Chapter 7 - The Accomplices
PLEASE READ:A/n: Okay, I know it took a long time, but let's look past that, all right? Promy made a great suggestion about chapters 5 and 6 - check reviews- but I haven't changed anything yet. I will probably go back and make chapter 6 flow a bit better, but right now I'm just going to keep writing on the story. I'm going to try and put a little h/h in this chapter and more later in the story. I also want to start getting a very thick plot going, soooo maybe that will work out. Hopefully anyway. I'm writing this chapter by chapter and I'm trying to make it all fit together, but if I have to -- I will go back and change the story to fit your suggestions. Okay, I'm done rambling. On with the Accomplices! Oh, and read and review! :) p
Disclaimer: I own nothing, J.K. Rowling owns it all! Well, except the plot... p
Harry slept fitfully Christmas night. Actually, he didn't sleep much at all. It had been a very strange Christmas, what with this new revelation Hermione had abruptly called to his attention. He was an Acceptor and a Healer? Harry punched the pillow in. He always had to be different, didn't he? 'Well,' Harry thought 'at least I know why Dumbledore hasn't been assigning missions.' Hermione had explained later that this was due to Harry's ignorance to his powers. Once Dumbledore had seen what had happened at the Malfoy's with Mrs. Figg, his suspicions of Harry receiving his father's unusual trait had been confirmed. Lupin, against Dumbledore's wishes, allowed Harry and Hermione to look for Voldemort's hiding place because he was unaware of what Harry was. And Dumbledore had been somewhat pleased that Harry had fainted at Godric's Hollow because he wasn't forced into a position where his ignorance could have cost him his life. After all, Voldemort knew of Harry's abilities. No, missions weren't a good idea at the moment, Harry concluded after reviewing what Dumbledore must have been thinking. p
Harry sighed to himself. Something had been worrying him a lot lately. Hermione said that changes and stuff would start happening to him, and he didn't know what they were and Hermione wouldn't tell him. He tried to avert his attention. The clock across the room said that it was three in the morning. Harry estimated that if he started now he could finish reading Quidditch Through the Ages by morning. He magicked a flame into the torch bracket beside his four poster and pulled the book from his bedside cabinet. P
He had been reading for about half an hour when there was a thump outside the dormitory door. Harry stiffened and quickly extinguished the flame. Drawing the curtains around his bed, he slid into a lying position so that his silhouette couldn't be seen by the moonlight coming in through the drapeless windows. The door slowly creaked open and padded feet could be heard on the floor. Harry held his breath as he saw a shadow cross to the side of his bed, holding something that looked dreadfully sharp. Images of all sorts of deadly weapons flew through his mind and beads of perspiration broke on his forehead. A croaky voice broke his train of thought. p
"Harry Potter..." p
Harry prepared to apparate out of the room immediately, when the figure drew back the curtains of his bed in one swift motion, and pulled him up from under the covers with a fairly strong hand. p
"Hermione!" p
Hermione let go of Harry's shirt collar and slumped against the bedside table. She was fully dressed in her robes, and Harry assumed that she had been sleeping on top of one of her books again because the trace of ink had been printed on her cheek. A comb, which Harry thought to be the sharp object, dropped from her hand and clattered to the floor. p
"Oh, good. You're all right," Hermione breathed, perching on top of the table. p
"Of course, I'm all right. What did you think was wrong?" Harry was a bit impatient at the moment, seeing how Hermione had just scared him out of his mind for no apparent reason. p
"I was just doing some research, and I found something that frightened me." p
"What does that have to do with me?" Harry moaned, lighting the torch again. p
"The book is a record that Dumbledore kept of things that happened to Ja-- your dad. It said that on Boxing Day morning James had a horrible dream, and he almost stabbed his cat because he was delusional. I was just going to perform a charm to make you sleep peacefully." p
Harry rolled his eyes and retrieved his quidditch book again, "Herm, just because my dad had a bad dream on Boxing Day morning doesn't mean that I will. If you're going to look for connections try looking at the amount of time between events or something....What's the comb for?" p
