Chapter Eleven
Closer Than Ever
May 1st, 1998
"The Dark Lord is coming?" Snape asked once everyone had arrived at his office. He had thrown up a carefully placed Silencing Charm, somehow cutting off all of the portraits in the room. Most of them glared at him for doing so, but none more so than Phineas Nigellus Black, who glowered at Snape and Sirius in turn.
Harry stared at Snape for a long moment, his gaze accusing and hands shaking with rage. Only Sirius's hand on his shoulder kept him from attacking. "Yes. Not like you didn't know!"
"Harry, not now," Hermione admonished.
Snape's focus flew to Draco. "Does he have the snake with him?"
The young Death Eater paled at the mention of Nagini, but he gave a brief nod and turned to close the Floo behind him, making sure they could not be followed.
"Closer than ever," he disclosed. "Happened after he found Bellatrix dead. He won't let the thing out of his sight."
Snape's black eyes narrowed, and he turned around to face a large Pensieve on his desk. Looking extremely perturbed, he moved quickly to a large cabinet, opening it to reveal cupboards of phials, mostly potions, but some easily recognisable as memories. Retrieving an empty bottle, Snape unstoppered it and brought his wand to his head.
"What's he doing?" Ron asked loudly.
"Trying to concentrate, Mr Weasley, and your silence would be indispensable if it can be managed." Snape glared at the redhead before closing his eyes, concentrating hard, and letting his wand pull silvery strings from the side of his head, eventually twirling them around and pushing them into the large phial in his hand. Securing it with the top, he held the phial out to Harry. "Take it."
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"Those are memories. This—" Snape gestured to the large rune-covered stone basin on the desk. "—is a Pensieve. If I remember correctly from your abysmal attempt at Occlumency, you're acquainted with their use."
"I know what they are; what're they for?" Harry snapped.
"Answers on the occasion of my unfortunate demise," Snape replied, and both Ron and Sirius snorted at the use of the word unfortunate. "A death that is certain to be unavoidable as you've apparently brought the Dark Lord to the doorstep of this institution. Now, if the rest of you plan on surviving the night, I advise the Gryffindors to head toward the seventh-floor corridor."
"I knew it!" Draco scowled. "I knew that's where they've all been hiding. Couldn't get in myself when I tried, though."
Harry stared between Snape and Draco, concern written on his face at the mention of his Housemates. When neither said anything more on the matter, he demanded, "What's going on?"
"Students have been going missing all year. They're in the Room of Hidden Things. They had to have left someone in there at all times to keep Slytherins out. Smart," Draco admitted. "Must have been a Ravenclaw," he added with a sneer, and all Gryffindors in the room glared at him.
"Speaking of Ravenclaws," Snape interjected. "Potter, you'll want to head to the West Tower on the fifth floor."
Harry stared icily at his former professor. "And why would I go where you tell me to?"
"Because Death Eaters in the school were alerted by the Dark Lord that you would return to Hogwarts and you were to be kept from Ravenclaw Tower. I assume you're looking for something?" Snape queried, eyeing Harry. Both Hermione and Ron avoided his stare. "I'd wager that whatever you're looking for will be found there."
Snape turned to Draco. "As for you, return to the Slytherin common room, and keep them occupied if you're able."
"Easy." Malfoy bowed his head in acquiescence before making his way for the door, quickly disappearing down the spiral staircase.
"And you?" Sirius finally asked.
"I'll be making my grand escape, coward that I am," Snape said sarcastically. "I've been found out after all. I still have orders to follow. You remember those, Black? It's been a few years, I'll give you that, but if you recall, you had orders to remain within the confines of Grimmauld Place and not to go gallivanting about the Ministry and getting yourself killed."
"Don't." A wand was raised and pointed in Snape's direction.
Sirius smiled wryly as Hermione's brown eyes flashed in the flickering light as she glared daggers at her former professor.
"Just as I thought." Snape almost grinned. "Touchy subject, Miss Granger? Or is it Miss Po—" Snape slowly began, his gaze drifting to Sirius who cut him off with a low snarl.
"We are leaving now!" Sirius interrupted, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
Snape stared at Sirius for a long moment. Sirius broke eye contact first, turning and ushering Harry, Ron, and Hermione out the door.
