Dark Veela

Twenty-Seven: The Castle Speaks

The Dark Veela curse has its revenge and pushes Hermione and Severus apart.

(i) The characters and world of Harry Potter are the property of the amazing J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this.

(ii) Thank you to all the readers who have stayed with me through the writing of this story. Your kind reviews have been enormously helpful. Please do continue to review and tell me what you think of the story. You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear from you.

(iii) And finally, much gratitude to my brilliant beta, Queen_of_Stars. You have been the sweetest and best friend through these long months. I am so thankful that you agreed to help me work on, polish and present this story. All errors that ultimately remain are my own.

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Disillusioning them, Severus quickly guided Hermione to an even more deserted part of the barge. From there, he Apparated them back to Hogwarts. Seeing the gates before her made Hermione furious with thwarted passion. Pulling herself out of his embrace, she stared at him in anger. She had thought he was taking her back to Lestrange Manor. This was not where she wanted to be.

'Severus,' she started in exasperation. 'Why are we here? I thought you wanted me.'

Severus knew that Hermione would not be pleased at being brought back to the castle. But in the few moments that it took to dress and Apparate, he had come to his senses. He could not ravish her with impunity. She was now a Malfoy, and for all intents and purposes, the right thing to do was to wait until they were formally engaged. Never mind that Severus knew that Lucius and Narcissa would not disapprove of their match or, indeed, blame him for taking her. But something in him protested the claiming of Hermione. He thought it was his honour; he did not realise that it was the Dark Veela curse using every possible weapon in its insidious arsenal to prevent the expression of their love for each other.

Severus sighed and tried to pull Hermione back into his arms. 'My love, I do want you, but I won't lose control of my emotions. You will not rush me on this. Your first time must be prepared for.'

'Bollocks,' said Hermione in anger. 'You're just being a coward. If you are afraid of being in a relationship, say so. Don't jerk me around.'

'I am not a coward,' hissed Severus in anger. He was now as livid as she was. He did not realise how demented he looked.

'You are a coward,' screamed Hermione. 'You could have made me yours just now, but you keep pushing me away. I know I won't be able to replace Lily Potter, but I love you. All of you.' By the end of the speech, Hermione was sobbing, but not in agony, no, now she was furious.

'What's Lily got to do with how I feel for you?' asked Severus in annoyance. 'Look, I'm the adult in this relationship. I am not going to ravish you on a whim because I've lost control of my passions. When we are together, it will be done properly.'

'Bollocks,' said Hermione again. 'You're very sure of yourself. What if I decide I'm tired of you pussy-footing around? What if I decide I want to become a woman and take another lover because you're too afraid to commit to being with me?'

'That is entirely your choice,' said Severus coldly. Ice seemed to drip from his tone, and Hermione realised instantly that she had gone too far.

'Severus,' she began before coming to a halt. She had too much pride to keep throwing herself at him. If he didn't want her - but she knew that wasn't true either. He did want her; he was just being bloody-minded about it. Besides, he had said he was the adult in their relationship. Did that mean that to him, despite their explosive passion, that he still saw her as a child?

Severus too was feeling raw and hurt. Are all women like Lily? wondered Severus in painful rejection. Perhaps all women are capricious. If one man does not give them what they desire, they move on to the next one. Lily definitely had. He had thought Hermione was different. But if she wanted another lover, someone who would take her with no thought to her place in society, her worth, then she was not the woman who he wanted to be with. But even as those thoughts buzzed through his mind, he knew she was not like Lily at all. Hermione was special, unique, and different. However, the Dark Veela curse pushed him to not apologise or explain further. Instead, he felt compelled to say harshly, 'I wish you success in your future sexual exploits, Miss Granger-Malfoy. Come this way, please.' With that, he opened the gates and waited until she had followed him inside before closing them firmly behind her. Then, without speaking a word, he marched back into the castle, only slowing down occasionally so that Hermione could keep up breathlessly behind him. Once at the main doors, he again waited until she was safely inside before bowing stiffly despite his anger and taking his leave silently.

