Chapter 21

Old Wizard's wisdom

Harry, Ron and Hermione were lost deep in a dark forest; the air was extremely cold and had a heavy musky smell that made it difficult to breathe. The surrounding trees were as tall as the eye could see and their bases were covered with thick green moss.

They walked through the forest for what seemed hours, immersing themselves deeper and deeper in the darkness...

They reached the tent where they were camping and as they went inside, Harry started arguing with Ron. In that instant, Hermione's mind reacted weirdly, letting her see the evolving scene from a different angle. She couldn't hear a thing; it was like in a silent movie and everything was slowed down...

She saw Harry's lips moving to form Voldemort's name. Harry's lips pronouncing each syllable painfully slowly until he finished. Then, the sound came back and Hermione heard the 'pop' sound of people apparating and a few seconds later, several hooded figures appeared next to them, surrounding them and they all had their wands pointing at them.

The dark wizards took Harry, Ron and Hermione's wands; they bound them with a spell. The lead Death Eater instructed a wizard next to him to deliver the young wizards to their master. He did as told and apparated with them to a gloomy, dark graveyard. He walked towards the big shack in the middle of the yard with his 'prey' behind him, tied by the spell of his wand and went inside.

The inside of the cabin was gloomy and dark; it had the same atmosphere as the Black's house but in a dilapidated way. The wood of the walls was dark and had misshaped holes in it. It gave the appearance that someone had pulled out the wood, leaving pieces behind. The floor had a heavy coat of grey dust that made it hard to tell which colour the floor was. In the middle of the room, there was a fireplace and in front of it, was a burgundy Victorian armchair. To the left side of the chair, there was a wooden cabinet that matched the colour of the walls. On top of it, there was a copper flower vase. From end to end of the top of the cabinet, the same dust that covered the floor was present. To the right side, there was a bookcase with several dusty books stacked in the shelves.

The Death Eater approached the chair but stopped a few meters from it, as a voice as cold as ice said, "So, you have them?"

"Yes, Master." The Death Eater said and bowed as Lord Voldemort approached.

Lord Voldemort with his snake-like eyes, looked at the three young wizards in front of him. He smiled malevolently and said in a voice that almost attempted to sound sweet, "I'm glad to have you three here." Then he raised his wand towards them and said the killing curse, "Avada Kedavra."

Hermione woke up with a start, trembling and soaked with cold sweat. She looked around the room, taking in where she was. Once she was certain that this was not part of the nightmare, she turned to look next to her, to find Ginny sleeping. She remained a few minutes frozen in the spot, just staring at her, counting the multiple freckles in Ginny exposed skin. Her subconscious mind made her eyes trace Ginny's face and record every curve, every detail of it: the nose, the rosy-pale lips, her cheeks, the eyes, and her fiery-red hair.

It was still early morning and there was a small light coming from the window but still, she was able to notice from the corner of her eye a shadow in the corner of the room. Hermione's first reaction was to panic as her mind was still a bit uneasy with the after-effects of the bad dream that she had. Facing her inner fear, she turned around to look where she had seen the shadow to find out Professor Dumbledore sitting in a chair and smiling at her affectionately.

She returned the smile, comforted that it was just him and not some crazy Death Eater. Then she wondered how long had he been there and if he had seen her staring at Ginny. At this thought, embarrassed, she blushed.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, looking down his nose as a playful smile crossed his face. His blue eyes twinkled in the morning sunlight. "I wondered if perhaps you wouldn't mind a morning walk in the orchard?"

Hermione, confused and intrigued why the Headmaster would pay her such a visit, sat up in the bed quickly, trying to gain her senses. Clearing her throat, she sttuttered, "Um, yes. Yes, of course, Professor."

"Then I shall wait for you in the kitchen. I believe Molly is making blueberry pancakes." With a small nod, the headmaster stepped outside the bedroom door, silently closing it behind him.

As soon as Hermione walked out of Ginny and her shared bedroom, the delicious smell of blueberry pancakes filled her nose, making her mouth water. She went down the stairs and walked towards the kitchen where Molly was flipping a pancake.

"Morning, Mrs. Weasley" Hermione said, smiling pleasantly.

"Morning, Hermione. Had a wonderful sleep?" Mrs Weasley asked smiling at her and at the same time flipping another pancake skilfully.

