Chapter 6
An Unforeseen Meeting
On the 21st, Hermione and Ginny returned to London to do their school shopping. Aunt Candy, as a final parting gift, set the girls up at a nice hotel, as usual, and more than enough money to buy the girls' school supplies and new robes, with plenty left over for trips to Hogsmeade.
Diagon Alley, 12 noon, August 29th
The girls wanted to wait until the last possible day to do their shopping, so that not too many of their fellow students would be out and about to see them. Unfortunately, it seemed the entire student body of Hogwarts had the same plan in mind; the usual hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley was triple what it usually was, cluttered with Hogwarts students buying supplies for the upcoming year. It was quite challenging to navigate the twisted street at noon, two days before the sleek red train left for Hogwarts.
Hermione and Ginny decided their first stop had to be Madam Maulkin's Robes for all Occasions, because the muggle clothes they were wearing were attracting far too much attention from the witches and wizards they passed.
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The mauve swathed dressmaker attacked the two girls when she realized they needed an ten sets of new school robes, as well as a new set of regular robes. Enchanted tape whizzed by their heads and around their bodies, as an enchanted quill took down the measurements. After the measurements were taken, Hermione and Ginny browsed through the racks and chose new robes for the upcoming year. Madam Maulkin, immediately set to work altering one set of regular robes for the girls to wear out of the store, and promised the other robes would be complete the next afternoon at two.
Decked out in new robes, both knee length, complete with mid calf length cloaks to match and the heels from their time in London, the girls looked like they belonged at Beaubatons. They continued on to The Quill and Parchment stationary shop to select new rolls of parchment, notebooks, quills and inks. Just for the fun of it, the girl had each item personalized with their initials.
Hermione and Ginny decided that a break was in order at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, since they couldn't get their other supplies. They hadn't received their Hogwarts letters yet, so they didn't know what they needed past the basics. Ironically, as they sat down with their treats, two brown owls swooped down and dropped two letters; one to Hermione J. Granger and the other to Ginevra M. Weasley.
"You would think McGonagall would have the decency to put 'Ginny' on my letter. No one calls me that, except my mother." Ginny said, obviously irritated by the use of her formal name. Ice creams aside, they tore into the cream colored envelopes and scanned their respective letters.
Hermione fairly screamed, "I got Head Girl!" She kept reading, until she got to the part that was supposed to tell her about leading the prefect's meeting on the train. "Oh no! The teachers have canceled the prefect's meeting, until we arrive at school. Darn! I was really looking forward to that!"
Ginny made a lopsided frown. "I got prefect again. No big surprise there." She folded up her letter. "Should we finish our ice creams and then go ahead to Flourish and Blotts to have them set aside our books so we can pick them up tomorrow? Maybe a few new books would perk you up after the fiasco of the cancelled prefect meeting."
Perked up by the mention of new books, yet annoyed slightly by Ginny's sarcasm, Hermione replied, "I will not let you ruin my day!" She stuck her tongue out at Ginny and smiled as she started eating her sundae in earnest. When they were done, they left Fortescue's and headed past the Quidditch supply store and into Flourish and Blotts.
Inside the Quidditch Supply Shop, 4:37 pm
Inside the quidditch supply shop, Harry Potter was tired of listening to his best friend and partner in crime drone on and on about how wonderful his summer had been, how great it was working for the dynamic Weasley duo, Fred and George. If that wasn't enough, for the last two weeks, Harry's dreams had been intruded upon, but not by Voldemort.
No, his dreams were now dominated by a petite blonde that looked oddly familiar to him. It was like he was watching her go about her life, almost like muggle TV. She and a companion she called Darcy, were always doing something. On an even more embarrassing note, when he wasn't seeing her in her everyday life, in his dreams, he saw her in his arms in his bed. He had become so obsessed with her, he could barely eat or do anything else but think of her. It was maddening, and he knew if he didn't find her soon, well… best not dwell on that.
Harry turned his back to Ron, who was bragging to some stranger, and faced the store front window display that held the latest in quidditch gear. He saw a flash of blonde go in front of a store and looked up. It's her! Oh my God it is her! I have to follow her. I have to find out who she is. I have to have her.
He turned to find Ron, and grabbed his sleeve, trying to drag him out of the store. After a bit of a struggle, he finally had Ron out of the store.
"What in the bloody hell is your problem?" Ron asked, getting angry at Harry for interrupting his story, before he got to the best part.
Harry ignored Ron, and began to forcibly drag Ron behind him. "Remember the girl I told you about when I got back to the Burrow? The one I have been seeing in my dream?"
