Work Text:
Yulebreak 1994
Hermione walked along the empty corridor to the Astronomy tower to hopefully finish her homework that Professor Sinistra assigned before the new year when she heard a groan. Rushing to the sound, she found an older student slumped on the ground in pain.
“Are you alright?” she asked her arms held out in front of her to indicate that she meant no harm, wand tucked up in her hair, pinning her curls back out of her face.
The boy groaned again, and she could have sworn she had seen his muscles ripple through his clothes and expand. What was happening to him where she could see that in the dim corridor? There were few options that Hermione knew of and, with a quick mental date check, she knew it wasn’t any of them. It was just the new moon and the full was still weeks away.
“Go….away…” he panted out, his voice gravelly, much like her father’s when he was in a sour mood. “I’ll hurt you.” He turned his head towards Hermione and she noticed protrusions along his brow.
“Do you?” she asked coming closer, running a mental list of hexes and curses that could cause this, coming up empty.
“What?” he groaned out, his eye peeping open as Hermione sat beside him, clearly trying to comfort him.
“Do you want to hurt me?” she asked softly.
“No, but I don’t know if I will be in control.”
“Well...You aren’t a werewolf, the Full Moon is weeks away, and the New Moon has passed so you aren’t a werecat.” Hermione forced her voice not to shake. “Now take off your robes, it should help with your fever. Should we get you to Madam Pomfrey?”
“You are either insanely brave or stupidly reckless,” he gritted out as he shrugged off his robe with her help. His shirt strained against his muscles. “You don’t even know what I am.”
“People often wonder if Gryffindor’s courage and bravery are synonyms for recklessness and idiocy. With my two best friends, I have to agree at times.” She chuckled, trying to move his focus from the pain he was in.
Another ripple of movement under his skin and his shoulder blades started to split. Bat-like wings began to grow from the wound. Thinking quickly, Hermione warded the area to prevent sound from escaping down the empty hallway. “Look at me. Focus on me. I can’t help you much if you don’t tell me what happened.”
“Nothing you can do.” He panted through the pain. “I knew this was coming... Was only hoping it would hold off until I graduated this June.”
Hermione nodded even though she didn’t understand what was happening. “Can you tell me your name? It would help if I knew what to call you.”
“Cassius…” He yelled again, his fingers digging into the wall leaving four claw marks in the ancient stone. The pain eased and he whispered, “Cassius Warrington.”
“Slytherin,” she stated with a bit of trepidation.
“That a problem, little Gryffie?” he managed to tease as she wiped the sweat off his brow.
“No, only that this is the most positive experience I’ve had with anyone in your house.” She shrugged. Hermione syphoned the blood from his back, figuring Cassius’s wings were half-grown, and it seemed as if he had a tail coming in as well. “And considering how much pain you are in, that is saying something.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate. What did you do to warrant that?” he panted. The pain seemingly eased away as Cassius regained his energy.
“I’m a Muggleborn. And my best friend tends to butt heads with Malfoy.” She shrugged with a slight sigh, hoping Cassius was different.
“Ah, that narrows it down quite a bit. The Gryffindor Princess, Hermione Granger.” She could see his focus shift to her face as if he was seeing her for the first time. Which was probably the case now that she thought about it; his pupils had slit into something more draconic.
“Hope you don’t mind,” she whispered, her heart speeding up as he finally made to stand. Though, the Gryffindor Princess bit was news to her.
Cassius snorted. “My family couldn’t care less, considering what happens around our eighteenth birthday. Not all of us are born with magic. We just care about keeping our heritage secret.”
Hermione stood, taking in his figure: tall, broad shoulders, giant wings upon his back, tail, four fingers, talons for feet, and a hock for ankles. She remembered something from one of her parents’ books before they found her with it and took it from her when she was little. “Gargoyle…”
He nodded.
“I thought…”
“We turned to stone during the day?”
She nodded not quite sure how to respond. “There isn’t much written from what I have found other than myth. If anything, I thought they were extinct.”
