Chapter Eight
Thanks to my loyal beta, BlueWater5! I really appreciate your help. 😊
Ron Weasley
He looked at the notes Hermione had given them for the classes they'd missed this week. She'd learned the Geminio spell, which made it easier on her. Maybe he ought to copy them by hand anyway. He usually remembered things better if he did. He wished letters would quit wiggling around when he wrote or tried to read them, though.
Ron told Harry that as they sat in their part of the dorm room. Dean and Seamus were off somewhere, but they'd show up for the team meeting Sunday afternoon. "I wish there was a spell to read them out loud," he added. "I learn all right that way. Mum read a lot of the stuff to me while I was in the kitchen working on those potions this last summer, and I could hear what she said in my head when I took the test at the Ministry."
"Maybe there is?" Harry said. "We're both in Charms. Is there one in the book? I almost wish Hermione could give us her memories of the classes, except she needs them, too."
"Can you have more than one person at a time in a Pensieve? She could give that memory, we could both listen to it, and then we could give it back to her," Ron suggested. "She'd laugh her head off if she heard us worrying about schoolwork. I hope we can keep up when the team meets this Sunday." He looked down at his homework. He almost wanted something to read out the stupid questions to him, too.
Harry looked glum, as if he thought he was going to be asked to do it. Then his face brightened. "I won't mind listening if you read it out loud."
"Thanks, I think," Ron said. He was glad the team did homework together, though he wished there was a way he could have Hermione there. Maybe they should meet even when they weren't playing. Quidditch was just about over for the year. Hooch said the brooms were icing up too much, and this Saturday was probably going to be the last game—Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw was going to have to play off some fouls they'd made in the last one. He shook his head. He was always disappointed when the game was called till spring and he'd never fallen. He still remembered Harry hanging on for dear life during that scary first year, though.
But this year he was captain. He was responsible for everyone's safety now, including Ginny as well as Harry. "I'll have to tell the team that the coach knows what she's talking about when it comes to the weather," he said. "I used to be able to whine about it the same as everyone else."
"The last time I was out looking for the Snitch, I was up far enough to feel my hands slip a bit," Harry mentioned. "And nobody likes it when the snow hides everything."
"Don't I know it!" Ron agreed. Merlin, it sucked to be a grownup! But Mum needed him to be one now. At first, he'd been so locked in grief he hadn't noticed how anyone else was taking Dad's death. Harry had buried himself in the kitchen, probably to dodge most of the visitors. All I did was to sit by the fire and never feel warm. After a couple of days of that, he'd risen out of his misery enough to see that Harry could stand some help, listen to Ginny when she shrieked at everyone, and see that Mum, oh Mum, tried so hard to be Mum to them when her own eyes were red from weeping.
And to see Dad that last time—I'm so glad he talked to me, just me. Knowing the robes were just a mistake and not what they thought of me. I'm not just an afterthought between the twins and Ginny. And I had my own time with Mum, not shared with anyone.
She'd told him to stay in school, of course- he had expected that. I have to talk to Bill. He'll tell me the truth about what Mum needs. And Ginny bears watching-she wanted to get into fights as soon as we got back. Being around Luna's been good for her, though.
And Harry was here. Who would watch over his friend if he didn't? The three of them were a team.
He looked over and saw Harry looking glumly at his own homework. They'd lost most of a week, how were they going to catch up? "Let's find Hermione and see what she's doing. We shouldn't wait till Sunday and leave her out of things again."
Harry slowly nodded. "I missed her, too. It's our fault, because it's been easier to do this with the whole team. Someone on it is bound to know something about what we're doing. She took all these notes for us, though, and she's not even in a couple of the same classes. Do you think they let her have the Timeturner again?"
Ron shook his head. "I dunno, maybe she traded notes with other people for us. Where do you think she is?"
"Where else? The library, of course."
Now he thought about it, it was obvious. "How late are they open on Friday?" It wasn't as if he'd ever been there at that time to find out.
"I suppose we should just go and check. I wonder if she's still riding a broom to and from by herself?"
"Let's go find her. That's just not safe around here." Ron packed up the notes and his assignments, threw on a cloak, and made sure he had his wand handy. Harry did the same. They went down to the common room, and into the Great Hall just in case she was already on her way back. She wasn't there and didn't have detention with anyone, as far as they knew. They went to the Library and saw a group of people talking as they came out the door.
