When Hermione Fights

Very Dark Magic!

Chapter beta: Dani

Chapter translator: Nik (& Aivy)

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After this new catastrophe, I gave myself an hour to gather my thoughts, still lounging in the garden chair.

I needed this moment of quiet; I had to find my inner peace and balance again. Looking at the garden house, I sipped on my iced tea. I needed something sweet after that shock.

It was unbelievable. I had played the whore again for Snape's benefit. But let's be honest, with that kiss and physical intimacy I had bought myself time. Once again, I had put myself and my body to work to manipulate Snape. My conscience asked me what kind of slut I was, using every means to get my way.

What would Draco say? Would Snape tell him?

Greedily, I drank the cold liquid, feeling it running down my parched throat and cool it nicely on this warm summer afternoon — the very same one on which I would lose everything and that was about to turn into a very dark summer afternoon. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and shook my head in shock. I was stumped that I had acted so naturally with Snape even though he hadn't touched me tenderly even once since that night. Instead, each time was more akin to a brutal strike that sent me flying somewhere. That I kissed such a man deeply and didn't even feel repelled... I let my head slump back. Oh, goddess.

Soon, I was expected to enter the manor and face Lucius. I didn't even want to think about that. What were Draco and Snape expecting or hoping for when serving me up on a silver platter like that?

I had no idea, and I would probably only get a headache if I tried to understand their train of thought. I would have to let it come as it would. There was only one thing I knew for sure, it wouldn't be pretty for me... no, most certainly not!

Snape had shown me that I needed to perform the Fidelius on the house. He had known that as long as he touched me, he could enter the house despite the blood protection, even without my invitation. It was annoying, but unfortunately, it wasn't possible for me to do the spell at the moment because it would take too much out of me. I needed to conserve every bit of my magic for what was to come.

The curses that I had performed today were also nothing to scoff at. But who had said it would be easy? Well, I should get going, I had rested enough!

I should consider myself very lucky that Snape had taken off again. Now then, pull yourself together Hermione! The day was still long and the night even longer, and my acting had to be perfect. The masks couldn't slip even a little bit!

Determined, I got up. After all, I was no toddler, cowering in the corner, crying. I walked resolutely towards the door of the garden shed.

When I opened the door and entered, icy goose bumps covered my skin thanks to the cold that prevailed here and I could see my hot breath rising visibly in small white clouds in front of me. Brrrrrrr... My nipples hardened and an indeterminate excitement about what was to come took possession of me. I swallowed down the feeling of unease. This is how it had to happen. End of story!

Although I could feel my hesitation about what was to come, I forbid myself from thinking about it and tried to suppress the trembling.

I bent over to my stolen goods, indifferently folding back the plastic sheet covering the two lifeless men and looking at the dead. They hadn't changed, which was good, very good; they were just as dead as they had been yesterday!

I couldn't leave contaminated blood in the drug addict's body, so I sank to my knees before him to cast a spell on his body. Running my wand up and down over his entire body, I intoned a difficult cleansing ritual to purge the toxins from his blood. The incantation was Purgatio de Sanguis, which meant purification of the blood.