Unofficial Portkey Archive

Hermione watched as Ron quietly closed the door to her "cell" and tried to ignore the sudden feeling of nervousness she was experiencing. She told herself that her nerves were simply because she was about to experience what could be an uncomfortable conversation with Ron but something else was niggling at her, worrying away at the edge of her mind like a dog gnawing on a bone. She'd always prided herself on her reason and on her logic and - despite the sheer wonder of the magical world - still held a very sceptical view of things that some people considered "mysterious" or "supernatural." As a child when she'd first seen Hamlet and had heard the famous quote "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," she'd wanted to get up on stage and debate the point with the actor. As far as she was concerned, everything could be explained with logic and reason.

At least, that was what she used to think.

Since being bitten and undergoing her first transformation, she'd been forced to accept that there are indeed other factors at play in the world. For one thing, she was now convinced that she had developed a sixth sense for danger and that sense was setting off a massive alarm bell in her head at the moment. She knew something was wrong. She just didn't know what, nor could she explain how she knew.

`Are you OK, Hermione?'

She jolted out of her reverie at Ron's question and offered him a tremulous smile.

`I'm fine, Ron, thanks. I guess I'm still not used to all this,' she added, sweeping her arm around the room as she spoke.

`It seems very comfortable. McGonagall's done a grand job with this. You'll be fine sleeping in here tonight,' replied Ron.

Hermione smiled again at his attempts to remain cheerful for her sake and made to reply but suddenly froze as her sense of smell was suddenly telling her something that could not be true. She focussed for a second, blocking out everything else as she picked up on the scent that had suddenly encroached on her senses.

`Ron, I think Ginny is standing outside. You didn't tell her anything, did you?'

She could tell from the surprised look on his face that Ron hadn't said a word. Damn it! Ginny must have followed us. She made for the door only to feel her heart stop in her chest as she recognised the sound of the magical bolts being slid into place.

`I'll be back in an hour! You two get cosy and I'll let you out in an hour!' They both heard the muffled voice of Ginny through the door. Through the locked door.

Oh, shit, Ginny; no! Hermione raced for the door but her nose was already telling her that Ginny was gone. She pounded her fists on the oak panels.

`GINNY! GINNY! OPEN THE DOOR! YOU HAVE TO OPEN THE DOOR'

She stopped the pounding and rested her head against the door before slowly turning and facing Ron, noticing the look of mounting horror on his face as the realisation dawned.

`She's gone.'

`Gone?' replied Ron. `Can you not open the door?' He took his wand out of his pocket.

`Alohomora!'

Nothing.

`Alohomora! Alohomora! ALOHOMORA!' cried Ron with a mounting degree of panic.

`It's no use, Ron. Those bolts are impervious to magic. That won't work.' She was amazed at how calm she sounded despite the feeling of impending doom that threatened to overwhelm her. She waited until Ron turned to face her before continuing. She stole a quick glance through the barred window.

`We have about ten minutes until I change,' she said grimly. `I've taken my potion so we should be fine. I'll still be in control so there is no need to worry.'

Ron swallowed hard at these words, seeking reassurance. `You'll have full control?'

Hermione bit back the urge to snap at him. I just said so, didn't I? she thought to herself. But losing her temper would not help the situation. She nodded her head. `I'll be in full control. I'll just go to sleep and I suggest you just sit tight until Ginny comes back in an hour. I won't be much company anyway.' She smiled grimly. `This isn't exactly how I planned our talk to go.'

`I'm going to murder Ginny when I see her,' said Ron, his anger beginning to replace his fear. `What the hell does she think she's doing?'

`She doesn't know about my condition,' Hermione replied. `It's not her fault. She's just pulling a prank.'

`That's got nothing to do with it!' snapped Ron. `She shouldn't be following us and she certainly shouldn't be locking us up in a room! That's taking pranking too far!' He paused for a moment as he calmed down a bit. `She's going to find out about your condition too,' he added.

Hermione started in surprise as this had not occurred to her. She shrugged her shoulders. `It's not how I would want her to find out but I would have told her soon enough anyway.' She paused to gather her thoughts, surprised at how calm she sounded despite every fibre of her being telling her that something bad was going to happen. `I guess this is something that we were going to have to deal with sooner or later too. I mean…if we are to be together then I guess you'll have to get used to this. I mean, I can't stay at Hogwarts my whole life…I'll need to…I'll…'

For once she found herself at a loss for words as she struggled to say what was on her mind. For once, Ron had the sense not to interrupt.

