After another long, packed day filled with teaching her students, practicing combat themed magic with Nebula, studying the Gringotts information, brewing potions and spending time with Camilla, Hermione sat at her desk that night, casting some privacy charms as she did.
Taking out her cell phone, she laid it on the desk and awaited Harry's call.
Not even a minute after she had sat, the phone rang and she promptly answered it.
"Before you ask, no, fighting Nebula is not getting any easier, although it is not getting any harder either. I am actually learning quite a few useful things from her that will help us when we are ready. I have also been studying the Gringotts information we have of course, and I believe I shall be finished with all the potions that I can prepare in a matter of days." she rattled off before Harry could even so much as say hello.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"That's good to hear," he finally spoke. "things are going pretty well on my end as well. I have stocked up on whatever I can, gotten in as much practice and study as possible... although there is only so much that practice and study can do for you as compared to actually doing the thing that you are preparing for..."
Hermione shrugged. "That is pretty much why Nebula helped me make my practice more 'realistic' in the first place."
"Anyway, how are you doing?" Harry asked. "Personally, I mean. How are you coping generally?"
Hermione paused to think.
She still fought bouts of depression at times, but it certainly helped that she had both a lot to keep her busy as well as reliable people (Harry included) that she could talk to on a regular basis.
"I... I am okay," she answered. "I am healthy physically and while my mental health could still do with some work, I... well, like I said, I am working on that."
Harry nodded. "That is as good as it will get for either of us, I suppose. As for me, I am doing okay. Same as you, I guess."
Hermione smiled slightly. "What about your friends in Magix? Your squad mates? Roxy? How are they? Morgana speaks favourably about her daughter whenever she comes to visit and Nebula is pretty much the same when she speaks of her niece."
Harry scowled briefly, but Hermione still caught the expression.
She had hit a nerve.
Did something bad happen between her best friend and his girlfriend?
Before Hermione could think of a way to tactfully ask, Harry already started explaining what had caused his scowl.
"Roxy... I care for her, I truly do," Harry started. "but it is as if she wants to get herself killed. She... well, she can tell that I am planning something to do with Voldemort and she wants to be part of it."
"Let me guess," Hermione spoke wryly. "she wants to be part of it as well, while you want her to be as far away from it as she can possibly be."
Harry groaned. "Right in one, Hermione. I do not think she truly understands what would happen if she got fully involved like we are. I mean, she and her family have been a great help to us so far and she has even been along on one particular mission, but this one will be so much worse than that. She does not know Voldemort like you and especially I do. She has even less magical training than we do."
"Not to mention what would happen if her family found out that you allowed her to come with us to do this," Hermione pointed out.
"Exactly! The risk is too great and she does not understand! I can live with you helping me, but she needs to stay out of this! As I told her before, I truly am helpful for the aid that she and her family and her people gave us, but their... front line participation so to speak is no longer needed!"
Hermione pursed her lips. "And... how did Roxy react to that?"
"She decided to give me some space," Harry spoke bitterly.
Hermione winced.
Ouch.
"I... well... wow..." Hermione looked sympathetic.
"So," Harry spoke up in a falsely cheerful tone, clearly trying to change the topic. "back to the bank robbery plans."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she always did when he referred to it as such.
"When do you think we can do this? I cannot leave Red Fountain without notice during class periods, but I have a week's break coming up in three weeks."
Three weeks.
"You want to do this in three weeks?" Hermione spoke calmly but on the inside, her heart was racing.
Three weeks.
They were working towards a definite time frame now.
Harry nodded.
"It makes sense. We are practically ready for this anyway. We've basically done all that we can do to prepare ourselves for this."
Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.
Was this not what she had been working towards, basically from the moment she decided to remain Harry's best friend, no matter what?
"Hermione?"
Harry's voice drew her back into the present.
"Yes, I heard you, Harry. I was just thinking... you said you have a break coming up in three weeks where you would be able to get away from Red Fountain easier and you want to do this then, correct?"
Harry answered in the affirmative.
"There is someone who I would like to check in with beforehand, but that should not be an issue. When we go back to Britain, we can meet at and make our base at Grimmauld Place before we move off. As long as you Apparate directly onto its front step, no one would be ever the wiser to your arrival." he suggested.
"That sounds good. I will get there the day before you do to start organising things. Just give me a solid date and I can work with it." Hermione's mind was already going into overdrive, thinking of any last minute things they might have to do before going off on their little expedition.
