Hello all you lovely people! Major apologies for the slow update as usual - life is just way too busy ;) But anyways, welcome to chapter the eleventh, glad to see you all again. When I first wrote this chapter it was so different. I took out an entire scene where Hermione and Harry bumped into a group of aggressive, drunken lads - which was a wee bit sad because I loved it, but once I sat back and looked at it, I realised that it progressed the plot in no way whatsoever and was pretty much irrelevant - it was essentially filler, so I chopped it from the finished chapter.
Continued thanks to FEARLESSLY for the excellent debate on whether or not Hermione had witnessed death by the sixth book or not. I always enjoy our chats Cass ;)
And thanks also to brigrove who gave me much to think about.
Onwards!
Potentially Problematic_Chapter Eleven_ Cracking Into Big Ben
Harry had lead Hermione back to the Gryffindor common room, up the boys staircase and into his own room. As she stood, perplexed, near the door way, Harry wasted no time diving into the large chest at the foot of his bed and riffling through. Out came a thin, black, sparkly piece of material - his invisibility cloak.
Hermione thought that she'd finally cottoned on to what exactly it was Harry was planning. "Even with that cloak Harry, your broom may still be visible. No teacher here will just shrug their shoulders at a broom flying by itself…plus, we still don't know how to even get to London -"
She felt something furry rub against her leg and looked down to find Crookshanks. He stared up at her with his orangey yellow eyes and meowed. Hermione bent down to give him an affectionate stroke behind the ear and set off his collar in the process, which began singing about jingle bells and which he was still wearing despite Christmas being so very long ago. She'd tried taking it off of him, but he had reacted most viciously and ran away. Clearly, Crookshanks had become very connected with his present from Harry.
"Hermione. I wasn't planning on using the broom - you're right, that idea has too many holes," Harry said, quickly throwing all the belongings he'd strewn on the floor back into his chest and closing the lid. He swept passed Hermione and Crookshanks and back through the door. Hermione scurried on behind him.
"Then would you please tell me what you're planning? I'm sick of following you around without any clue about what's going on. It wouldn't take two seconds -"
"We have to find Luna."
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "Luna?" she asked sceptically. There was a moments silence broken only by the light tip tapping of the pairs' shoes on the concrete floor. "I'm afraid I've missed the connection."
"She can help us." Harry replied, continuing to barrel on down the stairs and back through the portrait entrance, even as Hermione jogged to keep up with him. "We might not be able to get a broom to London, but we both know a creature that can get us there."
Hermione's eyes widened. "You're talking about Thestrals," she said. Her voice sounded considerably unenthusiastic.
"Exactly. All we need is to do is tell them our destination and they'll get us there. We can throw the cloak over us and even if some of the teachers do see the Thestral - well, there's nothing strange about a Thestral flying around is there?"
Hermione stared at Harry in something close to admiration. "You know, that might actually work. …That's a really good idea Harry."
Harry turned his head to her astonished tone. He smirked. "Yeah. I get those sometimes. People are probably coming back from breakfast now, so she's bound to be somewhere in the castle.….The only thing we have to worry about is Muggles. I mean I don't know if non-magical people can even see them at all, even if they have experienced death in their lives…but well -"
"We'll just have to risk it. This is the best idea we've got." Hermione said firmly. "It could mean expulsion if we get caught…but what's that compared to Ron's life? It's nothing."
Though his eyes remained focused and trained on their surroundings, searching for any speck of the allusive Luna, Harry laughed just a little bit.
"What?" asked Hermione.
"Nothing, it's just…you've changed your tune haven't you? From six years ago."
…before either of you think up another brilliant idea to get us all killed, or worse - expelled.
Hermione smiled at the memory. "Yeah." She said "…Things change I guess."
Harry replied with a nod and quickened his pace.
Half an hour and an eternity later, the pair finally found Luna Lovegood in a hall, sitting on a window ledge, staring up intensely at a top corner of the ceiling.
"Hey Luna," Harry greeted as he and Hermione slowed to a halt next to the blonde.
Luna didn't respond for a good few seconds. She turned her head to them very slowly, her eyes seeming strangely vacant for a moment - as if looking straight through the twosome. Her head fell to one side.
"Oh hello," she said, in a dreamy half-whisper. Her eyes flicked back to the ceiling and then her head followed.
Hermione and Harry looked that way, but, of course, saw nothing.
"Is there something up there?" Harry asked. It wasn't unlike Luna to see things that no one else could see.