`I didn't ever want you to see me transform,' she finally managed to say, looking at her feet as she did so.

`What?'

`I never wanted you to see me change. I guess I can handle you seeing me in my wolf form, but the transformation is horrible and I never wanted you to witness that.' She looked at Ron and could see that he did not understand why this was important to her. Not only was the transformation painful and something she wanted to protect him from, it was also the moment that her curse was at its height, when she was powerless to fight it - with or without the Wolfsbane potion. She didn't want anyone to see her that vulnerable. Not even Ron. `Would you mind looking away when I change?' she asked in a small voice.

Ron knew that he was not the most sensitive of people but even he recognised a plea from the heart when he heard one. He nodded his head.

`I'll turn around and close my eyes,' he replied. `Promise.'

Surprisingly Hermione smiled at his words before the two of them turned to gaze out of the window towards the setting sun.

Not long now.

………………………………

Harry briefly paused as he headed towards the Gryffindor common room, taking a moment to stop and gaze out of the window at the sun slowly setting below the western mountains. For all that the Highlands of Scotland could produce some extremely brutal weather Harry appreciated the fact that when it was nice, such as tonight, one could enjoy some of the finest scenery to be found anywhere. As he gazed out over the scene before him, he felt a sense of peace that he had not experienced in quite some time.

His peace was broken, however, by the sound of footsteps. Turning to his right, he was surprised to see Professor Slughorn approaching, his short, stubby legs moving as fast as Harry had ever seen. While Slughorn could not be said to be particularly mobile, there was no doubt that the shambling, awkward gait the professor now displayed actually passed for what could be classed as running.

Something was clearly wrong if Horace Slughorn was running.

`Harry!...Harry…must speak to…Granger,' wheezed Slughorn as he struggled to get his breath back. He held out his hand, palm open. `I found this!' he finally managed to exclaim.

With a bemused expression on his face, Harry took the small object from Slughorn and examined it closely. `Forgive me, Professor,' he began, `but this looks like a juniper berry to me?'

`It is a juniper berry,' wheezed Slughorn, doubled over, his hands on his knees. `We're in trouble. Granger is in trouble,' he added as he straightened himself up.

Harry's bemused look disappeared immediately at the thought of Hermione in trouble. He still could not understand what was going on though, and struggled to maintain calm. `Once again, Professor, you will have to forgive my ignorance. What is the significance of this particular berry?'

`It was supposed to be in Granger's potion. I found it on the floor of my lab but it should have gone into the potion.'

`Is that important?' Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

`YES! Don't you understand? The potion won't work unless brewed perfectly.'

Harry turned to look out of the window again before glancing at his watch. He had the relevant sunset times memorised for the next six months. There was less than five minutes left before Hermione would be affected, maybe not even that. He closed his eyes, knowing that what she feared most of all - losing control - was about to befall her once again. His mind was awhirl with thoughts and questions but a few in particular were pushing all others to one side.

What do I do now? Do I warn her? Is there any point in warning her because it won't change anything?

He wondered where Ron was, wishing his friend was with him at the moment, even if only to share the anguish. Just as he found himself wondering if it was worth racing to tell Hermione the news, he heard footsteps approaching from around the corner and turned to face his friend.

`Ron!'

But it wasn't Ron, it was Ginny who appeared and judging from the sudden look of guilt that appeared on her face at hearing her brother's name, Harry knew something was wrong.

`Where's Ron?' Harry snapped.

Ginny sensed immediately that Harry was in no mood for deflection. His body positively bristled with tension; he was like a coiled spring.

`He's with Hermione,' she replied quietly.

`He can't be,' Harry replied tersely.

`He is. I left them a few minutes ago.'

`Left them where?' asked Harry, a tone of dread creeping into his voice.

`Left them in that room underneath the castle. I suppose you already know about it?' She had tried to make the last question sound accusatory but instead it came across as petulant. Childish. She was suddenly aware only of a pair of bright green eyes that bored in on her, almost looking into her, such was their intensity. `I…I…locked them in. You know, for a joke?' she added, a beseeching look on her face. She finally turned away, unable to meet his stare.

Time froze for Harry. He suddenly felt the urge to vomit, experienced a blackness encroaching on his vision as he struggled to even breathe. With panic rising within him like an unleashed beast, he felt as if he was somehow outside of reality, that he was a spectator watching events rather than a key participant. His mind ceased to function for a few moments but he was fortunate that instinct had already kicked in. After staring at Ginny for what seemed like an age, he suddenly turned and started sprinting down the corridor as fast as he had ever ran in his entire life.

