CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:

Hermione's POV:

It doesn't hurt as much anymore.

I feel tired. And heavy. I think my heartbeats might be starting to slow down, but I'm not sure. Is that a good thing? Is it a bad thing?

Thinking is hard. It's like my mind is a lake that I'm trying to swim through. Grindylows are grabbing me, tangling me, pulling me under, and I'm kicking and splashing, trying to get away, but I can't, and I'm fighting, fighting, just to stay on the surface.

My strength is waning. My mind is slowing. Idle observations dance across the front of my mind- I'm tired and heavy and the heat of the fire is starting to lessen.

The last one I'm thankful for. It makes it easier to think past the pain. Well, not think, my mind is moving too slowly for me to really think. It makes it easier to listen.

I can hear the voices of my family, surrounding the bed where I lay.

"Have you thought about taking her to St. Mungo's?" Bella asks. Her new voice sounds like wind chimes. I like it. It's pretty.

"That's our very last resort," Harry's voice sounds rough from lack of sleep, "if we do, the Ministry will put on her the creature list. She'd struggle to get any sort of job in the Wizarding world, and would be treated like a second-class citizen."

"But- but she's a war hero!" My sister protests, her voice as passionate as mine is when I'm talking about House Elf rights and S.P.E.W.

"Hermione Granger the witch is a war hero," Harry sighs, "turned to a vampire, she'd be regarded as an animal wearing the body of a war hero. And the knowledge that a vampire bit- or in the eyes of the Wizarding World killed- a war hero would anger people to the point that there's a high possibility it would lead to a mass vampire cull to avenge her."

"But that's wrong!" Bella's voice is shrill. Alice tightens her grip on my hand.

"Hermione will be fine. She has to be fine." My soul mate whispers, "because I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't."

"I don't understand," Bella's voice is frustrated now, "the rest of her is all... Turned, but it's like her heart's not even been touched!"

"She told me that the venom being introduced into her bloodstream could kill her. That the magic in her body would react, that it would fight the change." Alice's chiming voice is hoarse, like she's been crying, except that's impossible.

"I think she said something similar to me." Bella's voice is thick with fear, "that her magic was like white blood cells, in that it attacks foreign entities in the body- sicknesses, diseases and poisons. Poisons like vampire venom. She said that the venom would react the same way it does when introduced into a witch or wizard's system as it would a muggle's. But that the magic would fight against the venom, not letting it merge with their bodies to fully Turn. That- that in an attempt to save them, their magic would doom them, because it wouldn't allow the complete transformation to take place."

Bella has a good memory.

"Yes," Alice's voice is choked, "chances are the venom is going to kill her without Turning her." The agony in her voice cuts me deeper then a cutting curse.

No, Alice can't hurt like that, a part of me rebels. I struggle to find a foothold in my mind, something to grasp onto, to drag myself out of the whirlpool threatening to drag me under. I force my slow mind to work, and a shaky solution comes to me- if I want to survive this; something's going to have to give.

Having a purpose clears my head slightly, and my brain starts reviewing the facts. If I want to survive, either the venom or the magic is going to have to submit to the other.

Mentally steeling myself, I drop my Occlumency shields and have to smother the whimper that escapes my throat as the full pain hits me. I push down the automatic impulse to slam my shields back up again, and instead turn my attention inwards, to the barrier around my heart.

I can feel the magic dancing across it, the magic that still refuses to obey me, but protects my heart. Steeling myself for anything, I turn my attention inward and focus on my magic, on the diamond walls around my heart.

This process of seeing ones magical core was an exercise most Pureblood and Halfblood children learned before school to help visualize their magic. I concentrated hard, examining my magical core. The last time I'd done this, over three years ago, my core had been focused in my forehead, a swirling blob of light gold that leaked outside and into the surrounding area, eddying around me in great tendrils of color. But now it was centered in my heart, a brilliant emerald green color, trapped, confined.

I took a deep breath, knowing what I was about to do was one of the most perverted things a witch or wizard could do. Concentrating on the green, I counted to three then ripped.

A scream erupts from me as my magic tears violently from my heart, the diamond walls shattering into a billion pieces as my magic swirled around my body like an aura, reaching out and reacting negatively with many a stimuli.

My magic raged in the air around me, and I could hear the sounds of furniture breaking, windowpanes smashing. And that's when the venom started burning the only human part of me I had left.

My heart took off and the pain was enough to stun me. My back arched, bowed as if the fire was dragging me upward by my heart and a scream left my throat as I fought to push my magic out of me, into the air around me. It felt like electricity pulsing across my skin, while the fire attacked my heart. And then there was a final surge, followed by a deep, heavy thud.

