Belong to Nowhere
Chapter
10: Mates
Sirius
read that same line about five times and still seemed not quite believing. I
mean, come on, forever bounded?
“Er,
dear cousin,” he said, “I’m almost afraid... er...is Hermione the friendly
blood?”
Tonks
gave him a small smile and nodded.
“Yes,
she is the friend and I am the family. Sirius-”
Sirius
ran a hand through his long black hair in despair and looked at the fainted
girl on the floor.
“Tonks, I can’t be bound to her! She is
sixteen years old, for Merlin’s sake!”
“Eighteen,”
Tonks muttered.
“Whatever!
I am still too old! She is not supposed to be bound to me!
It’s…it’s…immoral!”
“I don’t know either, Sirius, but we have to
get out of here. Let me enervate her-“ Tonks was about
to perform the spell when Sirius stopped her.
“No!” Tonks looked at him in surprise. “I
don’t know, but I have a feeling that we shouldn’t use magic on her. I don’t
know, I think this isn’t a simple faint.”
“Okay.
But we still need to get out. I don’t think we should Apparate. We don’t know
how your magic is-" Then, with a flick of her wand, Tonks had gathered the
objects used in the ritual, and took a napkin from her robes’ pocket.
“Portus!” she said. “Come on, Sirius! Please,
grab Hermione’s hand and-" The young auror didn’t even need to finish her
sentence. Sirius knew what to do.
Moments
later, they were gone.
***
Three
strange people appeared from out of nowhere in front of
The
young woman seemed a little lost, as if she was thinking about something.
“Tonks! I
know you couldn’t make a portkey to go inside
Number Twelve but, er, could we enter now, you know…Hermione isn't all that
heavy but, er, I was dead…”
Tonks
looked at him like he had two heads.
“Y-You
can see? You can see Number Twelve?”
“Of
course I can see it!”
Tonks
shook her head. “Maybe it has something
to do with the bond,” she thought.
“So, er, lets enter.
Hum, er, Remus is inside so, I think, maybe, you should cover your face. Er,
your hood…”
Sirius
laughed when Tonks put the hood on him, covering his head and face.
“Poor
Moony,” he said. “He will have a heart attack!”
***
Remus
Lupin was sitting in the armchair drinking a Butterbeer and wondering where the
hell Tonks could be when he heard the front door opening.
He
was very surprised when he saw a pale Tonks coming inside the living room with
a hooded person by her side. And worse, the person had a fainted Hermione in
their arms!
“Oh, Merlin! What’s happened, Tonks?” asked Remus.
“Later, Remus,” Tonks said and nodded to the hooded person who nodded
back and went straight upstairs.
Remus
looked a little confused at their, er, silence exchange. That person…he
knew that smell but…no! It’s not possible. Shaking his head he followed
the stranger. Tonks had gone to the kitchen. She needed to use the fireplace.
She needed to call McGonagall.
The
stranger had laid Hermione on Harry’s bed.
“Er,
you,” Remus said, feeling and sounding awkward, “This not Hermione’s room. This
is Harry’s.”
“No,” the person said. Remus knew that voice!
Oh, no! It’s not possible! “This room is mine, Moony.” And the person
took off their hood.
“Sirius?” Remus Lupin asked quietly, almost whispering. “Is
that really you?”
“Yes, Moony,” he said, smiling at Remus’
shocked face. “So, I won’t be receiving a hug from my old friend?”
The
werewolf came towards Sirius and hugged him tightly.
“Oh, Sirius! We missed you so much! But how?” he asked after breaking the
hug.
“Our little Hermione here.”
Remus
smiled and looked at the girl on the bed, but then his smile transformed into a
frown.
“But,
what happened to her?”
Sirius
was about to answer when Tonks entered the room followed by Minerva McGonagall.
The poor Headmistress almost fainted when she saw Sirius Black alive and
smiling in front of her.
“Oh my Merlin! So,
it’s true! You told me the truth, Nymphadora!”
“Of
course I told you the truth! And it’s Tonks not
Nymphadora,” Tonks said indignantly.
“Yeah,
yeah…but you see, misters Potter and Weasley and Miss Granger are always in
some kind of trouble that-” Sírius smiled with pride. “But tell me what
really happened.”
And
Tonks told everything that happened.
“Oh my!”
“Bound?!”
