Like the Roses

Chapter Three: Powers Discovered

It was late in the evening. Tantras slipped into Harry's office to find him sprawled on the couch with an arm covering his face. He didn't move when he heard Tran come in, but it was quite apparent that he was wide awake.

"Harry," he began. "Did you activate Hermione's tracking sensor?"

Harry sat up properly and his arm fell into his lap. "Yeah, why?"

"Are you sure?" asked Tantras.

Harry certainly had not expected that question. "I'm positive. Why?"

"Well. I logged onto the Wizard-computer, and it said that the sensor had been activated...but less than an hour later...it was deactivated."

"What?" Harry jumped to his feet. "Who deactivated it?" His first thought was Tylendel, and then he reminded himself of Malfoy's words. He isn't lying. That's what Draco had said to him. And Harry had believed him...right?

Tantras shrugged. "We can't figure out how it was done. It wasn't deactivated in the lab on one of the computers, and it definitely wasn't deactivated by one of the team members."

"Can you confirm that? How do you know?" Mixed thoughts were chasing around in Harry's head.

"The computer shows that the sensor was deactivated with a spell, and we can sort of trace the spell, so we know it was performed far away."

"Far away?" Kraddoch, Harry thought. It's got to be him. But--how did he know? "How far can you trace it?"

"We only know it's a point in France called Karthenne, and we can't find the exact location. I've looked everywhere. I guess it's hidden." Tantras rubbed his eyes. It wasn't hard to see how exhausted he was. Harry, however, didn't notice.

"Karthenne..." Harry muttered to himself. "Tran, I've got a hunch that it's Kraddoch."

Tantras looked a bit puzzled, not fully understanding.

"Kraddoch deactivated the sensor," Harry clarified. "I don't know how he knew about it, but we'll worry about that later. Tran, I want you to get the team together, including Malfoy and Seamus. We'll meet in the lab. We've got to work, fast."

Tantras nodded. "Harry, wait. There's something I have to talk to you about..."

"It can wait," said Harry in a firm voice.

"No, it can't. About Tylendel--"

Harry opened his mouth to interrupt, but Tantras silenced him with a look.

"Harry, I want you to listen. Tylendel just wanted to help his brother, and he thought you, being one of his best friends, could help. His brother doesn't work for Kraddoch because he's evil at heart, it's because he's under Kraddoch's control. He has no choice over his actions, and it drives him crazy. Tylendel barely escaped from Kraddoch, but his twin wasn't so fortunate."

"Then why didn't he tell me?" countered Harry angrily. "I would have been more than glad to help!"

"Harry, you know as well as I do how busy the team is. We can't handle so much, we're only humans. Tylendel knew that, so he decided to lend a hand and help us, because if we succeeded in defeating Kraddoch, he would have his brother back. We'd kill two birds with one stone."

Harry said nothing for quite a few moments. "If we don't get Hermione back, he'll do the same thing to her that he did to Staven," said Harry grimly.

Tantras nodded. "And as far as I know, Craig DeKaye, the wizard that works with Staven, he's controlled too."

After a few quiet minutes, Harry said, "Thanks, Tran. I kind of knew from the beginning that Tylendel wasn't on their side. I just needed someone to scream it at me."

Tantras grinned. "No problem, Harry. Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go and bring her back!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He knows about the sensors. I can't believe he knows. Hermione's throat had gone very dry. She was finding it difficult to form words.

"Well?"

Hermione looked up at the masked man.

"What is your choice?" asked Kraddoch.

"Choice?" Hermione's voice betrayed her uncertainty.

"Our little trade. I give you freedom in return for three hours of access to your mind," he reminded her with impatience.

"Oh." That was all Hermione could think of to say. The idea completely disgusted her. All her powers, thoughts, desires, memories, everything would be open to him. It was an invasion of her privacy, almost a rape. Her mind cried, No, of course not! But she needed to stall, because time was what she needed the most right now. So she said, "I'll think about it."

Kraddoch was thoughtful for a moment. "Fine. I must leave you now, anyway. Think about it, and don't forget to think about what will happen if you choose to stay here. Perhaps you will decide you value your freedom, and realize that the trade I offer is more than fair." And with those words, he vanished from the room.

It left Hermione a bit more than shocked; she'd been blindfolded when Kraddoch had entered the room, and had until now, failed to wonder how he had gotten in when there were no doors to The Room. He disapparated? she pondered. Not bloody likely, in a place like this. It's probably heavily warded. Hermione frowned to herself. She couldn't worry about that right now. She needed to think of something that could help her somehow...but she didn't know what.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Harry was speaking to the team, who sat in chairs scattered around the lab. "Tran told me about what showed up on the computer. He also said we can trace it as far as a point called Karthenne, in France. If Kraddoch deactivated Hermione's sensor, he needed to have Hermione there with him, or the spell wouldn't have worked. That is enough for us to assume that this point, Karthenne, is where she is. Seamus and Ron, I want you to see if you can find anything that will tell us more about Karthenne."

"Already done, Harry," said Seamus.

Ron nodded. "It's one of the thirteen unplottable points."

"Damn," Harry cursed. "What can we do?"

"Pretty much nothing, except guess," replied Tantras in a grim voice.

Harry sighed. He turned to Jaysen, Draco...and Tylendel. He unconsciously avoided Tylendel's eyes. He noticed that Draco had placed himself as far away from Jaysen as possible, which was across the room. Harry took a few steps back so that he was able to kind of see both of them at the same time. "Did you find anything in that ash?"

