The Statue

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are lovingly borrowed from J.K. Rowling.

Special thanks to DreamyDragon_73 and AnnieTalbot for their incredible beta work. This story originally posted at the sshg_exchange. I'll be posting new chapters every three days or so.

Mr Malfoy,

I got the information I needed from Bill Weasley. It turns out there's a book you might have in the library at Malfoy Manor that will be instrumental in destroying the power behind the dungeon chamber. Could you please check and see if you have a copy of Magick Moste Malevolent, and if so, bring it to Hogwarts as soon as possible?

Hermione Weasley

~*~

Hermione stumbled into the shower. What little sleep she'd grabbed had been full of runes. Images were continuously assaulting her. Her suspicions had been correct. The chamber was hiding something. Something dangerous that desperately needed to be neutralised. Bill's suggestions had connected some of the dots within her research. Reading back through her notes with his information in mind had done the rest.

Her body breathed a sigh of relief. The built-up stress of a suppressed fight or flight instinct dissipated under the warm spray. Finally, she could make significant inroads into solving this mystery.

She stepped out of the bathroom, grabbing for her wand to cast Drying Charms.

Bless Mosey. A steaming cup of coffee sat on Hermione's bedside table. She gulped the brew as she shrugged into a set of robes.

She was fastening the last buttons on her robe as she hurried through the halls, eager to compare her revised notes against the room. She arrived to find her daughter pacing the corridor outside the perimeter of Severus's wards.

"Rose, what on earth are you doing here?"

"Mum, I've come to help."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Mum, you've always said a set of fresh eyes sometimes helped things. Between Uncle Bill's notes and me, you'll get that breakthrough." Rose bounced expectantly on the balls of her feet.

"Rose, you aren't even taking runes."

"Well, perhaps that's clouding your perception. Maybe that's all you're seeing."

Hermione made to protest again, but Rose cut her off. "Mum, I'm four years older than you, dad, and Uncle Harry were when you stormed off to protect the Philosopher's Stone. I'm old enough to help you."

Dammit. Sometimes being a war hero was really inconvenient.

She sighed with resignation. She knew her daughter. Saying no would just make her all the more defiant. And a defiant Rose could do anything she put her mind to. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if she wriggled through a hole in Severus's wards. "Rose, you can stay with me. But do. Not. Touch. Anything. Understood?"

"Yes, Mum," Rose said automatically.

"I mean it, Rose. Nothing without my permission."

"All right, Mum. I get it!" 

"I can still leave you out here, Rose. I cannot stress the severity of this situation enough."

Suitably chastened, Rose's posture stiffened and she nodded. Not her entire person this time. Just her head.

Together they crossed the barrier of Severus's wards. This time, Hermione found reassurance in the prickle of the wards across her skin. If Severus's magic was still functioning, then he was fine. Would be fine. 

Rose stood at the room's threshold, staring at the markings in amazement. "So what are you looking for, Mum?"

"Bill says there should be a rune that binds the room together. It's the nexus of all the other rune sentences. Mr Malfoy is bringing a book that should help me figure out how to destroy it."

Rose stiffened. "Mr Malfoy is coming here?" Her voice wavered.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, Rose. Though I just sent the note an hour ago. With luck, we'll be done here this morning before the arrival of your boyfriend's father." She hoped her tone conveyed teasing rather than the urge to vomit.

Even in the dim light in the chamber, she could see Rose's blush. "So what am I looking for?"

Hermione fished through her notes. "This page shows all the runes in the alphabet used in this room as well as the combinations I've encountered where the rune sentences intersect. See here. This marking is made when these two runes overlap. I've circled the likely candidates, but we can't be sure that one of them will have been used. The runes are constructed in sentences, in Latin, just using different letters."

Rose stared at the parchment, eyes starting to glaze over.

"This page shows the pattern of how these sentences are carved into the room. You can see that they cover all the walls and ceiling. Now, I suspect we'll find the convergence point on either end of the chamber. Bill said it should be somewhere significant. In the absence of any drawings or statues, the two most powerful points in the room should be next to and opposite the entrance."

She cast a charm to reproduce both parchments and handed them over. "I suggest marking on the rune pattern mapping so that you know which lines you've already checked."

"So, I'm just looking for the intersection of these sentences?"

Hermione nodded. "It will likely be where more than four of the sentences cross. Sometimes it's not as obvious as it seems because of the symmetry of some runes. Oh, and if that weren't enough, some of the sentences bind the magic further by reading both left to right and right to left."

"Like a palindrome?"

"Almost. But the meaning is different depending on the direction. That's what the pink highlighting is."

