-Chapter Eleven-
Restricted to Anyone who Cares
Neville Longbottom was apparently awake, and had known that Harry and Ron had just scarpered into bed.
'Just wh-what were y-y-you doing out of bed?' Neville stammered. 'You could have been c-caught!'
'Yeah, well, we weren't,' Harry pointed out. 'So drop it and go to sleep! It's nearly three in the morning, and we're tired.' Harry rolled on his stomach, and fell into a deep sleep.
*
The next day, things were very hectic; classes were dismissed for the entire day, so everyone was spending their free time outside, except for the trio.
Harry and Ron caught up with Hermione in the Gryffindor common room (which was deserted since everyone else was playing in the snow).
'Hermione, we have some questions for you,' Harry said slowly, walkiiing over to where she was sitting. Hermione set down her book on the table in front of her.
'Well then, what is it?' asked she. Ron flushed crimson; Hermione looked gorgeous today, and apparently he had noticed.
'Uh...uh...question the first is, uh...are you available for the Yule Ball?' Ron asked distractedly. Hermione looked slightly taken aback.
'Herm! That's not what Ron was really going to ask,' Harry said. Ron couldn't remove his eyes from the beautiful girl that sat in front of him, and he was wearing a goofy grin while watching her.
'Um...Ron, you're scaring me-stop looking at me like that!' Hermione said briskly. 'Harry, you seem to have a brain today-what was it you needed?'
'Well, as you know, we snuck out to Gringotts last night,' he said calmly, 'and we saw Professor Lupin there; apparently, he's working for the Ministry of Magic, and was checking out the scene. Anyway, he mentioned a thing called the "Gem of Earth". Any idea what it is?' Hermione shifted uncomfortably.
'Of course not...' she said awkwardly. 'Why would I know about a thing like that? It's not like I read books all the time. Information like that must be classified in the Restricted section of the Library-' Harry grinned. 'Oh, no, Harry! Don't go sneaking into the Restricted section!'
'What? It's important to know what it is!' Harry said shortly. 'Besides, I've been wanting to find some sort of swelling charm to put on Pansy Parkinson...' Hermione gave him a don't-think-you'll-get-away-with-this glare. After awhile of plotting out their scheme, Harry finally snapped his fingers in front of Ron to get him back down to Earth.
'Huh? What did I miss?' Ron said warily, scratching his head. 'Oh-hi, Hermione.' He went into a trance again.
'Ron, snap out of it!' Hermione said shrilly. 'That's it; I'm leaving. I don't want to be a part of your little plan to misbehave.' She strode into the Head common room to catch up on some reading. Draco wasn't there at the moment; he had told her he was going for a walk outside for a bit, but it surprised Hermione that he wasn't back yet.
She opened up a book called How to Know When Your Friends are Plotting Against You by Millerna Kip. Hermione opened up to the first page:
Have some friends you think are plotting against you? Well, here is your guide to find out what they're doing behind your back...
Chapter 1-Friends constantly changing the subject
Chapter 2-Friends smiling at inappropriate charms
Chapter 3-Different schemes they may be planning Chapter 4-Defence against them
'Oh, this is ridiculous!' Hermione said, placing the book down on the table, and picking up her Spanish book; yes, aside from learning the natural elements of magic, Hermione loved to learn different languages-Spanish, French, Italian, and Japanese. She also knew a bit of German, since her parents had been to Germany once.
Hermione, all of a sudden, didn't feel like reading. She felt...oddly sleepy...she yawned and said, 'I guess it wouldn't hurt to rest up a bit.' She curled up on the couch, and fell asleep, where she had a disturbing dream.
'Hermione....Hermione...' Who would be calling her? 'Hermione...come to me, Hermione...' The voice sounded evil...and yet, she'd heard it before...somehow.
'Who's there?' she asked. Someone in a dark green robe emerged from the trees of the Forbidden Forest, the hood pulled down so she couldn't see the face; but by the sounds of the voice, it was a man.
'Hermione...' the voice repeated eerily. Where had she heard that voice? Somewhere...in second year...possibly Lucius?
'Stop calling my name!' Hermione shouted. 'What do you want?'
'Let me show you something...' the man said, pointing into the snow-filled depths of the forest.
'I shan't come with you! For all I know, you might be serving He Who Must Not Be Named!' Hermione yelled. The man, whoever he was, grabbed her wrist and led her into the heart of the forest.