“We used to. Turn to stone that is —our elders still do after a certain age. But then we started being hunted and some of us had to learn magic to evolve. Human by day. It makes for a very awkward sleep schedule I admit, but…” he shrugged. “We are rarer than most other “near wizarding intelligence” beasts.” The last bit came out in a growl.
“Happy birthday by the way.” She hurried to change the topic, but it was something that she wanted to change when she was older. The beast classifications were truly barbaric.
Cassius snorted. “My birthday is in May, so I’m a bit early to come into my inheritance. It’s rare, but it happens. I was hoping my family would be with me to help me through it.”
He looked at her with a smirk. “Thank you for being here.”
“You’re welcome...Will it always be painful?”
“No. eventually our bodies get used to it. Unlike Lycanthropes, where their curse makes it painful.”
“I’ll be here until then, at the very least,” she said with a soft smile.
“You’re not afraid?” he asked hesitantly.
“Why, should I be?”
“I’m a monster…”
“If you’re a monster, then I am the Queen of England.” Hermione let off an unladylike snort.
Cassius laughed, deep and rumbling, sounding glad that Hermione was with him. “Run along and get some sleep, Hermione. I will meet you tomorrow night. I need to test out these wings and learn to glide before going back.”
Hermione nodded. It was late. “Tomorrow then. I’ll see if I can find some soothing balm for your muscles. Maybe it will help with the after-effects?”
“I appreciate it. Just don’t get caught raiding Professor Snape’s cupboards again.”
“I’ll have you know I have never been caught.” She sniffed playfully as she stuck her nose in the air. “I will see you tomorrow, Cassius.”
“Tomorrow, Hermione.”
~~~ 1:00am, February 25, 1995
She continued meeting him throughout the school year, even after the transformation pains subsided. They both found it nice to have a friend who didn’t care about the other’s differences. Hermione found it amusing when he hovered over her, pun intended, the night following the second task.
“Cassius, I’m fine.” She sighed dramatically as he held her close and caped his wings around them both. She didn’t mind the warmth, but his body was that of a furnace and she was starting to overheat. It was obvious that he’d been worried during the second task. And to be honest, she wasn’t thrilled that she had been one of the hostages —it wasn’t something she expected.
It also amused her at how protective he was with all the scandalous articles that Skeeter was writing. He raged over the Bubotuber puss incident and the random Howlers she received as a result of that rag of a newspaper. He said his mother had actually called it a tabloid for years.
“I’ve written to my Mother, to see if this is even legal.”
“Please don’t make a big deal over this,” she practically whined.
“Too late; her response came at dinner. But unfortunately, it came with some discouraging news.”
“I had a feeling with the way you’re pacing a hole into the floor.” Her tone was sarcastic, but Cassius either ignored the comment or didn’t hear her.
She suspected the former.
“The way the laws are set up now essentially states that since Muggle-borns don’t hold much political worth, they don’t have the same legal protections as those with a higher standing.
“Honestly, I am used to that sort of treatment —even if it’s very discriminatory."
Hermione yawned, and Cassius chuckled.
“Alright, it’s time for me to get you back to the tower.”
“I don’t want you to get caught,” she whispered as she snuggled into his warm body, not noticing how Cassius stiffened.
“I feel the same, so let me take you back.” He picked her up, gently, cradled in his arms.
He reached the window of the abandoned tower they had found and opened his wings wide.
Hermione made the mistake of looking down and gripped Cassius around the neck tightly, and buried her face into his chest.
“Everything okay? Hermione?”
“I don’t like heights. I ask for the aisle seat when we take trips requiring an aeroplane.” Her voice pitched high enough that it squeaked.
“I will never let you fall,” he whispered in her ear and cast a warming spell over her.
“Logically, I know that, but I am still not looking down.”
“I won’t ask you to.” Cassius laughed and held her close as he jumped from the tower’s slightly dilapidated window.
Hermione’s squeal of shock caused him to grip her tighter. “Relax, Hermione, and look above you.”
She peeked her eyes open and gazed above her. Where she saw the clear night sky, the light from the waning crescent reflecting off Cassius’s jade coloured skin. She could have sworn she saw the northern lights in the distance, but she wasn’t sure if they would reach this far south.
