Chapter Text
FINALE
"I am so glad this is the last time I'll be forced to do an overseas mission" Koi grumbled lowly as droplets of rain plopped on her head.
The waterworks from the sky were neither heavy nor light. An awkward middle ground that required an umbrella whilst simultaneously making it seem too extra of a chore. Hermione hoped that it would stop raining before the final task was underway.
Currently the members of the Tokushu Butai were scattered across the various parts of the arena. Each one blending in the crowd of students and professors alike. The brunette herself sat together with the Beauxbaton delegation after giving her well wishes, hugs and kisses to her mate who was preparing in the tent below.
Next to her, Koi continued to grumble, her black hair getting sleeker under the rain shower although she was not the only one annoyed with the state of events. The other Beauxbaton girls were either complaining or frowning at the state of events. Luckily they had various protective charms on their clothing or else the stares they would get from most of the male population would no doubt increase if they all wore wet clothes that stuck to their person.
“So how’s your lover fairing with all this?” Koi asked louder, making conversation so as to not seem out of place. Not even noticing the stares she was garnering from some of the students around them.
In terms of beauty, Hermione supposed that the veela would be considered those who had magnificent beauty, one that people described in fantastical poems and in Greek anthologies, profound and eye-catching. Koi however had a quiet sort of charm, she rarely smiled, had a thin frame making her seem fragile at a glance. But,do not get on her bad side as she swore like a sailor and would use rune magic to cause your leg to disappear. Like if one were to chop off a person's leg but without any warning with a pain that came as quick as the realisation that one's body part was gone.
“She is concerned naturally, the Triwizard Tournament is no laughing matter but she is confident in her skills.”
Hermione sighed, touching her temple “to be honest between the two of us, I am probably more worried about her than she is for herself.”
“Is it not natural to care about the one you love?” the elder replied.
“No - yes - of course, you’re right but I cannot help but wish she were not involved in this altogether.”
Koi hummed as she scanned the crowds taking heed as to where each person was, nudging the brunette in the side she whispered lowly, “I have not seen Professor Moody for upwards of 30 minutes.”
Hermione pressed a rune hidden on the back of her ear as she relayed the information to Cicada who informed the rest of the group. “Snake and Dog both say they saw him speaking with Dumbledore before entering the maze whilst holding what they presume to be the prize for the final task.”
Koi’s frown deepened ever so slightly as she flicked her gaze to the women behind them who were in an in depth conversation of their own with nobody sat on her right and only a young Gabrielle on Hermione’s left being distracted by one of the cousins.
“30 minutes is too long.” Koi declared, shaking her head.
“Even assuming he had to go through the whole maze to get to the centre, Dumbledore would no doubt have given him the route there and the opponents in the maze would not have been let out just yet.”
“So you think he did something to the prize.”
“I am almost certain he has done something to the prize.”
“Ok, assuming you’re correct, how do you propose to proceed? The Champions are entering the maze in t-minus 1 hour, the maze is only open to them, there is a barrier surrounding the maze to prevent interference and there is a 70/30 chance that Professor Moody has something to do with Mr Potter.”
“He has been around, making sure the young boy progresses. Even if he isn’t actively guiding him, I've seen enough manipulators to know he has an agenda.”
“Meaning he most likely has relations with the hooded figures that attacked us and in that line of thought would be related with the man who shall not be named.”
“Exactly. Have Cicada report the matter to Headmaster Yakumo immediately with any luck Central has us on the emergency line and we can get our orders before the trouble begins.”
Hermione did as instructed, keeping her eyes on the field. Soon Alastor Moody walked out of the maze, taking a swig once more from his hip flask before stumbling over towards Dumbledore likely informing him that his duty was done.
“The man of the hour sure does like his drink, don’t you think Koi.”
“Indeed, what say you tell your friend to let us see what he is interested in drinking all the time.”
Nodding, the younger witch mentally spoke to Koro and had her swipe the flask to be brought to Toad for testing. It could mean nothing or everything, but evidence was evidence until discerned otherwise.
It seemed that everyone was in place, and when the Champions walked out, each one with their own expressions of confidence, concern and hesitance, Hermione felt a sinking feeling bubble in her stomach. She smiled the best she could when she spotted Fleur and Arashi but deep down something did not feel right. After a couple of missions, one learned to trust their gut but then what could she do? She looked helplessly at Koi who seemed to understand what she was thinking but shook her head. No. Now was not the time.
