Chapter 5 - Magical CreaturesDan, Emma, Hermione, and Harry had arrived early and were sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, all drinking a Butterbeer. Emma had objected until she found out it was non-alcoholic, after which all four had liked the drink at first taste.
They had finished their drinks and were simply waiting by the time the Weasley family started coming out of the fireplace. Even though Hermione had explained it, it was still amazing to Dan and Emma to see people come out of a device they thought of as simply supplying heat. Everyone said hello and they entered Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies where, to their surprise, they found the bookstore to be very crowded.
"It's Gilderoy Lockhart," Mrs Weasley said excitedly, "he's actually here!".
Hermione looked at her booklist. It was indeed the name on the banners and the one she had remembered, on all seven books for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Then she saw him at the table and understood why Mrs Weasley was going on about him. He was quite dashing, although she supposed he would be even more handsome to her if she was about twenty years older. Still, he had a certain charm about him that was pleasing to look at. Looking around, she suddenly noticed that it was only women staring at him, including her mother. She blushed, embarrassed at the thought of her and her mother liking the same man with their age difference, and hurried off to find the rest of her books.
Harry was not sure exactly what happened next, but one moment he was walking through the crowded store trying to find the books for his Defence class, and the next moment he had been pulled to the front and was getting his picture taken with Lockhart. Considering how he had been snagged, he hoped the face he had made had been captured on film, as that would serve Lockhart right, even if the man had given him a free set of books. "Idiot," he muttered darkly, thinking of the pompous man behind him.
Harry flipped through them very quickly and found to his dismay that there were no spell diagrams or real instructions at all. Knowing that Hermione could easily afford her books, he decided he probably did not really need a set of his own; he could look at Hermione's if necessary. Seeing Ginny not too far away, Harry walked over and slid them into her cauldron.
"I don't think I'll need those, so you're welcome to them," he told her.
Ginny blushed shyly. "Thanks, Harry."
"Ah, isn't that cute. Do you have a real girlfriend, Potter, now that your Mudblood has left you? Or did you have to pay the little Weasley to act like one?" drawled a voice Harry would have rather not heard.
"Shut it, Malfoy," Harry said sharply.
"Or what?" Draco asked, suddenly all innocent.
Harry was about to retort when he saw Draco's father looming near. The man, who looked like a much older version of Draco, looked around, making a face as if he had smelled something disgusting. He reached down and pulled a book out of Ginny's cauldron before anyone could stop him. He flipped through the worn and obviously second or even third-hand Transfiguration book with disdain.
"Is this really the best your father could manage for you, little girl?" he started, but was cut off mid-sneer by a voice from behind Harry.
"Lucius." It was said very coldly and it took a second for Harry to realize the voice belonged to Mr Weasley.
"Arthur." That was said just as coldly. "You know, I've always said that it's far easier to take care of a family properly when one doesn't have more children than one can feed." He hefted the worn book up, as if presenting evidence for his statement.
Harry watched Mr Weasley lunge at Mr Malfoy and a scuffle broke out. Fortunately for everyone, Hagrid was in the store and quickly stopped the two men. Lucius Malfoy gave an affronted look before tossing the worn book back into Ginny's cauldron and stalking off with his son.
"Can you believe that?" someone hissed in Harry's ear. He did not have to look to know who it was.
"That Malfoy's dad is as bad as he is?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Yes, actually - like father, like son."
"That's not what I meant," Hermione huffed.
"Perhaps not, but it's still true," he returned. Hermione did not have a comeback for that.
Mrs Weasley was beside herself over her husband's actions, whispering comments to him that made the man look very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the rest of the shopping went by quickly. They all then returned to the Leaky Cauldron before walking into the Muggle world. Dan had parked nearby, as had Arthur. Transferring Harry and Hermione's trunks from the boot of Dan's Mercedes to Arthur's Ford Anglia was quickly accomplished. Mr Weasley caught Harry goggling as the boot swallowed up their trunks, but only winked merrily.
"Ginny, sit in the front with me," Mrs Weasley commanded before giving her boys a stern look, causing them all to stop their playfulness as they waited.
Harry and Hermione gave Dan and Emma a hug before they joined the Weasley boys in the back of the car. Like the boot, the interior was much bigger than the outside suggested. Hermione noticed the odd nervous glances towards Mrs Weasley but nobody made any comment.
On arrival, they pulled up in front of a strange looking house that basic logic suggested should not be standing. It was not that the house was run down, but that the angles and support structure never would have worked in the non-magical world.
"That's cool," Harry said wide-eyed.
"That's magic," Hermione corrected him, no less awed.
"It's our home," Ron said as he shrugged like it was no big deal. "Come on, Harry, you're in with me." He grabbed one end of Harry's trunk and led the way when Harry grabbed the other end. A minute and three flights of stairs later, Harry was in the orangest room he had ever seen. It was also pretty messy.
Dropping his trunk off next to a cot, they went back downstairs, only to be sent back upstairs when Mrs Weasley had them take Hermione's trunk up to Ginny's room. The latter was far girlier than Hermione's, yet also very orderly and clean.
The twins pointed at their door. "That's our room, if you feel like being nosey," one twin said.
"Don't you mean if they feel like being test subjects, brother?" Both twins grinned evilly.
Neither Harry nor Hermione dared to venture in.
"Well, Harry," Ron said, "we have a week left before school starts. Anything special you want to do?"
"Besides fly?" Harry asked with a grin, which Ron matched.
"Have you done all of your summer homework, Ron?" Hermione asked. "You said you'd do it now if it wasn't already done."
"Most of it," Ron answered, although he would not look her in the face when he said it. When she glared at him, he sighed. "OK, I'll finish it this evening, or maybe over the next couple of evenings. But we still have a couple hours before dinner. Come on, Harry!" He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him along. Harry laughed and ran after him.
Hermione just shook her head. "Boys," she said with exasperation and disbelief.
Ginny giggled. "Ron's almost never serious, especially when it comes to book work. You should have seen Mum trying to teach him to read and write. I think he only learned because I started doing it at the same time."
Hermione smiled. It was the most she had ever heard the girl speak at once. "So you're starting Hogwarts this year, right? Or at least that's what Ron told us."
"Yes, finally," Ginny said, as if she had been denied far longer than she should have been. "It was so boring here last year with just me and Mum at home during the day."
"I could see it as both good and bad," Hermione said diplomatically. "What did you do this summer?"
"Not much," Ginny shrugged. "We hung around and played mostly. What about you?"
"We did our homework first thing so that when we went on holiday to Spain, we wouldn't have to worry about it," Hermione said as if it was the only thing to do. "We had a lot of fun there."
"Sounds like fun," Ginny said wistfully. "Do you do anything special there, or did anything special happen?"
Hermione shook her head. "Not on holiday, but you wouldn't believe what happened when we got back. We had barely arrived home when this mad house-elf came out of nowhere, trying to convince Harry not to return to school."
"Really?"