Soon the flight was over, and Hermione used an Alohamora to unlock the window of the common room in the tower. Cassius never let her go until she was steady on the floor, as he balanced effortlessly on the window sill.
“It’s warmer in there compared to our common room,” he commented. “I actually like the red more, to be honest. The gold is a bit much though.”
“Green is a lovely colour as well.”
“Y-yes, well..”
Hermione couldn’t help but giggle at how flustered he had gotten. ”I will see you tomorrow, Cassius.”
She smiled as he lept off the sill and glided towards where he could sneak back to his dorm with ease.
.~~~ July 20th, 1997
After receiving her owl when she had gotten home from her sixth year at Hogwarts, Cassius was worried. The things he had been hearing over the past couple of years from her letters and from reading between the lines in the news meant something was coming. His family and the rest of his clan had been preparing for the worst.
He-Who-Wants-To-Have-The-World-Cower-In-Fear-Of-His-Name was back. And Hermione was caught right in the middle of it. Politically, the Warrington’s were neutral on the matter; they kept to the shadows fighting for the more progressive factions. Keeping their heads down was the only thing his family could do.
While the clan gathered themself to prepare to fight the Death Eaters by night, Cassius readied himself to get Hermione to safety. Her most recent letter was most worrying.
She had been planning this for weeks, it seemed. After explaining things quickly to his parents, he quickly apparated to Hermione’s home in Carlisle; he had visited the previous summer before she was whisked away elsewhere before anyone interfered.
“Hermione?” he called out quietly. Something felt off.
The house was dark and Cassius’s heart leapt into his throat. Dusk settled and the transformation overtook him.
He cloaked his wings around his body and listened quietly as he searched the house.
There was no one there.
He heard a sniffle upstairs.
“Hermione?”
“Up here, Cass,” she croaked out. She was sitting in her room, tears rolling down her face. She was packing every bit of clothes and books into a small beaded bag and counting a large stack of paper money.
It was clear she was trying to hold herself together. She stuffed the money into an envelope and shoved it into her bag. He pulled her to him.
“Talk to me.”
“I had to remove their memories. They wouldn’t listen. Thought I was overreacting.” Hermione sobbed into his shirt as he hugged her close, wrapping his wings around her.
“Where are you sending them?”
“They leave for Australia early tomorrow morning; they are staying at a hotel close to the airport tonight. They said they had something to tell me before I left for Bill and Fleur’s wedding, but this couldn’t wait.”
Cassius sighed. He couldn’t begrudge her for doing what she felt like she had to do. He helped gather all of her personal belongings and gathered her up in his arms.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“My home. You will stay there for the night while my Clan patrols the area.”
“Clan? Patrol?” she asked, as she tucked Crookshanks—her very large, very smart, very fluffy cat—into his carrier. He said a quick spell to make sure nothing came loose while he transported them.
“A family of gargoyles is called a Clan. This includes aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and such,” he explained.
“The very core of a gargoyle is to protect. It is our base instinct. There is an old saying by a Clan elder from long before gargoyles had learned to take names like humans.” Cassius leapt out of the fifth floor flat, catching the air current—much to the cat’s chagrin as his yowling was anything to go by. “‘A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than stop breathing the air*’. Each Clan protects the town or city they live in. We live in Edinburgh. Our family has been there for centuries.”
He heard Hermione hum in thought, and he couldn’t help but think that she never looked more beautiful. He quickly banished the thought.
She was his friend; nothing more.
After a while, Cassius found she had fallen asleep in his arms during the glide, Crookshanks’s carrier tucked between him and her stomach.
“I hope you don’t mind dogs, Crookshanks. We have a beast that takes the form of a Dobermann during the day. Like you, she is smart and will either aid you in mischief or tattle on you.”
“Mroww,” he received in reply, not that Cassius could understand him.
“I have a feeling your mistress is going to be doing something very stupid and very dangerous, so we might as well keep you here with us to keep you safe from the Death Eaters .”