Once the trio started down the stairs, he spun on Snape viciously. "What're you playing at?"
"I've had a feeling for several years but thought it was impossible. I almost didn't place her," Snape drawled. "But the way the girl dotes upon you and comes to your defence, raising her wand in threat even." He sneered at Sirius and scoffed loudly. "For Potter? Perhaps. But you? I imagine if the wolf was here she'd be raising her fists, the violent little—"
"Aren't you supposed to be making your grand escape?" Sirius snapped, storming out of the room and flicking his wand to slam the door violently behind him before Snape could say another word.
"What was that about?" Harry asked immediately as Sirius rejoined them.
"Nothing. Snape's an arse," Sirius replied as he moved toward the grand staircase.
"He seemed to know something about Hermione—" Harry began again, but Sirius stopped him, mid-thought.
"Harry, I'm sorry, but now is not the time to be questioning the words of Severus Snape. We've got jobs to do, right, son?" He put his hands on Harry's shoulders, trying to get him to focus. "Now, Ravenclaw Tower?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't even know what I'm looking for. I know it'll be something small like the rest, and it'll probably have belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. I say let's go to the Room of Requirement and maybe see if there's a Ravenclaw who could help."
"Might be the diadem," Sirius suggested offhandedly as they walked.
"What's a diadem?" Ron wondered.
"It's like a tiara," Hermione explained. "But wait, how do you know about the diadem?" she asked Sirius. "I only heard about it because Luna's a Ravenclaw, and she was mumbling about it on the train one year."
"We all went looking for the thing fourth year," Sirius disclosed with a shrug. "James, Remus, Wormtail, and . . ." He stopped, changing his train of thought. "And I."
"Did you four ever study?" Hermione demanded in exasperation.
Sirius laughed in reply and winked at her. "If we make it through this, I'll tell you all about how I got nine O.W.L.s."
"Nine!?" Hermione screeched, her eyes wide. "That's impossible! I got eleven, and I nearly killed myself doing it!" She stormed ahead of him in a huff, her curls—which had recently loosened into soft ringlets that fell gently down her back—frizzed up, sparking at the ends with agitation as she moved. Sirius, Ron, and Harry snickered from behind her.
Once they reached the seventh floor, Harry rushed to the entrance of the Room of Requirement while the other three remained behind, watching silently as Harry paced back and forth in front of the empty wall across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. As though the room had been waiting for Harry's arrival, a door appeared on the wall in front of him.
Slowly, he reached for the handle and opened the door, stepping inside; the other three followed him in.
The room was enormous and looked rather like the interior of a particularly sumptuous tree house or perhaps a gigantic ship's cabin. Multicoloured hammocks were strung from the ceiling and from the balcony that ran around the dark wood-paneled and windowless walls, which were covered in bright tapestry hangings.
They saw the gold Gryffindor lion emblazoned on scarlet, the black badger of Hufflepuff set against yellow, and the bronze eagle of Ravenclaw on blue. The silver and green of Slytherin were noticeably absent. There were bulging bookcases, a few broomsticks propped against the walls, and in the corner, a large wizarding wireless in a wooden case.
"Harry?" a voice called from below the steps that led into the room.
Sirius looked down to see Neville, Alice and Frank's boy, looking up at Harry with shock and elation, one eye swollen yellow and purple, visible gouge marks on his face.
"Harry!" he yelled and rushed up, taking his friend into a tight embrace.
At Neville's shouts, more followed.
"HARRY!"
"It's Potter; it's POTTER!"
"Ron!"
"Hermione!"
"Is that Sirius Black?"
"I thought he was dead."
"Neville, what is this place?" Harry asked, eyes wide as he took in the giant room.
"Room of Requirement, of course!" Neville exclaimed. "Surpassed itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me, and I knew I had just one chance for a hideout. I managed to get through the door, and this is what I found! Well, it wasn't exactly like this when I arrived: it was a lot smaller, and there was only one hammock and just Gryffindor hangings, but it's expanded as more and more of the D.A. have arrived."
"And the Carrows can't get in?" Harry wondered aloud, looking around for the door.