Ron looked at Harry like he was stupid. "So what mate? You interrupted my story because you think you saw some girl from your dreams? What is wrong with you? She is a dream. As in not real."
"But she is real. You have to see her! Just follow me. If you don't see what I am seeing, then … well, just look." Harry grabbed sprinted off towards Flourish & Blotts.
Inside Flourish & Blotts, 4:42 pm
Hermione and Ginny left their book lists with the clerk at the front, paid for their purchases in advance, and headed up the stairs. They both wanted to search for some books that might help them figure out this mystery.
They had found the right section, on Irish Magic, when Ginny looked down from the second floor. "Oh shit Hermione, we have to go. We have to go now!" She grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her out of the line of sight of the front door, as she mumbled under her breath.
"What on earth? Why are we hiding? Stop mumbling!" Hermione asked. Ginny clasped her hand over Hermione's mouth and pointed her finger down towards the main level. Hermione peaked around the edge of the bookcase, and looked straight into the eyes of Ron and Harry, who starred back up at her.
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"Dear Merlin mate! You were right! She is gorgeous! All that dark curly hair…!" Ron started.
"Not her, you moron! The blonde with her. She is the one I have been seeing. I have to talk to her." Harry and Ron pushed through a throng of older witches and wizards and raced up the stairs to the second story.
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Upon seeing the boys heading towards the stairs, the girls had to think fast. "We have to get out of here Ginny!" Hermione closed her eyes, and remembered there was a backroom downstairs, where the more expensive and rare books were kept. "Follow me." Hermione grabbed Ginny's arm headed towards the back staircase that would take them down to the main floor, and to the back room.
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Just as they started down the stairs, Harry and Ron reached the second floor. They began to search the stacks for the two girls, but all was in vain. "Let's go wait outside the door, and we will catch them as they come out!" Ron thought aloud.
"Brilliant Ron! Then they will think we are creepy stalkers! No, we will have to…The cloak! My dad's invisibility cloak! We can hide under it, wait for them out here, and find out more about them, without them knowing it!" Harry pulled the cloak out of his back pocket, and he and Ron stepped out of sight, before throwing it over their heads. The boys carefully made their way out of the store and sat on the sidewalk, to wait for the girls.
Backroom, Flourish & Blotts, 4:48 pm
"Whew! I sure am glad you know your way around this store! I thought they were going to catch us for sure." Ginny looked around the room. Old musty books filled the shelves that covered the walls. Stacks of books were all over the tables that took up most of the rest of the space in the room. "What are we going to do now?"
Hermione ran a finger over the spines of several books that were on the shelf in front of them. "Well, we can look over these books and see if any of them could have any information we could use. It isn't like we have anything else to do with our time."
They began to scan the spines of the books in front of them for anything that might help them.
Three hours later, outside Flourish & Blotts…
"Harry, I am starving, don't you think we can go now? They are probably never going to come out here. They have been in that store for hours." Ron complained
Harry was getting irritated. Ron had been complaining steadily after about the first half hour. "Go, you bloody git! I can't leave. I have to see her. I have to talk to her. For the first time in two weeks, I can breathe easily. I don't feel like every breath is torture. If I leave, I don't think I will make it back to the twins' shop. If you do go, make sure my things make it to the train. I have to stay here until she leaves."
Ron looked at Harry. For the first time, he noticed the dark circles under his best friend's eyes. He does look a bit rough around the edges, his skin looked sickly and he had definitely lost weight. Maybe I should just leave him, he can't get much worse. "Okay, but I will go get you something to eat and drink before I head back to Fred & George's place. I'll make sure your things make it to the train. After all, that's what best mates are for!"
Harry watched Ron race off into the distance. Twenty minutes later, the redhead returned, bearing the gifts of food, candy, and butterbeer, and then left again. For the first time in weeks, Harry was hungry and ate everything that was before him. Merlin, I hope she comes out soon…
Inside Flourish and Blotts…
"Hermione! Come look at this!" A dust covered Ginny pulled out an ancient black leather bound tome entitled, Unsolved Prophesies: A Collection of Curious Unsolved Curses From Antiquity.
Hermione raced over to Ginny and turned to the table of contents. Very well organized. The book was separated by continent, country and then by time. She ran her finger down the page until she reached Europe, skimmed down to Ireland, and her heart stopped when she read the first title. The Curse of the Morrigna, 1002 B.C., page 811. Carefully, she turned to page 811. On the page was a sketch of a three witches. The caption read simply "The Morrigna: Morrigan, Macha, & Badb" and no date was given.
