Hermione Granger and the Year Hidden from Hogwarts

Chapter 26

Hermione Granger and the Year Hidden from Hogwarts

Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 26

A/N: Okay, here it is, hopefully the last chapter on the Trials so that we can finally move onto her actual heritage reveal.

April 25th, 1992

Hermione's knees wobbled.

Had she ever faced her own death before?

She'd experienced dying several times over, but always with the knowledge that it was someone else's ordeal, despite the very real pain.

Her stomach churned, and she entered the arena on shaky legs, feeling as if she was on the edge of hyper-ventilating.

The same gobless that'd checked her over for a third blood mark brought over the sword she'd tossed aside.

"Oh, I don't—" she began, but the gobless cut her off.

"We would not be accused of being fair by a wand-waver," she growled, spitting on the ground.

Hermione frowned at her, grabbing the sword. "Right, because pitting a juvenile who's had no magical schooling against a creature that takes no less than one hundred skilled wizards to subdue is the epitome of fair."

The gobless snarled a grin, not bothered by her accusation in the slightest.

Ear-splitting yowling echoed around the arena, raising the hair on the back of her neck. Shouts from dozens of masculine voices followed—the nundu's handlers, perhaps?

With each echoing step, she grew less and less certain that her plan would work, let alone whether it was ethical or not. Her focus centered more on if she would actually survive or not.

In the middle of that, to pile on top of troubles, something twinged and vibrated against her being, and she instinctively knew it was one of the bonds.

It felt farther than from within the arena, so that ruled out Ignis and the new binding contract with Flitwick, leaving only Erl back at MI5 headquarters.

What was happening there?

The ground echoed, and the shouts grew more panicked.

No matter. MI5 could be on literal fire, and she'd still need to prioritize what was happening here.

She sent a mental pat to the thick tether, hoping Erl would understand to be patient so that she could focus on this last trial before shutting herself off to all but the approaching creature that finally appeared being ushered from a giant tunnel on the far side of the arena.

It was a giant, slathering animal—and yes, it did resemble a large, black leopard, but that was such a pale description to real life, breathing, hot-blooded beast before her.

It was covered in black spikes, and from Flitwick's description, it would look more like a lion of death when it inhaled due to its expanding neck that filled into a terrifying mane, just before it would expel the prepared air with its toxins.

The goblin wranglers didn't even step foot inside the arena. Once it was in, they retreated, and not a moment too soon, a shimmery, pearlescent shield cut off the creature as it pounced after them. It rammed into the translucent wall, sending an echo reverberating up, the magic thickening to milky white nearest the area of impact before evening out once more.

It would protect the audience from the danger of the beast and certainly interfere with Flitwick's backup plan to interfere on her behalf if things got too dangerous.