Hermione Granger and the Amulet of Yendor

Chapter Ten - Perchance to Dream

No small art is it to sleep: it is necessary for that purpose to keep awake all day. -- Nietzsche

Hermione was enjoying the beginning of January much more than the beginning of December. Ron was busy, but he was no longer sneaking around. She accepted that there were some mysteries he was keeping from her, but they seemed to be limited to the context of his strange teacher, and she had a few guesses about whom that might be.

Fleur hadn't been attacked since the night Hermione had been guarding her. Since then, Snape had insisted on having a pair of Slytherins outside her door to guard her at night. He pointed out that Blaise Zabini had been the only Slytherin both at Hogwarts and not already in the Hospital Ward at the time of the last attack, and, as such, any two people in the Slytherin house (other than Zabini) were at least as safe as those from other houses. Hermione saw several holes in his logic, not the least of which being the assumption that the attacker was acting alone, but she let it pass regardless. She didn't want to bring up the topic of Fleur's attack if she could help it.

Fortunately, Malfoy wasn't bringing up the event at all. He had been painfully aware of her seeing him under the Chibi curse, and he seemed unwilling to do anything that might make her mention Super-Deformed Malfoy.

With her hours freed from guard duty, Hermione was working on something far more interesting; studying for her NEWTs. Professor Snape had offered the sixth and seventh year students extended hours in the laboratory, so that they could extend their studies into the evenings. Hermione was one of the few that had taken him up on it, and she relished the quiet of the laboratory as a place to study in general.

Alvin Lyesmith was the only one there with her now. Like her, he studied more than just potions in the laboratory, although in his case, he had little other choice. The library was still off-limits to him.

Hermione realized that she was staring at Alvin, and forced herself to look away. He looked miserable, she realized. His jaw was set, as if he was angry with the world. He looked up at her as she looked away. "What?" he snapped at her.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "I wondered how you were doing, is all."

"Why should you care," Alvin said. "I thought you were too busy with your friends to notice me."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "that wasn't my intention. I figured you wouldn't want me butting in."

Alvin blinked. "Thanks," he said, "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"I heard that you'd had some tough times recently," Hermione said, trying not to be too explicit. "Not that it's any of my business."

"It's all right," he said. "I'm doing better now."

"If you want to talk, I'm here."

"I appreciate that," Alvin said. "It's been hard getting by on my own. I don't think I have much to say, though."

Hermione nodded, but didn't say anything. She bit her tongue to stop from asking the question that was on her mind. Alvin said he was on his own, but she had only heard about his mother. What happened to his father?

"Well, I think I've done enough for today," Alvin said. He carefully put his potion in a magical storage box to keep it from getting spoiled or contaminated. "I'll see you later."

"Take care," Hermione said as he walked out.

"Finally," Harry's voice said out of nowhere. "About time he left."

Hermione jumped, jostling her potion. The caldron tipped, a few drops spilling out.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized, jumping forward to steady the caldron as he let his invisibility cloak fall to the ground.

"What are you doing here, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Is something wrong?"

He looked uncomfortable. "I wanted to say goodbye, Hermione. I thought you might come after me again if I didn't."

"Goodbye? Where are you going?"

"I don't think Voldemort's going to let me make it through school intact. The dreams have been getting worse lately."

"Harry, he's trying to make you crack. You can't let him get to you."

"I don't know what he wants Hermione, but I don't think I can stand it any longer."

"You have to, Harry. Have you talked to Dumbledore?"

"He's not talking to me," Harry said. "I think he's afraid of me again, afraid I'll let Voldemort know something. The only thing he's said to me all month is that it's not my time yet."

"He must know something, Harry. Have you tried talking to Snape?"

"He doesn't stop talking," Harry said, "he keeps finding excuses to bring me into Occulumancy lessons. I thought I was finished with him, but with Dumbledore now refusing to help out, I don't have any other choice. It isn't helping, though. That's why I have to go."

"You can't go," Hermione begged him. "Why are you so eager to go? Don't you realize what could happen?"

"I know," Harry said, "but I've faced him before. The worst he can do is kill me. Here, I don't know what he's making me do."

