Voldemort Ascendant

Chapter five: The Unslytherin Slytherin

'Edward, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Edward Fawcett.' Sally-Ann cast her eyes at the floor, her shoulders hunched nervously, her faced wracked by anxiety.

'Pleased to meet you,' Edward said stiffly, extending his hand in a distinctly, blatantly muggle gesture.

He must have learnt that from Sally-Ann, Hermione thought to herself, extending her own hand out to his. 'Likewise,' Hermione replied. At first, her fingers curled weakly around his, but then she grasped his entire hand firmly and laid her other hand over the top of their joined fists, imitating a gesture she'd often seen her father use with old friends. Be strong, Hermione. Convince him that we're doing the right thing, and that you can be relied upon.

Edward's eyes briefly flew upwards to meet hers, and he looked startled by the strength of her grip. 'That's a very firm handshake you have, Miss Granger,' he said, and offered her a lopsided smile.

Hermione returned a small smile of her own. He doesn't look like a Slytherin she thought to herself. 'I've spent the last two and a half years of my life mopping, sweeping and scrubbing floors, Mister Fawcett. I rather believe I'm at my physical peak these days, but sadly it has come at the cost of my liberty,' she replied, then cringed. Idiot! You sound like you're blaming him . . . he is not your enemy!

Edward paused, looking slightly abashed, then gestured to a seat. 'Uh . . . may I?' he asked.

'By all means, please, Mister Fawcett,' Hermione returned, taking a seat herself.

Taking a seat, Edward looked Hermione in the eye. 'Won't you call me Edward?'

'Only if you agree to call me Hermione.'

Edward nodded, and sat in silence. Sally-Ann cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable. Blast, Hermione thought. We've barely gone past the introductions and this is stalling. It was the formal courtesies they were taking with each other, she knew. She remembered, long ago when her parents had still been dentists and she'd known nothing of wizards, sitting in her father's waiting room and listening to the receptionist taking people's names as they organised appointments with her father. The atmosphere had been stiff, sterile, and totally artificial and forced, as if everyone had been performing well-versed routines. That was exactly how she was feeling now; as if she were the receptionist and Edward was making an appointment with her.

'I-', 'Thankyou-' they both suddenly said simultaneously. Sally-Ann rolled her eyes and looked away, for all the world looking as if she were about to burst into tears. 'I'm sorry, won't you please-' 'Oh please, you first-'

Hermione bit her lip, Edward offered her that lopsided smile once more. 'Ladies first, I insist,' he said, and gratefully, Hermione noticed there was a hint of amusement behind his voice.

'Thankyou,' she said, and gave him a genuine smile. 'And thankyou for coming down to the kitchens to speak with me . . . I know you're taking quite a risk by doing so.' Edward shook his head, downplaying the risk he was taking. 'I'm afraid I don't know how much Sally-Ann has told you about why I wanted to speak with you?' Hermione continued.

Edward took Sally-Ann's hand in his own and squeezed it. 'Not a lot. She mentioned that you have a special friend in the dungeons that you'd like to gain access to, and that I might be able to help with that,' he said, cocking his head and pausing before he continued. 'And I've agreed to help you in any way I can.'

Hermione's heart started to beat erratically and she felt her face growing warm. By the light, I might be able to make this work after all! 'I'm grateful for that . . . but before you agree to help, I think it's only fair that I clearly outline what it is I'm planning,' Hermione said, then stopped. Light, can I really trust him? What if I tell him what I'm planning, and he simply walks out of here and betrays us all? Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. There's no way I'll ever be able to tell if he's one hundred percent trustworthy. Not until I'm down there in the dungeons, anyway. There's nothing else to do but trust in Sally-Ann's judgement and hope for the best. 'The boy I want to see is Harry Potter,' Hermione said quickly, looking Edward in the eye to judge his reaction.

He nodded calmly. 'I suspected as much. I remember the days when you were inseparable. And Hermione . . . I realise the risk you're taking on me. You don't need to tell me everything if you don't want.' Shifting uncomfortably, he reached within his robe and pulled out a bundle of shimmery material. 'I brought you this . . . I don't know why. Maybe in the hope that such a token might prove to you that you can trust me . . . and if you still don't trust me, I want you to take it anyway, in the hope that it might get you what you want,' he said softly, staring at the bundle in his hands. Without looking up, he leaned forward and handed the shimmery material to Hermione.

Hermione took the invisibility cloak, speechless and touched. 'Oh, Edward . . . are you sure?' she asked, gently stroking the soft material with her fingertips. 'I won't deny that this could come in extremely handy . . . but it's worth so much . . . and if I were caught with it, you could get in so much trouble,' Hermione said, looking at him with large, honest eyes.

'Please, take it. No one will know it's mine - no one knows I have it except my older brothers, and they're no longer at the school. Besides, it's contraband,' he said, and smiled his lopsided smile. 'Better that they find you with it than me.'