"Really," Hermione confirmed. "It took almost an hour before we finally convinced him we had to go back, but we'd be very careful. He kept saying that danger was coming and we shouldn't go back."
"What was the danger?" Ginny asked with concern.
"Don't know, he wouldn't say," Hermione told her. "It was all very bizarre."
"Do you want me to show you around the house?" Ginny asked.
"Sure."
They started walking and Ginny pointed out everything on the ground floor of the house before they went outside for a tour there.
As they were walking, Ginny suddenly blurted out, "What's Harry like? Is he nice?"
It was all Hermione could do not to laugh. Between her question and all the looks she had given Harry in previous meetings, it was obvious she had a crush on Harry. "He is. I think what makes him so nice is that he's just Harry. Do you know what I mean?"
Ginny pondered that for a moment. "You mean he doesn't act all uppity?"
"Absolutely not," Hermione chuckled. "Definitely not uppity. In fact, far from it. He's my best friend." She almost did not admit this, but she felt like she and Ginny were becoming friends, maybe even good friends. "I didn't really have any friends before I came to Hogwarts and, well…he was actually my first friend there." She watched a smile come over Ginny's face, before the calculating look she had seen at the train station at the beginning of the summer came back.
In a timid voice the younger girl asked, "Do you think he'd be my friend, too?"
Hermione almost laughed; this girl had a serious crush. "I think so. I think Harry likes making friends." That seemed to satisfy Ginny as she smiled widely.
They had walked to a nearby field and with a lot more confidence Ginny suddenly said, "This is the paddock." She pointed to her brother and Harry, soaring around. "This is where the family plays Quidditch."
Hermione was suddenly less certain she was going to fit in here. The look on Ginny's face perfectly matched Harry's and Ron's when they talked about Quidditch. Fortunately, Hermione was not accurate in her prediction. They had a lovely time the last week of the summer, except for a few times when the brunette thought Mrs Weasley was a little too invasive and controlling of everyone's lives.
Hermione was not impressed with Mr and Mrs Weasley at the moment. It was ten minutes before eleven and they were rushing through King's Cross to make the Hogwarts Express. Why could they not have left thirty minutes earlier so they could have taken their time? Of course, getting five minutes away and having to go back three times, making a combined six extra five-minute loops, did show they had tried. Still, this was aggravating to the young witch, who was usually very organized herself.
The Weasleys started going through the portal to Platform 9 ¾ as fast they could, Mrs Weasley shooing them all through. When all that was left was her, Harry, Ron, and Ginny, Mrs Weasley grabbed Ginny's hand and walked through.
"Come on, hurry up!" Hermione encouraged them and went through the portal herself. Then just because she was curious, she thought hard about Harry and felt for his location. She was not surprised to find that he was not straight through the portal, but off to the right about two hundred or so yards away. The portal was not just a way through a brick wall.
She continued to watch the portal but Harry and Ron still did not come through. She could detect very small movements from Harry, like a step here or there, but he was still basically in the same spot. Getting exasperated with them for having some stupid argument at a time like this, she left her trunk where it was and tried to go back through the portal, only to slam into the wall, slightly scraping her hand. The portal was closed and they were trapped!
Hermione whirled around and ran to the Weasleys, having to do a little hunting, but only for a few seconds. Mrs Weasley was giving Ginny a hug and putting her on the train, oblivious to missing her last son and guest. Her husband was talking to the twins and was just as oblivious to the present crisis.
"Mr Weasley! Mr Weasley! Help! They're stuck!"
The man spun around, his hem of his robes lifting slightly. "What's the problem, Hermione?"
"The portal! It's closed, and Harry and Ron, are stuck, on the other side." She had not run far, but she felt so out of breath.
"Great Merlin!" the man exclaimed. "Fred, George, tell your mother and then get Ginny on the train so you three don't miss it." He quickly made his way back to the portal, rushing past people with a hasty apology thrown over his shoulder as needed. He too found the portal to be solid.
"This shouldn't happen," Hermione heard him say before he pulled his wand and started casting various spells at it.
"Hey now! What are you doing?" came a commanding voice from behind them.
Hermione turned to see a man in deep red robes with the symbol of the Ministry of Magic on his breast come over. He also had his wand out.
Mr Weasley turned. "Wiley? Good, an Auror at the right time."
"Weasley? What are you doing? You can't tamper with the portal," the Auror insisted.
"Wiley, my youngest son and his friend are on the other side. The portal suddenly closed up on its own. I can still detect magic here, but it's like it's suppressed or something. We've got to get it open so they can get on the train," Mr Weasley explained.
The Auror cast a few spells of his own. "Hmm, you're right. Stay here, I'll go check on the boys." The train blew a long whistle and the small group at the portal looked at the train and heard a loud hiss as the brakes were released. "They won't make it now, but we can get them safe and arrange for alternate transportation." He walked over to the designated Apparation point for the train platform and disappeared with a crack.
"What's going to happen?" Hermione asked Mr Weasley. She was not too concerned at the moment. She could tell Harry was still on the other side of the portal and the Auror was on his way there.
"Don't worry, Hermione," he told her. "We'll find them and then get you to school anyway." He gave a nervous laugh. "You'll probably get there before the others, in fact."
"Harry! It's the only way."
It was all Harry could do not to cuff his friend on the shoulder after several minutes of arguing - although, maybe if he hit him over the head, it would knock some sense into him. As fun as it might be, he knew Ron's idea was wrong. The voice in his head was telling him that rather loudly, and amusingly enough, the voice sounded just like Hermione, not that that was a bad thing. "And I'm telling you again, no! Hermione is still on Platform 9 ¾ and she will get help. We stay right here." He could feel her when he tried. She had moved around a little, but she was basically in the same place. He was not going anywhere without her.
"You're just being a chicken," Ron said accusingly. "Flying the car would get us to school on time."
It sounded so much like Dudley, Harry knew exactly what his friend was trying to do. He would not be goaded into anything. Just to prove his resolution, Harry set his trunk down and sat on it like a bench. "I'm staying here. If you feel like it, you go out to the car park and fly the car to school. Have you even thought about what your parents will think of you if you do that?" He did not know why he had not thought of that argument earlier. One of the things keeping him from taking Ron's suggestion was the thought of how disappointed Dan and Emma would be with him. "What they'll think when they can't find their own car? Or what they'll say to you when they find out you stole it?"
Ron paled dramatically and slumped down to sit on Harry's trunk beside him. "Mum would be so pissed off I'd get at least a Howler for sure."
"Sounds like a good reason to steal your parents' car," Harry said sarcastically.
Ron shot him a dirty look, but did not respond to the barb. "So why do you think it closed on us?"
Harry had tried coming up with an answer for that, but nothing had presented itself. "Don't know, mate."
A sudden crack startled the two of them, even if it was soft. In front of them was a beefy man in dark red robes. "Well, I'm glad you two had enough sense to stay here."
"Did my dad send you?" Ron asked.
