Chapter 1: A Summon From Dumbledore
"Wake up! Wake Up!". Harry Potter could feel his bed violently being shaken. i Probably Dean Thomas pretending that the French were attacking Hogwarts. /i thought Harry. i What a nightmare! And he knows that I am still upset over Ron missing/i "Dean, for the third time in three nights go back to bed!" said Harry sleepily without opening his eyes. "Mr. Potter, if I were Dean Thomas at this hour I would be over in the corner feasting on chocolate Frogs and Every Flavored Beans now wouldn't I." I True /i Harry thought as he opened his eyes and stared into the cold, stern (yet warm) gaze of Minerva McGonagall.
"I suggest that you put some suitable clothes on because a trip to Dumbledore's office in only a pair of i Hanes Classics /i will be sure to bring you down with a cold. Harry then realized that he had been showing his entire naked body to his Head of House! He quickly pulled up the sheets on his neck up and nodded as the woman whispered "I will give you exactly five minutes to get dressed. Make sure you bring a roll of parchment and a quill as you will be needing to take many notes.". Harry could not remember a time where he had been asked to take notes in Dumbledore's office. But he did not question McGonagall seeing how she was always right. "I will be waiting for you down in the common room. I trust you won't take long.". With that she shut the door and left Harry alone on his bed wondering what Dumbledore could possibly want from Harry in the middle of the night.
As he climbed out of bed he felt a cold breeze on his bare legs and chest. After a slight shiver he walked over to the window above his pillow and closed it. Then he got dressed into his regular school robes and reached for his glasses that stood on the nightstand. With a look of determination he shoved them up to the bridge of his nose and with an air of satisfaction strode to the door and walked down the stairs to the quietly lit common room.
There was Professor McGonagall standing by the hearth just as she had said. But there was another woman talking to her whose back was to Harry. The woman had a soothing, sweet voice like an angel and when she turned around Harry felt as if a swarm of butterflies flew down his throat and into his stomach preventing him from speaking or breathing. "Oh, hey Harry." she said with a casual voice. "Hermione..." Harry said dreamily. He was in love.
He had been in love with her ever since she had given him a kiss on the cheek at the end of their fourth year. The only problem was that she was with somebody else. The fact that the woman he loved and his other best friend, Ron Weasley, were going out was hell to Harry. Whenever he saw them together he sometimes wondered if he could treat Hermione just as well, or possibly better then Ron did. At least he wasn't entirely alone. Luna Lovegood was the only human being in the world who knew about Harry's feelings for Hermione. On the day that Harry and his friends had got on the Hogwarts Express and Hermione and Ron had left Harry with Luna and Neville to go to the Prefect's Carriage, Luna caught Harry staring down the aisle after Hermione. Suddenly she declared in a loud voice (very much like Professor Trelawney's) "You love her!". Ever since then Harry had finally found someone he was able to confide his secret in. Over the past few weeks he had gone to see Luna to tell her what he had been feeling as she nodded along and gave him advice like a witch version of Oprah. But the bottom line was that he was in love with Hermione and he couldn't have her.
"Harry?" came the soft sweet voice. "Are you okay?". "Yeah, yeah." he said as he slowly floated out of his dream world and back down to earth. "Just a little sleepy that's all.". Finally Professor McGonagall exclaimed "Now that we are all here we should start heading down.". As she said this she led them through the portrait hole and out into the corridor.
"What are you doing here." Hermione whispered loudly. "I was just about to ask you the same question." said Harry in the same manner.
As the three of them walked through the winding castle corridors the wheels in Harry's head were turning. "What could Dumbledore possibly want from him in the middle of the night. Then it came to him. It had to be about Ron. Maybe he had gotten found and he was just playing hooky as a joke. But then Harry thought about the parchment and quill he had in his hands. Was this some kind of night class that Dumbledore wanted Harry and Hermione to take.
But a headache was saved as they finally reached the gargoyle. Professor McGonagall turned around and Harry could see a lecture coming. "Now before we enter the office I would like you to know that everything that is said behind the gargoyle is strictly confidential and must not be repeated to anyone. Understood?". "Yes Professor." said Harry and Hermione simultaneously. "Very well then." and with that she turned to the gargoyle and said loudly and clearly "Acid Drops".
As the gargoyle began to move Harry had not the slightest idea of what journey lay before him and Hermione.
After three days of Ron missing from Hogwarts and many search parties, Harry and Hermione are woken in the middle of the night and are taken to Dumbledore's office where they are assigned to a dangerous mission.