The Circle Around the Fire
Chapter 11 – Hermione's Tale
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
"Right Hermione," whispered Harry. He licked his lips nervously and peered round the corner of a tall bookshelf. "Here is good."
He led the way into a small cubicle formed by three walls of bookshelves and one of stone. A wooden table piled high with books graced the centre of the alcove, surrounded by three chairs. The library was almost deserted, as most people were still at dinner. It was now about a week following Halloween and the troll incident, and Harry had resolved to reveal the truth about his magic to Hermione.
Harry sat down in one of the chairs, and Hermione took the one nearest. Harry hefted the heavy book he was carrying, and set it down on top of the pile on the table. He let it fall open to a particular page and as the dust cleared archaic, flowery script was revealed on the parchment.
"This is John Dee's Encyclopaedia of the Arcane." Hermione sat forward in her seat, evidently interested in regards to the book. Harry pointed to the entry at the top of the page. "Read this," he instructed.
Hermione began to read aloud:
To the Mamanti, that mightie protector of our poor islands, we all owe muche thanks. Thou hast upon thy shoulders a greate burden, of which none but thou canst carry a part. With thine armoury of flame and lightning, and with thy power of the transformation, none may prevail against thee. None may shatter the peace of our islands with thee as our guardian. He that tryeth hath brought upon himself a greate and terrible fate.
"Well, he likes this Mamanti bloke a bit, doesn't he!" Hermione leaned back against her chair. "Who exactly was he. Or she," she quickly amended.
"At that time, I believe the Mamanti was in fact a woman. And it's a title, rather than a single person. The Mamanti are an ancient organisation that protects the world against dark magic. The last Mamanti of Britain was killed about a hundred years ago, and that's why Voldemort could gain power."
"So…. are you one of them?"
Harry shook his head. "I was raised by the Mamanti of Canada, but I will be Mamanti of Britain when I'm old enough."
"That's pretty amazing," said Hermione, grinning. "Quite a responsibility though. You'll have to work hard." She pursed her lips at him.
Harry smiled. "Don't worry Hermione. I'm not a Ravenclaw for nothing! Speaking of which, I'm going to do something so very Ravenclaw, and ask you to help me research something."
Hermione got a slightly scary gleam in her eyes. "Point me in the right direction," she said.
"It's about this Flammel character that Hagrid mentioned. I recognised the name, and I think it's somehow important…" he trailed off, but Hermione needed no other prompt, and she shot from her chair and whirled around the library like a dervish.
Within minutes, Hermione and Harry had discovered all the library had to offer on Flammel. They read about the Philosopher's stone, and its transformative and regenerative properties. Harry felt a cold shiver go down his spine, and the hairs on his arms stood on end. He was reminded very suddenly of the chamber he had discovered beneath the trapdoor and the three-headed dog, and the Devil's Snare, and the enchantment that had hurled him from the room. Perhaps they were protective enchantments of some sort, wondered Harry. He couldn't be totally sure. But one thing he was certain of – they were protecting the Philosopher's Stone.
xxx
Nothing more transpired concerning the Stone or Flammel for the next few weeks, and soon it was approaching Christmas. Taqqiq had advised Harry to remain at Hogwarts, as Canada was currently in the throes of a rather violent goblin uprising following a spate of killings by wizards. Harry had never particularly celebrated the holiday with his Grandmother, but he knew enough of it to appreciate the tradition of sending presents, so, with that in mind, he had got his friends a gift each. For Hermione he had got Gringotts to send him a couple of old and rare books from his vault, and for Ron, Neville and Seamus, as well as his dorm mates, he bought various items of a generic nature. He wasn't as close to them as he was to Hermione, so he was a bit unsure about what to get them. He also got Anissu and Hedwig various treats.
When Christmas day came around, Harry woke to see a pile of presents by the foot of his bed. His friends had got him various assorted wizard sweets, which he hid under his bed in order to avoid thieving fingers. Hermione had given him a book of classical philosophy, which he had to restrain himself from opening and absorbing himself within. His Grandmother had sent him a handmade charm, in appearance similar to a Dreamcatcher, which aided the negation of harmful enchantments. Anissu and Hedwig had joined forces to write him a Christmas card. Well, they had got a card from somewhere, and made various markings on it after dipping themselves in ink. He thanked them both, and gave them their treats. The final present, however, was a bit more mysterious than the animals' offering.
He took the card from the top first, and read what was written on the reverse.
Harry,
This has just come into my possession. When you are alone, more information will be made clear to you.
Harry set the card aside carefully, face down, and opened the package. A silvery cloak shimmered inside the parcel, and Harry could feel the magic seeping from it, which felt somehow like chords plucked delicately on a harp. He glanced around quickly to check if his dorm mates were asleep, then took both the cloak and the letter into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. The text on the letter shivered and increased at the moment the bolt slid home.
It now read:
Harry,
This was your father's Invisibility Cloak. It was handed down through the Potter line for generations, and now it passes to you. It was lost from the Potter family the night your parents were murdered, and I recently discovered it in the possession of a family who were supporters of Voldemort when he was at his full power. Don't worry; I have checked it for bewitchments. I hope you will put it to better use than they did.
Albus Dumbledore
Harry was quite shocked. Of course, he had known all about his parent's deaths for a long time, but this brought it home quite suddenly. A small tear trickled down his cheek, which he wiped away quickly. He was jolted out of his memories by a sudden heat under his fingers. His head snapped down, and he saw that the card from Dumbledore had spontaneously combusted. He was taking serious precautions, thought Harry.
