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Dark Gods In The Blood	By : Hayseed Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 3951 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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A/N: I don�t think I
clarified myself well enough previously, so I think I�ll go ahead and say
it. This story is not a romance. While there may be romantic elements there
(I am biased to certain pairings, after all :), this is more about understanding
than anything else.

Summary: A wandering
student comes home, a broken man pays his penance, and a gruesome murder is
both more and less than it seems. Some paths
to self-discovery have more twists and turns than others.

Rating: R, for
intermittent dark themes, violence, and language

Disclaimer: Nothing
you read here (save the plot and bits of the text itself) belongs to me. Harry Potter and his cronies are the
property of JK Rowling and Warner Bros. (and someone else, probably, but not
me). All chapter headings are properly
credited to their sources.

Dark Gods in the Blood

by: Hayseed (hayseed_42@hotmail.com)

Chapter Nine

I
let him run on, this papier-m�ch� Mephistopheles, and it

seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my
forefinger

through
him, and would find nothing inside but a little loose

dirt,
maybe.

-- Joseph Conrad, Heart of
Darkness

The phone was ringing.
Hermione�s head was swimming with sleep and the only thing she could
remember as she fought her way to consciousness was that it had to be the phone, as she hadn�t set an alarm.

�Good morning, my lovely,� a familiar male voice chirped into her ear
as she managed to grunt into the receiver.
�And how are you?�

Blinking a few times, the miasma of sleep began to clear. �Ron?� she asked stupidly. �Is that you?�

He chuckled into the phone.
�It�s me, yes.�

�But ... you don�t know how to use a telephone,� she blurted, still
feeling rather disjoint.

Again, he laughed gently.
�Hermione, I didn�t know how to use a phone fifteen years ago. I can
be taught, you know.�

Coughing, she sat up, letting the blankets fall to her waist. �I�m sure you didn�t call to explain to me
that you�ve learned to operate a phone.�

�Indeed,� he replied, voice still full of warm humor. �I confess I had other motives. You see, Ginny has tickets to the Wimbourne
match this afternoon, and I was planning to take the kids. Alice loves Quidditch. But there�s been an incident and I have to
go into work.�

She was confused. �Incident?�

Ron�s voice was momentarily sober.
�William Summerford -- a young chap I work with, just out of his
training -- was found dead last night,� he explained.

�Good Lord!� she exclaimed unthinkingly. �What happened?�

�We don�t know,� he replied.
�But I�ve got to go in for the day, at least. So, I was wondering if you�d like to go to the game, with Ginny
and the kids.�

�I ... erm ... of course,� Hermione said, brushing hair out of her
eyes. �What do I need to do?�

�Just show up at the Burrow �round one or so. The match starts at two.
I�ll drop the kids off this morning -- Fran�oise is going out with
Petunia, you see. But Mum�s happy to
watch them for a bit. Sound good?�

She stood, automatically straightening her nightclothes. �Of course.
I, um, hope everything is all rigt wot work, Ron.�

�So do I,� he said darkly.
�Bye, Hermione.�

�Bye ...� Still rather dazed
with sleep, Hermione hung up the receiver, regarding it carefully. She wondered how often Aurors died. By the almost-nonchalance in Ron�s voice as
he spoke, it must be often enough that he was relatively used to it.

How did one get used to death,
anyway?

Ron was used to it. By all
accounts, he was a relatively well-seasoned Auror and could speak fairly
casually about his deceased colleagues.

And Snape was probably used to it. spanspan>She knew she�d never get a chance to ask him about it, but she was
pretty certain that he was very familiar with death and destruction due to the
nature of the work he used to do in the Order.

Shaking her head as if to rid herself of such thoughts, Hermione
shuffled toward the lavatory. Quidditch, she thought ruefully.

-- -- -- --
--

�Have you eaten, Hermione?� Ginny asked as she opened the door to
Hermione�s knock.

Expecting a �hallo,� or �good afternoon,� or something like that, she
was rather taken aback. �I ... yes,�
she finally said, fully processing Ginny�s question. �I ate back at the hotel.�

�You�re still staying at a hotel?� she asked cheerfully, ushering
Hermione into the Burrow. �It�s been
what, a month now?�

�More than,� she conceded, following Ginny through the hallway.

�You know,� Ginny replied, waving her toward an overstuffed chair in
the den, �you could stay with us
here. Mum would be delighted to have
you. Tea?�

�Thank you,� she said. �Tea
would be lovely. And as for your other
offer, I�m grateful, Ginnut Iut I couldn�t.�

�Nonsense,� she snapped, reaching for the tea things. �You�re like family. Well ... like a prodigal cousin, anyway.�

Hermione smiled at the gentle jab.
�Ron offered me his flat, you know.
He�s spending all his time with the Potters these days. I�m just not sure ...�

�Stay at Ron�s then,� Ginny said, handing her a teacup. �It�ll be a bit messy to start with, but you
can soon remedy that. What, d�you like paying for a room or something?�

With a little start, she realized Ginny had managed to fix her tea
exactly how she usually took it.
�That�s not it, it�s just ... I feel like if I stay at Ron�s --�

�He�ll stay with Fran�oise that much longer,� she completed, preparing
her own tea.

