A/N: Sorry for the delay- the trip to Texas was followed by an impromptu trip back home early for Thanksgiving, and so I had a lot of work to get done earlier than expected last week… this week, I've been getting papers worked on for next week at school, and to top it all off, got sick on Thanksgiving, and spent most of yesterday and today laid up on the couch with a horrendous headache. HOWEVER, feeling better, so on I go…
Chapter 28
Hermione, Harry, Ron, Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall stood around McGonagall's office. Hermione noted that it didn't really look much different from when it had been Dumbledore's office, and she wondered if McGonagall wasn't planning to be in the position for very long.
She also felt bad- McGonagall had no earthly clue what it was that they were looking for, why they were in Hogwarts at all, why it was so vital to search the school thoroughly- but like Snape, she knew when to trust Dumbledore and not ask questions, and this seemed to be one of those times.
After a few minutes of deliberation with her, she left to go talk with the teachers and prefects who were chaperoning the Hogsmeade weekend, leaving the five who knew about the horcruxes to talk amongst themselves.
"Visiting the Chamber of Secrets once more would not be amiss," Snape suggested smoothly. "Perhaps Potter's interesting abilities could shed some more light on that situation than we were able to," he indicated himself and Dumbledore.
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "that was one of my plans for today. I think myself and Harry should venture to the second floor first off…"
"I've been too," Ron put in. "I've been in the Chamber, I can come help." Snape rolled his eyes- all of them except Hermione had now been, after all.
"Actually, I think I would like for you to accompany Severus and Miss Granger," Dumbledore smiled at him. "They will be going to Ravenclaw Tower."
"There will be first and second years there," Hermione pointed out immediately. "We will need to find some way to empty the tower if we're to be able to get a good search in."
"Quite right," Dumbledore inclined his head. "And I will leave that task up to the three of you," his eyes twinkled. "Now, we have Harry's invisibility cloak," he held up the fine material in his left hand. "Severus, I think it will fall on you to wear this, as it is most vital that you not be seen. The rest of us shall rely on disillusionment charms."
Harry had the look of trying not to grimace too strongly as Dumbledore handed over his precious cloak. Hermione hid a smile as she registered a nearly identical expression on Snape's face. Some things never change.
They parted ways at the bottom of the stairs, Harry and Dumbledore turning right and the other three heading left. Snape led the way to the Ravenclaw common room, as neither Hermione nor Ron had ever been there and had no clue where it was located.
They traveled in silence, but passed no one; the school did truly seem empty, and Hermione wasn't surprised. It was a nice afternoon in September, and hopefully even the younger students would be taking advantage of the nice weather before fall hit. Eventually, however, she leaned closely between the other two- or at least where she thought they were, judging by the footsteps.
"How are we planning to check the common room and empty it if need be?" she whispered.
"I was hoping you'd thought of something," Snape replied shortly. She rolled her eyes.
They reached a statue, and Snape stopped. Hermione looked around, before concluding that the statue was probably the entrance to the common room. She turned in confusion.
"Don't you have the password?" she asked Snape. He grimaced.
"It's not that simple." He glanced around. "Unmask yourself."
"Er- okay… finite." She reappeared in the middle of the abandoned hallway. Looking around, she approached the statue tentatively, and jumped slightly when it began to speak.
"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"
She turned in confusion to the empty air behind her.
"It is not a password, it is a riddle," Snape said slowly. "To enter, you must answer correctly- or at least intelligently."
Helpful. She thought. A phoenix was born of the flame and the ashes it produced- which were caused by the death of the phoenix in the first place. She spoke tentatively. "It is a circle. It has no beginning, no end. It simply is."
The statue moved aside and Hermione let Ron and Snape move by her before stepping through herself- that way, it wouldn't close on them.
To her relief, the common room was deserted. She re-illusioned herself, just in case, however, and turned to the other two.
"Stay here," she instructed, "I'll be right back. Which side is the girls'?" she asked Snape. He pointed at the stairway on the left side and she dashed quickly up, looking for the wing marked 'sixth years.' She had a feeling, and if she was right about it…
"Luna!"
The younger girl looked interestedly at the empty but open doorway to her dorm, not seeming surprised at all to be addressed.
"Yes?" she called back in mild curiosity. Hermione uncovered herself once more. "Oh! Hermione… you didn't come back this year," her tone didn't even sound accusatory; she was merely stating a fact.
"Well, the Ministry said I couldn't, remember? Anyway, that's not important… can you do me a favor?"
"Sure," she replied good-naturedly, putting her book down.
"Great, I appreciate it," Hermione rushed on. "I need the Ravenclaw Tower emptied," she explained. "It doesn't matter how, but I need as long as possible that you can give me alone here. And it has to remain a secret, I'm not supposed to be here after all."
"Okay," Luna stood, slipped on a pair of fuzzy slippers, and exited to the staircase. Hermione recast the charm on herself and watched as Luna stuck her head into all of the girls dormitories, finally emerging into the common room with two small second years in tow. They waited, seeming rather confused, while she wandered slowly up to the boys' side, reemerging a few minutes later with three first years and another second year. She led the entire entourage out of the statue-entrance, voice trailing off behind. "…they're amazing creatures, and this is a prime time of the year…"
Ron appeared suddenly and Hermione started. She'd nearly forgotten that she wasn't alone now in the common room. Moments later, Snape appeared as well, pulling the cloak off slowly. He looked distracted though, even a little confused. Hermione shot him a questioning look, which he waved away.