"Only need to worry about one now, anyway," Sirius breezily commented.
Harry turned to look at him. "What's that?"
"What? The Carrows? Yeah, I spotted old Alecto on my way in. She's allergic to dogs," Sirius said with a devious grin.
Hermione frowned at him. "Do I even want to know?"
"She pulled a wand on me," Sirius said hastily. "It was all in defence, love, I promise. I didn't even have a wand in my hand."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Did you have hands?"
"Trust me, Hermione, if you knew the Alecto Carrow that I knew growing up, you wouldn't give her memory a passing thought. Or her brother either. In fact, I'm looking forward to a little reunion with Amycus."
"Can you just . . . I don't know, try to avoid trouble?" she pleaded with him, a stern look on her face. "Is that even possible?"
"You act like I purposely walk into fights," Sirius said accusingly. "If you haven't noticed, I've been pretty adept at not dying this year, and the only fights I get into are when I'm being attacked."
Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "You could be a little less enthusiastic about it."
"I have very few outlets for my energy," Sirius contended, his jaw tight. "At least this way I'm bloody helpful."
"Are they always like this?" Neville whispered to Harry who merely rolled his eyes, dipped his head in confirmation, and walked away from his feuding godfather and best friend.
Hermione clearly heard the comment because she glowered at Harry, watching as he moved into the crowd to be welcomed by old friends and acquaintances.
"I need to speak to any Ravenclaws," Harry declared.
Luna's blond hair stood out as she made her way through the crowd. They had only seen her a day earlier at Shell Cottage and had no idea that she had planned on returning to Hogwarts.
"Luna, is there anything in Ravenclaw Tower that might have belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw? Might be small? Maybe have an eagle on it?" Harry asked.
Luna stared off into space. "Well, there's her lost diadem."
Sirius chuckled. "Told you."
"Told who what?" someone said from behind Sirius.
As they all turned to look, Ginny climbed through a hole in the wall, closely followed by Fred, George, and another boy. Ginny gave Harry a radiant smile, and Sirius grinned at the blush that washed over his godson's face.
"I knew there was something still there," Sirius commented to Hermione.
"Of course there is. He only ended things with her to keep her safe." Hermione smiled as Ginny approached Harry and pulled him into a tight hug.
"He's like James that way." Sirius frowned. "Always tried to keep Lily safe."
"He's like you that way." Hermione beamed up at him. "You keep us safe. You've kept me safe."
Sirius scowled, his tone low and sombre as he said, "I let you be tortured."
"She's gone. I can't have that day . . . or moment back, but she's not out there looking to finish the job." Hermione took a slow deep breath as if trying to remind herself of the very facts that she was so eager to use to calm Sirius down. "I owe that to you."
"Thought you said you don't like me fighting." Sirius scoffed lightly, hoping to break the tension of the sober moment.
"I don't like you in harm's way. There's a difference. I'll admit it's a fine line . . ." She looked up, and Sirius grinned at her. "A very fine line," she added, narrowing her gaze at him. "Reckless and brave are very different things, Sirius."
"Good thing I'm a Gryffindor then, huh? We're very well known for our bravery."
"Weren't you almost put in Slytherin?" she teased, laughing when he glared at her in reply.
"I'm going to Ravenclaw Tower," Harry announced as he approached Hermione and Sirius, a look of determination on his face. "Luna's going with me so I can get inside. It's a shot in the dark, but I think the diadem is something he'd use, you know?"
"We're coming with you," Hermione said.
"No, stay here. Fred said he contacted the Order to let them know what was happening. They should show up, and when that happens, I need you here to fill in the blanks. He's on his way, and we need to act fast. While I'm gone . . ." Harry whispered, "deal with the cup."
"Okay." Hermione hugged Harry tightly. "Please stay safe."
"We'll see you soon, love." Sirius moved for the door only to be stopped by Harry's hand on his forearm.
"No, Sirius, you stay here."
Sirius almost growled, his eyes wide. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Yes, you are," Harry insisted. "I need you to stay with them, especially Hermione." He leant in and sighed. "When Ron destroyed the locket, it . . . fought back in a way that almost overpowered him. Got inside his head and showed him ugly lies, preying on his insecurities and weaknesses. When I destroyed the diary, it nearly killed me. I need someone here with her."