Hermione laughed, "Oh, well, I thought that if you were going crazy I could um..well, I don't really know. I guess I'm kind of paranoid and picked up the first object that could cause any harm and went with it." p
"Don't be so paranoid. I mean, whatever's going to happen to me can't be that bad, right?" p
Hermione was silent. p
"Herm...." p
"Oh, fine! I wasn't going to tell you yet, but I don't guess I have much of a choice!" Hermione huffed, pulling her legs up onto the table and turning to face Harry, who was rearranging his pillows in case he felt the need to 'drift off' during Hermione's long speech, which he could tell was coming. p
"Harry, probably in a couple of weeks -- if Dumbledore has judged all this time business correctly when compared to your father -- you will start to have these...um...odd bursts of power. You won't be able to control it and you won't know when it's going to happen. Anything could go wrong. You might bring down Hogwarts! Or you could do something in Snape's class to earn detentions for the rest of your life or something. When this happened to your dad...um...he was playing a Quidditch game and all of a sudden all of the stands disappeared. People were just falling to the ground. Dumbledore managed to catch it and freeze most of the stadium before everyone plunged to their death. Then he modified their memories because it had been obvious that whatever happened came from James. It says in Dumbledore's notes 'It looked like the poor boy had combusted and gone up in flames.' Not even James remembered what happened -- only Dumbledore. One more example I can recall was when your dad and Sirius were out playing a prank. They intended to put an itching charm on all the Slytherin's laundry. It said 'James exerted power again and all the clothes in the laundry room disappeared. James and Sirius fell two floors, and the student and teachers' clothes were strewn over various parts of the castle for weeks. Socks, shirts, and undergarments were constantly being found in the oddest places. Why, Mr. Snape's flannel nightgown was hanging from a chandelier over the Gryffindor table the next morning....' " p
Harry snorted at this part, and even Hermione had to pause to keep a straight face. p
"Okay, so I'm a threat and danger to the school now, am I?" Harry smirked, not as aghast by the news as Hermione believed he would be. p
"Well....yeah. Yes, you are," Hermione sighed, leaning against the frost-covered window.
She closed her eyes for a moment, "But that's not all -- ." p
"Herm, I don't want to know right now," Harry decided, resting his cheek against the feather pillows, "I don't want to know," he yawned and slipped into sleep. p
Hermione silently left the room -- after tucking the sheets around Harry and blowing out the light. p
"Ron!" Harry jumped from his chair beside the fire in the common room. p
The Weasley's had just entered the portrait hole after being away for Christmas break. Ginny was wearing fresh new dress robes, and Fred and George were grinning while they offered people food. Ron dashed over to where Harry was standing. They slapped each other on the shoulder in greeting, and sat down to brag about their Christmases. p
"Oh, it was about the same. Mum made this great pie for Christmas dinner though. Sent some with me too, so we can dig in a bit later," Ron winked and patted his stomach, "How was it being the only guy in the dormitory?" p
"It wasn't so bad. Herm and I traded gifts Christmas morning and then went out into the snow for the rest of the day." Harry left out the part about his being an Acceptor. He didn't really want to go into at the moment. p
"What did she get you? She kept asking me what you'd like since November." p
"Oh, she gave me a wristband that lets me talk to anyone -- even dead people. So, I can talk to my parents -- ." p
"Wow -- ." p
"But I haven't used it yet." p
"Why? Aren't you dying to talk to them?" Ron asked, confusedly. p
"Yeah, but I just...I don't know what I want to say to them yet. And it just seems so weird that I can do that. I think I'm going to ask Hermione how it works before I try it out." p
Ron shot Harry another confused look (he does that often). p "Someone told me once not to trust anything unless I knew where it kept its brain. And considering I'm not Trelawny or her other fraud friends, I just don't want to start talking to a wristband that communicates me with dead people!" Harry's little outburst got the common room's attention. p