"Yep." The man turned and cast a spell at the portal. "What in the world?" he asked to himself. Without hesitation, he walked forward into the large brick column and disappeared. The two boys gaped and stared after him.
A few seconds later, Mr Weasley came through the portal. His look of great concern changed into a smile when he saw them. "You're safe," were the first words out of him. That was what Harry would have expected Dan to say and what Uncle Vernon never would have. It endeared the man to him.
"I don't know why it temporarily stopped working, but everything seems to be fine now. Wait here and…" He never finished because his wife came through, followed closely by Hermione with her trunk.
Hermione ran to Harry and engulfed him in a hug, which he enthusiastically returned.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron asked when the hug continued.
"Ron, she's family," his mother said. "You'd do the same if Ginny was lost for a spell."
When Harry let go and looked at his friend, Ron did not look like he agreed with his mother. Of course, when Harry thought of Hermione, he was not sure precisely how he felt about her. She was not a sister, and yet…he felt something for her. It was just deep friendship he thought, something he had always craved while he was growing up.
Mr Weasley took matters in hand. "Let's head back to the car, everyone. We'll go home and have some lunch. Afterwards, we'll find a way to get you three to school."
They had spent a relaxing afternoon around The Burrow before Mr Weasley escorted them all through the Floo Network to The Three Broomsticks and led them to the train platform on the eastern edge of town. There, they found Hagrid and the carriages waiting.
"You can put your trunks over there," Hagrid told them after his greeting. "The house-elves will take them with the rest."
"How have you been, Hagrid?" Harry asked.
"Quite good, quite good. Rather restful summer, all quiet like." The big man then looked intently at Harry for a moment before he gave a sound of surprise. "Now I remember! I've got something for yeh, Harry. I meant to give it to yeh when yeh left last June, but I hadn't finished it yet. Now where is it?" He was digging through the many pockets of his large coat. "Ah! Here it is." He pulled out a book that looked small in his hands, but was not really when Harry was holding it.
Harry opened it and saw a picture of a couple that took up the whole first page. The man was dressed up and looked a lot like him. The woman was in a white dress with dark red hair; she was very pretty. They were both very young, probably only a year or so beyond Hogwarts.
"That's your mum and dad, Harry. It was taken at their wedding. I had a few photos I could find, and then I wrote some of their friends and got some more. I figured yeh didn't have much from them, so I made it for yeh," Hagrid said kindly.
Harry was moved, almost as much as when the Grangers said he could stay with them. With his vision a little blurry, he looked up at the first wizard he had ever met. "Thanks, Hagrid," he said a little roughly.
"No problem, Harry." He slapped Harry's back lightly, even so almost knocking him over.
They all heard a train whistle.
"Ah, here it comes. Yeh lot can grab a carriage whenever you want now, I have to take care of the first years," Hagrid told them.
"My sister is one of them," Ron said.
"Yeh have a sister?" Hagrid seemed surprised.
"Yeah, she's the last of us. No more after her," Ron informed him, as if it was a happy thing.
Hagrid nodded. "I'll take care of her. Don't yeh worry." He turned and walked towards the middle of the platform as the train noisily pulled up.
"Let's go," Hermione said, grabbing their sleeves and pulling them towards the carriages. They were the first in a carriage, but not by much.
The Sorting Feast was a happy occasion, especially for the Weasleys, since Ginny was also added to Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall came by and asked a few questions about the closing of the portal, but she had no answers for them when they asked. The school year was off to a slightly strange start.
The strangeness only grew when Mrs Norris, the caretaker's cat, was mysteriously turned to stone during the Halloween feast. The threatening message painted on a nearby wall about the fabled "Chamber of Secrets" only served to drive the school into temporary hysteria, which faded somewhat when nobody could find any substantial information on the Chamber or its secrets.
Harry was picking at his breakfast. He was only eating anything because Hermione was making him.
"You'll do fine, Harry. You always do," she told him, trying to bolster his courage and his appetite. "I don't know how you do it, but you're the best flyer I know."
He smiled weakly at her and ate some more toast. It probably would not have been so bad except that the Slytherins had been taunting him all week when no professors were around. They had managed to mostly stay within the boundaries of the school rules, but they had put a lot of pressure on him. The worst had been the anonymous notes left where he would find them.
"It's time. Let's go," said their burly Captain, Oliver Wood, as he led the team out of the Great Hall and towards the Quidditch pitch.
Draco Malfoy was the Slytherin Seeker now, thanks to his father's 'generous donation' of Nimbus 2001 brooms to the Slytherin team. It was going to be a tough game, Harry knew, when the opposing team would all be faster than even himself, the fastest Gryffindor flyer.
They had barely started the game when Harry saw a Bludger come flying towards him. He swerved and it went safely past him. He looked around for the Golden Snitch and turned back just in time to see another Bludger come flying at him from the direction the other had gone. But there were no Beaters in that direction! He swerved again, but this time he kept an eye on the Bludger. To his dismay, he saw it go past him, slow down, and then come back toward him, curving as needed since he was flying.
Harry zoomed back down, curving towards the centre of the field - the possessed Bludger following him. Just before he had to swerve again, a sharp crack sounded behind him. Turning, he saw one of the Weasley twins watching the Bludger sail towards the Slytherin Chasers.
"Looks like you've got a Bludger problem," Fred yelled.
"Yeah, and it's coming back," Harry yelled back.
The twin smacked the ball towards the Slytherin Chasers again. "Something's wrong. It's not supposed to target only one person." The ball was already slowing down and starting to curve back towards them.
Harry pulled his broom around and zipped down towards the Gryffindor goals.
"What are you doing? Get back up there," Wood shouted at Harry.
"Something's wrong." Harry could say no more as he had to quickly move as the strange Bludger zoomed through the space he had just been in. "That one won't leave me alone and Fred can't guard me forever."
"No kidding," Wood agreed. "Our Chasers are falling behind in points with only George to defend them." As the Bludger came back, Harry moved out of the way and Wood cursed before waving his arms to get Hooch's attention to call a time-out. The score was 60-20 in Slytherin's favour.
As Hooch blew her whistle, Wood and Harry noticed the strange Bludger came to a halt and hovered in mid-field, just like the other Bludger. Wood went to the referee and started arguing his case, waving wildly in the direction of the malfunctioning ball. When he came back to his team, he looked angry.
"She says that since the Bludger was normal at the start of the game, the only way to investigate it is for us to forfeit." He looked at Harry.
"Fine," Harry said with determination. "I'll do something."
"Get the Snitch, too," Wood reminded him.
"He doesn't want much, does he?" Harry muttered.
"You can do it, Harry," Katie Bell told him.
He gave her a weak smile and started to fly back up. As he did so, he saw a very worried face in the front row of the Gryffindor stands. Knowing he had only seconds, he quickly flew over.
"Do you have any ideas how to get this thing off of me?" he asked his best friend.
Hermione shook her head. "Please be very careful," she told him, near tears.
