Chapter 27: A shattering discovery
Still laughing, Harry revoked the access for Luna, Neville and Ginny, and stumbled through the fire, nearly crashing into Hermione and Neville, who stood ramrod-still at the 'Three Broomsticks'. The cause of that strange behaviour was standing in front of them and the other two girls.
"Finally, Mister Potter!" Professor McGonagall said with a sour tone, wand in hand. Professor Flitwick stood beside her. Harry quickly checked his watch, but found that they weren't overdue. In fact, they were nearly ten minutes earlier than they had been cleared for. He had no idea why she would act like that.
"Please stand in line, I have to check you for contraband and curses," McGonagall said in a no-nonsense tone, and Harry warily complied, but kept his hands ready and a stunner on his lips.
In quick succession, Professor McGonagall cast some detection spells onto Neville, followed by a few revealing charms, while Flitwick kept guard on the others. This was repeated on the girls and finally on Harry. When Harry was seemingly cleared, too, Professor McGonagall visibly relaxed - which only amounted to very little by the legendary strict woman - and put her wand away.
"What does this mean, Professor?" Harry inquired, a bit hotly. McGonagall gave him a brief glare before she relented. "There has been another attack, Mister Potter. All students have been brought back into the castle and scanned on entry, I was sent to wait for you and escort you back. Follow me," she stated, about-faced and walked off, Flitwick motioning them to follow.
Following their teachers, they fell into a comfortable rhythm on the muddy path, and after they left the town, Hermione finally couldn't hold back anymore and asked what happened.
*** two hours ago ***
Padma Patil was hurrying to keep up to her friends in the bad weather. She had stopped for a second to pour some mud out of her shoe after she had stepped into a big puddle.
The rain had intensified since the morning, and had converted the path to the school into a big mudslide, making it impossible to use the coaches.
While not as vain as her sister, she hated the wet rat look she sported right now and wanted nothing more than get back into the tower and under a scalding hot shower. So she tried to speed up on the slippery ground, catching up to Lisa and Mandy, who were a bit further along the muddy path. Lisa had actually wanted to wait on her, but Mandy was adamant on keeping up and getting out of the rain. If Padma were in her place, she would probably have done the same. It was the logical choice.
Cursing and stumbling, she managed to get within twenty paces of her girls when she finally cried out for them to wait for her. Lisa stopped and tapped Mandy on the shoulder. The girl jumped and tried to turn as well, but slipped on the bad ground. Padma won't ever forget how surprised the girl looked in the half second she was airborne before she slammed onto her right side.
And exploded in a ball of fire.
The force of the explosion was enough to send her flying high into the air, until the upward force conceded to gravity. If anybody were still able to hear the sound of her impact in the stony field next to the path, they would have gotten sick on the spot.
Lisa was hit by the fireball and thrown into the air - her hair getting partially burned off by the fire. It proved to be hot enough to even make her drenched robes briefly catch fire. Only the fact that her long hair was thoroughly drenched by the rain and hanging down saved her from permanent disfiguring scars in her face. The force threw her nearly twenty feet far, until a big branch of a fir mostly stopped her, snapping under the impact, as did a couple of Turpin's ribs. With a squishy thump, she landed in a heap, a few feet into the woods next to the path, her robes still smouldering as she moaned in pain.
A group of Hufflepuffs, who were walking a bit ahead of the girls, were hit by the blast and thrown to the ground, Ernie McMillan twisting his ankle badly while most suffered damage to their eardrums.
Padma was hit by something in the chest and face, breaking her nose and cheekbone. The force of the impact toppled her backwards, causing her to roll a few times before coming to a stop in the mud, blood running from her broken nose, and too shocked to feel more than a numb pain in her face. Her ears ringing, she managed to turn around to look at the point where her friends had been standing.
Where the girls had been, only a slightly smoking depression was visible, which was quickly filling with water. Looking around, she found the object that hit her lying a few feet in front of her.
As she recognized Mandy's shoe on the remains of that leg, she started screaming.
ooOOoo
"While the other students weren't hurt badly, and will leave Madam Pomfrey's care tomorrow, but Miss Brocklehurst had to be sent to St. Mungo's after she had been given first aid," Flitwick concluded his tale of the events, while McGonagall looked worried.
"That's horrible," Ginny wailed. "Will Mandy be alright?"
"She has been horrible injured by the explosion. According to the doctors she suffered broken bones, ruptures to most of her organs and serious burns to most of her body. Although no longer in mortal danger, it is safe to say that she will at least lose her leg," Professor Flitwick told her, and for a few minutes, they all fell silent as they walked on.
The silence held a bit longer after they passed the spot. It was easy to discern, as the scorched earth marked it quite well, as did the small crater. The Aurors moving around that place gave the scene an eerie quality.
"Any idea what happened?" Harry asked a few minutes later, after they had passed the gates and crossed the grounds towards the doors.
"The latest investigations of the Aurors told us that Miss Brocklehurst seemingly carried a flask of Erumpent fluid in her pocket. We can only be sure after we question her, but we assume that she had been under the Imperius curse, like Miss Sunderland had been with that dagger," Flitwick told them the latest news, defending his students, while Professor McGonagall harrumphed softly at her colleague for being so talkative to students. In her opinion, this wasn't for them to know or to care about. That was the adults' business.
"So this was another attempt on Dumbledore?" Hermione connected the dots. "Is there any idea who gave it to her? Since Erumpent fluid is highly restricted, I doubt that she just picked it up in Hogsmeade," she demanded.
"Miss Granger - this is enough! Please leave this in the hands of the teachers," McGonagall scolded her as they approached the doors. "Students are to remain within the castle for today, until the Aurors have concluded their business," she said courtly, and then left, followed by Professor Flitwick, both probably heading for the infirmary.
*** An hour later ***
"I can't stand this anymore," Harry growled as he threw his book down on the table, making Hermione jump lightly as he disturbed her concentration.
"What's wrong?" she asked, half closing her book, giving him her full attention. The fact that she had actually read this page twice now showed that her concentration wasn't as focussed as it usually was.
"I can't sit around doing nothing. I have to blow off some steam," Harry sighed. "Are you game for a round of training in the room?"
"Swords?" she asked monosyllabic, to which he shook his head. "I can't focus on that now. I rather just blast something into oblivion," he said with a slightly stressed tone in his voice.
Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment before she closed her book completely. "I agree. Let's stow our stuff away and go to the room - hope it's available."
"If not, I'm going to sit there and wait until it is," Harry growled. "Maybe we finally find out who camps in there!" he said, and stood to bring his book back to his dorm.
ooOOoo
Twenty minutes later, they turned the corner towards the Room of Requirement. Harry nearly snarled as he sat that familiar Hufflepuff girl, who had reacted so frightened a few weeks ago, standing there. And again, she carried that stupid telescope. Currently, she was looking the other way, but once she heard their footsteps, she turned around and promptly dropped that telescope. Not caring in his bad mood, Harry wandlessly accio-ed the thing before it could crash onto the ground.
"Oh really - what is your problem?" he huffed at the girl as he stepped closer. The girl didn't react at all, standing as if petrified in horror, staring at him as if he were a ghost. But then, she would be used to ghosts by now, so he probably would be compared to a Banshee or something equally bad in her mind. Something that Hagrid would consider interesting and bring to class.
Her strange demeanour only enraged Harry even more. "I don't get it, why am I so frightening to you? And why do you carry that stupid thing around," he said, shaking the telescope in front of her. "There is no dorm here and you can't gaze stars at this hour," he ranted at her, making her slowly back into the wall. Just as Hermione wanted to stop Harry from venting his anger even more on the poor girl, the door to the Room of Requirement opened.
ooOOoo
Theodore Nott was in a really bad mood. For weeks and weeks, he had been working on the tasks the Dark Lord had bestowed upon him. He had planned multiple attempts at Dumbledore's life, but each failed, badly. And he was not an iota closer to completing the second task. He had managed to undo the most of the fire damage that stupid vanishing cabinet had received earlier that year, but he was no further in actually repairing the thing. Just yesterday, it seemed as if he was close to completion, only for the enchantments of the floor anchoring to fail. That meant he had to undo all work and completely take apart that stupid thing to anchor that part again. He had to take a few hours time to calm himself again before continuing his work.