Rose stared at her, jaw dropped.

"What?"

"I knew you had patience, Mum. But, this is insane."

"Rose, if you're not up for this, you can leave."

"No, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just... impressed. You're wicked clever, Mum."

"Well... thanks," Hermione replied, suspicious of the sudden shift from stupid parent to wicked clever. "Just... let me know if you have any questions. Once you get used to the alphabet, it shouldn't be that difficult."

Rose asked a handful of questions as she began. Primarily, they were false starts when she encountered a rune she didn't recognise from the parchment because the rune was turned on its side, the sentence running perpendicular to the one she had been reading. After half an hour or so, Rose's questions tapered off, and they began making significant inroads into the cluttered network of sentences woven on their parchments.

Hermione had finished one quadrant of her wall and was deciding which one to start next when Rose asked, "Mum, what's this rune mean?"

She paused to mark the portion of her parchment that she'd completed then walked to the southern wall. "I have no idea."

Rose traced her finger across the stone. "This part sort of looks weird, don't you think?"

Before Hermione could answer, the wall in front of them shifted.

Rose bounced with excitement. "See? I told you I could help. You should have asked me down here ages ago."

Merlin save her from a teenager's hubris. Never mind that she'd told Rose not to touch anything.

The stone stopped shifting, and Rose began to take a step. 

"Wait!" Hermione's wand was drawn before she finished speaking. Rose froze mid-step.

Spell after spell flew from Hermione's wand until finally she breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, we can go in... with caution, Rose."

Her wand still raised in the doorway, Hermione cast, Lumos.

The stones from the doorway had reconfigured into a short staircase, and Hermione crept cautiously down them. 

"Mum... what is that?"

Hermione stopped. Her heart and stomach plummeted. 

Red light flickered from the end of the long, narrow room. She pulled Rose behind her and cast Protection Spells, Shielding Charms, and a half dozen other charms that not even the Auror department used for protection.

"I'm guessing I can't talk you into going back to your common room, can I?" Hermione asked, the pleading tone in her voice threatening to break glass.

"Fat chance, mum. You need me here."

"Right then. Stay BEHIND me, Rose. BEHIND. Or I will bind you and send you floating to the Hospital Wing myself."

She felt Rose nod against her back.

Another round of detection spells. There was something here. It wasn't man or beast.

She scrambled to think of a spell, any spell that would reveal the danger facing them.

"Rose, turn around –"

"Mum, I'm NOT leaving."

"Honey, I wasn't going to tell you to. Now, I want you to turn around and put your back against mine. I want you to cast Lumos and... have you covered Shielding Charms in Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"Last month."

"Good. I want you to cast a standard Shielding Charm as well as a Protection Spell."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the incantations.

"Do you see anything behind us?"

"Just the stairs, Mum."

"All right. We're going to walk forward very, very slowly. Reach back and put your hand on my hips. You watch the side of the room to your left. I'll watch the side to your right."

Rose's voice shook as she responded, "Yes, Mum."

Step by step, they crossed the room. The red still glittered in the wand light.

It seemed like it had been hours when the end of the room came into view. Hermione swore under her breath.

"Go, Mum!" Rose said, awed by the string of profanities.

Hermione sighed. "Rose, hush."

If she'd been disgusted by Salazar Slytherin's statue, she took it back. At least he hadn't adorned it with rubies. And gold gilt. And if the colour scheme hadn't already tipped her off, the two griffins perched on either side of the statue removed any last shreds of doubt. 

Hermione's head swirled as this information about the room's creator shifted facts and theories, elbowing her unvoiced suspicions about Salazar Slytherin's involvement out of the way to make room for Godric Gryffindor.

Still behind her, Rose whispered, "Mum, something's coming! I can hear it in the room we just left."

"All right. We're going to switch positions, okay, sweetie? Keep your wand out. And don't try to fight it, no matter what. I want you to turn to your right."

They had just finished switching their positions when they heard a voice call, "Weasley, are you blundering around down here?"

Hermione sagged in relief. "Yes, Malfoy. We've found another chamber."

"Look, I found that book that you wrote to me about. Nasty thing. It lunged at Astoria." Draco walked down the stairs. "Oh, gods, that's tacky. That has to be Godric Gryffindor. Ugh. That makes your common room look positively tasteful."

"Yes, Malfoy. Look, we could do without the interior design critique. Why on earth did you feel like you needed to hand deliver the book to this room? You know that whatever force is at work here has attacked Slytherins. I can't believe you're taking this risk."