Ron looked puzzled too, but said nothing.
The whistle blew and Harry flew away so the Bludger would not come over and hit his friends. A glance told him that the rogue Bludger was still after him. He quickly flew up towards Malfoy, who was laughing at his trouble, and went right in front of him. He turned and watched the Bludger follow and almost hit Malfoy in the process. As Malfoy started to curse, Harry got an idea.
Harry turned and zipped downward, angling towards the Slytherin Chasers. He kept far enough in front of them that he could not be called for a penalty, then turned as fast as he could, albeit not as fast as he would have liked, heading behind them. Sure enough, the Bludger tried to cut the corner of Harry's path and flew through the Slytherin Chaser formation, narrowly missing Marcus Flint. Harry smiled and turned a different direction.
He would see a lot of the field flying this way, so perhaps he would find the Snitch first after all. As the Bludger started to catch up again, Harry turned yet again and headed for Malfoy. The other Seeker saw him coming and took off, having learned his lesson from last time. If Harry could not easily get to him, he turned back down and headed for the Slytherin Chasers again. It only took three more times of that before Flint called a time-out.
While the Gryffindor team huddled, they could see Flint arguing with Hooch, also pointing towards one of the Bludgers. Harry had to smile at that.
"You doing OK there, Harry?" Wood asked.
"I'm alive," he answered stoically.
"I might suggest…"
"…that you find that Snitch - quickly," the twins told him.
"I'm working on it," Harry said a little testily. "When I catch the Snitch, will this thing stop on its own?"
No one had an answer and Madam Hooch blew her whistle to restart the game a few seconds later. Harry growled and flew back up to continue his previous strategy.
On his fourth tour around the pitch, including one that took him and his personal Bludger near enough to the Slytherin Keeper that he had to duck for cover, which happened to be about the same time Angelina Johnson flew by with the Quaffle and made an easy goal, Harry saw the Snitch. Continuing his crazy flying, so Malfoy would not think anything out of the ordinary - at least for this game - was happening, he zigged and zagged towards the Snitch. As he neared it, it tried to jump up, but Harry's hand shot out and captured it.
He held his hand up to show the catch and angled down to the ground only a few feet below him. Unfortunately, just as he was about to touch down, the possessed Bludger came by and hit his arm. Harry howled at the unexpected pain and dropped to the ground, cradling his arm which felt broken. He looked up to the sky as he lay on his back just in time to see the crazy Bludger coming down fast, straight for him. Ignoring the pain in his arm, he quickly rolled to the side. The Bludger buried itself in the ground right where he had been lying and a large foot stepped on it. Looking up, Harry saw Oliver Wood standing next to him, his leg jiggling slightly as the Bludger tried to fly out of the hole, but the big Keeper stood firm.
The next person to get there was none other than his Defence teacher, closely followed by the rest of his team. Harry did not know how Lockhart had made it there so quickly.
"Here, let me help you, Mr Potter. I'll have it fixed in a trice." The professor pulled out his wand.
"I think I'd rather Madam Pomfrey do it," he quickly said, suddenly scared at what this teacher who taught so little might do.
"It's no problem at all, Mr Potter." Then without an incantation, the man waved his wand and touched the tip of his wand to Harry's broken arm.
Harry felt warmth throughout his arm, which felt very odd when the wand was removed. When he looked, he noticed that his arm was bending all on its own, in rather more places than usual. He heard a gasp behind the teacher. Looking up, he saw Hermione wide-eyed and angry; as angry, in fact, as he had ever seen her.
"You … you …" Hermione struggled to speak. "You removed the bones in his arm, you, you …" George prevented her from finishing her tirade by covering her mouth with his hand and picking her up to get her away.
"Well, it's not, uh, broken anymore, is it?" Lockhart finished lamely. He quickly stood up and briskly said, "I'm all done here, time to move on," as he hurriedly walked away under the angry glare of Hermione, who was still struggling and now required both twins to keep her under control.
Madam Pomfrey was now able to get to him and after a quick look she shook her head. "Fixing a broken bone is easy; re-growing one is much harder, let alone two."
"I tried to stop him," Harry protested.
"I'm sure you did, Mr Potter. Well, come along with me. You'll be spending the night in my wing," the nurse told him in semi-comforting tones.
Harry carefully stood. "Just a minute," he told her before hurrying over to Hermione, who was not struggling so hard now that he was standing. As he approached, the twins let her go and she rushed the last few steps between them and engulfed him in a hug.
Now that she was holding him, she let the tears of frustration and love flow. She wanted to hold him until he was better, but she also wanted to pull her wand and go show that Lockhart a thing or two. If he could not even do a simple bone repairing spell, she now doubted he could do anything right. She had been so blinded by him before. He was a menace.
As Harry stood there with his good arm around Hermione, gently patting her back, he looked over her shoulder and through her bushy hair he saw Ginny watching him with a concerned look. He gave her a weak smile and then let go of Hermione. She got the message and dropped her arms. He turned and started walking after Madam Pomfrey. Hermione went with them, walking right beside him.
In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey gave him something called "Skele-Gro". It was very strange to have no bones but still feel like there was something there, and it tingled something fierce. Fortunately Madam Pomfrey let Hermione stay until dinner, which was in an hour.
"Harry, why do you think there was a rogue Bludger after you?" Hermione asked hesitantly, as if afraid of what she might hear.
"I don't know. I know that some people take Quidditch very seriously, but I can't imagine anyone trying to kill me over it," he replied, trying to keep his mind on the conversation instead of his arm.
When she did not immediately say anything else, he looked over at her and saw that she was looking carefully at her hands and biting her lip, worrying over something.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I found something else out today." She paused and then looked up at him and whispered so softly he could barely hear her, "About us."
"What?" he softly asked.
She leaned closer until her lips were only inches from his ear as he sat in bed. "You know how we can feel where the other person is and … well … whether they're all right?"
He nodded.
"I know now what it's like when you're not all right."
Harry whipped his head around to stare at her, practically nose to nose.
"When you broke your arm, I didn't feel like mine broke or anything, but I knew you were hurt. I knew you were not all right." She lowered her head past his chin and rested her forehead on his shoulder, as if trying to draw comfort from him.
"And you haven't really been hurt yet for me to know that," he spoke his thought out loud. They just stayed that way with each other for the rest of the time until Madam Pomfrey sent Hermione to dinner.
The tingling in his arm was almost done, but it was enough to keep Harry awake, even though it must be near curfew, he guessed. Harry was still trying to ignore his arm, without much success, when there was a quiet pop near the foot of his bed. Part of him was not surprised to see the crazy house-elf that had visited him over the summer.
"Dobby, what are you doing here?" he asked as he sat up to see better. Thankfully, he still had his glasses on.
The elf wrung his hands. "Dobby come to apologize for hurting the great Harry Potter, but Dobby do what he has to do."