"Hmm," Luna mumbled. "Lemony-scratchings. Odd things. …They like shoelaces and soot."
Harry shot Hermione a questionable look, as if asking if she could see anything. Hermione shook her head.
Luna turned back to face them. "It's difficult having shoes with no laces."
"I can imagine," Hermione said. She really did like Luna, and after her help last year, Hermione had huge respect for the girl, but she still wasn't sure how to take her at times. Being a creature of logic, as Hermione was, Luna defied everything she'd ever come to have faith in.
"Still, they may return them if I give them a sock. They like those too - and I can live without socks."
"We need your help Luna," Harry said quickly.
Luna's serene expression didn't falter. She didn't even blink. "Oh. …Is it Ron?"
"Have you heard about him?" Hermione asked urgently.
"Well - in a way."
Hermione wasn't even going to bother to go into what 'way' that exactly was. "Good, well," and at this she lowered her voice, "we have reason to believe that he's been taken to London and we need to get there."
"We're going to go save him Luna," Harry added.
Luna stared. "Hmm yes," she said absently. "I suppose you would feel that way."
"We'll need help getting there though." Hermione said. "We'll need the Thestrals help again."
"Yeah, and since you visit them regularly…" Harry trailed off.
There was a moment of silence where Luna just looked at Harry. "I can show them to you, if that's what you'd like? I was planning on going this morning anyway. Do you know they've cancelled all the lessons for today?"
"Uh - yeah." Harry said quickly. "That would be an amazing help if you could show us." He sounded extremely relieved.
"Hmm, good - well, we should go then," Luna said, popping off her windowsill and walking with big bouncy strides down the hall and out into the daylight.
It was, Hermione noticed for the first time, an ironically pleasant day outside. It was still fairly early - perhaps about nine. The sun was out, but dimmed every now and then by random blotches of cloud. There was a gentle, cool breeze lofting about. It was surprising weather for so early in the year and a good day for students with no classes to go to.
The courtyard where Harry and Hermione had quietly shared in their grief earlier that morning was now milling with people. Everyone seemed in high spirits. Hermione wondered if they had heard about Ron. Did they know that his absence was the cause for their free day?
She bumped shoulders with a Hufflepuff coming the other way. The girl - a sweet-looking brunette - beamed at Hermione's passing form, offering a happy apology. Hermione felt a million miles away from that girl and her smiles. Hermione could have been enjoying her day off along with everyone else, but instead, at the age of sixteen, she was on a mission to save her best friend from almost certain death - and risk her own life in the process.
The Thestrals weren't too difficult to find at all. Luna seemed to know exactly where she was going and didn't seem at all concerned about how deep into the Forbidden Forest they had travelled - a fact that Harry had been very keen to point out.
"Are you sure this is the right way Luna?" he'd asked pointedly.
"Positive," Luna had replied. "Do you not trust me Harry?"
"O - of course," Harry had bumbled, but then spoke quietly to Hermione from the corner of his mouth, saying, "but then she hadn't been around for the Centaur fiasco had she?"
They'd made it to a clearing, apparently filled with Thestrals - not that Hermione could see anything of course. She did watch in fascination though when Luna threw out a small piece of raw meat, which then seemed to be snatched up into the air, as if dangling from an invisible wire, before being stretched two ways and ripped apart - both pieces quickly disappearing, having being swallowed by the winged horses she assumed.
And it was a very bizarre, if familiar, sight indeed when Harry heaved himself up onto nothing and floated there - six feet above the ground and legs dangling apart. He looked to Hermione.
"We better hurry," he said.
Hermione nodded, took a step forward and then stopped, worried she might bump into the invisible creatures. As it was a year previous, Luna obliged, leading Hermione forward, turning her to face right next to Harry and drawing her hands upwards until Hermione's fingers connected with the sleek, skeletal back of his Thestral. She felt along the length of its spine. It protruded so far out from its body that Hermione could only imagine that the creature must look just like a horse skeleton with furless skin so thin it might seem transparent. She found the Thestral's neck and patted it.
"He likes you," Luna said. She gave a strange kind of smile and helped Hermione up onto her mount behind Harry. Hermione would never get over how strange it was, feeling that you were physically sitting on top of something and yet not being able to see it.
"Thank you Luna," Harry said. He looked down and spun one finger round and round. Hermione thought that perhaps he was twinning it through the horse's mane. "This isn't your fight this time you know. The kidnapper only wants us."
Hermione felt herself tremble lightly at the words. He only wanted them. He had summoned them and knew they'd come for Ron. Anything could be waiting.