"We--" began Draco and Jays in unison. Then, at the same time, they stopped. Draco gave Jaysen a cold look, and then turned his head away. Jaysen turned his head to give Draco a tentative smile. Draco carefully avoided his gaze, his eyes hard.

Jaysen looked down. "We found something interesting, and wanted you to have a look at it," said Jaysen, alone. "And, er, Draco believes he can identify the kind of magic that was used to intercept the spell." Harry barely caught the way he said "Draco" in a slightly constricted voice.

Harry nodded. "I'll take a look at that. Well, we can't let Kraddoch keep Hermione. We've got to get her back. You know what we've got to do." Harry left the center of the room and everyone took that as a signal to get to work.

Harry, Draco, Jaysen, and Tylendel went into the room adjacent to the lab, where the powder was still spread out around the room, being tested at different stations.

"What did you find?" asked Harry.

"It seems that when the ash is placed under gold light, it reflects off with a reddish color. When it's placed under the dust-light, it's transparent. The dividing light makes it look pure black. And the leaf, purple, and regular lights don't make it look any different." Jaysen led Harry to the long counter in the far right, and showed Harry the ash under the gold, dust, and dividing lights.

"What does that mean?" asked Harry, pulling off his protection goggles.

"It means that these are the remains of blood-magic," said Draco from behind Harry.

Harry turned around, surprised. "Blood-magic?"

Draco nodded, ignoring Jaysen's presence coldly. "I ran it through several other tests, as well. I put it in water, and it turned red, I put it in drops of rabbit blood and it crystallized. It has to be blood-magic. Any idiot knows that only the ash remains of blood-magic will crystallize in blood. And it's very amateur blood-magic, because the powder is rough."

Harry picked up the vial of crimson crystals that Malfoy gave him. "Anything else?"

"That's all we got, up to this point." Draco sighed. Jaysen had gone off to the other side of the room to clean up the table, and Tylendel just sat in a chair recording data, and perfectly silent.

"Then, I want you to find out who was the one who did the spell. If it's blood magic, you've got to be able to find out who it is," said Harry.

"Okay," Draco said. Then, in a softer voice, "I hope we get her back, Potter."

Harry was surprised by this statement, but said, "We will get her back."

"Right." Draco took the vial back and began a spell that would allow him to learn more about the ash.

Harry walked slowly to where Tylendel was sitting. He stood over him for a second, watching his old friend scribble with the quill.

"Hey." Harry's voice was soft and hesitant.

Tylendel looked up in a surprised voice. His eyes were dull and sad, but he offered a half smile. "Harry," was all he said. Then he looked back down at the paper he had been writing on. "I'm sorry," he murmured, finally. "I'm sorry for everything."

The way he said it made Harry want to pat him on the back and tell him there was nothing to say sorry for, that everything was fine. Harry heard his heart crack into a trillion miniscule pieces, each one as lost and hopeless as Tylendel sounded.

"Don't say you're sorry," Harry finally managed to choke out in a hoarse voice. "It's not your fault, Ty. I just--" Harry's voice broke, and he willed himself to control his insides, which rattled with a mix of emotions. "I'm sorry, Tylendel. Tran told me everything. It was all my fault. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions. It's because--"

Tylendel looked up when he heard the tremble in Harry's voice. He stood up, dropping the quill. "Harry," he blurted out. "I wanted to tell you about Staven, I really did. But I thought it was so unfair..."

"Listen, I'm sorry. I wasn't myself. I--I miss Hermione. She was one of the best friends I'd ever had. I guess it got to me, and I just kind of burst. I'm sorry." Harry couldn't help it; he was shaking with anger, sadness, and so many other feelings he felt like he was boiling. All at once, misery and resentment at Kraddoch for taking Hermione flared up inside him. Because that place inside him where Hermione had always been suddenly felt empty. Like a fire that had died out.

"Harry, I understand," said Tylendel, his eyes warm and kind. "Truly, I do. I know you miss her...you love her."

Harry felt a jolt at Tylendel's words. You love her. After a moment, "I've never really thought of it that way. She's one of the best friends I've ever had. I guess...I do love her." And as he said the words for the first time, he felt funny on the inside. Harry stopped shaking as determination set it.

"We're gonna find her, Harry."

Harry smiled and felt a big weight lift off his shoulders. That horrible feeling he had gotten when he'd first found out about Staven was gone. He was glad to have his friend back again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hermione had left the chair in the center of the room, and now sat cross-legged on the floor, right in front of and facing one of the eight walls. The wall was very blank, and staring at it allowed her mind to wonder around. Hermione was trying not to think about anything. Her back was straight, not slumped, and to an observer, it would look like she was sitting quite stiffly, when in fact, she was perfectly relaxed.

She settled down in a state of calm and closed her eyes. Hermione waited for drowsiness to fall over her, as it always did when a person relaxed completely, and right when she felt she was going to drift off to sleep, she grabbed firm hold of the blankness with her mind.

Hermione was meditating; She wanted to explore her own mind from "outside" her body. Kraddoch's offer had made her suspicious; why did he want to have access to her powers? He obviously did not need to enter her mind to learn information; it was quite apparent he already had his own ways of doing that. However, at this moment, Hermione was not concerned with how he was getting that information. That could be worried about later. She wanted to see if she could find out why he needed to use her mind. It seemed like there were some major details that Kraddoch wasn't telling her.