"Let me find out," Hermione said, "maybe I can figure out what he's trying to do."

"Do you think you can?" Harry said hopefully. "Honestly, Hermione, you're my only hope. Luna thinks she knows something, but I don't think it will help."

Hermione snorted, "What could Luna know?"

"Something about Voldemort," Harry said. "She says she's been researching some of the old library records of Tom's. It looks like he used to be into conspiracy theories."

"What do you mean?"

"He used to read the Quiddler, for one thing," Harry said. "But he also read a bunch of ancient history. She said he was reading up on Slytherin, that he'd even written a paper on Hermann, of all things."

"Hermann? Isn't that the son of Slytherin that she keeps going on about?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

Harry nodded, "That's the one. I thought the whole thing was made up, but if Voldemort believed in it, then maybe it's not."

"I wouldn't count on He Who Must Not Be Named as the definitive source on what is or isn't crazy."

"That's true," Harry said. He looked like he was thinking. He nodded his head. "I'll give it another week, but I can't promise more than that. If you can come up with any ideas by then, maybe I won't have to face him head on. I don't think I can wait any longer."

Hermione felt pressured, but she didn't seem to have another option. "I'll do my best," she said. "Let's go back to the dormitory. It's getting late."

Harry nodded. "I have a question. I know it's probably crazy, but why do you think Voldemort would care about Hermann?" Harry asked.

"It's probably because he thinks he's Slytherin's heir," Hermione said. "If there really was a son of Slytherin out there, it might make it tough for him to be the heir. If it had anything to do with blood, anyway."

"I guess that makes sense," Harry said, as he helped Hermione gather her books.

They walked together through the dungeons, chatting. "So," Harry said, "Ron said that he told you what he was up to, and he let me in on it, too. Are you really okay with it?"

"I guess," Hermione said. "I'm trying very hard to keep an open mind. I knew he was sneaking around, doing something. I never would have thought it was to be with Zabini, though."

"I know what you mean," Harry said. "I felt betrayed last year, when he was sneaking around with a teacher. To find out he's spending his time with a Slytherin... I can't believe it."

"I think he expects me to cover for him," Hermione said. "He doesn't want word to get out, but I'm not sure why. I think everyone would understand."

"Are you kidding?" Harry said. "His mother would kill him if she found out. It's dangerous, for one thing. I heard that Blaise got Ron in the face with his stick the other day."

Hermione stopped in her tracks. She pulled out her wand and turned around.

"What's wrong?" Harry said.

"I thought I heard something behind us. It sounded like a cough."

"I didn't hear anything," Harry said. "Do you think someone's back there?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I don't see anyone." She thought she had seen a flash of yellow hair, but it was gone.

"Let's go," Harry said. "We should get back to the dormitory."

Hermione thought that someone had been behind them. At least they had only been discussing Ron's secret, and not Harry's plans. She didn't think news of Ron's nocturnal activities would get anyone into too much trouble.

Harry seemed relieved that Hermione had talked him out of challenging the Dark Lord tonight. She wondered what tensions Harry was under, pulling him between avoiding conflict and embracing it.

Hermione found herself lost in thought, and she was surprised when they reached the dormitory. She had navigated the stairs without thinking about it, not really paying attention to the conversation with Harry.

..

Lavender sat at a table in the common room studying when Hermione came down the next morning. Her eyes were red. She looked daggers at Hermione briefly, then looked pointedly down at her book.

Ron and Harry weren't here. Hermione sat down to wait. She tried not to look at Lavender, but it was difficult. She felt as if Lavender's stare was burning through her, but every time she looked up, Lavender was only staring at her book. The sixth time Hermione looked up, Lavender finally said something to her. "Did you want to say something?"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, the words tumbling out. "I thought something was going on with you and Ron. I was wrong."

"That's a start," Lavender said, still looking at her book rather than meeting Hermione's eyes. "It doesn't explain your making up stories about me, though. What was with the whole jasmine thing?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione said. "There was a night, three days before the Yule break, when you came upstairs. It was late, and Ron hadn't come in yet. I saw you come in. Ron's come in a few nights smelling like jasmine, and I swear you smelled like it that night. Does this make any sense?"

