Chapter 8
“Please, Harry.” She looked at him with such sincerity and determination that he had no choice but to accept she was serious.
“You need to be absolutely certain, Hermione. This isn’t trying out for the football team. You can’t just decide it’s not for you once you’ve tried it. You can stop any time you like of course, but you can’t bring people back to life.” He warned.
“No, you can’t.” She said, and her face became even more serious. “That’s why it needs doing in the first place. I’ve done some reading on what these people have done, Harry. This needs doing, contract or no contract.”
He looked at her for a long moment, and then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He magically copied bits of his current contract onto the paper to make a subcontract for the lives of several targets, for the sum of ten thousand sterling each. When it was finished, he spun it around to face Hermione and laid the pen beside it. She started to read the contract before he even let go of the pen.
“It seems straightforward.” She said when she finished, and picked up the pen.
“If you’re absolutely sure.” He said.
She nodded once, and signed the contract. He took it back, and signed as well, then copied it and gave her one.
“Hide that somewhere no-one will find it.” He advised.
She thought for a moment, then took out her wand and pointed it at the contract. It shrank, and changed shape and color to become a delicate gold necklace, which she fastened around her neck.
“Nice transfiguration.” He said.
“Been practicing.” She smiled back.
“Relax tonight, get a good sleep, we’ll leave after breakfast in the morning.”
She sighed. “It’s not easy to sleep, I still feel like I should be cramming like crazy with the last week of the year starting Monday.”
“You can already do what most of the professors can’t, you know that right?” He asked.
“Yes, but it doesn’t make the feeling that I should be studying go away.” She replied with a small pout.
“This won’t make that any better, but...” He pulled out a box the size of a shoebox, wrapped in black paper and tied with a red bow, and placed it on the coffee table in front of her. “In anticipation of your signing on, I got you a little something.”
“Aww, thank you!” She smiled, and began to unwrap it. She gasped when she pulled the lid off and saw what was inside. “Oh Harry.” She said softly, and pulled out the aramid fabric belt that held two small sheaths, one pointing left and the other pointing right, stacked vertically at the mid-point of the belt, which would be the small of her back. In both sheaths was an elegant, all-black fairbairn-sykes combat knife, exactly like the ones Harry had lent her to practice with. “They’re gorgeous!” She said with an awed smile, and laid them gently on the table. She then pulled out the shrunken garment bag the knives had rested on, and un-shrunk it. Inside the garment bag was a black suit, white shirt, and red tie, with a pair of comfortable-looking flat-soled black dress shoes. All of it looked to be exactly her size.
“It’s what we wear to work.” He explained. “The trousers and jacket are made of the same fiber as the belt and provide knife and bullet resistance. The lining is black dragon skin and provides spell resistance. The shoes are black dragon skin as well. None of it is total protection, but it’s better than not wearing it.”
She stood, and lay the suit carefully in the chair where she’d been sitting, and then jumped into his lap to squeeze his neck in both arms. “Thank you so much.” She whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
“You’re welcome... partner.” He whispered back, and wrapped his arms around her to squeeze her ribs.
She squeezed him tightly for a second, and then stood up again and wiped her eyes with the back of a finger. “Technically I’m still a trainee.” She smiled.
“Technically.” He admitted, “But I hope we will be partners soon enough.”
“I’d like that.” She smiled at him, “I’d like that very much.”
He stood then. “I’m going to go review the information for tomorrow’s excursion and then go to sleep early. Try not to practice too late, you need your sleep too.” He said as she pulled one of her knives from its sheath and examined it.
She smiled shyly as she fastened the belt around her waist. “Just a little, to get used to it.”
He smiled back, and left their training room for his dorm.
In the morning, she was already at breakfast when he arrived. She looked torn between anxiety and excitement, but calmed some when he sat next to her.
“Second thoughts?” He asked quietly.
She shook her head slowly. “Just nervous.”
“Good.” He said. “It’s not something that should be taken lightly.”
They shared a leisurely breakfast, just like every other student in the Great hall any given Saturday morning. The only uncharacteristic thing about them was the fact that Hermione had her hair in a french braid that kept her hair close to her head. The two of them talked as they ate, and when they were finished they casually strolled to their training room. When they were sealed inside, Harry took his own garment bag from his pocket and unshrunk it, then transfigured one of the old desks into a screen to separate them while they changed.
He liked the way she looked in her work clothes. Professional.
“Ready?” He asked.
She adjusted her shirt sleeves within the jacket for a moment, patted the small of her back, then nodded.
“I’m going to use some family magic now, so don’t bother asking.” He said.
She growled in her throat by way of response.
He calmed himself internally, and focused his entire world onto the task of separating himself and Hermione from the timestream. He knew it would take at least double the energy to do both of them as it did for just himself, but the effort was surprisingly not as heavy as he’d anticipated.
“Oh.” She breathed in awe as he finished casting. “It’s beautiful.”
He’d never really stopped to think about the aesthetic difference, but it was definitely colorful the way everything assumed a slight rainbow aura while he stood still and everything in front turned blue and everything behind red while he moved.
“What did you do?” She asked.
“We’re outside time now.” He replied, “When we’re finished and get back here, I’ll put us back into time, and no time at all will have passed.”
She frowned, and her eyes went piercing and fierce. “You are marrying me later, so you’d better get used to the idea.” She poked him in the chest, as though to drive her point home.
He shrugged. “Okay. Marrying my best friend seems like a good idea.” He led the way out of their training room, and out of the castle down to the gates. They left the Hogwarts grounds, and he offered her his hand. She held it in hers immediately.