She had taken Muggle meditation classes one summer, just for fun. And now, she could finally put good use to those classes. Hermione felt herself sink into the darkness, and allowed it to swallow her completely. Moments passed, and then a dim light appeared that grew brighter with each passing second, until it was as bright as day, and Hermione was back in The Room, sitting on the chair. Except this time, she was outside of her body. She turned around, and found herself sitting on the floor, facing a wall, and in a deep trance.

Hermione's spirit drew a deep breath, and walked over to where her subconscious form was. She placed her lightly hands on the shoulders of her body, and concentrated. She felt tiny zaps sliding up her arm like static, and after a moment, the shoulders of her body jerked sharply. Hermione felt something inside her, and closed her eyes, probing it gently with her mind. And to her astonishment, she found, an opening, like a main hallway. An opening that led to other channels, branching off into millions of threads for her to explore. It made her dizzy to see all of this inside her head, but she reached for whatever channel was closest and most familiar to her. And she entered it to find--

Harry. It was the line that connected her to Harry. A line she had never known she had. Hermione's spirit stood in the "hallway" labeled Harry that led to several "rooms." Hermione stepped into each room hesitantly, to see what she would find in it.

One of them, she discovered, was something of a storage room. It was where she unconsciously kept the things she knew about Harry, like what his favorite things were, what his face looked like, and memories that she had of him. Memories of conversations, thoughts about him, and memories of good times. As Hermione moved around the room, the air buzzed and swarmed with these memories and things.

Her spirit form choked back a sob as she Saw a memory of Harry and Ron joking around with her at the Gryffindor table at Hogwarts. No, she said to herself sternly. Now is not the time for this. Hermione left the room and went to the next one.

What was greatly surprising, about the neighboring room, was that there was no doorway to it. The only means of entering it was through a large window. Puzzled, Hermione stepped through it. The room was quite empty, and had no walls, or so it seemed. It had a ceiling and floor that stretched far out. They appeared to never end, and Hermione didn't care to find out whether they did or not.

"Hello?" she called out. The sound echoed bluntly for a few moments, and then stopped quite abruptly. What is this place? she thought to herself. Something was wrong with the sound. Hermione could almost feel where it should have continued echoing, but there seemed to be a barrier that had blocked it. Was it the walls that were beyond her line of sight? Not likely; the way the sound had stopped Felt like it had been absorbed into something like a damp sponge. No, it was something else.

The spirit of the young witch reached out blindly with her mind, trying to grab a hold of something, anything. But the farther she reached, the darker the room became, until she had stretched herself as far as she possibly could. Hermione withdrew with reluctance, and sat down on the floor.

She could Feel something about this place. It had a kind of rightness to it that perplexed her. Could this be the key? she pondered. Is this what I'm looking for? Hermione hesitated, then in the loudest voice she had, shouted, "Harry!" This time, she listened carefully to the echoes, following it with her mind as it spiraled through the darkness. She followed it until it stopped at the strange blockage that should not have been there. With a thought of movement, Hermione's spirit crossed the long distance and moved to where her mind was holding the place; it was almost like apparating, except in her mind.

Hermione's hand reached out, trying to find a surface that could not be penetrated. Slowly, she inched forward, until her hand met something cold, but soft and woven, like a sort of mesh. She examined it with her fingers (it was so dark she couldn't see) for what seemed like ages until she was satisfied.

It was a shield. A shield that blocked her connection to Harry. Hermione inferred from the Feeling of the shield, that it had been put up by Kraddoch. She also guessed what the connection was for-- communication. Mindspeech. A Gift, Hermione knew from research, that many Heralds and Herald-Mages carried. Hermione's spirit touched the shield with her mind--and immediately pulled back. The shield was icy, but the touch burned her mind, filling her head with excruciating pain. Hermione swore loudly, and her sharp voice echoed around her. Then, the pain was relieved by something like a splash of cool water that soothed and healed the wound.

Hermione's spirit continued to examine the mesh with her fingers, and finally returned to the window leading into the strange room. This is what Kraddoch wants, she mused. Through this line, Kraddoch would be able to use her Gift of Mindspeech. No doubt he was planning to use her identity to talk with Harry, then manipulate him, and feed him false information. Now that Hermione had discovered this channel, what she needed to do was figure out how to use it herself, and how to get rid of Kraddoch's shield.

She couldn't let Kraddoch realize she knew about this connection. That would ruin all her chances. He had, quite apparently, already known about this channel. How? That was another thing to worry about, at another time. For now, Hermione needed a plan, a chance to communicate with Harry. But how could she make Kraddoch take the shield down without letting him know she could access this Gift?

There was only one way. Hermione shuddered to think about it. It was way too risky. But it was her only chance. And she needed that chance. Badly.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"We know who did the spell," Tylendel announced in a satisfied voice. The three of them were the last of the team members in the lab, and they were discussing the results of the night of work.

"Yeah, thanks to me," Draco drawled snidely.

Tylendel twisted his head to glare at him. Harry gave a sigh, and sat down in the nearest chair. Neither of the other two wizards noticed.

"What? It's not as if you actually did any work," commented Draco with a sneer.

"Damn you, Malfoy," snarled Tylendel, looking ready to pounce on him. "What did you do? Absolutely nothing, as far as I recall! Just stood there barking orders at me'n Jays!"

"Right," Draco retorted in a nasty voice, "Exactly what you said. As far as you recall. Which, allow me to inform your hollow little head, isn't very far."

Tylendel clenched his fists and glared at Draco, who only looked back at him with an exaggerated coolness.