The hiss Cassius received caused him to wince.
“I know. But she isn’t leaving you for good. I will do my best to make sure she is safe.”
If she lets me.
~~~~~
Cassius groaned as Hermione stood her ground. While he had managed to wrangle most of the information from her, she was firm in the belief that Potter and Weasley would get themselves killed without her. And from what he had seen before he graduated, it was probably true.
His parents were no help in the situation, both highly amused, and he could have sworn that his father quietly asked his mother if he should make some popcorn.
“Look, just…” he felt defeated over the entire thing. “Can you stay for a couple of days while I can find something that, at the very least, protects you?” He ran his claws through his hair.
The scathing look Hermione gave him caused his mother, a turquoise gargoyle with a dinosaur-like crest upon her head and hair as dark as her son’s, to step in, placing her hands upon Cassius’s shoulders. “What he means is, in case you need an emergency way out. Your friends would be welcome as well. You can’t account for every scenario.”
Hermione deflated, giving in, much to Cassius’s relief.
“Cassius will show you to your room. Your familiar will be safe here; Boudica has already taken a liking to him,” Mrs. Warrington continued as the black gargoyle beast wagged its whip-like tail, showing a fangy, canine-like grin.
“Get some rest. It’s going to be a long couple of days,” Mr. Warrington said sternly. “Cassius. Please come see me after your friend is settled.”
“Yes, sir.”
~~~~
Cassius wished Hermione a good night as he closed the curtains. “I will be downstairs when you wake up.”
“Thank you, Cass, for everything,” she whispered as she snuggled into the pillows, fast asleep without even changing into more comfortable clothes.
He only smiled softly and quietly exited the room, closing the door behind him.
The sun started to peek up over the horizon and Cassius felt the change —little more than a tingle now—as he met his father in his office.
Gone was the massive, olivine gargoyle with a double-pointed brow ridge. Instead, a near giant of a wizard with light brown hair sat at the desk.
“Cassius, as amusing as the scene was you and your friend caused, we need to talk about what happened,” the man said as he looked over his paperwork. Businesses don’t run themselves after all.
“I don’t even know where to start.” Cassius sighed, slumping down into the comfortable leather chair he managed to claim before his mother came in.
“How about from the beginning dear,” his mother said as she sat down on the bench against the expansive bookshelf. “As much as you have written about her, you never told us about how you two met.”
The 19-year-old ran his hand down his face, telling them how Hermione had found him as he was trying to find the hidden tower they had told him about in Hogwarts when he was presenting early, and how she’d helped him through his first transformations. How she came to him for advice throughout the year, and how he wanted to rip Rita Skeeter a new one every time she came up with some drivel.
After he graduated and passed his N.E.W.Ts, they continued sending each other letters for the next year. He smiled, as he remembered Hermione’s complaining about Umbridge being a useless Defence Professor.
“Is that why you sent her your textbooks from your sixth year? I always admired Lupin when he was in school—even with his condition,” his mother said softly.
“How did you know about that?” Cassius asked. He had only found out when Professor Snape planted that little hint at the end of the year. The Slytherin Head of House lost Cassius’s respect from that particular move against the gentle professor.
“I tutored him and two of his friends when it was needed.” His mother said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “It was supposed to be three, but one never bothered to show up. Sure, two of the others skived off, but Remus was always diligent. I took notice he always asked to reschedule the session about once a month.”
“You didn’t turn him in?” Cassius asked with awe.
“No, I was hoping to talk to him after he graduated—we have a protected forest he could have ran in, but the war kicked up and all of us were busy trying to stay hidden and protect the city from Death Eaters like we have been these past few months.”
Cassius nodded at the explanation before continuing his story. “She went quiet around O.W.Ls. I figured it was because she was studying so much. I was tempted to glide over to make sure she had gotten enough sleep.” He paused. “It wasn’t until school let out for the summer that I knew something was wrong. She somehow got caught up in the Department of Mysteries battle. I never did get the full story out of her though. She started to cry every time I brought it up.”
