Disclaimer : I'm not JK Rowling. She created Harry and his world.
Chapter 12. An Unwanted Suggestion
Hermione went into Professor Snape's house and took the seat he offered. He quickly conjured some drinks out of thin air. She was exhausted and welcomed the respite in the safety of his house and his company. Snape finally proved during the war with Voldemort that Dumbledore had been right to trust him. Getting rid of Voldemort would have been close to impossible had it not been for him.
"Professor, I need your help."
"I gathered as much, Miss Granger," he was staring at her intensely.
'I'd really rather you didn't use Legilimency on me. I will willingly answer as much of your questions as I can,' Hermione voice sprang up in Snape's mind.
He smiled at her.
"I'm so sorry, old habit you see. I find it quite mundane not having such challenges anymore, and you have developed into a wonderful challenge it was just difficult to pass up. I am impressed by how you are able to use my mind as a point in space to converse. What is it called, if it even has a name?"
"Legiventroliqy, it's something I've recently worked on."
"Impressive, which makes me even more curious how I can assist you."
"Cardinal curses."
His eyebrows raised and he paced his living room.
"Mr. Weasley is at St. Mungo's, was he a victim of one?"
She nodded.
"Well, there are schools of thought that because cardinal curses are not reproducible and seem to prop up in history sporadically, they are opportunistic in nature," he paused and looked at her, "but then, you knew that already. Have you figured out how the individual's ability could be enabled? "
"A sacrifice, life for life."
"It's good to know that you have done your research. Morgania was the hard one to figure out. It turns out even old hags like her had lovers. Her memoirs left out the most important aspect of how she acquired the ability but I see you found out anyways."
"Professor, I have difficulty believing how an act so pure could evolve into something evil."
"Historically, the ancient magic of self sacrifice has always favoured positive magic. In fact, if you look at opportunistic magic itself, you will be hard-pressed to find applications to the dark arts, with the exception of the cardinal curses. Even then, Merlin used the cardinal curses to suppress the dark forces of his time. After all, if you really think about it, if your life has been spared willingly by someone who sacrifices their own life so yours could continue, you should have that tendency to be a do-gooder, so why would you want to perform magic using strong negative human traits."
"Except for the few who exploit their gift and apply it to the dark arts."
"Miss Granger, humans are a huge reserve of the seven cardinal sins, there is way much less people out there with an overabundance of the seven contrary virtues, which are thought to be the natural balance. It is tempting particularly because it is a rare magical talent," Professor Snape asked, "What is the problem, Miss Granger?"
"The problem is there is an enabled wizard out there who is using cardinal curses to murder. Including Dorner, seventeen have died in the past four months."
His eyebrows furrowed, "But, we have not had…" then he realized, "The Muggle deaths?"
She nodded and showed him a note. He read it and gave it back.
"Looks like this 'Cardinal' is a fun sort and wants to play with the brightest witch of her generation. You do have your hands full, Miss Granger, considering you and I know you cannot perform these curses, no matter how bright you are."
"You, Sir, on the other hand probably could," Hermione said plainly and awaited a response.
A smirk formed at the corner of his mouth, "Is that the real reason for this visit? Am I a suspect?"
"You are near the top of the list," Hermione confirmed.
"You are thinking that since Professor Dumbledore saved my life by allowing me to kill him, I enabled myself."
"It does seem like a violation of the spirit of self sacrifice," Hermione said, "But entirely plausible."
"Miss Granger, as much as I cherish being a villain, I am not the Cardinal. As always, just being on your list of suspects flatters me," Snape replied sarcastically.
"I know you are not the Cardinal," Hermione answered, "As you said, the Cardinal is a 'fun' sort. That's hardly a depiction you would want to be associated with."
"True. Dark witches and wizards nowadays are so lacking of the concept of absolute terror," he rolled his eyes up, "Sending stupid notes to challenge Unspeakables instead of just killing them. What a disgrace to the Dark Arts!"
Hermione almost laughed at how serious he was. It was, thankfully, true.
"Professor, I need a collaborator for my research. I need someone who can do the curses so I can test the counter curses. Will you help me?"
Snape stared at Hermione, contemplating an answer, "Let us pretend for a while that I am enabled and that I am interested, which I really am not. You must have something in mind to make sure I don't become another Cardinal."
She shrugged, "It's not much, really. Just an Unbreakable Vow not to use them outside of the test sessions with me."
Hermione heard Snape laugh out loud for the first time.
Teary eyed from laughing too much, Snape responded, "Forgive me, Miss Granger. It's not that I do not appreciate the gravity of the situation; I just find it amusing to be at the receiving end of such a proposal."