"Are you two finished acting like children?" asked Harry in an irritated voice and with a dramatic yawn.

Tylendel and Draco both jumped at his voice, Draco a little stiffly. They had forgotten he was there. Tylendel looked sheepish, and Draco merely smirked in response.

"So, tell me what you found," said Harry in a tone that meant the exchange between the two was over, and it was time to get serious.

"The spell was very complicated, and took all of half an hour to do," said Draco, looking smug. "It required extra strength of mind, and--"

"Yes, yes. We know." Tylendel rolled his eyes looking bored. "You don't have to tell Harry about how you were almost unable to perform the spell because of the tiny size of your head. We are quite aware that you're small in many ways."

Draco glared at him. "Small in many ways? You must be getting me confused with yourself. I'm afraid it's your lack of a brain. It's a characteristic that tends to make people...I'm not quite sure how to explain it in simple terms that you'll understand."

Tylendel made a noise that sounded quite close to a growl.

Malfoy yawned. "You don't have to demonstrate your relation to wild creatures. We already knew about it."

"You know what, Malfoy? I feel sorry for--"

"Yourself?" interrupted Draco, with a sneer. "Quite understandable, really. I know I would feel the same way if I didn't have any good looks, intelligence, or cool comebacks."

Harry cleared his throat reproachfully right when Tylendel opened his mouth to retort. "Would you two stop wasting time?"

Tylendel looked down. "Sorry, Harry."

Draco nodded and looked at Harry with cold, silver eyes.

Harry impatiently asked again, "Who intercepted Hermione's spell?"

"Well...we don't know the name..." Tylendel said in a quiet voice.

"The spell gave us an image of the person," clarified Draco.

Harry frowned. "And?"

Tylendel frowned. "He was almost completely covered."

"He was perfectly concealed from head to toe," said Draco in a bored voice. "We could only see the eyes. And the left eye had a strange scar on it."

"What do you mean he was covered?" asked Harry carefully. "Doesn't the image spell reveal things like glamours and costumes?"

Draco gave Harry a strange look and said, "Well, it seems like his skin was all covered in black. We couldn't see anything. The black definitely wasn't his skin color, but was...painted on or something."

Harry's eyebrows shot up behind his bangs. "Painted on?"

"The image spell gave us the impression that the black color was printed on his skin, like a tattoo," replied Draco.

"Do the spell again, and I'll watch," said Harry in a commanding voice.

"Sorry, Harry. The spell can only be performed once. If we do it again, it'll just show a blank image. However, we did record the image."

"Let me see it," Harry said, and removed his glasses to clean them with a charm.

Tylendel turned to the tabletop behind him, and concentrated, his palms facing up and held out and away from his body. After a few moments, a frame of grayish particles hung in the air in front of them. The particles were wispy and kept moving around in swirls, but the frame still maintained it's shape. Tylendel opened his eyes and flung a square piece of glass through the frame. Nothing happened for a few minutes. Then, quite suddenly, a flame flared up around the frame. The fire began to consume the frame, and it grew larger and larger, until the frame itself was completely on fire, and the flames stopped spreading. In the middle of the fire-frame, white threads began weaving in a strange and complex pattern. Slowly, a picture began to form, and other colors began weaving into the white.

After a few moments, the picture appeared in front of them. But it was not at all like Tylendel and Draco had described it. The picture was of a masculine figure, and he was not covered in black, but with red. He was dripping with dark blood. The figure rotated slowly so that Harry could see the front, sides, and back of the figure. The figure shocked Harry with the vibrant red he was drenched in. His eyes could barely be seen, and even the pupils were red.

However, Draco and Tylendel did not show any surprise at this, they only watched while Harry stared at the figure.

"I thought you said he was covered in black?" asked Harry slowly, and with a frown.

That question took Tylendel by surprise. "He was. I mean, he is."

Draco gave him a queer look. "You don't see him, Potter?"

"I see him...just not the him you two described," replied Harry. "I see a figure who looks like he was dunked in a tub of blood."

The statement quieted everyone for several moments. Then, Tylendel's eyes widened as realization fell over him.

"What?" asked Harry.

"Your Gifts," Tylendel murmured in a faint voice.

Suddenly Harry's head was filled with pain that throbbed and echoed throughout him. He clutched the scar on his forehead, where the pain was originating from. Harry felt a set of muscular arms catch him as he stumbled to the side.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hermione awoke with a groan. When her spirit had returned to her body, she had been so mentally exhausted that she had fainted into slumber. Now, her body ached from falling asleep in a cramped position, and she stretched, feeling her muscles tense and strain. She stood up with some difficulty, and it wasn't until she looked up that she saw what had caused her to wake up.

"Did you sleep well?" The man spoke as if it were morning, and Hermione had just had her rest for the night. This time, Kraddoch wore an outfit of gray, and she could see his face. However, Hermione Saw that the face was a false one, and not his true identity. Hermione ignored the question and sat down in the chair.

Kraddoch let her silence pass, and asked instead, "Have you made your decision yet?"

Hermione glared at him. "I was sleeping. I didn't have any time to think about anything." Then she added, "And besides, how can I be sure that after you've had your three hours inside my head, you'll really let me go?"

Kraddoch smiled that hateful smile. "Good question. I'll bind both of us to the deal. That means I'll know that you won't try anything while I'm inside your mind, and it also makes me guarantee your freedom."

