-.-

Chapter 10

The Book of Shadows: Part Three

-.-

Harry, Catherine, Ginny, Ron, and Luna decided to take a stroll across the grounds after dinner so when they were finished, they headed out the oak front doors, and down toward the lake. They plopped down under the old oak tree by the lake.

"I remember this tree!" Ron said as they sat down. "We used to sit under it during the school year to do homework... actually; Hermione was the only one who did homework. Harry and I just talked about Quidditch."

"Well, it's not like that has ever changed." A female voice said. Harry spun around. There, standing barely five feet from them, was Hermione. Harry slowly stood to his feet and went to her. He took her hand in his, and squeezed. She gave him a curious look.

"Just making sure I'm not imagining this." Harry whispered before pulling her into a tight hug. Hermione's exhaustion overtook her and she collapsed in his arms.

"C'mon," Harry said, lifting Hermione into his arms. "You need the hospital wing."

Hermione sighed and leaned her head again Harry's chest as he carried her to the castle. They had barely gone five feet before Hermione fell asleep.

-.-

"Still asleep?"

"Yes… Although, I'm honestly not surprised. She's been through a lot and she deserves to rest as long as she'd like."

"I understand, but it's very important that she tell us exactly what happened. Her information could help us greatly."

"When she is able to leave the hospital wing, I will bring her to your office. Until then, I would ask for you not to worry her."

"Catherine, I know you are concerned for your mother, but she's been back for two weeks, we..."

"Professor, please. Not now." Dumbledore sighed.

"As you wish," He swept from the room. Harry smirked at his daughter.

"Damn, you handled that well. I've never seen anyone change Dumbledore's mind before."

"I had enough practice talking to stubborn people when I dated you."

"Yeah, you know... must you mention that? Honestly, it's too weird to think about." Catherine sighed and continued to flip through the Book of Shadows, which the Order had acquired in a surprise raid on the Halliwell's home the previous day. The house itself had been liberated as well and was now under the protection of the Order.

"Oh, have a spine," Catherine muttered darkly. "We dated for over a year. It happened and nothing is going to change it."

"Yeah, it's just..."

"Would you two stop arguing?" Hermione muttered sleepily.

"Well, finally awake I see." Harry said, leaning closer to her and taking her hand. "How do you feel?"

"Like my entire body has been run through a meat grinder." Hermione told him, a small smile creeping onto her face. Harry knew Hermione was in pain, but the fact that she could joke about it told him she would be fine.

"When you're well, Dumbledore wants to speak with you. To find out what happened while you were… being held." A sudden thought crossed Hermione's mind. She had to tell Harry about Grindelwald! As she opened her mouth to speak, a sharp pain pierced her head. When it passed, she realized she could no longer remember the man's name. For there had most certainly been a man, a wizard... or... had he even been a wizard? Had there even been a man? No, perhaps there hadn't been. Hermione closed her mouth and leaned back against the pillows, now certain that Voldemort was the only dark wizard that needed to be destroyed.

-.-

"So it's done then?"

"Yes, she will not remember me at all."

"Good. Very good…"

"You seem upset, Tom. Care to explain?" Voldemort hesitated.

"She could have been a gold mine of information and now she's gone. Perhaps if you had listened to me and kept her in the regular cells she wouldn't have escaped. You allowed her to regain her strength!" Grindelwald glared at him.

"Did it ever occur to you," Grindelwald said darkly. "That escaping was precisely what I wanted her to do?"

-.-

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Still coming up here late at night?"

"Of course. You didn't think my nightly strolls to the top of the Astronomy Tower would stop, did you?" Hermione laughed and moved to the railing where Harry stood.

"Well, I'd hoped you would spend the time resting instead of staying up here." Harry wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm not the one that needs rest, Mione. That's you."

"Come on, Harry. I'm fine and obsessing over it isn't going to help. You should be focusing on Voldemort." Harry turned her around so that she was facing him.

"You're not fine, Mione. You're just making it look like you're fine so I can worry about Voldemort. For a few months there... there were times when I thought I'd never see you again. I hate to say it, but I honestly gave up on you coming back."

"Harry... I'm not always going to be around. You... you can't concern yourself that."

"Don't say that." Harry whispered.

"It's true. It's life. You're born, you live, and you die. Voldemort wants me dead and... well, one day he may get his wish."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied. "I'm so sorry I've gotten you into all this…" He gazed into her eyes and noticed the sparkle that usually appeared there was gone. Instead, a dark pool of terror and agony filled her hazel eyes. A pain so deep, so engulfing that Harry could no longer look at her.

"Mione," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." she said, although her voice seemed... sad somehow.

"I'm here for you, Mione. You can tell me."

"Harry, there's nothing to tell. You, however, can tell me something. Dumbledore told me about the conversation you and he had before the school was attacked." Harry stared.

"He... he wasn't supposed to..."

"I know, but he felt you might do something on your own if he didn't." Hermione backed away from him, leaning against the railing. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

"I was just..." Harry began.

"'trying to protect me.' Yeah, I know. Stop. I don't need you to protect me, Harry. What I do need is for you to stop Voldemort. No one is safe until that bastard burns."

"Yeah, but..."

"No 'buts' this time, Harry. I mean it. I can take care of myself." A small smile crossed her face. "But just because I can take care of myself doesn't mean I don't like to be pampered every once in a while." Harry grinned and lifted her into his arms. He made to carry her out of the tower, but before he could, both of them were surrounded by blue-white light as Hermione orbed them away. From that moment on, Harry knew he had to do as Hermione asked. Although he often found it difficult, he never again attempted to protect Hermione when she didn't want him to.