Hermione was too stunned at the turn of events to try to mend their breach. Moreover, the insult of his final words still rang in her ears. 'Your future sexual exploits,' he had said, as though he had completely ended their tentative relationship. And what on earth did he mean by referring to her as Miss Granger-Malfoy?

It was a chastised, hurt, angry and thoroughly confused Hermione that retired to her bed that night. How could a night that had been going so wonderfully well end so abruptly? Sure, Hermione agreed, she should not have called him a coward. She had learned from Harry how much that infuriated Severus. Neither should she have brought out the possibility another man into their argument given his history with Lily Potter. But was there any reason why they had not been able to make up? Deciding that if he thought she was a child and not what he wanted, then she too would try to put things behind her; Hermione vowed to focus on her NEWTs. Wasn't that why she had returned, to learn, to grow and to figure out what she wanted? But it seemed to her a hollow thing now. She wanted Severus. For him, she knew she would give up everything and everyone. She wanted nothing but to be with him.

The next morning dawned bright and beautiful, but to Hermione, it seemed a mockery when her heart seemed bruised and broken. However, she knew there was no point in hiding in her dormitory. In spite of the almost sleepless night, she realised that she would have to face Severus at some point. Dragging on her old, comfortable pair of brown cord trousers and an even older cream sweater over her favourite Arsenal t-shirt, her father's football team, she made her way down to breakfast. Luna looked at her expectantly, hoping perhaps to hear news of her evening away. But Hermione shook her head in warning. She didn't want anyone to hear about what had happened.

Luna nodded in response and continued to eat her breakfast with a thoughtful frown on her face. Hermione could not know it, but Luna could detect the aura of pain and sorrow that clung to Hermione, dulling her normally vibrant azure glow.

Not long after, the newspapers were brought in a flurry of wings. Hermione sighed and picked up her paper after feeding the delivery owl a bit of toast. The headlines were boring, filled with Ministry happenings. But as she began scanning the paper, her heart stopped abruptly. The first bit of news in the society pages was the heading, The Malfoys Adopt. Hermione's eyes swiftly lifted up to meet those of Luna. She, of course, did not subscribe to the Prophet.

As Luna left her breakfast and drifted over to Hermione, Hermione continued to glance at the bold headline. A part of her had expected some sort of formal announcement, but she had not expected to see the news of her adoption so publicly in the news.

Sitting down uninvited, Luna began reading the paper. Hermione, nonplussed, began to read the article too. She could guess what it contained, but it would be prudent to know what was being circulated.

The article had thankfully not been written by Rita Skeeter. However, the new society reporter was just as likely to write sheer nonsense, for it was non other than Lavender Brown. It read:

In a stunning move that is sure to set the wizarding world ablaze following the speculations of Hermione Granger being Lord Lucius Malfoy's love-child, this reporter has the pleasure of stating that Lord and Lady Malfoy have officially adopted the Gryffindor Muggle-born.

Lady Malfoy, who was gracious enough to grant this reporter an interview last evening in the beautifully appointed drawing room of Malfoy Manor said, 'Lucius and I have come to love and adore dear Hermione. She is the daughter we have always wanted, intelligent, kind, brave and beautiful. We are moved beyond measure that she has accepted us as her adopted parents. We both look forward to not only introducing her formally into pureblood society on the completion of her education at Hogwarts, but also perhaps assisting her in her future educational endeavours. I am, after all, the only living witch in Britain today who has attended the select institute known as Die Komplette Hexe, which is based in Lucerne. Anyone who knows Hermione will attest to the fact that she will thrive in such an erudite and specialised educational institute'

This reporter can verify the Gryffindor Muggle-born's love of learning, having spent many years sharing a dorm-room with who was then known as Hermione Granger, now of course, Hermione Granger-Malfoy. She was always buried in book, and had an almost unnatural passion for learning. That she would now agree to be adopted by the Malfoys, known supporters of pureblood supremacist ideology, to gain entrance into one of the magical world's premier and exclusive institutions of learning is not impossible to imagine. The young, influence-hungry lady has been known to do everything in her power to steal the limelight from appearing as the then Bulgarian seeker Victor Krum's date at the Triwizard Tournament Yule Ball, to flaunting shamelessly with the celebrated ex-spy and intelligence operative of the Order of Phoenix and Headmaster of Hogwarts, Order of Merlin, first class, Potions Master Severus Snape. This move is therefore nothing unusual in her quest to enter the higher echelons of wizarding society. That the Malfoys, long known for their breeding and position in society, may have finally allowed the instigator of their downfall into their midst is a cause for concern. Surely, a Muggle-born social climber cannot advance their own powerful presence.