The young Mori bit the inside of her cheek, her nails digging into her robes hoping against hope that her mate will come out fine. Soon the first canon went off, and then the next, and the next and the next. Soon all the Champions had made it into the maze and the audience watched on from what little of a view they had of the great expanse. The murky weather did little in helping with the visibility of the arena but still she could see running movement here and there.
Unlike the previous two tasks, one where she was tied up and the other where the spectators could actively see the task at hand, this one was fairly quiet. Hermione realised that would have been likely the same case had she not been tied to the bottom of a lake but still the boredom did not ebb away at the thoughts swirling in her mind. She kept an eye on Moody and noticed that he stayed close to the edge of the maze for whatever reason. She did not like this one bit.
Time seemed to move both slowly and yet quickly, she wasn’t sure how long had passed but one by one the Champions began appearing back on the field either hurt or unconscious completely. When Hermione saw her mate's body stunned, taken away by the medical team, she almost leapt out of her seat but was held down by Koi who looked sternly at her.
“Do not forget your mission here Hermione.”
“My mate is stunned and you want me to just sit here and do nothing” Hermione wanted to yell but knew it would draw too much attention. As it is Fleur’s sister was already in hysterics and the cousins were all on their way to Fleur only stopping to look at the young Mori who was frowning at her elder in a battle of wills.
Koi groaned in frustration, “go. See her before they bring her to the nursing wing and come back here immediately. Our orders have come in.”
Hermione patted the elder woman's shoulder whispering a soft thank you before rushing over to Fleur, family in tow. There, she was able to confirm that Fleur was only stunned and did not suffer any injuries much to the families relief. Running her hand gently down Fleur’s face she whispered, “I'll be back soon ma cherie. I love you.”
Kissing the french woman’s cheek, Hermione straightened herself as she turned to look at the others around her. Seeing the distress, she told them that Fleur would be fine and that the nurse said she would need some rest.
Hugging Gabrille in comfort, Hermione then informed the cousins that she had to be excused to take care of a personal matter but would return as soon as she was finished. The Delacours did not pry but they could see the fury blazing in the young witch’s gaze.
“Dragonfly, can you hear me?” Captain Suzaku asked through the rune communication. ‘
Moving to a more discrete location, she replied “I can hear you loud and clear Captain. What are my orders?”
“We have received confirmation from Toad that the flask your spirit partner has brought is polyjuice potion - ”
“Meaning that someone is posing as Alastor Moody” Hermione filled in.
“Precisely. We have contacted Central who have given us the green light to proceed. Get ready your gear and look alive, we will be going ahead with the arrest and saving of one Harry James Potter.”
Hermione changed into her uniform, hanging within the shadows of the arena, noting where each one of the Tokushu Butai members were placed. Soon a loud crack echoed within the arena, pendemonium struck as a light blasted into the sky, a clear indication that a portkey was placed in the prize.
“ Chikushō (shit)” Hermione exclaimed as she raised her hood, with runes sewed in to obscure her identity, and rushed through the crowds of students panicking.
“What is happening !!” she could hear Madame Maxime’s question as the other Headmaster’s seemed to scramble towards their students.
Headmaster Yakumo did his best to contain the blast with a barrier spell to protect the audience but that would not be enough to stop the dark creatures that were spilling out of the maze. Several Blast-Ended Skrewts, a few Boggarts, a handful of Acromantula and two Sphinxes. Their odds were not bad but ensuring the safety of the audience would take more than simply fighting the creatures off.
She heard more than saw Weasel’s Light Arrow spell, before it rained down on the dark creatures before her. Shooting out Riddikulus over and over to the boggarts was an unending match as she could only seal them temporarily before another would appear to break the other out.
Growling she shouted aloud, “Tako !! I need your help.”
The older male came out beside her huffing as he threw a hex at another creature, “what’s up?”
“Can you keep them grounded after we hit the boggarts with Riddikulus. I need them down long enough to seal them without too much interference.”
“How much time do you need?” he asked as he dodged a slice coming from a Skrewt.
“For these guys? 30 seconds.”
“If you can take it down to 15 seconds I can have several of them down at one go.”
Hermione smirked, “challenge accepted.”