"There she is," Harry said. He pointed her out in the middle of the group. "Looks like all the Ravens from Potions are there with her."
"Can't blame her," Ron said. He walked up to the group and drank in the sight of her impossible, amazing hair. She was talking to Luna, whose own hair shone like moonlight. Both of them looked happy.
Hermione didn't look so cheerful when she caught sight of him and Harry. Oh, she put on a face a moment later, but her smile wasn't quite the same. She probably feels we only want to talk to her so she can help us and she's right. When was the last time they asked her what she wanted to do? Or when they helped her? Neither he nor Harry had ever followed up on helping her on her broom except one time, and they'd pushed her a little hard then.
"Hermione," he said. "Let's have some hot chocolate by the fire in the common room." He wanted to be able to offer her something besides just talking all the time. I want to be as rich as Malfoy and give her furs and jewels like they must have there, he thought. I want to give her a house where she can have all the books she wants and maybe even another cat. He regretted the time he'd been angry at her over Scabbers. Cats were going to chase rats. Would it have been so bad if that wart Pettigrew had never brought back Moldyshorts?
He walked up to her and swept her books into his arms. She was pretty strong to haul this lot around. "We only want to talk for little bit," he said. "I remember you're not supposed to stay up too late."
She smiled a bit more real after that. "Thanks, Ron." Harry trailed behind and look lost. Can't have that, Ron thought. Though it was a strain on the arm with his bag of papers, he hooked Harry into reach with it, making them a Trio and not just a couple with an extra hanging on. They had to stick together and not let anybody get lost.
Harry Potter
Harry was startled when Ron grabbed his arm but was glad of it. If Ron felt like an extra with his own family, that wasn't half of how he felt some of the time. He noticed Hermione's face when they'd shown up, too. We'll have to remember that she can make friends more than just us. He'd seen her laugh and talk with the Ravens. Can't blame her for reaching out. It's not like we've paid much attention to her lately. Doing homework with the team has been fun, but we haven't done much with just the three of us. It's been nice not being attacked by You-Know-Who. Surely we're friends for more than just that, right?
Were they only friends because they fought a troll together? Or gone after the Stone? Hermione had been left out of a lot of things this year. I love being part of the Weasley family, what's wrong with that? But there was more to their friendship than standing together against Voldiesnort. Wasn't there?
The three of them had to hold together. When they were in private, there were things he had to tell them though he wasn't looking forward to hearing them be upset over, like talking to Snape like a real person or shaking hands with Draco. There really hadn't been time with all three of them in private at the Burrow to explain what was going on.
These two were his family.
Hermione Granger
Hermione sighed and squared her shoulders when she saw the two boys waiting for her outside the library. It had been such a fun evening of exchanging ideas with the extra twist of playing with Luna's ideas and trying to figure out how to make them work. Luna had been amazingly all right with watching some of them getting shot down and had brightened up like mad when she discovered that people were trying to help her, and not just telling her she was crazy.
But she knew where her duty was, and Ron and Harry were a major part of that. She was surprised when Ron took her stack of books onto his own load and let her lean on him a bit. And she was even happier when he took Harry onto his other side. It was like he was saying that he was here for more than just her spoon-feeding them their homework, which was nice. Of course, she had no illusions about what they'd be doing once they were all sat down together, but she enjoyed the feeling of not always having to be the strong one for a change.
She was glad to sit down in the common room and have Ron fetch her some hot chocolate. Hermione was happy she didn't have to avoid it; somehow, she'd missed becoming spotty over the truck load of sweets offered here. And there were magical cures for that which actually worked better than the Muggle ones.
Hermione sipped the chocolate and fielded questions. Both of them had been in Potions on Friday, so they had some idea of how the Wolfsbane attempts were going. Charms had also been on Friday, along with Transfiguration. But the others had been mostly while Harry and Ron were gone, and so she carefully explained those classes. With a couple of them all she had were the notes. She had traded a couple of sets of her own notes in Arithmancy for those.
She suddenly felt exhausted, though she had slept reasonably well the night before and was looking forward to a lie-in the next morning.