It took a moment for Harry to follow that logic, but then it suddenly made sense. "Wait! You're saying you're the one that changed the magic on the Bludger and sent it after me?"
Dobby looked very sad and repentant, but he slowly nodded. "Dobby is very, very sorry. He tried twice before to get the Great Harry Potter to stay away from school, but you would not stay away."
"Twice?" He thought furiously. The first time was obviously in the summer when the elf tried to tell him that had to stay away, and Hermione used some strange logic to prove he would be safer at school, mostly because of Dumbledore. But when was the second time? Then he knew… "You're also the one that closed the portal to Platform 9 ¾ on me, aren't you?"
Dobby's ears flapped as he nodded using his whole body. "You should have stayed home when you missed the train."
Harry could not decide whether to be angry at the elf or not. There was a good chance he was deranged, and so not totally responsible for his actions. "Do you realize that you almost got me killed today?" Harry finally asked. "Especially at the end. If the Bludger had hit me when I was lying on the ground, I'd be dead now."
The elf seemed to shake violently for a moment and almost seemed to want to cry. "Dobby is very sorry. He will go shut his head in the oven now." Before Harry could say anything else, the elf left with a pop, presumably to go do as he had just said.
Harry took off his glasses, laid them on the nightstand, and snuggled down into his bed again. Why do these things have to happen to me, he asked himself. Unfortunately, he received no answer.
Harry was not quite asleep when he heard adult voices outside the doors to the hospital wing. He faked sleep as they came in.
"I don't know what he was doing out at this time of night." It was Professor McGonagall.
"We can only speculate and that probably won't help." That was Dumbledore. "Hmm, he had his camera in front of his face. Let's see if we can get a clue here."
A camera? Well, that narrowed the possibilities down to one, Harry thought.
There was a hissing sound and a gasp from McGonagall. The stench of burning plastic reached Harry's nose.
"Apparently, we won't find a clue there," Dumbledore said. "I've never seen film do that before."
"I'll have to write a letter to his parents. It's a shame that Pomona won't have the Mandrakes ready before near the end of the year. That will put him over half a year behind his peers." McGonagall did sound like she was sorry for the boy.
"It can't be helped; they won't mature any faster. We'll have to provide him some tutors over the summer to help him catch up to his year mates. Hmm, I wonder…" but Dumbledore did not say what he was thinking about.
"I wonder what happened to him," McGonagall said.
"A valid question, but I believe the answer is contained in the Chamber of Secrets. I also believe the more important question to be 'how.' How did it get opened?" Dumbledore paused. "Let us take our leave as there is nothing more we can do here. You have a letter to write and I must figure out a way to keep the board of governors happy while we try to solve the mystery."
When they had left, Harry got his glasses and looked across the room. There lay a very stiff Colin Creevey. He wondered how this was connected to the petrification of Mrs Norris and the message left on the wall. He also wondered what Hermione would think of this when he told her.
He now had another reason for it to be difficult to go to sleep that night.
Emma gave a hug to Harry and then to her daughter. She was thrilled to see that Harry now looked to them like real parents. She knew deep down that he knew the difference, but she was still very happy to see him respond to them with love and respect. The four went to their car so they could drive to their home to do a little packing before their trip. Dan had planned for them to spend their Yule holiday in Ireland, where there also just happened to be a reputable school of magic nearby. They had become increasingly concerned from their daughter's letters. Harry's addition to the bottom of one about that strange house-elf showing up again had not helped.
When they were all in the car and the kids were a captive audience, Emma turned in her seat to see them. "So, how was your term?" The fact that Harry looked to Hermione, as if checking how to answer, did not fill her with good thoughts.
"A lot of it was good, Mum. Most of our classes are going well. History is no better than it was, but we study our book carefully. Potions is still great; Professor Tonks is one of the best teachers we have." Hermione paused.
"I sense a 'but' there," her mother prompted when silence stretched out.
"You know Professor Lockhart, the wizard at the bookstore that grabbed Harry and had a picture taken with him?"
Emma laughed and Dan chuckled. "Yes. I really enjoyed the face Harry was making when that picture was snapped." The picture in the Daily Prophet had shown Harry with a look of horror, as if the obnoxious man was a creature to be feared and avoided.
"Well, we've found out that he's not really all that good," Hermione said.
"Wait a minute," Emma said, thinking back. "Wasn't he the one that accidentally removed the bones in Harry's arm?"
"Yes, that's the one. That's also when I realized he's not as good as his books make him out to be," Hermione sheepishly admitted.
Emma gave her daughter a smile. "It's all right, honey. I'm glad that you learned that pretty faces can hide an ugly person without really getting hurt."
Hermione nodded. She understood what her mother was telling her, but it did not make the lesson any easier to learn.
"Have you had any problems with Professor Snape?" Emma asked.
"No," Harry answered, to give Hermione a break. "Other than a few sneers when he passed us in the corridors, he's ignored us and we've ignored him. Like a couple of weeks ago, there was a Duelling Club that we went to, but as soon as we saw Professor Snape there, Hermione convinced me to leave. So the strategy of ignoring him has worked out pretty well. The Slytherins have been giving me a hard time about a few things, like before our Quidditch match with them, but I've been able to handle it."
"Good for you, Harry," Dan praised him.
Harry beamed at the praise.
"Did anything else special happen?" Emma asked.
"Not really," Harry answered, looking at Hermione as they purposefully left out the news about Justin being petrified a few days ago. "Ron's still a prat at times, but he's getting better and Neville is becoming a better friend." Hermione nodded her agreement.
Emma stole a look at Dan, who glanced back and nodded slightly.
"We were planning to go to Ireland for a week. How does that sound to you two?" Emma asked.
"Another trip?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Will it be near the magic school there?" Hermione asked at almost the same time.
Both parents chuckled. "Yes, and yes," Dan answered, receiving two shouts of joy and big grins from the back seat.
Everyone had enjoyed the trip to Ireland. Unfortunately, the visit to the magic school there did not meet their full expectations. It was a much smaller school and had fewer electives available. It also had a much smaller library, disappointing Hermione greatly. When the four had discussed it later, they decided that the Irish school was not for them. As much as they had enjoyed Ireland, Emma was pleased with that, as she wanted to go visit the school in France. They tentatively planned for that to happen during the summer.
Harry had just finished Potions for the day. He had barely made it out of the classroom when a burly little dwarf went rushing by seeking out someone. Harry just shook his head and was glad the dwarf was not after him. Sure it was Valentine's Day, but he could not figure out what had possessed Lockhart to do such a stupid thing as to bring in dwarves for singing valentines.
Dismissing the matter and continuing his walk to his next class, he returned to his thoughts on the little diary that he had found yesterday on the second floor, near where Mrs Norris had been found petrified. It was a very strange book, in that it had no writing in it, but the date on the inside cover was from fifty years ago. He would have to spend more time looking at it tonight.
He was thinking about showing the book to Hermione and Ron to see what they made of it when he was suddenly pushed up against the wall by a rather scruffy grim-looking dwarf.