They started planning what they would do once they met up and before they set off, before discussing some of the spells they thought would come in useful, talking until they both got sleepy and decided to end the call before falling asleep.
Hermione sighed as she ladled the last of the potion she had been brewing into a clear vial and set it into a rack that held other similar vials, which was set on a table with other similarly filled racks.
"Well," she glanced at Camilla, who had been watching the process. "that is it. I have brewed all the potions I can. I will just take these back to the palace so I can pack them for transport, then when I meet Harry, we can divide them between us." Hermione clasped her hands and stretched her arms out in front of her.
"One more thing done. Is... is there anything else you can do to prepare?" Camilla asked. "Is there any way that I could help?"
"I can do nothing else aside from practice and wait until the day that it is time to leave," Hermione said. "As for you helping me, for now, why don't you help me carry these potions back to the castle and we can talk more about that along the way?"
Camilla nodded.
Hermione conjured up two boxes and packed the racks of potions evenly between them, before sealing them by drawing her wand across the top once she had closed them.
Casting a charm to make one box lighter for Camilla to carry, she handed one box to the pixie while she slung on her rucksack, putting her wand in a narrow pouch she'd attached to it for that purpose and took the other box in her arms.
Inclining her head towards the doorway, she motioned for the pixie to follow her.
Once they were well out of the building and on their way back to the palace, Hermione spoke again.
"About your offer of assistance... how hard would it be for you to teach me your illusion spells?" Hermione asked.
Camilla raised an eyebrow, stopping in mid flight as Hermione stopped mid stride. "I don't think it would be too hard, given that we're bonded and all. Our bond allows us to not only sense and track each other, but we can also share our magic to some extent as well. You know that."
"Yes, yes, I do, but we never experimented to see what exactly 'sharing magic' means..." Hermione murmured. "I would like to know how to create small illusions. Just so I can change the appearance of a few things without actually Transfiguring it. It would also be useful to know any little illusion based distractions I could use on my enemies to get in a few extra shots when I need to."
Camilla looked thoughtful. "I can help with that."
Hermione nodded. "Excellent. That will solve a few potential issues quite nicely."
They fell into silence once again as they resumed their walk, Hermione's thoughts wandering.
Three more weeks.
Three more weeks until she and Harry would make the next move.
Until then, all she could do was practice, prepare and spend time with Camilla.
Camilla.
Hermione's eyes widened as she stopped suddenly.
Bloody hell.
What was going to happen to Camilla while she was gone?
Taking the pixie with her when she went back to Britain was obviously out of the question in the current climate and since they had been bonded, they had never been apart for more than a few hours at a time...
Roxy's mid-term break was at the same time as Harry's.
Perhaps she could ask her to take her and she could spend some time with Zing, whom she viewed as an eccentric sort of older sister figure?
Though... given Roxy's recent stance with Harry, would asking her to take care of Camilla while she was away with Harry be a good idea?
Or maybe... perhaps Anahita could take her. Camilla and Livy got along reasonably well and Anahita was less likely to pose any sort of problem, seeing as she was less... less inclined to object to anything Harry would be doing while in Britain.
There was also the option of sending her back to Pixie Village, Camilla's home. She would have the most support there, after all...
Hermione sighed.
She really could not make a decision about this without discussing it with the pixie in question.
She would bring it up with her once they had gotten back to the palace and packed all of this stuff up.
That would give her a little more time to think of how to bring it up with her.
"Well, what do you think, Camilla?" Hermione asked later, as she sat, cross-legged on her bed and Camilla sat next to her, looking up at her. "When I leave, where would you want to go? Who do you want to stay with?"
"I... I don't know," Camilla looked uncertain. "Can I tell you tomorrow? I need some more time to think about it."
Hermione nodded. "That would be fine. I want you to be as comfortable and happy as possible while I'm gone, after all."
"Just please do not stay gone," Camilla spoke wryly, a tone the pixie rarely took. "I would hate to lose you. My time with you has been so amazing. You are amazing."
Hermione smiled a small smile. "I will do my best to come back to you. I do not want to be gone forever either."
Her cell phone, which Hermione had set on the desk as she walked in, rang just then.
Stretching as she got up, she walked over and checked the caller ID.
Anahita.
Showing it to Camilla, she asked her: "Do you mind if I ask her about her opinion of this? I might as well, since she is calling now..."
"Go ahead," Camilla shrugged. "I don't mind."
Hermione nodded and answered the phone.
'Hello, Hermione. Is all well with you?" Anahita asked.