Voices...chanting something...yes, that's what it was...As Hermione got closer, the less sense the chanting seemed to be making. A different language, maybe? Then, a circle of people...surrounding blue flames...a face....yes, a face in the middle of the flames...a projection, she thought.
'I have brought her, My Lord,' said the man who was dragging Hermione still further into the forest. 'I have brought the sacrifice, as you asked me to. What shall I do with her?' The face whirled around-it was pale grey, unhealthy, dainty-looking....Voldemort! But what did she have to do with any of this? No! Hermione was an excellent, well-behaved girl; she didn't have anything to do with Dark Arts.
'Yes...the girl, indeed...' Voldemort said coldly. 'Let her stand before me...come on, then! Now!'
'Yes, Master,' the man said. He led her right in front of the face, and the man removed his hood-sure enough, it was Lucius Malfoy. Yes, Hermione knew he was a Death Eater; that she knew very well, for a long time now, even....but somehow, she didn't think he would be the one serving Voldemort this very second...
During the summer, Draco had told her that Lucius had fled after awhile, half-afraid of Voldemort, half-laughing at his ability to just let Harry walk away last year, without being touched by the Avada Kadavra curse, in which it would make anyone stop dead. Twice, Voldemort had failed to kill Harry with the same curse...
'Lucius...tell me, you are sure this is the right girl?' Voldemort said in the same icy tone, serveying Hermione over. 'She looks harmless, and yet...she has been told to have immense strength...I do not get it...'
'I am sure, My Lord,' Lucius replied, bowing his head. 'This is indeed Hermione Granger, as you told me.'
'Good,' Voldemort said quietly. He took a deep breath, and smiled uncontrollably. 'Tell me, Hermione....how do you feel about pain? About suffering like you never have before?'
'What?!' Hermione shrieked. 'What is the meaning of this? I do not wish to answer!' Voldemort gave an awful laugh.
'Lucius! If you would...' Voldemort indicated his wand, and Lucius took it out, pointing it at Hermione. 'You know very well what to do from here on...'
'I do, My Lord,' Lucius replied. He faced Hermione. 'Blue moon, skies silver, the prey of which will surely quiver. Red to blue, blood to blood, make this girl deserve exactly what she should!' Green sparks flew out from the moon and blasted Hermione; pain, like she'd never felt before. Voices, screaming inside her head. She tried to move; not possible. She was paralyzed on the spot. She tried to call for help; her voice seemed to be caught in her throat. And finally, she fell to the ground, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to breathe...
Someone shook her awake. Her eyes snapped open; her chest felt tight and wheezy, her vision blurry, and her head spinning.
'Hermione?' It was Draco. 'Are you OK? Hermione? Hello?' She couldn't talk. She fell backwards onto the couch, unconscious.
*
'Will she be OK?' said the one voice worriedly. Silence, and then:
'Yes, she'll be fine,' said the second voice. 'Poor thing passed out. You're sure you have no idea what happened?'
'Not a clue,' said the first voice. Hermione's eye-lids felt heavy; she couldn't lift them to see who was talking, but she was now able to speak.
'How come I can't open my eyes?' was all she could say. The first voice came again, having a note of care, and slightly happy that she was finally awake.
'You're weak, Hermione. Don't try to move,' was the reply.
'Is that you, Draco?' Hermione whispered.
'Yes, it's OK,' he said, stroking her forehead. 'You're in the hospital wing. You passed out.'
'I know that! It's pretty obvious...who else is here?' she asked.
'Madam Pomfrey; Harry and Ron'll be here soon, too,' Draco said soothingly. 'Madam Pomfrey, if you would leave us alone?' She quickly left the room. 'Now, Herm, what happened? Please, tell me. I was so worried-you had stopped breathing for a moment-oh, but then you started saying things incoherently, so I knew you were at least alive. Gosh,' he sighed deeply, 'I was almost in tears, to tell you the truth.'
'I...maybe I should tell you some other time, in a more sequestered area,' Hermione said shortly, opening her eyes a bit. 'It's not the type of thing you should speak of in the open.' Draco nodded, and patted her hand.
'Do you need anything?' he asked.
'No, no, I'm fine,' Hermione insisted. 'Oh, here's Harry and Ron.' They came scampering over to the bed.
'Herm! Are you all right??' they both asked.
'We were so worred-'
'-heard you'd passed out-'
'-Dumbledore said you'd be here-'
'-hurried over as fast as we could-'
'Guys!' Hermione whispered loudly. 'It's OK!' They both panted, out of breath from rambling on about things. 'Now, if you excuse me, I'd like to be alone to sleep; I'm deadly tired.' Draco shot a look at both Harry and Ron.
