Lothbridge Cathedral is eerily quiet at night. Hermione shivers when she crosses the threshold and scans the shadows carefully. Something feels off, but she can’t figure out what. She feels guilty for lying to Ron and Harry, who think she’s gone to a Muggle supermarket for supplies. They have no idea that she’s found information pointing to this cathedral as the possible location of the last horcrux. She doesn’t want to get their hopes up after months of false leads and disappointments, plus she knows that one of them would rush forward to destroy it if it is here, which is too great a risk.
They can’t lose Harry, of course, and she refuses to let Ron get injured due to rash behavior. If she finds it, she’ll destroy it herself because she, unlike them, is expendable. Before she left camp tonight, she made sure that all of her notes were understandable so they’ll have all the information and plans necessary to defeat Voldemort, just in case she doesn’t survive. She’s a realist, after all, and has come to terms with the knowledge that she might not live through this war. Death no longer scares her, which seems to give her more courage and make her more determined to live. Her priority is her boys, though, and she’ll sacrifice anything, including herself, to ensure that they have a chance for a future.
She enters the cathedral and murmurs the words of a location charm. There are strong wards up that prevent the minor charm from being successful. She tightens her grip on her wand at the confirmation that something here is being protected. When she notices movement out of the corner of her eyes, she turns and is instantly ready to defend herself, but there’s nothing there but shadows and the silhouette of columns. Her nerves are becoming worse as the days go by, and there are times that she’s no longer sure what is real and what is paranoid imagination. She might not fear death, but she does fear losing her mind, so she does her best to resist becoming like Moody or, worse, like those who now reside in St. Mungos.
The silence in the old cathedral is nearly overwhelming. She can practically hear the shadows glide along the wall, following her as she walks further into the building. The feeling that something is wrong increases with every step she takes, but she can’t stand the thought of failure so she continues. She won’t return to camp without either the horcrux or the knowledge that this is another false lead. She’s halfway to the front when she hears the noise again. It’s coming from beside her now, so she turns with her wand raised, her heartbeat racing and her breath shallow. It’s still just shadows and silhouettes.
There’s someone else here. She can hear someone breathing and knows she’s not imagining things. “Accio invisibility cloak,” she whispers softly. Nothing happens. She frowns as she scans the shadows and tries to figure out what spell could successfully hide someone, especially with such strong wards up to prevent the use of magic. She shakes her head slightly and continues walking. She can’t think of anything specific, just random things that might be possible, but she can’t waste any more time. If someone is there, they’ll ever make themselves known or continue hiding. After all, if she’s going to die, she’d much rather it be after she, hopefully, locating and destroying the horcrux. With that thought in mind, she ignores the shadows on the walls and focuses on finding the horcrux.
End
Shadows
Story Notes:
9/20/06