'Indeed,' Hermione said softly, stroking it once more before looking up meaningfully. 'Look, Edward. This little meeting has gone a little stiffly so far, so I want to just cut to the heart of the matter, if that's okay by you?' Edward nodded, and she continued. 'I want to rescue Harry, but before I do, I need to get down to the dungeons and take a look around down there. I have to know what I'm dealing with before I make any sort of plan. And even with the invisibility cloak, I'm going to need your help. I don't know my way around down there, but you used to live down there, before the Slytherin rooms were converted to a dungeon. Not only that, but I'll need distractions and help entering and exiting the common room so that the guard down there doesn't see the door opening and closing on its own.'

Edward nodded, sitting forward as he concentrated on what she was saying. Gratified, Hermione smiled. 'You're really in on this, aren't you?' she asked softly. Edward sat back and wrapped an arm around Sally-Ann, who offered him a timid smile.

'You're going to escape with Harry if this works out, aren't you?' Edward asked, and Hermione nodded. 'And you're planning on taking the other servants, too?' Again, Hermione nodded. 'I want to come with you,' Edward finally said, clearly and slowly so there was no misunderstanding. 'This will sound horribly un-Slytherin of me, but then, I don't think I was ever really born to be a Slytherin. The rest of my family were Ravenclaws, but they'd all graduated long before any of this business with the Dark Lord happened. But I don't like this new order any more than you do,' he said, lowering his voice. 'And if there's any chance . . . any chance at all . . . that you're going to be able to break free of this place, then I want to come with you,' he said, his eyes staring steadily at Hermione's.

'But you could leave any time, couldn't you?' Hermione asked, cautiously fishing for his motives.

'I could,' he replied, then wrapped his arm tightly around Sally-Ann. 'But I couldn't leave without Sally-Ann. This way, I get to leave, and I get to take Sally-Ann with me . . . provided it all works out, of course,' he said. Sally-Ann quietly leaned against him, and Hermione was reassured that not only was he not using Sally-Ann in some hideous game, but that his motives for leaving were genuine. 'Sally-Ann has told me so much about you, Hermione. And I believe in you. I believe that you'll make this happen. You have the courage of a Gryffindor, Hermione, but the brains of a Ravenclaw. You can make this happen.'

Hermione paused, compelled by the passion and belief he was placing in her. Not knowing quite how to reply, she simply nodded. 'Thankyou' she said. 'This is what we'll do . . .'

***

Harry's hands were numb, but still he managed to lift them to his head, his fingers tangling in his hair and tugging at it, pulling at great handfuls sharply as he rocked his head back and forth. 'Hermione will come for me . . . she said she'd come for me . . . Hermione's going to come for me, and it'll all be better,' he muttered, over and over.

Peering in through the doorway, Travers shook his head and spat a great globule of saliva to the floor. 'Crazy kid,' he muttered, closing the door sharply.

'She'll come for me,' Harry continued, his voice growing gradually softer. 'She's going to return for me once she's made them all pay . . . she'll make them all pay . . .'

He watched as she stalked away from him, fearlessly approaching the same Death Eaters that only moments before had sent some half-a-dozen Aurors to their deaths. 'Be careful, Hermione' he whispered softly, then felt a pang of shame that he wasn't going with her.

She managed to come within metres of them before they turned and saw her. The light flooding from her clearly illuminated them in the darkness, and Harry watched in surprise as the Death Eaters paused, passing looks amongst each other. Though he could no longer see Hermione's face, he got the impression that she was saying something to them, and taking a few cautious steps forward, he caught a snatch of a deep, menacing voice upon the wind. 'You have no right to be here, and your evil violates this place of peace and learning,' she said, and Harry felt a chill pass through him. Light, that can't be Hermione's voice, he thought.

The Death Eaters watched her silently for a moment more, then one laughed loudly. 'She's mine!' he yelled, and seconds later a blaze of green shot directly towards Hermione's head. Harry gasped and felt his stomach churn, but then, amazingly - impossibly - Hermione's strange new voice muttered a few words and the death spell vaporised in mid air. Like Harry, the Death Eater's gasped as one, and he heard them whispering in astonishment.

The Battle-lust . . . it cannot be!

Hermione's hair crackled with energy, and she lifted her wand. 'My turn,' she said softly, meeting the horrified eyes of the Death Eater who had tried to attack her. 'Occuro vester letum,' she enunciated calmly. Meet your death . . . is that even a spell? For a second, Harry thought nothing would happen. But suddenly, the ground beneath the Death Eaters burst into flame, fireballing upwards and violently incinerating each of them. Their screams punctuated the air, and Harry felt faintly ill. That can't be Hermione . . . she would never be so cruel . . . would she?

Soft thuds upon the grass alerted Harry to the arrival of more Death Eaters. Transfixed by the fireball before her, Hermione didn't appear to notice, and Harry choked back a sob of alarm. Warn her, Harry, a part of himself screamed. Warn her! But something held him back for a moment. But what if they see me? Quick Harry, warn her NOW! And then he felt the warning tearing past his lips. 'Hermione! Behind you!' he screamed.

