This Bag of Stones
Chapter 11 – Chaos
Hermione and Neville both returned the day before the term started, giving the foursome several hours to catch up.
"I've finished all my books at home already!" Boasted Hermione. "I can't wait to get started on the library books..." a dreamy gaze filmed over her eyes.
"You should see the greenhouse!" Neville recounted eagerly. "Gran was so impressed!"
"Well done!" Harry congratulated, happy that they were all together once more.
"What about you, Ron?" Hermione asked, slipping out of her book-induced haze. Unfortunately, she picked the wrong question.
"Oh, so you've finally noticed I'm here?" He snapped sullenly.
Hermione was taken back. "What?"
"Had fun with your stones?" He sneered.
"You're acting like Malfoy," she accused, her eyebrows drawing together.
He jumped out of his seat. "Maybe I deserve to!" With that statement, he stormed out of the classroom, slamming the door shut on his way out. They stared at the door and then at each other in shocked silence.
"What happened?" Neville asked Harry in a hushed voice as if he was scared that Ron would leap out from behind the door and proclaim that he'd been eavesdropping on them the whole time.
"I did notice Ron leaving for a few hours every day but..." He tried to recall Ron telling him anything after these events but nothing sprung to mind. "Perhaps he's just desperate. He hasn't got his stone to work yet after all," Harry shrugged helplessly.
"What do you think is taking him so long?" Hermione questioned, finally daring to ask aloud the question they'd all been wondering. No one answered.
During Transfiguration class that day, Ron sat with Dean and Seamus at the back, leaving Harry, Neville and Hermione to sit together near the front. Harry and Neville threw hesitant glances towards the back of the classroom but Hermione breezed past without a second look. Throughout the day, she had ignored Neville's attempts at bringing Ron's behaviour up.
"Hermione, you know he didn't mean it," Harry pleaded.
"I don't want to hear it."
"Look, he's not happy either!" Neville pointed out.
"Serves him right."
"Can we just talk it out?" Harry asked desperately.
"He's angry at himself, not us. I'm not going to willingly be his punch bag," she said grumpily. Harry paused for a moment, surprised at her insight.
"What?" she asked at Harry's and Neville's startled faces. "You thought I was just angry because he got mad at me?"
"Get into groups," Professor McGonagall said suddenly, breaking up their little huddle. "I want to see perfect snuffboxes in each group by the end of the lesson." Harry froze at her words and turned slightly pale.
"Harry? What's wrong?" He turned towards her, the dread slowly building up in him.
"I- I didn't prepare." Hermione stared at him blankly for a few seconds before comprehension dawned.
"You don't have a snuffbox?" She whispered back furiously. Before each lesson, Harry would always carefully prepare items that would allow him to use his stones in class. In Transfiguration, he usually used the Swapstone to switch objects into the desired items. The limitation dictated that he had to have the swapped item in his possession in the first place and before the holidays, he'd been very careful to keep the object in his trunk or pocket.
"It was break, I forgot...and then the thing with Ron..."
"Don't worry about it, I'll change mine first then give it to you," she reassured. Neville gave a sigh of relief from next to him.
"See?" she said, waving her wand and uttering the spell. "It's done."
"Bravo, Ms Granger!" came an impressed voice from behind them. Harry jumped ... and came face to face with the last person he wanted to see in that very moment.
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said as she shifted nervously, her gaze skittering towards Harry and the snuffbox that still sat on the table.
"And you, Mr Potter?"
"M-me?" he stuttered, digging into his pocket for the Swapstone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione's hand swipe the snuffbox away and disappear under the table.
"Yes, you, Mr Potter. Unless you see another Mr Potter in the classroom?" she trailed off. He laughed nervously.
With his wand held limply in one hand, and the stone in the other, he tried to unobtrusively reach for it.
"Well?" She demanded more sternly. He could feel the stares of his classmates directed towards his shaking hand. A drop of sweat trailed down the side of his face.
"Yes, I just-" the Swapstone slipped from his grasp. Only Hermione who was seated on his other side, clearly witnessed the following events. His hand darted forth only to catch empty air. Harry's breath caught and he met her eyes with growing horror.
"Mr Potter..." Professor McGonagall said in a dangerous, low voice. A slow pounding began to echo in his head, followed by goosebumps down his arms. Before he lost his nerve, Harry squeezed his eyes shut, quickly muttered the spell and gave his wand a small flick. The following silence made his stomach drop.
"Harry," Hermione breathed in amazement. He opened his eyes.
In place of the mouse sat a perfect, intricately carved golden snuffbox.
After dinner, Hermione practically dragged them up to their classroom and slammed the door behind her.
"Alright, I've waited all day. Harry, what was that?"
Neville looked back and forth between the two of them. "What was what?"
"I don't know," Harry confessed. "It came as much of a shock to me."
"What happened?" Neville asked.
"You weren't touching the stone, I saw it!" She said, almost reaching a hysterical tone.
"What?!" Neville said, alarmed.
"I know! I wasn't!" He looked eagerly at her. "Do you think I can use a wand now?"
"A wand!" Neville's eyes shot wide open.
"I'm not sure," Hermione said, sinking into her lecture mode. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully and stared into the distance. "Let's see, you weren't touching the stone but you used magic. You haven't been able use your wand no matter how hard you try. The logical conclusion is that you finally used it... right?" She looked unsure.
"You actually used your wand!" Neville stated in shock. Having been on the other side of Harry, he didn't notice the Swapstone slipping from Harry's hand and assumed that Hermione had managed to pass her snuffbox as planned.
"Try levitating this!" Hermione said excitedly, holding up one of her textbooks. Harry readily pulled out his wand from his pocket and waved it in the motion he remembered others using.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Nothing happened.
"Again!" Hermione encouraged.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" The textbook hadn't moved. The spark of hope in Harry died and his shoulders slumped.
"Maybe it's just a mistake," he sighed.
"Don't give up! In the class, you really wanted it to happen right? You just have to recreate the same feeling you had and it should work!"
He slowly felt himself being convinced by her words. Throwing his memory back, he suddenly remembered the tingling of nerves down his arms and the pounding in his head. He closed his eyes.
"You can do it, Harry," Neville said quietly. Harry gave a small smile in response and tried to put himself back into the same state as the time in the Transfiguration classroom.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" He said loudly. The textbook didn't budge an inch.
"ARGH I GIVE UP!" Harry threw his wand to the other side of the classroom and stomped outside. Hermione glared at the textbook as if it was the one at fault instead while Neville slowly walked over and retrieved Harry's wand.
They walked out only to bump into Harry's back.
"Harry?" Hermione asked before her gaze rose and met Ron's desperate eyes.
"Help me! I've lost my stone!"
A/N: Oh dear... it's been a while, hasn't it? Let's start again.
Hello dear readers! I'm sorry for the delay! (I have no excuse... really I don't) I'm sorry the chapter is so short! (In my defense... that was actually all I had planned for this chapter. I thought it would stretch longer.) Please forgive me?
Back to the story, I've been getting a lot of comments about Harry not being able to use a wand and this chapter was pretty much to reiterate that NO he will not be able to use a wand. He'll get something much better. :) Did you enjoy my cliffhanger?
Thank you to all my loyal readers! Really, you got these fingers typing like nothing else! Also, to the mysterious Guests who leave reviews, thank you so much for all your support and help! I'm sorry I can't thank you personally because some of your reviews really really helped me out. Cheers!