But an Invisibility Cloak! It was a sobering to think about the evil it would have allowed in the hands of Voldemort's supporters, but he was still excited to try it out. Composing himself, he left the bathroom. He trusted Dumbledore, but he liked to do things himself, so he took the charm Taqqiq had given him, and activated it above the cloak. It detected nothing, and Harry was satisfied that it was safe. With another quick glance at the rest of the dorm to make sure they still slept, he swung the cloak around his shoulders. Looking down, he saw that his body was no longer to be seen. He put the hood of the cloak over his head, and he turned to look into the mirror surmounting the fireplace. The reflection in the mirror didn't change at all. Harry grinned to himself. Now this would come in handy.
He wrote a cryptic thank you card to the Headmaster, in keeping with the sender's caution, and scribbled a note to Taqqiq, which he sent off with Hedwig.
xxx
Harry had promised Hermione that he would show her some of the magic he had learned from Taqqiq, and Boxing Day, when most students were still at home, was as good a day as any. He led a fearful Hermione into the forest with him, both wrapped up warm against the cold, which lay heavily on the ground as glistening snow.
The Ikuma took a little longer to light because of the damp wood, but when it was burning merrily, Harry cast on some herbs, and fell into a trance. He grasped Hermione's hands, and drew her with him as he Searched beyond his body. He could feel her shock and amazement through their connection, and he joyfully took her soaring over the spires of the forest. They flew across to the castle and were dancing across the threshold of the Entrance Hall, when Harry stopped suddenly. He felt Hermione's question, but was unable to explain why he had stopped. It was as if something had… called to him. He pulled Hermione with him as he followed the call. It wasn't summoning him, exactly, rather whatever it was seemed to exude a faint sort of gravitational pull. Harry didn't think he would have felt it had he not been in his astral form. His projected consciousness sank through the stone floor of the hall, much to Hermione's surprise, but she then followed him. They sank through layers of the dungeons, stone and earth, and, at length, came to dark chamber far beneath the castle. The darkness mattered not, as they weren't seeing with their eyes anyway, and they could See a great mirror standing freely in the centre of the chamber. Harry approached it cautiously. Hermione's anxiousness about danger permeated their connection, but Harry calmed her, as he was certain the mirror was benign. He could sense enchantments built into it, as well as some foreign spells layered over and within these, but even they seemed slightly familiar. The two projected consciousnesses now floated directly in front of the mirror. Then, taking both children quite by surprise, the surface of the mirror rippled, and both of them were suddenly reflected in the glass, twin shocked expressions glaring back at them. Harry quickly glanced down to check that he hadn't accidentally manifested an astral form, but sure enough, he was still invisible. The mirror rippled again, and suddenly Harry and Hermione were surrounded by thousands and thousands of people. They were of all nationalities, all in different clothes, all speaking different languages, but they were all crying for joy, and embracing one another. Not a cross word was said, no hand was raised in violence or hatred. The whole world stood in harmony with itself. Harry felt a tear slide down his cheek. He glanced aside at Hermione's reflection, for she was as invisible in reality as he, and was slightly worried to see that she was deathly pale, and sobbing. He mentally brushed against her, and she seemed to latch onto him. With care, as if he were carrying her, he floated them both back up through the layers of earth, back through the castle, and returned them to their bodies in the forest.
Hermione woke with a gasp. She gave a little cry, and fell onto Harry, who hugged her back in confusion. Her narrow body wracked with sobs, and Harry assumed she had seen something different in the mirror to him.
When she had calmed down a bit, he levered her away from him and looked at her. She sniffed, and wiped away at her eyes with her sleeve.
"I suppose I should explain…" she gave a little half smile. Harry returned an encouraging one.
"Well," she began, "when I was three, my little brother Ben was born. At the time, I remember thinking he was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I can still remember it," she repeated. "When I was eight, and he was five, our parents took us on an outing to the seaside. When Mum and Dad turned away to take the picnic out of the car, he wandered off. We searched for ages, but we couldn't find him. My Dad drove to the nearest Royal Lifeboat Association, and they dispatched a team to look for him. I didn't know it then, but my parents thought that he had been swept out to sea. My Mum and I continued to look for him on the beach. It was getting dark by the time Dad returned. And it was pitch black when we saw the lights of a boat coming into shore. Both Mum and Dad were crying, as they were certain he had drowned. I was still calling for him among the rock pools. Then the boat landed, and the team disembarked. The captain was carrying a bundle of towels against his chest. I heard my mother scream when she saw them, and I ran with her and Dad to the captain, and that little bundle. The captain looked up to see us, and then turned the bundle around, and my little brother, sodden and pale, was there, wrapped in a towel. I began to cry then, and Mum and Dad more so, but then Ben opened his eyes, which were blank and unseeing, but he called for us in his little voice, which was hoarse and cracked. I had never felt so relived and happy before that moment. My father took Ben in his arms, and my mother wept for joy. But then the captain rolled the towel away from his legs, and they were bloody and mangled. He had been tossed against rocks by the current in the sea. We took him to hospital, and they said… that he would never walk again. They said that the nerves had been severely damaged. He has been in a wheelchair ever since. And the impacts with the rocks had also damaged the cells in his brain, and he was blinded. He can't see a thing. In that mirror, I saw him and me playing together, like we used to, and running and dancing together, and with our parents."
Hermione looked directly at Harry. "The first thing I did when I got to Hogwarts was look up magical cures for such injuries. But it's impossible. Such extensive nervous reconstruction has never been achieved. I even asked Madam Pomfrey." Hermione sighed and fell back into Harry's arms.
The tears that had been threatening to fall for the entire duration of Hermione's story began to tumble down Harry's cheeks. But despite them, he gritted his teeth. With a look of determination he resolved to find a cure for Hermione's little brother.
AN: Sorry it took so long, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review.
Oh, and about my foray into Ye Olde English at the start, I have used the correct grammatical conjugations for thou/thee/thy etc.
