"Salazar Slytherin was your brother?" Hermione asked in disbelief.
Sebastián nodded at her, and something flickered in his golden eyes, the echo of an old emotion he had buried deep.
Hermione stared at him, transfixed, as he prepared to tell her the story of his past.
"I was born into a wealthy family, one of the most prominent in Segovia. My mother died in childbirth. My father remarried when I was young, and shortly after Salazar was born. Salazar's mother seemed to be a woman of noble character, but I always knew there was a darkness in her. It didn't take me long to discover she was a witch."
Hermione waited for Sebastián to continue.
"I never told my father. She died of the plague three years after Salazar was born. I suspected God had punished her, and I feared her wickedness had damaged Salazar's soul. I did not want him to meet the same end. And so, I often took him to prayer and confession. He and I were inseparable for a time, but I always knew Salazar was different from the other boys. He would make strange things happen, things he couldn't explain. And I often saw him in the courtyard of our home, walking among the snakes that slithered out in the heat of summer. It was almost like he was speaking to them. Over time I couldn't deny what he was. He had inherited his mother's traits. And I could not permit him to ruin our family's good name."
Sebastián smiled bitterly at Hermione.
"You see, I had ambitions to join the church in Rome. I insisted that Salazar hide his true nature for the sake of our family, to maintain our high standing in society...and to ensure my future. But when he turned seventeen he grew tired of pretending. He began to consort with his own kind, and soon he learned of a group of wizards in the south of Spain...they were teaching the craft of sorcery in secret. Our father did not want him to go...I believe, over time, he came to suspect what Salazar was."
Hermione nodded.
"One day they argued and Salazar lost his temper. He'd oppressed his powers for so long that he could no longer control them. Without knowing how, he started a terrible fire. He was desperate to stop it, but he failed to do so in time, and our father was killed. Salazar and I were never the same after that. To me he was a demon that had destroyed our family. He begged me to forgive him. Guilt consumed him, and he asked me what I believed of his soul, and if I thought it could be saved. I answered that he had no soul, and that he would burn in hell for what he'd done.
Sebastián paused, remembering...
"I sent him away from Segovia, and kept our father's fortune for myself, threatening to expose Salazar if he fought me. I lied to our relatives and told them that Salazar had died in the fire along with my father. I became the sole heir of the Arévalo fortune, and Salazar left Spain altogether...fearful of my wrath.
"It was convenient for you then?" Hermione asked. "His departure?"
Sebastián nodded.
"I left Spain also, and traveled to Rome. Only the wealthy, the learned, could climb the ranks of the church. My uncle was a cardinal. He procured me a position as a deacon, and for a time I thrived. I was well-respected, I had my father's wealth, and I was surrounded by Rome's elite. My first few years in the city passed without incident..."
Sebastián looked at Hermione with an odd expression.
"But then one day everything changed. There was a scandal, a murder, involving one of Rome's wealthiest families, and I was caught in the middle. A friend I once trusted, blamed me for the crimes he had committed. And so, I was asked to leave the church, disgraced. Over time, I gambled away my fortune. Within two years, I was impoverished. I firmly believed that Salazar had placed a curse on me, and I was convinced that my failure in Rome was his doing, some kind of dark spell. I wanted revenge..."
Hermione thought back to the attack on Hogwarts.
"After much digging, I learned that my brother was in Scotland. By this time he had fashioned a new name for himself. He was no longer Salazar Arévalo, but Salazar Slytherin. He'd made friends with one of the most powerful and wealthy wizards of the time, Godric Gryffindor. And they were building a school, a school for magic such as the world had never seen...and so I went to the foreign land he now called home. Salazar was shocked to see me. We had not seen each other in thirteen years. I made myself appear a changed man. I asked for his forgiveness. I convinced him that I no longer sought glory or wealth, but wished to dedicate my life to charitable work...to help the underprivileged, the sick. I begged him to take me in. He wanted to believe me, to regain some connection to family. And I suppose, he still felt responsible for our father's death."
Sebastián locked eyes with Hermione.
"He did not tell Godric that I was his brother, but an old friend from Spain. I did not betray his identity. The Founders thought he was a pure-blood. They called me 'The Spaniard,' and none of them bothered to learn my real name. I kept mostly to myself. To them I was Salazar's quiet and pious friend. As the school neared completion, the Founders sought to acquire house elves from abroad. At the time, elves were rare in Britain and they needed the creatures to run the school. I argued with Salazar against it. I told him their keeping would be akin to slavery.