Hermione smiled at her reassuringly. "I believe Dumbledore is waiting for you in the garden. Oh... and please ask him if he is staying for breakfast. Thank you dear..."

Hermione, who for an instant had forgotten about the headmaster thanks to the wonderful smell of their breakfast, headed towards the garden to meet him.

Dumbledore was waiting for her, sitting on a bench and looking towards the horizon. His appearance was that of a very old man who was extremely tired. Even though his clothes and beard were carefully cared for, there was something odd about him.

Hermione shook off the thought, putting it in the back of her mind as she approached him. She took her coat off and sat beside him.

"Oh, those blueberry pancakes smell wonderful...Molly is such a great cook," he said while looking beyond the hill. "Beautiful isn't it?"

Hermione turned to look where the headmaster was looking at: The morning sky was pale blue; the clouds were beautifully positioned among the sky, while the sun was lazily coming out. "Yes, it is." she said, entranced by the beauty of the place. Then, she said, "This is my favourite time of the year. Since the first time that I came here, I've been in love with the peace that it can offer and I haven't found another one like it."

Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully for a few seconds, then, he got up and said, "Shall we walk for a bit?" and offered his hand to Hermione to help her stand up.

They walked in silence for a bit and then the headmaster said, "Don't you love how the snow crackles when the frost settles over it in the early morning?"

"Look!" he said, pointing towards a gnome that had his feet deep in the snow. He pulled it out and took a step, but lost his balance and fell over onto his face.

"Did you notice that garden gnomes don't like the snow very much?" he asked, smiling.

As the gnome cursed in his own language, Dumbledore smiled briefly, "Makes them very irritated as you can see." Hermione laughed at his comment.

After a few minutes in silence, Hermione said, "Professor, I don't think that you came all this way to talk about the snow, did you?

He stopped nearby a snowy large apple tree. A sad look crossed his face as he turned towards the sunrise, allowing the warmth to fill his cheeks with hints of pink. "Hermione, there are dangerous times ahead, for all of us. I don't expect you to understand all that I'm about to tell you, but I need you to remember."

"Professor," Hermione said, her eyes large filled with concern, "thinking it might have been better if Harry and Ron had been here too?"

The fading wizard turned his eyes towards the Burrow, as a small smile returned to his face. "No, I think what we have to say is a far more detailed than Mr. Weasley or Mr. Potter are prepared for. Now, if you please," Dumbledore continued, pulling his wand from the sleeve of his robe, "I believe you'll want to take a couple of notes."

Fresh parchment and a quill appeared from thin air, and Hermione set into action, jotting down every word Dumbledore muttered. Little, if any, of the information made sense, but understanding it as Dumbledore explained would come from living it, not writing it.

Hermione's hand finally stilled as the Professor finished his thoughts. As though out of breath, Hermione quietly asked, "Sir, am I to simply memorize this, or..."

"No, no. Just keep it in a safe place for now. You'll find it useful far later," he interjected, resting a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"And should I need to know how to use the information, I shall simply owl you," Hermione stated, rolling the parchment tight. "I should go and wake Ron and Harry. We need to talk about some things. It's getting colder by the minute! Would you like to come back inside? Mrs. Weasley asked if you were staying for breakfast."

"Ah! Well that's one good thing about being as old as I am, you see. I don't seem to be affected by the cold... but I also didn't just crawl out of a warm bed, either," Dumbledore said, offering a small wink.

Hermione face flushed red. He couldn't possibly know! Or did he see the longing in her eyes as she gazed upon Ginny's face just before?

She hung her head... he wouldn't understand. How could he?

"You know, our hearts have a way of showing us what our heads refuse to see. Have you ever noticed that, Miss Granger?"

Dumbledore gently raised the young girl's chin to look into her eyes. "I do understand, my dear. But I fear that you lean more on your head, than on your heart."

He looked towards the Burrow as the sun hit Ginny's bedroom window. Sunbeams danced over it, beckoning her from her sleep. Hermione stood gazing at the house, her heart leaping as a sleepy red-head stretched and greeted the morning.

"Well," Dumbledore piped, startling Hermione from tempting thoughts, "I think it's time to part ways for now. Do give my best to Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter and give my thanks to Molly." He turned silently, and walked through the now-quiet snow, leaving Hermione pondering over his words. "Hermione, I think it would be a good time to follow your heart, don't you?"

With a small pop at the edge of the garden, Dumbledore was gone, leaving Hermione more confused than ever.