McGonagall
and Remus cried at the same time. The headmistress scanned the book rapidly.
Her eyes filled with concern.
“And she fainted?” asked McGonagall.
“Yes,”
answered Sirius. “First, we thought it was because of emotion, you know…but
then…I don’t know, I have this feeling that it’s
something else. And somehow I knew we couldn’t use magic on her.”
“It’s the bond,” Minerva muttered.
“What?”
“It’s
the bond. You and Miss Granger are bound and you can now...feel about
her-“
'...and
you can now...feel about her-...'
“Er,
well,” interrupted Sirius. “I really love Hermione but, er, I don’t think, er,
maybe Dumbledore- what? Why are you exchanging glances?”
“Hum,
Sírius…er, how can I say...”
“Out with it, Remus!”
“Sirius, Dumbledore is dead.”
“W-What?
How? When?”
“Snape
killed him,” said Remus.
“WHAT!”
“You
heard me, Sírius,” confirmed Remus. “Snape killed Dumbledore but, er, it wasn’t
like that. In fact, Dumbledore asked to be killed. Dumbledore
left a letter and some memories in a Pensieve…but can we talk about this
later?”
“Okay.
But I want to know everything! Man, I am, er, how much time have I missed?”
“One
year and a half,” said McGonagall in a serious tone. “Now, we must take care of
Miss Granger. I don’t think I can do anything. To tell the truth, I’ve never
heard of this book but…hmm…I think I know who could help us. Now, if you excuse
me…” And she left the room without saying another word.
Tonks,
Remus, and Sirius exchanged glances but didn’t say a thing.
About
fifteen minutes later …
Remus
and Tonks were telling Sirius that they were a couple when McGonagall returned
to the bedroom. However, this time she was not alone. Right beside her was the
tiny Professor Flitwick.
When
Flitwick looked at Sirius, he let out a little squeal but didn’t say a thing in
the matter.
“May I see the book, Miss Tonks?” asked the
Charms professor.
“Oh,
yes, of course!” Tonks said and gave the book to Flitwick who began to read it
very quickly.
After
reading the book, Flitwick closed it, and walked towards Hermione. He pointed
his wand at her and began to talk very low and fast. He was talking in a
language that no one else present could understand.
“What is he saying?” whispered Sirius to no
one in particular.
“He
is speaking in Goblin language,” responded McGonagall.
Sirius
was about to say something else when Flitwick began to speak aloud and in
English.
“Miss Granger is out of danger. She is sleeping.
Tell me, Mister Black , do you have any special magic
ability?”
“Ha?
I don’t know…”
“You
see, Miss Tonks here is a Metamorphmagus…” explained Flitwick.
“Oh! Yes, I am an Animagus.”
“Oh my. Poor girl!”
“What?!”
they asked loudly.
“What’s the matter, Filius?” asked McGonagall.
“You
see, Minerva, Miss Granger isn’t exactly sleeping in that bed. She is-
how can I say?- working the bond between her
and Mister Black. In normal circumstances this isn’t too painful but…”
“But
what?” demanded Sirius.
“You
and she mixed your magical abilities.”
“But
why didn't I faint like her?”
“You
are the re-birthed. Your part of the ritual finished when you drank the potion.
You already have a part of her. Her blood and…soul.”
“Oh my god!
But Tonks also…”
“Mister
Black, Miss Tonks already has your blood and she wasn’t the prime person who
performed the spell. Now, about the Animagus…Minerva, this girl can’t go back
to class, at least not in the next few days.”
“Professor
Flitwick, you didn't tell me what the matter is with my Animagus ability.”
“She will become a
Animagus like you. However, her transformation will be a little more painful
than yours was when you become an Animagus for the first time.”
“Painful
how?” asked Remus.
Flitwick
took a deep breath and said,
“She
will become an Animagus in one night.”
“One
night!?” cried the headmistress. “She won’t handle the pain!”
“Yes! McGonagall is right! It took several
months for me, James, and that rat!”
“I know. The only thing I can do is cast some
painless charms during her process. It’s some
tricks that my goblin ancestry taught me. Now, tell me, what’s your Animagus
form?”
“Oh, I am a dog.”
Flitwick
smiled.
“Miss
Granger will be a dog too. A female dog. You know,
your mate.”
Sirius
eyes opened wide.