"But you had other motives, didn't you?" Hermione asked shrewdly.
Sebastián nodded again. "I convinced Salazar to employ the muggles that lived in the countryside. Many of them were starving, and it was a violent time. The land was divided by warring clans. Many of the muggle clan leaders sought alliances with wizards for protection."
Hermione's eyes widened as Sebastián went on.
"For a time wizards and witches did not fear persecution. Muggles rulers were too busy fighting amongst themselves. I convinced Salazar that the impoverished muggles could co-exist with wizards. They only wanted a chance to live, to do honest work. Godric advised against it, but Salazar was eager to please me. He wanted to make up for the past. He still sought my approval, though he no longer needed it. And so...I had my way."
Sebastián tipped his head.
"In truth, I knew the muggles viewed Salazar and his friends as dark demons...but their hunger outweighed their morals. They wanted to survive, and for three years they worked diligently...although I suspected many of them feared for their souls."
Hermione nodded, she knew what came next...
"In Godric, Salazar found the brother he'd always wanted, the brother I failed to be. I envied their closeness. I sought to destroy them, and I knew they both loved the same woman—Rowena Ravenclaw. I played on that weakness, slowly turning them against each other. But it wasn't enough for me. I resented that Salazar was growing so rich, while I lived at his mercy. And so I organized a plan to ruin his school."
Hermione swallowed.
"Wealthy wizards had invested in the construction of Hogwarts. Their children attended the school. I knew that by killing their heirs, I would ruin Salazar. I told myself that I was doing God's work, that by destroying Hogwarts, I would destroy evil itself. But in truth, I was seeking to satisfy my desire for vengeance. And so I planned the attack..."
Hermione tried not to react, keeping her face neutral.
"I convened in secret with the muggles that worked at the school and the ones that lived in nearby villages. Many of the students kept coffers filled with gold in their rooms. The servants could take the wealth owed to them, after years of hard work with little pay. All parties would be satisfied."
Hermione felt her blood rise, but she willed herself to remain silent.
"You saw in your book, Ms. Granger, the events that took place. I made sure that Godric and Salazar were away when the attack began. I fed them a false story of a battle in Aberdeen. They had formed an alliance with a muggle clan that ruled that territory. They had promised each other protection, and so they left the castle. Had Godric not returned to Hogwarts in time, I would have killed many more."
Hermione had the feeling Sebastián's story was far from over.
He spoke again.
"As for Rowena Ravenclaw, she survived, but just barely. And Godric's trust in Salazar was lost. He couldn't understand why he didn't kill me immediately, or why he'd brought me to the school in the first place...
Sebastián inched closer to Hermione.
"Salazar swore revenge on me. His love for me was gone, and in his eyes, death was too good for me. He thought long and hard on my punishment. I had no way of knowing the twisted fate that lay ahead."
Hermione looked up at Sebastián, waiting...
"Salazar had discovered a dark creature that had just begun to walk the earth. He introduced me to it, and gave me a choice between death, or eternal life in a new form. Although I was a man of God, I greatly feared death. Salazar knew I would choose to become a vampire, even if I did not fully understand what it meant. And so, he made me a creature of the night, a force of evil, the type of evil I'd fervently sought to destroy in my youth. I was no longer a man of God, but the devil's servant."
"Salazar is the reason you became a vampire?" Hermione asked.
"A fitting punishment, don't you think?"
Sebastián paced around the chamber and went on.
"Godric never forgave Salazar for letting me into the school. And Salazar never told him we were brothers. He was trapped in his own lie. Hogwarts was almost ruined, and Salazar was ashamed that he had allowed it to happen...over the years he sought to regain the trust of the Founders. But nothing he did was ever good enough for Godric. It was like losing a brother again, and he could not bear it. As for Rowena Ravenclaw, she would not choose between Salazar and Godric. She knew the stability of Hogwarts depended on the unity of the Founders. If she chose one man over the other, the little tolerance they had for each other would break. They lived in agony, bound together, the three in that stone castle. Eventually, Ravenclaw married another..."
Hermione remembered how devastated Salazar had been when he thought Rowena was dead.
