Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. If it were we would be celebrating a very different epilogue, you know. Everything you can recognize from Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. The legends about vampires and their explanations are taken from "The Twilight Companion" by Lois H. Gresh.
A/N: Chapter 8 is here. Things are going well for our beloved couple, but you'll see hints that it may not last…
The relationship between werewolves and vampires has been taken from "Forever Knight" by DeliverMeFromEve, a wonderful story you can find here on PK. I recommend it to you, because it's amazing. I also would like to thank my wonderful beta Gingercat for her help.
The Cold Ones
Chapter Eight: Spring Term
As all good things do, the Christmas holidays came to an end. While it was a really different Christmas from those I am used to experiencing, it was interesting. No trip to the church to hear the sermon, no huge lunch with my parents, but the tradition of exchanging gifts remained.
Harry got me a book, a very rare one at that, Numerology Through the Centuries, First Edition. I don't even want to think about how much it may have cost him, really. It's supposed to be one of the rarest books of the Wizarding world in this edition and I can't fathom who would be selling it.
But I'm glad they did, so Harry could buy it for me. I feel bad about my gift to him though. Had I known what he was getting me, I might have tried a bit harder than just buying him the new Firebolt 2008. Sure, it's the latest racing broom out, and it did cost me a small fortune, but it's just a broom. Not really comparable with such a rare book.
He seemed pretty content with it though, and even convinced me to have a trip on it in the afternoon. Of course, the chance to hug him tightly to avoid falling was nice, and I knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me so after the first few minutes I truly enjoyed the flight. But this won't help change my fear of brooms much, I'll just use my Gryffindor courage to go flying with him now and then, that's all.
So, all in all it was a rather unconventional Christmas day but I loved it all the same.
Now, we are back to school after the Easter hols, that we once again spent at the Burrow. I guess I'm getting used to spend time with his family, and it is nice. I plan to invite him over to my parent's during the summer, so he can meet them too. I'd really like that.
Ginny is still cold to me, but everyone else is pretty welcoming, even her boyfriend Bill. I've caught snippets of conversations about them, unintentionally of course, where he would try to sway her from her beliefs about me being a danger to the family, but without much success.
Conceited brat.
Anyway, focusing on more important matters, things are going wonderfully between me and Harry. We spend lots of time together, every moment we are not studying to tell the truth, and even when we are studying, we do it together in the library or in the common room. To be honest, it's more along the lines of me studying and him watching me, an open book in front of him but without him reading a single line.
I guess he doesn't have to. He has lived long enough to have memorized all that is in the Hogwarts course books, down to every single word. After all, this is the tenth time he attends seventh year here at Hogwarts.
He explained to me some time ago that Dumbledore knows of his situation, and of that of his brothers, so he has placed a permanent Confounding Charm on the school so that staff, board of governors and students wouldn't notice how many times the Weasleys and Harry are taking their exams. It hasn't been easy to do, but if Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard alive probably, can't, then no one can.
"Don't you get bored always being in school?" I had asked. He chuckled.
"This coming from the girl who spends most of her free time studying and revising?" he teased me, and I had the decency to blush. Then he turned serious again.
"It is pretty depressing at times, but it's not like I can have a Ministry career looking like a seventeen year old for all my life, can I?" he had said, somewhat dejectedly. "Eventually, we will have to go and find something else to do, but for now, this works"
I nodded.
I guess being with him helped me loosen up a bit. When I came to Hogwarts, studying and having high marks was all that mattered to me, but with the help of Seamus, Dean, and the others first, then Harry, I learned the real pleasures of having friends, and a boyfriend.
Harry's invisibility cloak, a gift from his real father that Dumbledore had given him when he had grown up enough to be responsible about it, came really handy all the nights we sneaked out to snog in the Room of Requirements, which is our favourite "relaxing spot" as Harry has come to call it.
Gives you the safety of not being caught, since it doesn't allow anyone in when you're there if you don't want it to, and provides a pretty cosy atmosphere, or whatever you are inclined to when you get there.
It's also very handy for training.
See, Voldemort has been picking up power and it is rumoured that he's recruited an huge army for himself. Nobody knows this for sure, of course, or at least, not the general public. But Harry and I, and the Weasleys, do.
The Weasleys are part of the Order of the Phoenix, a group founded and led by Dumbledore who has been opposing Voldemort's Death Eaters since the first war when Harry's parents were killed. Everyone in the Order knows of the Weasleys conditions and they don't care. There's also a werewolf amongst them, Remus Lupin, former best friend of Harry's real parents. He had been a werewolf for as long as everyone in the Order knew him, and he was when he attended Hogwarts too. So Harry and the Weasleys' situation is not the first time Dumbledore has had to go to special lengths to protect a secret of his students, you see.
If you're wondering how do vampires and werewolves interact with each other, it is an interesting situation. Many think that they hate each other, but this is completely untrue. They have a servant-boss relationship, instead. Werewolves are naturally inclined to serve the vampires, and they particularly choose themselves a vampire to serve and stick to him/her all of their life. Werewolves aren't immortal, but they do live longer than normal wizards. So, Remus, as much as the Weasleys loathe this, is naturally inclined to serve Arthur and his family, including Harry. None of them gives him orders though, it's usually him who volunteers to do things for them. It's strange to see, but there's nothing to do about that.