"Hermione," Ron said, "Harry and I can bash our way through these for a bit more tonight. We can have a real talk tomorrow when you're more up to it."
She gladly took the escape offered and went to bed. Winky was there, waiting for her…and Hermione nearly burst into tears, she was that tired.
"Missy Book-Girl need to sleep, will come back later," the little elf said, and disappeared.
Hermione had forgotten her promise to teach the tiny thing to read and was slightly ashamed that she'd shown so much weakness. She was amazed a moment later when the elf showed up with the potion. "Mistress Nurse Lady says to drink this."
It looked and smelled the same as the ones Madam Pomfrey had already given her in the past when she was too tired to sleep well, so she drank it. "Thank you, Winky," she said. She was asleep before either Lavender or Parvati came up.
Ron Weasley
Ron awoke hungry, but he was used to that. Funny how he was growing like mad and Harry wasn't, but then, Harry never really ate the way Ron was used to seeing in himself or his brothers. What a pity Mum didn't have him to feed up a long time ago, he thought as he slowly dressed and went down to breakfast. Maybe I should lean on him to eat the way that Mum does? Or would that put his back up?
He went to the Great Hall and ate. It was a little easier when he sat by himself and didn't have to worry about closing his mouth or dropping things, but once the first plateful was down he decided to pay more attention to manners. Hermione was right, he needed to slow down just a bit. There was always plenty and would still be even if he took his time. At home, anyone who was slow went short. Even Percy had been known to throw an elbow or two in the evening, and Charlie was a menace if you ended up between him and the potatoes. The twins helped each other and split whatever they had evenly between them, while Mum looked after Ginny and made sure she had enough.
I'm glad I'm at Hogwarts for most of the year to take the burden of feeding me from Mum. It likely helped with having my older brothers spend most the year here, too. He slowed down for sweets. It was something made with apples this morning. But if I left to find work, I'd have to find a place to live, buy enough to eat, and learn how to fix it myself. It'd be no good if I left to work just to eat Mum out of house and home. I have to find a way to help her! Can't leave it all to Harry or the twins…
What am I good at? Chess… but there's no money in chess that I know of. I wonder if there are any prize matches, and if I'm good enough to win back the entry fee? I really love food, and there's money in that, if I learned how to be a good cook. Mum could have people flowing in from France for her shepherd pie or her roast beef. She's good at potions and prime at healing, too.
He made a face. He'd never felt sorry for Malfoy before he'd seen him fetching and carrying in the infirmary. That wasn't for him! The smells in Potions sometimes put him off, and the infirmary was even worse. He felt complimented sometimes when people asked him to sniff to see if they done something right, but it wasn't any fun. I'd rather fetch and carry at the Leaky, maybe work in the kitchen.
But I'm better as Keeper than I was, and even though there isn't as much glory, they're paid well enough and you can be one for longer than for most of the other positions. I wish there was a way I could help Mum now and come back here later.
Except for Moldyshorts. Oh hell, I don't know what to do!
Thinking like this made him hungry again. Some bread with butter helped soak up his feelings. I'll have to take a turn or two outside to work this off. Keepers can be heavier than most other players, but I'd hate to hear people joke about me they'd the way they do about Albertson on the Cannons. Dad turned out pretty round, and of course, there's Mum. Nobody makes jokes about her in my hearing, but nobody will ever take her for thin, either. She looked well enough in the memory Harry found of his parents' wedding, but don't want to be the size she is now when I become that old.
At last even he was satisfied. Harry and Hermione finally came down. Ron told them what was good for breakfast today and lingered while they put food on their plates. Neither one ate enough to keep a bird alive, but it suited them. At least Harry had seconds, and Hermione had more than just toast and fruit. Owls started coming in with messages and newspapers and such, but none of them had anything this time.
Once all of them were done, they adjourned to an empty classroom. Hermione did some kind of spell around the edges to let them know if someone was near the door. Instead of sitting back, though, Ron asked her what it was and how it was done. Hermione might end up hurt or gone for some reason, and he should learn how to pull his weight. Harry listened in and learned the spell, too. It wasn't really that hard, just something out of sixth-year Charms, but it could come in handy again.
They sat down and Harry began to talk.