He had to pick up his supply of Polyjuice potion ingredients for his lookout from Hogsmeade, anyway - although he only needed the lookout at fixed times, for when he was to leave the room so nobody could see what he used it for, this still ate into his supply, and the next batch had to be brewed shortly.
Getting his stuff from Hogsmeade would also be a perfect opportunity to execute another of his plans, the tool to them also being in the package waiting for him at the 'Three Broomsticks'. Having Rosmerta, the barmaid, under his imperious curse for months already, he only had to give her the bottle of Erumpent fluid with orders to put some girl under the same curse, and make her throw it at Dumbledore at the first possibility.
Back in the castle, he soon noticed that his plan had been blown out of the water already. The fireball was clearly visible and audible to everybody outside the castle, that much he heard from the classmates that reported the occurrence to the Slytherin common room. That was bad. Students had been hurt, which meant that this time, there would be a full investigation.
Knowing that this meant that the quick repair of the cabinet had just grown even more important, he had arranged the lookout duty and went off to get some more work done.
The progress was good, he had that cabinet disassembled and the base newly anchored. If that was an indication, he would be back to yesterday's state by tomorrow, and might be finished by the end of the week. Checking the time, he knew his lookout would be here already, and went through the piles of scorched rubbish still left after that earlier fire, heading for the door. Waiting a few minutes, but hearing nothing, he opened the door and left.
Just to see that Potter had cornered his lookout. Quickly, he tried to assess the situation, drawing the only conclusion possible from his point of view. They had found him out.
With rage building up quickly, he drew his wand.
ooOOoo
Hermione had just enough time to turn her head to look towards the door before she heard the voice.
"You'll never get me alive!" the person coming out of the room yelled, immediately followed by "Reducto!"
In shock, Hermione saw the red light cross the not even thirty feet distance in just enough time for Harry to turn. The spell hit him squarely, sending shrapnel pieces of the telescope flying all over the place as Harry went down with a meaty thud.
ooOOoo
"Okay kids, enough of this for now. Now that I can be sure you point your wand the right direction, we are starting another important drill - ambush disruption," Tonks told the kids after they had finished the standard drill for the morning. As soon as she was sure that she had their complete attention, she continued her lecture.
"The most important thing to do when ambushed is to break the attacker's initiative. When you get him to dodge or shield, he can't fire at you anymore, giving you time to get organized," she told them, getting nods in return.
"The best way to do this is to chain incantations. You use one spell, and then add another spell whose wand movements flow into each other without breaks. Since usually, an ambush will hit you when you haven't even drawn your wand, the best starting point for this drill is from the sheathed position - watch!" she continued, getting herself in a ready stance.
From there, she grabbed her wand, drawing it while making a step to the left and making a backhand flick towards the target, incanting "Pelleo!" as the hand whipped down, before letting her arm drop into a swing that finished in an overhead slash down. She yelled the "Reducto!" just in time to get the curse flying, before pulling her hand into a tight turn and a left to right slash, punctuated with the "Diffindo!" incantation.
The two teens were staring with wide open mouths as the three curses impacted on the target tree stump in less than two seconds.
"Always aim for center mass, no need to go fancy with target areas. Without wand movements and incantations, you might get slightly faster, but this is not of concern now, since we aim for maximum power here, and if they shield at the first yelled incantation, we have reached our goal as well," Tonks grinned at them. "And now, we will start practicing this until it gets second nature..."
ooOOoo
Before Nott had the chance to shield, the Bludgeoner had hit his chest, breaking some ribs and throwing him back. The second curse hit him on the way down, ripping his flailing left upper arm off at the socket, while the third curse passed over the now lying boy, gauging a scratch in the wall a bit down the corridor.
All this happened before Hermione had even realized what she had done.
Seeing the attacker disabled, Hermione turned to check for Harry, and finding the wand of the girl pointed in her direction. Vaguely, since the girl's hand was shaking so hard that the wand pointed nearly everywhere at the same time. But instead of casting, the girl threw that wand at Hermione's feet, yelling "I yield, I yield. It was all his idea - I never wanted anybody to get hurt!"
Hermione stunned and bound the girl, feeling suspicious and not wanting to waste valuable time with questions. Kneeling down next to Harry, she carefully touched his head, wiping his hair away. Much to her relief, groaned at her touch, proving to still be alive, in spite of the blood soaking his ragged shirt. Jumping up, she cast a levitation charm and rushed Harry to the infirmary, leaving a trail of blood drops behind.
Twenty seconds after her departure, Nott had died - either due to the amassing blood in his punctured lung, or the blood loss from the mangled mass that once was his shoulder. The Auror investigation later that day couldn't pinpoint it.
ooOOoo
"MADAM POMFREY!" Hermione's voice rang out through the infirmary as she stormed in with her bloody freight, depositing it in an empty bed without asking and ignoring the present patients completely. Pomfrey, who was busy reorganizing her supplies after that busy day, took one look at the red bundle on the bed, and hit the rune-set to alarm the Deputy Headmistress before grabbing some blood replenishing potions and rushing to treat her newest patient.
Seeing the trail of blood from the door to the bed, she unceremoniously dumped a vial of the potion in Harry's mouth, casting a spell that made him swallow, followed by a vanishing spell on his shirt. With a hiss, she took in the mess that was the boy's chest, with some metal fragments embedded into it.
"What the hell happened?" she asked the distraught fiancée as she started summoning the pieces and mending the cuts.
"We were near the Room of Requirement, when a student attacked Harry with a blasting curse. He must have hit the telescope Harry was carrying," she added as an afterthought as the nurse pulled a piece of lens out of Harry's biceps.
"That might have saved his life. A direct hit would be much worse than this. He will get some new scars, but he'll live," Pomfrey muttered while shaking her head. She had hoped that she would finally have a year without Mister Potter needing her assistance.
"What happened to the attacker?" she asked out of professional curiosity as she paused to dump another vial of blood replenisher down his gullet, hoping that she still had enough left.
Hermione suddenly blanched at this. "He's still there, along with his bound accomplice. And he's badly hurt, I hit him with at least two curses, but I forgot about him when I saw Harry hurt," she babbled as the door was thrown open, showing a very agitated Minerva McGonagall. Before she could inquire about the new patient, Poppy had already given her an order.
"Get to the Room of Requirement quickly, Minerva. You'll find the two attackers, at least one of them injured - get them here immediately!" she bellowed, before addressing the girl working hard on a nervous breakdown beside her. "Sit down at the bed over there, I'll get you a calming draught as soon as I am finished," she said sternly, and of course, the girl complied. Everybody did when Pomfrey spoke like that, even Snape.
Hermione sat and waited till the nurse had treated Harry's wounds, ignoring all other figures lying in various beds, lost in thoughts. After a minute or so, her hands had started shaking violently, and Pomfrey looked at her in alarm before rushing off. Getting a vial of calming draught, she shoved it into Hermione's hand, with the strict order to empty it. Hermione gladly complied and was promptly settled into the bed, feeling much better, but still slightly worrying about Harry as the nurse finished his treatment.
ooOOoo
Five minutes later, the Deputy Headmistress returned, followed by three Aurors, a frogmarched Blaise Zabini and a floating, human sized bundle of black fabric.