'Right! Uh, well, we'll leave you to it, then,' Ron said. 'Feel better soon, and tell us if you need anything!' They hurried out the door, waving at her.
'Um, Draco? That means you, too,' Hermione smirked. 'Just because you're my boyfriend, doesn't mean you get to hang around when I need rest.'
'Oh-right,' he said, flushing slightly. 'I'll just....I'll be in the castle if you need me...yeah, OK...um, bye then.' He kissed her on the cheek, and closed the curtains around her bed, as she closed her eyes, and drifted off to a more peaceful sleep than before.
*
Madam Pomfrey was reluctant to let Hermione go in the evening, but finally agreed to it. So, Hermione quickly put her robes back on (she was in a hospital gown at the moment), and exited into the hall, making sure to not move too quickly, or else her chest might get tight again. Professor Snape stopped her half way along the corridor.
'Miss Granger, a word, if I may?' he said calmly. 'My office. Don't worry; it's not to give you a detention or anything.' Hermione followed Snape into the dark dungeon which was his office. She sat down in a black chair, opposit of him.
'I heard about your little episode, and I have to admit, I was a bit worried,' he said, folding his arms and staring her in the eye. 'Tell me; was it a dream?' Hermione's eyes widened a bit.
'How did you know?' she asked nervously. Snape merely smiled.
'I have my ways,' he retorted. 'Please, do tell me what it was about.'
'It had Lucius Malfoy in it,' she said slowly, 'and...and V-Voldemort...' Snape's eyes widened with surprise.
'Are you positive it was him?' Snape asked anxiously.
'Yes, I am,' Hermione said quietly. 'Anyway, Lucius led me into the Forbidden Forest, where he said some sort of incantation...something to do with the moon, blue and red, and blood...'
'You mean, the incantation of the sky,' he said serenely, 'that is what it was. It is a spell which will drain the prey from any energy at all, and will kill it. However, since this was only in a dream, it merely made you collapse for awhile, fortunately.'
'Oh...I guess that was a fairly fortunate thing, then,' Hermione replied. 'Anyway, why are you being nice to me?'
'Isn't a man allowed to be nice once and awhile? Sheesh,' Snape said, rolling his eyes. 'I'm not always mean, you know.'
'Well, there's a first for everything,' she said in an undertone. 'Anyways, I must get going. I have to go eat dinner with Harry and Ron.'
'Er-you seem to be a bit behind on time, Miss Granger,' Snape said quietly. 'It is passed dinnertime. Though, I'm sure that if they are any friends of yours, they will have saved you some. Run along then. And if you have any other frightening dreams, go straight to Dumbledore-he'll know what to do.'
'Yes, OK. Thank you, Professor,' Hermione said shortly, and she left.
*
The Gryffindor common room was still fairly still; Neville was practicing some summoning charms, as well as levitating spells. Harry and Ron seemed to be plotting their entrance into the Restricted section of the Library. They immediately snapped their heads towards the portrait hole, however, when Hermione walked in.
'Hermione! You're all right!' Ron said, getting to his feet in a hurry. 'So, tell us; what made you pass out?' he asked.
'I'll tell you in my room, OK? It's more concealed there. Besides, I have to tell Draco, too,' Hermione sighed. 'Come on, then!' She strided over to one of the portraits, said the password, and stepped into the Head common room, where Draco was sitting in front of the fire.
'So, you've brought friends,' he said, trying to sound like his normal evil self. 'Harry, Ron,' he nodded.
'I've come to tell you all about what happened to me,' Hermione said briskly, sitting down on the couch with Ron and Harry. 'I had a dream; quite a disturbing dream, as a matter of fact. It involved your Father-' she glanced at Draco, 'and You-Know-Who.
'Anyway, Lucius led me into the Forbidden Forest, where He Who Must Not Be Named was. Lucius performed an incantation of the sky. I believe it went like this; Blue moon, skies of silver, the prey of which shall surely quiver. Red to blue, blood to blood, make this girl deserve exactly what she should.
'It sent green sparks from the moon; they hit me, and I was unable to move or call for help. I eventually fell to the ground, unable to breathe. That's when you woke me up, Draco. All I can say is it must have been something that really happened, because I stopped breathing for a moment, as you know. That's all.' She leant back into the couch, and breathed a deep sigh, and yawned.