When this point was raised to Lady Malfoy, she was quick to indicate that Hermione Granger-Malfoy is the best friend of Harry Potter, and that along with the Saviour of the wizarding world, their adopted daughter was integral to the fight against You-know-who. When questioned, Lady Malfoy stated, 'We, of course , owe a huge debt of gratitude to Hermione and her friends from freeing us all from the tyranny of the Dark Lord. It is therefore our pride and privilege to welcome Hermione into our family.'

Luna laughed as she finished reading Lavender's rather petty piece. But she could see that Hermione was visibly shaken. Slipping her arm around her friend, Luna said placidly, 'Well, I'm sure it could be worse. At least everyone knows that the Malfoys love and adore you. Besides, if you get to go to Die Komplette Hexe, then what does it matter what they say? Getting in is virtually impossible. The cost for one thing is princely. Besides which, you can only get in if you are vouched for by at least five previous students. It's very much a pureblood club. But if Mrs. Malfoy is going to be your patron, then she will have her friends vouch for you too, which should make the way clear.'

Hermione nodded. She tried to look on the bright side. She had been fascinated by Cissy's disclosure of a school for ladies that gave one more instruction in magical culture and custom. Since she had no idea which field she wanted to go into, this seemed like a wonderful thing to embark upon until she did. But she hadn't known at that time that she was being adopted legally. She had thought that it was a mere gesture. On learning of what had transpired from Severus, a part of her had felt, and still felt as though she had been manipulated into it. She felt used, but she could not deny the love and adoration the Malfoys felt for her. She knew that in their mind, they were doing what they thought was best, not only for their family, but also for her. They were offering her a home, a family. Moreover, she understood that her dear friend Cissy was trying to replace or at least mitigate the pain caused by the loss of her own parents. Still, Hermione felt like this was far too much, coming as it did not last night's dreadful culmination. Wasn't it only yesterday morning that she had turned nineteen and spent the day in the spa with Cissy? Today she had been acknowledged in the media as a Malfoy.

Hermione raised her head to look at Severus, but he was looking determinedly ahead of him. He did not even seem to hear Minerva, who was sitting beside him and trying rather unsuccessfully to capture his attention. Sighing, Hermione turned to Luna. 'I didn't even know I was being adopted when it happened. Let's go somewhere we can talk. I have much to tell you.'

Luna nodded. 'Let me make something to take with us,' she said as she made herself a sandwich with ham, cheese and scrambled egg.

Hermione laughed despite the pain, discomfort and confusion she was feeling. She knew now that Luna loved to make sandwiches with interesting fillings.

Once Luna's thick sandwich was made, she made another one for Hermione. Then, wrapping them both in a napkin, she put two apples into her pocket and led the way to the courtyard.

Hermione could not help but recall once more that this was where she had sat at almost the exact same time yesterday with her two friends reading Cissy's invitation. How could things have changed so quickly? In her heart she did not doubt the sincerity of the Malfoy adoption, but she realised that she had been manoeuvred into it.

Once they were seated, Luna became very silent. When Hermione tried to speak, she was shushed swiftly. 'Sh... the castle is speaking. Listen.'

Hermione tried, but she could hear nothing but the wind.

Finally, as if satisfied, Luna laid out the napkin and picked up her sandwich. 'Eat. Astoria is on her way. Once she comes, you can do all the talking.'

Hermione did not feel like eating, but she forced herself to take a bite of her own breakfast. It tasted rich and satisfying, but it felt like a stone as it went down her throat. 'Luna,' she tried to speak again, but again, Luna raised her hand and demanded silence.