They both looked back to Hermione, who was digging in her beaded bag, more than likely looking for the Sword of Gryffindor and the cup.
"Sirius, I trust you to take care of her."
"Fine," Sirius begrudgingly agreed. "But you get right back here," he said in what little fatherly voice he could summon up. He thought he could imitate what he imagined James would have sounded like in this situation but failed miserably. He should have imitated Lily. That girl's temper would have stopped a rampaging chimaera.
"I promise." Harry smiled and then disappeared through the door after Luna.
"Ron!" Hermione approached the redhead. "Sirius and I are going to go take care of the cup."
"I'm coming with you," Ron declared.
"No, someone needs to be here when the Order shows up. You need to get them all up to date. We all have jobs now; yours is to help Neville rally the troops." Hermione glanced back at the gathered students and let out a nervous sigh. "Maybe figure out how to get some of them out of here. The younger students shouldn't be fighting a war."
Ron frowned. "None of us should be fighting a war, 'Mione."
"No, I suppose not." She lowered her gaze to the cup in her hand. "All right, let's get going. Stay safe, Ron." She smiled and hugged him tightly before turning on her heel and stepping toward Sirius.
As he opened the door for her, Sirius cast a look back at Ron who was joined by Neville. He gave the boys a nod, hoping that his silent support would be properly conveyed.
"Where to, kitten?" he asked as they moved down the corridor.
Hermione clutched the cup tightly, passing the Sword of Gryffindor over to him as it was too heavy for her to carry and still move as swiftly as she needed to. "I'm . . . I'm not sure. I don't know where in the castle would be safe. Under normal circumstances, I would have suggested the Room of Requirement." She began to wear her bottom lip between her teeth anxiously. "Why didn't I think to ask Harry for the map?"
"You are forgetting one very important resource you have at your disposal, Miss Granger." Sirius grinned, puffing out his chest. "The person who made the map in the first place. There isn't a passage in this castle that I don't know about. Speaking of which, there's a perfectly secluded one on the fourth floor behind a mirror."
"Nope." Hermione shook her head. "Caved in years ago. You're forgetting that Harry, Ron, and I used the map to navigate all those secret passages you're so proud of," she said with a bit more snark in her voice than she generally let out.
The tone made Sirius chuckle deep in his throat. "I know it's caved in, but I haven't seen it in years. Is it completely caved in, or just blocked on the other end?"
"It's just blocked." She paused and then let out a frustrated sigh, evidently upset that he had arrived at the conclusion before she had. "Which essentially makes it a private, secluded room with only one entrance." Her eyes widened as she realised the implication. "You're brilliant!"
"Glad you're starting to see things my way, kitten." Sirius beamed and followed her as they made their way down the shifting staircases to the fourth floor. He turned heading down a long hallway that came to a dead end where a large mirror hung on the wall.
He reached out, pushing the mirror aside, and muttered, "Aparecium."
Just as he spoke, a doorway opened behind the mirror. Hermione smiled and they both entered.
"Lumos," Sirius whispered, dimly lighting the end of his wand and looking around.
Hermione was right; the back end of the passageway had caved in, completely blocking any chance of a secondary exit. He could not help but remember the last time he had used this passage.
As the door shut tight behind them, the room fell into utter darkness save for the soft glow from Sirius's wand.
"This will make things easier," Hermione said, reaching into her beaded bag and retrieving a glass jar.
At her wandless, silent spell, a bluebell fire erupted from Hermione's fingertips, and she immediately caught it in the jar as though the flickering flames were nothing more than harmless fireflies. She grinned up at Sirius and sealed the jar, setting it down on the floor to allow the fire to light up the passageway.
After setting the Horcrux on the ground in front of her, Hermione reached an empty hand out to him, silently requesting the sword.
Sirius hesitated for a moment, remembering Harry's words to him. The Horcruxes fight back. His heart thudded in his chest in anticipation of whatever fight the little goblet would serve up, but he relented and handed the sword to Hermione.
"Be careful, love," he whispered as he nervously watched her move closer to the cup.
