Trust Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 3)

Phoenix

After the events that happened earlier that night, there wasn't much noise at all, not one student daring to speak.

Hermione had taken Ellie back to her dorm, not wanting to sleep alone that night. The moonlight shone through Hermione's window, illuminating her dorm as Ellie laid peacefully in her arms. Hermione stroked through Ellie's hair with her fingers, making the Hufflepuff drowsy. Hermione's roommates had cleared out, absent from her dorm as they sat in the common room, fearful for their lives. Their arms were wrapped around each other, their limbs entangled with Hermione's knitted blanket pulled over them.

"Dumbledore..." Hermione started, her voice gentle yet solemn.

"Let's not talk about him right now," Ellie murmured from the crook of Hermione's neck. Though she never had the chance to know the man, she felt a great deal of sadness in his death. After all, he did invite Ellie to attend Hogwarts under special circumstances, being the first student to ever join after their first year.

Hermione sighed in disappointment at Ellie's words. Though she wanted to talk about him, she knew better than to argue with Ellie, especially at a time like this.

"Okay, love," Hermione agreed, her soothing voice sending gentle vibrations to Ellie's body.

"How's Harry holding up?" Ellie mumbled, her warm breath hitting Hermione's neck.

Hermione gave another sigh, knowing there wasn't any good news. Harry had gone to Dumbledore's office, with Professor McGonagall tailing right behind him.

"Not too well. But it's understandable. He's grieving... he has it worse than anyone else."

"I don't blame him. If you saw what happened, you'd be angry too."

"What did happen up there?" Hermione inquired, her voice persistent yet calming.

Ellie removed herself from the crook of her girlfriend's neck and repositioned herself so that she was laying on her side, face-to-face with the Gryffindor. She stared deeply into Hermione's eyes, admiring the twinkle that permanently resided in them. Ellie's face grew sad as she took a deep breath.

"My father's alive," Ellie whispered as if it was a deadly secret just waiting to be heard by the wrong ears.

Hermione's eyes widened, immediately bringing her hand to cup Ellie's face.

"Isn't that great news? How come you don't look all that excited?" Hermione asked with a worrying expression. She would have thought that her girlfriend might have been more thrilled to know her father was alive, yet Ellie's face held disappointment.

"He's a Death Eater, my love," Ellie responded quietly, her teeth gritting at the sound of his dreaded occupation.

Hermione's face dropped, though she didn't dare escalate the situation by asking too many questions. Instead, Hermione brought Ellie's face to her, kissing her forehead lovingly.

"I'm sorry, darling," Hermione whispered as her lips left a warm linger on Ellie.

Ellie didn't say anything, but proceeded to kiss Hermione's lips gently, barely moving. She broke away slowly, leaving her face just inches apart. The rest of the night was quiet, neither of the girls making conversation anymore. Ellie had fallen asleep first, with Hermione wrapping her arms over her protectively.

--

The next morning, the quartet stood at the Astronomy Tower, overlooking the view as the morning sun began to peek from behind the mountains. Harry, Hermione, and Ellie stood at the railing, with Ron sitting at the steps quietly.

"Do you think he would have done it? Draco?" Hermione asked, standing in between of Harry and Ellie.

"No," Harry murmured, barely loud enough for her to hear. "No, he was lowering his wand. In the end, it was Snape. It was always Snape. And I did nothing."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I should have done something-" Ellie tried to apologize but was cut off by Harry.

"No, Ellie. You did more than enough. Draco wouldn't have stopped if it weren't for you."

Hermione and Ellie turned to the boy solemnly, with the Hufflepuff giving an apologetic look. Harry placed the locket he was holding in Hermione's hand, allowing for her to examine it.

"It's fake. Open it," Harry announced.

Hermione opened the locket to reveal a note, folded small enough to fit inside. She started to read aloud its message.

"To the Dark Lord. I know I will be dead long before you read this but it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.B." She repeated the initials once more, turning to Harry. "R.A.B."

"Don't know. But whoever they are, they have the real Horcrux. Which means it was all a waste. All of it."

"Ron's okay with it, you know. You and Ginny. But if I were you, when he's around, I'd keep the snogging to a minimum," Hermione told Harry, tucking the locket into her pocket.

"I'm not coming back, Hermione. I've got to finish whatever Dumbledore started. And I don't know where that'll lead me, but I'll let you and Ron know where I am when I can."

"I've always admired your courage, Harry. But sometimes, you can be really thick. You don't really think you're going to be able to find all those Horcruxes by yourself, do you? You need us, Harry."

"All of us," Ellie chimed in. Hermione smiled at her, interlacing their fingers together subtly, unseen by Ron. Harry gave an appreciative nod as he turned back to face the view.

"I never realized how beautiful this place was," Harry said softly.

Suddenly, a bird cawed in the sky, soaring through the air majestically. Its feathers were tainted scarlet red, one the Ellie recognized to be Dumbledore's. The three of them moved to get a better view of the phoenix, with Ron standing up to watch it.

Together, the quartet quietly watched the bird circle around the tower, seeming to be looking for his owner.