"As well as it can be when one is preparing for a war..." Hermione sighed.
Anahita raised an eyebrow, but did not question her.
"Yes, yes, but that is not why I am calling. Are you aware that Alfea has a break coming up in a few weeks?"
"Is it at the same time as Red Fountain's break?" Hermione queried.
Anahita answered in the affirmative, then continued.
"Well, Rainer's mother called her earlier and invited us all to spend some time at a resort that apparently she and Lord Del Mar have shares in. As it was when my grandparents invited us to Romulea, Rainer mentioned you to them and the invitation was extended to you as well. Would you like to join us?"
"So... why isn't Rainer asking me this herself?"
"Well, Lady Del Mar called right before Rainer had a date with Lucas, so of course that took the first priority over her mother's request," Anahita rolled her eyes. "and I had planned to speak with you anyway, so this was not a problem for me."
Hermione shared a look with Camilla.
"Well, I would love to come, but alas. I would be busy around that time. Unavoidably so, unfortunately. Can Camilla go with you on this trip without me?" she asked.
"I do not see why not, but why can she not go with you wherever you are..." Anahita trailed off and her eyes widened in realisation. "...oh. Roxy told me that she thought that Harry was planning to do something major against Voldemort soon. Of course you would be in on it!"
Anahita was sharp.
Or perhaps it was not sharpness, but simple deductive reasoning.
Either way...
"Can she?" Hermione pressed.
"I do not see why not. You can send her to me before you go off doing whatever it is that you have to do and I can take her along with us. I think that she would enjoy the trip and spending time with some of the other pixies while you are busy with whatever." Anahita shrugged.
"I think I would enjoy that too," Camilla smiled slightly.
"There is also the matter of what Camilla will do if your trip takes longer than expected. Or worse, if this trip of yours ends in a way that none of us would like," Anahita pointed out.
Hermione grimaced before turning to look at her pixie. "It is up to you, Camilla. It is your choice."
"I would want to return to Pixie Village if... if the worst happens," Camilla looked ready to cry at the very thought.
"Then that is settled," Anahita nodded. "I will ensure that it happens. "
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
That was one less thing to worry about.
If she came to harm or had to be away for long, at least Camilla would be well cared for.
She already knew where Crookshanks would go- he would be staying here in Tir Nan Og with Isaac and Andrina because for some reason, they completely fell in love with him the first time that she had brought him over for a visit.
They too, understood what she would have to do some day and were also quite understanding about it, so that helped.
"Well, now that that delightful topic is out of the way, what was your original purpose in calling me?" Hermione asked.
"I wanted to see if you could give me another opinion on this Potions essay that I am writing,, but if you are too busy with your preparations..." Anahita trailed off.
"No, no. It is fine. I have the time for that now." Hermione assured her. "Ask away!"
A few days later, Hermione and Camilla sat together in the room (with Crookshanks sitting on the desk and watching them) practicing a few illusion based spells.
"Just let the magic flow and imagine what image you want to project. It is as simple as that, really," Camilla instructed.
Hermione held her wand straight out in front of her and closed her eyes as she focused.
A flow of colours emerged from her wand; coalescing until it formed the image of a precise copy of herself.
Opening her eyes, she looked vaguely impressed as she stood up to inspect the copy, walking around it to get a good look at it from all angles.
"You did it, Hermione!" Camilla exclaimed. "If you can do something like this so well, then you have pretty much mastered external illusions!"
Hermione looked pleased. "I am only sorry that there is no time to master internal or targeted illusions, but this will do for what I have planned. Thank you."
Camilla smiled. "You are most certainly welcome. I mean, if even one small illusion helps to save your life, then this is quite worth it."
Hermione nodded, then glanced at her phone, which lay on the bedside table.
"Harry and the others shall be calling soon to confirm our plans and set a date for all of this," her tone was somewhat light, contrary to the words that she was speaking.
Camilla looked down. "Oh. I mean I know that you have to do this and everything, but every time you mention something like that and with every passing day, it just seems to get more and more real."
Hermione reached out to hug the pixie. "I know. I know. I could never live in peace until all of this is over, though."
The phone rang just then and Hermione released the pixie from her grip.
"I think I will go down and spend some time in the gardens. I like it there," Camilla nodded to her, before flying out of the open window.
Sighing, Hermione got up and answered the phone while walking over to the desk.
Crookshanks got up as he saw her coming, leapt off the desk and went to relax himself in her bed instead of his own.