Hermione sighed quietly but waited. She had learned over the summer and indeed, since they had returned to Hogwarts that Luna needed silence if there was something going on. She was so very aware of things that speech made too much clutter in her inner mind.

About three or four minutes later, Astoria found them in the courtyard. She too seemed to have come out with her breakfast, but the Slytherin carried a smart little basket that was brimming with croissants. Laying her own repast on the bench, she said without preamble, 'Good morning, Miss Granger-Malfoy.'

Hermione could not help but blush at the ridiculous surname. 'Astoria--,' she started, just to be cut off by her friend's uproarious giggle.

'Draco sent me a beautiful letter last night,' said Astoria. 'He explained everything. I thought you'd like to read it.'

Hermione nodded. 'Yes, please. I've been trying to tell Luna. I didn't know they were adopting me when they adopted me.'

Astoria giggled. 'Yes,' she said in acknowledgement. 'I suppose you had no idea about that part of old tradition. It was quite common in the old days, of course, though it's not been done for centuries. No need you see, the magical population has grown big enough to make it unnecessary, and of course, schools like Hogwarts and Freya have been taking all children within their jurisdiction with magical ability.' Then, the Slytherin beauty passed her letter to Hermione.

Again, in what felt like a parody of yesterday, Hermione read a letter penned on Malfoy stationary while Luna read over her shoulder.

My dearest Astoria, my own sweet love,

Mother and father have, with my knowledge, decided to make Hermione my adopted sister. Mother is, at present, breaking the news to a reporter of the Daily Prophet. Since I continue to hope that one day you will be part of the Malfoy clan, I felt it important that you be made aware of this addition to our happy family.

Pray assure my new sister how welcome she is. Do your best to encourage her to take every advantage of the Malfoy name. I am sure this letter will be seen by her at some point. I know how close the two of you are. Mother is so very glad to have a daughter. She has always wanted one to spoil with clothes and jewels. I think she has grown tired of waiting for our engagement and marriage. I know I am impatient to make you my own, forever.

Do not let Hermione think badly of us. We felt that if we had laid the proposition frankly before her that she would have found some foolish and honourable reason to refuse. Having a Gryffindor in the family is going to be a trial. I can already foresee us being bullied into being more upright citizens. In any case, father decided that given our Hermione's disposition that fait accompli seemed the best way forward. It is, after all, the Slytherin way.

All my love, always,

Your devoted servant and future lover,

Draco

Hermione and Luna could not help but laugh at Draco's tone, which was arrogant, chauvinistic and somehow adorable and earnest at the same time.. Nor could Hermione disagree with his statement that she would have refused. She would have. She would have fought on the grounds that there was no need, that she knew they loved her already, that she already felt that Malfoy Manor was her home. But she also realised that they didn't want her to ever feel like she was an outsider or that she was beholden to them for their generosity. Now she was, and would remain a part of their family for the rest of her days.

At least last night's debacle had allowed Hermione to understand the finality and the reasons behind the adoption. Unable to sleep due to the pain and confusion over the abrupt end to last night's outing, Hermione had taken solace as she normally did in reading. She had spent most of the night studying and trying to understand the meaning in her Malfoy inheritance. She knew from the first few pages that the Malfoy home and all their many properties were now forever a refuge to her. Her magic would strengthen and shape the Malfoy properties, and in return, she would grow from the collective strength of the Malfoy name. moreover, she now had access to a large amount of wealth, and indeed, all of the Malfoy connections were now formally hers.

The hand written book had not ended with Hektor's entries. No, the new bride had also added what she had learned on her journey to her new home in the journal, as had other Malfoy brides over the years. The last entry had been made by Narcissa. She had explained all that was to be Hermione's, from the many pieces of jewellery to the numerous clubs, societies and magical establishments that were patronised by the Malfoys, to her now vastly extravagant monthly allowance.

