Cliffs Of Votum
Chapter One
A/N: This was co-written with the lovely remuslives.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Hermione sat alone in the stuffy old library near Godric's Hollow. She had left Harry at his parents' graves nearly thirty minutes ago. He wanted some time alone with them, and she could respect that, so she wandered off to the apparently Muggle library. Once inside though, it became clear that wizards had also been at work there. Towards the back, there was a ward against the Muggles, they simply saw the back of the building and were deterred from it. She, however, saw a lovely and ancient looking staircase that led to an upstairs that she hadn't known was there.
She had made her way up the stairs and through rows and rows of books, to find a cozy little enchanted fire. She sat there, with several books she had picked out, waiting for Harry to signal her with their newly charmed watches.
She looked at the titles of all of the thick novels. One dusty old gray tome seemed to beckon to her. But, that's not possible; books don't call out, do they?
She opened the book as her eyes darted across the old pages. The writing was not printed, but written with a quill and some charmed ink; an ink, apparently centuries old, that seemed to never wear off or fade. It was about mythical, enchanted cliffs. However, it was not a textbook, as she had guessed, but a large diary. She then came across a heart-stopping passage.
Back when the world was new, and wizards were gaining power, I came across a rare formation of cliffs in the middle of the ocean. Seven points, there were. Seven points, all directed at each other in a complicated inward-facing star, of sorts. In the middle, there was a pond. I had gathered wizards and witches more powerful than I, and together, we enchanted the cliffs. Our group of seven wanted to create a way for wishes to be granted, to bring back family that passed before their age, for Muggles and wizards alike. To our disappointment, we soon realized Muggles could not see the cliffs or their magical properties.
We have further enchanted the cliffs so that their powers may not be abused, only when one pure of heart feels the draw of them, may their power be activated. In the middle of a storm, seven witches and wizards may gather and draw the lightening near. If a bolt hits the pond in the middle of the cliffs, they shall make a wish and they will receive a vision of how to make the wish come true -but only if they work together. The Cliffs Of Votum, we called it.
"-bring back family that passed before their age." Hermione kept rereading that over and over. Could it be?
She gave a startled jump when her watch tingled against her arm; Harry was ready. In a hurry, she searched out the librarian. The small woman was reluctant to let go of such an old book, but eventually relented when Hermione did some name dropping. Tucking the book into her bag, she headed out of the library and back to the cemetery to find her friend.
He was still staring at the monument to his family when she arrived a few minutes later. "Remember the first time we were here?"
She chuckled bitterly, "How could I forget?"
"I'm still sorry about that," Harry said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "We should get back; I don't want Ginny to worry."
She thought about the book in her bag and wondered when she should tell Harry of her amazing find. She opened her mouth to speak when she saw Harry open his mouth, too.
"You go ahead," she whispered.
"I was just going to say thanks for coming out here with me," he said.
"Oh. I was just going to ask if you...er...if you were going out to dinner with Ginny tonight? She mentioned something about dinner tonight and I was just curious," she lied smoothly, or at least she thought it was smooth.
Harry looked at her oddly.
"So we should get going," Hermione said, wrapping her arm around his waist and leading him to a place they could apparate.
"Is everything alright with you?" He sounded suspicious.
"Of course." She spun them on the spot and took them to Harry's flat in London. "So, where are you taking Ginny?" She tried once again to change the subject.
"I haven't decided yet, some place nice."
"Well, I'll leave you to it. Goodnight, Harry." She kissed his cheek and left for her house.
As Hermione walked, she could feel the book in her bag as easily as she could feel a baby dragon. It felt like it was on fire and needed to be read. She picked up her pace and almost ran to her flat. She plopped down in her chair with a quick-notes quill and began to read some of the more important passages out loud.
When she finally got to the part of the book to where the Cliffs might be located, Ron's face appeared in through the Floo.
"Hey Hermione," he called out.
"Hello, Ron," she replied.
"Mum wanted me to tell you about the family dinner at the Burrow."
"Who all is going to be there?"
"Everyone, of course. I'll see you at five." He disappeared and the fire burnt out.
Annoyed, she got back to work; the location of the Cliffs sounded familiar and she set about searching through her stack of books looking for something similar.
She glanced to the clock as it just chimed four times. She spent over half an hour looking through the books for the location. She let out a frustrated sigh and decided it was about time to start getting ready.
After getting ready, she looked back to the clock with ten minutes to spare. She looked once again to the page in the old journal. As she reread the passages, it seemed more and more clear to her; the Cliffs must be where the Mount Olympus cliffs are rumored to be!
She looked into the pile and found a book she had not yet read through. Mount Olympus and Its Hidden Mysteries.
"Aha!" She shrieked when she found it. She had discovered the location! She had to tell the others, and with everyone together tonight, she had the perfect opportunity!
She rushed to gather her notes and the books and headed straight to the Floo with less than a minute to spare. She twirled out of the Burrow's grate and stomped her feet on the rug, knocking off the excess ash.
"First she's late, and now she brings work with her," George announced, moving towards her quickly. He grabbed the books and papers from her arms, making loud noises over her protests. "No, no, whatever it is, it'll have to wait until after we eat."