�Well ... sort of,� Hermione acknowledged. �But it�s more than that.
I just ... I don�t want to be an imposition.�

Ginny laughed shortly as she sipped her tea. �Believe me, Hermione, if Ron thought it would be an imposition, he
wouldn�t have asked. Fundamentally,
he�s still the same fellow you went to school with. Happy enough, but none too bright and not very thoughtful of
others.�

�Oh, I don�t know ...� she said, thinking about Ron�s face as he gently
teased Alice Potter or the look in his eyes as he told her about his job. �He�s changed a bit.�

�I�m his sister,� Ginny said with a shrug. �It�s my prerogative to point out the fact that he�s a human pig
to any and every passerby. But I will
say again, if he�s offering to put you up, I�d take him up on it. Even if that means sacrificing him to
Fran�oise.�

o:p>

Curious, she swirled the brown liquid around in her cup, wondering what
futures it would tell when she finished.
�Sacrificing, eh?�

�Fran�oise Potter isn�t my favorite person in the world,� Ginny said
tartly. �I�ll not make a secret of
it. But not for the reasons everyone
thinks.� She gave a soft snort. �Mum still thinks I hate her because I�m
still carrying some silly childhood torch for ... for Harry.�

They were silent for a moment, contemplative, until Ginny picked up her
thread again.

�She loved Harry,� she continued thoughtfully. �Whatever else she has in her, she had
that. Loved him better than anyone else
could, I suppose. But there�s something
hard in herwellwell. Something that
wanted to keep Harry away from the world and all for herself. And when Harry wanted to take Ron with him
...�

Pausing, Ginny took another draught of tea and Hermione didn�t think
she could bear the lull in conversation.
�What do you mean, Ginny, �wanted to take him?��

Again, that bitter laugh.
�Haven�t you noticed yet?� she asked, a cynical edge in her voice. �Wherever Harry went in life, he had Ron
right there beside him. Don�t get me
wrong -- Ron was happy to be there. Is happy to be there.
They were a matched set, like.
And now ... well, now Harry�s gone to the one place I don�t want Ron to follow.� She finished her tea.

Hermione ventured timidly into the ensuing silence. �I wondered ...� she began, hoping to dispel
some of Ginny�s obvious anxiety.
�Fran�oise is ... well, she didn�t go to Hogwarts, so I --�

�Beauxbatons,� she replied succinctly.

�She�s French?� she asked. �But
her English is completely --�

Again, Ginny interrupted her brusquely. �She grew up in England.
London, I believe. She always
said I�d hurt myself playing.�

�Good God, Ginny,� Hermione breathed.
�You could have killed yourself.�

Smiling self-deprecatingly, Ginny pushed Alice into her seat yet
again. �Two days later, I very nearly
wanted to. Madam Pomfrey healed the
breaks and cuts immediately, of course, but my right arm and hand ... well,
there was a fair amount of nerve damage.
Can�t grow those back.�

He did not flinch as Hermione had expected. �I�m sorry,� he muttered.
�I didn�t mean to o:p>o:p>

�Merlin, Nicholas, you don�t have to apologize,� Ginny said, turning
the touch into more of a pat. �I�m just
... I�m glad you feel like talking again.�

The boy actually managed a smile.

�Show me,� he told his sister quietly.
�Point it to me.�

Eagerly, she clamored over both Ginny and Hermione to plop down more or
less in her brother�s lap. �There,
Nic�las!� she cried, pointer finger extended.
�Snitch there.�

He squinted into the sky -- Hermione did not know whether he truthfully
saw it or not; certainly the golden glint had completely eluded her for the
entire game. �I see it, Alice,� he
said. �I see the Snitch. You�re better than both the Seekers, aren�t you?�

At that exact moment, Alice gave her adopted aunts a sweet smile. �Damn damn damn damn ...� she sang.

�Well, she might notice that,�
she admitted as Ginny let out another little moan.

�Hermione?� Ginny said, muffled through her fingers.

�Yes?� she asked cautiously.

�Shut up.�

-- -- -- --
--

�For such a little china doll, she�s certainly a devil, isn�t she?�
Ginny asked rhetorically as she untangled Alice�s sleepy hand from her hair.