Bind us to the deal? Hermione swallowed, hard. If Kraddoch used a spell on the bargain...it would make trouble for her. She needed to stall..."I'll think about it."

"That's fine," said Kraddoch in a conversational tone. He conjured up another chair and sat down.

"But--I need more time to consider it. I can't just decide now." Hermione frowned. Kraddoch was putting pressure on her, because he wanted her to choose her freedom.

"That's your problem," Kraddoch said. "I gave you lots of time, and you wasted all of it by sleeping.

"But...I thought...it was nighttime," Hermione fibbed. Something touched her mind very gently, and she nearly jumped with shock. She forced herself to look as if she hadn't felt anything. It was Kraddoch, and he was using his mind to probe into her thoughts.

Kraddoch smirked, then said, "We both know that wasn't true. You went to sleep because you exhausted yourself. But why and how did you make yourself so tired?"

Hermione felt alarmed. Kraddoch was reading her thoughts. But--had he read enough to know what she had learned?

"I know you were thinking about the deal," Kraddoch said in a voice so quiet and harsh that it was almost a hiss. His smirk and amused attitude had disappeared. "My guards saw you meditating. Interesting how you prefer to use Muggle ways to solve your problems."

Hermione heaved an internal sigh of relief. So, Kraddoch had been watching her. But he didn't know what she had found out. And he couldn't know, because if he probed any harder, she might feel it. Unfortunately for him, after discovering those channels, her mind was extra sensitive. What she needed to do was build a shield, so that he couldn't find his way into any more surface thoughts. Hermione decided to go along with Kraddoch for the moment, and stall for time to figure exactly how she was going to carry out her plan.

"How did you know I was meditating?" She asked in what she hoped was a surprised voice. She'd known from the minute she'd opened her eyes in The Room, that she was being watched at all times; she had been careful not to do anything or say anything to herself that would make them suspicious. It would be just plain stupid if Kraddoch didn't assign guards to observe her actions.

This time Kraddoch didn't smile, but sneered. "You think I would let you have the chance of getting away? The walls of this room are charmed. They are, in truth, walls of glass, and from the outside, you are always watched.

Hermione feigned a look of alarm, and then pretended to cover it quickly with what seemed like forced calm. Hermione mentally applauded herself for her wonderful acting, then chided herself. A task begun may be a task half-done, but that doesn't mean there aren't lots of things that might go wrong.

"And from your deep thoughts, what conclusion have you drawn?" Kraddoch gazed at her expectantly. "Do you prefer freedom? Or would the life of a Dark servant suit you better?"

Hermione glared in disgust. "I would never serve a beast like you," she hissed.

"It wouldn't be a matter of choice." His eyes were cold. They reminded Hermione of someone she had known at school, someone she had later befriended, in a weird, twisted sort of way. "Make your decision now, or I will make it for you."

Thoughts swam through her head. It's now or never. Damnit, I need more time! But she knew she couldn't stall for much longer. This was her chance, her only chance, and she needed to grab hold of it. But she was too nervous... And what about the binding spell? It all might stop her, and everything would go to waste! And in the event that she did gain her freedom, it might be too late to save Harry! Her heart ached at the thought of sending her best friend straight into danger. Maybe there was another way...

"Well?" asked Kraddoch. He stood up and held out his hand.

Hermione willed herself to say the words. How easy it could be, to just say, "It's a deal." But she couldn't. Her mouth was frozen in place, and she could only stare at the floor. "I..." It was all she could force herself to say, and her voice had been so hoarse and quiet that she wasn't sure Kraddoch had heard her.

Several moments passed. "Fine, then." His voice was firm and cold, and he raised his hand, preparing to make his exit.

"Wait!" Hermione called out. Her heart sped up and a quick and steady rhythm pulsed inside her. "I want my freedom."

Kraddoch paused, then looked down at her.

Hermione stood up stiffly, bracing herself for what she was about to put herself through. "I choose freedom."

A slow smile began to form on Kraddoch's face. "Very good," he said, and held out his hand. "Come."

Hermione hesitated, then took a few small steps in his direction. She tentatively reached for his hand, and he grasped it firmly in both of his. With a swirl of silver, The Room vanished, and Hermione felt her feet leave the floor.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"...And now they've opened at a late age. That's why he has that headache. He should be coming out of it around now..."

The loud voice echoed and hammered at Harry's head. His scar was throbbing with pain that seemed like it would never end, and he welcomed and wished for the blackness he had just woken out of. He cracked an eyelid to see who was speaking. It was Tylendel. Harry tried to sit up, but only succeeded in moving into an even more uncomfortable position on the floor, and he let out a groan of pain.

"Harry," said the same loud voice, and in a blink, Tylendel was at his side. "Is your head all right? It was your Gifts. They bloomed at such a late time, you were guaranteed to have dreadful headaches. When--"

"Ty--" interrupted Harry in a strained voice. "Do me a favor and shut up. Your voice is hurting my head."

"Oh, sorry," whispered Ty. Then, in a loud voice, "Hey, Malfoy, what are you--"

Suddenly, Harry was drenched in cold water. The pain faded a bit, and he shook his head to clear it, opening both of his eyes.

Standing over him with a satisfied smirk on his face was Draco, holding a dripping bucket of water. "That's the classic way to wake someone up," he said in an amused voice.

Tylendel glared at him, then stuck out a hand to help Harry up. "Heyla, you okay now?"

Harry grinned quite painfully, winced, and nodded.