Hermione was disappointed, "You decline."
"As I said, I am not interested. Enabled or not, I recognize my predispositions and would rather not have that kind of knowledge. I have also lost taste for such vows, you know, a previous bad experience. In fact, if I could make an Unbreakable vow not to make another Unbreakable vow for the rest of my life, I would."
Hermione tried to hide the frustration in her eyes. She was running out of options.
"Professor, in your opinion, is there was a way for me to get rid the Cardinal?"
"You know your history, Miss Granger. The ability to perform the curses makes one almost invincible. Your odds are slim to none. You probably could wish for lightning or a most unfortunate accident on the Cardinal and the likelihood would be better. However, I do have a suggestion." He paused, looked at Hermione with his piercing eyes. "I presume you have figured out how to perform the curses and the counters. Forget me. Train someone else. Someone who is definitely enabled and who you could definitely trust not to become another Cardinal."
With that, he picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet for the day and threw it on the coffee table right in front of Hermione. A picture of Harry was on the front page of the news with a Rita Skeeter by line. The headline read, "Harry is back!"
Professor Snape added, "Mr. Potter always gets the headlines. I'm sure he won't refuse having a war with another Voldemort wannabe. And if I were the Cardinal, I'd be thinking why kill you if I will be more famous when I kill him."
Hermione thanked the Professor for his time but left very furious. This was exactly the reason why she had Ginny tell Harry to leave and get him to leave at all cost. Did she have to do everything herself?
She thought about the events of two years ago for the first time in a long while. It seemed so distant, that one night of intimacy they shared, or idiocy as she now referred to it.
Hermione told Ron about her feelings for Harry after dinner at a fancy Muggle restaurant the night after he got back from his first major assignment following Auror graduation. She interrupted his attempt to propose, kissed him intimately for the last time and 'officially' broke up with him. Ron knew she was serious this time but took it really badly, particularly because his best friend, who was always the center of the universe, had unwittingly taken his girl's affection from him. He threw Muggle money on the table, and stormed out of the restaurant red faced.
As Hermione got back to her apartment she almost tripped over a night service owl that was trying to deliver a letter. She immediately recognized Harry's handwriting on the note and found it curious that he did not send Hedwig.
She started reading it as she got off the elevator; not really noticing how she got into her apartment. She finished reading the letter just as she closed the door behind her. She felt dizzy and light-headed; she read it over and over again. For the longest time she couldn't comprehend what it meant.
And then she did. Harry was gone. He had left. Her heart ripped apart at its seams, and left a constant gnawing pain inside her chest. She collapsed to the floor and cried a river. In a distant background she heard Ron pounding on her door. Then she felt him beside her and lifting her up to her couch. Ron said to her, "I'll find him; he'll be back."
Ron held her that night. She cried until no more tears would come; she cried until sleep mercifully came to her.
The initial months after Harry left were rough on everyone, particularly Hermione. After all, she firmly believed it was her fault that he left, though at that time nobody, except Ginny, knew why. His leaving affected so many lives. For quite some time, Ron came to see her everyday to check up on her. He began to look for Harry as he said he would, but Hermione told him, and finally coerced him, not to waste his time. Ron was there when she set his note on fire. Ron was there when she rid her apartment and office of everything that would remind her of him. They comforted each other with the loss of their friend, as she imagined they would have done had Harry died. And to her, Harry was as good as dead. The one good thing that came out of it was that Ron was her best friend again.
Hermione was never angry with Harry. It was a choice he made and she respected that. It just hurt so much that she lost not only the man she loved but her best friend too. She was more disappointed that he chose not to keep in touch.
She did not believe the lies Harry tried to sell to everyone else about why he left. His last letter told her the real story.
You were probably right; some memories are better off forgotten.
Harry remembered what she said on that secrecy note which could only mean he did not take the potion. The memory of their night drove him away and he did not care enough about her to stay and deal with his guilt and regret.
Ginny thought Harry left because he cared too much; too much about her and too much about Ron. No, Hermione couldn't allow herself to assume that. It was easier to move on with her life thinking he didn't care.
Through Ron's help she dragged herself to and from work, and finally redirected her energies to her projects. Soon after, Dorner took her aside and asked her if she wanted to work on some special assignments that would remain 'unofficial'. Before she could even think what he was asking, she said yes, yes to the opportunity to spend every waking hour not being able to think about anything else; or anyone else.
Her first special project was called Remote. It was to look into the possibility of establishing a connection with any wand not in possession. In four months she had come up with using the innate properties of the wand, the wood from which it was made and its core, to do this.
