Abyss

Chapter 5

"Welcome to your N.E.W.T.s, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said primly. "If you would take a seat in the room, please." She gestured into a classroom pitch black except for a bright beam of light shining on a table and chair adorned only with a pen and paper.

"Aren't we supposed to use parchment?" Hermione asked.

McGonagall was horrified. "And kill all those poor goats? For shame, Miss Granger, and after you yourself lobbied for their preservation. Take your tests and don't be cruel."

Hermione gave McGonagall a baffled glance then settled down at the table, picking up the pen and looking at the first question.

In your own words, discuss how and to what extent light is both a wave and a particle, read the first question. Hermione's heart stopped.

"Professor McGonagall, we haven't learned physics this year!" Hermione shouted back at her retreating Professor. The woman was closing the door.

"You learned it all year in Muggle Studies, dear," McGonagall assured her before the door shut with an echoing boom. Hermione pounded on it helplessly before returning to the desk.

"I didn't take Muggle Studies this year, and I know they don't teach physics in their curriculum," Hermione muttered to herself. She answered the question to the best of her abilities, trying to wrack her brains for some memory of the lessons. If she happened to take insufficient notes for a subject, she could compile enough information from more auditory learning, but now... now her mind was simply a blank for the question.

She decided to move on, but nearly started crying as she read the next question.

Describe Joyce's use of gnomon and simony in his Dubliners. Use specific references from the book.

She had read Dubliners when she was nine and had been searching for something to read among her mother and father's library. She recalled very little of the readings because she had seen no need to retain it. In desperation, she glanced at the other questions. None of them had anything to do with magic.

Using a single strip of paper, demonstrate the Dragon Curve fractal and describe Mendelsohn's history on the subject of fractals.

Explain Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty and how Peter Brook uses it in his movie adaptation of Weiss' Marat/Sade.

Write an essay on the importance of international cooperation in a foreign language of your choice.

In five hundred words or less, explain Bach's mathematical genius.

List the Pre-Socratics and describe their objective and beliefs.

The questions continued in this vein as Hermione hyperventilated in frustration and genuine fear until Professor Snape strode into the room, and with a wave of his wand, lit the essays on fire.

"How... disappointing, Miss Granger. And here even I was hoping you'd pass. The Headmaster is most displeased. I'm afraid a Head Girl who fails her N.E.W.T.s is expelled. You'll never get into university after this." His hands hooked into her robes and dragged her from the room and out of Hogwarts.

"No!" Hermione screamed. "You never taught me any of it! It wasn't in the curriculum! They were all Muggle school questions!"

"Nonsense, girl," Snape snapped. "You should know everything that was on that exam. I taught you some of it myself."

"I couldn't remember any of it!" Hermione began to cry, wailing like the Weeping Woman of the caves. "There was nothing there!"

"Tell that to the Ministry of Magic, Miss Granger," Snape replied with no mercy. "It's to the Forbidden Forest you're going. It's where we expel all our failed Head Girls."

A figure fully cloaked waited for them at the boundaries of the Forest. He extended his hand for Hermione's.

"There's always plenty of room for more," said the cloaked man. He removed his hood and Hermione could see the serpentine head of Belthazar with the skeletal hands of the dead. "Come, Hermione, you'll find your own kind here."

"No, Professor Snape, don't make me go with him! He's a servant of Lord Voldemort, I know it," Hermione cried. She clung tight to her Professor, but Snape pushed her off and Belthazar pulled her away, hands gentle but firm against her arms.

"You're wrong, Miss Granger, as usual," Snape mocked over his shoulder as he walked away. "He is Lord Voldemort."

"No!" Hermione screamed again, struggling to get free, but Belthazar held on with a grip or iron.

"Come now, dear," Belthazar said gently, "the Forest is not at all bad once you get used to it."

Hermione continued to bite and kick and scream.

"You may even learn something," he whispered in her ear.

Hermione's protests slowed. "Learn something?" she asked, hope shining through the tears. She knew she should not respond so readily, it was not reasonable, but she could not help her optimistic nature.

Belthazar nodded and loosened his hold. His thin hand brushed the tears from her cheeks until she became calm. She set her hand in the white, bony hand. His long fingers encircled the proffered hand, and he led her into the Forbidden Forest.