She slowly approached, taking small, deliberate steps toward it. The sword looked heavy in her hands, but Sirius knew she could still lift it with ease. She was a Gryffindor, after all, and the sword was meant to be wielded solely by the hands of true Gryffindors. One step closer to the cup and the Horcrux began to shake as though anticipating the oncoming attack. As she took yet another step forward, a cold, high voice rang out.
Hermione looked prepared for the attack.
But Sirius was not.
"Sirius Black . . ." the voice hissed, stopping both Hermione and Sirius in their steps. "I can see your fears . . ."
Sirius's attention quickly fell on Hermione's form, silently willing her forward to stab the bloody thing before it got a little too chatty.
"I can see your heart. The past is your weakness."
Sirius growled. "No shit."
"And so is the girl."
"It's doing something," Hermione said, staring down at the cup that appeared to be filling with liquid and eventually overflowing onto the ground. "Please be water."
It was water. Rapidly flowing water. Before either of them knew it, they were standing in a foot of it, the cup submerged beneath the surface.
Hermione moved toward the Horcrux, but the closer she brought the sword, the faster the water rose, making it harder to move. Soon she found herself standing waist deep in the swiftly filling room.
"Kill that fucking thing, Hermione!"
"Sirius, I can't reach it!"
Behind her, Sirius aimed spell after spell trying to dam the flow of the liquid that was rising up the walls around them. Nothing was working.
"Shit!" he shouted, reaching for her, but as soon as his fingers touched her skin, the water around them began sloshing about in a circular motion like a whirlpool.
Hermione screamed and slipped, the waves dragging her beneath the surface.
Sirius lunged for her but missed, losing his wand in the process. "Hermione!
The jar of bluebell flames floated beneath the surface, light bobbing through the water and against the walls as it whirled around in the depths of the waves.
"Hermione!" he called again, but there was no answer.
When the jar of fire moved closer to him, Sirius caught it and held it above his head, desperately searching but not finding her within reach. His attention turned downward as the water reached his neck, and his gaze focused on a large shadow in the depths below and the glimmer of something shiny and gold. He took a deep breath just before the water came up and over his head, sealing them in as it touched the roof above.
Lighting his way with the jar, Sirius swam down in search of Hermione, fighting against the current that tried to carry him away. His eye caught another glimmer, but instead of the determination he had felt when he spotted the cup at the bottom of this watery tomb, the sight of the Sword of Gryffindor made his heart sink. He had last seen it in Hermione's grip.
Panic flooded him, and he instinctively reached for the hilt of the sword, gripping it tightly. A nearly overwhelming part of him wanted to find Hermione, to save her, but the very small logical part of his brain fought back with a vengeance. The Horcrux was to blame, and even if he found her, he could not hope to save her while still being drowned by a bloody goblet.
Sirius swam, moving swiftly despite the fight the Horcrux was putting up, as well as the awkward length of the sword in his hands. He caught sight of the cup and—even though the water pushed in against his chest, forcing what little oxygen was left from his lungs—he brought the tip of the blade up and thrust it down, stabbing through the centre of the object.
The cup began to shake violently as a black liquid seeped out, swirling into the water around it.
Sirius propelled himself backward to avoid the dark liquid. He struggled against the water around him, trying to kick his way to the surface of the sinking water level, catching only a brief glimmer of hope in the form of the broken rubble at the passage's exit where cracks in the cave allowed the water to swiftly escape.
When his head finally broke the surface, he let out a loud gasp, taking in air as deeply and quickly as possible, and coughing up water that had forced its way down his throat during the struggle.
Catching his balance as his feet hit the ground, the water finally having drained enough to allow him to touch the floor, Sirius scanned the room, searching for Hermione. The jar that enclosed the flames clinked against the hard floor and spun across the ground as the water all but evaporated from the room.
He finally saw the silhouette of the small witch crumpled in the corner of the room.
"Hermione!"
Her name was a mournful cry as he rushed to her, pulled her against himself, and tilted her head back. Face pale, body lifeless, eyes closed, and skin ice cold.
"Rennervate!" he yelled, but nothing happened. He focused, his entire torso tight with desperation. "Rennervate!"
His entire world threatened to close in on him as her body remained limp in his arms.