"I probably should have explained everything before," said Tylendel with a guilty face. "Your Gifts--"

"Why did I see a different man than you two?" asked Harry impatiently.

"I'm getting there. The image I recorded was a false one, or so it seemed to people like us. You, and only you, saw the true image of the man."

"But you have the same Gifts, and mine haven't even started working yet," argued Harry. He was feeling quite stubborn about the Wizard-Mage situation.

"You have one more gift that I cannot possibly have, for the simple reason that I am not a Wizard," explained Tylendel. "You have the Mage Gift, and then you have the Wizard Gift. And only a Wizard-Mage can have this combination of Wizard and Mage Gifts. Regular wizards have the magic in their blood, and not the Wizard Gift."

"So, I'm a Wizard-Mage because I have the Wizard-Mage Gift, ." Harry felt like he was getting more confused with each word.

"Yes, you are, and an unusual one at that. Not that Wizard-Mages are at all usual. It's really quite simple, Harry. You're just getting yourself confused because your head is still aching."

Harry shook his head, then stopped suddenly, feeling the pain of the motion. "I don't quite get it. Are there wizards or witches with the Wizard Gift?"

This time, Draco answered. "That's what I am. I have the Wizard Gift. I learned about it from Jaysen. It means I'm a wizard with other powers."

Harry was distracted from noticing the way Draco's voice hardened at the name Jaysen, and the way it was pronounced with a sense of familiarity as Tylendel nodded. "In Tayledras, the hawkbrother language, it's called Ki'yethe. It means he who carries the ability or power of a true wizard, something like that. It's hard to translate."

"I've never heard of it before," said Harry, wrinkling his eyebrows.

"Not many people have," Draco drawled in an arrogant and bored voice.

"Many wizards and witches only side with evil because they cannot control their own magic. They have the Wizard Gift but they don't know it, and when powerful magic is not controlled, it controls itself." Tylendel looked grim.

"But," Harry began slowly, "It's not very usual, is it?"

"Quite the contrary," frowned Tylendel. "It's actually very common. Too common, in fact."

Harry looked pensive. "That could present a new issue. If we start finding the people with the Wizard Gift and make them learn to control it, we might be able to prevent the number on Kraddoch's side from growing."

"We might," Tylendel agreed. "But we also might be creating a worldwide problem. And another thing to worry about is, what if we don't notice the Gift until it's too late?"

"What do you mean?" Harry frowned.

"Let's say a member of the team has the Gift, and we don't know, because it's too deep inside to see," said Tylendel in a serious voice. "The Wizard Gift is different from all other Gifts, it can hide itself. That person might suffer from uncontrollable magic, and might betray us to Kraddoch. All because their magic was uncontrolled."

Draco, who had been silent for these few moments, murmured quietly, "Well, then, we'll have to make sure we find the Gift, won't we?"

"Hermione..." Harry's soft voice faded into a whisper.

Tylendel and Draco both looked up at that. Harry stared through them, his eyes distant.

After several quiet minutes, Tylendel broke the silence. "Er, Harry?"

Harry looked up and stared at Tylendel with a horrible expression in his greenish-brown eyes instead of their usual friendly emerald, and his forehead creased. The look passed, and his green eyes became dull. "Do you think it's possible that Hermione was taken for a reason?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Congrats to you, Potter. You finally twigged. Because dark wizards like Kraddoch just happen to have a habit of kidnapping young witches."

"Malfoy--" Tylendel began in an irritated voice.

Draco interrupted. "Yes, and now we know Kraddoch actually had a reason to take Hermione. Let me guess what you're thinking, he wants to make a sex toy out of her?"

Harry looked alarmed. "You think--"

Draco looked exasperated. "Oh please, you think he needs someone like her for pleasure? Only likes to shag intelligent women, does he?" Draco rolled his eyes again. "Of course there was a reason, you dolt! He wanted to piss you off, knew you would get your briefs all drenched and come storming to her rescue. Perfect way to trap you."

Harry looked affronted for a second, and then it became his turn to roll his eyes. "No, you twit! I mean a reason other than the obvious." He paused. "Do you think maybe she's what you said?" He gestured toward Tylendel. "Ki'yethe?"

Tylendel started at his words. "I've never thought of that!" He sat down on the couch. "That's an interesting idea. But how would Kraddoch know? And why would he want to use her?"

"Maybe...maybe she's Ki'yethe?" suggested Harry. "And she has some sort of power he can use, if she lets him?"

"That would make sense..." Tylendel looked thoughtful. "I Sensed earlier that Hermione had some sort of unique power, but I never guessed she might be Ki'yethe."

"If she is," said Draco quietly, "Then we've got to figure out what other Gifts she has, and quickly. She might be a danger to us."

"What do you mean a danger?" asked Harry. "And what do you mean other Gifts? We're assuming she's Ki'yethe, so we can infer that she's got the Wizard Gift."

"Wizards always have other Gifts, and so do Mages. Only the Wizard-Mage has one Gift, and that Gift is a combination of all Gifts," Ty explained. "If Hermione has the Gift of Foresight, he could use her to See the future. Or, if she has Fetching, she could move objects to him that he needed."

"Couldn't he just use a summoning charm?" Harry wrinkled his forehead.

Tylendel shook his head. "No, it's different. Fetching is Mind-magic. A summoning charm can be dangerous at times. Well, so can Fetching, but the most obvious difference between them is Fetching can move one object from one place to another. Not necessarily to the person doing the magic."