……………………………………..

Hermione glanced out of the window before closing her eyes. She could feel the pull of the lunar cycle and was becoming familiar with the sensations that accompanied her change. She knew now that it was only a matter of moments.

`Can you look away now, Ron?' she asked quietly without turning to face him.

`No problem' replied Ron. `I'll face the wall and close my eyes. I guess I'll be able to work out when it's OK to look,' he added.

Hermione nodded her thanks but did not turn to face him. She breathed deeply and steadily as she waited, her irritation beginning to get the better of her. Ron should not be here! She couldn't really blame Ginny as she did not know what was going on but part of her was angry at the redhead for pulling such a stupid prank. Ron could have been in great danger.

Thank God for the potion.

She should have been comforted by that fact but her senses were screaming at her that not everything was as it should be. She didn't know why but she was quickly learning to trust her instincts and they were all saying the same thing to her at the moment.

Something was wrong. Really wrong.

Such was her feeling of unease she almost missed it. She opened her eyes in response to the now familiar surge within her but just as she was trying to decide what to do next she lurched suddenly and fell to her hands and knees, her back arched in pain. Her head turned up to the ceiling as the first moments of agony assailed her and she balled her hands into fists, breathing hard as she did so, fighting with every sinew not to cry out.

It was at that moment that realisation began to dawn on her. She felt another surge through her veins but this time she could feel the beast within her as it started to dominate her reason and rationality.

Oh, God. That's not right! That shouldn't be happening!

She finally let go and screamed but recognised the howl creeping into her cries and some distant part of her mind realised that she was losing control. That the potion wasn't working.

`Ron! Ron!' She gritted her teeth, every word uttered a victory of sorts for her humanity. `You…have…to…get…out…of…here,' she gasped. `The potion…hasn't…worked…run away...'

She splayed herself on the floor, feeling herself baring her teeth as she fought for control. She retained just enough of herself for now to know that she had to win this fight or Ron could die. She also knew that she could not, would not, win this fight.

That was the last conscious thought of Hermione Granger as, with another surge of agonising pain, the beast took over.

The first thing the beast did was turn to see if it could find the source of the strange scent that told it there was fresh meat nearby.

………………………………….

Ron couldn't remember feeling more uncomfortable in his entire life. He was aware that as a wizard, his life was stranger than most. He would also admit to anyone that even by magical standards, his life could hardly be considered normal. Being best friend to Harry Potter meant that he had found himself in situations that most people - magical or otherwise - couldn't begin to imagine.

But staring at a stone wall in a locked cell while behind him, his girlfriend transformed into a werewolf probably took the prize for most surreal moment of his life.

I'm going to kill Ginny he thought for the umpteenth time. He was actually worried as he knew that even with Hermione in control, sharing a room with a werewolf was an extremely intimidating and dangerous thing to face.

Well, slightly more intimidating and dangerous than Hermione usually is, he thought to himself with a chuckle.

The small smile on his face was suddenly removed when he heard a noise behind him that he suspected was Hermione falling to the ground on all fours. It took all of his willpower not to turn round to see if she was OK; Hermione had been adamant about that and he would respect her wishes. He could hear her breathing intensify and hoped that the transformation would not take much longer.

He heard her scream and found himself almost in tears as he recognised a distinctive howl in her voice. Now he knew why she didn't want him to witness this. It was simply torture.

He closed his eyes tightly, wishing it over when suddenly he heard her speak and her words chilled him to the bone.

`Ron! Ron! You…have…to…get…out…of…here. The potion…hasn't…worked…run away…'

Ron turned in horror to face his girlfriend and he wondered how he was still able to function as the true meaning of her words hit him. I could die here.

I will die here.

He watched as she splayed herself on the floor, as her teeth bared and turned into great canine incisors that he knew would rip his flesh to shreds. He found himself surprised at his ability to retain rational thought despite the terror that threatened to overwhelm him. There was no point in trying to get out, he knew; no point in running as there was nowhere to run to. The room was magically sealed and Ron Weasley felt like an onlooker at his own execution as he watched the - now wolf - body finally relax in front of him and slowly begin to rise, it's back to him. He cautiously held his wand out in front of him at the ready. But he didn't fire straight away. He had to be sure.

`Hermione?'