"I had detentions late at night for the last week before the Yule break. You didn't notice?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I didn't. It must have been someone else, using a potion or illusion."

"Do you think Ron knows who it was?" Lavender asked, finally looking up. "If he's been smelling like some kind of perfume, maybe he has been hanging around with someone else?"

Hermione heard people tramping down the stairs from the boy's dormitories. She shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said, "but I don't think we should talk about it any more right now."

"Fair enough," Lavender replied. She picked up her books. "Mind if I come with you to breakfast?"

Hermione smiled, "Of course I don't mind."

Harry and Ron showed up, with a number of the other boys in tow. They split up, the others heading down while Harry and Ron walked over to Hermione and Lavender. "Where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

"She already went down," Lavender replied. "She said she needed to get to her first class early, so she was eating without us."

Harry looked disappointed. Hermione wondered if he had told Ginny about his plans last night; he hadn't told her when they got back to the dormitories. Ginny had already been asleep.

When they got downstairs, Hermione saw Ginny leaning over her food, her eyes streaked with tears. "Harry," Hermione hissed, "you should have told her you were back last night."

Ron looked confused, but stayed silent. Harry shrugged, "I didn't tell her I was going."

"Then why is she crying?" Hermione said. Harry looked over at her, then rushed to her side.

Ron smothered a chuckle. "He's been well tamed," Ron said.

"Does that mean that I've got to do some taming of my own?" Hermione chided back.

Harry whispered something to Ginny. She shook her head, her long red hair swaying in a way that made Hermione jealous, and stood up without a word. She walked away from the table, avoiding Ron's eyes as she went. She whispered to Hermione as she passed, "I'm so sorry," and then broke into a run.

Harry stood up and walked after Ginny. "I'll take care of it," he said, when Ron opened his mouth.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and each shook their heads. Neither of them had any idea what was going on.

When they saw Harry later in the day, he said that he hadn't been able to find Ginny. She'd gone to see Professor McGonagall after her classes, and he hadn't found her since. He'd been hanging around the Deputy Headmistress' door until she told him to leave, and now he wasn't sure where Ginny had ended up.

"Professor McGonagall said it wasn't anything for me to be concerned about," Harry said, "but I don't know what that means."

"It probably means it's nothing for you to be concerned about," Hermione said.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? Where have you been the last six and a half years? What does it usually mean when the Professors tell Harry not to worry?"

"Good point," Hermione said. She looked at Harry, "So, what should you be worrying about?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, so far, mysterious attacks on a part-time teacher and a mysterious urge to go towards Myrtle's bathroom. I don't think those fit in with Ginny going bonkers."

"Maybe she found out something," Hermione said, "Something she couldn't deal with. Seamus said that he saw her talking to Draco on her way into the hall."

"Draco?" Harry said, suddenly looking angry. "Do you think Malfoy's threatening her?"

"I don't think so," Hermione said. "You know Ginny, if he threatened her, she would give as good as she got. And after the way Malfoy spent the Yule break, I wouldn't think he'd want to threaten any Weasley. After all, the odds are that it was one of your brothers who cast the curse."

Ron smirked knowingly.

"What's that smile for? Did you do it?" she asked.

Ron shook his head, suddenly the picture of innocence. "I didn't do it," he said, "And what's more, I would wager my broom that no Weasley was behind it."

"He's probably right," Harry said, "it was a little sophisticated for a Weasley prank. Turning someone into a living Japanese cartoon is far more high-brow than turning them into a canary."

"Are you saying Fred and George couldn't have done it?" Ron asked defensively.

Hermione waved her hand between the two of them, "That's enough! You're both missing what's important here! Where's Ginny?"

"I'll try McGonagall again," Harry said. "If she doesn't tell me, I'll go straight to Dumbledore and make him tell me the whole story."

It wasn't until that night that Hermione caught a glimpse of Ginny again, and then she was apparently on her way to a detention with Snape. Harry had no luck with either Dumbledore or McGonagall, although he said that the Headmaster had been in good spirits, and the Deputy Headmistress in very poor ones. He filled them in quickly in the common room.