“She was almost killed,” his father said. As an Unspeakable, he was able to glean more information than most from the battle, knowing what happened to fix the mess that was left in the battle’s wake. “And an innocent man was killed by the Veil trying to save his godson.”
Cassius clenched his fist and glared into space. He wasn’t there to protect her .
He managed to get his emotions under control before continuing. “Her letters were sporadic over the next year, but I managed to sneak over to Hogwarts on my nights off to catch up and make sure she was okay.” He ignored the way his father raised an eyebrow and glanced over to his wife, who was smiling into her tea cup.
“Her last one was worrying, so I begged off and went to her. Something was wrong, I could feel it in my gut.” Cassius put his face in his hands and clenched his scalp. “She was planning a runner. She erased her parents’—who are Muggles—memories and was planning to leave. Her letter was a goodbye.”
“But you confronted her and brought her here,” his father asked.
“There’s more.” His voice trembled and his parents focused on him completely, his mother nearly dropping her tea and his father setting down his paperwork. “She said they had something to tell her, but that she was overreacting to the danger ahead. She turns eighteen in September. But I don’t have proof! What if she is and no one is there? I...I never saw them at night. When I dropped her off at home that one time, Hermione made sure they were going out that night. She said they were never around at night.”
His parent’s eyes were wide. They understood what he was saying. And what he wasn’t.
“Her last name is Granger, yes?”
Cassius nodded.
“Where does she live?”
“Just outside of Carlisle. From what she told me, she has no family other than her parents.”
Cassius saw his mother’s shoulders drop, and his father’s eyes close in pain.
“The clan that protected Carlisle was destroyed in the last war, protecting their city. There were only two survivors because they were on their honeymoon when it happened,” his father told him.
“Our Clan and others tried to have them join ours for protection, but they were stubborn. Especially after they had their daughter.” His mother continued.
“She will have no one to guide her.” Cassius’s voice broke. Even if it was just wishful thinking, his friend still didn’t have anyone for her to lean on instead of being leaned on to. It was no wonder how she instinctually knew to take care of him. He needed to be there for her.
“I’ll call Elder Gia, let her know what’s happening, and let the Australian clans know to keep a lookout for a Monica and Wendell Wilkens coming to the country.” Cassius’s father rubbed his temple. “Zeus will need to know as well.”
Cassius winced, knowing the Clan Leader would tear into him for letting himself be seen.
“Now, let’s look into an amulet that will help your girl, hmm,” His mother said as his father shooed them off to make the necessary phone and Floo-calls.
~~~~
Cassius woke about six hours later. It wasn't even noon and he could smell his mother making breakfast. After dressing in some proper clothes for the day, he wandered over to Hermione’s room, only to find the door cracked open and her bed empty.
“Hermione?” he called as he knocked on the door, which swung open a bit further just as the young woman stepped out of her ensuite wrapped in a fluffy, pink towel his mother loved to place in the guest rooms.
She let out a squeak as Cassius quickly turned around.
“Sorry! The door was cracked and I knocked!” he said, panicked.
“Oooh, Crookshanks!” she grumbled. “I'm sorry! He’s part Kneazle, so he has some innate magic to allow him to go in and out of rooms as he pleases...and he loves to leave me in some embarrassing situations.”
“I’d love to hear them, but you should probably get dressed before my parents see us like this.” He stepped away from the door. “Breakfast is ready. I’ll meet you at the bottom of the stairs.”
It was so embarrassing, and Cassius hoped to Merlin and King Arthur that she didn't hate him. A small hand touched his shoulder.
“You didn’t need to run, you know. It was an accident.”
“You don't know my parents very well,” he replied.
A crash of ceramic came from another room in the house. “What was that?” Hermione asked.
“Honestly! You two are a menace together!” a voice floated from down the hallway.
“Sounds like that was from the dining room,” Cassius said, chuckling.
Cassius led her to the dining room only to find her cat sitting on the table licking his paws and a large dog with pointed ears and a short wagging tail lapping up whatever food fell on the floor from the broken plate. Cassius’s mother had her hands on her hips, trying to fight a smile.
