"I'm sure from the time you've heard of Beyonder's you've been questioning everything about them right? You want to delve into their secrets and know everything about them?"
Hermione blushed but did not respond and her silence confirmed what Loki had said.
"What's wrong with wanting to know?" Hermione complained.
"Everything. Becoming a beyonder isn't something simple. If there would be one phrase to describe the risks of a Beyonder it would be the common phrase, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' The more curious you get, the more unsettling things will get around you."
Hermione showed a puzzled look so Loki continued with a follow-up.
"Let me tell you something you ought to know, there are a few things about the world of a Beyodner simply knowing which can cause you to be subjected to a fate worse than death."
"Worse than death?" Hermione asked with confusion.
"Yes. Imagine you come upon an ancient entity, what will you do if that entity is harmful? What if it is dangerous and powerful?"
Hermione's breathing hitched as she thought of Mr. Error.
"There's no shortage of them, and the minute you learn about them you become their puppet, dancing to their tune and working their requests, all before you even know what you've become."
"No one will know you've been corrupted. Even you won't know you've been corrupted."
Hermione clenched her hands and balled them into a tight fist as if she were fighting something within herself.
She felt afraid.
But Loki didn't stop there, he continued.
"Do you know what happened to the Death Eaters in the camp?"
Hermione shook her head, making way for Loki to explain.
"The Death Eaters were all under the Imperius curse, controlled by someone else. But that is not the important part, they performed a ritual to sacrifice the hostages. A ritual to an evil god. One that does not have the best intentions for humanity."
"Do you want to know what happened to them even after the ritual was interrupted and failed?" Loki asked looking right into Hermione's hazel brown eyes.
Hermione *gulped* audibly but she soon nodded with a resolute look, "I want to know."
"The fraction of a second they were exposed to the God, their brains melted along with their bodies causing them to turn into Eldritch monstrosities that could barely form a coherent sentence, forcing the Ministry workers to put them down lethaly."
"And you know what? That was the best that could be done to them. That's how risky it is for a human to become a Beyonder and come in contact with evil entities."
Hermione clenched her hands tight with fear but she asked one last question, "Why did you choose to become a Beyonder then?"
Loki looked into Hermione's eyes and with a straight face said, "Because-"
Turning around from Loki and Elane, Hermione walked back with Crookshanks to the meeting spot where she'd promised to meet up with the Weasleys.
On her way, Loki's words echoed through her mind as the pictures of the night when she was taken hostage flashed in her vision.
She vaguely remembered how she felt when the ritual that the Death Eater's leader was performing concluded, it was a terrifying feeling, one that had caused her to immediately faint out of panic.
The feeling had remained with her after she woke up, but seeing everything return to normal left her feeling that the terrifying pressure was nothing but a faint mistake in her imagination.
She hadn't learnt much from Arthur Weasley after the incident since all he shared with the kids was that everything had been settled and that there were no casualties they had to worry about.
But hearing about the truth from Loki a chill ran up her spine.
'They had to be put down?'
'Innocent people who were being controlled by the Imperius curse?'
'Put down like rabid animals who had probably only barely gotten a glance at the God that was summoned?'
All of a sudden, the warmth and joy of the people trotting around Diagon Alley didn't feel so inviting anymore.
The thundering dark clouds overhead made it a constant reminder to her of just how vulnerable she had been all this time.
'If the Death Eaters are becoming active that means you-know-who is starting to get active.'
'He attacked the castle in the first year and his diary did it in the second year.'
'What's to say he will stop?'
'And given how close I am to Harry, what's to say he won't come after me and my family?'
The thoughts in her head scared Hermione.
Until Loki's words rang through them all making things clearer and clearer for Hermione.
'In this world where terrors roam among humans, the only way to survive and keep everyone close to you safe is by becoming a terror yourself.'
Hermione clenched her hands tight and continued to walk until she reached Leaky Cauldron where the Weasley family was waiting for her.
'I know what to do now.'
'I must become a Beyonder and a strong one at that.'
Loki looked at Hermione leaving with a soft *sigh* before he turned to speak to Elane once again.
"Elane, do you want a pet like Crookshanks?"
Elane looked up at Loki with wide eyes and a cute smile as she asked, "Can I!?"
Loki nodded and spoke unhurriedly, "Come on, let's go and find you a magical pet! Then when you're playing with your friends you can show off your pet!"
"Un!!"
Spending the rest of his time in Diagon Alley with Elane choosing a pet, Loki had a fun time as he pushed thoughts about Hermione and him to the back of his mind.
Meeting up with Cassandra Terlawney at the entrance of Leaky Cauldron, Loki bade farewell to Elane who didn't cry much this time since she'd gotten a pet Puffskein.
"Make sure you take full care of it, won't you Elane?"
"I pwomise! I won't trouble Aunt Cassandra." Elane said with a sweet smile as the Puffskein tried to insert its long tongue into her ear to eat any wax inside it.
"This won't be a problem will it Mrs. Terlawney?"
"No, don't worry, I have my own magical pets too, a Beyodner item helps keep any unwanted questions away so it's alright."
"I see. Thank you for bringing Elane here once again today. I hope I can repay you in the future for this act of generosity of taking care of Elane."
"Don't worry about it. I sense that you'll be reaching Sequence 4 soon and hope you explain your abilities sometime in the future."
With a short goodbye after that, Loki and Elane along with Cassandra parted ways, leaving Loki to his own thoughts as he pondered while looking at the moon out of the window.
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A/N : Why do I see a hundred and ninety-two powerstones already!!!??Let's goo!!!!!! Another extra chapter....it looks like you guys are hell-bent on keeping me posting extra chapters!!
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