"We have to hurry," announced Draco in a commanding tone. "If Kraddoch gets to her mind--"

"He won't," Tylendel said firmly. "Not unless Hermione lets him. If he just went into her head, both of them would suffer severe damage to the head, because Hermione's mind would produce an extreme reaction. And he won't risk that."

Harry nodded. "And I highly doubt Hermione will let him. I bet Kraddoch's tried to make some kind of deal with her." Harry drew a slow, deep breath. All this talk was unnerving. "What can we do?"

"We can look through her files and records to see if we can find out exactly how Kraddoch wants to use her." Tylendel brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Harry nodded, and sat down to log onto the Wizard-computer in front of him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This is it, she thought. Kraddoch had taken Hermione to a different room. The room was very large and empty of furniture except for several wooden chairs that formed a semicircle, and a more comfortable leather armchair in the center of the room. The chair itself gave Hermione shivers, and she swallowed hard.

"Sit down, in that chair," said Kraddoch, pointing at the black armchair.

Hermione nodded and walked over to the chair. It was nicely cushioned, and would have looked nice in Harry's office, but the Feel of it made her hesitate to sit. At last, she climbed awkwardly onto it and squirmed around to find a comfortable position. As soon as she settled down, a blinding arc of green light shot up around the chair, weaving back and forth and snaking around until it had formed a sort of arced transparent dome that contained the chair. The green light slowly faded, until it turned to a pale green mist that gave everything outside it, including the other chairs and Kraddoch, a green tint.

"We are ready to begin. Let me explain this to you. This green mist you see is your mind, all spread out. The power comes from you, but I commanded it, so you won't be able to take it down. To enter your mind, I must pass through this mist. You will assist me, as well as two other of my mages." Kraddoch conjured up a piece of wood and knocked on it twice, then flung it up, where it disappeared into the air with a pop.

A moment later, two men appeared at the door. Hermione glared at them angrily. They were the men that had kidnapped her.

"Barnum," barked Kraddoch. "Stand in that corner. Lyeron, I want you over here." Kraddoch pointed. "No fooling around. When I take the shield down, you two are going to hold it in place, got it?"

The two mages nodded, and took their places. Kraddoch then turned away from them and began to remove the shield. Hermione had now realized, that the semicircle of chairs was to assist with holding Kraddoch's shield in place. It would spread out the shield between Barnum and Lyeron, to make it easier to hold down. Hermione watched Kraddoch through half-fascinated, half-terrified eyes. She watched him pull out a live mouse from his pocket. He conjured a dagger and stabbed the poor creature, squeezing it to spread its crimson blood on the floor. Kraddoch muttered a spell, and his shield appeared, a maroon-red light that glared through the mist.

Blood-magic! she thought. It was the first time she'd seen anyone perform blood-magic. Hermione forced herself to close her eyes, and she found with ease the spot where the connection to Harry was. She concentrated on that line, shutting out everything else.

Kraddoch gave a strained gasp, and Hermione opened her eyes. Then she realized that Kraddoch was pulling the shield back through himself instead of taking it down. It was a very dangerous thing to do, but no doubt he could handle it. But that wasn't what concerned Hermione. It would take him sixty seconds, at least, and Hermione could use that time to prepare herself.

Hermione shut her eyes again, and concentrated as hard as she could on the channel. Suddenly, there was a crack that jolted her bones. The shield was halfway down. The corner of her mind that held the channel was no longer pitch dark. Hermione stood in the "room" that connected her to Harry, and she could see where the shield was opening, like a door slowly sliding down into the floor. The room was bathed in a bright light that comforted her. Hermione Watched as Kraddoch forced it open, inch by inch. She was itching to call out, but she didn't dare. If she acted too soon, Kraddoch would Sense it, and he would force the shield up again with a snap.

Finally, it was open. Hermione breathed in short gasps of air, her heart threatening to crush her ribs with its pounding beat. The room was filled with a white light that blinded more than the sun. Hermione waited for the right moment, afraid to move. Hermione Felt a jerk in her mind as something popped. She opened her eyes. Kraddoch had found a way to penetrate the green mist. He now stood inside it, hands raised and knitting a powerful spell. Hermione closed her eyes again and Watched as Kraddoch searched through her channels.

She forced herself to stay calm, and waited until he stopped. Kraddoch entered the Room that was filled with light, and he turned to see Hermione standing in front of where the shield had been.

Kraddoch's spirit grinned, and spoke into her mind. :So. That's what the meditating was about. You have discovered your own powers. I should have known you were clever enough.:

Hermione said nothing.

:Well, you are trapped. There is nothing you can do.: Kraddoch's grin widened.

Hermione prepared herself for a mental attack. And as soon as her spirit had grounded herself and found her balance, it came.

Kraddoch thrust a ball of burning Power at her. Hermione reflected the Power with a mirror shield. She didn't know where it had come from; instinct had taken over her mind. Her opponent had not been expecting such a strong comeback, and was taken by surprise for a split second.

Hermione seized the opportunity and opened the channel to Harry. Hermione waited for Harry to pick up the line on the end, so she would know for sure he was there. A few seconds passed that seemed like forever, until she Felt a nudge of surprise.

:Harry!:

But while she had been concentrating on the connection, Kraddoch had recovered from the blast. His spirit threw raw energy at Hermione, and instinctively, to protect herself, she tried to direct the energy elsewhere. But she couldn't find a place to move the energy, and accidentally sent it to Harry.