“This is going to feel weird and gross.” He warned her, and waited until she prepared herself. When she nodded, he apparated them to the dock where the ferry to Azkaban was moored. It was a smallish boat, a re-purposed fishing boat that was at least fifty years old, even if it was in fairly good nick.
Hermione dropped his hand and put both her hands on her knees as she breathed deeply to quell the nausea.
“Was that... apparation?” She asked after a long moment of breathing. She stood up and straightened her jacket.
“Yes. You took it better than I did the first time.”
“Probably older than you were.” She replied. “What now?”
“Now we use the levitation trick I made you practice.” He said, and pulled his wand out. She did as well, and took a second to focus before she cast the levitation spell on the soles of her shoes. He did the same, and led the way above the water toward the distant island.
It felt like a long time before they set gently down on the dock jutting out from Azkaban island, but of course it was really no time at all.
“Concentrating for that long is tiring.” Hermione said as she put her wand away.
“You get used to it.” He replied. “Maximum security wing is top floor, up there.” He pointed to their destination, and walked casually toward it.
“It’s very odd to see everyone frozen.” Hermione said as they passed the first security checkpoint. She stood beside the wizard at the desk and waved her hand in front of his face. “I nearly jumped out of my skin when we got to the top of the steps and saw him staring at me.”
“I thought for the longest time being able to do this was like cheating. From the time One showed it to me until after I was already working on my own. It wasn’t until my third job that I realized this way is much better.” He admitted.
“What changed your mind?” She asked as they reached the next set of stairs and began to climb.
“Got shot on my second job.” He said. “It hurt a lot.”
“Glad you’re alright now. I don’t want to get shot.” She bit her lower lip.
“You won’t.” He reassured her, “Won’t even try a job in realtime until after training is over. We can take turns being sniper for the other, that would be fun.”
“I would prefer to do things together, but if it meant keeping you safe, then I can see that being satisfying.” She said.
They reached the top floor, and passed the checkpoint at the top of the stairs. The long hallway was filled with their targets. Hermione stopped in front of Bellatrix Lestrange’s cell and stared at the woman with her fists clenched.
“Are you ready for this? He asked her softly.
She nodded, without taking her eyes from the captive woman. “More than. She tortures people for fun. Laughs while they’re in pain. Killed Neville’s parents.” She took a deep breath and let it out, then pointed her wand at the prisoner. Lestrange floated into the air and turned away from them before she came to rest with the back of her head against the bars.
Hermione put her wand away and reached behind her with her right hand to retrieve one of her knives. With her left hand she reached under Lestrange’s matted hair to feel the base of her skull. She positioned her knife, then thrust it in halfway, pulled to her left to slice on the way out, then thrust into the same place and pulled right to slice on the way out. She set the knife down and took out her wand again.
“ Musculus reparo. Cutis reparo. Evanesco .” She incanted to mend the muscles and skin and Vanish the blood from Lestrange’s neck, then pointed her wand at Lestrange’s midsection again. Lestrange floated back to her original position, and Hermione Vanished the blood from her knife.
“Perfect.” 80 said. “Well done.”
Hermione let go some of the tension in her jaw, and the concentration on her face relaxed. “Now just six more.” She said.
“And one breakout.” He agreed.
She nodded back to him. They each knew their targets, so they stopped talking and got to work. Hermione actually finished before him, and was carefully re-sheathing her knife when he joined her outside Black’s cell at the end of the hall.
“They stink.” She said.
“They don’t bathe much.” He nodded.
She waited for him outside Black’s cell while he went back to the checkpoint at the top of the stairs to retrieve the guard’s keys. It took a few tries to find the right one, but they weren’t pressed for time. He returned the keys to their exact position on the way out while Hermione levitated Black along behind them.
When they arrived back at the dock, 80 took over levitating Black, and they left the same way they had arrived. When they got back to land again, Hermione was sweating and breathing heavily.
80 set Black down on the dock and they both sat down for a while until Hermione caught her breath. When she was ready, they stood and walked over to Black. 80 reached down to grab the man’s arm, and Hermione held his other hand.
They dropped Black at a secluded spot next to the river Till, and left him wearing the satchel they’d brought for him. Inside was a mirror, scissors, soap, a razor, new clothes and shoes, and a wallet with ten thousand pounds and two thousand galleons. There was also a note that simply advised him to disappear and have a nice life.
After Black was safely concealed in a thicket of trees next to the river, 80 apparated the two of them back to the school gates. Hermione reached out and held his hand while they walked, and he had to admit he was beginning to enjoy contact with her.
They changed out of their work clothes, cleaned and pressed them magically, and stowed them in their garment bags before shrinking them.
“It’s strange, but I don’t feel so anxious about exams anymore.” Hermione said.
“Maybe you proved to yourself you’re capable?” He offered.
“Hm. Maybe.” She said with her head cocked slightly to the side. “What’s next?”
“Nothing until Thursday, last Defense class of the year. Then exams, then finishing up here.” He replied.
“Good.” She sighed as she relaxed. “I feel like I could sleep until Thursday.”
“It’s just after breakfast, you could easily nap until lunch.” He suggested.
“What are you going to do?”
He shrugged. “Probably go over the year’s notes and decide what I’m going to get wrong on the exams. I’m aiming for straight As.”
“That’s so wrong.” She giggled, “It shouldn’t be so funny.” She stretched out on the sofa and closed her eyes with a smile on her face.