Hermione felt like she had aged a hundred years. She realised now that Severus would have expected his public acknowledgement of her Malfoy connections. Had he not thrown the name Granger-Malfoy at her? No wonder he did not want to rush into sex. He realised that she too was now bound by stricter pureblood custom since she was a young maiden. Feeling even more foolish than before, she decided that she really had to beg for forgiveness. It would not be easy. She knew how difficult Severus was when he felt he had been insulted. She only hoped it wouldn't take her years to get through his bloody prickly defences. She recalled how Remus had tried for years to apologise for his part in the Marauder torments. But although Severus had forgiven and accepted his apology, no doubt due to Dumbledore's influence, and shaken his hand, he had never forgotten.

A little while later, Astoria departed to finish her homework for the coming week. Their seventh year workload was considerable. Hermione, of course, had finished everything by Friday night. She was not one to let homework pile up. But she knew that Luna would want time to work on her own ongoing charms experiments, so she allowed her friends to drift away, assuring them that she was coping.

'Don't worry,' said Hermione. 'I'm fine.'

She knew that Luna thought that her melancholia was due to the adoption. She had not even been able to tell her friends about the disaster of the night before. Her outing with Severus had been pushed aside with this major occurrence. Hermione was glad. She was not looking forward to explaining to her friends that she feared that she and Severus were no longer together because she had been impatient for a bedding. It sounded foolish, even to her own ears.

Making her way to the Gryffindor common-room, she was met by absolute silence on her entrance. Cursing herself silently for not casting a charm to disillusion herself, she pulled her Gryffindor courage together. She was not going to let a roomful of people intimidate her. She had faced down Bellatrix Lestrange. What were these children going to do?

Looking complacently and haughtily around her like she had seen Astoria and Cissy do on numerous occasions, she waited for them to speak. Perhaps it was the icy Malfoy look, perhaps it was the fact that she did not look afraid, but no one challenged her. Not until Ginny Weasley made her way down from the girls' dormitories.

'Slytherin whore,' she said. 'Why are you here? Shouldn't you be fucking your little Slytherin friends down in the dungeons?'

Hermione wanted to cringe at the crudeness of Ginny's words. Instead, she silently reminded herself that she was a Gryffindor and now a Malfoy. Had Draco's letter not said that she should take every advantage that the name offered her? 'Just because I've been adopted as the daughter of Lord and Lady Malfoy does not make me a Slytherin whore, Ginevra,' she said as coldly as she could. 'A whore is a woman who spreads her legs to any man who wants her, much like yourself and your multitude of lovers. I am a virgin. I am saving myself for my marriage bed. If you had paid any attention to custom and tradition, or indeed potions, you would know that it is High Magic indeed when a virgin's blood is spilled on her wedding night. Clearly then, I am not a whore. Furthermore, I am a Gryffindor. In fact, I have been a Gryffindor longer than you have. So both your assumptions about me are wrong. Now, I suggest you stop acting like a spiteful little girl and learn to behave like a lady, if you possibly can. Since my adopted parents are indeed, Lord and Lady Malfoy, that makes me Lady Hermione Granger-Malfoy.'

That said, Hermione went up to her room. Inside, she was quaking in her shoes, but she knew that Draco, Lucius and Cissy would be applauding her behaviour. Suddenly, she realised what she had said. Saving her virginity for marriage, saving herself for her marriage bed. Was that what Severus was trying to do, perform High Magic? No wonder he had said there were rites. Feeling even more foolish now that she had realized how Severus, as a Potions master, would see the taking of her virginity, she felt even more in the wrong. She called him a coward and a hypocrite when he was just being himself. Thoughtful, rational. He had never claimed to be good with words. She should have paid more attention to his actions.

She would have loved to have narrated her performance to Severus. How he would have laughed to hear of how she had cut Ginny to size. Calling her by her full name had been the icing on the cake. She knew how the red-head hated being called by her full name.

Up in her room, Hermione vowed to do everything possible to beg Severus' forgiveness. If she had to once again use Slytherin tactics to get him to listen, then that was what she would do.

The days passed in painful silence. She hardly saw Severus except for meal times when he would eat and gaze out on the student body without ever meeting her searching eyes. Luna and Astoria tried to understand the sudden chill that had taken hold of the very potent relationship, but they failed to get any meaningful answers from Hermione. Severus himself seemed to have reverted to the cold, unfeeling bastard of the war years. He was harsh with people and spent time alone buried in making Hogwarts the envy of all magical institutions of learning.