Poppy Pomfrey immediately went to inspect that bundle, but her charms only confirmed what the black cover had already told her. Sighing, she beckoned the Auror controlling the levitation to follow her with his burden towards a room near her office. There, she cast a few diagnostic charms on the remains of Mister Nott while the tall Auror took down some notes on the injuries and the possible cause of death. Finally, there was nothing left to do but wrapping the body up to leave for the Ministry where they would deal with it later.
"Miss Granger?" One of the Aurors had meanwhile asked Hermione, getting her to look at him and nod. "We need you to hand over your wand for inspection and a statement about the death of Mister Nott," he said. Due to the calming draught, Hermione complied nearly without reaction, only glancing towards Harry occasionally as she recounted the tale.
ooOOoo
"Then I bound the girl and brought Harry to the infirmary," she finished her tale after two minutes of talking. "Where is she?" she asked after noticing that the girl was missing.
"The girl, Miss Granger, had been this boy - who Madam McGonagall identified as one Blaise Zabini - under Polyjuice Potion. He reverted right under our noses, and was lucky that we found him back then already. If not, the ropes might have constricted him enough to suffocate him," the Auror explained to her. Hermione just nodded calmly at this new piece of information.
"Given this fact, I am very much inclined to believe your version of the story," the Auror told the girl in front of him. "But given the implications, we might be looking at the perpetrator of the poisoning attempt, as well as the person responsible for the explosion occurring earlier today, so I want to ask you if you are willing to submit to Veritaserum questioning," he asked carefully, quickly glancing towards Pomfrey. "Will she be able to take Veritaserum with the medication she had?"
"She only had a strong calming draught. She was mere seconds away from a total nervous breakdown when I administered it. It won't interfere with the potion, although I would prefer if you would give her a few hours rest before you do so," the nurse gave a sour reply, knowing very well that she would be rebuffed. Aurors always took the statements immediately.
When Hermione gave her okay to the proposed course of action, the Auror sighed in relief. That would make everything go over much smoother, since he very much doubted the Zabini boy giving any information freely.
"Very well, you may want your parents present for that," he said to the girl in front of him, when McGonagall intervened.
"Auror Jones, the parents of this witch are Muggles, so they can't officiate in this matter. But in Miss Granger's case, it is not necessary, as she already is of age."
"Of course only if you don't want your parents to be here as well, Miss Granger," she hastily added. Hermione - still being under calming draught influence - only shook her head tiredly. "Might as well get this over with," she sighed.
She sat still and waited patiently for the Auror preparing. After a quick discussion, they unceremoniously stunned and bound Zabini in order to not having to care about the boy anymore. Within a few minutes, Pomfrey - who wouldn't let anybody else dose anyone with anything in her infirmary - had the Veritaserum administered under the watch of the two Aurors.
After Hermione had answered a few questions for the Aurors, under the watchful eyes of her Hogwarts Head of House and the nurse, the antidote was administered and the Aurors took Zabini with them for questioning, as Pomfrey had enough and ordered them out of her infirmary.
Less than a minute later, Hermione had a sleeping draught in hand.
"Mister Potter is alright, and won't wake before the next morning at the earliest, anyway. You need rest," Pomfrey told her, still sporting her 'dare to defy me' look.
Hermione took a long look at Harry, but then downed the vial in one gulp. She had barely the chance to set it down before she already was fast asleep.
"I didn't say she wasn't supposed to get changed," Pomfrey sighed as she flicked her wand, removing the girl's shoes, and then tucking her in with another twirl and flick.
"Was that really necessary, Poppy?" McGonagall asked softly. "She seemed alright."
"Minerva, I'm neither in the mood, nor do I have the energy left to deal with a distraught witch for the rest of the day and night. She was alright now, but when the calming draught would wear off in an hour or so, she'd probably take up from where she was, and it had all the signs of a complete nervous breakdown. I'll deal with that in the morning."
ooOOoo
An hour later, an Auror detail returned to the school to retrieve a half - assembled vanishing cabinet from the Room of Requirements, taking it away to the Ministry as a piece of evidence to another plot the Zabini boy could hint at.
ooOOoo
"How's Harry?" Neville awkwardly asked Hermione, who was currently in a group hug with Ginny and Luna. The three had rushed to the infirmary as soon as they heard the news, but were rebuffed, and told to return next morning. Six o'clock was morning.
"He'll be fine," Hermione sobbed in her bed, flanked by the girls. "Pomfrey was low on potions, so she only could stabilize him for now, and has to brew some more before she can continue treatment."
"But you're alright?"
"NO! I'm not alright! Harry almost died in my arms!" Hermione screamed, her sobs intensifying. Neville cringed as a wave of guilt hit him, as well as the disapproving glances of the girls consoling Hermione.
"Sorry, I meant if you were hurt," he meekly replied.
"No, it all hit Harry - it all happened so quickly. Before I knew, I had downed the attacker, bound a suspect and was on my way, levitating Harry to the infirmary," she told him, her speech interrupted by sobs and sniffles.
"So you got Nott?" Ginny asked. "The rumours had it that he was the one," she added as explanation when Hermione suddenly looked at her wide-eyed.
"Ohmygod," she stammered. "Ohmygod!" She repeated, her breath speeding up as she started winding herself up. "I… Oh my GOD!" she suddenly screamed. Everyone around her was more than scared by the sudden reaction. Hermione's face was white as a bed sheet as she stared into nothing, breathing heavily and shaking slightly.
"Hermione, what's wrong," Ginny begged as she slightly shook Hermione, trying to pull her friend out of whatever episode she was in.
Hermione slowly turned her head to face her, but then averted her face in shame. "I killed him. I killed Nott. I'm a murderer. A monster. I should have…"
Her rambling was interrupted by the slap of Luna's hand on her face.
Everybody looked shocked at the slender girl, even Hermione. Luna simply smiled at them, cocking her head as she inspected Hermione's head.
"Well, this seems to have helped. Sorry, Hermione, but this is the best way to get the one-legged Whirrhopper out of someone's head. When they start nesting, they cause their host to stupidly second-guess and guilt-trip themselves over things they did right," she tweeted happily.
"I should watch over you for some time. Sometimes, they refuse to leave their nest and return. If that happens, I'll gladly remove them again," Luna said as she smiled at her friend.
"Thank you, I guess," Hermione replied warily, beginning to realize once more that there was more to Luna than most people would think.
Luna waved her off, airily. "Don't mention it. Now, do you need anything? I guess you'll be allowed to leave soon, but can we get you any books to tide you over?" she said as she stood to leave.
"I'll get you a change of robes," Ginny pitched in, rising as well. "I doubt you want to use the ones you came in, even if they are cleaned." She herself certainly wouldn't want to wear anything that had been soaked in the blood of a friend or loved one.
Hermione's gaze followed them to the door, while her mind was still spinning.
"Luna's right, you know?" Harry's voice rasped from the adjacent bed.
She barely remembered his state before she could fling herself onto him. Instead, she fell onto his bed right next to him, hugging only his arm as she started to cry.
"Shhhh, honey, shhh," Harry cooed, weakly reaching over to pet her hair softly.
"But I killed Nott, Harry, I killed him!" she sobbed.
"On purpose?" Harry croaked, before a cough shook him, and his arm fell weakly back to his side.
"Harry? Are you all right?" Hermione asked hectically, her tears forgotten for now.
"I guess I won't be singing for a while," Harry wheezed. "And I asked you a question - did you kill him on purpose?"
Hermione's eyes shot wide open. "No! Of course not!" she protested. "He attacked you and I reacted, I hit him, he went down, and then brought you here," she whined.
"I thought so," Harry replied with a small smile. "And what would he have done if you hadn't taken him down?"
Hermione lowered her head for a moment. "He would have killed me," she stated the obvious. "It was self-defense!" she summed it up.
"You see, you had no choice," Harry cooed, and tried to pet her hair, again.