There was no initial response, but finally the beast lifted its head and sniffed the air. It turned slowly and hunkered down on all fours as it regarded the creature in front of it. It circled hesitantly in an anti-clockwise direction as if suspecting some kind of trap but it did not take its eyes off Ron for even a second. Ron found himself starting to circle too, moving with corresponding steps in time with the beast.

`Hermione? Are you in there?'

In response, the beast merely growled and rested on its back legs. Ron knew what was coming next.

`STUPEFY' he cried, just as the beast pounced and he felt no remorse as his spell struck his assailant in the chest.

This isn't Hermione. This thing will kill you, he told himself.

He'd fired his most powerful stunner but it had little effect. Instead of knocking the wolf off its feet and rendering it unconscious, it had merely stalled the pounce resulting in the first lunge falling a few feet short. He watched in horror and backed away as the wolf shook itself and got ready to pounce for a second time. Ron Weasley saw death in front of him.

It was at that moment that everything changed. Something distracted the wolf and it paused in its advance, cocking its head to one side and sniffing the air again. Ron thought that it seemed rather unsure of itself. After a few moments it seemed satisfied that nothing was awry and turned to face him once again, readying itself to pounce. Ron raised his wand once more, amazed that his arm remained steady, but just as he was about to fire for a second time, the door to the cell suddenly burst open and Harry raced into the room.

`STUPEFY! STUPEFY!' Harry cried and this time the beast was knocked backwards by the double spell blast, staggering to maintain balance before eventually falling to its knees. Ron found himself being grabbed by the shoulder and shoved towards the door.

`MOVE!' cried Harry as he pushed his friend between the shoulder blades and followed him. They had nearly made it to the door when the beast recovered from Harry's attack. It pounced for a third time and on this occasion it finally found its mark. It crashed into Harry, sinking its teeth into his shoulder as it knocked him to the ground.

Harry cried out in agony as he fell but retained the presence of mind to place his wand right under the jaw of the wolf, even as moved to take another bite.

`STUPEFY!' he cried once again and this time, the wolf was blasted across the room, such was the force of the spell allied to the proximity of the wand to the target. It struck its head on the stone wall and crumpled to the floor in a heap, obviously unconscious.

A horrible silence descended on the room that seemed to last for an eternity, a silence that was finally broken only when Ginny entered the cell, her eyes widening in horror as she took in the scene; took in the shocked look on Ron's face; Harry sitting on the floor holding his shoulder and finally, took in the werewolf lying unconscious in the corner.

`Is that…Hermione?' she asked, tears starting to fall as she realised what had happened here.

Harry gritted his teeth. `Yes. Now bind her and stun her again. Then get out of here. Both of you.'

No one moved.

`DO IT!!' he screamed. `Get out of here - there's no time left.'

`T…t…time?' stammered Ron. `What do you mean?' he asked.

Harry looked him straight in the eye and grimaced. `You know what I mean, Ron,' he answered quietly. He removed his left hand from his right shoulder and suddenly Ron and Ginny could see the wound beneath the shredded clothes, could see the teeth marks and the blood.

`I can feel myself changing,' Harry said, breathing hard. `It won't be long; get Hermione bound, get me stunned and bound and then get the hell out of this room. You need to do this right now!!!'

Ron stared aghast at his friend, the truth of his words sinking in. He saw Ginny fall to her knees but knew they did not have the luxury of grief at the moment. He grabbed his sister and roughly pulled her to her feet and dragged her out of the cell. Moving as quickly as he could, he re-entered the room and fired three more stunners at Hermione before casting an Incarcerous on her, binding her with thick ropes. Then he turned to Harry and he could see the strain on his features. He raised his wand but hesitated a moment.

`Are you sure?' he asked quietly.

Harry nodded, gritting his teeth as he did so. `I can feel it, Ron. There's not much time left. Bind me and stun me and get the hell out of here before it's too late.' As if to prove his point, his body gave a sudden convulsion and he cried out in agony.

Ron was oblivious to the tears that rolled down his cheeks as he once again raised his wand. As Harry convulsed for a second time he fired another stunner that blasted his friend into unconscious oblivion. He watched as Harry - despite being knocked out - transformed into a werewolf then he bound him tight and levitated him onto the nearby cushions, covering him with a blanket before hitting him with another couple of stunners. Then he took a moment to move Hermione onto some cushions and covering her too before he headed to the door.

He turned and took one last look at the beasts that he knew were his two best friends and felt his heart breaking.

How do we recover from this? He asked himself in despair.

He closed the door and slowly slid the magical bolts home and as the last one fell into place it felt as if he was sealing a tomb.

How do we recover from this?

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