"Harry Potter, I've found you."
Harry looked around for a way of escape, but saw none. Hermione, Ron, and a few of his other classmates from Potions were there, as were a number of first years coming to Potions, including Ginny Weasley.
"I've got a musical message for you," the dwarf told him. He plucked a note on a small harp hanging by his side to get the pitch.
"But…"
"Stay here," the dwarf ordered him and pushed him harder against the wall. He plucked the note once more with his free hand, then began to sing in a gruff bass voice.
"His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.
I wish he was mine, he's really divine,
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."
(quoted from "CoS" by JKR)
Harry looked at Hermione who in turn looked embarrassed for him, causing him to mentally cringe and want to disappear. He even tried to chuckle like everyone else, but he could not make a sound. He just opened his mouth and looked like he was chuckling.
A loud and cruel laugh sounded and grabbed everyone's attention. "Ah, you've got a girlfriend Potter," drawled Draco Malfoy, looking around. Spotting someone who seemed to be trying to get away from the scene, he took advantage. "Look Potter, your girlfriend is running away she's so embarrassed of you." He pointed to Ginny Weasley, who was indeed trying to sneak between people to make her way into the Potions classroom.
Malfoy did not get to say anything else as Percy Weasley showed up suddenly.
"What's going on here?" the Gryffindor prefect asked, but he did not wait for an answer. "Everyone hurry onto class or I'll start taking off points. Go on," he said, making shooing motions with his hands.
Just before Malfoy left, he smirked smugly at Harry and called out towards Ginny, "Too bad, little Weasel, I don't think he liked your Valentine very much." He laughed as he walked off with his friends. Ginny hid her face and practically ran the last few yards to class. Ron pulled out his wand to hex the Slytherin, despite the fact that his brother the Prefect was standing right there, but there were too many people in the corridor and Malfoy got away.
Harry cringed inside and turned red before hurrying off towards Charms.
"Ignore it, Harry," Hermione's voice told him.
He slowed down a little so she could keep up with him. "Do you know who sent that?"
"No," she told him. "I could guess, but I might be wrong. I have seen several girls looking at you today," she explained.
"Great, just great," he complained as they went up the stairs, trying to make it to Charms before they were late.
That evening, after Harry was finished with all of his homework, he sat down with the little black diary. As he looked it over, Hermione spotted it.
"Planning on starting a journal?" she asked.
Harry shook his head. "No, I just found it. It seems to be blank." There was something about it that held his attention and made him want to do something to it, but he was not sure what.
Hermione shrugged. "I'm going to bed. I've been staying up too late the last few nights. Don't you stay up too late."
"I won't," he replied. "I'll go to bed in a few minutes."
"OK, good night," she told him and left him alone at the table they had been using; Ron had left half an hour earlier.
Harry was still puzzling over the diary when Ginny came walking by. He looked at her and noticed that she looked very pale, and almost terrified, as she saw him sitting there. Without a word, she rushed on, heading for the stairs and her room. He shrugged and returned to looking at the diary.
Not being able to figure anything else out, other than the name and date on it, Harry picked up a quill and tried to write an entry in it. Tried being the operative word, as his writing was absorbed and disappeared into the page. To his surprise, a few seconds later, new writing appeared on the page, and it was intelligent - it responded to exactly what he wrote.
He started writing to it and before he knew what was happening, it offered to show him a memory from fifty years ago. It was like he was sucked into the book, and the experience was a little unsettling. Even more disturbing was that the memory he had seen made Hagrid out to be the reason the Chamber of Secrets was opened and a student was killed. That did not seem like the Hagrid he knew. People could change, but that seemed like an awfully big change for someone who looked at life as simply as Hagrid did.
For the moment, he closed the little book and dropped it into his book bag. He would have to talk to Hermione about this. Several things did not quite add up, but he could not figure out where the inconsistencies were. If anyone could figure the mystery out, Hermione could, he knew. Being tired, he headed up to bed, hoping he remembered to tell her about this tomorrow.
It was early May and Harry was rummaging through his book bag. He suddenly remembered the little black diary he had found back before Valentine's Day. He searched for it, to see if he could find any more clues about it. Frustratingly, he could not find it in his bag anywhere, even after searching for it three times. He had to conclude he had lost it somewhere, but where?
He had also forgotten to talk to Hermione about it, and thought that maybe he should have that conversation tomorrow.
Harry and Hermione sat down at a table in the Gryffindor common room, each spreading their things out. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, Ron had refused to join them. Most of the others in their house were out playing as well, but Harry was staying with his best friend. He was caught up on homework, so he used the time to look at spells for the next year. He ignored most of the theory and concentrated on useful spells, like the unlocking spell.
Hermione was looking at several overview books, trying to determine what extra classes they might take next year.
Harry turned the page in his book and saw a duplication spell to copy the words on one piece of parchment onto another. That reminded him of the diary.
"I found a really interesting book a couple of months ago," Harry started.
Hermione looked up from her book. "And you're just now telling me?" she asked.
It took a moment, but Harry finally detected a slight teasing look on her face. "Yeah, well, it was around Valentine's and I sort of got distracted that day."
"I suppose," she allowed, a smile now slipping out. "What did you find?"
"It looked a lot like a diary and had a person's name on it, a 'T.M. Riddle'. It also had a date on it - 1945 - otherwise it was blank."
She looked at him. "You found a somewhat old but blank diary. So?"
He ran his fingers through his hair on the side. "Well, the really weird part is that it wrote back to me."
The playful manner in Hermione was dropped. "It did what?" She stared at him as if urging a useful answer out of him.
"When I wrote in it, the ink was absorbed and then a few seconds later, it wrote back. And the really weird part was that not only did it make sense, like it was a person, but it also had memories," he said.
Hermione looked puzzled. "What do you mean 'memories'?"
"I asked it about the Chamber of Secrets, since it was from about that time, and it sort of pulled me into a memory to show me what had happened. It was really weird, I experienced everything as if I was right there in that time. But some things about it didn't make sense."
Hermione was looking excited. "Very strange. It really makes you wonder where the limits of magic really are." He nodded. "So, what did it show you and what didn't make sense?"
"Well, it's a little fuzzy now, since it's been a while, but it showed me a conversation between a boy and Professor Dippet and then a younger Professor Dumbledore. They talked about a student who had been killed in relation to the Chamber of Secrets and Dippet said the school might have to close. Then this boy went to another part of the castle and found Hagrid, who was huge even when he was young, with a spider the size of his head. The boy said the spider was the monster killing people, and that Hagrid was responsible."
"Interesting. I wonder if we can ask Hagrid about this?" She thought for a moment before she looked at him again. "So, what didn't make sense to you?"
"Well, I know people can change over time, but I don't think Hagrid would have done anything like that. It just doesn't seem like him."
Hermione nodded. "I agree. On the other hand, he does seem to like big and dangerous creatures. Maybe it was an accident?"