"But," Hermione tried to answer, but Harry silenced her with his finger on her lips.
"Shall I call Luna back? You seem to be relapsing," he rasped.
"I'm sorry - I know that some time soon, we'll be in a fight for our lives against the worst maniacs wizarding Britain ever bred, and I have to pull myself together. I have to get used to this," she whispered.
"I hope you never will," Harry whispered in reply.
"What?"
"I sincerely hope that you will never get used to killing people. That is a path no one should go down," Harry whispered.
"But you can do it - I'm useless to your quest if I can't keep going on like you!" Hermione protested.
"Hermione, I'm the exception, not the norm. If you believe in the prophecy, and what I have seen so far in this world makes me do so, then I was born to be Voldemort's equal," Harry softly spoke, wheezing between sentences.
"Just think about it - I was born to be the equal of someone with decades of knowledge in magical combat, someone that can duel Dumbledore to a standstill. Fate gave me this magical gift and granted me with the reflexes of a fighter, but that's not all of it. I am his equal in one more thing. I'm a killer."
"Harry! You aren't ..."
"No!" Harry hissed forcefully enough to make Hermione recoil.
"Stop denying it. You know as well as I that it is true. I realized it after I dealt with Wormtail - I did not feel anything. For some reason, killing people doesn't really affect me. I could be as much of a monster as he is," he whispered sadly.
"But you aren't! Harry James Potter! You aren't! You are different than him," Hermione berated him, her eyes flashing angrily.
"Yes, my dear, there is one significant difference - I know love," he said, softly caressing her cheek. "But that is as much of a weakness as a boon. If something happened to you, I... I..." he whispered, not able to finish the sentence.
Hermione replied his caress by gently stroking his face. "It won't."
"You can't promise that," Harry spoke. "No one is safe. Not as long as this maniac is around."
"That's why we are doing all this," Hermione cooed. "You and me, we will get through all of this. We will find and destroy all of his Horcruxes, and we will... defeat Riddle. And then we will leave all this behind and live a long, happy life, do you hear me?"
When Harry nodded weakly, she carefully settled down next to him. "And now rest, Harry - we'll have you back on your feet, soon."
ooOOoo
Two beds over, behind a privacy curtain, an old man began to weep silently.
Chapter 28: I think I've been here, before...
Hermione was woken by somebody clearing his throat.
"While I can understand that you fell asleep, and understand that you are engaged, I do not approve of your hand's whereabouts, Miss Granger," Madame Pomfrey harshly chided.
It took Hermione a moment to realize that her hand had crept under Harry's covers and was re-enforcing the tent he had erected. While she quickly pulled her hand out, Pomfrey set a tray with flasks onto the bedside table.
"You can freshen up in the washroom, I guess you still know the way," Pomfrey continued sternly.
After Hermione had acknowledged that with a nod, Madam Pomfrey pulled her wand and took a reading of Harry. "Please give me notice once Mister Potter wakes, so I can change the dressings," she spoke coldly, and walked back into her office.
Grumbling, Hermione dragged herself out of bed and straightened her ruffled clothes.
Only after she had padded into the infirmary's bathroom and washed her face, and she heard some birds singing outside of the window, welcoming the rising sun, it occurred to her that despite her stern demeanour, Pomfrey had actually allowed her to spend the night in Harry's bed.
ooOOoo
"Hey," Harry croaked in greeting when she made her way back.
"Hey, back," she cooed as she reached out to push some locks out of his face.
"Glasses?" he croaked, freeing one hand to grope around the table.
"Here," she said, quickly handing them to him before he'd set up the tray.
"Feeling better?" she asked as she gave Pomfrey, who could be seen through the monitor window, a wave.
"Not really. Feels like I'm breathing shards," he rasped.
"That was to be expected, Mister Potter. You are lucky that the fragments didn't pierce too much of your chest. You resembled a pincushion, but only one piece actually punctured the lung. If he hadn't hit your left chest, but center, it would have pierced your heart and we wouldn't be talking," Pomfrey spoke as she approached, going for the vials. One after the other, she drained five of them into Harry's gullet.
"I'm afraid that you will have to stay here for a couple of days, until I can be sure your diaphragm and lung work properly. I don't want to risk an infection, and since I know you, and know that you will overexert yourself, I'll not let you leave until you are good, no negotiation, Mister Potter," Pomfrey spoke, glaring down any form of protest that Harry might be able to muster, down. Having established her dominance, she addressed Hermione.
"You are free to leave, Miss Granger. I doubt I need to ask you to keep Mister Potter updated on his assignments," she finished, picked up her tray and left.
"Madam Pomfrey," Hermione called out, pointing at one potion container that was left behind. "You forgot one vial."
"What?" Pomfrey turned around and took a glance. She then shook her head. "No, that one is from Professor Slughorn," Pomfrey replied.
"From Slughorn? He was here?"
"Yes, he was here for observation, in the bed over there," Pomfrey pointed at the far end of the room. "I cleared him this morning, and he asked me to give it to you once you're awake."
"Please make sure to return the vial he borrowed, after you are done with it," she added, and left.
Only then, Hermione noticed the whitish, ghostly strand hovering within the small bottle.
*** March 8th, Infirmary ***
"What are you doing here, Mister Potter?" Pomfrey asked when Harry was led in after the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff game. "Didn't I tell you just on Wednesday that I don't want to see you again this year?"
"Sorry, Madame Pomfrey. But Harry seems to have had a relapse," Hermione spoke as she helped Harry hobble onto 'his' bed, where he dropped, clasping his chest as he had some kind of painful fit.
Madame Pomfrey immediately rushed over and started waving her wand over him. "Mister Potter! I told you that you were to take it lightly! Thankfully, none of the scars in your diaphragm seem to have ruptured open! What possessed you to fly a match this early - being short of breath wasn't a good enough sign to wait a while?" she ranted.
"I should have known better! I usually don't even attend Gryffindor-Hufflepuff, since you always play fair. Did you fall off your broom or was it a Bludger?" she continued.
"He wasn't playing," Hermione interrupted, trying to help Harry. Pomfrey's rant ceased almost immediately as annoyance gave way to confusion.
"So he was hit?"
"No, not exactly," Hermione tried to avoid a straight answer.
"Who did it?"
"It wasn't exactly anyone's fault," Hermione continued beating around the bush. Pomfrey's reply was much more straightforward.
"Listen, girl. I can give him a potion and he will be well in a minute. But if you don't tell me what happened, I will keep him here and let him heal the Muggle way, understood?"
"Ok, fine. Luna Lovegood commented the game," Hermione spilled. "In her way."
The barking laugh from Harry, followed by a pained moan completed the puzzle for Pomfrey.
*** March 10th, The Headmaster's office***
"Are you feeling better, my boy?" Professor Dumbledore asked after the initial pleasantries had been exchanged.
"I'm fine," Harry replied. Hermione valiantly suppressed the urge to roll her eyes when he did so. Obviously, being winded after two flights of stairs were 'fine', now. He was still a long way from fully recovered, but she could understand that he didn't want everyone to know that.
"I'm glad to hear that. It saddens me that this had to occur. The tragic loss of Mister Nott was felt by many," Dumbledore replied. When Harry and Hermione made moves as if to protest, he held up his hand to stall them.
"I know, I know. He made some unfortunate decisions. I simply don't feel good about it, even though I know that sometimes, there is a price to be paid for the greater good. This wasn't the first, and probably won't be the last necessary sacrifice," he spoke, his gaze resting on Hermione, before it switched to Harry.
"Of course, Headmaster," was the dry response, without conviction.
"Alas, once more I do have to ask if you succeeded in the task I had given you," Dumbledore continued. His noncommittal facial expression briefly gave way to a gape when Harry and Hermione exchanged a smile as Harry reached for his inner pocket.