"Decades later, Godric and the other Founders forced Salazar to leave Hogwarts. They felt his methods had become too extreme. His hatred for muggles and muggleborns, a hatred that I had inspired, became too great. And so Salazar left a monster deep within Hogwarts, a basilisk, to be awakened by his future heir. But he did not stop there. Salazar realized that while powerful wizards opposed him, he would never succeed in eradicating muggleborns. And so, he dedicated the last years of his life to experimenting with dark magic, he wished to find a way to manipulate the magic of others, or drain it from them completely. He came very close, but he did not finish."
Hermione suddenly remembered what Nikola had told her on the ship. Voldemort had used a similar curse on the Magical Alliance. Or perhaps it was the very same one Salazar had experimented with?
"Salazar knew he was dying," Sebastián continued, "he hid the information he had discovered in Hogwarts, sneaking back into the castle one night. He hoped that one day, his heir would finish what he'd started. And on his deathbed, I visited Salazar. I invaded his mind and discovered his secrets. I could not forgive him for trapping me in a living death...and he could not forgive me for ruining him."
The candlelight in the chamber danced across Sebastián's face. "We made each other into monsters..."
Hermione was silent for a long time, then she said, "You envied him until the end. Even after he lost everything."
Sebastián shook his head. "I envied the sweet release that death gave him."
Hermione waited for Sebastián to speak again.
"Centuries later, when I met Tom Riddle, I knew at once that he was Salazar's heir. As I told you before, I refused to turn him. He was disappointed, but he was determined to become immortal. He continued the dark plans he'd started in school. He split his soul seven ways. And now, it appears he has finished Salazar's work and discovered a way to drain wizard's of magic..."
Hermione nodded, her suspicions confirmed.
"But I have not told you everything," Sebastián said slowly. "Years after Salazar's death, I requested an audience with the Founders. I told Godric the truth of Salazar's identity, and he suffered greatly. He had never suspected Salazar and I were brothers. Much became clear to him, and he regretted the way things had ended between them."
"Why did you speak to the Founders?" Hermione asked.
"There was a prophecy, a prophecy that said a man of immense skill would bend all wizards to his will." Sebastián looked at her. "I worried that if this event came to pass, my kind would suffer. Vampires were already at the mercy of wizards, and if one man held all the power...I could only imagine the consequences..."
Sebastián circled the chamber. "According to the prophecy, the only way this wizard could fail, was if flesh of his flesh betrayed him...a child born to right the wrongs of the father. In time, this child would seek the help of the Greatest Witch of the Age, and together, they would destroy him. You, Ms. Granger, are the Greatest Witch of your Age."
Hermione stared at him, numb with shock.
"We didn't know when the prophecy would come to pass...in years, decades or even centuries. So the Founders created a book, a book that the future generations of Hogwarts could find. The truth would reveal itself to the one who was worthy.
Sebastián sighed.
"Tom Riddle never learned of this prophecy, I hid it well from him. The only prophecy he cared about was the one that came much later, when he was at the height of his power...the prophecy that spoke of a boy born in the month of July—a boy that possessed the power to destroy him. You see, by making horcruxes Tom Riddle altered the natural course of events. A second prophecy emerged because Voldemort must be defeated not once, but twice.
Hermione stared at him, thunderstruck.
"Mr. Potter shall be the catalyst of Voldemort's downfall but you are to deliver the final blow, Ms. Granger."
"I don't understand," she said. "I thought Harry—"
"Harry is destined to weaken him, to destroy his horcruxes. Harry will take his immortality, but you must take his life."
Hermione felt like she'd forgotten how to breathe.
"Fortunately, Mr. Potter has destroyed all but one of Voldemort's horcruxes. He is alive, Ms. Granger. In fact, you danced with him this evening."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "What do you mean? That's impossible...I would have recognized him."
Sebastián raised an eyebrow. "Think carefully. He was wearing a mask."
Then Hermione remembered the vampire that was not as graceful as the others, the one that moved left when everyone else moved right...just as Harry had done at the Yule Ball.
Sebastián touched her face, and she gasped as he pulled her into his memories—she watched him speaking with Harry in a dark corner of the palace, then she followed him as they walked through the corridors and passages that led to the ballroom. She watched as Harry tied a mask around his face...
She swallowed. She had danced with Harry. He was alive...and he knew she was here with Malfoy.
Sebastián released her.
"Everything you saw in the Founder's book is true, Ms. Granger. Your dreams of Harry dying in the Alcazar, however, are false. I'm afraid I am to blame for them. I wanted to test your strength. I wanted to see if you would come to Spain even if you feared Harry was dead. And so you have."