"That may be true, but it doesn't mean that you shouldn't have back up just in case," Luna said. "It makes much more sense really. " She tilted her head slightly. "…But there aren't enough invisibility cloaks to go around - I wouldn't want the teachers to spot you because of me."
"I'm worried if too many people come…they might hurt Ron," Harry said.
"Does the bait even matter now though?" Luna asked in her same dreamy voice. "Once you know you have the catch? If I was the kidnapper I wouldn't worry much about my prisoner if I knew who I really wanted was on the way."
There was a pause.
"I know that, but I have to go Luna," Harry said bluntly. Hermione could feel his impatience. They were wasting time.
"I know you feel you have too," Luna replied. Her voice trailed off, eyes flicking almost lazily to one side, before she said, "I won't tell the teachers where you've gotten to."
"Thanks Luna," said Harry. "We're going to Big Ben. You have to knock three times on its side and say the words 'Entry is as entry does' - if we're not back by eleven tonight, then send help."
Luna nodded slowly. "I'll remember. I hope you come back with Ron."
"So do we," Harry said. He flicked out the cloak and gently settled it over both himself and Hermione. "How do we look?"
"Deceptively not here," Luna replied.
"Perfect. Right ok, uh - Thestral? We're going to London…to Big Ben in London."
Hermione sat, watching the back of Harry's head. Suddenly, she felt the horse shift beneath her and clenched her knees close to its bony sides and wrapped her arms around Harry's waist in tense anticipation. It didn't help that she couldn't even see when the thing would be taking off.
"Hold on," Harry warned, just as Hermione felt herself suddenly drop about two foot before a tremendous force thrust her forwards and upwards. She instinctively crushed herself even tighter against Harry, eyes snapping shut and hands clutching big wads of his robe to keep from falling backwards off the beast. She felt miles too close to its' rear-end and severely insecure. She was amazed that the invisibility cloak had even managed to stay on them.
She heard wing-beats, and felt the creature's body jerk into its flight movement, tossing her so violently left and right that she was sure she really would tumble down into the blotches of green that the Forbidden Forest had now quickly become.
Once they'd reached some height, the horse levelled out and the jerking movement abated, much to Hermione's sheer relief - she kept her death grip on Harry though. If she was going down then she'd darn well be dragging him down with her.
After some time, the countryside below them, bleached in the weak rays of the sun, began to morph into tiny houses and cars of Muggle towns and cities. They flew up just a little way, so that they were above the clouds. It was gloriously sunny up there - the odd segmentations of cloud looking like big swirled balls of cotton candy. In some terribly frightening way - it was quite beautiful.
After what felt like a very long time (the blood in Hermione's hands had all but drained from where she'd been clutching Harry so tightly) they began to descend.
Hermione let out a little cry, the sudden drop unexpected. Her stomach lurched horribly and she slid forwards, tight against Harry's back. The world was coming fast at Hermione, and her eyes squeezed closed against the blur of shapes and colours. She felt Harry tense - and then they were upright again - the Thestral having landed in an impossibly smooth way for the speed they'd been descending at.
Hermione felt incredibly shaken as, slowly, she opened her eyes and looked all around. The Thestral seemed to have some sense and had dropped them off on an isolated little side street instead of the busy tourist area where Big Ben was actually located. Amazingly for London, no one seemed to be around.
Harry and Hermione slide off together. Hermione's legs touched ground and her knees buckled slightly, but she managed to stay upright. Harry gave the winged horse a grateful pat, took a guarded look around and then threw off the invisibility cloak they'd been wearing.
"I better take this with us - just in case," Harry said, stuffing the cloak into his inside robe pocket. It was only then that Hermione realised how un-Muggle-like the two of them looked. She hadn't even thought to change - but now, with their robes and perfectly black attire they may as well have been wearing witches hats and hook noses they looked so the part .
"Uh - if anybody asks we'll say we're in a play or something." Hermione said. "Luckily this is London right?"
Harry nodded and looked back in the Thestral's direction.
"Are you going to be alright there?" he asked. "We'll be back for you ok? Stay here." After a couple of seconds he turned back around. "I hope he'll be alright."
"Let's just hope nobody sees him," Hermione muttered. "That'll be all we need. Some Muggle going on about how they'd seen a skeletal, winged horse walking around."
"…Maybe he could be in the play too? …A prop maybe?"
Hermione thumped him. "Let's just find Big Ben."
They slipped down a side alley and took a left, hoping to wind up in a busier area, but hit a dead end instead. It took ten more minutes and six more left turns for them to find a main road.