Breaking away from each other, Hermione flicked her wand throwing an Air Cutter incantation to distract the enemies from Tako. The senior meanwhile knelt on to touch the ground, feeling for the enemies within a certain radius, counting 8 in total before he casted the Live Burial spell.
The Live Burial spell is fairly simple magic for those wizards or witches that were intune with nature, specifically that of the earth. It softens the ground and causes the area surrounding the enemy to cave in before filling up around the body until only the head was left above ground. Because the nature of the spell requires someone to be good at noticing their surroundings, many people had fallen victim to their own incantation, burying themselves alive hence its name.
As soon as the boggarts were buried, Hermione pulled up her right sleeve, showing the tattoos that lit up in a yellow light. With her hand in a prayer symbol she drew a five-pointed star also known as the seal of Abe no Seimei and began chanting. The same star encased in a bright yellow light surrounded each of the 8 boggarts caught in the Tako’s net. With a swipe downwards, the boggarts were locked in their respective forms and sealed within a brown tomb created from the earth around them.
“That should hold them,” Hermione said, wiping some sweat from her brow as Tako released his spell.
“8 down just several more to go” the wizard joked as they both looked around at the fight around them.
Her senior, Fugu had done quick work with the other boggarts, nothing less she would expect from someone who was completing a Sealing Mastery. From one side of the arena, Byakko’s Team were handling the Acromantula as they were the big and bad creatures whilst the rest of the Suzaku Team were dealing with the Sphinxes.
There and then, Hermione made a decision. Her eyes locked straight towards the entrance of the maze.
“I have a feeling you’re going to make Captain Byakko very angry” the wizard stated as he saw his companions laser focused on the maze near them.
Turning her head to look at him, Hermione only said two words in reply, “Cover me” as she dashed towards the entrance.
“Wait?! Cover you?? I can’t - Captain Byakko will rip into me, damn it !!”
“Aaaagh!” he screamed, making his way to Captain Suzaku to ask for leniency ahead of time. Little would be given but at least he tried.
Sparing no thought towards the groundskeeper’s hard work in growing the hedges, Hermione burned her way through the maze. After all, with all the dark creatures out of the maze and in the arena, what did she have to fear? Right now, all she needed was to find Potter, grab him and leave. Whatever happens after, well that's above her pay grade.
Out of nowhere a Skrewt appeared slashing at her with one of its many pointy tails, barely scratching the surface of her uniform. “Vapid little fella aren’t you” she said to the creature who screeched back at her, readying itself to attack once more.
Spinning her wand in a circle, Hermione casted a spell that effectively hardened the leaves of the hedges around them which were then flung at the Skrewt, piercing through its body. Also known as the Dance of Leaves, this charm was effective in combat and defence when in a forested area as it acted as both projectiles and barriers for the caster.
“Sorry” Hermione said before effectively stunning the creature and running through the maze once more. Upon reaching the centre of the maze, Hermione finds a wand next to the cup and likely portkey to wherever. Frowning, she was unsure whether it belonged to Potter or another contestant, nonetheless she had a mission to complete.
Being a rune specialist, Hermione began to reverse engineer the portkey and in doing so she was able to trace the Portkey to a place in the Midlands, England. Touching her rune once more, she contacted Captain Suzaku who was none too pleased with her actions.
“Captain.”
“Dragonfly, what on earth are you thinking, going into the maze on your own” she replied sternly, never shouting but the disappointment was clear as day in her tone.
“My apologies Captain but I would think that time is of the essence. I have found the cup and identified the location of whoever was sent there. Accordingly, two people had touched the portkey and by process of elimination from those who are in the medical wing it would be either Potter, Diggory or Krum.”
“We have found Krum. It seems that he was under an Imperius curse, the same curse which our disguised Moody has been teaching in his classes.”
“Your orders, Captain.”
Suzaku paused for a moment, Hermione hearing rustling near her as she readied her wand against any possible enemies she might have missed.
“You will go and save Potter and Diggory. However -”
Hermione nodded despite the fact her Captain was nowhere to be seen.
“I will go with you,” she said, appearing through the shrubbery.
The brunette blinked back in surprise, never expecting her Captain to have followed after her. The older student nonchalantly picked off a leaf from her uniform as she walked towards her junior.
“What? You didn’t think I would let you go alone did you?”