Hermione gazed at Sebastián in shock. How was he able to manipulate her dreams from a whole ocean away?
"I'd like to speak to Harry," she said firmly.
"I am afraid Mr. Potter is not ready to speak, at least not tonight. He was most disturbed by Mr. Malfoy's presence at the ball. He does not understand why you, his closest friend, have arrived on the arm of a Death Eater. I think it best if you give him some time."
Hermione nodded. Harry was alive, and that's all that mattered.
"Did Dumbledore know about the other prophecy?" she asked.
Sebastián nodded. "All the headmasters of Hogwarts have known."
Hermione inhaled sharply.
"Do not resent Dumbledore for his silence, Ms. Granger. You had to find the book for yourself, and discover its secrets. Only then could you know if you were meant to fulfill the prophecy. You must find the child that Tom Riddle fathered. And once the final horcrux is destroyed, Ms. Granger, both of you must kill Voldemort. And in so doing, you will truly become the Greatest Witch of your Age."
Hermione stepped away from him. It was too much to take in. Her mind was reeling.
She gazed at the coffins stacked on top of each other, suddenly desperate to leave the room. But then she remembered she had failed to ask Sebastián the most important question of all.
"Will you help us fight?" she asked. "Will you join the Magical Alliance?"
Sebastián smiled. "At the end of tonight's festivities I will take you back to the Alcazar. And tomorrow Calatrava will return you to your ship. You will have your answer then."
"And Harry?" she asked.
"He will return home with you regardless of my decision."
Hermione stepped closer to Sebastián, no longer afraid of him.
"Can I ask a final question?"
Sebastián nodded.
"Salazar once asked what you believed of life and death...but you were a different man then. What do you believe now?"
Sebastián smiled at her.
"I believe that angels can be akin to devils..."
He gestured around the room.
"Heaven and hell can be found on earth."
He stepped closer to her.
"The triumphs and tragedies we live are often of our own design, and the afterlife...it consists not of flames, or of eternal glory, but of something else entirely. We do not fade as long as we burn brightly in the souls of those we leave behind."
He tilted his head.
"And one final thing, Ms. Granger."
Sebastián gestured to his pale face, to his fangs.
"When you try to change the world, more often than not...it will change you."
***
The air was stifling hot...the wine rushed to Draco's head...
He removed his coat and threw it at the wall.
He was tired of this country, the Arévalos and the endless lies he had to tell Hermione.
An hour passed, then two, but as Draco sobered up, fear took hold of him.
What if she was in trouble?
Draco searched the palace, but he found no trace of her.
He stopped in a deserted corridor, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. He struggled to formulate a proper plan...
He didn't know for how long he stood there. Then he heard footsteps...the rustling of a gown.
Draco looked up.
"Hermione!" he shouted.
She avoided his eyes and made to walk past him, but he blocked her.
She was stunning as ever in her beautiful dress, but there was fury in her eyes, a reproach threatening to emerge from her soft, red lips.
"Did he hurt you?" Draco asked.
Hermione shook her head at him.
"What happened then?"
Hermione breathed in deeply. Draco's accusing tone made her blood boil. She gathered her skirts and walked away from him.
"Hermione, wait!"
"Do you really think I'd offer myself up to him?!" she shouted, unable to control her temper any longer.
"Tell me what happened," Draco demanded. He took hold of her arm and made her face him.
"He spoke of his past," she said through gritted teeth. "That was all."
Through his haze of rage and jealousy, Draco knew he had to pull himself together. He had to find out if she'd learned anything of Potter's whereabouts...
"Don't you trust me at all?" Hermione asked, her voice breaking.
Draco hesitated before answering. It was hard for him to trust anyone. His family excelled in the art of deception. They prided themselves on it. Draco often assumed others acted as he did. But Hermione was different. She was better than he was.
"I'm sorry," he began.
Hermione was breathing hard. Her eyes shot sparks at him, but she noticed his grey eyes had clouded over...
"Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.
He could end it all here. Tell her the truth.
But Voldemort didn't deliver empty threats.