Headmaster Black reported that Severus seemed to spend the time not spent working on paperwork and reorganisation of the school buried deep in Potions research. It seemed as though he had completely shut out all contact with people and emotion.

As October approached, Luna began to learn Mermish. She had made it her final year project since she stated that she wanted to become a Magizoologist and travel the world. With the help of Hagrid and Professor Flitwick, she had been taken to meet the queen of the mer-people. The chieftain's wife had agreed to let the earth child spend a few hours every week under careful supervision to learn to speak their language.

As the girls became more involved in their studies, Hermione into the mysteries of the castle and Luna into the magical creatures of the world, they started spending more time apart. Hermione could not blame her friends. She had turned once again in finding solace in books since Severus had done his best to freeze her out of his life. Besides, the book given to her on her birthday was proving to be incredibly fascinating, and there was a lot to learn both in terms of magical theory, as well as in family obligations and spell craft. Furthermore, every time she had attempted to corner Severus when she saw him somewhere along the corridors, he would just freeze her with his completely impersonal stare and stride swiftly away.

The trio's friendship was not falling apart, of course, nor were they growing distant, but it was their NEWTs year, and they were all busy. Besides being piled with ridiculous levels of homework and assignments as well as their individual final year projects, Astoria had begun to plan her betrothal to Draco. The two sets of parents had drawn up a contract, and the date for their official engagement was set for the summer solstice. It made Hermione laugh to see the meticulous preparations being made. She couldn't help but think that there was still so much time. But another part of Hermione was also slightly jealous. She wanted to be planning her own engagement, not to be totally swamped with Astoria's paraphernalia of design books and colour schemes.

Hermione had finally settled on a Charms final year project because she wanted to understand the many enchantments that were built into the castle. Professor Flitwick had gazed at her when she had submitted her proposal and had told her that most of the records were inaccessible. Only the founders really knew what their original enchantments included. But the castle itself had been built on an old Druid site that in itself held unknown magical enchantments, wards and workings. It was, thus, going to be part of Hermione's project to try and tease out and pin point what constituted some of the many layers of enchantments. Present knowledge clearly indicated that each Headmaster or Headmistress added his or her own signature to the wards and enchantments. Hence, the school's defences grew stronger with each successive generation. From the late sixteenth century, a concerted effort had been made to keep accurate records of all wards and magics used to protect the castle and its surroundings, not only from other magical attack, but also Muggle attention. Dumbledore himself had worked tirelessly to discover some of the older enchantments and had added significantly to the defences of the school following the rise of Voldemort. However, Hermione was adamant and said that if she could even uncover some of the unknown charms and enchantments, that in itself would be an achievement. Professor Flitwick could not disagree, for he too had always wondered about the many enchantments. He, like Dumbledore and Luna, knew that the castle was sentient, and it would be extremely interesting to see what had given rise to such a manifestation. Many magical properties had personalities, but there was none like Hogwarts that could self repair and heal itself with human assistance.

Once the project had been approved, Hermione approached Luna about learning to listen to the castle. Her friend, of course, had joyously agreed to help Hermione communicate with Hogwarts.

'Of course, I'll help,' said Luna with a bright smile. 'I promised soon after the battle, and I don't not keep my promises.'

Hermione nodded. 'I know,' she said trying to be cheerful.

Luna looked at Hermione while her friend gazed silently out of the library window. Almost flippantly, Luna said, 'Headmaster Snape is really sad.'

'I don't want to know,' said Hermione wearily. They had tried to make her talk about what had happened between him and her for weeks now, and she really was not looking forward to avoiding the issue again. Hermione knew rationally that something beyond the obvious had happened, but she couldn't understand why he wouldn't let her apologise. Hermione did realise that Luna, if no one else, with her insights into auras could understand what had happened, examining her own behaviour was painful. Hermione did not want to analyse too deeply how she had let herself be so cruel or hurtful. She was not a fool. She knew how archaic pureblood traditions were. She knew, especially now after having read more of the book she had been entrusted by the Malfoys, the place she occupied in society. She could understand Severus' reluctance to take her virginity without care and preparation. He would have wanted to purify them both, to perform rites to ensure her virgin blood was correctly collected if nothing else. Even if he had chosen not to wait for their wedding night, to perform High Magic, he would have wanted to make it as close to ritualistic as possible. He was that kind of man.

