Blood of My Blood

Chapter 6: It's all in the Blood; or A Late Night Talk with the Bloody Baron.

"It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood."

~William Shakespeare

October 21, 2003

Around 3 a.m.

Hermione reclined on her bed with her eyes shut waiting for the Baron to return for their talk. She sighed contentedly, she was glad she had taken his advice and took a small nap. She felt refreshed for the first time in weeks. Her mind felt clear, and miraculously free. She snuggled into the warmth of the covers, burrowing deeper into the pillows behind her. She could stay there forever, and not mind at all.

The moment the Baron appeared her eyes flicked open, and she smiled. His presence didn't bother her so much anymore; actually it was a comfort. She could not see how things could have been so differently only days ago.

"Baron."

"Hermione." The blood swirled through the air forming the words, and it made her smile.

"Tell me everything."

The Baron frowned. "You're not going to like it."

Hermione shrugged. "Better unhappy, then ignorant."

The Baron nodded. "Yes, there is that. Well, if you must know I shall tell you. You see my dear girl, the spell that I cast is a very special spell, and unlike most spells it will not dissipate with time. It only grows stronger. This particular spell feeds off negative emotions, which is really not so uncommon. No, what is uncommon about it is the fact that it brings out the worse in people, but not just as they are, but how they could be. In Severus it brought out his jealousy, among other thing, his need to possess."

Hermione frowned. "Which is why you wanted me to stay as far away from Lucius as possible?"

"Yes, I'm sure you don't want to see how bad he could get." The Baron grimaced in distaste. "He is a fairly nasty creature already."

"Admittedly, yes."

"So..."

"So I had to get you away from Severus before either of you did anymore damage to each other. Neither you nor the poor boy deserve that."

Hermione snorted, "Severus is hardly a boy."

The Baron shrugged, "And at times he is hardly an adult. The both of you are very young, and have much to learn."

"Yes, yes, about the spell. How does it work? I thought it was centered at Stone Henge. How could it reach so far?"

"The spell isn't centered there exactly."

"What do you mean by exactly."

"It's your blood. Quite literally. The blood in your veins is infused with the spell. The closer to the moon it gets the more powerful it will tug at those around you. Just being near you could be enough to drive a person mad."

Hermione frowned. "How do you know this? It hasn't happened before."

"You don't understand, Hermoine, it has. My last descendent who had magic in her veins went through the same thing."

Hermione shook her head, "But if she completed the dormant spell, then why is this happening to me?"

"She never completed the spell. She killed herself."

Hermione's mouth formed an "O", but no sound emerged.

"But not before she killed her family."

"So, I'm going to go mad on top of it all. Well, that is just great. Thanks a whole bloody lot."

"No, Hermoine, you won't go crazy. I swear to you, you will not. We'll get you through this and to the Henge on All Hallow's Eve. I swear to you, and I do not give my word lightly. I have worked too hard, to get us here. I have manipulated too many people, to let things slip from my grasp now."

"What do you mean?"

The Baron shrugged. "The so called 'purebloods' aren't the only ones who have been selectively bringing couples together."

"That is horrid."

"Tell that to your parents. They certainly would never have gotten together if I had not played my hand."

"That is sickening."

"Hardly, all my hard work has paid-off, obviously."

"I understand why you are a Slytherin."

"And I do not understand why you are not."

~*~

Hermione stayed up long after the Baron departed. She could not get rid of the horrible knowledge that she was poison. Her very presence poisoned those around her, and all for the want of a drop of blood. She turned onto her side and hugged a pillow to her.

Hermione Granger closed her eyes and wished that things would magically go back to the way they were before.

Just ten more days. Ten days, and she could make it. Yes, she could make it, if she didn't kill herself first.

She let her thoughts drift to the Baron, she just did not know what to make of him, he was manipulative and conniving, and yet she could not bring herself to hate him. She couldn't even bring herself to resent him. Instead she had this curious welling in her chest that might possibly be pride at being one of his own descendents. When her thoughts turned to Severus, she was also equally flummoxed. She wanted him. She resented him. There was definitely something there...she just wasn't entirely sure what it was, and she was not entirely sure she even wanted to know. With a deep sigh she finally drifted off to sleep.