"You did? Magnificent!" Dumbledore beamed as the vial came into view. Suddenly, his face grew cautious. "You didn't... extort... this memory in any way, did you?" he carefully asked.
"Professor!" Hermione gasped. Harry frowned in response.
"He freely gave it to us," he commented, shirty.
"I had to ask," Dumbledore replied as he raised his hands defensively. "If it wasn't given freely, he might have modified it, again."
"In any case, we should begin with the memory I have prepared for tonight. Without it, Horace's memory will not be in the right context, I'm afraid," Dumbledore said as he rose and went to fetch the pensieve from its place.
*** Ten minutes later ***
"So it's proven, he was after heirlooms, especially after the Founders' ones," Hermione stated after they were spit out of the last memory.
"I would say that the was only after Founders' heirlooms, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore. "The Peverell ring was no Horcrux."
"But your hand?" Harry asked curiously.
"It was spelled with a huge variety of enchantments, from fire-proofing to ever-shining - and hidden behind that, thoroughly cursed, Harry; but apart from this, it was no Horcrux, of this I'm sure," Dumbledore insisted. "Now let us examine what Horace had in his mind," he murmured as he held out his hand to Harry.
Harry handed the vial over, and within a few minutes, Dumbledore had the memories exchanged, and everyone stepped closer.
ooOOoo
"Seven?" Tonks gasped. "Please tell me that this was just a transmission error."
"Sorry, Tonks. I really said seven," Harry replied. Hermione, sitting next to him on the couch they had conjured in the Chamber of Secrets, affirmed the fact with a grim nod.
"It's not three or five, but at least it's not nine or thirteen," she responded, hinting at what they had discussed with Dumbledore.
"We need to hunt down seven items? Bloody hell," Tonks cursed as she dealt with the news.
"Actually, it's only six items - one part of the soul is still in Him," Remus corrected, shoving his face in front of Tonks'. "Any news about their identity?" he queried.
"Yeah, any good news 'bout that?" Tonks said, after elbowing Remus to the side.
Hermione had to roll her eyes at them for their antics. "Yes, we have links on two more, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, and possibly Nagini, Voldemort's Snake."
Remus frowned. "Nothing else?" he grumbled.
"Only the locket, again, and a educated guess that there might be another one that formerly belonged to Ravenclaw," Hermione remarked, looking as disappointed as Remus was.
"So we got the cup, the locket, the diary, the snake, and the ring," Tonks summed it up.
"Dumbledore insisted that the ring was no Horcrux," Harry shot her down.
"Really? And what happened to his hand, then?" Tonks snarked back.
"He claims that it was cursed to next year and back, but no Horcrux," Hermione interjected, coming to Harry's aid.
Tonks started to huff in response. "You guys are such babies, really. If it wasn't a Horcrux, why would Riddle have hidden it well, and put such powerful enchantments on it? Hmm?"
"Dumbledore insisted that it was none," Harry repeated adamantly.
Remus chose that moment to avert the looming quarrel. "Maybe it wasn't, anymore? Someone else might have found it, destroyed the Horcrux and then used it as a trap for Him?"
Tonks frowned for a moment, thinking it over. "Implausible, but not entirely impossible. He would certainly notice that his Horcrux was enchanted if he checked it. I think it is more likely that the enchantments were made by Him, and someone destroyed it without setting them off."
"That's also a possible explanation," Remus agreed. "Still, we need to find out how many there are. And more importantly, where to look for the other items? They could be anywhere."
"I think one of them might be hidden in Hogwarts, itself," Harry speculated. "Riddle tried to get a job there, and he was roaming the school quite undisturbed on that day. Dumbledore also thinks so," he said. Remus and Tonks looked very contemplative for a moment, before they pronounced their verdict in unison.
"The Room of Requirement!"
"Very possible - there are uncounted configurations for this room. If you don't know which room to ask for, you'll never find it," Harry agreed.
"I think the twins told me about one that was nothing but a huge storage for things people wanted to hide, stolen stuff, stuff they broke, all those things," Remus recounted.
"We got the diary, locket, cup, maybe the ring, something in Hogwarts, and the snake," Hermione counted off. "Of those six, four are already destroyed. Not bad," she said, smiling confidently.
Tonks frowned. "Seven."
"What?"
"We're missing a seventh Horcrux," Tonks stated.
"No, Dora, He is the seventh part," Remus replied.
"I got that, Remy. I just realized something. While this already are six items, the snake is relatively new. He never had a snake back then. Given how easy is to create Horcruxes for someone willing, we must assume he made all six relatively quickly. So he probably had another Horcrux, one we are still missing out on," Tonks answered.
"Why would he make an eighth one? I'd say he knew he still was one short," Hermione voiced her opinion.
There was a long pause before Hermione turned to look at Harry.
"Can you still read Riddle's mind? Do you still pick up his emotions?"
"No, nothing. The connection was severed."
"Do you really think it was only the blood? Didn't you also feel him before his resurrection?"
When all eyes on the other side of the mirror slowly creeped over to stare at Harry, the boy in question couldn't take the suspense anymore. "No way," he gasped as he came to the same conclusion as the others.
"That was only because of the scar," Harry protested.
"Another point; Tonks, how many times has a killing curse resulted in a scar on the victim?" Hermione soldiered on.
Harry knew the answer before Tonks uttered it. "Never," she replied after a short contemplative pause.
"We know Riddle could take control of his snake, and you both could also get into each other's head, Harry," Hermione insisted.
"OK, to be precise," Remus tried to sum things up. "You propose that Harry's scar was actually a Horcrux, and when you broke the blood binding, you not only managed to torture Him, but somehow also destroyed the Horcrux?"
Hermione nodded.
Remus wasn't entirely satisfied. "And how?"
"The release caused a magical feedback. It was enough to... to..." Hermione spoke, but got too distraught to carry on. Harry put his arm around her to console her as he answered in her stead.
"You know. It killed me. Only the fact that mum is a doctor saved me. She brought me back after a minute or so."
"And the Horcrux died with you," Tonks completed the theory. "Still, I don't think that qualifies. He tried to kill you. Why make you a Horcrux, first?"
"What if he wanted to use Harry to make one?" Hermione speculated. "If I remember correctly, you said the spell to isolate the split soul fragment must be cast before the splitting?"
Remus nodded. "According to our sources, yes. The soul would heal too fast to cast it afterwards."
"Using the death of the one who was destined to kill him to make himself even more immortal? Sounds like something he would do," Harry agreed.
"And when all went wrong, that fragment somehow got embedded in you."
"I don't know, but it's starting to look too close to be pure coincidence," Remus replied with a hint of a smile playing around his lips. "We should bounce this off Bill, for confirmation."
"Speaking of Bill - is it possible that one is stored in a vault? I mean, Malfoy had the diary," Harry thought loud. "He might be able to investigate. Maybe we can negotiate with the goblins."
Remus laughed out loud, slapping his thigh. "That's the son of James and Lily, always thinking out of the box. That could work, there is not much love between them and Him. I'm sure they'll come up with something, as long as we can pay."
"If they get me Tom's soul on a pike, they can have all the Black money, for all I care," Harry joked.
"For enough gold, they might even make you such a pike... Never mind, I'll take care of that," Remus returned the banter.
"Which means there is only the one hidden in Hogwarts left," Harry allowed himself a moment of confidence.
"Provided he doesn't make any new ones," Hermione said sourly.
Tonks' shoulders slumped visibly as she turned to glare at her. "Way to kill the mood, girl."
"Can he even do that?" She asked Remus.
"I seriously doubt it. The first got half his soul, the second one a quarter, and so on. I doubt that you can even fragment what little is left," Remus stated. "At least I doubt he would even try unless he finds out we're playing reaper on him."
"Satisfied?" Tonks asked Hermione smugly.