What came next was Projection. She created Legiventroliqy by combining the principles of Legilimency and ventriloquism; impressing Dorner with the speed she had accomplished her first two projects.
The other thing that was extraordinary about this was that Dorner could not find any other witch or wizard in the Ministry's employ able to perform her inventions. They were very advanced magic that could only be performed by the very gifted.
Then there was Lumos. She told Dorner it was to be her final special project when she submitted it four months ago.
Hermione had to admit; Harry's arrival came as a shock. She did not expect to see him again and his timely arrival made her escape possible. If he had not come, she would be dead, or worse, in Azkaban, and the Cardinal situation would have gotten from bad to worse; with Ron in the hospital, her in Azkaban reliving the horrors of creating the murdering monster and a Muggle who knew everything but would not be able to talk to any witch or wizard about it.
Her heart stopped beating for a moment when their eyes first met in the St Mungo holding cell. A wide gamut of emotions quickly overwhelmed her and she immediately suppressed an initial instinct to embrace and kiss him passionately. Thinking how much more attractive he was and how good he looked, she was almost sure he must have someone taking care of him. His absolute absence for two years with nary a note or an owl screamed, "I don't care enough about you to even bother doing that."
She saw her reflection on the glass window and thought how awful she looked. She could certainly make more of a fool of herself than she already was. And he did say he came back because he heard about Ron, not because he heard about her. As much as she hoped otherwise, after two years she still loved him. Harry's return confirmed it, just as Ron suspected it would. And when she thought she was done feeling that way about him, the gnawing ache in her chest started. She was miffed that he made her feel that way all over again just by showing up.
When Harry asked if she wanted to talk about why she was there, she was tempted. If there was one person in the world she trusted aside from Ron, it was Harry. But she could not. For one thing, the Cardinal was someone who either was employed by the Ministry or had very close ties to someone in a position of great import. Someone was listening on the other side of the glass window and the last thing she wanted was for the Cardinal to know what she knew and what she was trying to do.
And it was personal. The Cardinal took something she created and used it to kill. Hermione felt responsible for giving the Cardinal his tools for murder but seeing Ron that night, lying on her apartment floor, almost lifeless and unresponsive, she felt a piece of her die. Ron almost passed on because of her and Hermione was not going to make the same mistake with Harry by getting him involved in her war with the Cardinal.
Professor Snape was right; Harry was enabled because of his mother's gift and would take on the challenge. That would be so unfair because it would be like Voldemort all over again. Yes, he would have a choice to walk away, but he would never do that, even if it meant he was going to die. It would be so unfair to put him in that situation again.
Hermione was surprised at how easy she was able to use Harry's wand to communicate with him and how invigorating it was. She knew he would not fail her if she asked him for her wand. But if he stayed in town the Cardinal would find out, then Harry would never leave. Hermione wanted him to leave.
That night she escaped she was positive Harry would be with Ron waiting for her and she was prepared to petrify him. Harry would want to talk and that would be a distraction. She had no time to spare that night. The Aurors would surely check Ron's room first. She had to perform that healing spell she read about during her research on opportunistic magic and she wasn't sure if she could pull it off. She was disappointed when she left that night though buoyed by news from Ginny that it made Ron better.
One thing was for certain; Hermione had to get to Harry and drive him away, before the Cardinal got to him. Making him feel that he wasn't welcome was part of that plan. The last thing she wanted on her conscience was to be responsible for the death of Harry Potter.
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The sun woke Harry up the following morning. Breakfast was ready when he came down. He was wondering whether he would have some time to look at Ron's third memory before reporting for work when an ugly head suddenly protruded from the embers in his fireplace. It was Hector Aimes, the ultra-fit Auror he met the night of Hermione's escape.
"Potter, come to the Ministry. There's been a murder and its got your name written all over it. Looks like your friend did not waste time to commit another one."
Harry was fuming as he flooed quickly into the Ministry and found Aimes waiting for him. Harry followed him and they Apparated to the crime scene.
They were in a dark deserted alley in one of the roughest parts of town. Harry followed Aimes deeper into the darkness and felt his body going through a veil. Beyond it the alley was bustling with activity from Ministry officials. He saw Tonks among a few other Aurors looking over a still figure up against the far wall beside a restaurant service entrance. As they approached, the crowd cleared a path and he could see what Aimes meant.
Written on the victim's body in red, which Harry guessed was the victim's own blood, were the words,
Harry, a present for you. Catch me if you can. Three down, three to go until you.
Aimes could not pass up an opportunity, "Seems like whoever did this knows you personally. Do you recognize the handwriting or should I just tell you whose it is?"
He did not answer. The handwriting was very familiar. It was Hermione's.