“Crookshanks! You know better!” Hermione scolded. The Kneazle-Persian-cross just smiled and meowed.
~~~~
A couple of hours and a few arguments later, Hermione agreed to the amulet for passive protection. “I will be putting the three of us under extensive wards, and Harry wouldn’t like it that I broke his trust.”
“You need back up,” Cassius pouted.
“We’ll be fine, Cass. I will be back.”
Hermione kissed his cheek and gave her cat one last cuddle. “I’ll be back. I don’t know when, but I will,” she told both of them, before grabbing her beaded bag and clasping the amulet around her ankle so no one but her could see it.
With a twist of her wand, she was gone. Cassius took a shuddering breath and picked up the yowling cat who buried his head into the young man.
“I’m going to miss her too. But she promised she’ll be back.”
~~~~~~ September 1997
Cassius paced back and forth on the Turrets of the ancient “ruins” of Craigmillar Castle when he was supposed to be patrolling.
“Cassius. Your focus is waning.”
Cassius startled. He saw it was his clan leader, Zeus, a large clay-red gargoyle with white hair cut short into a military style. “I’m sorry, sir.”
The older Gargoyle frowned. “It’s not like you. We cannot do our duty to our city if your focus isn’t where it needs to be.”
“I’m worried about a friend.”
“This human witch? Hermione?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tell me. I know some of the situations, and while I don’t approve of humans knowing of our existence, much like your magical governments don’t like us mundanes knowing of theirs, I can see she is important to you.”
“I have a suspicion that she is one of us. But she removed her parent’s memories, and I know that it sometimes skips a generation in the smaller clans. And today is her 18th birthday. She is out on the run from that dark tosser whose allies are putting pressure on my parents and my uncles.” Cassius ran his claws through his hair. “One of them approached me the other day, wanting me to join them.”
Zeus took a deep breath. “And?”
“I told them I am unable to give any sort of answer unless I speak to my entire family. And I told him the family meets once a year since we’re so scattered.”
“Well,” Zeus paused. “You aren’t wrong. That sort of situation would need approval from all clans to put a spy on the inside, and we would need at least three clans’ Lead Mages to get enough power for a concealment amulet.”
“I gave Hermione a similar amulet to let me know if she is changing or if her life is in peril.”
“Is she?”
“Inheriting? Not that I can tell. It could have skipped her since she’s the first witch in her family or she could have been adopted, and we don’t know for sure if they were the last of the Carlisle clan.” He paused for a second. “Have the clans in Australia found them?”
Zeus shook his head. “No, but the clans there are none too happy about the situation, even if they know the reason for the extreme measures.”
Cassius could only groan.
“If she is one of us, the stress from the situation could be preventing the turn.”
Cassius nodded in response to his leader’s answer. “For your other question, my amulet is always somewhat warm. It stung once on Midsummer, and then a few days later a couple of times. Now it’s just a pulsing warmth.”
“Meaning?”
“She’s always in danger, but it’s not life-threatening.”
Zeus sighed. “After tonight, I want you on scrying duty with Gia. Maybe she can give you the information you seek to keep your friend safe.”
Cassius blushed, hearing the tease in his clan leader’s voice. Zeus wasn’t that much older than he was, after all—not by gargoyle standards. “We’re not...it’s not…ugh!”
Zeus laughed heartily. “Gia will help you learn what needs to be done to protect her. And protect us.”
Cassius’s head snapped up. “What do you mean?”
“She and I have been watching you, and it’s time for her to gain an apprentice, much like I need a second in command.”
Cassius squared his shoulders as he held his leader’s gaze.
“Your grades at Hogwarts and your thinking outside the box magically leads me to think you are an excellent candidate for Gia’s apprentice.”
“I’d be honoured, sir.”
Zeus nodded. “Come, let’s finish our patrol and get some rest in the morning.”
“Yessir.”
~~~~~~ Christmas 1997
Cassius had the night off from his lessons with Elder Gia and no patrol with the clan when a wave of panic coursed through him. The Amulet was heating rapidly.