Luna sighed. It was most unlike her to sigh, but Hermione was being rather stubborn. 'Look, if you want to learn about the castle, you must learn about him. As the Headmaster, he and his emotions are integral to its being. When the castle speaks, it speaks of its inhabitants.'

'Oh,' said Hermione. She felt foolish once again. She could not understand how her vaunted intelligence had failed her again and again. First, she had not thought of the implications of Malfoys' generosity, and then, she had not thought through her words to Severus. Now, she had failed to fully grasp the reality of how integral Severus was to the castle and its core emotions and harmonies. She should have realised the fact that delving into the feelings of the castle would also include understanding its Lord, which meant the Headmaster. The castle was over a thousand years old. It was built just before the Norman invasions, to keep out both the Viking hordes that were trying to infiltrate the baron-held lands, as well as the Saxon overlords from infringing up the few remaining Celtic domains. It was blatantly obvious therefore that the present Headmaster as the acknowledged Lord of the Keep would be the foremost harmonic resonance and constitute the pulse of the castle's personality.

Luna nodded. 'Never mind. As you close your eyes and allow your aura to blend with that of the castle, let your skin make contact with some of the castle. Allow your inner being to open and let the castle in.'

Hermione tried over and over again, but for the first few days, she could hear nothing but an insistent buzz. Luna insisted that it was nothing to be alarmed about. Hermione was just hearing the general chatter of all the inhabitants. However, she advised Hermione to keep trying. 'The more you listen, the more you will hear. Open your mind, Hermione. Forget your ears, use your soul.'

One night, a couple of days before Halloween, Hermione was up in her tiny bedroom. Luna was away in Sweden. Her cousin Gustav had taken gravely ill, and her father had rushed her away for the week. Astoria was once again trying to complete her piling homework, for she had been spending too much time during the day dreaming about Draco. Hermione found it funny, yet painful, to listen to the girl go on about her love. She had insisted that they not talk about what was going on with Severus, so she was forced to listen to Astoria plan, discuss and dream about her future life with Draco.

That night, therefore, Hermione was alone. The library had been cold and draughty, so Hermione, not having homework to do, had returned to her room. She had spent some time reading her heirloom, but now she turned her attention to her attempt to listen to the castle. Over the last few days, she had begun to hear a bit more than buzzing. Sometimes she heard low crooning that was, according to Luna, Professor Sprout singing to her plants. Once, she had heard the clutter of pots and pans, even though they were far away from the kitchens, and Luna had confirmed Hermione's suspicion that it was the house-elves being busy. But tonight, so close to Halloween, felt different. There was something in the air, something even more magical, more powerful than before. Hermione felt certain that today she would make a more thorough break-through.

Having read that meditation might allow her to clear her mind and her aura sufficiently to allow the castle to speak, Hermione closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on nothing but the feel of the stone of the window ledge on which she sat. Looking inward to the stone walls, she allowed her mind to clear and drift. In drips and drabs, she started to feel the emotions of the castle. It, like her, was melancholy. As Hermione tapped into the potent feeling of abandonment, of betrayal, her heart began to beat impossibly fast, for what Hermione heard frightened her. Because the Headmaster was an integral part of the school, and because she was so aware of Severus physically and emotionally, when she listened closely, the most intense feeling that she heard was his childhood pain, his lack of true love. She realised that, although he appeared to have completely cut her off from his life, he was in great pain. He felt that she had abandoned him when he wanted nothing but the best for her. He felt that she had been unable to accept his heartfelt devotion and respect for her. Saddened, desolate that she had caused him to feel so much anguish, Hermione listened and without realising it, asked the castle how she could help. Surprisingly, the castle began to speak to her. It had wanted to communicate with the one person it knew could reach the Headmaster's almost frozen core. It insisted that she must mend the break with Severus. She was instructed to reach his aching heart, his slowly dying soul.