“Mate? No,
she can’t be my mate. She’s a teenager!”
Flitwick
shook his head.
“Mister
Black-“
“Please,
call me Sirius.”
“Right,
Sirius, you are misunderstanding the meaning of mate and... bond. You and she
are bound now that’s right, but this has nothing to do with soul mates
or love bonds.”
Sirius
sighed in relief.
“You're
bonded in a sense that has nothing to do with romantic feelings. She already
has a love bond. It’s just not, er, visible. At least,
not for now.”
Sirius
nodded.
“Well,
I think we must go-”
“No!”
Flitwick interrupted McGonagall. “Sirius can’t leave Miss Granger. He must be
by her side during the whole process. Um, the blue phoenix hasn’t returned…”
“Oh, yeah!” exclaimed Tonks. “I almost forgot
about it.”
“Tell
me, Miss Tonks, you were the family blood right? In name of whom did you
speak?”
“In name of Remus.”
“I
supposed that Miss Granger spoke in name of Mister Potter?”
“Yes.”
“He
can’t know what happened until the blue phoenix returns.”
“But…why?”
“He
was the reason. Miss Granger’s reason for the ritual.
Miss Granger brought Sirius back not for her, but for Mister Potter. Young
Mister Potter can’t know anything. It’s primordial while the bond between Miss
Granger and Sirius is incomplete.”
“And we know when this happens…?”
“When the blue phoenix returns.”
“But
what if Harry discovers me?”
“Then,
the blue phoenix will return, but only to take Miss Granger's…life.”
********************************************
The
next morning
Hogwarts
Great
Hall
“Ron,
I think we should have waited for Hermione,” said Harry for the hundredth time.
He had some weird dreams about Hermione, Sirius and a blue bird.
“Harry, mate,” said Ron, “Hermione told us
yesterday that she would have to do something before breakfast, that we didn’t
need to wait for her.”
“I
know, but she is too late. All the Gryffindors are already here,” Harry replied
slightly happier seeing that Dean was there too, so that meant that Hermione
wasn’t with him.
Ron
was about to say something when Anthony Goldstein approached them.
“Harry,
Ron, did Hermione sleep last night in
Harry
looked at the head boy in alarm.
“N-No…why?”
“She
didn’t sleep in our common room last night. In fact, she said that she needed
to talk with Ron and…”
“And what?”
“And
never came back.”
“But
she never spoke to Ron last night, right Ron?”
Ron
didn’t answer Harry. He was pale.
“Ron?”
“Harry,
I need to talk to you. Alone.”
“Harry, Ron…Hermione probably slept in the
Room of Requirement…” Ginny said maliciously.
“No,
I was in the Room of Requirement last night. I was training. And, when I
returned to the Common Room, Ron was doing his potions essay with Seamus and
Dean.”
That
made Ginny shut up.
“Harry.”
It was Ron. “I need talk to you.”
Harry,
Ron and Goldstein bid their goodbyes and left the Gryffindor table. Anthony
went to Ravenclaw table and Ron and Harry went outside the Great Hall. Ginny
wanted to go with them but Ron said it was private.
*******************************************************
Outside
the Great hall
“Now,
tell me, Ron, what did you need to talk to me about?”
“You
see, Harry…Er, Hermione did see me last night.”
“But
you said-“
“She
asked me not to tell you. She asked me for a favor.”
“W-What favor?” Harry asked a little afraid of
the answer.
“She
wanted your invisibility cloak.”
“What!
But-” Harry stopped when he heard some footsteps approaching the Great Hall
doors. He didn’t know why, but very quickly he and Ron hid behind a large
column.
It was
Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. The tiny Professor seemed very
tired.
“How
is she, Filius?”
“The same, Minerva. At least she isn’t in pain. Miss Granger is a strong young woman.”
“Yes,
I know that.”
McGonagall
was about to open the Great Hall doors when Flitwick spoke one more time.
“Just remember, Minerva, Mister Potter can’t
know what happened.”
Minerva
McGonagall only nodded and they entered the Great Hall.
Behind
the column, Ron and Harry exchanged worried glances.
“I
will find out what happened to Hermione, Ron. Mark my words. I will know
what happened.”
+++
That’s it… chapter 10! I hope you liked it!!!
Thanks
to Brooke and acoustics1220!