Too late.

Turning slowly, Hermione lifted her wand, pointing it directly at Lucius Malfoy.

Too late!

Before she had time to act, Malfoy's killing curse enveloped her in its cool green blaze.

Then, to his absolute horror, the Death Eaters turned as one, their cold, malicious eyes alighting upon him.

Too late . . . you warned her too late.

'I tried to warn her, Harry sobbed into the darkness. 'I tried to warn her.'

You were too late . . . too scared for your own selfish skin . . . what does it matter that you tried to warn her, when it still cost her her life?

She's dead because of you . . . just like Dumbledore, just like Ron, just like Sirius . . . and just like your Mother!

'It wasn't my fault,' Harry whimpered, ripping at his hair. 'It wasn't my fault that she died . . .'

And then, thankfully, a voice, soft with compassion, echoed off the walls like before.

I'll return for you, Harry. I'll come back for you.

***

'Hermione, I just don't think you should trust this guy. Regardless of Sally-Ann's feelings, he's a Slytherin. There wasn't a single Slytherin that fought on the side of good during the war - doesn't that mean anything to you?' Justin asked, helping Hermione drag several large, wet sheets from the washing tub.

'What I wouldn't give for a good, solid, muggle washing machine right now,' Hermione muttered. 'A good, solid washing machine with an efficient spin-dry system,' she added, hauling the heavy sheets into a large basket.

'Hermione, are you even listening to me? You're not, are you? Hermione, I think you have astoundingly splendid jugs-' he stopped when a large wet pillowcase landed with a wet slap upon his face. 'I take it you were listening to me, then?' he asked, his voice muffled by the material. Dragging the pillowcase from his head, he quickly followed after Hermione, taking the heavy washing basked from her hands and nearly stumbling beneath its weight.

'Yes, Justin, I am listening to you. But we've been through this already - regardless of whether we can trust Edward or not, he's my only solid option right now,' she said wearily, taking one end of the basket and helping Justin to carry it to the indoor washing lines.

'But what about all that stuff you said? About not taking any fool-hardy risks and all that?' Justin complained.

'I don't feel that I'm taking a foolhardy risk, Justin. You do. I've calculated the risks of trusting Edward, and I'm still willing to trust him. End of story.' Hermione replied, and dropped her end of the basket. Unprepared for her actions, Justin struggled for a moment to regain his balance, lost his battle for equilibrium, and promptly fell head-first into the basket of washing with a lady-like squeal. Hermione smothered a laugh and picked up a handful of pegs. 'Are you going to stop clowning around so I can hang up these sheets?'

Pushing himself out of the basket with an indignant hmph, Justin scowled at Hermione. 'You did that on purpose!' he wailed, wiping his wet face with his sleeve. Hermione smiled sweetly at the accusation, and grabbed the corner of a sheet. 'Hermione, don't you realise I'm only doing this because I care for you, and everyone else that lives in that kitchen with us?'

'I know that, Justin. But don't you realise I'm doing this because I care about all of you, too?' She paused, sighed heavily, and looked up at Justin. 'Justin, you keep standing in my way,' she said. Raising his eyebrows, Justin took a step away from the washing lines and mumbled an apology. 'Idiot, I meant you're standing in the way of my plans,' Hermione said, shaking her head.

'Oh,' Justin said, blushing.

'What I mean is that you tried to prevent me from planning to rescue Harry and get us all out of here . . . and now that you've agreed to it, you're trying to prevent me from utilising the one good thing we have in making this work.'

'It's just that the risks-'

'I know it's a risk Justin. Don't you think I haven't wondered if he'd simply betray me the moment I entered those dungeons? For all I know, he's betraying me to Lucius Malfoy right this instant. But it's a risk I have to take. Did you think any of this was going to happen without risks, Justin? Every last step of this is going to involve risks . . . from getting down to the dungeons, to finding Harry, to getting him past the dementors and Death Eaters and students with wands, to breaking out of Hogwarts and leaving the school grounds. It's all risky, Justin,' Hermione said, and finished pegging a large white sheet to the line.

Justin had paled visibly. 'I hate this. I hate it all. I hate that we're in servitude. I hate that Harry's in a dungeon surrounded by dementors. I hate that Hogwarts is home to a thousand practitioners of Dark Arts, and that Voldemort won when it should have been us that won. I hate that you feel like you need to rescue us all, and that I'm so frightened. Most of all, I hate that I'm frightened,' he finished, and took a deep breath before casting his eyes to the ground, shame written all over his usually lively face.

Hermione lowered the sheet she had picked up, and gave Justin a solemn look. Is that why you're always messing around, Justin? she thought to herself. To hide the fact that you're living in fear every day of your life? 'I'm going to get you out of here, Justin,' she said softly. 'And once we're out of here, you'll never need to fear anything again. That's a promise.'

Justin looked up and gave Hermione a weak smile, and she flashed him a confident grin, all the while wondering why she was making such a risky promise. Because everything you've ever done has been risky, she replied to herself, and reached for another sheet.