-.-

The blast blew a kilometer-wide hole into the ground. The sky was red with fire, burning through the air like angry lances of blood. The ground burned and blackened as the flames raked across it. Fields burned and rivers turned into dry, barren patches of dirt. A spiraling hole of blackness appeared in the sky. The entire ground lifted into the air and Harry's dream ended as quickly as it had begun. He rolled over and gently nudged Hermione, who was sleeping peacefully beside him.

"Mione?" he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Are you awake?"

"I am now." Hermione said irritably.

"Oh… sorry. Never mind."

"You've already woken me up now, what is it?"

"I had another one of those 'end of the world' dreams. You know... nuclear apocalypse dreams? And somehow… it feels as though its something that's going to happen."

Hermione rolled over to face him.

"Well, you do have Phoebe's powers. It's... possible that you are seeing the future."

"But that would mean..."

"That we lost, I know. And, honestly... how do you know we don't?"

-.-

Hermione made her way to the Great Hall early Saturday morning. Once there she quickly spotted the lone redheaded figure sitting at the end of the Ravenclaw table. She hurried over and sat down across from her.

"We need to talk." Hermione said seriously, placing her fingertips together on the table in front of her and eyeing the youngest Weasley with a good deal of apprehension in her gaze.

"Yeah," Ginny muttered. She spoke she looked not into Hermione's eyes, but instead she focused intently on her left shoulder. "Yes, we do. Mione... we were friends once. Close friends. And as I see it, there's no reason we can't be friends again. If we could just... get passed all this. When... when I stabbed you... I felt terrible. It was almost like I'd stabbed myself. I betrayed you, Hermione, and... I'm sorry. I was just so angry, I... wanted Harry back and I was prepared to do anything to get him." Hermione simply stared at her for a moment, shaking her head.

"I'm not the one you owe an apology to."

"I already apologized to Harry." Ginny told her.

"Not Harry, Ginny. Catherine. If you had killed me before she's born, you'd have killed her too." Ginny bowed her head sadly.

"I... I hadn't thought of that."

"Obviously," Hermione muttered. "There are... a lot of things I can forgive you for, including what you did to Harry, but not what you almost did to Kat."

"Mione, I..."

"No, Ginny. It's asking too much, Ginny. You almost killed my daughter; I can't just let that go."

"There was a time when you would at least hear me out..." Ginny moaned.

"I've changed, Gin. I'm not the same person you went to school with. I did hear you out, Ginny, and you do sound sincere, but words don't mean anything. You're going to have to prove yourself."

"Fine, I'll do whatever I have to. I want all this mess in the past. What can I do to prove myself?" Hermione thought for a moment.

"I don't know. Look, for now let's just... get along. We'll worry about trust and forgiveness later. Just so long as you as you promise not to stab me in the back again... literally, then I think we can start to... fix this." Ginny couldn't find the words to reply.

-.-

"It's done!" Catherine exclaimed holding up a tiny vial of blood red liquid.

"Are you sure it works?" Harry asked.

"Of course it does! Well... I haven't tested it yet, but I'm sure it'll work."

"And how do you purpose that we test it?" Catherine grinned and glanced at Hermione.

"Well, I thought that I would be a... test subject is the appropriate term, I believe." Catherine uncorked the bottle and downed the contents. "Well, go ahead!" she told them. Harry drew his wand.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I've already drunk this disgusting mess; we're certainly going to find out if it works. Now, get on with it." Harry raised his wand.

"Imperio!" he exclaimed. A jet of red light shot towards Catherine. Just as it was about to make contact, the spell seemed to impact an invisible shield, bounced off, and hit the wall just above Harry's head.

"Well, I'll be goddamned." Harry said in awe. "It works."

"What? You didn't expect it to?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, it never has before."

"We've never had a magical, self-protecting book before. Besides, Catherine's great at potion making. She's better than me," Hermione gave Harry a small smile. "And she's twice as good as you." Harry grinned and said,

"That's not all that big of a compliment." Catherine sighed.

"Well, go ahead and cast the next one." Harry stared.

"The other two are..."

"I know damn well what they do and honestly I don't care. What I do know is that without this potion, we're dead. We've got to test it before we use it in battle. Now, do it." Harry sighed.

"Crucio!" The yellow light, just like its red counterpart before it, bounced off the shield. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks.

"Is it really necessary to...?"

"Yes!" Catherine exclaimed. Harry looked grimly at Hermione, who shrugged and nodded. Harry closed his eyes as tightly as possible and raised his wand again.

"Avada Kedavera!" The bolt of green light hit the shield, rebounded, and hit the wall blowing a two foot wide crater in it.

"Wow," Hermione whispered. "Impressive."

"Indeed, it is." Harry said, helping Catherine put the rest of the potion into vials. "How long does this stuff last?"

"I'm not entirely certain," Catherine answered. "It's not permanent, but it should last several hours, at least."

"Well, it's better than nothing." Harry said, corking the last vial. Hermione gazed into the bottom of the cauldron, a strange, almost distant look in her eyes.

"At least we have a chance now, albeit a small one." she whispered.

-.-

"This agreement cannot..."

"It will aid us greatly, Tom." Grindelwald turned toward the dark figure standing before them. "Agreed." The figure shifted, a thin small crossing his hooded face.

"A good decision,"

"It is," Grindelwald agreed. "Allying with the Source of all Evil,"