'I've heard of that spell,' Draco said suddenly. 'If you come into contact with it, it'll kill you. I guess since this only happened in a dream-perhaps a vision, if you may-it only made you pass out (fortunately),' he added.
'Yeah, that's what Snape told me,' Hermione replied dryly.
'You mean he talked to you about it?' Harry interrupted. 'What, is he going to take points off of Gryffindor for you passing out?'
'No,' Hermione answered, 'of course not. I know it sounds weird, but...I think he knew what my dream was about...somehow...'
'I'll ask him sometime, if you want,' Draco suggested, staring into the flames of the fire. 'Fire can be so captivating...' Harry rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, that way you won't have to look at Hermione, because she's Muggle-born, right?' Harry said angrily. Draco snapped his head towards him.
'No!' he shouted. 'I mean to say...I've grown out of that stuff...' he added in a would-be-calm voice.
'Well, we're out-Ron and I are going for a walk outside, maybe see Hagrid; you know,' Harry said, 'stuff like that.' Hermione nodded.
'Have fun, then. I suppose I'll catch you up later,' she said distractedly. 'That is, if you two decide not to go through with your silly little plan?'
'Er...see you later!' was all Harry said, as himself and Ron slipped through the Fat Lady portrait, back into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione sat down in front of the fire with Draco, and he interrupted her thoughts:
'What are they up to now?' he asked coolly. 'Hopefully not one of those ridiculous schemes that they usually come up with; they'll be caught for sure, that way.' Hermione sighed, and rested her head on his shoulder.
'They're planning to sneak into the Restricted section of the Library,' she said sternly, 'which I totally disagree with.'
'I, too, have to admit that I would utmost disagree with that; do you have any idea how many times that Filch goes up and down the halls of the library at night these days? I swear the reason the old git looks so ugly is because he hasn't any sleep in years!' Draco said seriously. 'They won't stand a chance, what, getting through the library at night. Filch stays up all night guarding it; and if I didn't know any better, I'd say Mrs Norris could see through invisibility cloaks.' Hermione just nodded her head.
'Well, they mustn't blame me if they're caught, that is one thing for sure,' she said. Hermione stared into the enveloping flames, mesmorised by their presence. 'I do hope they'll be sensible about this,' she added abruptly.
*
Midnight. Not a stroke below, nor after. Ron was pretending to be pulling an all-nighter for the O.W.L's (though little did he know they weren't 'til May, which made this oddly suspicious, and besides; studying wasn't his modus operandi).
Harry interrupted his studying when he suddenly spoke out. Ron was pretending to be looking at his Unfogging the Future book, but really, he had stuffed a copy of the wizard comic Which Witch is Which? Inside.
'Ron, d'you reckon everyone's gone up to bed now?' Harry asked. 'You know...so we can start the you-know-what.' Ron put down the book, and laid his head in his hands.
'Well, I suppose so,' he said. 'I'm ready; are you?' Harry nodded, and took the invisibility cloak out from his pocket. He and Ron covered themselves up, and tip-toed through the portrait hole, and into the halls.
Everything was very dark; the only light was from the end of Harry's wand, and even then, it was only a small beam of light, shining just in front of them.
When they reached the Library, they made sure to open the door quickly; if you opened it too slowly, it would creak like heck, and that would put Filch on guard even more. The Restriced section of the Library was over at the other side, therefore, they had to walk quite a far distance, as the Library was rather on the large side.
The Restricted section, students were only allowed into if they got a note signed by a Professor at Hogwarts. That is the reason why Harry and Ron had to sneak out so late at night, and in the invisibility cloak, for that matter.
Harry silently took off the cloak, and headed down the aisle of old, darkened books beyond. He blew some dust off a book called Gems and Elements by Edgar Hemperton. He opened to page one, which had a list of various magical gems. Then he stopped down the long list; he saw it-the Gem of Earth.
Harry quickly beckoned Ron over to the area he was in, and turned to page 165 (the page in which enlisted the role of this particular gem).
The Gem of Earth
Also known as the Gem of Eden, this is by far the most evil gem of all. It is said that whoever touches it will have whatever they desire. The reason this gem is so well-known is because of its ability to wipe out happiness throughout the world, leaving nothing but evil things on Earth. If it happens to fall into the wrong posession, nobody could tell what kind of fate the world would fall to.
'That sounds dangerous,' Harry whispered abruptly, 'and I bet that's why Voldemort wanted the gem-to make everything in our day-to-day lives untolerable and evil.'