“W-well no but what about Captain Byakko?”
“Byakko can handle the creatures outside and our little shapeshifter’s interrogation. Headmaster Yakumo will deal with all the politics to get around this mess. Onto more important matters though, have you created the return portkey.”
Hermione nodded dazedly as she watched her superior get close to the cup, “well then, how long till our return trip?”
“As long as we touch the cup we can make one trip back.”
“High stakes Dragonfly.”
“I assume we wouldn’t want anyone following us back.”
“Hmm fair enough. Well then, shall we” she gestured to the cup.
And with that the two placed their hands on the cup, spinning violently until they were unceremoniously plopped in a dark and grim graveyard.
“WHAT!! Nobody else should be able to come here using the portkey!!” a fat, rat like man shrieked next to a bald fellow in black who stood over Mr Potter who held onto a pale Diggory on the floor.
“Sandākurappu (thunderclap)” Suzaku shouted, as a wall of electricity shot out toward the two men.
Hermione ran to the two young wizards, throwing her own barrier spells forward to keep the duo safe from harm. Deiheki or Mud Wall formed a dome around the trio, “are you okay Potter?!?”
“I-I C-Cedric, he-he-th-they killed him” Harry replied distraught, tears flowing like rivers down his cheek.
Hermione frowned, she was too late. Her fists pounded the earth in anger but now was not the time. Taking a calming breath, Hermione grabbed Diggory’s body as she gestured to the prize protected behind Suzaku, “we need to get to the cup.”
“Can you stand?” she asked once more, getting a nod in reply. “Good, then on my mark we’re making a run for it.”
Relaying her intentions to Suzaku via the rune, the witch placed her hands on the ground, “ Shōkyaku (Incineration)”. Soon the graveyard’s terrain became that of a mini volcano, blowing out burning hot air at differing points, lava spewing from underground and erupting under the two wizards fighting Suzaku. The two wizards stumbled and narrowly avoided the exploding ground as Suzaku threw magic after magic at them to protect the trio.
“Come on, Dragonfly!!! We need to get out of here” Suzaku urged as Hermione dragged the young wizard's body towards them with the help of Harry.
A faith whizzing sound headed towards them only to be blocked by a lightning strike, the green light of the spell could only come from the most infamous of magical incantations. The Avada Kedavra…….They were going for a kill.
“Captain, help us!! I’ll use my magic to create a barrier!!”
Hearing the younger's plea, Suzaku raced towards them, dodging molten lava as she ran. Grabbing the wizard's body, Suzaku and Harry made quicker work at getting towards their destination as Suzaku was taller and had trained longer than the younger SAT member.
Hermione turned and glared at the duo as she shouted her incantation, “Mudwall - Stone Castle.” Which raised a large wall between them and the wizards on all four corners locking them in with the cup, the burning earth causing the large wall to look like a demon's castle in the underworld.
Turning around, Hermione ran towards the cup once more where Suzaku and Harry waited for her. When she was close enough to cup, each one gripping the cup tightly a stray spell zoomed towards them but it was too late. Their attacker had missed but Hermione did not. She saw who it was, and she would never forget those hooded figures, the same ones who had attacked her all those years ago. The ones responsible for what happened in Egypt.
Her thoughts came to a crashing halt as the four landed hard on the ground, now back in the safety of the maze or rather what was left of it. Sitting up, Suzaku and Hermione checked their surroundings once more and helped Harry bring Cedric's body out of the maze. Officials and Headmasters alike came forward each one with questions as to what happened but the worst of all was seeing Cedric’s father hold the body of his dead son, crying for him to awaken.
Hermione knew what it was like to lose a family member in a blink of an eye, though she supposed she was lucky at least her father was still alive. Mr Diggory did not even have the hope of being able to see his son smile again. Questions soon began raining down on both herself and Suzaku as to who they were, what they were doing here, and whether they were involved with the destruction of the maze and the release of its residents.
The questions soon came to halt when Potter made his claim about Voldermorts return, the hush and shouts that followed made Hermione want to shake her head in disbelief. Politics, perhaps it was the one thing that stopped humans from progressing further.