Two stuttering beats, a flutter, and then a loud snapping noise as my magic cracked through the air, then slammed back into me with the force of a wrecking ball. For what feels like a small piece of eternity it's like my body is being ripped apart, into thousands of directions, a pain even greater then

being burned alive. My mouth opens in a silent scream, the agony too great to even voice. And then the pain's gone. My mind is clear. The exhaustion has faded into non-existence.

My mouth was dry and tasted like I had been snogging the cotton stuffing from my pillow. For a week. And then someone had lit said cotton on fire.

"Bloody buggering hell!"

I admit that my first words after that painful transformation could have contained at least a touch more coherency, but even the sound of my voice- sweeter, more sibilant, the accent so much more pronounced then before- sent me into shock.

I could see and hear the reactions my sudden words had caused, and I could just see Bella's face, dancing almost out of my line of vision.

"Bella, dear, you look positively adenoidal with your mouth hanging open like that." I tell my sister, pushing past my overwhelming confusion to tease her. Her teeth make a clicking noise as she closes her mouth.

"Hermione, dear heart, how are you feeling?" Alice's voice is barely a whisper, and I turn to face her, barely holding back from gasping as I take in her appearance.

"Like I can't wait to get you home to bed," I say, and I'm not even joking. She's the most beautiful being I've ever seen, and a certain unthinking pleasure washes through me with the realization that she is mine. She had a delicate elf-like beauty, with porcelain skin was so pale it appeared translucent; midnight hair that cascaded down to her shoulders and riveting golden eyes that were fixed on mine.

"Yep, she's fine," A huskier voice sounds from the corner of the room, gaining my attention. Leah is leaning against the wall, a smile on her face. The wolf-shifter is acting nonchalant, but I can hear the thick traces of relief evident in her voice.

A smile curves my lips as I stand up in a flowing movement, one swifter and more graceful then a human could ever accomplish. Half in a trance, I turn my attention towards the mirror that takes up almost a third of the rear wall, an expensive antique with a ornate silver frame of curling vines of ivy.

The reflection I see there terrifies me. I look so unlike myself, so dark, so savage, so... ethereal. Not to say I look ugly, oh no. This wild, predatory look suited me, made me look stunning, just like every vampire.

The dark hollows beneath my eyes made the glowing irises seem brighter, the prominence of my cheekbones made me look older. And then my hair, the chestnut curls were as wild and untamable as ever, yet richer, thicker and more vibrant, so full of life.

I looked different from the other vampires, from Alice even. My irises weren't the red of a newborn, rather they were an electric brown that seemed to shimmer with an iridescent glow, brighter then what should be possible. And my skin, while snowy white in appearance, was softer.

Almost in a trance, I held out my left arm, examining the silky smooth, pale skin, running the pad of my finger along it. My MUDBLOOD scar remained, but had faded, and even my now acutely sensitive touch couldn't feel any scar tissue.

Perhaps most astonishing of all, though, was the soft beating in my chest. There was no blood in my body, and my heart was crystallized over, yet somehow, somehow it was still fluttering, just slightly, the sound almost like a hummingbird's wings.

I should have been curious, my mind should have been racing, my perpetual curiosity raging inside me. But I wasn't. I just felt so... calm. I didn't know what the hell I was- the only thing I knew for sure was the fact I wasn't human anymore.

But I didn't care. I was alive.

Bella shifted slightly and the movement caught my attention. I turned to take in her appearance fully, not just a glance from my peripheral vision.

She made a stunning vampire, I noted. Fluid, even in stillness, her flawless face was pale as the moon against the frame of her dark, heavy hair- the identical shade of brown as my own. Her limbs were smooth and strong, skin glistening subtly, luminous as a pearl. And her eyes... they were a burning crimson- brighter then any I'd seen before, like a pair of rubies.

Her expression pinched slightly in worry as I stared at her, at my beautiful sister with her terrifying eyes, and I let my expression relax, my lips curve into a smile. "You're beautiful." I tell her. Her eyes

are shiny as she smiles back at me, her glistening white teeth throwing off eight-colored rainbows.

I turn back to Alice and take one, two, three steps towards her, and then she's in my arms, and I'm in hers. We hold each other in the desperate sort of embrace. Alice is making sob-like sounds, her head burrowing into my neck, and waves of relief are near about drowning me as I inhale her sweet scent. I almost died. I almost died and that terrified me.

Even when we finally broke apart, Alice's hand was clamped around my wrist, and she didn't appear to have any plans of letting go, any time in the near future.

"You- you- what the hell were you thinking?" She demanded. "Going after Lucius like that, without any back up?!"

