For the Love of the Land
~I pledge my Loyalty to Honor, Justice, and Hogwarts~
Part 13
"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked Parvati as she followed the crowd into the
Great Hall for dinner. Parvati frowned.
"I don't know," she replied, "She must have come in early."
"Parvati!" Someone in the crowd called. Ginny suspected it was Lavender.
"Coming!" she called back. She turned to Ginny. "Look, Gin, I don't know
where Hermione is, but I gotta go."
"That's okay," Ginny sighed. She lifted her hand unenthusiastically as
Parvati disappeared into the crowd, waving. She sighed again as she looked
around the pushing and shoving mob. She wasn't particularly hungry.
"Hey," Draco said from behind her, slipping his arms around her waist. "Did
you find her?"
"Hermione? No," she replied with a sigh. "Draco, I'm not really hungry,
and..."
"Go ahead," he smiled, and kissed her on the cheek. She flashed him a
grateful smile, then turned and began climbing up to the Gryffindor common
room. Draco turned into the Great Hall cursing Ronald Weasley.
Ginny cringed as she climbed into the common room to hear Hermione's sobs.
She entered quietly, and saw Hermione sitting in a chair in the shadows,
wrapped in a quilt with a box of tissues on her lap.
"Hermione?" Ginny asked cautiously. Hermione's head snapped up.
"Who is it?" she croaked through her sobs.
"It's me...Ginny," Ginny answered quietly, walking over to her friend. Her
heart broke for Hermione. She looked worse than Ginny had ever seen her.
Instead of being poised, collected, and sure of herself, she seemed broken
apart and strewn on the floor, with no idea how to put herself back together
again. "Are you okay?" she asked, feeling stupid, but unable to think of
something better.
"Do I look okay?" Hermione snapped. Well, at least she still had her temper.
"What happened?" Ginny asked cautiously, sitting down across from Hermione.
She only knew the little bit she could discern from Draco's cussing.
"I was...and then Ron...he said..." Hermione burst into more sobs. Ginny
patted her on the back, but rolled her eyes. She wasn't getting much more
out of Hermione than she had gotten out of Draco.
"It'll be okay," she said soothingly.
"No it won't!" Hermione wailed.
"Yes it will," Ginny responded automatically.
She was getting more worried by the moment; Hermione was usually not so
pessimistic. "Look, are you hungry?" she asked, trying to distract her.
"No," Hermione replied. She did not want to be distracted.
"Not even a little bit?" Ginny wheedled. "I can go into the Great Hall and
grab some food."
"I'm not hungry," Hermione insisted.
"Even a little chocolate from the kitchens?" Ginny tempted. "Hmmm? Some ice
cream, maybe?"
"Well...okay," Hermione nodded, partially because she had heard that
chocolate and ice cream helped ease the pain of a break up, and partially
because she was familiar with Ginny's stubborn nature.
Giving her a weak smile, Ginny turned and exited the common room. She was
relieved to distance herself from a very depressed Hermione.
On her way down to the kitchens, she heard the noisy clatter of the student
body happily eating their dinner. She scowled. Ron was probably in there,
stuffing his face with Christmas cookies and not giving Hermione a second
thought.
If only she had looked out the window, past the thick layer of snow to the
frozen lake, she would've seen a red-haired, cloaked figure standing with
his hands in his pockets and his head hung low.
"Here," Harry said, offering Ron a napkin holding the chicken and bread he
had swapped from the dinner table.
"I'm not hungry," Ron said dully without lifting his head. Harry sighed and
stared down at the chicken wing.
"WHY?" Ron finally exploded, throwing his hands in the air. "Why was she
fooling around with Malfoy behind my back?"
"I highly doubt," Harry said in a cold voice. "That Hermione was fooling
around with anybody." Harry had spent so much energy trying to make sure Ron
didn't kill anybody that he hadn't had the time to try and sort out his own
emotions yet. The only thing he was sure of was confusion. Why would
Hermione betray their friendship this way after all these years?
