The Morning After
“We need to figure out where we are.”
“What we need to know first is whether our host is a friend or an enemy.”
“We also need to know if our magic will work here.”
“There is an abundance of magic in the air, can you not feel it?”
“It feels like a buzzing in my skin, but we need to know if our type of magic works here. We should practice a few simple spells when we get a chance, just to make sure.”
“Perhaps we should wake Mia and Draco before we have this conversation.”
Hermione woke slowly to the sounds of Severus and Harry’s voices. She could feel Severus’s solid body at her back, which meant it was Harry’s lap she was using as a pillow.
It wasn’t unusual for the four of them to pile up in a bed together to sleep, especially when one of them had a nightmare, which was more often than not. They had become their own little family after the Battle of Hogwarts. Ron was never able to look past the fact that Severus and Draco had been branded Death Eaters, no matter the circumstances, and had distanced himself from them. He wasn’t hostile if he saw them out, but it was never the same.
At first, Harry and Hermione had stayed together in Grimmauld Place, while Draco had moved in with Severus. That changed after Draco and Harry started dating and eventually they were all living in the Black ancestral home.
Severus and Hermione had their own separate rooms in the house, on the same floor as Harry and Draco’s shared room, but they almost always shared a bed. Hermione could honestly say that Severus had become her closest friend. Their relationship was entirely platonic, however much Rita Skeeter published otherwise. On particularly bad nights, they’d all find themselves cuddled around each other for comfort.
She took comfort from whoever was running their hand over her wild hair until they realized she had woken.
“Hermione,” she heard Harry say, “if you’re ready to stop using me as a pillow, I think Draco may appreciate being set free.”
She squeaked when she opened her eyes and looked into Draco’s grey ones, realizing that her arms were still wrapped tightly around the white fox.
They had all undergone animagus training while researching the veil. It could only be an advantage when going to an unfamiliar world. Draco’s form had been a white fox. Harry was a surprise. Everyone was sure he’d be a stag like his father, but instead turned into a great snowy leopard. Severus was annoyed beyond belief when he turned into the most adorable little bat, and had sent a stinging hex at Hermione when she called him cute. The others all thought that Hermione’s animagus form was great, but she thought it was dead useless and was rather put out that she didn’t think she’d ever put it to use.
“Sorry, Draco,” she said, sitting up between her boys.
“It’s alright, Granger. Where the fuck did we end up anyway?” Draco asked after he turned back.
“That is what we were discussing before the two of you woke,” Severus said. “Perhaps we should find our host. The man from last night said something about a ‘High Lord’.”
“What man from last night? I don’t remember anything that happened after we stepped through the veil.” All she remembered was her nightmare of a red headed woman with dark, crazed eyes and a familiar laugh born from insanity.
“There was a man standing guard outside of our rooms,” Severus said. “He wasn’t human, that much is certain. Some sort of high elf or fae would be my guess.”
Harry spoke up then. “But I thought the fae were extinct.”
“They disappeared thousands of years ago, yes, but it’s possible that what was left of their race went through a rift between the world just as we did. In fact, the Malfoy family is said to have fae heritage. You can see it in the pointy cheekbones,” Hermione teased Draco.
“I am not pointy!”
“You are a little pointy, love,” Harry said.
“Getting back on topic,” Severus interrupted before Draco could retort. “We ought to find this High Lord. Perhaps we could figure out if the Dark Lord has made himself known here.”
Suddenly there was a knock as the door opened. Harry’s mouth dropped open when a woman with skin that looked to be covered in tree bark walked in holding a stack of clothing.
“Good morning. My name is Alis,” she said with a tight smile. “If you all would like to freshen up, I’ve brought a change of clothes for each of you. When you’re finished, I can show you to the dining room for breakfast. The High Lord would like to speak with you.”