Harry Potter
Harry didn't know how to explain the present he'd given Snape, or the hand he'd given to Malfoy, so he just said what he'd done. There shouldn't be any secrets between the three of them. "Snape keeps on giving and doing stuff for us, and we never do anything for him back. I don't know much about magic, but it seems like it's going to rebound one of these days and I rather it didn't do it just at the wrong time."
To his surprise, Ron slowly nodded. "That makes sense. There's the way of doing spells we learn here, like in Charms, and then there's the way magic works outside of that. I caught Mum once singing to the Burrow like it was one of us. I waited until she was done, of course, and she said it was to keep the house happy."
"I wish she'd do it to Grimmauld place, then," Harry said. "Nothing is happy inside there and it's supposed to belong to me when I turn seventeen this summer."
"Make, it'd take more than a few songs!" Ron said with a laugh. "You'd need several years' worth of birthday parties and Christmas! We'll give it a try to help you, though."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "I think… I think I'm beginning to understand it a little bit. I've been using the same broom for a while and it's beginning to like me. I know, that doesn't make any sense."
"Of course it does," Ron said. "I always try to get the broom that has this little notch in it for matches when I'm Keeper – it's slow, but it's really steady. I don't have to hang onto it. I just move it with my knees. Other brooms are different. Harry let me ride on his couple of times, but it doesn't like me as much as it does him."
"That's right," Harry said. The Firebolt that Sirius had given him was almost like a living thing to him. "It's good that you're starting to feel your broom – that really does make a difference. What is it you're doing when it's the happiest?"
Hermione blushed pink. "When I'm playing music from home. It likes dancing."
Harry thought for a moment. "I never heard of a broom doing that before. Now, that means it must be very maneuverable, and that would be good for a Chaser or even a Beater position. Not that I want to make you play Quidditch, but your broom would be happy doing that."
"Only if I could play music," Hermione said. "And Professor McGonagall said that there used to be broom dancing, and that people might pick it up again if there's a place to practice when the weather is too bad."
Ron frowned. "It must be a pureblood thing. I mean, Weasleys and Prewitts are pureblood and all that, but it's something that goes along with taking deportment classes and ballroom dancing and such. Like most of the Slytherin students didn't need extra lessons for the Yule ball, at least I didn't hear of any." He looked wistful for a moment. "Ginny should have lessons like that."
Harry shrugged. I'm a Muggleborn when it comes to all that, he thought. "I know that my broom and I feel like one thing. Hey, I gave Snape a memory of flying – I saw him on a broom for one of my special lessons, and he went around trees like nobody's business. Hermione, I could give you one of my memories of flying and it would be like a ride for you where didn't have to worry about anything, and you can get used to heights more." He remembered how green the Potions Master had looked afterwards and knew that Hermione would likely do so too. "I'll pick a pretty easy one to give you. We can use the Pensieve to teach each other things." He'd been angry with Ron for snooping, but he'd done the same to Snape and learned things he didn't really want to. Why couldn't they use it to learn things they did want to know?
Hermione looked startled. "I never thought of that! How much of the memory do you lose when you put it into the Pensieve?"
Harry tried to think. "I know that I did the flying, but I do so much but that is not a big thing to lose. If I go to the memory in the Pensieve often enough, it's back in my head again and still in the Pensieve. I went through the one of my parents wedding so many times I can see it in my head anyway."
Ron spoke up. "If I listen to things often enough, I keep them better than if I read them on paper. I know it's a lot slower, but I still wish there was a spell to read my books to me."
Hermione made some notes. "I'll check the Charms book I have and see if there's anything in the library about that."
"I wish I knew more about the wizarding world period," Harry said. "Both Hermione and I were raised with Muggles, and I wish there was a class the first year about things."
"Professor McGonagall visited my house and gave my parents some booklets, but that was pretty much it," Hermione said. "She told us how to go shopping on Diagon Alley and my supplies list but not much more."
"That's more than I got," Harry said. "Hagrid dumped me off to go have a drink in the middle of my shopping trip. That was really scary! Almost as bad as when I tried out a Floo later on and ended up lost in Knockturn Alley!
