A Goddess Walks Among Us

Chapter 3: Yomigami

Hermione found herself in the same peaches and cream plane as before. Amaterasu sat on her haunches beside Hermione, looking forward stoically. Hermione looked up and saw a huge dragon, glaring down at her. He undulated and twisted, his long and powerful body shining in the light that came from everywhere at once, and Hermione noticed that part of his tail was embedded in a huge scroll. His four talons gripped orbs of yellow light as he turned his great head to Amaterasu.

"This is her, Mother Amaterasu?" the dragon said.

"This is her, Yomigami," Amaterasu answered. Yomigami the dragon slinked down and snorted at Hermione, inspecting her carefully with his big eyes.

"She has great potential. And a pure heart," he said as he coiled back on himself. "I hold no regret in giving her my power of Rejuvenation."

As he spoke, Yomigami dissolved into a single orb with a symbol Hermione didn't recognize shining from the center. It shot forward and twirled around Hermione, who watched it with a mix of curiosity and caution. The only reason she wasn't curled up on the ground gibbering like a madwoman was the continued reassuring presence of Amaterasu. The orb orbited her one last time before thrusting itself into her chest, almost knocking the wind out of her. She stumbled backwards as the sudden surge of new power filled her, and she couldn't hold back the urge to toss her head back and howl. Hermione looked back to Amaterasu with a wide grin, and received one in return.

"There are many more that you must meet, Hermione," Amaterasu said. "But I know that you will meet my expectations and go well beyond them." Hermione instantly sobered up—to say that the fight with the Shadow was a surprise was like saying that spending a week in a desert could result in a parched throat. She would admit that she was a sheltered child. Her parents provided almost everything she needed or wanted, and protected her from dangers, but she knew of the evils of the world through news reports and history books. Even then, she still never expected such a thing to actually attack her in her own home.

"The Shadow was just the beginning," Amaterasu said. "Come now. You are safe. You should sleep." Hermione nodded softly, and when she next blinked, Amaterasu and the glowing clouds were gone. It was night in her back garden again, and she stood in the humid summer air in just a set of thin pajamas. A small voice in her ear, a voice she recognized as Amaterasu's whispered, "You must repair your window. The power of Rejuvenation will help you."

"How do I use it?" Hermione asked. Amaterasu chuckled softly.

"You must do what I did earlier. Pull yourself out of the world." Amaterasu chuckled again. "Maybe you should press 'L2'?"

"Pull myself…L2?" Hermione asked. She could almost see Amaterasu rolling on the floor and barking laughter.

"Nothing, nothing," Amaterasu said. "It was just a poor joke. Now. Look at the window. Focus. Focus on being at your table. Focus on holding the Brush. Close your eyes and don't just imagine you are there, will yourself to be at the table with the Brush in your hand, looking down at the canvas showing your window."

Hermione focused, concentrated, her eyes shut tight and her ears folded back. She felt an almost imperceptible shift and opened her eyes to find herself sitting at that same artist's table, Brush in hand, and the canvas, almost a meter square with dark grey lines detailing herself, Amaterasu, and her back garden. Hermione gripped the brush in her hand, and jumped when a soft furry snout brushed against her elbow.

"Good," Amaterasu said. "Now, focus. Turn the view to face your window."

"How do I do that?" Hermione asked, turning back to Amaterasu.

"The left analog stick," Amaterasu snickered playfully. Hermione's ears flattened as she gave a sharp look to the white wolf. Amaterasu shook herself and bumped her head against hermione's arm. "Will it. Want to look at your window, and you will."

Hermione turned back to the canvas, staring hard at it. Move, she thought. Turn. I want to see my window. She gave it a mental nudge and the lines shifted, twirling around until she could see the ragged hole where the Shadow had pulled her out of her bedroom window.

"Good," Amaterasu said, leaning into Hermione's side. She was soft and warm and Hermione draped her free arm over the wolf. "Now, take the brush. Dip it in the ink, and fill in the hole." Hermione did, her arm feeling like lead as she clumsily dipped the brush and blotched over the gaping wound that used to be her window. The ink let off a grey smoke, but Hermione barely noticed—a sweat was breaking out on her brow, and her arm slumped bonelessly to her side. She blinked slowly, her eyelids not wanting to open again. They did, just in time for her to look up from the grass in her back garden, and see the ink on her wall solidify into the form of her window, open to the outside, and looking as if nothing had happened to it.

Hermione lay on the cool grass, breathing deeply of the early morning air. Her limbs felt as if someone had replaced her muscles with marshmallows. She simply did not have the strength to move.

Well... It's certainly been a while for this one. I know it isn't much, but I finally found the notes and plans for this when moving into my dorm and just now got the time to do anything with them. Please leave a review, and if you like, check out my other story, which might eat up an hour or so.