Restricted to Anyone who Cares
Neville Longbottom was apparently awake, and had known that Harry and Ron had just scarpered into bed.
'Just wh-what were y-y-you doing out of bed?' Neville stammered. 'You could have been c-caught!'
'Yeah, well, we weren't,' Harry pointed out. 'So drop it and go to sleep! It's nearly three in the morning, and we're tired.' Harry rolled on his stomach, and fell into a deep sleep.
*
The next day, things were very hectic; classes were dismissed for the entire day, so everyone was spending their free time outside, except for the trio.
Harry and Ron caught up with Hermione in the Gryffindor common room (which was deserted since everyone else was playing in the snow).
'Hermione, we have some questions for you,' Harry said slowly, walkiiing over to where she was sitting. Hermione set down her book on the table in front of her.
'Well then, what is it?' asked she. Ron flushed crimson; Hermione looked gorgeous today, and apparently he had noticed.
'Uh...uh...question the first is, uh...are you available for the Yule Ball?' Ron asked distractedly. Hermione looked slightly taken aback.
'Herm! That's not what Ron was really going to ask,' Harry said. Ron couldn't remove his eyes from the beautiful girl that sat in front of him, and he was wearing a goofy grin while watching her.
'Um...Ron, you're scaring me-stop looking at me like that!' Hermione said briskly. 'Harry, you seem to have a brain today-what was it you needed?'
'Well, as you know, we snuck out to Gringotts last night,' he said calmly, 'and we saw Professor Lupin there; apparently, he's working for the Ministry of Magic, and was checking out the scene. Anyway, he mentioned a thing called the "Gem of Earth". Any idea what it is?' Hermione shifted uncomfortably.
'Of course not...' she said awkwardly. 'Why would I know about a thing like that? It's not like I read books all the time. Information like that must be classified in the Restricted section of the Library-' Harry grinned. 'Oh, no, Harry! Don't go sneaking into the Restricted section!'
'What? It's important to know what it is!' Harry said shortly. 'Besides, I've been wanting to find some sort of swelling charm to put on Pansy Parkinson...' Hermione gave him a don't-think-you'll-get-away-with-this glare. After awhile of plotting out their scheme, Harry finally snapped his fingers in front of Ron to get him back down to Earth.
'Huh? What did I miss?' Ron said warily, scratching his head. 'Oh-hi, Hermione.' He went into a trance again.
'Ron, snap out of it!' Hermione said shrilly. 'That's it; I'm leaving. I don't want to be a part of your little plan to misbehave.' She strode into the Head common room to catch up on some reading. Draco wasn't there at the moment; he had told her he was going for a walk outside for a bit, but it surprised Hermione that he wasn't back yet.
She opened up a book called How to Know When Your Friends are Plotting Against You by Millerna Kip. Hermione opened up to the first page:
Have some friends you think are plotting against you? Well, here is your guide to find out what they're doing behind your back...
Chapter 1-Friends constantly changing the subject
Chapter 2-Friends smiling at inappropriate charms
Chapter 3-Different schemes they may be planning Chapter 4-Defence against them
'Oh, this is ridiculous!' Hermione said, placing the book down on the table, and picking up her Spanish book; yes, aside from learning the natural elements of magic, Hermione loved to learn different languages-Spanish, French, Italian, and Japanese. She also knew a bit of German, since her parents had been to Germany once.
Hermione, all of a sudden, didn't feel like reading. She felt...oddly sleepy...she yawned and said, 'I guess it wouldn't hurt to rest up a bit.' She curled up on the couch, and fell asleep, where she had a disturbing dream.
'Hermione....Hermione...' Who would be calling her? 'Hermione...come to me, Hermione...' The voice sounded evil...and yet, she'd heard it before...somehow.
'Who's there?' she asked. Someone in a dark green robe emerged from the trees of the Forbidden Forest, the hood pulled down so she couldn't see the face; but by the sounds of the voice, it was a man.
'Hermione...' the voice repeated eerily. Where had she heard that voice? Somewhere...in second year...possibly Lucius?
'Stop calling my name!' Hermione shouted. 'What do you want?'
'Let me show you something...' the man said, pointing into the snow-filled depths of the forest.
'I shan't come with you! For all I know, you might be serving He Who Must Not Be Named!' Hermione yelled. The man, whoever he was, grabbed her wrist and led her into the heart of the forest.