"Provided I stand a chance against him," Harry remarked darkly. "I have to get back in shape, yesterday!" he barked angrily.
"You're right, but take it slow, you're no better off if you relapse and lose even more time," Tonks warned him while Remus was looking at something off axis of the mirror.
"It's getting late," Remus said. "You better get going, we don't want you to miss curfew. I keep in touch about Bill."
*** An office in Gringotts, March 15th ***
The old goblin stared them down across his ornate desk, waiting for all of Harry's party to be seated. He continued his stare for a couple of seconds, before opening his mouth in a toothy half-frown.
"Mister... Smith... We heard unsubstanciated rumors by no one in particular that you are interested in negotiations with us about a certain object that might or might not be in our care," he carefully spoke, but in a manner someone would speak to a child.
Harry glanced at Remus for help. Noticing that Remus and Tonks were scanning the room, intently, it occurred to him that these walls might have ears.
"These rumors are fact," Harry replied. "My friends and I are indeed looking for that item to add to our collection, which is almost complete," he implied.
"Is that so," the goblin replied, one of his eyebrows rising slightly. "Provided our ability to locate this object, what would you propose, say, in terms of compensation for our efforts?"
"It has come to my attention that you are interested in obtaining several objects in the Black vaults and properties," Harry spoke, referring to a vast amount of goblin-made jewellery and - mostly dark - artefacts the Blacks had amassed over the centuries.
Harry almost smiled as the goblin's head rose slightly at that proposal. Bill had briefed Harry that while Humans always considered a sale being a final thing, goblins, on the other hand, considered a sold artefact only to be leased for a lifetime. Still, the fact that his eyes had also narrowed reminded Harry that dispute had caused a good quarter of all goblin revolts directly or indirectly, and always was a sore point in most human-goblin interactions.
"We would consider ceding them to Gringotts in exchange," Harry vaguely proposed. Going by the extremely bored facial expression of his counterpart - getting briefed by Bill really helped on this - his offer seemed to be extremely interesting.
"I do not think the mere restitution of these... disputed... goods would suffice in order to convince the board," the nameless goblin replied, opening the political part of the negotiations, but tried to keep things polite.
"As you said, yourself, there is a dispute between parties about the ownership," Harry stated, playing it by the book, and continuing to barter from the stronger position. "I understand your position, though, and for the sake of politics," he said almost bored, "I'd consider paying a - symbolic - rental fee of one Galleon per year per item."
The fact that this sum would be anything but merely symbolic did not fail to register with most of the present.
"I can't promise anything, Mister Smith. I will, though, submit your offer as given," the goblin replied without emotion, rising from his seat.
Harry stood as well, followed by Remus and Tonks. "Right, let's not waste any more of our precious time. We both have things to attend to," he stated, turned, and left.
They barely made it out of the bank before Remus' hand hit Harry squarely on the back. "Well done, pup. This went far better than we expected. You made yourself a big ally in there. I never saw a goblin that happy with a deal."
"True. He didn't even sneer at us when we left. For all I know, he might offer you his daugther's claw," Tonks couldn't help but tease.
ooOOoo
Over the next couple of weeks, Harry slowly increased his stamina by making laps in the Chamber of Secrets whenever his time allowed it. Also, the combat portion of their daily workout with Neville, Ginny and Luna was accordingly increased.
The fact that everything was quiet in Britain spurred Harry on like nothing else could. In a way, he sometimes wished he still had the connection to Voldemort. Back then, he usually had an inkling if something was up. Right now, he had nothing but his bad feeling, and no itching scar to confirm it.
Harry knew that they had disrupted a major plot with Nott, but it was too silent for Harry's taste. No sightings, no terror missions, not even Muggle huntings.
The whole school was doing their best to act as if everything was alright. Deep inside, they must know that this was just a short break to reassemble his pawns and make new plans, but they grasped at straws.
The goblins did reply, eventually. They sent a note to every vault holder in Britain that they had a general vault security inspection to have various dark infestations eradicated, all in order to keep customers safe, apologizing for any inconvenience caused.
Harry forwarded the letter to Remus, charging him to contact Gringotts about some lease contracts he wanted to cancel.
When the news about Susan Bones' aunt recovering hit Hogwarts, people were so elated about the good part of the news that they completely ignored the dark secret behind it.
Madam Bones never fully recovered, and chose to go into retirement, making the acting Head Scrimgeour the designated one. That lead to a long period of political infighting, in which he had to outlast various favourites of the quarrelling factions of the Wizengamot.
Scrimgeour prevailed, but only barely, and was deeply indebted to various people who would now try to use their leverage to advance their agendas.
It wasn't a break. It was a snake coiling for a strike, and Harry would do his best to be ready.
*** May 3rd, Strand, London
"We did it!" Hermione screamed as she barreled towards the table in The Wellington's outside seating area, where her parents sat.
Her mother had just enough time to rise, before Hermione had reached her and thrown her arms around her. A few seconds later, she had her dad in a hug, as well.
Harry followed at a more sedate pace, trailed by a chuckling Tonks and a broadly smiling Remus.
"Congratulations, you two," Henry said as he handed his daughter over to his wife, and picked up their coats. Hugging Harry with one arm, he whispered into his ear. "We better get moving, after that entrance all ears will be locked on us."
After a short look around, revealing that all other patrons of the pub were indeed straining to hear everything without being too obvious, Harry agreed with a laugh and nod. Henry quickly fished for some notes and left thirty pound on the table, shooing his women forward, into Wellington Street, to have a nice, long walk.
They had agreed on this meeting point since it was extremely public, and far enough removed from the Ministry of Magic to be safe for Margret and Henry to wait, but at the same time straight down the road if they had to rush to get to fetch them. Also, Margret was deeply in love with the fish and chips there.
"How was the test, son," Henry asked as he put his arm around Harry's shoulders, once the group was on their way. Hermione was already talking a mile a minute, recounting everything in minute detail. Harry proved to be his eloquent self, as usual.
"Fine."
Henry turned his head, surprised by the snort of laughter that came from behind, courtesy of Tonks.
"Fine, he says. Fine!" she guffawed. "This boy's true Mastery is understatement, I tell you!" she laughed as she launched into telling the full tale.
*** four hours earlier, Ministry of Magic, Board of Education examination room 2 ***
"Alright, who invented the Entrail-expelling curse, Mister Potter?"
"Rackharrow, Urquhart," Harry immediately answered. He still remembered the portrait he saw when they had visited Mister Weasley in St. Mungo's.
Raquel Wodhark's shoulders slumped a little when she made another mark on her sheet. She had hoped to catch the Potter boy with a question that definitely wasn't in the standard curriculum, but to no avail.
Looking at her co-examiner, she only received a look of resignation that matched her own. Gregorianus Cantor was also at his wits' end.
In the last hour and half, they tried everything they could to avoid the unthinkable, but there was no help. The Potter boy had managed to pass his NEWTs, a year early. With full marks.
With a sigh of frustration, Raquel signed the protocol and shoved it across the desk to have Gregorianus countersign. He then tapped it with his wand, and the three sheets separated, two of them folding up into paper airplanes that soared off into the Ministry, and one rolling up tightly.
Another spiritless tap created a Department of Education wax seal on it.
Sporting a fake smile, Gregorianus handed the scroll over to Harry.
"Congratulations, Mister Potter. A solid Outstanding, full marks!"
Harry didn't notice the brief cringe of the examiners as Hermione cheered for him. He already was on his way to the seats at the far side of the examination room, where she, Remus and Tonks were waiting for him.
"NEXT! Hermione Granger!" Raquel barked. Her eyes narrowed only slightly as she said this. The girl had managed a good catch by whatever technique she had used to land Potter, but Raquel knew the truth. Rita Skeeter had a couple of articles about that girl over the years - first Potter, then Krum, then Potter again. She was a gold-digger, and probably relied on her loose Muggle morals to get ahead of the proper witches.