Hermione rolled her eyes, before preparing herself for the call.
"Well then, Harry. Let us get this started, shall we?"
Nearly an hour later, she Harry, Dumbledore, Moody and Remus were discussing the plans, with Bill being absent for whatever reason.
She and Harry had shared their plans for the Gringotts infiltration and after going it with them, none of them could find much fault with it.
Of course with every plan they came up with, there were going to be risks, but they figured that this one was the best one they had come up with.
"So..." Harry piped up during a moment of silence that had fallen. "everything is ready?"
"Yes," Hermione nodded. "We've done all the memorization of the Gringotts information we could, we have all the potions we needed to brew (including healing potions) done, they've been practicing the sorts of spells we'll need to helps us along, especially if anything goes wrong..."
Remus let out a wry chuckle, but didn't comment.
"So why bother putting it off any longer?" Hermione asked.
They had done so for long enough.
She just wanted to get this over and done with so she could attempt to live a life in peace in her home country.
Harry sighed. "You're right. Why bother putting it off? The sooner we get it done, the better."
"Our allies have been notified that something big may happen within the next few weeks. They're preparing for that as well," Dumbledore spoke up. "Hogwarts is being fortified and we're preparing for an emergency evacuation since my presence here or no, once Voldemort finds out that you've stolen that Horcrux and have destroyed the others..." the old Headmaster trailed off.
"He's not going to give a damn about attacking Hogwarts in retaliation with all those innocent children and their families inside. He's proven multiple times that he doesn't care about children and their families anyway..." Harry said, nodding grimly.
Hermione winced at the memory of Voldemort's mandated attack on the Hogwarts Express, which proved that he did in fact, not give a damn about children being slaughtered.
"Your plans are in place, you're basically ready to pull this thing off... when are you going to do it?" Moody asked.
"In two weeks time, there's going to be a weeklong break for all the students in Magix. I'll check in with someone on the first day, be with you by the second, then by the third we can finally move to end all this." Harry sat up a bit straighter as he spoke.
All of them looked at one another.
"We have an actual date now. It's the real thing... We've been saying so since this whole thing started, but to know that the end of all this could be so close..." Hermione broke the silence that had ensued.
An actual date.
They had been speaking with more of a general time frame before, but now an actual date had been set...
"I feel you. Ever since we started planning to break in-"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, since despite everything, she still hated the idea of breaking into anywhere, as if she was a common criminal.
Harry looked right back at her and continued speaking.
"since that's what it is, Hermione. A break in. Since we started planning the break in, I've been telling myself so this entire time, but to have an actual date in mind for this..."
"Are you certain that you're ready?" Remus asked him. "You might have been having a lot of training lately and you've more than proven that you can hold your own in an actual fight now, rather than just having sheer luck or someone to help you along..."
"Ready or not, Voldemort's going to be coming for me. I've been putting it off long enough. I can't do it anymore." Harry said. "I've been safe here in Magix, but you lot are still in the line of fire... People keep dying all the time because of him... I can't allow it to go on anymore. It would be a bloody shame to my parents, to Cedric, to Sirius and Ron... among others... if I did."
"I feel the same way, hiding away here in Tir Nan Og..." Hermione thought.
"And those fairy friends of yours aren't going to be anywhere near this fight?" Moody broke the next moment of silence.
"I certainly don't plan for them to show up. Their war against him is over. They've rescued the one of them that he captured and they've done a great deal of damage to him already in the process, so they've basically done their part to help us against him. That, plus the training I've gotten from Queen Nebula and her sister has significantly improved my fighting skills. And the fact that even without magic, her father would kill me if I let Roxy get anywhere near such a lethal fight and her mum and aunt wouldn't be far behind..." Harry shuddered at the very thought.
Despite themselves, everyone (except Moody) had a little laugh at the idea that Roxy's family could be even scarier to him than Voldemort.
Not long after that, the others dropped out of the call, leaving behind only Harry and Hermione.
"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked him, looking concerned.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I should be asking you the same thing."
Loud voices were heard on Harry's end of the call and he glanced back, apparently to see what was causing the commotion.
"I've got to go. Hermione, I'll check in with you every day this week. Same time I usually do." Harry said.
Hermione nodded as the call ended.
Great.
Now she had to approach Nebula and let her know that she would soon be leaving the safety of Tir Nan Og, to go and launch herself into a warzone.
While Nebula would not be upset with her for doing what she had to do, that did not make the idea of that conversation an easy one.