Voices...chanting something...yes, that's what it was...As Hermione got closer, the less sense the chanting seemed to be making. A different language, maybe? Then, a circle of people...surrounding blue flames...a face....yes, a face in the middle of the flames...a projection, she thought.
'I have brought her, My Lord,' said the man who was dragging Hermione still further into the forest. 'I have brought the sacrifice, as you asked me to. What shall I do with her?' The face whirled around-it was pale grey, unhealthy, dainty-looking....Voldemort! But what did she have to do with any of this? No! Hermione was an excellent, well-behaved girl; she didn't have anything to do with Dark Arts.
'Yes...the girl, indeed...' Voldemort said coldly. 'Let her stand before me...come on, then! Now!'
'Yes, Master,' the man said. He led her right in front of the face, and the man removed his hood-sure enough, it was Lucius Malfoy. Yes, Hermione knew he was a Death Eater; that she knew very well, for a long time now, even....but somehow, she didn't think he would be the one serving Voldemort this very second...
During the summer, Draco had told her that Lucius had fled after awhile, half-afraid of Voldemort, half-laughing at his ability to just let Harry walk away last year, without being touched by the Avada Kadavra curse, in which it would make anyone stop dead. Twice, Voldemort had failed to kill Harry with the same curse...
'Lucius...tell me, you are sure this is the right girl?' Voldemort said in the same icy tone, serveying Hermione over. 'She looks harmless, and yet...she has been told to have immense strength...I do not get it...'
'I am sure, My Lord,' Lucius replied, bowing his head. 'This is indeed Hermione Granger, as you told me.'
'Good,' Voldemort said quietly. He took a deep breath, and smiled uncontrollably. 'Tell me, Hermione....how do you feel about pain? About suffering like you never have before?'
'What?!' Hermione shrieked. 'What is the meaning of this? I do not wish to answer!' Voldemort gave an awful laugh.
'Lucius! If you would...' Voldemort indicated his wand, and Lucius took it out, pointing it at Hermione. 'You know very well what to do from here on...'
'I do, My Lord,' Lucius replied. He faced Hermione. 'Blue moon, skies silver, the prey of which will surely quiver. Red to blue, blood to blood, make this girl deserve exactly what she should!' Green sparks flew out from the moon and blasted Hermione; pain, like she'd never felt before. Voices, screaming inside her head. She tried to move; not possible. She was paralyzed on the spot. She tried to call for help; her voice seemed to be caught in her throat. And finally, she fell to the ground, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to breathe...
Someone shook her awake. Her eyes snapped open; her chest felt tight and wheezy, her vision blurry, and her head spinning.
'Hermione?' It was Draco. 'Are you OK? Hermione? Hello?' She couldn't talk. She fell backwards onto the couch, unconscious.
*
'Will she be OK?' said the one voice worriedly. Silence, and then:
'Yes, she'll be fine,' said the second voice. 'Poor thing passed out. You're sure you have no idea what happened?'
'Not a clue,' said the first voice. Hermione's eye-lids felt heavy; she couldn't lift them to see who was talking, but she was now able to speak.
'How come I can't open my eyes?' was all she could say. The first voice came again, having a note of care, and slightly happy that she was finally awake.
'You're weak, Hermione. Don't try to move,' was the reply.
'Is that you, Draco?' Hermione whispered.
'Yes, it's OK,' he said, stroking her forehead. 'You're in the hospital wing. You passed out.'
'I know that! It's pretty obvious...who else is here?' she asked.
'Madam Pomfrey; Harry and Ron'll be here soon, too,' Draco said soothingly. 'Madam Pomfrey, if you would leave us alone?' She quickly left the room. 'Now, Herm, what happened? Please, tell me. I was so worried-you had stopped breathing for a moment-oh, but then you started saying things incoherently, so I knew you were at least alive. Gosh,' he sighed deeply, 'I was almost in tears, to tell you the truth.'
'I...maybe I should tell you some other time, in a more sequestered area,' Hermione said shortly, opening her eyes a bit. 'It's not the type of thing you should speak of in the open.' Draco nodded, and patted her hand.
'Do you need anything?' he asked.
'No, no, I'm fine,' Hermione insisted. 'Oh, here's Harry and Ron.' They came scampering over to the bed.
'Herm! Are you all right??' they both asked.
'We were so worred-'
'-heard you'd passed out-'
'-Dumbledore said you'd be here-'
'-hurried over as fast as we could-'
'Guys!' Hermione whispered loudly. 'It's OK!' They both panted, out of breath from rambling on about things. 'Now, if you excuse me, I'd like to be alone to sleep; I'm deadly tired.' Draco shot a look at both Harry and Ron.