"Oh, Merlin Ginny. I have seen that witch!" Hermione whispered as she pointed to Macha. "She has long brown hair and the saddest brown eyes I have ever seen."
Ginny looked confused. "Are you sure? The date says 1002 B.C. That can't be possible."
"It is. Remember that old trunk I bought at the flea market in Paris? She was the woman who sold it to me. What does it say?" Hermione asked as she pulled the notebook from her purse. Thank Merlin I never leave home without you!
"Well it lists the Morrigna as a triple aspect war deity. The three goddesses were the daughters of the mother goddess Ernmas. Morrigan, herself, was a goddess of war, held sway over the strongest warrior in any given battle. Her most common alternate form was the red winged raven. Macha, the goddess of sovereignty, could decimate entire armies. She was often shown in the form of a horse. Badb, the goddess of prophecy, announced the death of those killed in battle in a form commonly known as the battle crow." Ginny read. Her eyes scanned the rest of the page. "Hmm. What is this?"
Hermione swiped the book from Ginny's hands. "The Prophecy Particulars. Well that is certainly to the point." She placed the ancient book next to her note book and scribbled as she read. "According to anonymous sources, this curse has a maximum of 3000 years to be broken. Three girls each generation (25 years) will be given a task to complete indirectly and directly from the Morrigna until the curse is broken. Although no there is no specific 'be-careful-or-the-world-will-end' warnings, failure to complete the task results in the loss of youth and magic of the girls as well as marking a turn for the worse in their magical society. Legend does however tell of an awesome power, wielded by the three, should they succeed. It is said to be able to change the course of the future."
"You realize what it is saying right?" Ginny asked.
Hermione pondered for the question. "Actually Ginny, I have no idea!"
Ginny raised a slim eyebrow. "Really? You mean Hermione Granger doesn't know the answer to a question?" She cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone. "Attention. Attention." She said in a loud voice. "Hermione Granggg…"
"Shhhhh. I know it is hard to believe that I might not know the answer, but let's not announce it to the world, especially the owner who doesn't know we are here!"
"Okay I won't tell anyone about this lapse in mental ability. Just let me tell you what it means. Assuming we are the next and last generation..." Ginny said.
"What do you mean last?" Hermione all but shrieked.
Ginny grinned. "Again I can't believe you haven't figured this out yet."
Hermione scowled.
"Just let me start at the beginning. The book said the curse has 3000 years to be solved. It also said it started in 1002 B.C. Three thousand minus 1,002 is 1998, which is next year. As each generation has about 30 years, that means we are going to be the last, as 1998 is next year, so we have at the absolute most fifteen months to figure this out." Ginny said smiling. "Now do you understand where I am going with this?"
Hermione's eyes went wide. "The last generation started 30 years ago, 1968, when Voldmort began to gather followers and started the Death Eaters. Thirty years before that,1938, Tom Riddle came to Hogwarts. Every time 'the three' fail, something bad happens in the magical world. If we fail, now, it could mean…"
"Don't even say it Hermione. We will NOT fail. We don't have a choice. We can not fail." Ginny said forcefully.
"You are right. We will not fail. Now let's see." Hermione nodded and turned the page. Both pages were filled with the images of women with names and dates below. "Oh, Ginny, look. It says Ninety-Nine Generations of Morrigna Curse Receivers: A Study in What Has to be the Longest List of Failures in Wizarding History." Hermione frowned. "Well, I am just tickled pink that the author finds this amusing and apparently has faith in the ability of this curse to be resolved." She ran her fingers over the photographs of the women who had gone before them. "They all look so sad. I guess these were taken after each failure."
Ginny nodded. At the end of the page she spotted Liadan. "Look Mione, it is Liadan, and Darina and Tangi." She noticed the birth and death years. "None of them made it to twenty. Not one."
"We have to have this book. If the owner won't let us, we need to keep these images, just in case. I have to go get one of those cameras so that we can keep these pictures, just in case the owner won't let us buy this book. Stay here, I will be right back!" Hermione raced up the stairs, to the second floor, and down the main stairway, out the front door, and past a very surprised Harry.
Where is she going? Where is the other one? Harry stood and watched the curly haired girl race into a store only to emerge at a sprint, carrying a box wrapped in brown paper and twine. I can follow her; maybe she will lead me to the blonde.
This time, when the dark haired girl passed him, he followed her; up the stairs, down the stairs, and into a room he didn't think they should be in. He watches the girl drop the box on one of the tables, and then he stopped breathing for a moment. There she was. His girl came up to the one dressed in the dark green robes and reached for the box.
