\u201cYou know it\u2019s a trap, right?\u201d, Harry looked at Hermione incredulously.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably, yeah\u201d, she shrugged. \u201cWe have Ron; come alone <\/i>to Knockturn Alley tonight at 8PM <\/i>if you want to see him alive\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cProbably<\/i> as in certainly<\/i>\u201d, Harry grinned. \u201cLet me send a detachment and deal with it\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what if Ron gets killed?\u201d she frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a possibility\u201d, he conceded. \u201cHowever, it\u2019s also a possibility that he aligned himself with some dark creatures who want to lure you into a trap and kill you, and he thinks it\u2019s suitable vengeance for you leaving him\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really a stretch\u201d, she raised an eyebrow incredulously.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it? With what we know about him, and how he\u2019s been lately?\u201d, Harry retorted. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t put anything past him. Also, you\u2019re pregnant. And even if you weren\u2019t, you\u2019re precious. Risking you for that fool doesn\u2019t sound like a good trade\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe, but it\u2019s my call to make\u201d, she insisted.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
She apparated there slightly ahead of time, and observed carefully, wand drawn. Harry was probably right and she was probably a fool, but she had to do this.<\/p>\n
Three shadows moved in front of her, and she felt movement behind. Five.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were right, Weasley. She really is that stupid\u201d, a nasty, rough voice laughed. \u201cWe caught ourselves the Ministry mudblood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably pregnant again with that Bulgarian freak\u201d, it was Ron\u2019s voice, but rough, cold as ice. She shivered. \u201cTime to die, bitch. Avada Ke\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n
Hermione felt as if time froze around her as he felt terrible regret for not listening to Harry. As always, he was right. His instincts won them the war and she had to be a smartass and go against his advice. She won\u2019t even get to tell him she\u2019s sorry. Her eyes swam with tears, but then she realised something. Time didn\u2019t just feel like it froze around her. It actually froze. A flash of white light swirled, red light flashed in five spots, at the chests of five thugs, and time suddenly restarted.<\/p>\n
White mist materialised as a young platinum blonde woman in jeans and a warm sweater, wandless, completely relaxed as five men crumpled to the floor like sacks of potatoes: safely and permanently dead.<\/p>\n
\u201cLyra?\u201d Hermione was still in shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cMight as well earn my pay as your personal goddess\u201d, she smiled. \u201cAlso as the head of magical law enforcement\u201d. She snapped her fingers and three Aurors apparated, looking like they mean business. \u201cWould you be so kind as to clean up after me? I\u2019m afraid they were armed, in the process of deploying the killing curse, and I couldn\u2019t risk lady Hermione\u2019s life by using half measures. I\u2019ll do the paperwork in the morning\u201d, she smiled at the men.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure thing, boss\u201d, the closest one nodded respectfully as they started processing the bodies.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome, sweetheart. This must have been stressful for you, and you\u2019re pregnant. Let\u2019s go home and have Kreacher make us hot cocoa\u201d, she hugged Hermione and they disapparated with a crack.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s really dead\u201d, Hermione spoke dully, wrapped in a blanket, holding a warm cup. \u201cI didn\u2019t want him to die\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid it was his choice\u201d, Viktor whispered, holding her tightly. \u201cI\u2019ve seen the preliminary report. Those were thugs adjacent to Death Eaters; they did jobs for them, and tried to become important enough to get the Dark Mark; they were on our wanted list, but not a priority. That\u2019s the company he was keeping these days. It must have been his idea to lure you to your death, to curry favour with that scum, make himself important. Had you not come, sooner or later it would have ended similarly, but at least now you got to see what he became\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure I\u2019m improved by the experience\u201d, she sighed. \u201cHarry, I\u2019m so sorry not to have listened to you. I can\u2019t remember when your hunch was ever wrong, but I was a stubborn fool\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were emotionally compromised by your misplaced sense of responsibility for him\u201d, Harry nodded. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to insist, but I also didn\u2019t want to let you walk alone into a trap, so I notified Lyra and the guys. I held the office, she held the field\u201d, he smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were never in danger\u201d, Lyra smiled, massaging Hermione\u2019s feet. \u201cI allowed them to come close to releasing the spell only to make sure that they had lethal intent. Then I dealt with them. Girl, your feet are so cold; you\u2019re in shock. But we\u2019ll thaw you in no time\u201d, she giggled, and Hermione smiled despite her mood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for saving my life, Lyra\u201d, she managed. \u201cI was already regretting not listening to Harry and expecting to die in a second, when time stopped around me\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to risk giving them the chance to finish the spell, so that was the only safe way\u201d, Lyra nodded. \u201cNobody hurts what is mine\u201d, she smiled a smile of fierce protectiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cYou know it\u2019s a trap, right?\u201d, Harry looked at Hermione incredulously. \u201cProbably, yeah\u201d, she shrugged. \u201cWe have Ron; come alone to Knockturn Alley tonight at 8PM if you want to see him alive\u201d. \u201cProbably as in certainly\u201d, Harry grinned. \u201cLet … Continue reading