'Right! Uh, well, we'll leave you to it, then,' Ron said. 'Feel better soon, and tell us if you need anything!' They hurried out the door, waving at her.
'Um, Draco? That means you, too,' Hermione smirked. 'Just because you're my boyfriend, doesn't mean you get to hang around when I need rest.'
'Oh-right,' he said, flushing slightly. 'I'll just....I'll be in the castle if you need me...yeah, OK...um, bye then.' He kissed her on the cheek, and closed the curtains around her bed, as she closed her eyes, and drifted off to a more peaceful sleep than before.
*
Madam Pomfrey was reluctant to let Hermione go in the evening, but finally agreed to it. So, Hermione quickly put her robes back on (she was in a hospital gown at the moment), and exited into the hall, making sure to not move too quickly, or else her chest might get tight again. Professor Snape stopped her half way along the corridor.
'Miss Granger, a word, if I may?' he said calmly. 'My office. Don't worry; it's not to give you a detention or anything.' Hermione followed Snape into the dark dungeon which was his office. She sat down in a black chair, opposit of him.
'I heard about your little episode, and I have to admit, I was a bit worried,' he said, folding his arms and staring her in the eye. 'Tell me; was it a dream?' Hermione's eyes widened a bit.
'How did you know?' she asked nervously. Snape merely smiled.
'I have my ways,' he retorted. 'Please, do tell me what it was about.'
'It had Lucius Malfoy in it,' she said slowly, 'and...and V-Voldemort...' Snape's eyes widened with surprise.
'Are you positive it was him?' Snape asked anxiously.
'Yes, I am,' Hermione said quietly. 'Anyway, Lucius led me into the Forbidden Forest, where he said some sort of incantation...something to do with the moon, blue and red, and blood...'
'You mean, the incantation of the sky,' he said serenely, 'that is what it was. It is a spell which will drain the prey from any energy at all, and will kill it. However, since this was only in a dream, it merely made you collapse for awhile, fortunately.'
'Oh...I guess that was a fairly fortunate thing, then,' Hermione replied. 'Anyway, why are you being nice to me?'
'Isn't a man allowed to be nice once and awhile? Sheesh,' Snape said, rolling his eyes. 'I'm not always mean, you know.'
'Well, there's a first for everything,' she said in an undertone. 'Anyways, I must get going. I have to go eat dinner with Harry and Ron.'
'Er-you seem to be a bit behind on time, Miss Granger,' Snape said quietly. 'It is passed dinnertime. Though, I'm sure that if they are any friends of yours, they will have saved you some. Run along then. And if you have any other frightening dreams, go straight to Dumbledore-he'll know what to do.'
'Yes, OK. Thank you, Professor,' Hermione said shortly, and she left.
*
The Gryffindor common room was still fairly still; Neville was practicing some summoning charms, as well as levitating spells. Harry and Ron seemed to be plotting their entrance into the Restricted section of the Library. They immediately snapped their heads towards the portrait hole, however, when Hermione walked in.
'Hermione! You're all right!' Ron said, getting to his feet in a hurry. 'So, tell us; what made you pass out?' he asked.
'I'll tell you in my room, OK? It's more concealed there. Besides, I have to tell Draco, too,' Hermione sighed. 'Come on, then!' She strided over to one of the portraits, said the password, and stepped into the Head common room, where Draco was sitting in front of the fire.
'So, you've brought friends,' he said, trying to sound like his normal evil self. 'Harry, Ron,' he nodded.
'I've come to tell you all about what happened to me,' Hermione said briskly, sitting down on the couch with Ron and Harry. 'I had a dream; quite a disturbing dream, as a matter of fact. It involved your Father-' she glanced at Draco, 'and You-Know-Who.
'Anyway, Lucius led me into the Forbidden Forest, where He Who Must Not Be Named was. Lucius performed an incantation of the sky. I believe it went like this; Blue moon, skies of silver, the prey of which shall surely quiver. Red to blue, blood to blood, make this girl deserve exactly what she should.
'It sent green sparks from the moon; they hit me, and I was unable to move or call for help. I eventually fell to the ground, unable to breathe. That's when you woke me up, Draco. All I can say is it must have been something that really happened, because I stopped breathing for a moment, as you know. That's all.' She leant back into the couch, and breathed a deep sigh, and yawned.