Hermione would never understand, and although she'd hate him afterwards, he had to make sure she was out of harm's way when the time came...he had to deliver Potter to the Dark Lord. It was the only way to save his mother's life—
Draco blinked, realizing that she was waiting for an answer. "No there's nothing, just that I'm sorry—"
"No you're not. I was in there trying to get information, risking my life, and what have you been doing? Drinking and making up stories in your head!" Her voice shook. "Maybe I should go my own way...you can go back to Étretat—"
Draco seized Hermione's shoulders. "You're not going anywhere."
Her eyes widened. "Is that a threat?"
Panic rose in his chest. "I don't want to lose you."
She looked at him, unconvinced. "Why?"
Something inside Draco cracked.
"Because I love you, don't you see that?!" Draco felt like shaking her. He needed to tell her before it was too late. "Do you think I planned to fall for Potter's best friend? It was torture, all those years...being so close to you, and not being able to touch you—"
Hermione raised her chin defiantly. "Really?! You had a strange way of showing it!"
"I was a prat," he admitted. "It was easier to make you believe I hated you. But you were so different from everyone else. You didn't care what people thought about you, and the way you stood up for your friends...no one stood up for me the way you did for Potter or Weasley—not my parents, not Theo or Blaise. I wondered what it would be like...for you to look at me the way you looked at them. But I wanted more than what you gave them, I wanted all of you." Draco brushed his thumb across Hermione's lips. "And that's all I could do...wonder. And in some twisted way I wanted to hurt you, because I knew I couldn't have you..."
"You're a coward," Hermione said fiercely.
Draco swallowed. "I know that. And it was torture every time I saw Weasley whispering to you in potions, it was agony when I saw you dance with Krum, and I hated myself every time I hurt you. Every time I called you mudblood. I'm sorry for the way I treated you then, and I'm sorry for the way I acted tonight."
There were tears in Hermione's eyes. She didn't have the strength to fight him. She didn't want to relive her conversation with Sebastián either. She just wanted to escape...
He tried to kiss her but she turned away.
"This was a mistake..." she said.
She peeled off her gloves and tossed them on the floor. "Maybe I can't forget the past. Maybe I shouldn't forget the past."
"You don't mean that," Draco whispered.
He was almost certain she'd learned where Potter was. She was questioning their whole relationship. Maybe she needed an excuse to end things with him, maybe she didn't want to explain it all to Harry or the Order...tell them she'd fallen for a Slytherin, a Death Eater...
On impulse, he slipped his arm around Hermione's waist and spun her to face the wall.
"What are you doing?" she breathed.
He pressed his lips to her neck, whispering into her ear. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Adrenaline was coursing through Hermione's veins. "Let me go," she warned.
"I need you," Draco whispered, burying his face into her neck. "Please..."
A mixture of despair and loneliness enveloped him, and he refused to give up. He pressed his lips to her ear.
"Tell me you don't want me."
His hands slid up from her hips, to her ribcage, stopping over her breasts.
Hermione's face heated.
"Draco...not here."
He pressed his body to hers, feeling her tremble against him.
"Don't push me away," he pleaded. "No tonight."
"You can't fix things this way," Hermione said, tears sliding down her face. She struggled to breathe as Draco trailed kisses down her neck. She knew she should leave him, but her heart felt heavy with everything Sebastián had told her, and Draco was like a drug, easing her pain with every touch. She wanted to disappear, to forget about the war and the role she had to play in it.
Draco closed his eyes. The scent of Hermione's skin was intoxicating. But he couldn't lose his head completely. He had to see into her thoughts. He had to learn what Sebastián had told her. Hermione's spiraling emotions would make it easy to open her mind to him...
Draco pulled Hermione tighter against him, feeling her resolve slip away.
This was the last time he'd betray her...after this, he would let her go.
Hermione tilted her head back, draping an arm around Draco's neck as his tongue slipped into her mouth.
He kissed her like it was the last time. He held her like she would vanish into thin air.
Hermione moaned and Draco's hand slipped between her thighs.
Her mind gave way slightly, and Draco searched her memories. He saw her walking into a circular chamber with Sebastián. They were speaking, but their words were muted...
"Anyone might see us," Hermione said in a strained whisper, pulling Draco back to the present.
They could still hear music and laughter coming from the ballroom.
Draco sensed Hermione wouldn't let him in completely, not while she worried someone might discover them...
He took her arm, and they wandered the halls and corridors until they found an empty bedroom.
They walked inside and closed the door.
Hermione removed Draco's shirt and trousers, not stopping until he was standing naked in front of her.