"Oooh. I have always wanted one of these! Yes!" Quickly, she checked all of the parts and took a practice shot of her friend. "Alright what do we need pictures of?"
"Get all of the images in this section of the book. The Morrigna, the two pages of cameos, and go ahead and look to see if there are any others in this section."
"Alrighty!" Ginny exclaimed happily as she started clicking away. When she was done, she handed the camera over saying, "Here you are. One trio of mortal cursing goddesses and 297 curse breaking failures."
Curses? Harry was curious what these two beauties could have to do with curses. They looked far too young for Cursebreakers.
"Did you find anything about the part of the curse that Liadan told us?" Hermione asked and Ginny began to read a copy of what Liadan had said that was recorded in the book.
Harry was captivated, but that soon faded into confusion, when he noticed the blonde's lips moving, but no sound coming out.
Hermione started flipping through the pages. "Rules of Engagement: Guidelines for those Cursed by the Morrigna. "Glad to know our author has such a sense of humor." She snorted. "Rule one, Secrecy. Nice try ladies, but you can't tell anyone but the three of you involved about the curse. Remember it is up to you, not you and half of the world."
"I am glad I don't know this person. I would have smacked him by now." Ginny said in an irritated voice. "Go ahead, read on."
"Even if you tried, they couldn't hear it. Even if you wrote it, they wouldn't read it. Even if by some magical loophole, someone else managed to come across this information, their memories would be erased within an hour of learning the information. I guess that means no cheating on this test."
Harry watched his blue robed beauty, trying to figure out what he was missing, the gaps, in their conversations. While he was mulling this over, Hermione began pacing the room, while Ginny started writing what she had just read.
"So we can't communicate this curse to anyone but the three of us involved. If we somehow accidentally managed to do it, it would only last for an hour. Of course they wouldn't know that and their memories of the event would be gone before they could do anything with the information." Hermione said in a frustrated tone.
At that last bit of information, Harry perked up. I guess that means I should be writing this down. He looked around him and saw a piece of paper near him on floor. He slid his hand out from under his cloak and slowly slid the paper towards the safety of his cloak. A quill. Where is a bloody quill? He spotted a pre-inked quill on the table near the abandoned book. Very quietly, he whispered, "Accio quill." Before he knew it, he was hit in the chest by a sharp quill and made a small sound before he could stop himself.
The girls jumped. "Did you hear anything?" Hermione asked, looking around the room.
Ginny shook her head and turned a page in the book. "Rule two, Time. Each new generation of the cursed three begin their attempt to break the curse at Lammas, the year following the death of the last member of the previous generation. Well at least we have some time left. Liadan is still alive. Now we just have to find out when Lammas is."
"Don't even ask if I know when Lammas is." Hermione said threateningly. All of the sudden her eyes got big. "Turn back to the page that had the cameos."
Ginny complied and handed the book to Hermione.
"Oh, no! No!" She cried, tears forming in her eyes.
Ginny looked confused. "What is it?"
"She's dead."
"Who?"
"Liadan. She died the day we left Ireland."
Ginny moved to hug Hermione. "It is okay. Everyone dies Hermione. It happens. She was old, ancient even. It was her time..."
"No, she wasn't she was only 41. Younger than your mother. Remember, forfeit your magic and your youth. She was only sixteen twenty-five years ago."
Ginny didn't know what to say.
"We have to do this for her. For all of them." Hermione said wiping away her tears. "Please continue reading."
"Okay, onward we go. Rule three, Help. The cursed will be given the help along the way, whether they choose to recognize it as such or not. Each of you will receive one item from their 'mother goddess' that is needed to end the curse as well as mementos from the ones that came before them. Apparently no one has figured out what to do with them. Good luck. Again with this sarcasm. Rule four, Clue. That's right. Here is your next clue Darcy and Fiona. Okay, pause." Ginny looked up at a wide eyed Hermione. "How could the author know we were reading this book? I mean, I just read our names. How creepy!"
"Don't ask me! I have no idea. Just keep reading." Hermione whispered.
"Okay." Ginny took a deep breath. "That's right. We know who you are. It is now your turn. You must find your third sister, the badb-catha. You will find her when you reach your next destination."
Hermione looked up from the page she had been writing on; worry clearly etched on her face. "That doesn't sound very helpful. I think I need to go ask the owner if I can buy this book."
"I will just pick up our stuff and meet you back at our hotel. We can get the pictures developed later." Ginny said as she began gathering their things.
Harry was in shock. He had written down everything he had heard, and from what little he understood, the girls were in trouble. Big trouble.
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