'I've heard of that spell,' Draco said suddenly. 'If you come into contact with it, it'll kill you. I guess since this only happened in a dream-perhaps a vision, if you may-it only made you pass out (fortunately),' he added.
'Yeah, that's what Snape told me,' Hermione replied dryly.
'You mean he talked to you about it?' Harry interrupted. 'What, is he going to take points off of Gryffindor for you passing out?'
'No,' Hermione answered, 'of course not. I know it sounds weird, but...I think he knew what my dream was about...somehow...'
'I'll ask him sometime, if you want,' Draco suggested, staring into the flames of the fire. 'Fire can be so captivating...' Harry rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, that way you won't have to look at Hermione, because she's Muggle-born, right?' Harry said angrily. Draco snapped his head towards him.
'No!' he shouted. 'I mean to say...I've grown out of that stuff...' he added in a would-be-calm voice.
'Well, we're out-Ron and I are going for a walk outside, maybe see Hagrid; you know,' Harry said, 'stuff like that.' Hermione nodded.
'Have fun, then. I suppose I'll catch you up later,' she said distractedly. 'That is, if you two decide not to go through with your silly little plan?'
'Er...see you later!' was all Harry said, as himself and Ron slipped through the Fat Lady portrait, back into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione sat down in front of the fire with Draco, and he interrupted her thoughts:
'What are they up to now?' he asked coolly. 'Hopefully not one of those ridiculous schemes that they usually come up with; they'll be caught for sure, that way.' Hermione sighed, and rested her head on his shoulder.
'They're planning to sneak into the Restricted section of the Library,' she said sternly, 'which I totally disagree with.'
'I, too, have to admit that I would utmost disagree with that; do you have any idea how many times that Filch goes up and down the halls of the library at night these days? I swear the reason the old git looks so ugly is because he hasn't any sleep in years!' Draco said seriously. 'They won't stand a chance, what, getting through the library at night. Filch stays up all night guarding it; and if I didn't know any better, I'd say Mrs Norris could see through invisibility cloaks.' Hermione just nodded her head.
'Well, they mustn't blame me if they're caught, that is one thing for sure,' she said. Hermione stared into the enveloping flames, mesmorised by their presence. 'I do hope they'll be sensible about this,' she added abruptly.
*
Midnight. Not a stroke below, nor after. Ron was pretending to be pulling an all-nighter for the O.W.L's (though little did he know they weren't 'til May, which made this oddly suspicious, and besides; studying wasn't his modus operandi).
Harry interrupted his studying when he suddenly spoke out. Ron was pretending to be looking at his Unfogging the Future book, but really, he had stuffed a copy of the wizard comic Which Witch is Which? Inside.
'Ron, d'you reckon everyone's gone up to bed now?' Harry asked. 'You know...so we can start the you-know-what.' Ron put down the book, and laid his head in his hands.
'Well, I suppose so,' he said. 'I'm ready; are you?' Harry nodded, and took the invisibility cloak out from his pocket. He and Ron covered themselves up, and tip-toed through the portrait hole, and into the halls.
Everything was very dark; the only light was from the end of Harry's wand, and even then, it was only a small beam of light, shining just in front of them.
When they reached the Library, they made sure to open the door quickly; if you opened it too slowly, it would creak like heck, and that would put Filch on guard even more. The Restriced section of the Library was over at the other side, therefore, they had to walk quite a far distance, as the Library was rather on the large side.
The Restricted section, students were only allowed into if they got a note signed by a Professor at Hogwarts. That is the reason why Harry and Ron had to sneak out so late at night, and in the invisibility cloak, for that matter.
Harry silently took off the cloak, and headed down the aisle of old, darkened books beyond. He blew some dust off a book called Gems and Elements by Edgar Hemperton. He opened to page one, which had a list of various magical gems. Then he stopped down the long list; he saw it-the Gem of Earth.
Harry quickly beckoned Ron over to the area he was in, and turned to page 165 (the page in which enlisted the role of this particular gem).
The Gem of Earth
Also known as the Gem of Eden, this is by far the most evil gem of all. It is said that whoever touches it will have whatever they desire. The reason this gem is so well-known is because of its ability to wipe out happiness throughout the world, leaving nothing but evil things on Earth. If it happens to fall into the wrong posession, nobody could tell what kind of fate the world would fall to.
'That sounds dangerous,' Harry whispered abruptly, 'and I bet that's why Voldemort wanted the gem-to make everything in our day-to-day lives untolerable and evil.'