"You are quite sure that Miss Lovegood can be fully trusted?" he asked silkily. Hermione exchanged a quick look with Ron, who nodded.
"Absolutely," he stated firmly. "She fought with us at the Department of Mysteries. She won't tell anyone that we were here."
"Very well…"
They began to peer around the common room, prodding at loose stones in the wall with their wands, carefully examining the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw; even if her diadem was lost forever, perhaps Riddle had seen fit to hide a horcrux in her common room as a sign of symbolism…?
But there was nothing- just a stone statue of a stern-looking witch wearing an intricate tiara. At the base of the statue was a faded inscription: Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure. Pulling together all of her wits, however, Hermione could not seem to make any connection.
They dejectedly did a room-by-room search of the dormitories themselves, but they were working more quickly now, wary of how much time Luna would be able to buy them still. Hermione did have a brief moment of excitement when she found a loose floor-board in the seventh-year girls' wing- and then discovered it to be a hiding place for some illicit bottles of firewhiskey, and threw up her hands in exasperation.
"Perhaps Potter and Professor Dumbledore have had greater success," Snape said quietly close by Hermione, seeing her frustration show on her face. The three of them stood congregated in the dormitory, when they heard the sound of someone entering the common room below. Snape cursed under his breath and threw the cloak quickly over his shoulders once more; Ron disillusioned himself, and Hermione crept to the edge of the stairs, letting out a breath when she saw it was just Luna again.
"Hermione?" the younger girl called quietly. She stepped into view. "Ah, there you are. Did you need any more time? Some of the students want to come back…"
"No, no, it's fine," Hermione assured her. "We- I'll be going, I've done what I needed," she jerked as she felt two hands touch her arm gently, signaling to her that they were both going to stand by the entrance to the common room and wait for her to leave and let them out. Hermione dejectedly followed the two invisible people- and then stopped on a whim and turned back to Luna.
"Say, Luna… I know no one's supposed to know where it is, but do you know anything about the lost diadem of Ravenclaw?"
Luna blinked once in surprise. "It was rumored to give the wearer great powers of wisdom," she said slowly. "But as they say, It hasn't been seen in living memory."
Hermione sighed once more. "Thanks, Luna. You've been a great help."
After reconvening with an equally dejected Harry and Dumbledore, the group returned to Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore decided that they would give it another week before enlisting the help of Draco, in case any last minute ideas, theories, or revelations came to any of them. The five parted in low spirits, Harry and Ron returning upstairs to compare quests in greater detail, Dumbledore departing to Merlin-knew-where, and Hermione and Snape returning to Prince Manor.
They sat side-by-side on the couch, having been given two hot cups of tea upon their arrival; Harmony seemed to sense their melancholy mood. Knowing there was no point in rehashing the utter waste of a day, Hermione couldn't help but feel that she was overlooking something important- something extremely important. But there was nothing. Nothing in Ravenclaw Tower hinted to the presence of Ravenclaw's lost heirloom or any horcrux; nothing in the Chamber gave any more hints of dark, evil magic, and a thorough exploration of the catacombs, even with the aid of Fawkes, had turned up nothing. And yet, Hermione felt that there was some connection between the two places, and it was just beyond her grasp to make it…
A hand on her knee brought her back into the real world.
"Deep in thought," Snape noticed. "Care to share?"
"No, I- it's nothing really," she struggled to explain. "Just the feeling that I should understand something that I don't… I'm not sure if I'm actually overlooking something, or if it's just me wanting to find whatever that horcrux is."
He nodded slowly. "I think I understand," he confessed. "And I do believe that Albus has a similar feeling- that is why he waits to enact the next stage of his plan."
She shook her head in frustration. "It's ridiculous!" she exclaimed. "I can't imagine what I could possibly know about it… but I just have this feeling…"
"Sleep would be prudent," he suggested quietly. "Perhaps your subconscious will reveal more to you in an unconscious state than one in which you are so actively seeking to access it?"
"Maybe," she agreed wryly, and hesitated. "Join me?"
He opened his mouth to reply, thought some more, and paused.
"Not yet," he said slowly. "I actually need to confer with Albus once more today on a different matter."
"Something about which I should be concerned?" she asked shrewdly.
"Not at all," he retorted smoothly. "Just something that… materialized… today."
She smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile. "I'm going to bed then," she said, leaning up and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later."
And she left, plagued by the ever-present feeling that something was dangling right under her nose- something that was vitally important to the war.
A/N: FINALLY. Sorry again for the delay. Also, I wrote the last part of that chapter drugged up on Nyquil, so I hope it's grammatically alright. :P
Let's see… definitely don't expect to hear from me again until…eh… Tuesday night at best, but probably not until later in the week.
Thanks for reading, thanks for reviews, and thanks for patience. :-)
Cheers!