And no one started talking again until a sixth year in the far corner said, "Oh, it's just Harry Potter. He's always doing or saying something weird." p
This seemed to be the consensus of all the Gryffindors, who returned to their own conversations, and it was nice and loud, so Harry was able to storm out of the portrait hole without drawing too much attention. p
"HARRY! HARRY!" p
Harry didn't turn around even though he knew it was Hermione who was running after him. He was in a sour mood, and he wasn't going to turn around for anyone -- including Herm. Let her chase him. p
"Harry Potter, I'm not chasing you all afternoon!" Hermione yelled, setting out in a brisk run. p
Finally, she managed to plow him face first in the fresh snow spread evenly over the Quidditch pitch, "What's your problem?" Hermione asked, breathless, while pinning Harry down to the ground. p
"Lemmeou'ofthesnof'," came the muffled reply. p
"Ooops," Hermione laughed, freeing Harry from her hold and plopping down in the snow next to him. p
Harry brushed the caked snow off his face and out of his hair, "Um...." p
"Did you make a scene of yourself in the common room again?" Hermione's eyes twinkled. p
"No! Well....would yelling something about a wristband that talks to dead people be considered making a scene?" p
"Yeah, that would be a bit strange," Hermione giggled after she said this, but suddenly turned solemn, "Do..uh...do you not like your gift?" she asked, shakily. p
"Yes, of course I like my gift. I just want to know how it does what it does...nevermind. We can talk about this later. Come on! Tell me about your day!" Harry jumped up and pulled Hermione from the ground. p
"I read this book and -- ." p
"You read and then you read and then you read some more and when you got done with that -- YOU READ!" Harry laughed, spinning Hermione around drunkenly. p
Hermione swung her head back and laughed with Harry. p
"That's my Herm!" Harry stopped, still holding Hermione's hand.... p
Hermione breathed in deeply. p
"Uh...Harry -- ." p
"Yes?" p
"We have to go to Dumbledore's office now. He wants to see us about something of 'vital importance'. That's why I was looking for you," Hermione hung her head disappointed. p
"Okay, come on! Let's go defeat Voldemort!" Harry said lightly, pulling Hermione towards the castle. p
"Oh, Harry, Hermione! I'm glad that you're here!" Dumbledore urged them to take their usual seats across from his desk, but instead of sitting behind it, he proceeded to pace the length of the room while talking. p
Harry, noticing Dumbledore's excitement, asked, "Professor, is something the matter?" p
Dumbledore stood still long enough to reply, "Matter? Why would anything be the matter, dear boy? No, no positively not. Everything is just fine. As a matter of fact, everything is better than fine! I think we know Voldemort's system!" He continued to pace. p
"I'm sorry, Professor, but I don't follow," Hermione furrowed her brow. p
"Remember this summer when I told you that Voldemort would start sending his Death Eaters to do their dirty work while he laid low, building his strength?" p
Harry and Hermione both nodded in time with Dumbledore's wide steps. p
"They're going to try and attack Hogwarts, but I think this can be prevented!" Dumbledore beamed. p
Personally, Harry found this news very disturbing and wished nothing more than to fall of the earth so he wouldn't have to even think about Death Eaters coming into Hogwarts. p
"How?" Hermione questioned, nervously biting her nails. p
"We'll be needing a few things first," Dumbledore dashed over to a piece of parchment and a quill on his desk and began scribbling. A few moments later he thrust the paper at Harry. p
"A complete map of Hogwarts, various ancient protection charms that can be cast using Good magic, plotted points where the Death Eaters are hiding right now, and a key to decode intercepted owls...." Harry looked up doubtfully, "Professor Dumbledore, I think we can take care of the map just fine -- ." p
"You musn't use the Marauder's Map, Harry. It isn't complete. It doesn't show all of the rooms," Dumbledore interrupted. p
"Then I don't know if Herm and I can come up with all of this -- ." p
"We can, Harry! I bet we can find most of this in the library, and don't forget we can pause time and apparate to go anywhere for other information!" There was a familiar gleam of the challenge of research in Hermione's eyes. p
"Miss Granger is right, Harry. If anyone can do this -- the two of you can," Dumbledore said, softly, back to his normal calm and stable state of mind. p
Harry cupped his forehead with his hands, deep in thought, "Fine." p