Hermione!
He ran to the nearest phone, hoping either of his parents or even Zeus’s mate were manning the lines.
As he dialed the emergency number, Cassius felt pain then the wind being knocked out of him, and then nothing.
He woke in his bed the next morning with Crookshanks laying next to him purring louder than the Hogwarts Express, a pain potion, and a journal with a note from Gia to write down everything he had seen, the feelings, everything.
Cassius didn’t leave his room for a week. He felt like he was failing her.
~~~~~~~ March 1998
It wasn’t until late March he felt anything else from the amulet, right in the middle of a Clan meeting, sitting beside his mistress, elder Gia. It felt like there was a fire in his veins and his organs were twisting into knots and frozen. The clan was in an uproar over the attack on one of their young, even though he was an adult.
“Cassius. Focus on the link you gave her, tell me what she last saw. Breathe through the pain,” the old woman said as she brought out one of the crystals he hadn’t learned about (yet).
“She’s in a white, ornate room, a grand piano in the corner. Greyback is nearby, drooling, wanting to…” Cassius let out an involuntary growl—despite it being daylight—as his mind’s eye heard the vulgar things the werewolf was saying about his woman .
...wait...his woman? The thought startled him, but it wasn’t an unwelcome one.
“Focus, Cassius. What is around her? Who is there besides that monster?” Gia asked firmly, but yet not unkindly.
Cassius centred himself again and managed to focus on what the Death Eaters were saying. “They are in Malfoy Manor.” He gasped as he was forcibly pulled from the connection gripping his arm.
“Malfoy Manor is in Wiltshire,” Cassius heard his father say to the rest of the clan.
“She’s a human. What does it matter if she is being tortured. She shouldn’t know about us to begin with,” one of the other elders sniped, and the other clan members murmured in agreement.
“Because her parents were one of us,” Zeus’s wife, Desmondana, said cooly —that information was confirmed just after New Year. “She has no knowledge of her heritage. We are her only hope if her inheritance comes to fruition.”
“And if she isn’t?” another clan member asked.
“She will still have a place in our clan as an Ally. She offered Cassius a great service when he unexpectedly matured early, and she kept his secret. We must now help her as she has helped us,” Zeus commented, his voice booming. “Othello, do you have that Portkey ready?”
“No sir.” Cassius’ father said regretfully. “All Portkeys are being highly monitored, and if there is an unregistered one going into one of the most fortified areas, that will bring too much attention to our clan
“Hmmm, I’ll make a phone call, see if any of the other clans can get there quietly and safely,” the clan leader growled as the sun descended, triggering their transformation.
The clan continued to bicker as Cassius continued to relay pertinent information about a sword.
“She’s out of danger…” Cassius gasped finally, after what felt like hours of pain. “A house-elf got them out…” His body still twitched from some of the magic syphons. He then passed out from the pain and relief that she was alright, while the rest of the clan presumably spoke about the growing threat and how to help stop it.
~~~~~ May 1998
It wasn’t until the Battle at Hogwarts that he saw her again. Her face was gaunt, there were dark bags under her eyes. What kind of quest was she sent on with her friends?
That night happened so quickly, and the clan suffered losses as was the case in any war. No one came out unscathed.
He found her up in their tower, which sustained only minimal damage, at sunrise. Cassius touched her shoulder, and she turned towards him.
“Cass?”
“I’m here.”
Hermione launched herself into his arms and cried. He just held her close, whispering into her hair.
Before he could stop himself, he gave her a soft kiss, which she returned.
~~~~ September 1, 1998
“You sure you want to go back?” Cassius asked, holding Hermione’s hand as she pulled her trunk along behind her. Crookshanks growled from within his carrier.
“Yes. I need to face what happened, and you need to stop worrying so much.” She had to stifle a giggle at his pout. “I’ll be back for Yule.”
“And I will see you every Hogsmeade weekend and on your birthday—definitely.”
Hermione kissed his cheek. “It’s not that long. I’ll write, and I’ll keep that amulet on me as well.”
“Good.” Cassius grumped. “Please be careful.”