A cane struck the ground, shaking the earth, shocked faces all around as Headmaster Yakumo glanced at the ministers around him, looking colder than Hermione had ever seen. He radiated authority as he took out a Certificate of Immunity, signed by the International Confederation of Wizards and Union of Wizards. “We, on behalf of the international community, do hereby inform the Ministers of the English Ministry of Magic that this matter is now out of your hands as it involves the injury of several students from various magical schools.”
“You cannot do this” Cornelius Fudge exploded only to be stopped short by members of the Tokushu Butai.
“You will find Mr Fudge, that I can. Not only do I and my team have permission from the Minister of Magic himself but we have also liaised with the French, American, Bulgarian and Russian Ministries, each one with their written approval and consent. The English have been sitting passively for too long, and we do NOT NEED ANOTHER WORLD WAR.”
Headmaster Yakumo than turned his gaze towards Barty Crouch Sr. as he gestured for Byakko’s team to drag Barty Crouch Jr. towards them, “I believe this is your son” he declared.
The Minister looked down at the dirty man who was indeed his son, “you’re not supposed to be here.”
“Indeed, it seems that your son had disguised himself as one Alastor Moody with the help of a Polyjuice Potion.”
“Polyjuice !! Godric tale, then where is Moody” Minerva exclaimed.
“We found him under an Imperius Curse hidden in Mr Crouch Jr’s trunk. I don’t suppose anyone would have bothered to check there but with a bit of Veritaserum we were able to locate him. But do not fear, he has been sent to the medical wing for observation.”
Suzaku nudged Hermione, gesturing for them to leave discretely as their headmaster explained the details that they had found to the officials and ministers. Hermione changed back into her students' clothing so that the other students were none the wiser and headed back to find her mate with the leave of Captain Suzaku.
When she entered the medical wing, she was thrilled to find Fleur not exactly cured but in a better condition and conscious.
“Mon amour!!” Fleur said, making grabby hands at the brunette.
“Fleur, you’re awake. I’m so glad” Hermione replied, sitting on the side of the blonde’s bed gathering her up into a hug.
“How are you feeling?” she asked concerned, cupping Fleur’s cheek, the blonde nuzzling into her hand in content.
"Better now that you are here ~" she teases lightly.
"Has Gabrielle seen you yet? She was distraught when she saw you stunned" Hermione asked.
"Oui, she has. She cried like une bébe, it was adorable."
The younger chuckled, "I highly doubt she would be happy to hear you say that."
"I know, I know. And what about you, I heard you had something to attend to whilst I was unconscious."
Hermione frowned in response, "yes, there were, I can't tell you too much but Diggory has passed."
Fleur gripped Hermione's arm, concern apparent in her voice "what happened? Are you okay?"
"Yes I'm fine but the young Potter boy…." Hermione shook her head solemnly. "Death is not something that can easily be accepted or digested."
The two sat together side by side in comfort, feeling their hearts beat as one as if to show that they were alive.
Later that night with the cup in hand, the portkey now disengaged, Hermione went into the forest where two members awaited her.
“I see you brought the portkey,” Salamander stated as he pushed off the tree trunk he was leaning on.
“With any luck this would be able to help us find more of these,” Fugu said, holding up a diadem wrought with dark energy.
“It’s disgusting, I had to place it in a sealed container for the walk here” Koi stated from where she stood near the treeline next to Shark and Wolf, who would be taking care of their security during the event.
The cleansing ceremony was to be undertaken immediately as tonight was the new moon, meaning that there would be no other creature or magical entity likely to disturb their work. There is a belief common to many cultures, for creatures, magical folk and muggles that working rituals at the time of different phases of the moon can bring about physical or psychological change or transformation. These rituals have historically occurred on or around the full moon and to a lesser extent the new moon. Lunar lunacy also has connotations of magic involvement due to the psychological effect it has on beings staring at the moon. Hence, in its absence there would be no interference from outside entities due to the substantial lack of magical activity during the new moon phase.
As the group would be leaving within a week or two for home, neither them nor the headmaster wanted to take the chance of having dark magic affecting any of them whilst in a confined space. Indeed with the complications the diadem posed it would usually be easier to bring it home to have it examined and cleansed at the Japanese Department of Mysteries however, they did not have such a luxury as they were on foreign soil. As such, with Hermione’s expertise in rune magic and minor insight into sealing magic alongside Fugu they would have to do most of the grunt work.