Malfoy's jaw clenched. A retort died on his lips as his jaw dropped. "Weasley, who is that behind you? Good Gods, you brought your daughter with you?"

Rose stepped out from behind her, hands on her hips. 

He bit back a laugh. "I think you might have forfeited the right to tell me I'm taking an unnecessary risk. Besides, at least I have a vested interest in being here, unlike your sidekick."

Hermione's stomach plummeted as she braced for her daughter's inevitable response.

Rose did not disappoint. "Mr Malfoy, I have as much reason to be here as either you or my Mum."

For a moment, just a moment, Malfoy was utterly confused. Hermione's heart swelled with pride that her daughter was able to render him speechless. She couldn't help grinning as she watched comprehension etch itself onto Malfoy's features.

"You... and Scorpius..."

Rose crossed her arms defiantly. "Yes, me and Scorpius," she confirmed, her tone daring him to challenge her.

Malfoy's eyes widened, and he raised his wand. Hermione shoved Rose behind her. "How dare you!" she hissed.

"Look behind you... very slowly," Malfoy said through gritted teeth.

Malfoy's tone and rigid posture set Hermione's skin crawling. She heard Rose's strangled gasp before she'd finished turning her head.

The two griffins were crouched low on the floor, tails swishing. Their beaks were open, heads cocked to the side with gazes riveted on Malfoy.

Instinct raised her wand without conscious thought. Her mind raced. They couldn't escape. There was no guarantee that Snape's wards would contain them. And much as she wanted to scream for Rose to flee, truth was, she wasn't sure she could afford to have the odds lowered to two against two, assuming Malfoy didn't turn tail and run.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Malfoy step up beside her.

"Any ideas, Weasley?"

"Petrificus Totalus!" Dammit. That hadn't worked. "Well, other than avoiding the talons and beak? No. No ideas."

The griffins crept closer. "Stupefy?" Draco suggested, his voice wavering.

"It's worth a try." She willed herself to stand her ground. "I'll take the one on the left?"

"Yeah."

Together they cast.

For a moment, it seemed as is if that had worked. Then the griffins shook their heads and took a slow step forwards.

"Mum, what should I do?"

Merlin, this was not the army she'd have chosen to go to battle with.

"I need to see if the rune's nexus is located in this room. Malfoy, you still have that book on you?"

Draco fumbled in his cloak, his wand never dropping. He passed the book to her.

"I need you both to keep stunning them. I'm going to start my search for the nexus behind the statue. I suspect that's where it will be."

"On three?" Draco asked Rose.

"Sure."

Hermione readied herself to sprint and bolted forward the instant she saw the spells strike, dashing in between the two creatures. She reached the far wall of the chamber just as she heard them cast again.

There was a three-foot gap behind the statue of Gryffindor. Lumos She scooted behind it, her eyes racing over the wall, trying to make quick sense of the patterns.

"Stupefy!"

She took a deep breath, hoping that would keep the runes from swirling before her eyes. Dammit, why couldn't Godric Bloody Gryffindor have been as obvious with his runework as he was with his statues? If there had been hundreds of runes in the previous room, there were thousands here. She swore she could feel the magic radiating from the wall.

"Stupefy!"

Her eyes passed over the wall again, flickering back and forth as her gaze travelled from top to bottom. Wait a moment. She stepped closer and squinted. There. Six sentences converged at one epicentre into a tangled knot of runes.

She fished a piece of parchment out of her handbag. She copied the runes, phrase by phrase, squinting as she got to the centre.

She transliterated them.

fallet et ubi alia diredentes audit,

si anguis cum leone iungatur, anguis

This was it. She fumbled for the text. Now she just had to figure out how to destroy it.

"Stupefy!"

Hermione gripped her wand in her teeth as she held the book open. Chapter Seven. Just as Bill had said. She began skimming.

"Stupefy!"

Three pages in.

"Stupefy!"

Five pages in.

"Stupefy!"

Six pages in she found the spell to remove the rune.

"Stupefy!"

"In your own time, Weasley."

"I've found the nexus and the spell in the book to erase runes from stone work."

"Well, get on with it," Draco shouted.

"Stupefy!"

She panicked as she scrutinised the text. "Dammit, Malfoy. I've got to figure out which character was inscribed last. It's going to take me a moment."

Merlin, how did Bill live with this pressure all the time?

"Stupefy!"

She quickly translated each of the six phrases onto the page.

"Stupefy!"

and when he hears all mocking him, let him be mocked

if a snake should be joined with a lion, let the snake fall

Well that didn't make any sense. Bugger.

"Stupefy!"

She skimmed the passage again. Oh, thank God. It was just a matter of figuring out the logical order.