Hermione squealed and gave Harry a quick hug, blushing. p
"Well, I suggest that you get started tonight or at least tomorrow," Dumbledore said, straightening things on his desk, "Good luck, and remember you can pause time whenever you need to." p
Harry and Hermione left, Harry's head hung low, and Hermione whistling a cheery tune at the top of her voice. p
"Ginny," Ron moaned, treading behind his sister who was heading for an empty classroom. p
When she finally found what she was looking for, she shuffled Ron in, then slammed the door, a mad glint in her eye. p
"Ron! Hermione likes Harry and you've got to do something about it!" p
Ron stood, his mouth gaped open. p
"Professor Lupin!" Harry tried in vain to flag down Lupin in the hallway. Lupin kept jogging in the direction of the fourth floor, however, and soon disappeared behind a tapestry. p
"Harry, it's a full moon tonight. He's probably lost in thought," Hermione commented, looking intently at the moon that could be seen from the hall window. p
"Yeah," Harry muttered, "Should we be going to the library then?" p
"No, not tonight. I have some Transfiguration to finish up. How about we pause time tomorrow after breakfast and get in a few hours? We'll need plenty of sleep tonight...." p
"Okay, let's go," Harry motioned to the last staircase on the way to Gryffindor Tower. p
Hermione jumped of the ledge and nearly fell to the floor out of clumsiness, "I think I'm really tired," she yawned. p
Harry smiled and swung an arm around her shoulder, "You won't fall. Come on, I've got to finish Potions, Transfiguration, and Divination for tomorrow!" he exclaimed, walking at a faster pace. p
"Hermione likes HARRY?!" Ron's head hit the desk he had seated himself at. p
"I don't like it either," Ginny said, bitterly, "But Hermione needs this. I mean, none of the other guys like her, and I think it bothers her sometimes. Anyway, do me a favor, do Hermione a favor -- by asking Harry if he feels the same." p
Ron looked up, a large, red spot on his forehead now, "No! No! And no! I am not going around playing cupid for those two! They can find their own blasted matchmaker! Not doing it!" p
"Ron, you can be really annoying sometimes!" Ginny stomped her foot on the floor. p
"Ginny -- I don't think Hermione likes him anyway! How could she! She treats Harry the same way she treats me!" Ron argued in his favor. p
Ginny rolled her eyes, "You are a git, do you know that? Last time I tell you anything like this..." She pulled out her wand and performed a simple memory modifying charm they had learned earlier that week from Flitwick. Ron didn't understand anything. p
And now Ron couldn't remember anything -- at all. p
Harry and Hermione were sitting on top of Harry's truck, holding the wristband out in front of them. Transfiguration was forgotten. p
"Okay, Harry, this is quite simple. This wristband works by connecting you to the people who have been in your life. So, really, it wouldn't let you talk to just anyone. And when you talk to your parents - you will be talking to them as they were when you were one. I guess I should have clarified that -- Harry, what's the matter?" p
Harry had suddenly gotten this strange glossy look to his eyes, and his head was bobbing back and forth. Then a jet of green light emitted from his hands, feet, and torso. p
"Oh, no! It's happening!" Hermione cried, jumping back. p
Harry was about to have release power just as his father had done. The room was beginning to spin, and it looked as the walls were dissolving. The wristband Hermione had been holding shot from her hand and hovered in the middle of the room before exploding. Voices, a chorus of voice rang out of the castle. p
While Hermione clung to anything solid left in the boy's dormitory, Harry screeched in pain, and fell to the floor. The rest of the castle was panicking. Students were running madly down the halls, and teachers were hexing everything in sight. Dumbledore smiled slightly from his office, but quickly began to hex things with the other teachers so as not to appear suspicious. p
Meanwhile, the voices continued. And the last, magnified, terrifying voice was that of Voldemort: "ONE DAY, HARRY POTTER! YOU WILL BE DEFEATED! YOU WILL BE DEFEATED!!!" p
(A/n: I'm really getting into this story now, and I'm going to take a chance and promise an new chapter within a couple of days...anyway -- suggestions? Anything? How about some reviews?! Hehe - thanks to all my reviewers! When I finish this thing -- I'll give you all credit individually. But for now, read and review!!! - writer) p