Ron shook his head. "That's horrible! Mum took us all shopping when it was our turn. But the problem with a class for the Muggleborn is that a lot of magical knowledge is what you learn in your family, and we would all have to agree which parts strangers were allowed to know about. Like that broom dancing thing. Our family was never in that, but there are those who were a long time ago. And if it starts again, everyone is going to fight about what music to use. It's not a bad idea, Hermione, but it's more complicated than people think."
Harry felt lost – he'd been raised away from magical influences, but his knowledge of the Muggle world was bad, too. He was probably lucky he'd gone to the local school, and that Dudders had let him watch Saturday morning cartoons some of the time. "Isn't anyone going to go after me for shaking hands with Malfoy?" He was surprised that neither had.
"No," Ron said. "The ferret is saying the same things he always has, but not in the way he used to, where you just wanted to paste him for breathing too loudly. I don't know what changed, but at the captain's meetings he's not horrible. As for Snape, I still remember what Mum said about the git not being allowed to eat at Order meetings." His friend visibly shuddered. "I'm just glad that Percy told us what he was really up to."
Hermione looked puzzled. Of course, she did, she hadn't been there for that part. Ron quickly filled her in.
"I wish you hadn't told me," she said. "He's in danger if any of us talk."
"We'll all have to learn that Occlumenty thing," Ron said. He looked unhappy.
That wasn't half of what Harry felt, remembering those lessons. He also understood how Ron felt about Snape not being allowed to eat. The way the Dursleys had treated him sometimes over food still made him angry, too. And yet he never felt like pigging out the way Ron sometimes did. To be honest, Ron sometimes reminded him of Dudley that way, and then he'd lose his own appetite. He wished that Hermione would eat more, but that was girl stuff. He didn't know why but watching a girl eat heartily didn't bother him as much is when a boy did. Weird. "Yeah, we're all different this year, but we have to pretend we're not. I still have to backtalk Snape and he still has to yell at me, but it's more of an act than it's ever been."
Hermione nodded. "Ron, that was cruel what happened to Snape. I spent last summer hoping my insides wouldn't dissolve from Dolohov and only the potions he made me even when he was so sick kept me from having to live in a bucket. Madam. Pomfrey has ways of not saying things that mean a lot. And I was terrified that I would have to brew the Wolfsbane Potion, too. After this year we'll all have some idea of what's going on. Professor Lupin should be very grateful to Snape, but I never noticed that happening in our third year."
Ron laughed. "You were taking so many classes you probably didn't notice much beyond trying to figure out when you should sleep! But you saw the fun he had in the Boggart class." He shuddered. "I can't tell you how many spiders the twins threw my way after everyone found out what scared me the most. The Snakes were lucky that year, not to have their fears shown up."
Harry thought back. No, there hadn't been a second lesson for the rest of the class. I wonder why? Did Remus have somebody talk to him about it? "I still miss Sirius," he said.
"Mate, I know you do, but sometimes my leg twinges in bad weather where he broke it," Ron said. "Skele-Gro doesn't work as well when a person has to wait to be healed, or so the old trout told me when I asked her about it. Don't worry, it's not that bad, but it's a bit of a reminder, you know?"
Harry hadn't thought of that in a long time. Of course Ron wouldn't be any too pleased at the way Sirius had treated him. But he'd been so glad to have someone looking after him he hadn't really thought about what his friend had gone through. Now we both have a dad missing, and not just me… He felt ashamed of feeling satisfaction over that.
How would he feel if Hermione lost her parents, too? Then again, she never seemed to be with them. He had no idea what her family was like, but they had to be better than the Dursleys. He swallowed hard. What kind of person was he to feel anything but unhappy at what other people lost?
I used to be able to blame Snape for anything that went wrong, and Voldie at the end of the year. I hate not being able to do that now.
Part of him still grieved for Sirius, no matter what else he'd done. Harry tried hard not remember how Snape's head had gone into the wall or ceiling once they'd moved out of the Shrieking Shack and went back to the tunnel. If he hadn't brought us in, we wouldn't been able to use the Time Turner to rescue ourselves with my Patronus…
"Well," he said. "There ought to be more things than what Professor McGonagall tells the Muggleborn. And I didn't even get that much. Someone who's an orphan but isn't a Muggleborn doesn't get told anything. On the other side, maybe Muggle Studies ought to be mandatory for magical families, too." He didn't want to even think about taking Occlumency again, though Hermione was right about Percy.