Draco undid the laces of her dress with his wand, watching it slip off and fall at her feet.
Hermione was shaking slightly, wearing nothing but her opal necklace.
He lifted her onto the bed.
Her face was flushed from a long night of dancing, and she'd run through the halls after she'd left Sebastián's side, overwhelmed by the weight of too many secrets.
Beads of sweat ran down her breasts and stomach.
Draco wanted to drink her in, to savor her...
Hermione threaded her hands through his damp hair, kissing his jaw, pulling him closer.
He moved his hands up her arms, over her smooth shoulders. Her lips were swollen and bruised from the rough kisses he'd given her.
Draco wished his kisses would always linger on her lips...he hoped her body would always hold the memory of him...
Hermione arched her back, exposing her breasts to him.
Draco pressed his mouth to her, taking her nipple into his mouth as she moaned softly.
She whispered his name, pulling tighter on his hair.
He trailed kisses down her stomach, savoring the salty taste of sweat that dripped from her skin.
Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist, impatient for him.
Draco hovered over her, wishing he'd taken her to the Yule Ball, wishing he'd made love to her in every corner of Hogwarts...
He should have told her how he felt years ago...
Hermione's hands dropped down to his backside, and she gripped him tightly, encouraging him to enter her.
He shuddered, looking down at her, trying to restrain himself for a moment longer.
Hermione's hair was a tangled mess of curls. She stared up at him, knowing the power she held over him. It made Draco want her even more.
Hermione gave a high pitched cry as he rocked into her.
Draco groaned loudly as he moved inside her. He didn't want to let her go...it would never be like this with anyone else...
They were both trembling, and Hermione felt the weight of Draco's loneliness, his pain. But she couldn't understand it...she didn't know why this time everything felt different between them.
Draco kissed her deeply, rocking into her again.
The last of her defenses fell away.
He saw her talking to Sebastián. They were walking, pacing around a room lined with coffins....then Sebastián touched Hermione's face. He showed her a vision—a vision of a boy. He had black hair, and bright green eyes, a scar...
Draco froze.
Hermione's eyes were closed. She didn't see the shock register on his face.
Potter was here, in the palace...
Hermione opened her eyes then, and she looked up at him in confusion. She lifted her hand to his face. "Draco, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," he whispered.
He bent down to kiss her, over and over again, knowing it might be the last night they had together.
***
Time was a strange thing.
It seemed to move without them.
All too soon it was dawn and they were back at the Alcazar.
They waited for Calatrava to meet them but he never came.
Draco and Hermione decided they'd walk back to town on their own, and when they arrived at Calatrava's home, they saw the front door was open.
They searched the house. Everything was in its place, but Calatrava was nowhere to be found.
Moments later, Draco watched Hermione tear apart her room, searching for the Founder's book.
Draco blamed Calatrava for its disappearance. He'd confunded the wizard and sent him to a neighboring town.
It was the only way, he told himself. Hermione had to believe Calatrava had stolen the book and not him.
"What would he want with it?" Hermione asked, panicking. "None of this makes any sense..."
Draco assured Hermione it didn't matter.
The book had put her in danger. They had to go. She had to forget about it.
Draco ignored the odd looks she gave him, the suspicious glances.
They stayed in the house until nightfall.
Hermione hoped that Calatrava would return to them, but of course he never did.
Draco urged Hermione to pack her things, and he did the same.
It was time to return to the ship.
***
Hermione noticed the way Draco retreated into himself, ignoring her attempts at conversation as they arrived in the seaside port of San Sebastián. But her mind was heavy with other thoughts.
What if the Arévalos didn't join them? she wondered, as they walked towards the dock. Would the Magical Alliance be able to defeat Voldemort's army on its own? And what would Harry say to her when she saw him?
She looked at Draco again. He had been different with her all day. Something was poisoning him...stealing him away from her...but she couldn't figure out what it was.
From a distance they could see the Dragomir, bobbing on the water. For several minutes they walked in silence, and then Hermione gasped.
A crowd had gathered on the shore.
There were hundreds of tall figures dressed in black. Their cloaks billowed in the wind. Their skin shone like marble in the moonlight, and their eyes were bright as gold.
Hermione smiled to herself.
The Arévalos had come. Sebastián and his coven would help them fight...and Hermione knew that Harry was hidden among them, watching her.
They were going home.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for reading! Hope you take a sec to vote and review :)