Absolute Power

3 - The Seer

News of the Death Eater's attack spreads quickly throughout Hogwarts, even without the help of Rita Skeeter's two-page write-up. Hermione awakes on the first Saturday of the term to Ginny banging on her door, panic clear in her voice. Hermione springs out of bed in a stupor, shaking her dreams from her wild mane of curls. 

"What's happened?" She gasps as Ginny falls through her doorway. She shuts the door behind her and leads her friend to the cozy loveseat that faces her fireplace. Ginny takes a deep breath and pushes her own wild hair out of her tear-streaked face. 

"They attacked Little Whinging. Harry- Harry's house, his aunt, his uncle.. they- they-" Ginny breaks down again. Hermione's blood runs cold. They could only be one entity: the Death Eaters. 

"But... but Harry's not even there!" She cries, outraged. "They must know that! They can't think he'd be stupid enough to hang around there." Ginny just shakes her head, too overcome to speak. Hermione tugs at her curls and goes to her small kitchenette to fill up some glasses of water. She could easily have done it with magic, but the mundane task gives her time to wake up and make sense of it all. 

Death Eaters. In Little Whinging. Looking for Harry. 

"They must have got word that he's not here. They know he's vulnerable, and they're desperate to find him." Hermione concludes after some silent evaluation. 

"But they won't, will they?" Ginny asks. 

Hermione shakes her head with much more certainty than she feels. "No. The precautions we've put in place, the wards I've taught them... there's no way. Unless..." Unless those boys decide to do something stupid. Something she hasn't planned for. The idea makes her shudder. "How bad is it?"

"Bad." Ginny takes a sip of her water as Hermione hands it to her with shaky hands. "They killed a lot of muggles. Butchered them, Hermione. The magic they used... I've never seen anything like it." The images that place in front of Hermione's eyes of the potential curses that could have been used make her feel faint. For so long, the magical capabilities of wizards have been untapped and untested. An ignorant race, she thinks to herself. So placated in their own abilities and pre-existing structures. It would only take a few exceptional witches and wizards to begin pushing those boundaries, and if they were working for the wrong side... 

Well, the possibilities are endless. 

Terrible, but brilliant.

Those words used to describe Voldemort now have a new meaning for Hermione. 

"His family?" Hermione dares to ask. Ginny just shakes her head. Her heart drops yet again. 

At the beginning of summer - after just having arrived at the Burrow to spend their holiday, she, Ron, and Harry and ventured to his aunt and uncle's house to try and convince them to move. The protection they offered them under The Order was swiftly and strongly shut down by Vernon Dursely, who refused to leave his house because of a few 'crackpots with magic sticks'. She had some hope for the other two; Petunia and Dudley. But they were far too scared of their patriarch to speak up. And so, Harry left them there. He gave Dudley a magic coin that Hermione had charmed to notify Harry if they needed to reach him. She could only hope the younger man hadn't used it, for the sake of her best friends. 

"I need to send a letter to Harry." Hermione disappears into her room to get dressed and Ginny is sitting in the same position she left her when she returns. "I'm guessing you're coming?" 

Ginny stands and has steeled her expression. "I can't let it get to me like this. How do you do it? You look so... unaffected." 

Hermione swallows. "I guess I just see everything a lot more logically than most people. Some say it makes me cold."