The sheer nerve that girl had to waltz into this examination with Potter! That he would be able to take the test a year early was almost expected, he was Harry Potter, after all. She met Hermione's nervous look with cold eyes and a slight nod when the girl sat down, meekly. At least that girl seemed to have come to the - belated - realization that she was in over her head.
A cold smile played around her lips as she decided to put that girl back into her proper place.
"Miss Granger, your examination starts now. Please proceed to demonstrate the Patronus charm," she spoke. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gregorianus nod grimly. He had no love for uppity Muggleborns, either. Asking to perform Auror level spells wasn't exactly fair, but since the spell was at least mentioned in the curriculum, it was technically valid to do so.
*** Strand, London, current time ***
"I'll never forget her face as Hermione's otter jumped all over the desk," Tonks roared loudly, causing some strangers passing by to cross the road in order to avoid the punk woman that talked about non-standard pets.
"That bad?" Margret inquired.
"Imagine John Cleese, with his most shocked expression, and then add a spasmodic twitch on her left eye," Remus tried to paint a picture.
"Yeah, I swear, I was expecting her to stand up and silly-walk out of the room," Hermione added her two Knuts' worth. "Serves her right - the old cow was blatantly trying to fail me with extracurricular stuff!"
"Hermione, language," Margret chided her daughter. "Even if it is factually correct," she allowed with a wink.
"How was Harry's Mastery?" she asked, almost causing Tonks to collapse on the street with laughter.
*** half an hour earlier, Ministry of Magic, Board of Education examination room 1 ***
"Mister Potter, I want to be frank," Andrew Boyde, the chairman of the five-person jury sitting behind the long desk addressed Harry after he had stiffly bowed to them, with no reply by them, at all.
"We know that you have scored Outstanding on your NEWTs," he said, waving briefly with one of the papers on his desk.
"While laudable, and extremely impressive for a wizard of your age, you seem to be suffering delusions of grandeur to file for a Mastery," he continued, getting a general murmur of approval from his fellow examiners.
"We have received a couple of memories that would indicate that you might eligible for a Mastery, and therefore have the right to appear in front of this body, albeit neither I, nor my esteemed colleagues can say that we are of the opinion that you are," the man spoke, his disapproval open to the world.
"True, you have been in serious trouble, and have managed to get out alive, and even victorious, in one case, but that is simple proof of luck, not skill in what we refer to as an art," he continued, the other men rapping their knuckles on the table in support of his speech.
"Would you come in front of our assembly as a grown man, ripe in experience and skilled, we would seriously consider your petition, but a not even mature boy claiming that honorific due to fame and luck is an insult to all that we stand for. Did you think you could just walk in here, wave your name in front of us and have us sign you over a honorary title you can't even fathom the significance of?" he ranted, almost roaring the end of his statement.
Harry stood stoically throughout this. He had almost expected a certain degree of enmity by the board, but this was a bit too much for his taste. After having witnessed the treatment of Hermione by the NEWT panel - which was nothing but an hour-long quest for the most obscure topics that could still be loosely connected to the syllabus - his temper was a wee bit short.
As his reply, he simply raised his hand, and pointed his index finger at the chairman. In the background, Hermione and the others were already warned by Harry's stiff posture, and started to cringe slightly, although none of them was willing to take cover and miss the show.
That gesture didn't fare too well with the man, who obviously felt insulted by it. He was already preparing to lay into Harry, when the world exploded around him.
Without a movement, sound, or even twinkle of his eyes that bore coldly into the man's, Harry called upon his patronus with as much power he could muster.
Immediately, the room was filled with blinding light as a bright white stag materialized out of Harry's finger, rushing headlong at the screaming man and charged right through him, his antlers lowered as if to skewer the man. Prongs managed a full circle around the room and came to a standstill right next to Harry, nuzzling right through his cheek in an attempt to rub his nose at it, before the man finally stopped screaming.
Harry locked his steely gaze with the man's panicked one for several seconds, until the man dropped back into his chair.
"No. I didn't." Harry finally answered the question.
*** Strand, current time ***
"So they really signed it right after that?" Henry inquired mirthfully. "I'd never believed it when Tonks claimed they would."
"After that performance?" Hermione huffed. "Of course they did. Half of them couldn't do any wandless magic, at all, I presume," she continued with a frown, looking rather cross.
"Ok, that's it, I've had enough of that," Harry ranted. "I'm sick and tired of your constant whining every time the subject comes up," he rounded on Hermione, who was looking quite as shocked as all others in the group.
"I am not responsible for you failing at doing it. Really, I did all I could to help you getting it right - it's your fault, and I can't help you if you won't let me," he tore into her.
"My fault? MY?" Hermione shouted back. "So I'm at fault that I can't do the impossible?" she growled.
"And this is why you fail," Harry sadly replied, again rendering all others too confused to reply immediately.
"What?" Hermione finally asked.
"You think it's impossible. You are absolutely certain that it can't be done. It's always the same when I work with you - concentration, determination, and a second later, you give up."
"I do not!" Hermione protested, with everyone else listening in attentively.
"Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself. I can see it - the way you frown when you prepare, the sad huff, it's right there. You never do that when you work on a wanded spell, but as soon as you try it wandlessly, you fall apart. I hoped you would get over it as soon as you realize that you were using wandless magic to incinerate the feathers. You were just not focussed enough," he spoke.
"You were really burning feathers?" Tonks asked.
Hermione glared back. "Yes I did! No need to rub it in!" she cried.
"Ah, Hermione, she's probably as amazed as I am. That's actually quite an achievement," Remus tried to calm the irate girl down. "Why did you never mention that?"
"I... I..." Hermione stammered. "I was ashamed," she confessed, hanging her head in shame "I didn't want to admit that I couldn't do it, no matter how much I tried," she spoke softly.
Harry pulled her into a hug. "You can do it, it's just your inner perfectionist that's getting in the way. You simply need to start believing that you are able to do it," he told her, caressing her cheek as he lifted her head up to kiss her forehead.
"Do or do not, there is no try," Henry quipped, trying to lift the mood. The ensuing laughter proved that he succeeded in that, at least partially.
Hermione was the part he didn't amuse. "You're not helping, dad," she huffed, but this time more contemplative than angry.
"Come on," Margret spoke up. "We are getting late. You promised us dinner and a tour of Hogsmeade before you must go back into school," she said, grabbing her husband and daughter in one arm, each, pulling them along the way.
*** The three Broomsticks ***
Draco was very nervous as he sat in the 'Three Broomsticks', nursing his butterbeer and staring at the fireplace. 'It has to be today,' he thought for the hundredth time during the elapsed four hours. The whole year, he had tried to get Potter as soon as he had left the safety of the wards, but every time the stupid Half-blood had evaded him or had too many people around to try. Today was the last Hogsmeade trip before Beltaine, and the Dark Lord had tasked him with this mission and deadline. If he couldn't do it today, he would have to try and kidnap Potter in school within not quite three weeks, or his life was forfeit.
Suddenly, the fire turned green, and Draco anxiously half rose from his seat. To his regret, instead of Potter, some elderly wizard stepped out, waddling his way to the exit. Draco relaxed back into his seat and took up his butterbeer, again.
He had witnessed the Potter scum and his Mudblood leaving through the Floo, and he knew that they would return through it, just like every time. The first time, he missed Potter, but was unable to wait for them as the whole school was ordered back to the castle because of that stupid dagger incident. In November, they were always out in public, and then they rushed off after the blood-traitor girl, cutting their day – and his chances – short. And then there was this dammed explosion last Hogsmeade Weekend. Somehow, the whole world seemed to have conspired in hindering his efforts. 'But not this time,' he thought, his eyes never leaving the fireplace. Draco was done with waiting, as soon as he saw Potter; he would grab him and activate the Portkey. What good was being sneaky if it made you procrastinate and got you killed?