Hermione realized what she had done, and quickly tried to withdraw it back to herself, but only succeeded in taking back a fraction of it. The raw energy burned and twisted her mind, and her spirit nearly cried out. She quickly composed herself, gathered the power, and sent a bolt of lightning at Kraddoch's body. Physical pain should distract him for a good few moments.

:Harry!: she called again, in an apologetic voice.

:What--Hermione! Are you okay? I--: His mind-voice was thick with pain.

:No time to talk. I've got to get away. Meet me at Hogwarts, that's the safest place.: Hermione layered her words with urgency and forced calm to keep Harry from panicking. Then, in a single beat, she sent all her thoughts to Harry. While meditating, she had discovered that thoughts were much quicker to send than words.

Harry sent back a mental nod, and Hermione could Feel his surprise at being able to talk to her this way. Hermione cut off the connection abruptly and turned her attention back to Kraddoch just in time to See him fling a web at her, an attempt trap and disable her mind. Hermione immediately threw up a wall of Power to shield herself. It wasn't a proper shield, but she didn't know how to make one yet. The web hit the wall and caused it to splinter.

Hermione winced and built up another amateur shield. Kraddoch's spirit sent two more mental attacks at her, both making the wall weaker. Each time she mended the breaks, fusing the cracks together. After the second attack, he stopped. Hermione was suspicious, but didn't take down her wall. She opened her eyes and experienced double and mixed vision. Half of her was in the channel, and the other half was in the strange room.

The chairs in the room held down Kraddoch's shield like a rubber-band stretched around several poles. The chairs acted as the foundations of the shield, and Hermione Saw that clearly. Kraddoch and his other two mages were all in trance. Hermione returned to the channel her spirit was in, and mentally cloaked herself in "darkness" to conceal her mind.

Then, she quickly skimmed through all her mind-powers. Hermione found what she was looking for, and reached out to use that part of her mind. She opened her eyes again, and moved a chair back by an inch. It was close enough to its original position that the shield was not disturbed. Kraddoch didn't notice. Hermione felt a bang and spared a glance at her wall. It had cracked again. But there was no time to fix it. Hermione focused all her attention on the chair directly in front of her, and Pushed. It slid back slowly, and with her mind she forced it to move with all the energy she had. Kraddoch's shield wavered slightly; the changed position of the chair clearly did nothing to strengthen it.

Hermione decided to make things even more crooked and reached with her mind for the chair next to the one that now stood far behind the rest of the semicircle. She Pulled that one forward, until it was right in front of her. The reddish-maroon light began to flicker and buzz like static. One more, Hermione thought, and gritted her teeth. She reached for another chair, and pushed it to the side so forcefully it knocked the other chairs from their proper positions. With a loud crack, the shield broke in several places, and Kraddoch's body flinched. He opened his eyes, and Hermione Felt him leave her mind.

Yes! she thought, gaining hope. She shut her eyes again and Reached beyond the room to see which ways she could escape. There were wards, so she obviously couldn't apparate. She also couldn't run, because there were bound to be guards all over the place, and there was also the fact that she didn't know her way around. There was one way. It was risky, but Hermione decided to try it.

She waited until Kraddoch had moved the chairs back into position. She was impatient, but if she had helped move them, he would have suspected something. The theory was, Kraddoch had to open his mind in order to enter her head. That meant that while he was in her mind, she was able to enter his. Soon enough, Kraddoch entered her head. Hermione took down her wall, and waited for him to appear in the channel again. After a few moments, his spirit stepped through the window.

:Hello: she mindspoke in an ironic tone. Then, before he could do anything, she flung her carefully prepared magical energy at him in the shape of a net. It caught him, and her spirit smiled with triumph. She stunned him mind-to-mind, and probed him gently. All was going well. She had stunned him while his mind was open to hers, allowing her to enter it and access it. Which she did. She carefully searched through his mind, until she found the place that would let her take down the wards so she could apparate.

Hermione's spirit sighed with relief. So escape was possible after all. But first, she was going to take advantage of her position in Kraddoch's mind. She found the "room" that held all the information she knew, and she carefully copied it into her own mind to look over later. Hermione smirked. Almost like a Wizard-computer, she thought. Then, she left that part of his mind, leaving no traces of herself, and took down the wards.

She exited his head, knowing he would never realize she had been inside it. She opened her eyes and stood up, and then conjured an illusion of herself to confuse Kraddoch when he was conscious again. It would take him a while to figure out what it was, and for some small period of time he would believe Hermione had been stunned.

She allowed herself a small grin of triumph, and with a pop, apparated.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Author's Note: Interesting chapter, I hope it was fun to read. The Wizard Gift is my own creation, basically it's a different version of Mercedes Lackey's Mage Gift. The same with the term ki'yethe. It's a term I made up for wizards/witches with the Wizard gift, and I tried to make it sound like other words from the Tayledras language (created by Lackey). I really do recommend The Last Herald-Mage, it's Lackey's best work. And best of all, Ty-baby's in it! Next chapter: Old friends meet again, and we learn more about what Kraddoch knows from the information Hermione filched from him. I believe we shall meet a new someone, and be prepared for a surprise. I know I keep lying about what I'm going to put in the following chapter, sorry! Looks like I'm bad at estimating. I'm still not sure exactly when I'll tell you more about that queer stone, but it should be quite soon! More on Draco later, either in chappie three or four, and some hints about Kraddoch! My email is wingsisterdragoness@hotmail.com, AIM: DracoVanyel, and if you like my fanfiction, please join my discussion list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fiction_dragonyss!