Quickly, Fugu and Dragonfly drew the seal across the dirt floor as Weasel began creating the candles for the preparation using his own spirit partner, a giant mitsubachi aka a honey bee. Salamander too was on standby with his spirit as he had the job of lighting the candles with the flame of a spiritual being. For such rituals, the materials from the ink to the flame used for the seal must have come from an unearthly source in order for it to transcend the mortal realm and destroy the darkness at its core.
Placing the diadem in the middle, Fugu began to chant in order to activate the spell whilst Hermione began her own runic drawing using her magic. The older witch would create a seal as the foundation for the cleansing so it would not affect the members whilst Hermione would chip away at the dark magic by digging through it to find its core. Not the most graceful of methods but it was effective. Salamander’s fire lizard spirit would keep the hellfire going and Weasel’s giant mitsubachi would ensure that the candle wax never melted.
It wasn’t long an ungodly sound came from the diadem, a black cloud sizzling in the air. A faint outline of the bald wizard that she had seen from the graveyard seemed to curl around in pain. The blackness continued to exude from the diadem as Hermione got closer and closer to the core, until she found it!!
A round pulsing thing, she grasped the core within her hands and squashed it and soon the black cloud evaporated into nothing. Sweat dripped down her face as she tiredly slumped down to the ground. Her hand was as burnt as the day she fought off the fire spell all those years ago. Slowly she opened the palm of her hand with much pain and difficulty, and all she found was a chunk of broken coal.
“Put it in here” Koi gestured to the sealed box that held the diadem earlier.
“I sense no malice from either the diadem or the black core, I believe we are done here” Fugu said as she stood from her place on the ground with the help of Shark.
Wolf then took Hermione’s hand and poured a potion on it, “this will help with the burn marks, but we best get you to Headmaster Yakumo to ensure that no dark energy rubbed off on you during the cleansing.”
And with that all that was left was for them to go back, get healed and relax. Their mission here was done.
Over the next few days, Hermione had spent as much time as she could with Fleur, going on dates and promising to visit during the holidays when time allowed.
“And you promise you will write to me” Fleur said, hugging the girl closely in her arms.
“I will write every week, plus with summer holidays just beginning I'm sure I will be able to visit France at some point.”
“Oui!! And I can take you around my hometown then we can go to a cafe in Paris. Oh you must see magical Paris, it is simply magnifique and later if we have some time we can even visit Spain, after all it is a short trip distance from France.”
Hermione chuckled in amusement as she kissed the excitable blonde silencing her, “we can do all of those things amour. We don’t just have the summer after all, we have a lifetime to see it all.”
Fleur flushed in happiness as she pecked the brunette on the lips chastely, “you are such a sweet talker. I hope those words will only be for me.”
“But of course, no one else but you.”
“BONJOUR!! CAN YOU STOP WIZ THE KISSY KISSY, WE ARE ON A TIGHT SCHEDULE” Gabrielle shouted from the entrance of the carriage.
Fleur sighed helplessly as Hermione laughed and waved her hands at the younger Delacour, “I suppose it is time to say goodbye.”
Hermione shook her head in disagreement, “no, not goodbye. Just…….see you later.”
Fleur smiled and gave the younger witch one last kiss before stepping into the carriage, looking out of the window as it floated up and away. Hermione watched the carriage fly off until it was nothing more than a small white dot in the sky.
A roar from the flying fortress signalled to Hermione that it was her turn to make the journey home. Jogging towards the fortress Hermione greeted Captain Byakko, who was taking attendance, making sure that nobody was left behind, who gave her the stink eye. It seemed the strong captain was still not happy with her minor insubordination by going after Harry Potter. Hermione internally thought the said Captain was more unhappy that she had to play caretaker instead of fighting off the dark wizards herself.
As Hermioneclosed her eyes getting comfortable in her seat as the flying fortress made its way back to Mahoutkoro she thought of all the adventures that she has experienced. The biggest of all was falling in love with one Fleur Delacour, something that was years in the making. She briefly wondered if there were more to come, she hoped so.
Elsewhere in a hospital room illuminated only by the moonlight shining through the glass paned windows, Mori Hideyoshi awoke. His eyes shining with a mysterious purple light as he lifted himself off his bed, yanking the IV line out of his arm as he looked back up at the lunar setting before disappearing like an apparition in the night.
END OF PART 1