find a good place to grip. He climbed up onto his own thestral, levitating Bellatrix’s corpse to sit in front of him. He stroked the thestrals, neck “Fly”. Walking out into the night air, unfurling their large bat-like wings, they rocketed into the night. Hermione scrambled, trying to find somewhere to hold on as they rose higher and higher. This she realized was much easier to do than fifth year, since she could see the animal this time.
Settling in she watched the landscape blur beneath them. The feeling of freedom outweighed her long time fear of flying. At first, they followed a roadway, the carlights below them zooming from behind and out ahead, then veering left over small towns and farmlands. They seemed to be moving further away from civilization, lit houses growing further apart as they flew.
She yelled out once, “Where are we going?”.
“A safe house of sorts.”
Safe. She was going to be safe.
When flying over a lake, she saw Bellatrix’s corpse plummeting from the thestral out ahead of her. It careened head over heels, robes billowing up obscuring her head.
She yelled out for his attention. “Hey!”
Slowing his thestral to fly next to her he yelled over the wind amusement laced his voice, “What did you want me to save her for your revenge? Wanted to squash her like a bug?”
Hermione’s mouth fell open in shock.
Laughing he pulled back out ahead of her.
She closed her mouth, thinking that if he kept bringing that up, she might just have to squash whoever he was like a bug.
Shortly after the thestral ahead veered to the right and began to make its descent. Her thestral following suit. Out ahead she could make out a castle, complete with its very own moat. She had never heard of castle as an Order safe house. Although she supposed, she wouldn’t know of every safe house. Passing over a giant topiary chess set and a maze garden, they landed on a large gravel road next to the moated castle.
Sliding off, her thestral, unsteady on her feet, the gravel dug into the soles of her feet. She peered up at the castle. Ivy clung to most of the modest stone castle. If a castle could even be considered modest. Battle towers rose on either side of the moats drawbridge. As if in anticipation of their arrival, the drawbridge began to magically lower.
Striding out, a grinning Theodore Knott. “Merlin, you actually did it!”
Hermione drew her wand. “Theo? Theodore Knott?” Her mind racing to catch up. This was a trick. A trap. Revenge for killing his father. She hadn’t been rescued at all.
Looking alarmed, Theo stopped his advancement. Hands up in surrender he said, “Hermione. It's OK.”
She started to back up wand still pointed at Theo. With her other hand, she felt behind her for the thestral. “Get back”, she said.
“Hermione, it's ok. You’re safe here.” She gripped her wand tighter, heart beating wildly in her chest. She needed to get out of here. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
From behind, she heard a drawl, “Put the wand down, Hermione. As guests, it is rude to threaten the host.”
The relief flooding her system made her knees wobble. She was safe. Theo must be a Phoenix member. She lowered her wand. This wasn’t a trap. She turned, only to come face to face with Draco Malfoy.
She raised her wand in shock yelling, “Sectumsempra.” Malfoy’s shield rose to block at the last second.
“Well, that was rude" he scolded.
Hermione’s mind flashbacked to lying on the manor’s floor, Bellatrix looming over her, cutting into her arm. Her mind spun, grappling to come to terms with Draco Malfoy killing his aunt. Images of Malfoy cruioing her on the dining table. She shot off, “Stupefy.”
His shield came back up to block the red light of her spell. Malfoy paled. “I am not your enemy, Granger.”
“Fuck you, Malfoy." She spat out another curse.
Blocking, Malfoy’s jaw tightened as he said coolly, “Fine, make me your villain.”
Too late, from behind her she heard a “Stupefy” and everything went dark.