And that's how, about an hour later, while Ed was briefly and quietly sliping out of his bed, Hermione found herself back in the requirement room, with Molly and Arthur Weasley, the twins, Sirius Black, Minerva McGonagall, Mr and Mrs Digory, and the four of Cair Paravel.
Some of you already know who I am, she started. For the rest of you...
get ready for a shock, George finished up.
She sent him a look, then sighed, and ended her spell. Shock painted on many faces, and she took a depp breath before speaking again.
yes, I am Hermione Granger. I came from the future to fix the past. Had Ed and I not interfered during the quidditch cup, Harry would be dead by now, kidnapped by Barty Crouch Junior. Harry is the key to the victory against Lord Voldemort. And yes, he is back. Without Harry, all hope is lost. A dark entity that feeds on chaos knows that too. We don't know what this thing is exactly, but it tried to kill Harry, by any means possible. We know that the entity knows what is supposed to happen. Cedric Digory was supposed to die tonight, murdered by Peter Petigrew. We wanted to avoid this useless death, and we needed to keep an eye on Harry, but we also needed to trick the entity. Had it noticed Cedric wasn't with Harry, it would have grown suspicious. So, we asked Fred and George to help us lock the real Cedric away, so that Ed could take his place.
And I took Ed's place, George explained.
My baby should have died... Mrs digory whispered, shocked. And your friend sacrificed himself to save him.
But George, you were sick before the task! Molly exclaimed.
Not really, mom, Fred explained. He just ate a puking pastille.
What's that? Arthur asked with an interested tone.
That's one of our inventions, dad. Half of the sweet gets you sick, the other half puts you back on your feet.
I used a similar tactique to slip away during the task, Hermione continued. A candy that caused me a nosebleed. I hid under an invisibility cloak, and I went to the graveyard, where I was abble to save Ed's life thanks to what professor Snape taught me.
What about now? Sirius asked. Is it over?
I'm not so sure. The Shadow is still there, somewhere. Its purpose is to kill Harry before the battle of Hogwarts. It can strike again at any moment.
Is there anything we can do? Professor McGonagall asked.
I think I have a plan.