Anyway, the Order has a spy, the awful Potions teacher Severus Snape. He was a Death Eater once, but then he changed his ways. He's acting as an agent within Voldemort's ranks for the Order, providing useful information about where the attacks will be and what Voldemort's plans are.
He's not always able to find this info because Voldemort informs only those who need to know of his plans, but Snape often does. He's highly accomplished with Legilimency and Occlumency, that's how he managed to survive this long being a spy.
I, to tell the truth, wouldn't be so eager to trust him, and neither is Harry, but we guess Dumbledore knows what he's doing.
So, Snape relayed the info that Voldemort has a huge army at his command now, and thus his strikes are going to be harder and more symbolic too. That means, he will want to scare the Wizarding World into submission taking the supposed beacons of the light. The Ministry, which is not a beacon of the light at all if the corruption going on in it is any gauge, but it is perceived as so by the masses, thanks to a newspaper, the Daily Prophet, which always praises the Minister, first Fudge and now Scrimgeour, and of course Hogwarts, where Dumbledore is.
Harry says that Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort fears, so conquering Hogwarts will be a huge blow. That's why we all know a battle for the school will most likely happen soon.
And thus, we train. Harry has made it a personal quest to bring me to the point of being able to handle myself against vampires as well as Death Eaters.
"He has them on his side, and while usually vampires attack other vampires in a battle, we can't be so naïve to think his ones are going to play fair. So you need to be prepared. The other Order members are, many of them being Aurors and consequently prepared to face dark creatures as part of their job. Others are, as you know, vampires themselves, like me and my family, so we are naturally ready to face other vamps. Remus is a werewolf and so he is similar to us, huge strength and speed when he's into his wolf form, and he can change at will, not only with the full moon, although the full moon makes it much easier for him to morph. Actually, he has to change on a full moon, he has not choice then. Dumbledore and the non-Auror members had been fighting in the first war when Voldemort used the same tricks so they know what they are up against. This leaves you and the other students as the ones unable to face vamps, and werewolves for that matter" he told me when we started the training.
I could see that he was worried sick that he wouldn't have enough time to prepare me. He finally sighed, and looked at me.
"The rest of the students will be locked in here, to prevent casualties. The staff has a plan ready to do that quickly and the school will help. It always does in situations like this. I'd prefer it if you went with them and stayed out of the fight" he said, but I refused. He smirked, knowing I would.
"Then I'll have to train you" he had said, and he kept his promise. In the last month I've made huge improvements.
First thing, he explained to me how to kill a vampire.
"There are only a few ways to accomplish this. You can cut his head off, bury a stake in his heart, and burn him. Always burn him even after you cut his head off or plant a stake in his heart. Always"
He taught me a fire spell to do that, Flamis Eruptere, which produces a big shot of fire from the tip of the wand. The first time I managed it I burnt half the training room in the Room of Requirement down. He grinned.
"You do that to a vamp, you reduce him to ashes even before he can think about biting you" he complimented me. I blushed, pleased.
Today, we are going over physical one on one combat with a vampire. One should think that a human has no chance to win, right?
"That's wrong" Harry tells me. "You can win, but you won't because you won't be able to see the attack start, so you'll find the vamp hitting or biting you even before you realize what is happening. However, there is a potion that can bring your senses up to par with those of vampires if you want to. Snape invented it during the time between the wars. He had been working on it for years, but it is finally ready. You should always have a vial of it on you from now on. It lasts for about 24 hours, and it is called "Vamping Draught". Thank Snape for the original name" he says with a smirk, giving me a vial of reddish liquid.
"I-It's not blood, right?" I ask, eyeing the vial now in my hand suspiciously. Harry chuckles.
"It is, but not human. It is vampire blood, courtesy of me and the Weasleys so that Snape could make this potion. We will give him more to prepare other cauldrons for when the battle comes. For now, we have two full cauldrons to use for the training, not only yours though. Anyway, blood is part of the ingredients, thus the colour, but it's not the only component. Not by a long shot" he tells me. Nodding, I down the liquid, and immediately feel the coppery taste of blood. I'm surprised to see that vamp blood tastes just like human one. Not that I've drank much of that, but you know, anyone has had a split lip in his life. I almost feel like gagging, but I swallow.
I can see Harry watching me curiously, and then I feel it. A surge of strength going through my veins, I can feel my blood pumping madly through my body. I look up at Harry, and I can see my vision is different now.
"Let's try this out then" he grins at me, and starts dashing at mad speed around the room.
"I've got to see where he's going" I think. I concentrate, and suddenly I can see him, like he's walking around me instead of running at vamp speed.
I grin, start running toward him, and try to land a solid punch on his face.
He's surprised by my move, and barely manages to deflect my fist, sending it crashing on the wall. I feel no pain at all.
"Merlin, Hermione, were you trying to kill me?" he scowls, but then he realizes something. "Hey! You did it! You did it! You could follow my movements, and move as fast as me, so much that you almost surprised me!" he grins.
I nod, smiling at him.
"Let's try that again, babe. No nasty punches this time round though, ok?" he winks at me, before taking a mad dash again. I roll my eyes and start to run at his same speed.
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