"I couldn't get any news out of either one of them," Harry said. "Not about Ginny, anyway. Dumbledore said that he'd just ordered Jalaja to serve a month of detentions in the Hospital Ward."

Ron groaned, "Remind me not to get into any trouble in the next month."

"Noted," Hermione said. "I feel sorry for Madam Pomfrey."

"Me, too," Harry said. "But at least she can move. Imagine being Hunter right now."

Ron shuddered. "Don't even say it. If he's lucky, he can't hear a thing she says."

On that note, they said their goodbyes and went up to sleep.

..

Hermione was dreaming... she was under attack, and she couldn't do anything about it. The masked attacker was casting spell after spell on her, and she couldn't even move. She was lying down in the middle of the library, and students all around her were just ignoring the attacks. Even Ron and Harry were just standing there, talking about Quidditch.

She looked around her. She could see the door to the restricted section open, and she thought there might be something there that would save her. She reached out her hand, and tried to pull something towards her. A blue book fell on the floor, and started to slide slowly towards her. Madam Pince walked up to it, and put her foot on the book, holding it in place.

"You shouldn't be here," Madam Pince said to the attacker. "I told you not to come back."

The attacker lifted his wand from Hermione and pointed at Madam Pince. In a high-pitched, nasal voice, he said "You must wake up!"

Hermione's eyes flew open. A familiar looking house-elf wearing mis-matched socks was standing on her bed, looking her in the eyes.

"Please, Miss Granger, do not be angry with Dobby. Dobby only wants to help Harry Potter."

"You shouldn't be in the girls dormitory at night," she whispered back.

Dobby momentarily leered at her, an expression so unexpected she almost laughed at it. "Who do you think cleans Miss Grangers' clothing at night? Poor Dobby must gather everything from Gryffindor now, since the other elves are afraid to come near here. But that is not important right now. Harry Potter is in grave danger!"

One of the other girls turned over in bed, and mumbled, "Sod off." A few of the others shifted their positions as well.

That made up Hermione's mind. "You can tell me about it down in the Common room," she whispered, "but do it quietly."

She stood up, wrapping her dressing gown around her nightgown, and marched for the door. She found Dobby standing in front of the fire, warming his hands in it. He was suddenly apologetic. "Please, forgive Dobby for entering your room. Dobby will punish himself later. But Harry Potter needs his friends' help!"

"What help does he need?" she replied.

"Dobby saw Harry Potter leaving the tower. Dobby saw him going down the stairs. Harry Potter is walking in his sleep, but he is not looking where he is going. Dobby asked Winky to watch Harry Potter, but Dobby is afraid something terrible is going to happen to Harry Potter."

"Dobby," Hermione said, rubbing her forehead. "I have a dream that someday, not only will all of the House-Elves be free, but they'll also understand the proper use of pronouns."

Dobby looked hurt. His ears drooped, and his eyes looked like they belonged on a very sad beagle.

"All right, there's no need for that," she said crisply, "I'll take care of this."

She was still dressed in her nightclothes and dressing gown, but she decided not to take the time to change. She couldn't very well let her best friend die because she was embarrassed to be out without her school robes.

Hermione left the Common Room swiftly. She wasn't worried about the faculty seeing her right now. She would have welcomed them, since they might have been able to help her track down Harry. Instead, she had the aide of a slightly peeved house elf.

"Hurry. Dobby will lead you to Harry Potter," he said, as he began to bound down the stairs. She followed quickly, avoiding two trick steps and hopping as the staircase started to move.

She realized they were heading for Moaning Myrtle's washroom. "Is Harry in the girl's washroom?"

Dobby nodded nervously, "Yes, yes, Harry Potter was walking towards the washroom when I saw him."

"Then what do you mean about him being in grave danger?" Hermione asked. "Is Moaning Myrtle planning on splashing him or something?"

"No," Dobby said, "Miss Myrtle isn't there. She was run off by the man with the snake. That's why Harry Potter..."

"Is in grave danger, I know," Hermione rolled her eyes, and hurried on. She wasn't sure why a man with a snake was such a threat. He was probably a plumber treating a clogged drain. "Dobby, when you say a man with a snake, do you mean that he perchance had a long piece of metal with a hook on the end?"

