sylvanawood (sylvanawood) wrote in storiesfromwood, @ 2008-03-28 14:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | a most important element in water |
AMIEW II - 10. Laying Plans
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise belongs to me. Just borrowed. Will be returned. Snape is welcome to stay, though.
A big Thank You goes to my beta-reader, Maggie, and my beta-reader and brit-picker, Melusin, who both are always encouraging, helpful, and thorough.
Part II – Initiation
Chapter 10 – Laying Plans
18. All warfare is based on deception.
19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;
when using our forces, we must seem inactive;
when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;
when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
(Sun Tzu, The Art of War, I. Laying Plans)
"Rennervate!"
Hermione's eyes flew open and stared into a pair of friendly blue eyes. The eyes were set in a heart-shaped, pink face, which was framed by blonde hair tied into pigtails. Hermione knew this face. It belonged to Hannah Abbott.
"You're dead!" Hermione blurted out.
Hannah laughed. "No, I'm not, and neither are you. Welcome to Dumbledore's Army!"
Hermione blinked a few times, swallowed, and looked at Hannah wide-eyed. "Care to explain to me what happened? Who rescued me? Where are Harry and Ron?" Almost as an afterthought, she turned her eyes away from Hannah and looked around. It looked like they were in a cave; the walls surrounding them were rough limestone with a few small stalactites hanging from the roof.
Hannah's face turned serious, and she laid a hand on Hermione's arm. When Hermione looked at her questioningly, Hannah squeezed Hermione's arm gently and said, "You must understand that you are dead to the rest of the world. The leader of our Underground movement rescued you. We call ourselves Dumbledore's Army—in Professor Dumbledore's honour."
"Who … where … who is this leader? Is Professor Dumbledore alive, too?" Suddenly, a tiny glimmer of hope sparked to life in Hermione's heart.
"No, he isn't. But many wizards and witches who were reported dead are here, working against You-Know-Who in the Underground."
"Mrs. Weasley?"
"No, I am sorry. Sadly, not everyone attacked by Death Eaters can be saved. But it will all be explained to you. "
Hermione closed her eyes and tried to clear her head but didn't succeed. She had so many questions that she didn't know where to start. This all sounded so absurd, almost surreal. She looked around again. The cave was empty; there was no sign of any occupants.
"What is this place? Where is this Underground? Who is this leader? And how did I get here?" Hermione finally uttered in a shrill, slightly hysterical voice.
Hannah smiled reassuringly. "This is just a random, uninhabited cave. We've never used it before and likely never will again. You must understand that secrecy is of the utmost importance; otherwise we're all dead. If as much as a hint of our existence gets outside the group, we're doomed, and we will barely be able to save our own lives, let alone rescue the lives of others."
Hermione took a few deep breaths, trying to remember her training, and slowly managed to check her panic and to clear her thoughts. "I understand. At least, I think I do. Go on …."
"All right, next question. Where is this Underground? I cannot tell you because I am under a magical contract to keep it a secret from outsiders. You'll be there soon enough, I reckon. But first, you need to talk to Nundu, who will explain everything in more detail." Hannah grinned when she saw Hermione's confused frown.
"Nundu? Who or what is that?"
"He's our leader. It's his alias. We do not speak his name …." Hannah giggled when she saw Hermione's grimace. "No, he isn't He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, don't worry. Some of the DA use pseudonyms, but only the ones who are active in missions outside our refuges. We never, ever refer to each other by our real names outside, except for situations like this one when a new person needs to be introduced. Then it can't be avoided, but then we're usually far away from everyone and everything that could be endangered. And that's just about as much as I can and will tell you here. Nundu will pick you up soon, and then you can ask him everything you want to know."
"I didn't call you by your name, and now I realise that you didn't say my name, either. So what's your code name?"
"I don't have one. I don't usually go on outside missions; I'm too nervous for that. I make myself useful, though. I brew standard healing potions."
Hermione's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "You brew potions?"
"You needn't be that surprised." Hannah mock-scowled. "I always got good marks in Potions."
"That's not what I meant." Hermione flinched. "This sounds more and more absurd. You're telling me that you have a place where you can peacefully brew and store potions?"
"Yes. We do have quite a sophisticated infrastructure. I was as amazed as you are now when I was introduced. But it was easier for me since my whole family was there."
"Your family? Your mother? They are all alive?" Hermione's heart went out to the blonde girl.
"Yes, all of them. Isn't that wonderful?" Hannah looked very happy. "I just wish that we could save more … and that some people could be told …." Her voice trailed off, and she looked at the floor.
Hermione understood the sudden sadness. "Er … HE took it very hard. We were all in the Great Hall for breakfast when the Daily Prophet with the news arrived …. Oh, Merlin, my parents! R…. My friends!" She gulped. "This is horrible."
Hannah shook herself and looked up with a steely gleam in her eyes. "What would be really horrible is if we all were dead. Since we aren't, there is hope that we'll be reunited with those we love one day. Don't you think that that should be compensation enough?"
Hermione frowned. "Seen from that angle, certainly. I just wish I could spare them this heart-break." She took another deep breath, pushing her sadness and fear out of her mind. "What do we do now?"
"Nundu will be here shortly. Then, you'll go with him, and I’ll go back to my group with a Portkey."
"But you must be authorised …." Hermione stopped herself, realising the ludicrousness of her own statement, but she still was confused. "Isn't there a trace on the Portkey Spell?"
"The wands casting the spell are traced, if they're registered, but the spell itself isn't. Otherwise, the Ministry couldn't authorise certain people to call the spell without raising the alarm or without Apparating the spell-casters away. That's how the authorisation works." Hannah grinned. "And what do you know, we use unregistered wands. We're quite the rule breakers." She laughed when Hermione's mouth fell open. "Full of surprises, aren't we?"
Hermione's throat was dry. She coughed, wishing for a drink of water, and nodded.
Hannah's expression had become serious again. "Listen. When Nundu comes, try not to be too shocked. I know you will be; we all were when we learned who he was. Go with him and don't be afraid. He won't harm you. I give you my word. It was he who saved you, who saved us all, essentially. Just let him say what he has to say, and then you can ask questions. All right?"
"Uhm …" Hermione said.
"Oh, there he is!" Hannah spun around at the soft crack of someone Apparating. At the cave entrance, the dark silhouette of a man appeared and dimmed the faint glow of a crescent moon. When the man moved closer, Hermione realised with growing terror that she knew precisely who moved the way that man moved. Her fears were confirmed when the face that looked down at her with a sardonic smile was that of Severus Snape.
"You!" Hermione shrieked but found herself unable to make another noise; Snape must have cast a Silencing Charm on her. Ropes had flown out of Snape's wand and bound her, and now she was quite helpless. This didn't prevent her heart from beating in her throat, or her eyes from casting a murderous glare at Hannah Abbott, all the while mouthing silent curses and threats; however, without a wand, her nonverbal magic refused to work....
Snape stared at Hermione with his cold, black eyes and then turned to Hannah. "Here is the Portkey. I take it that the basics were conveyed?"
"They were," Hannah confirmed. She smiled at Hermione, who flinched, and said, "Relax, I haven't lied to you. No need to kill me with your glare. Trust me. He won't harm you. You can trust him with your life. We all do." Another smile, and she touched the gum wrapper on the ground. "Three – Two – One –" The gum wrapper flashed in a blue light, and Hannah disappeared.
Snape came closer, sneered at Hermione's panicked expression, and grabbed her upper arm, which wasn't covered by ropes. With a soft, barely audible pop, he Disapparated with her.