"There is much in the Forest that has still eluded our efforts to discover them," Belthazar explained as the pillar-like trees engulfed them in darkness, save the light their plant essences emitted. There was no path. It seemed to Hermione that Belthazar was leading her arbitrarily through the gaps in the trees.

They came to a clearing.

"Ah, Lucius, my friend, how does your project fare?" Belthazar asked.

Lucius Malfoy looked up from where he was torturing Ginny Weasley against one of the trees. A trickle of blood ran down her chin from the corner of her mouth and her eyes stared blankly. It was then Hermione realized she was dead. Her bare body was held up by what seemed a lover's embrace.

"Does she want to join us?" Lucius inquired as though he had just been drinking tea. He let Ginny's corpse fall to the ground. Hermione let out a strangled gasp and put Belthazar between her and Malfoy.

Belthazar chuckled but declined for Hermione. "Come," he told her, taking her hand again, "there is much to see."

"But..." Hermione swallowed and forced herself to continue. She had the rest of her N.E.W.T-less life to mourn. The blank, glassy marbles that had once been Ginny's warm, compassionate, bright eyes haunted her, accusing. If you had passed your N.E.W.T.s, this would never have happened, the mental ghost of Ginny seemed to accuse. Hermione felt a pang of guilt.

As Hermione and Belthazar walked farther into the forest, they heard the ominous sound of centaur hoofbeats. Hermione tensed, but Belthazar assured her, "They will not harm you. You are a part of this forest now. They will see you as just another creature. But they've obviously found an intruder, and they don't like wizards anymore."

"Because of Professor Umbridge," Hermione said to herself. Belthazar nodded.

There was a desperate scream, then noises of struggle. Abruptly, these noises ceased and a head rolled across Hermione's and Belthazar's path. Ron's open mouth and swollen eyes gaped at her. There was a clear imprint of a giant hoof on his face. The strips of flesh hanging from the neck caught on a branch so that the head hung upside-down, Ron's red hair clashing with the blood from his neck.

Hermione stuffed a fist into her mouth to keep from crying out. Belthazar noted her reaction then cocked his head. "Oh dear," he murmured, "it looks like Mr. Weasley lost his head. I had wondered if he had one to begin with."

"What?!" Hermione cried indignantly.

"Apologies, Hermione," Belthazar said. "I should not speak ill of the dead." He chanted a few words under his breath and Ron's head disappeared.

"Wait," Hermione said, "where did Ron go?"

"To the cornfield, Hermione. He's safer there then here. The spiders like human flesh, and I don't suppose you want to leave him to the dark beasts of the forest. Come, we must continue."

He pulled her through denser copses of trees until he froze, a thin mask of fear on his otherwise expressionless face. The emotion was unexpected; Hermione had always found Belthazar to be so sure of himself.

"Don't move," he instructed.

Hermione's eyes widened at a werewolf crouched in front of them. Its yellow eyes darted from one potential prey to the other. His eyes lingered on Hermione, who, of the two, was human. He bared his teeth, sharp, red-stained fangs dripping with dangerous saliva. His hackles rose as a threat to Belthazar.

"Careful," Belthazar hissed, "get ready to run."

The werewolf roared. It did not growl or snarl; it roared and leaped forward at Hermione. Belthazar whipped out his wand, but Hermione raised her hand, hoping her rings were still on her fingers and that her lycanthe had not somehow disappeared. They had not, and the beast whimpered and backed away as though struck. He began to pant, whining high in his head, and he looked ashamed.

"Hermione," Belthazar muttered, "I never noticed your protective charms. I will admit I never noticed them. I'm impressed. It was a clever idea, very clever idea."

Hermione felt ridiculously pleased at Belthazar's amazement, though she kept a sharp eye on the werewolf, who slunk away, defeated by her preparations.

"Does this kind of thing happen a lot?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"Oh, yes," Belthazar answered, guiding her through a tangle of roots that were shifting balefully. "All the time. You get used to it, become a part of it. Some of it isn't even real, what you see. Soon, you will be a hallucination of some unfortunate traveler, too. It's rather interesting when you watch it. You see the forest's interpretation of you; it's far more accurate than a mirror."