"But-"
"I said after, Granger." He pushed her into the kitchen where everyone was gathering around the table, preparing for their meal.
"If only you knew how much it couldn't wait..." She thought to herself as she walked to the kitchen.
"Well, hello Hermione! Glad you could make it!" Mr. Weasley greeted. At that, Mrs. Weasley turned around!
"Hermione! You look so thin! Have you been eating well?" Hermione internally sighed. Leave it to Molly to worry about the health of someone who isn't even her daughter!
Harry and Ginny walked through the door. "Sorry we're late. We were getting read to go out to eat. I had forgotten all about the dinner," Harry said.
As they all sat down, Hermione wondered how she could break the big news. When they were all seated around the table, Mrs. Weasley started serving up the food. Hermione waited patiently while the boys had second and third helpings, but when everyone relaxed back in their seats, she began.
"Ahem," she cleared her throat. The people sitting at the abnormally long table turned to give her their full attention, Ron with mince meat pie still hanging from his lips.
Under the curious stare of her friends, she began, "I was reading a book in the library earlier..."
George cut her off, "Who wants dessert?"
A groan was heard from Arthur, who was leaning back in his chair rubbing his stomach.
"No. This is important. Very important..."
"Hermione, if you insist on telling us about every book you read-"
"George, just let her talk," Harry interrupted.
"Thank you, Harry. As I was saying," she paused to be sure she had all of their attentions, "I was reading a book in the library earlier, which speaks of the Cliffs of Votum."
"Oh, I've heard of those," Arthur spoke. "They're just legend, dear. My great grandfather used to tell us stories about them, stories his great grandfather told him."
"That's what people thought about the Hallows, as well. And they turned out to be perfectly legitimate."
"Mr. Weasley, they might be legends to wizards who have no contact with the Muggle world, but the Cliffs of Votum are very similar to the location of a Muggle landmark: Mount Olympus. Muggles have been scared to explore Mount Olympus because it's home to the ancient Greek Gods. I read a book on Mount Olympus and it all fits; I have the book to prove it!" Hermione said in a rush. "Or rather, George has it."
"What do these Cliffs do anyhow?" Ron muttered. George nodded in agreement.
"Well, it says in the book, that they have the power to give seven participants what they most desire," she paused again for effect, "including bringing back those who have died."
Gasps and sounds of surprise were heard from everyone in the room. Shocked faces transformed into looks of glee, Molly even had tears prickling in the corners of her eyes, but Arthur was the first to recover.
"Are you certain? Why is it that wizards could never have discovered the real location of the Cliffs?" Arthur sounded calm but there was an undercurrent of hope.
"It's in a Muggle area; a Muggle area with very few wizards known to live within 500 kilometers of the nearest town to the Cliffs," Hermione said.
"When can we do it?" Harry and George asked at the same time, both standing to leave.
"I'll have to do some more research first, of course. Check the time frame and the window of availability," she muttered more to herself than anyone else. "I'd need one month, at bare minimum."
"What if you had help?" George questioned eagerly.
"I suppose I could get it done faster that way... Perhaps we could ask Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick... Being a Charms teacher, and the Cliffs are charmed, it might be a good idea."
"Let's do it!" Ron shouted. When a few of the family sent an odd stare at him, he replied, "I wanna go on an adventure again."
After the table was cleared and everyone went to relax and think, George pulled Hermione into his room.
"Hey, Hermione, I just wanted to thank you. We could bring back Fred!"
"Yes, but George, we have to make proper calculations first. Just...don't get too excited yet. I don't know if we'll be able to proceed immediately. It could be years before the window is open."
"But, you're the smartest witch of our age! If anyone, surely you can have it done faster than anyone!"
Hermione blushed. "Well... Hey! I won't be persuaded by compliments, and overused compliments at that!" Hermione chided.
"Oh, feisty!"
She ducked her head to try to hide the rising color in her cheeks. "I really should go."
George sighed, "I suppose so. Much more interesting things than my gratitude going on, I'm sure."
She swatted at him. "I think I should go talk to Arthur or Harry about arrangements..."
"Have fun with that," He said. "I'm here if you ever wanna talk...or do other things." He wriggled his eyebrows and she let out a small laugh.
She slipped out of his doorway in search of Harry, thinking what a shame it was that George was only teasing her. But, no time for daydreaming, she had to focus on business. After looking through most of the house, she found him outside in the garden.
"Hey." She sat beside him and leaned into his shoulder.
"Hey, back."
"We need to make a plan.," Hermione started off.
"No plans right now. Now is time to look at the evidence, then chill out for a while before we make a course of action. Although, George may be on your back making you rush..." Harry said.
"We need to figure things-"
"Out. Not now. Just rest. I'm going over to talk to Ginny," He stated then started getting up.
"Yeah. Just talking, I'm sure." She let out a chuckle. He grinned, but didn't comment as he left her sitting there. "So much for making plans," she grumbled. Maybe tomorrow. She stood and apparated home.
When she arrived home, it felt lonely after the noise and the company of the Burrow. She found that she missed it there. She missed a certain twin there...
She shook her head clear of these thoughts and walked off to bed.