"Only if it's taught by someone who's been in the Muggle world less than a century ago," Hermione fumed. "Trelawney is teaching it this year, though I've heard that she's tossed the sherry and the incense and is talking about her trip last summer to the States."
Harry wondered why he was so lucky that he wasn't either a Muggleborn or a magical person growing up. He could talk to some of the others like Finch-Fletchley, but he didn't feel he had anything in common with them either. He never felt like he fit in. Every time he thought he did, something happened like the Tri-Wizard Tournament, or Rita Skeeter, or Voldemort. The only time he really felt he was part of things with was with these two people.
And every time he thought he could trust an adult, something even worse happened. Sirius died, Arthur Weasley died, and he couldn't help wondering who was next. Dumbledore – he used to idolize Dumbledore. And Snape, maybe he could trust Snape, but the git was dancing on his own grave. He wished someone he liked would survive.
But then, he'd better pay attention to what his friends said, too. "Sorry, wool-gathering again," he said.
"You have a lot to think about," Hermione replied. "Are we going to start the DA again?"
"I don't know," Harry said. "You and a couple of others are the only ones who've asked about it. None of the Ravenclaws want anything to do with it." He'd asked Cho Chang once, and that was it.
Hermione bit her lip and glanced away.
"Maybe if you'd told people about the jinx first last year?" Ron asked. "Maybe Umbridge sent to the Ministry for some real Veritaserum when Snape said he was out. Dad said they have their own brewers over there for stuff like that."
"I know," Hermione said in a stiff, tiny voice, like she was trying not to cry. "Luna asked me if the jinx would work on someone who was dosed with the stuff. I didn't even think of that when I set it up." She took a deep breath. "I think that's why none of the Ravenclaws are interested in the DA this year."
Harry thought Edgecombe was treated the way she deserved, but he hadn't thought of a real potion, or whatever Umbridge might have done to the girl with nobody watching. What if Cho was given some of the real stuff? What if Ron or Hermione were? It was only Snape that kept me from getting any… He gulped. And yeah, telling people about the jinx ahead of time might have kept them from talking in the first place.
"All right," Harry said. "We're probably not going to have the DA this year, then. Maybe we can next year, since some of those in it last year will be gone. The three of us can train anytime we can get together. We can go over the battle at the Ministry and figure out what went wrong, and what we can fix this year."
"I wish we'd had some brooms with us," Ron said. "That hall was big enough to fly in if you're careful. You said that Snape flew, right? When you were fighting out in the forest?"
"In the trees, and he surprised everyone. He didn't bang into anything, either, and I really thought he was going to," Harry said.
"Well, maybe the two of us should practice playing inside along with Hermione," Ron said. "I know, I hate it too – I still hate that room with the keys – but it's something we can practice during bad weather. But we'll have to find someplace where we're allowed or can't be caught. Maybe the Room of Requirement? I can never tell how big it's supposed to be."
"There are supposed to be some underground levels that are big enough to fly in," Hermione said. "But I don't know how close they are to the Slytherin dungeons. And if anything happened it would hard to get help."
Harry snapped his fingers. "Kreacher came when I asked him to when we were at the Burrow. I knew how to work in the kitchen once Ginny showed me a few things, but I had no idea about the laundry. So I had him come and take care of it. It would be easy for me to find out if I can call him someplace like that before we spent too much time there."
Hermione nodded. "Sometimes Winky will do a few things for me. She wants me to teach her how to read. I don't know if she would hear me if I called her from there, but I can ask, in case I'm down there by myself."
Ron shook his head. "No way! That's just not safe around this school. I was worried when you started riding your broom to and from the library, but when I saw you with those others, I felt better. They look like they were friendly enough. Maybe they would be up for the DA after all."
Hermione smiled wanly. "Luna is the only reason they're talking to me at all. I'm useful because I remember things so well. Yes, we look friendly, but there are some things we don't talk about. I'm on trial with them for now. Other Ravenclaws aren't so polite. Cho Chang still pretends I'm not around any time we happened to be in the same area."