"No, no," Dobby shook his head wildly. "The man left the snake in the room. It was covered with different colors, and hissing."

"A real snake," Hermione muttered to herself. Then her eyes flipped open, "Oh, no. Wormtail. Dobby, get Dumbledore!"

Dobby disappeared with a crack. Hermione had already been walking quickly, but now she began to run, taking several stairs at a time. She stumbled more than once, catching herself on the banister. Her ankles were in pain, but she worked through that, pushing herself to get there.

She threw open the door to the washroom, to find Harry kneeling in front of the sink. His eyes were shut. He was talking, mumbling under his breath, "Open, open, open, open..."

"Harry!" Hermione called, running towards him.

Hiss. Hermione stopped, staring at the sink. A coral snake was coiled in the sink. It hissed at her again, before returning its gaze to Harry. Its slitted eyes were focused directly on Harry's face. Its tongue slid smoothly out of its mouth, tasting the air, and then back in.

Hermione had neglected her studies of Muggle animals, but she recognized the Coral Snake. It wasn't native to England, and probably wouldn't last very long outside in the current weather, so she didn't recognize it because it was something she was likely to encounter. She recognized it because it was deadly.

She inched closer to Harry very, very, slowly. The snake hissed, again, and this time, it bared its fangs.

She looked around wildly. There was no sign of Myrtle, but no sign of Wormtail, either. Why had he left Harry alone with the snake?

"Harry," she whispered. He didn't react, and neither did the snake. Was it her imagination, or was Harry starting to hiss slightly as he talked? Oh, no. She realized what they were trying to do.

"Harry," she said, "you've got to wake up. You have to wake up now. They're trying to get you to open the Chamber of Secrets, Harry." The snake struck at her, but its teeth closed harmlessly on her robes. She fell backwards onto her hands in panic, but the snake returned to its place, and continued staring at Harry. He had stopped talking briefly when she was talking, but he was repeating it again now.

"Harry, Wormtail's here!" Hermione said. "He's trying to get something from inside the Chamber!"

Harry shook his head. "Wormtail?" Harry said, weakly.

That was why Wormtail wasn't here. If Harry had even a glimmer of Wormtail being nearby, it might make him angry enough to throw off the control that Voldemort had on him, whatever its source. "Yes, Wormtail!" Hermione said.

The snake coiled up, looking at her, and she could see that it was getting ready to strike once again. It seemed to be moving sluggishly, though. A cold English washroom in Winter was not the ideal environment for a tropical reptile.

She pulled her wand out, and pointed it at the snake. She didn't like snakes. The last one that she had met at Hogwarts had turned her into a statue. The snake hissed, and as it struck, Hermione realized her error. Her reflexes weren't fast enough. Before she could get a spell out, the snake had moved out from under where her wand was pointed.

Its teeth snapped together tightly, gleaming fangs slick with poison, inches in front of her face. Harry's right hand was tightly wrapped around the base of its neck.

"Hermione," he said, his voice shaking. "What's going on here?"

"I'm not sure, Harry," she said, "but I think there's something down there."

"Down where?" he asked. He followed her eyes to the sink. "Down there? You mean, the Chamber of Secrets? There's nothing else down there, other than a few statues, and whatever's left of the Basilisk." He was talking casually, as if he was totally unaware that he had a deadly snake in his hand.

"I think there's something else, Harry. And, more to the point, You Know Who thinks there's something more than that."

"You said something about Wormtail. And Voldemort. Why do you think they're involved? Couldn't I have been sleepwalking again?"

"Harry, where do you think the snake came from?"

"What snake?" he asked. Then he looked in his hand. "Oh, that snake." Harry swallowed. "Would you mind doing something about that for me?"

"Of course not," Hermione said. She pointed her wand towards the snake, then flicked twice, with a muttered incantation. The snake vanished.

"Right," Harry said, "Thanks. We'd probably better get back to bed before any of the Professors find us."

The door swung open, and Professor Snape was there, smiling evilly, with Dobby shaking by his side. "It's a little late for that, Potter."