Hermione did not know how she felt about being only a figment of someone's imagination. It made her feel disconnected from reality. But Belthazar left no time for inner turmoil as they plunged through the Forest. They passed more vignettes of terrors, but Hermione pointedly looked straight ahead. She thought some of the visions tried to approach her, beckoned to her, but she ignored them to the best of her ability.

"Here we are," Belthazar announced, entering a clearing. "Welcome."

There were two lines of cloaked and hooded men, one in bright scarlet cloaks, the other in black cloaks and masked hoods. The Aurors and the Death Eaters.

"No," Hermione whispered. She reeled to run, but Belthazar tightened his hold and Hermione jerked back. She continued to pull frantically.

An Auror stepped forward and pushed his hood from his head, revealing the heavily scarred face of Alastor Moody. His magical eye fixed on her with hatred. He unrolled a sheet of parchment and began to read:

"Hermione Granger, it has come to our attention that you have practiced magic that is vile and originated from unseen forces of darkness. The following are your crimes:

"Adopting a snake that was not registered or sterilized by the Ministry.

"Concocting illegal potions such as the Gut-wrenching Potion, the Draught of the Living Dead, the Slow Death, Monstrous Draft, the Love Potion, the Nightmare Potion, etc.

"Experimentations in the charms that counter the following curses, hexes, or jinxes that are illegal or inappropriate for Hogwarts students that were also used: the Nightmare Curse, the Confundus Curse, the 13^th Jinx, the Wailing Curse, the 8-legged Hex, Serpent's Bath, the Fang-Flinging Hex, Venemous Secretions, the Hypnotist's Charm, the Hex of Delight, Melancholia, the Suicide Curse, the Elephant Jinx, etc.

"Fraternizing with persons sinister in nature.

"Purchasing illegal or banned books.

"And... Disrespecting high-ranking Ministry of Magic officials.

"Due to the heinousness of your crimes, you, Hermione Granger, are hereby exiled from all wizarding areas that represent all that is good and against the dark acts you have committed, including but not limited to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the town of Hogsmeade, and the haven Diagon Alley. A radical group known informally as the Death Eaters have requested your attendance to their gathering instead of the authorities meting your original punishment of prison time in Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic now delivers you into their hands." Moody glared at her then rolled up the parchment. With a crook of his finger, the Aurors filed away into the darkness of the Forest.

Hermione fell to the ground, weeping like a little child. Belthazar knelt down and dried her tears.

"Welcome home," he whispered into the shell of her ear.

Hermione gasped and crawled back. "What? Don't touch me."

"Relax, Hermione. We have common ground, all of us," Belthazar reassured her. "You'll fit right in."

"No," she hissed, panicking. "This is one of those hallucinations you told me about. You're all just a great hallucination. You're not real."

"If you are real, Hermione, we are real as well. Does a hallucination know she is a hallucination? From our perspective, you could easily be a hallucination for us. Are you real, Hermione?" Belthazar stroked her head soothingly.

Hermione relaxed under his hands. "I think so," she replied.

"Then you must trust us," Belthazar said.

Hermione nodded and climbed to her feet with Belthazar's support.

"Are you Lord Voldemort?"

Belthazar gave her a sideways look. "Don't ask me that question, Hermione."

Hermione quivered.

"No," Belthazar said forcefully, "no, don't be afraid. You're one of us now. The Ministry has given you to us."

"Will you... hurt me?"

"Only you can hurt yourself," Belthazar replied.

Hermione was unsure of where the avoidance of her questions was. She faced the Death Eaters with chin high.

"One thing, Hermione," said one Death Eater, stepping forward, much as Auror Moody had done. He pulled back his head to reveal long white-blond hair. Lucius Malfoy. Hermione gasped and stumbled backward. Lucius looked confused.

"You... you killed Ginny... you..." Hermione stuttered.

"I don't understand," Lucius said, ignorant of the scene Hermione had watched. A hallucination, Hermione thought. Then she realized he had called her "Hermione," not "Mudblood." She was instantly suspicious.

He repeated, "One thing, Hermione. You need to be officially initiated into the organization."

"Where is your master?" Hermione inquired. "Can you initiate me without his approval?"

Lucius smiled with a subtle leer. "He is watching you. You just cannot see him properly. He knew you were coming, Hermione."