"Well, I can't say it went exactly to plan." I admit, and Leah raises an eyebrow. "You actually had a plan?" she asks, doubt clear in her voice.

"Well, it was a briefly thought out plan, mainly along the lines of apparating to the Alps, rescuing Alice and destroying Lucius." I said, sheepishly. Alice glowers at me.

"So you made it up on the spot!" She accuses. "It's not the worst plan I've ever had!" I protest.

"Yes, the blind dragon- you never actually got around to telling us that story." Leah interjects, "so, come on- spill." She ordered.

"The bank in the Wizarding World is called Gringotts," I start the explanation, more then just a touch eager to change the subject from my reckless actions, "It's a massive structure, mostly underground, run by goblins and filled with vaults guarded by enchantments and terrifying creatures."

"Like dragons," Leah surmises.

"Yes, like dragons." I agree. "Nobody had ever managed to successfully break into Gringotts before, and only Voldemort ever managed to escape with his life after his failed attempt. When we figured out that one of the Horcruxes was located in the Lestrange vault, we were... understandably apprehensive. But we'd rescued a goblin and we enlisted his help."

"This doesn't sound like it's going to end well." Leah notes.

"It didn't... and it did." I give a half laugh. "Things started going wrong with the 'master plan' right from the get-go. First we ran into a Death Eater who decided to accompany us, then the goblins at the desk figured out something was up within moments, and Harry had to use the Imperius Curse- one of the Unforgiveables, on two separate people, Travers- the Death Eater, and the bank teller, Bogrod. And then once we were actually inside the bloody tunnels, the Thief's Downfall splashed over us, washing away my Polyjuice disguise and the rather nifty transfiguration I had worked on Ron, and then we were all badly burnt by the gold in the Lestrange vault.

"Finally, at the culmination of our poorly-conceived plan, Griphook, the goblin working with us, scarpered with the sword, which we'd used as a bargaining tool for his help and also happened to be our only weapon for destroying Horcruxes, leaving us to the mercy of the other goblins and the summoned Death Eaters. We only managed to escape by hitching a ride on a pain-deranged, half- blind dragon- destroying large sections of the bank in the process."

Silence. And then, "you're right. That was a dumbass plan." Leah snorted.

"Things rarely ever went to plan, where Harry, Ron and I were concerned. We plan, we get there and everything goes to hell. 'Gang aft agley', and all that."

"'Gang aft' what?" Leah asks, looking confused.
"Gang aft agley, you know- the best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men." I expand.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Leah informs me and I scowl, shaking my head.

"The American educational system if abysmal."
"Hey, I know what you mean!" Alice protests, before clearing her throat:

"But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,

In proving foresight may be vain;

The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!"

I give a small laugh, the sound like pealing bells, at the droll look Leah gives a smug Alice; it's a sound that cuts off rather suddenly when I spot the beautiful carved stick on the bedside table.

The bedside table and the bed seemed to be the only pieces of furniture that were still in one piece. The room was a mess, the furniture cracked and splintered, the windows shattered, glass spilling out over the floor, the walls crumbling, the plaster littering the ground with a fine white powder.

Ignoring all that, I walked towards my wand, the fluid, graceful movement of my walk surprising me. I loved this feeling, loved this effortless power of my own body and the keenness of my senses. Pushing away that line of thoughts for now, I picked it up my wand, a small smile on my face, expecting the flood of warmth as the wand reunited with my magic.

Nothing happened.

Panic started to trickle through me as I stared down at the wand in my hand with an expression that was nothing short of a horrified sort of terror. I remembered, so vividly, the first time I held my wand. I had felt it amplify something inside of me that I didn't realize that I had even possessed. I could feel my magic, as if it was the blood in my veins, coursing through me and filling me with vitality. I tried to reach for that magic, tried to pull it, push it through the wand, but nothing.

I tried to feel for my magic, but there was nothing there but a faint tingle where my heart was thrumming gently in my chest.

"No!" I couldn't help my panicked whimper, "Reparo!" I chant, my wand held firmly in my hand. A warm tingle washed through me, and I could feel my magic reaching out, flowing through my body, up my arm, ready to do my bidding. And then it hit some kind of barrier. Horrified, I drew on more magic, pushing harder, gritting my teeth, but it wouldn't give way. I felt panicky, and my panic fueled even more desperate, frantic pushing, but in the end I had to lower my wand.

Nothing.

The full repercussions of what I'd done when I'd forced my magic out of my body hit me with enough strength to force a whimper from my throat.

"Hermione, what is it?" Alice asked, frantically, and I turned to face her, my whole body trembling like a leaf as I stared into her emerald green eyes.

"I... Alice, I can't use my magic!"