�That Cleaning Charm has come in handy throughout the day,� Hermione
agreed, watching Nicholas hover beside her, clutching at a handful of her
robes. Between Nicholas at her side and
Alice in her arms, Ginny was having a difficult time of it. �Do ... do you want me to take her?� she
asked after a moment.

She shrugged minutely. �That
would probably be a bad idea. Do you
want to wake her up before we can get her back to her mum?�

�Excellent point,� she said, considering it.

�Although maybe Nicholas can pull at your clothes for a bit,� she said,
giving him a pointed look.

He stared down at his trainers, peeking out from under his robes. �Sorry, Aunt Ginny.�

Softening immediately, she shifted Alice in her arms. �Nicholas ... I just ... maybe you would like talking to Hermione for a bit. She went to school with us, you know, me and
your father and your Uncle Ron.�

Perking up slightly, he lifted his head. �Really?� he asked, looking directly at Hermione for the first
time in about two weeks. �You�re that Hermione?
The one Papa talked about in his stories?�

�Uh oh,� she said, smiling at him.
�I�m afraid that I am, although I doubt I�m as interesting as Har -- as
your father made me out to be.�

He actually grinned. �But
you�re the one who always got them out of trouble. Him and Uncle Ron. You
and your clever plans.�

With a self-deprecating laugh, she shook her head. �Nicholas, I don�t think your father told
you the entire truth.�

�Is it true that you and my papa met a giant once?� he asked breathlessly, eyes wide. �He said the giant knew your name!�

She thought she heard Ginny snicker.
�I --�

�And did you really turn yourself into a cat?� he continued.
�I always thought ...�

Yes. A definite laugh now.

�Ginny, shut it,� she said firmly.
�I don�t want to hear it.�

�I�d forgotten about the cat thing,� Ginny said through her
giggles. �Ron told me about that. And you had a tail ...�

�Ginny ...� she warned. �Don�t
make me hex you.�

�So violent,� she admonished
playfully, shifting Alice to her other arm.
�What would your monks think?�

Hermione sighed. �Your mother
told you, didn�t she?�

�Of course she did,� she said matter-of-factly. �Mum�s dead curious about you, even though
she won�t admit it. She�s absolutely
fascinated by the fact that you�ve up and disappeared for all these years and
you won�t even talk about it. Actually,
she�s positive you�ve got a husband and kids socked away in Mongolia or
wherever you�ve been.�

�Tibet,� she corrected tiredly.
�And no. You can tell your
mother that I�m still quite unmarried.�

�Like Uncle Ron,� Nicholas said unexpectedly.

Taken aback, she looked down at his possibly-deliberately neutral
little face. �What?�

�Uncle Ron,� he repeated with an impatient shrug. �He�s not married either. Are you going to marry him? Is that why you came back?�

She blinked and Ginny giggled again.
�Erm ... no, Nicholas,� she said slowly. �Your Uncle Ron and I aren�t going to get married. We�re not in love.�

�But you like him,� he persisted.

Sighing, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. �Of course I like him,� she said.
�He�s one of my dearest friends.
But we�re not in love.
Generally, people marry when they love each other.�

�Like Mummy and Papa,� he agreed, nodding a bit. �I wish you and Uncle Ron would get married,
though. I�d call you �Aunt Hermione,�
then,� he said in what she thought was a rather sly tone.

Ginny laughed. �What a cheeky
little boy! Hermione, I do believe he
just offered you a bribe in return for my brother�s hand in marriage.�

�Nicholas,� she began, wanting nothing more than to drop the subject
entirely. �I�m very sorry, but I�m not
going to be marrying Ron,� she said firmly.

Immediately, he was downcast.
�All right,� he said, studying his feet again.

Perhaps her tone had been too harsh.
�When we were young, Nicholas, your father used to tease me and Ron all
the time about getting married,� she explained. �He thought it would be perfect.
Ron and I, living in the house next door to him and his wife. He hadn�t met your mother yet, you see. But Ron and I didn�t like your father
teasing us like that very much, so it still sort of bothers me. Do you understand what I�m saying, Nicholas?�

His brow was furrowed. �I think
so,� he said. �It makes you mad because
it always did. And it makes you sad,
too, I think. Sad because it makes you
think about Papa.�

Hermione exchanged a surprised look with Ginny. �A little,� she admitted. �But what made you say that, Nicholas?�

�It makes me sad to think about
him,� he said with a little shrug. �And
your eyes are sad. I just guessed. Was that okay?� His little voice sounded rather worried.

�Sure,� she said after a moment�s pause. �Nicholas, can I ask you a question?�

He smiled a little. �You just
did, silly.� And then, he sobered. �My papa used to say that.�

Treading carefully, Hermione spoke slowly, thinking about each word
before she said it. �When -- when I was
at your house for supper two weeks ago, did -- did I make you sad? Thinking about your father?�
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Dark Gods In The Blood