"Why are you calling me Hermione?" she challenged him.

"It is your name."

"That never stopped you from calling me Mudblood before," Hermione said.

Lucius bowed his head. "I am compelled to give you more respect than I have in the past."

Hermione tried to catch him in a lie but failed, so she said, "What kind of initiation is it?"

Lucius smiled/leered again. "It's nothing big or difficult, and it is necessary for all recruits. You must choose one of us to have you. Simple, really."

Hermione's eyes widened and she began pulling more urgently at Belthazar's grip. He was not giving her up.

"So I really did see you, it wasn't my imagination."

"What, the Weasley brat?" Lucius snarled. "I haven't touched the girl."

"And if I refuse your offer?" Hermione retorted, resorting to a full tug-of-war battle for her freedom. Belthazar had a grip of steel.

"You go to where the failures are," Belthazar replied. "It is far underground, you'll never see sunlight again." His voice was cold, though his red eyes betrayed a bit of warmth. Hermione found that his eyes enchanted her, drew her in.

She had not broken their gaze when she said to all the Death Eaters, "Remove your hoods. I need to see you to decide." A quaver in her voice belied her casual demeanor. She had avoided such an encounter so far, but it seemed like there was no other alternative. As she began walking down the line of Death Eaters, she wondered if she was not being rash. Surely there were other ways...

"Professor Snape?" Hermione murmured cautiously. He gave her a curt nod. The irritation in his eyes that was so familiar transformed into bafflement, then a languid fascination. Hermione's insides trembled with revulsion.

Lucius gestured them to the center of the clearing. He conjured a blanket to soften the wild ground. Hermione led Snape with her eyes to the makeshift bed.

He was not gentle, but brutal, savage, consuming. He invaded her mouth with his tongue, bit down on her lip and sucked passionately on the welling blood there. Hermione screamed into his mouth, but the only response given to her wordless plea was cruel laughter.

He tore her robes like they were merely sheets of parchment. Her eyes darted frantically, looking for someone, anyone, to help her, but even Belthazar was laughing, eyes tinged with evil. He was Lord Voldemort. The entire deception tore at her insides like an untamed beast clawing to escape confinement.

The friction of him inside incited a burning, blistering, ripping sensation that throbbed and increased with every thrust. Finally, Snape forced himself into her one last, agonizing time. He slid away and, joining with the rest of the Death Eaters' mocking, returned to his place in line.

"No!" she shouted in weak authority. "Get away!"

"Now, now, Hermione," Belthazar chided, "you gave in so easily, and they always like a little sport. All work and no play, after all." He clicked his tongue.

"Get away!" she cried again, searching in the remains of her robes for her wand.

"Don't you remember?" Belthazar said with a mask of sorrow. "You dropped it at the edge of the forest." Hermione did not remember this, but she knew her wand was nowhere to be found.

"You're defenseless, Hermione," Belthazar whispered softly. "It's us, or failure." He pointed with one white bony finger to narrow steps behind the Death Eaters. Shadows from the light of fire shifted on the stairs. "There is nowhere else you can go, no one you can go to. What to do, Hermione, oh, what to do?" He laughed, an icy cold, high-pitched bark, and stroked her shoulders.

Hermione cried out and stumbled past the Death Eaters, pushing them aside in her earnestness to reach the stairs. Even the knowledge of failure would be better than sharing their beds.

Now Belthazar's countenance showed a genuine regret; none of the Death Eaters pursued her.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Hermione," he sighed, waving goodbye.

Then she lost her footing on the first step and she plummeted down. Unbeknownst to Hermione, a door covered the entrance and locked firmly.

When Hermione reached the ground, her head struck the hard earth, causing her vision to blur and spin. Two hands gripped the sides of her head and lifted her, applying almost unbearable pressure to her ears. They set her in a chair and tied her hands and feet so that she could not escape. They attached blinders to her eyes and fitted her head into a device so that she could not keep from facing forward. All she could see were shadows of people doing this to her as her vision cleared.

"This is where all the failed Head Girls and Boys come," someone said in her ear. They laughed and backed away, then spoke in a normal voice. "Welcome to Ignorance."

The words echoed off the flickering walls, combining with the screams of all the failures from all the years. After a few minutes of letting the horror sink in, Hermione joined them.