"Yeah, maybe," Harry reluctantly conceded. He shrugged. "It also seemed like this boy knew more than he was saying." His eyes went a little wider. "Wait. What kind of spider can petrify people?""
Hermione grinned. "Good question. We can research that. Or … let's go talk to Hagrid. I bet he's at his cabin."
Harry matched her grin. "Yeah, I bet he would know. Let's go."
They hurriedly put their things in their dorm rooms and then went down to visit Hagrid together.
Hagrid answered the door when they knocked. "Harry, Hermione, fancy seein' yeh here. Come in, come in. I haven't seen yeh in a while." He closed the door behind them and led them to his table, which had the only chairs for them to sit in. "How's school for yeh?"
"It's been good, especially since no one's been petrified lately," Hermione answered.
"True," the big man absently agreed.
"Hagrid?" Harry got his attention. "You know a lot about magical creatures. Is it possible for a spider to petrify someone?"
"No, I don't know of any spider who could do that. Some can kill a person. Some could maybe paralyze yeh for a while, but not petrify," he explained.
"Not even a really big spider?" Harry asked. He had to make sure.
"You mean something like Aragog?"
"What's an Aragog?" Hermione asked. She wondered how many magical creatures there were.
"Aragog's not a what, but a who. I raised him since he was very young. He lives in the forest now. I visit him from time to time." Hagrid had a smile on his face, obviously reliving a happy memory.
Harry looked at Hermione as he realized that memory he saw was probably true, at least a little. "What species is Aragog?" he asked.
"Oh, he's an Acromantula. He's a bit bigger than a stallion and can talk. He's getting pretty old now," the man said sadly.
Hermione thought this was a dead-end, but she would look Acromantula up in the library later anyway. "Hagrid? Are there any animals that can petrify people? I mean, everyone seems to think a person is doing this, but what if it's an animal?"
Hagrid scratched his head. "That's an interesting idea, Hermione. Yeh should probably ask Dumbledore that." He then mumbled, "Good man, Dumbledore."
"I can," she said, "but I'd like to know what you think. You seem to know a lot about animals."
The big man beamed through his bushy beard. "Well, there are a few things. A gorgon could do that, but this is really the wrong sort of place for a gorgon." He scratched his head again. "I think there's one more, but I can't rightly recall."
"Thanks, Hagrid, that's a big help," Hermione said exuberantly.
They talked for a little while longer before the two left. As they walked back into the castle, they met Oliver Wood and the rest of the Quidditch team walking out.
"There you are, Harry," Oliver called out to him. "Get your broom. I've called an extra practice to get ready for our last game in three weeks."
Hermione felt put out and almost grumbled that Wood could not have him because she wanted Harry to help her research, but she supposed it would not really hurt as she could search by herself. "Go on, Harry. Come and find me in the library when you're done."
"You sure?" he asked.
"I'll be fine. That's your way of relaxing; I relax in the library. Go on," she encouraged him.
He grinned. "Thanks!" He turned and followed the team out. His broom was locked up in the practice shed and he could practice in his normal clothes.
Hermione shook her head and walked into the castle. Why had they not thought about a magical beast before, she asked herself.
Harry was finished with practice and had just put his broom away when something felt very wrong in his head. For a brief second, everything about Hermione was entirely wrong. He knew she was hurting everywhere at once. His hands flew to his head and he fell to his knees. Then it was gone - all gone. It was like his connection to Hermione had been ripped from him. He never realized what their bond meant to him until it was gone. It was like the warm security blanket of his mind was gone. He screamed and fell over on his left side. Still holding his head, he curled up into a foetal ball, holding his head, and hoarsely moaning.
There were voices calling his name and hands on him, but he paid no attention. His mind was searching for Hermione and he found nothing. There was no feeling if she was well or hurt, no location, nothing.
"Hermione," he panted and started to uncurl now that the shock of the moment was gone. "Hermione!" He struggled to get up.
"Harry! What's wrong?!"
He finally realized that Katie Bell was shouting at him. He looked at her trying to figure out what he should say. Considering how he felt, he imagined he must look deranged.
"There's something wrong with Hermione; I know it," he managed to get out. It sounded a little thin to him, but maybe he was imagining that.
"How?" Angelina asked. "Did you have a vision or something?"
His head seemed to jerk around to look at her on its own accord. "Yeah," he agreed, latching onto the first idea that came along. "I have to go find her." He tried to scramble to get up, but it was hard. He stumbled like he had no balance.
Fred and George grabbed an arm each and steadied him. "We'll go with you, Harry," one of them said.
"If something happened, then we should try the hospital wing first," the other twin suggested.
"Yeah, good idea," he said. He started to walk, but moved like he was drunk, weaving constantly from side to side. He would have fallen if not for the Weasley twins. They steadied him and guided him towards the castle. Harry concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, and he was walking reasonably well by the time they got to the front doors, although he stumbled a little on the stairs. The twins stayed with him the whole way nonetheless.
At the entrance to the hospital wing, they met a very distraught looking Gryffindor coming out. "Misters Weasley and Potter. What are you doing here?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Hermione," Harry said and tried to go forward, but the twins were too strong and held him fast.
McGonagall sighed deeply and a look of concern came over her, a look the students rarely saw. "Mr Potter, there's been an accident," she gently said and put a hand on top of his shoulder. "Your friend, Miss Granger, has been petrified."
"No!" he yelled and with a burst of strength broke free of the twins, rushed past the professor, and pushed through the doors, disappearing inside.
"My word!" She turned to the twins. "What happened to him?"
They shrugged as one. "We don't know. We had just finished practice when he fell, then he started screaming her name and holding his head."
"He said he had a vision about her being hurt, so we brought him here. Maybe he should be looked at too."
McGonagall turned around and went back into the infirmary. She stopped so fast the twins almost ran into her. Across the room, the school nurse was trying to pull a very distressed Potter from the stone-stiff Miss Granger. The boy was crying and holding on to the girl for dear life. She hurried over to help.
"Minerva, help me," Pomfrey begged when she saw her friend.
"Poppy, let go and let me talk to him," McGonagall said as she put a hand on Pomfrey's arm to stop her. After a few seconds, Pomfrey nodded and slowly let go of the boy, who moved a little closer to the girl, trying to hug her as tightly as possible, despite her being in such an awkward position.
McGonagall pulled her wand and conjured two chairs, one behind him and the other next to it. She then sat down on the edge of the bed and lightly rubbed his back. "Mr Potter," she gently said.
His crying was not as loud; it was mostly sniffles and ragged breathing now.
Perhaps this was unusual enough, she thought. "Harry," she called to him. He turned his head a little, but still was mostly looking at Hermione. "Harry, I know she's your friend…"
"My best and only true friend," he said a little belligerently before he lowered his head a little and rested it on Hermione's head.
If they had been two years older, Minerva would have wondered if there was more than friendship. She kept rubbing his back. "Harry," she tried again. "I know she's your best friend, but she will be cured and back to normal soon."
