AN: I spent the entire day being quite depressed, as I had a horrible day. I wanted this chapter to be quick and painless but I also wanted it to show the pain I was going through. I apologize for what I did to Hermione, but I assure she is alright. Thank you for reading, and as always comments are very much welcomed!
Chapter Nineteen: From Your Mouth To Gods Ears
(Hermione)
Days came and went uneventfully, which was normal for me. The only bright part of my day was the owls I received from Harry each night. They usually consisted of his day in detail, making sure the letters were at least one page in length. Every time Hedwig soared through an open window in my house my entire day seemed a little bit better.
One of his letters cheered me up immensely after a rather terrible revelation I had concerning Michael.
I had come home from the library a little later than normal to see his car in my driveway. Thinking he was in Scotland doing business I was a bit shocked to say the least. I opened the front door to find all the lights in the house off, I assumed he went to bed. After I shut the door and locked it, I developed a large craving for a cup of tea, so I walked into the kitchen and set to work on that. Just then I heard the kitchen door swing open. I turned around to see Michael standing in the door frame, he had a glare pasted on his face.
"What is it darling, are you feeling alright?" I asked him concerned.
He walked closer to me, I looked down and noticed he had something clutched in his left hand, I couldn't tell what it was.
"Hermione, I don't think you have been completely truthful with me." Was all he said before he lunged at me.
His entire body flew forward in the air towards me. I tried to dodge but he was too large and I was too slow. The weight of his physique crushed me into the stove, I could feel the heat from the burner tickling the skin on my arm. I winced in pain as the flames licked my skin more and more.
"Michael, what are you doing?" I struggled to get out through gritted teeth. He said nothing but only snarled at me. "Michael?" He raised his left arm and wrapped his fingers around my neck. Slowly I could feel him pushing my quivering body closer and closer to the dancing flames hovering just under me. Tears were pricking my eyes as I struggled for breath.
"Do it yourself…" I heard him mutter, I was confused what he was saying and who he was talking to. Just then the released his hold on my neck, I inhaled large quantities of breath, and caught sight of what exactly it was he was holding in his hand. It was my wand, he had found my wand.
He took a step back from me, his eyes never leaving mine.
"If you want something done right…" Michael muttered so quietly I had to strain to hear him. What did he mean? Suddenly, as if I were in a dream, I watched him raise my wand in the air and point it at me. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized Muggles cannot do magic, but what happened next, shocked me to the core.
"CRUCIO!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.
The curse hit me directly in the chest and I felt myself fly backwards and into the stove. The force of my weight hitting the stove had knocked the flame out, but the gas remained, leaking into the air. I was feeling pain far worse than I ever thought possible. It felt like nails on a chalkboard reverberating all throughout my body, I had chills which cooled and burned me all at the same time. I prayed for death, I cant say whether I did it aloud, but I know I silently prayed with all of my heart, that I would hear the two words ever wizard dreads hearing.
The suddenly it was over. The pain had subsided, and I had opened my eyes. My wand lay on the floor across the kitchen from me, and Michael was gone. I did not know where he had gone, and neither did I care at this point, right now I needed Harry
I wrote him a letter that night. I didn't tell him about the curse, or the burns. All I said was I wasn't too sure if Michael was he said to be. Harry did his best in the next letter to cheer me up and keep my mind off of the obvious. He also advised me to go stay with someone. He did not want me all alone when no one knew where Michael was. I agreed to pack my things and go stay with Ron and Luna.
(Harry)
Not what we all thought, well there was the understatement of the century. It was killing me to do this to her, to keep this secret from her, but I did not want her to become and more involved than she already was. I had just gotten her back, I did not want to lose her because of this psycho. I opted to keep this confidential information to myself, as much as I knew it would hurt her if she found out.
I had been tracking him over a year, and had been under my nose the entire time. I felt like such a plonker, that I had overlooked such an important fact. If he was who he claimed to be, then he would stop at nothing to kill me. She had just been the middle man, yet again.
I was helpless. I couldn't return to London, and comfort Hermione as much as I wanted to. I had to stay here and track some nutter who thought it was fun to worship someone long gone, and take innocent people down with them. The anger I felt for this man was nothing compared the anger I felt at myself for not having figured this riddle out sooner.
Hermiones life had been put at stake, all because of me. I sat in the corner of the sitting room of the local tavern, brooding, when Tonks and Lupin came over and accompanied me. I filled them in on everything that Hermione had told me, which wasn't much. If I was going to figure things out I couldn't very well be here in a different country.
"Lupin, requesting permission to carry on inspection in London." I asked him in my best impression of the military. He cracked a smile at my attempt.
"We need you here Harry." He stated simply. I was not going to give up. I had reason to believe the scumbag was still in London, and I wanted to find him.
"Remus, I want to find this guy, he hurt Hermione. I think he might still be in London. If he's going after her, he would stay near her right?" He looked as if he might consider it. "I just need to be near her, incase something does happen." I added as an after thought. This got his attention, he nodded his head.
"Alright Harry, you have two weeks, then we need you back here."
I smiled at the man who was as close to as a father as I was likely to ever get again. I took his hand in mine and thanked him profusely before downing the last gulp of fire whiskey, grabbing my coat and heading out the door into the blistering wind.