Again, the fire turned green and flared, this time Potter stepped out, holding the Mudblood's father in his arms, in order to help that beast travel by Floo. Draco shook off his disgust at this treason on wizardkind, and stood. To his luck, the Muggle left Harry to claim a table, and Draco started a mad dash at Potter, while reaching into his pocket. He felt the impact with Potter, and grabbed the portkey in his pocket, but not before he felt something else impacting with him just before the hook caught his navel and jerked him and his prey into the void.
ooOOoo
Hermione had a great day. She got her NEWT in DADA, over a year early, and her boyfriend even got a Mastery. It was a bit reassuring to her that he was able to keep up with her and even surpass her in some areas. Defence was his best, but he was rather gifted in application of Runes, while she was better in the theoretical point and by far surpassed him in Arithmancy. Harry never even attempted to make sense of this math.
Also, she had her proud parents, a few good friends and a wonderful place to live. Life just couldn't be better, she thought as she watched her Harry Floo away with her father. Immediately, she threw another pinch of Floo powder into the fire, and yelling "The Three Broomsticks," she stepped into the fire, holding tight onto her mother to take her safely through the fire. Stumbling out of the fire, she fell into Harry's arms as he caught them both. She had a brief moment to smile to her helpful man before suddenly, she felt the telltale signs of a portkey activating.
A fraction of a second later, the portkey dumped them all on the ground. Hermione had just enough time to notice the unmistakeable face Harry had told her about, and the presence of Draco, as she was hit by a petrification spell.
ooOOoo
Harry had just arrived at the 'Three Broomsticks' with Henry in his arms. No, not that way, it was to guide him through the Floo. Tumbling out of the grate, he released Henry and patted some soot off his shoulders. Henry went to get a table for them, but Harry decided to stay and catch the girls, since the exit from the grate was a bit uneven here. A few moments later, the fire flashed green, and Hermione and her mother barrelled out. Somebody shoved him from behind, but he still managed to catch the women, and suddenly, a hook in his navel pulled them all away. Harry only had the time to groan before he hit the ground. Pulling away, he dizzily recognized the graveyard he arrived on, and jumped to his feet, reaching for his wand. The very moment, a petrification spell or two hit him, and he fell down.
ooOOoo
A few dizzying moments of being levitated while being petrified, Harry found himself bound to a headstone. And not only a headstone, but the headstone. The petrification was lifted, and he was able to take in his surroundings.
He knew the graveyard, and the headstone he was currently bound to, and of course, the big stone cauldron right in front of him.
Great, that was a scene he would have preferred to never see again.
There were some changes to the setup: First, Voldemort in adult form was already present. 'He's not looking too great,' Harry had to think as he noticed the greyish look of his skin, and the fact that he lacked a bit of his presence. He was only terrifying instead of 'wetting your pants' terrifying.
His next companion was very close to the latter category, as she stood tall behind her Lord and Master. Bellatrix was smiling in her usual crazy way as she waited to carry out whatever her orders would be.
There were three more people present, two men and Draco. Now Draco's presence answered the question of who exactly had kidnapped them. One of the men was vaguely familiar from the Ministry battle aftermath, Harry believed him to be Crabbe's father. If the stupid look was an indication, the other bloke would be Goyle, Senior. These two were probably the only ones available at short notice.
Or the only ones stupid enough to be trusted completely. 'After all, he needs a hand,' Harry thought in a bout of inappropriate humor.
As his sweep of the surroundings continued, he finally found Hermione and Margret, both tied to gravestones near Malfoy.
Harry found out that he was not only bound, but also silenced when he tried to scream in anger as Draco started to fondle Hermione's breasts. Strangely, Voldemort came to her aid, in a way.
"Draco, leave that for later. You will have time to play after we have finished the important part of the day," he said in his silky voice, which had a rasp to it, Harry noticed.
Bella added her own glare at her nephew who couldn't hold his baser instincts in check near his Lord, so Draco complied, but not before he backhanded Hermione across the face and shot Harry a cruel smirk.
"And again, I will have to change my plans for you... Harry... Potter," Voldemort whispered as he came over to Harry, in the gliding motion he was notorious for. His movements laughed at his perceived weakness. He was still deadly.
"Because of you, my plans to kill Dumbledore failed," he whispered into Harry's face, continuously moving in front of Harry like a snake dancing to a flute as Harry glared back. This act of defiance seemed to amuse Voldemort, who started to move his hand over Harry's face as if to caress it.
"So I sadly cannot risk to wait for the perfect time, and must perform the necessary ritual - also due to your actions, I must admit - now," he continued with a smile, his silent whisper almost hypnotizing Harry, who knew he had to act fast.
The odds were bad, five against Hermione, him, and Margret. Their wands and bags lay in a pile near where Malfoy and the elder bookends stood. A quick mental check showed that he still had his battlewand on him, in the concealed holster, but unreachable while bound. He could free them all wandlessly, but the odds were bad.
"Potter, Potter, Potter..." Voldemort sadly chided him as he noticed the boy's eyes darting around. "Already looking for an escape, again? I find your defiance... amusing," he said, with a grotesque smile on his face.
"Let me help you... make it easier for you to accept fate," he whispered silkily, and waved his wand briefly. He almost carelessly held out his other hand and caught Harry's wand as it soared by.
"Your wand, your precious wand... you would so like to have it now, don't you, Potter?" he said, with the minions in the background engaging in murmured horseplay, but careful to not to drown out their master.
"You would like to have another duel, right?" Voldemort asked as he moved his face so close to Harry's that their foreheads almost touched.
Backing up again, he held Harry's wand right in front of Harry's face, and casually snapped it. "Oops! Sadly, you seem to be unarmed..." he laughed, accompanied by his followers, with Lestrange's shrill laughter rising above all others.
"But don't worry, I will allow you live through this ritual. I will even give you the opportunity to watch my companions, especially Draco celebrate my rebirth with your women... before you'll watch them die. And then, I'll rejoin you with them," Voldemort whispered, before he threw his head back and started to roar in laughter, again joined by his minions.
When Voldemort turned around and gave orders to prepare everything, Harry's eyes fell on the big kettle, and he suddenly had an epiphany how the odds could be a bit more even if he left the ritual to progress.
ooOOoo
"Bring forth the snake venom, Goyle," Voldemort hissed after the flames under the cauldron were magically stoked and the potion boiling, surprising Harry.
He had expected that Voldemort would jump into the cauldron while one of his minions would add the bone, and then cut his hand off. Which would be the perfect moment for Harry to make his wandless abilities known and get rid of his bindings.
"Yes, Master," the formerly unknown man humbly said and stepped to a tomb where a small basked lay. He retrieved a bottle and a large bowl. He stepped forward, and set the bowl onto the ground. Harry realized that it contained a silvery liquid, probably Unicorn blood, when Goyle started pouring the venom onto it. Then, Voldemort beckoned Bella to step forward.
While she incanted a stream of Latin Harry didn't even bother to listen to, the liquid started curdling, and slowly, the clots grew, combined, and took the shape of a caricature of a human baby.
Harry slowly began to understand what was going on. The last time, Voldemort used a small body and grew an adult body from it by the ritual. Harry wouldn't even start trying to guess what would happen if they started the ritual with a fully grown body created by the very same ritual.
Voldemort not willing to try was a big clue to how unpleasant the result would be.
As that body grew under the benevolent look of the Dark Lord, Harry quickly reassessed his plans. This was getting better and better. A Voldemort in such a body would be worth much more than one of his minions being one hand short. But then, if the ritual continued, one minion would be one hand short, as well, which would make the odds even better. 'Wait, Harry, wait,' he whispered over and over in his mind, willing himself to not jump the gun.