Harry thought that was a bad thing. So far none of the Hufflepuffs were turning their backs, but Hogwarts needed to be more than just Gryffindor against Slytherin. He was glad it wasn't the other way around, with the other three Houses against them.
"We do the same for the Slytherins," Ron said. "Shouldn't be a surprise when something we do backfires, I guess. The Tournament was a little bit like that with the Hufflepuffs, but they came up well in the DA. Maybe the Ravens will calm down by next year if we don't pull something stupid this year."
"You could be right," Hermione said. "I have to remember that sometimes I can be wrong."
But how are the two of us supposed to know that? Sure, he'd sided with Ron over Scabbers. He still wasn't happy over the Firebolt, but he could be wrong too. He sure had been over Snape often enough. And his being wrong had helped cause Sirius' death, no matter how much he wanted to blame it on someone else. "We need to talk to each other even more" he said. "It's less likely that all three of us will be wrong at the same time. And we have to talk even when we have hurt feelings. We still need to learn what we did wrong at the Ministry, decide what we should have done right, and learn how to do better."
"I have to mention one thing, Harry, and that is Kreacher can lie." Hermione gazed down at the floor.
"Yeah, that's one thing I never thought a house elf could do," Ron said, shaking his head. "But Sirius did kick him around a lot. Dobby tried to protect you from Malfoy's dad, and I dunno know what the man did, but house elves just don't do that kind of thing. Winky's adopted Snape, and he must treat her all right the way she coos at him in Potions when he's about to go off like one of George's best fireworks."
"I'm not making that mistake," Harry said. "But I don't tell Kreacher everything either – maybe when I take over Grimmauld Place I can, but right now there are other Black family members he probably likes better than me. But you're right, Hermione. If I'd just opened up his package I could have talked to Sirius anytime, without Umbridge catching me. So yeah, there are times when I'm angry, and I shouldn't be. I just want… I just want…" He closed his eyes to hold off the tears. "I'm just so tired of people dying!"
"I know," Ron said. His voice was thick and shaky. "I want to hit things, I want to yell at people, especially people who still have all their families… It's not your fault, Hermione, but I'm jealous that you still have both your parents to go home to. I expect Harry, here wants any parents to go home to. But Harry, you still have Mum, you always will."
Harry swallowed hard. "Thank you." Then he gained control over himself, the way he usually did eventually, but he had to do it a lot sooner now. "Hermione? Anything you need to tell us? We'll try not to get mad, honest!"
. Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm still writing letters to Viktor Krum." She looked straight at Ron, who was beginning to turn red. "They're not mushy letters, they're just friend letters. I know… I know I haven't been much of a girlfriend this year…" Tears ran down her face.
Ron moved over and gathered her into his arms. Harry felt horrible watching this. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he have this kind of love?
Soon, Hermione had composed herself and gently disengage from Ron's arms. "Thank you," she said softly. Then she looked at him. "Harry," she said. "We don't mean to leave you out. Come over here."
The three of them sat in a group hug. At first, Harry felt incredibly awkward, like the time set his new Mum had embraced him. And then he relaxed and for the first time in his life, felt like he really belonged.
After a bit they all separated and sat as they had before. Harry still felt shaky, as if someone had stripped all his barriers away. He knew he'd remember this for the rest of his life.
"We don't really have any plans, do we?" Harry said.
"No," Ron said with a smile. "But if we work together, mate, we don't need one!"
Hermione had a pained look on her face. "I know. That's my job. But I have extra homework for both of you," she said.
They all groaned. She continued. "Write down everything bad that could happen, no matter how strange it sounds. Pretend you're Trelawney again and make horrible predictions. In a week or so we can get together and compare notes. And then we can decide ahead of time what we can do about each one."
Harry blinked. That was a really good idea. "I'll do it," he said.
"Me, too," Ron agreed. "I just wish I had that DictaQuill I used when I took the Potions OWL at the Ministry."
"How much do they cost?" Hermione asked. "We could each come up with a third of it, if they're not too expensive. Or I could Charm a quill to do it if I can find out how."
Harry knew better than to jump ahead and just buy one. "Ron, I bet most of the professors would be glad, since they would be able to read your essays. Maybe they'd throw in a Sickle or two." That brought a laugh from all of them. Harry knew Ron was sensitive about money, especially now.