"Stupefy!"

She blinked at the passage. Then she sketched the starburst pattern in which the phrases were placed and numbered both sketch and translation.

"Stupefy!"

There. Two and four went together. And so did six.

"Stupefy!"

So... yes, two looked like it would work as the passage's beginning. Presumably one, three, five, would follow.

"Weasley, step it up!"

"Almost ready."

"Mum, we can't hold them off much longer!"

"Stupefy!"

That was it. She had it.

A canyon shall be made from whence there is no return,

The house of Godric should never be tainted.

The fifth phrase in her drawing was carved last. Which meant 'dæg' was the first to go.

"Stupefy!"

She drew the six runes that, laid over one another, comprised the nexus.

"Stupefy!"

Placing the tip of her wand on the nexus, she cast, "Litterae amittendae!"

Hermione squinted at the wall. Part of the tangle of runes had disappeared.

Rose shrieked. "Mum! They're coming for you! Hurry!"

"Stupefy!"

"Litterae amittendae!"

"Stupefy!"

"Litterae amittendae!"

"Stupefy!"

Her wand trembled. She could hear the griffins now.

"Litterae amittendae!"

"Litterae amittendae!"

"Stupefy!"

The wall in front of her glowed. "Litterae amittendae!" She obliterated the last stroke of the rune. The wall flickered for a moment, red light glowing from each remaining rune. And then it blinked out.

Hermione whirled around the edge of the statue to find the dusty remains of the griffins not two feet away.

"Mum!" Rose shouted, hurtling herself into Hermione's embrace. Hermione staggered to keep her footing. She clutched her daughter, scrambling to catch her breath.

"Mum, you were brilliant."

Hermione closed her eyes and hugged Rose even tighter. "You were too. You did a spectacular job holding off the griffins with Mr Malfoy."

At the name Malfoy, Rose stiffened, squirming out of Hermione's embrace. Rose brushed away tears before asking, "Can we go see if all the room's magic was destroyed? If Scorpius is awake?"

Hermione's pulse thudded in her ears. Voice strangled, she replied, "Yes, Rose."

Rose ran to up the stairs to the room's entrance.

Hermione approached Malfoy – her daughter's boyfriend's father, her mind added – handing over the text. "Draco, thanks for that. For the book and the spell work. We couldn't have done it without you."

Draco snorted and began walking up the stairs that led to the outer chamber. "Except that I'm betting I'm the one that triggered those statues. Do I even want to know what your house's founder scribbled on the wall?"

Hermione followed him from the room, grimacing. "I'm sure Severus and Minerva will want an account as well. I'm not sure I have the energy for two debriefings."

"Ah, did that little bit of casting wear you out?"

Hermione noticed that the bite of his usual torments had entirely disappeared. Nothing like fighting a common enemy to obliterate decades of animosity. "The spell work... combined with the two hours of sleep I got last night."

"Presumably Severus will say this more... eloquently than I will, but thanks, Hermione."

"You're welcome, Draco." The words sounded rusty when strung together.

They climbed the stairs and walked down the corridor to the Hospital Wing. Hermione could hear Rose talking excitedly the moment they opened the doors. She didn't stop as they made their way to the end of the room.

The curtains were drawn back from both beds. Both Severus and Scorpius sat propped up against the headboards, Severus staring at his hands and Scorpius watching with a smile as Rose chattered on endlessly.

The horns had disappeared from both wizards, and they appeared to be in good health. Well, except for the fact that Severus still hadn't looked up.

Scorpius straightened when he saw his father approach. He squeezed Rose's hand, and her voice tapered off. "Dad, Rose and I are together."

"Yes, Scorpius. I'm... aware."

Hermione was unable to contain her smile. She thoroughly enjoyed watching Draco squirm.

Draco was saved from further immediate discomfort when Minerva hurried into the room.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" she exclaimed. "You're both back to normal. Hermione, I trust your communiqué from Mr Weasley came through?"

"Yes, it did." Hermione kept her expression as neutral as possible. Severus still had not so much as looked at her.

She felt a tugging at her robe and looked down to find Mosey, jumping impatiently and waving parchment. "Hermione, I is having post for you."

"Thank you, Mosey."

Hermione unfolded the parchment, her eyes flicking down the page. Her jaw clenched, and she felt as if steam from Pepper-Up Potion was shooting from her ears.

She crumpled the letter, shoving it into her handbag. "Excuse me. I need a moment. I'll meet you in the conference room shortly to discuss what resolved this situation?"

Once Minerva and Draco agreed, she stalked out of the room.