"How soon?" he demanded.
Normally, she would have chastised a student for that attitude, but this was not a normal situation. "Professor Sprout says the Mandrakes can be harvested in about two weeks, maybe a little more. Then Professor Snape will brew the potion, which will take a few days. She should be back to normal in less than three weeks."
Harry slowly sat up and turned to look at her. Wide tear streaks covered each cheek and his lower lip quivered, which matched his voice. "Promise?"
Minerva almost lost it. Such innocence, despair, and hope all mixed together in his face. Her hand left his back and came up to his head and caressed it for a moment. "If it's not by then for some reason we don't know of, then I promise it will be very, very soon thereafter." Her hand slowly pulled his head towards her and although his body protested for a second, it soon gave up and he all but flew to her. She hugged him for all she was worth. This was James's boy and she would take care of him.
Finally, she loosened her grip and let him sit up on his own. "Why don't you sit in this chair behind you, and then you can comfortably stay here with her for awhile."
"Really?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, you may. You'll have to obey Madam Pomfrey, but you can stay here when you have free time, if you want."
"Thank you," he whispered.
She gave him a tender smile. "Now, please tell me what happened to you. I was told you knew something happened to your best friend."
Harry looked down and over at his friend. "I don't know how to explain it," he said slowly, desperately trying to figure how what to say without giving away the secret of their bond. Perhaps Angelina's idea was still the best. "It was like I knew something happened to her. I got a flash or something of her falling and then not moving. It was so brief, but I felt … I knew something was wrong and it hurt to know that my only real friend was hurt." The emotion of the moment hit him again and new tears silently made their way down his face.
McGonagall conjured a handkerchief and handed it to him, which he took and used. She had never had an insight or vision like that, so she was unsure of what to say. She did not think either of his parents ever had such an event either, so she was uncertain where this talent had come from. When she saw his scar, she wondered for a moment if maybe that experience had generated more of an effect than anyone knew.
"Harry, you can sit here until dinner and then you need to come down and eat. I need to do one thing before dinner, but I expect to see you there. You must maintain your strength," she told him.
He vaguely nodded, still staring at his friend.
She patted him on the shoulder and got up. McGonagall was surprised to see the Weasley twins still here, standing quietly and respectfully. She walked over for a quiet word. "If you would, please return later to ensure Mr Potter makes it to dinner. He must eat, too."
"We will," the one she thought was George said. She also realized this was the first time in her memory of them that they did not use twin-speak.
"Thank you," she told them and left for the Headmaster's office.
When she arrived, she found the Headmaster there and looking worried. "Albus?"
"Minerva," he said quietly. They had already discussed the petrification of Miss Granger and Miss Clearwater when it happened. Potter had barely missed seeing the Headmaster in the infirmary.
"I will return shortly," she told him. "I must inform the Grangers of this, per our agreement."
He nodded. "And I must inform the Board of Governors. I fear they will request we close the school and I can not help but wonder if we wouldn't be wise to do so. Perhaps I can convince them to allow it to stay open since the Mandrakes will be ready soon."
"It is a difficult decision," she solemnly agreed before heading for the fireplace. She took the Floo network to the Leaky Cauldron and then Apparated to the Granger house. She was not looking forward to this.
Mr Granger answered her knock. "Professor McGonagall," he greeted her with a very surprised expression. "Since we met last week, to what do we owe this unexpected visit?"
"May I please speak with you and your wife? I need to explain something to you," she said vaguely.
"Of course," he said and let her in. "Please have a seat in our living room while I go and fetch Emma."
McGonagall took a seat. She knew she had not been interrogated at the door because of the respect they had developed through their regular meetings. Still, this would be difficult.
"Is there something wrong?" Emma asked as she entered the room.
McGonagall tried to keep her expression neutral, but something must have given her away.
"Oh my god, something happened. What?" Emma demanded, although the question was almost lost as it came out in a hoarse squeak.
Her husband guided her over to the couch and made her sit, for which Minerva was very thankful.
"Hermione will be fine soon, but she was in an accident this afternoon," she steadily said.
"Was she another victim of whatever got that other student?" Dan asked. Emma did not look to be capable of speaking at the moment.
"I'm afraid that I must answer yes. We still don't know what happened, but we believe your daughter knows something as she was using a mirror to walk at the time of the accident, which is very usual, even in the Wizarding World," McGonagall admitted.
"You said she will be fine? Are you sure and when?"
"Yes, we're quite sure she will fully recover. The most important ingredient in the potion that will revive her will be harvested in about two weeks and administered a few days later after it is prepared," she assured them as confidently as she could. "In the meantime, students will not be allowed in the corridors alone without a teacher present, so Mr Potter should continue to be safe."
Both parents breathed a sigh of relief. "At least he's safe," Emma whispered.
"I know it is pointless for me to ask you not to worry, but she will be fine in a few weeks and we will keep careful watch over Mr Potter in the meantime. I'm afraid that's all I have to tell you, but if you have any other questions later, you're welcome to owl me," she told them.
Emma looked at her husband. "Dan, I've had enough. I want them out of there."
Her husband hugged her briefly before looking back at McGonagall. "Professor, we appreciate you coming to tell us yourself and for your efforts to protect Harry, but we believe our children are finished with Hogwarts."
"Mr and Mrs Granger…"
"Professor McGonagall," Dan interrupted her. "Despite your efforts, one of our children has received a major injury and you didn't know why it happened before. Do you know what is doing this now?" he asked pointedly.
"No," McGonagall said quietly, ashamed to have to admit that.
"Then I believe that our children need to come home."
"Mr and Mrs Granger. Hermione will be revived in two or three weeks, and in the meantime, she can not be injured further. I will do my personal best to ensure that your son will not be injured in the same manner. He indicated that he wanted to spend most of his free time in the hospital wing with Miss Granger, and that is a very safe place. The term finishes in about six weeks. At least let them finish the term," the professor appealed to them. She did understand their concerns. A few Muggle-born students had been withdrawn during her tenure as a teacher.
The Grangers looked at each other. "Perhaps until Hermione is made well?" Dan suggested. Emma considered it and nodded after a moment. "Harry may stay until Hermione is recovered and then we'll make our decision," Dan told her.
McGonagall smiled slightly. That would give them some time to solve the mystery and maybe allow the two students to stay at school for the rest of the term. "Thank you. I'm sure Mr Potter will appreciate that and I will look after him. I also promise that I will come visit again when your daughter is revived."
"Thank you for coming to inform us," Dan told her. "Please keep our son safe."
McGonagall nodded and stood. "I will. May I leave from here?" she asked. Dan nodded and she Apparated back to the Leaky Cauldron.
Emma let her emotions go and started crying hard while Dan held her. He was breathing deeply and very controlled.
"We are going to France this summer," she finally said when she could talk again.
"I think it's a wonderful idea," he told her, his voice unnaturally steady in his controlled anger.