Born From Madness (Harry Potter Fanfic)

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"It's so good to finally get out of that house!" Hermione heard Sirius shout from his broom. Hermione had been joined by Sirius and Remus to go after this wand. They woke up an hour before gone to have breakfast and then put on protection spell so they could fly undected by the Death Eaters. However, (though she knows they are just as worrisome), Hermione was more concern about Iracebeth and Barty finding them. Once they were secured, they hopped onto their brooms and waited until dawn rose above the horizon. 

When the sunlight hit the key, a thin red light came pouring from the gem. With that, they took flight. It had been hours since they took off. They flew over the most beautiful scenery of the world, which caused her to almost stop paying attention to where the key was pointing towards. After a couple more hours, the light began pointing downward. Quickly, she leaned forward to send her broom downward to the ground. Of course, she didn't know where they were given a flood of clothes were blocking her view. 

She had barely broken through the cloud when her focus shifted as an thunderous roar echoed around her. She shot her head in the direction where the sound came from. She gasped. A bat-like wing came rushing at her, nearly causing her to fall off her broom. Thankfully, Hermione pulled her broom upward as the wing flew underneath her. Hermione darted her head around, the clouds vanishing, to reveal thousands upon thousands of dragons lurking down below. 

"Oh, bloody hell..." Hermione mumbled as she kept trying to focus on the key while also making sure she kept her distance between the dragons. But of course, the light began descending towards where the dragons were looming around. Hermione carefully descending closer as she tried not to provoke any of them. She zoomed down the chasm, flying near the cliff to keep from being spotted by the dragons. After a couple more minutes, the light suddenly pointed directly at a cave. 

Hermione lowered to the ground and got off her broom. 

"Is this the place?" she overheard Sirius calling out to her as they parked on the ground. She gazed over the cave. She noticed there were strange markings all over, which brought this sense of déjá vu like she had seen this cave before. She began making her way over towards the cave. She had gotten a few feet inside the cave when-- 

"Bloody hell!" 

Hermione turned her head to see Remus laying on the ground with Sirius standing beside him. Sirius shot his hand out,  causing a ripple of red flying across the air as it kept him from entering the cave. 

"What the hell is this?" Sirius asked while he kept banging his fists against the invisible wall. 

"Argo did mentioned when I go retrieving the wand, i must do it alone." Hermione admitted to them. 

"Hermione," Remus spoke as he pulled himself to his feet, "You be careful in there." 

Hermione nodded as she proceeded deeper into the cave. She followed along the cave wall, feeling fear overcome herself as her mind began racing with ideas of what was lurking within the cave. It felt like an hour passed when she found a bridge of amber gem with black iron railing leading across a chasm. She overlooked the other side chasm to see a pair of double-sided doors. She slowly walked across it to the other side. When she reach the door, she noticed there was no knob but a lock. 

She held out the key as she proceeded to unlock the door. A light click echoed through the cave as the door began to melt away. An elongated hallway with the walls painted a fiery blood orange with the floors made entirely of black onyx gemstones. Hermione carefully  strolled through to the other side to another door. As she carefully opened it, she peered inside for any sign of danger. 

It was a small, oval-sized room with statues of dragons lining along the opal walls, which glistened like a million stars. The ceiling had a dragon carved into it with the head sticking out like it was going to peel off the ceiling. It had a snarling face with its mouth full of fangs opened. There was nothing really in the room. Except in the middle was a large pensieve looming beneath the dragon's head. 

Hermione walked into the room, her eyes darting around in search of the wand. However, there was no sign of it. She walked up to the pensieve, her hands lightly brushing across the rim. She happened to look up when she saw a silvery-blue liquid dripping from the dragon's mouth and into the pensieve. She watched as the water swirled as something began floating up from the pensieve. It floated until she saw it was Hydra's wand. 

She reached out and took it. A wave of power burned through her entire being. It was like lighting coursing through veins. A strange pull seemed to overcome herself as hush voices spoked within her ears. 

She was about to turn to leave when she watched the black smoke swirling within the pensieve. Curious, she leaned forward and dipped her head in. She watched as the world around her shifted to show she was back at the front of the cave only she could see Hydra and Betty standing beside her. 

"Thank you for all this, Betty." Hydra told her, lightly swaying as she wobbled to a boulder to sit on. She appeared almost like she aged double from the last memory she saw of her. Hermione couldn't help but noticed, she almost appeared like she was on death's door with how pale and thin she looked. 

"Of course, Hydra. Anything for a friend." Betty assured her as she sat down beside her.

 "I just hope whoever fights to earn the right to weld wand is able to handle it." Hydra admitted while she gazed up towards the sky where dragons were floating ahead, seeming to not notice any of them. 

"What do you mean?" Betty asked. 

"My wand is not like any other wand, Betty. It seems... to have a mind of it's own." Hydra explained. 

"Oh, Hydra, Ollivander always said 'the wand chooses the wizard'." Betty chuckled. 

"It's more than that, Betty. I cannot explain it, but... I feel sometimes the wand brings up... buried feelings inside myself. Dark feelings... like it seemed to feed on my negative feelings of doubt, fear, and rage... especially rage, Betty." Hydra confessed to her, "I am not sure who crafted this wand and where they got the material, but I fear it might have been cursed. Perhaps by a past wielder... perhaps even by my own hands..." 

There was a pause between them as Hydra tried to catch her breath. 

"Hydra... you... didn't just want me to hide this wand so it could be found by someone worthy of it... did you?" Betty asked her though the look in her eye silently told Hermione that Betty already knew the answer. 

"I am fearful that the wand will corrupt the wielder on its own accord... and I believe only a powerful witch or wizard who can overcome the wand's might... is the key to wielding such power..." Hydra explained, "that is why I ask you to hide it as far away and only when the wielder triumphs your trials will I know they will be worthy of the wand. And if they don't... at least the wand shall be hidden away where no harm shall be done by it." 

Hydra's breathing began more tense like it was getting harder for her to breath, causing Betty to cling to her arm. 

"I believe it is my time, Betty." Hydra mumbled. 

"Time?" 

"Time to go." 

"Go home?" Betty asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ah yes... home... up in the clouds..." Hydra confessed as her hand wrapped around Betty's hand. Hydra gasped before her head fell onto Betty's shoulder. The last thing Hermione sees as the world around her slowly fade was Betty weeping as her arms tightly wrapped around her friend for the very last time.