“You know I will.” She waved as she boarded the train, finding Harry and Ginny for the long ride ahead.
~~~~~ September 19, 1998
Hermione was in an insurmountable amount of pain. The only thing she could think of that was worse was when she was being tortured by Bellatrix.
The pain started just after sunset as she made her way to the tower she and Cassius used for his transformations. They had a standing date tonight, and even if she was in pain, she wouldn’t miss it. Sliding down the wall, Hermione curled up into a ball. She just wanted this pain to end.
“Hermione?”
“Cassius…” she whimpered out as another wave of pain raced through her.
“I’m here. I’m right here. Just breathe through it love.” Hermione felt him pick her up gently and hold her close. “Listen to my heartbeat.”
“What’s happening, Cassius?” Everything felt like sharp stones were scraping along her skin.
“I think your parents kept a big secret from you.” She felt him brush her hair from her face, being careful not to get his claws tangled in her curls. “One you should have known a while ago.”
Hermione gripped Cassius tight as she could feel her arms and legs split open and pressure from her lower back. She ignored his hiss, and he didn’t comment on it. The splitting headache made her want to pass out.
“Open your eyes, Mo Ghràdh. Focus on me.”
With that one endearment, she opened her eyes. Cassius’s features seemed clearer than before. “There you are. It’s almost over, and then I can explain everything.” He held her hand, rubbing circles on her wrist with his thumb.
Finally, the pain eased, and Hermione was able to breathe again.
Cassius transfigured a mirror upon a wall and used the same syphoning charm she had used on him four years ago.
No...it couldn’t be true…
She stepped closer to the mirror.
Things were starting to make sense —how she never saw her parents after dark. How secretive they were about their families.
How they wanted to tell her something that night before she sent them to Australia.
Cassius held his hand out to her, which she clasped. She then noticed her skin tone had pinkened to the colour of pink sapphires and her nails were sharp claws.
Seeing her image in the full-length mirror, she was stunned. She had gained five inches by walking on the balls of her feet due to the claw on the back of her heel. She had a curved beak, much like an owl, and her hair was just as frizzy as before but held back by a set of short horns upon her brow. A long tail protruded from the base of her spine. A membrane of skin connected from her wrists to her ankles and again from her elbow to her knee and once again at her hips almost like a sugar glider. Loose enough for movement, yet tough enough to where she could glide.
Glide. Ha!
Some Gargoyle she turned out to be. She was terrified of heights.
“Is this really ...me?” Hermione’s voice quivered.
“It’s really you.” Cassius wrapped his arms around her in a hug as he kissed the top of her head.
“But...why would they keep this from me?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know?”
“After a while, after some things you said about them, I suspected. But when you didn’t turn on your last birthday, I dropped it, but my parents didn’t. They had managed to get in touch with a clan in Australia who found your parents, and it turns out they were the last of the Carlisle Clan. I had thought that the gene skipped you over since you were the first to inherit magic.”
“But?”
“But the stress of your quest is what delayed it.
Hermione started to nibble at her thumb in uncertainty when she felt Cassius sigh from behind her and he turn her around to face him.
“Hermione, look at me.”
She looked up into his dark eyes. “What if I wasn’t a gargoyle?”
“Then you would still be Mo Ghràdh. I started falling for you long before the war picked up.”
He leaned forward and kissed her softly on her beak.
“Ready to learn how to glide?”
“No.”
“No? Don’t tell me you’re still scared even after all the times you went for a glide in my arms.”
Hermione scowled at his smirk. “It’s because I feel safe with you.”
“I will still be there to catch you if something goes wrong.” He let go of her and leapt out the window of the tower. “I’m right here. Just extend your arms and straighten your legs for the wind to catch your wings.”
“But…”
“Hermione, relax. It’s a leap of faith. Do you trust me?”
Hermione steeled herself, nodded, and leapt out the window. As Cassius had promised, the wind caught her wings and she started to glide along with the current, her love by her side as they climbed altitude.
“See you’re a natural.”
Hermione smiled. This must be what freedom felt like.