"I'll look up the charms on a DictaQull and see if I can match them, or find out what they are. But the people who make them probably keep that secret," Hermione said.
She gave a glance at Harry, who figured out that they might end up buying one anyway and just claiming that Hermione charmed it. It would still be interesting to see how they worked.
He shuffled the papers in his lap. For now he had some real homework to catch up on.
Hermione Granger
She knew when the meeting was over, and the homework began. She was ashamed of herself for breaking down but loved being held in Ron's arms. Oh, I wish I loved him more! I wish I could love him more! For a long time, she felt she was the person who held everyone up; it came as a wonderful surprise that someone could do so for her.
She, too, could be in the warm embrace of the Weasley family. Though they were grieving for now, she felt certain they would hold together when so many others were in trouble.
She also noticed that nobody seemed worried about her parents but her. If the Death Eaters showed up to bag the Dursleys, it was anyone's guess whether Harry would be upset or throw a party. She had given Harry pamphlets from family services several years in a row until she realized the Headmaster had his plans, and letting Harry stay with a loving family was definitely not in them. I am very surprised that Harry was allowed to be adopted by the Weasleys', she thought. It must've been the guardianship case that forced his hand. And Snape seemed to disapprove of Harry being treated that way. That was another thing to remember. Snape was on their side but had to be treated outwardly as if he wasn't.
As they finished their group hug, which made her feel warmer than she ever had before, she started the real business. She rapidly summarized the last week for them, though they were up to speed faster than she thought they would be in Potions. The other classes had trouble keeping their interest, though she didn't blame them when it came to Binns. She was the only one going for a NEWT in History, along with Arithmancy.
Now that she thought about it, Edgecombe was still in History, but sat as far away as possible in the class.
I don't blame her, Hermione thought, suddenly ashamed of herself. Maybe I need to think things through more myself, especially since the boys will almost always follow my lead when I want to ruin someone. It's hard to hold them back when I am so enthusiastic as well. I am very surprised that Harry is on better terms with Malfoy more than I am about his new relationship with Snape. I'm even more surprised that Ron is okay with him, too. Perhaps it's just as well that I didn't mention that I will be on Wolfsbane duty this next month, with Malfoy as well as with Snape and Winky. Maybe I'd better tell Madam Pomfrey, too. She probably won't like it – but how can I miss this chance? I really need to know what I might face if Snape dies. Her heart sank contemplating it, but that should be one of the bad things she would add when she made her list.
She felt herself drooping. "I need to get back," she said. "I'm really tired." Normally she would just push through, but she'd tried that a few times this year, and it hadn't turned out well. She was already going to get one lecture from the mediwitch over the Wolfsbane, and if she didn't show that she was able to realize when she was tired, it was likely the old woman would forbid her from helping with the potion this month. And she would tell Snape, who would make it stick.
The boys gladly escorted her back to the common room. She went straight up to bed, though she really wanted to be down there with them next to the cheering fire. I'm so alone, she thought. But I'm not a first-year student any longer. I can talk to other students and make sort of friendships with others, too.
She knew now that she would probably not be Head Girl next year. For one thing, she had trouble talking with younger students except for those ahead of themselves like Luna Lovegood. Cho Chang wasn't the greatest Head Girl, but Hermione had noticed how the young woman at least tried to communicate with students from all the houses, not just Ravenclaw. Plus, any extra duties next year might get in the way of the Trio's real fight against Voldesnort. Some things were more important.
She was better at poking fun at herself, and it was paying off with the Ravenclaws in Potions despite their standoffishness at first. She had earned that all by herself with her eagerness to punish anyone who spoke out about the DA. For one thing, mentioning the curse right off the bat would have eliminated people who weren't that enthusiastic. And she had totally forgotten about Veritaserum… and the Blood Quill. Not everyone could stand up to torture like Harry had. She hadn't seen any scars on Marietta Edgecombe, but she hadn't been looking very hard, either. Nobody could stand up to the potion. She looked it up, and even she would have spilled her guts if Umbridge had had the real stuff.
She sighed as she fell into bed. I will have to write a note of some kind to Edgecombe and I really don't want to. But I was wrong.
She hated knowing that.
12