An elderly couple were hobbling by and Hermione took the chance to step in front of them and politely ask directions to Big Ben.
Half way through the old dears absentminded mutterings of 'oh good golly I'm sure it was around here somewhere' and ' I've lived in this city for years, you'd think I'd know. It isn't exactly a small clock is it?' Hermione thought that she might actually be as old as the couple by the time they'd actually explained where Big Ben was.
A whole lifetime passed and Hermione finally gained the information she needed. After a quick 'thank you' her and Harry were off - striding down the street as if their lives depended on it.
Hermione felt a mixture of things when eventually old Big Ben himself was looming above them. She felt relieved, pleased - but also anxious and worried. Rescuing Ron wouldn't be as easy as tapping on the clock tower and politely asking for him back - Hermione felt like whatever followed would get a lot worse before it got better.
She voiced none of this.
"Well," she said. "We might have trekked half way across London, but here we are."
Hermione now understood why the Thestral had taken them so far out from their destination. There were people everywhere - hundreds passing them every second. She couldn't imagine it would have looked too normal if her and Harry, with their winged horse of death, had just dropped in on the street. Hermione wondered what would happen once they tapped on Big Ben and said the magic words? Were they about to create the largest magical exposure fiasco that the Ministry would have ever seen?
"There are a lot of people," Harry was saying, apparently reading Hermione's mind. "How are we going to do this without attracting attention to ourselves?"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. But we're here now," she paused, looking to Harry. "We'll have to risk it right?"
Harry took in a breath and walked forwards towards the enormous clock. Hermione followed.
"So we just…tap on it?"
Hermione looked all around. All these witnesses wandering about were making her nervous. "I…guess."
"Ok." They came to stand beside the clock tower, trying to look as nonchalant as possible - whilst probably looking like the most suspicious people in the world. Hermione thanked whoever might be listening, for the morning rush. Everyone seemed so busy with their own journeys that no one paid even the slightest bit of attention to Harry or Hermione.
Harry put his hand through the spiked, steel fence that surrounded Big Ben and leant in so that his fingers just about brushed the stone surface. His brows knotted in concentration as he stretched himself as far as he'd possibly go and managed to pat the wall three times with his fingertips.
"Entry is as entry does?" he incanted uncertainly.
Hermione sucked in a breath. Nothing happened.
"Those were the right words right?" Harry asked.
"Definitely!" said Hermione, feeling suddenly panicked. Had they come all this way for nothing? She was just about to suggest tapping it with their wands, when a very quiet, slow, grinding noise sounded from somewhere beneath them. It sounded like stone grating against stone. That's when Hermione noticed Big Ben - it was steadily but most certainly moving away from them. The whole building was inching backwards. Hermione looked to Harry who shared her shocked expression, and then she remembered where she was and, more importantly, who was around her and her head flung about, certain to see the hordes of peoples staring in utter horror at the moving monument.
So surprised was she indeed to find that people were still just rushing past them - everyone in their own little worlds. No one even glanced their way. It appeared that whatever was happening to Big Ben was privy to themselves only. The Muggles couldn't see it.
"No one's noticing," Harry mumbled next to her. "How can no one see?"
Big Ben had moved back by about five feet now, and a portion of the fence in front of Harry and Hermione was turning in on itself like a gate without hinges - the metal bending and twisting - snapping away and creating an opening. There was a light shudder underfoot and then the ground where Big Ben had originally stood, opened up - pulling backwards underneath itself and revealing a set of stone steps leading downwards. Beyond the first few steps the pair could see nothing but pitch blackness.
The building went back a tiny bit more, so that the opposite side was flush against the fence there - and then stopped. Big Ben stood as if it had always been sitting quiet and still - as if there had always been a big hole in the ground next to it with stairs leading down into the earth.
Harry took the lead, heading through the fence and towards the steps hesitantly. He paused at the top step, seeming to ready himself and then quickly plunged into the darkness.
Hermione took one last look around and followed.
And that's it. I'm not sure if its perfect - but I've been working on it for so long now that I really just needed to post it. I got out a map of London and was going to be specific about crossing bridges and things, but I decided that I didn't need that - so made their location very vague. I hope it works. I know there's not too many places in London that are completely deserted - but I've been down a few side streets myself that have been empty, so it's not impossible ;)
Anyway hope you all enjoyed it. Join me next time to see what horrible things await Harry and Hermione underneath Big Ben. Woooo.
Please do review. I really appreciate them.