"Well then why the hell was she with Malfoy?" Ron demanded, whirling around
and glaring at Harry, who lifted his arms and showed his palms.
"I don't have the answers, Ron," Harry replied apologetically.
"Well if you don't, who does?" Ron asked, more to himself than to Harry.
Burying his hands in his pockets, he stared up at the sky with a look of
sorrow on his face. The sky was overcast, and the gray light shining down on
him made him look even paler than he already was. Feeling rather awkward,
Harry turned and walked back to the castle, glancing worriedly over his
shoulder a couple of times at his friend. Ron didn't move, and continued to
fix the clouds with an unreadable glare.
Ron wasn't even really seeing the clouds. His mind was filled with the
vision of Hermione laughing with Malfoy. He kept seeing her dancing eyes
looking at him, and his replying laughter. Ron remembered how anxious she
had been to go to the Three Broomsticks instead of Zonko's...and now he knew
why.
Yet even as he stood, staring at the heartless clouds as the cruel wind
whipped his hair, he felt his wild rage slipping away from him. He tried to
grab it back, because he knew without it all his other emotions would take
over. He closed his eyes.
Hermione was the best thing in Ron's life. An uncontrollable sense of loss
overtook him as he realized this. What if she never spoke to him again? Or
even looked at him? Maybe she DID have a reason for meeting with Malfoy....
NO! No, there was no reason. He couldn't forgive her! Never!
Yet even as he thought this, he opened his eyes and saw Hermione's smiling
face in the clouds. His eyes widened, and this...this imagined Hermione
laughed. She mouthed the words 'I love you'. Ron felt his throat constrict.
He turned his head and cast his gaze at the grass so he wouldn't have to see
her. But then the air seemed to be filled with her laughter.
'Laughing with Malfoy,' he thought bitterly. A particularly strong gust of
wind lifted his hair and cloak as he began to stalk back to the castle.
The stone corridors were almost as cold as the wind outside. Ron, however,
was so lost in his own cold thoughts, the external chills did not affect
him. It gave him a heartless look.
He hesitated as he reached the portrait hole. What if Hermione was in the
common room? What would he do?
"Password?" The Fat Lady asked, peering at Ron curiously. She looked anxious
for some gossip. Ron scowled.
"Turtle shell," he snapped. The Fat Lady looked rather insulted.
Ron's eyes carefully surveyed the scene, taking in everything in the common
room. In the corner, almost hidden in the shadows, were Hermione and Ginny.
Hermione was bent over in an armchair, a box of tissues on her lap. It
seemed that Ginny had pulled a footstool next to Hermione, holding a plate
and patting Hermione awkwardly, yet sympathetically, on the back.
Seeing Hermione in this pathetic state pulled something in Ron's chest. For
a moment, he considered running up to Hermione and holding her in his arms.
He could almost feel her silky hair under his fingers, and her sobbing on
his shoulder.
Suddenly, and for no real reason, he saw her crying on Draco Malfoy's
shoulder.
He focused on Hermione, trying to convince himself that Malfoy wasn't
anywhere near her. As if she could feel his gaze, Hermione's head snapped
up. For a moment their eyes met. Ginny, realizing Hermione's sobs had
suddenly stopped, turned and saw her brother. She immediately regretted her
Christmas cookie thought.
Ron saw that Hermione and Ginny were staring at him, and suddenly felt like
it was two against one. He broke eye contact with Hermione and stalked
upstairs.
He got upstairs and fell into bed. A wave of exhaustion overtook him and he
fell asleep, dreaming of dancing with Hermione on Halloween night.
Hermione's eyes (along with Ginny's) followed Ron's back up the stairs until
her was out of sight. There was a moment of silence before they heard the
door slam. Hermione was brought into tears anew, and Ginny was beginning to
panic.
Luckily, she was saved by two owls, each carrying a red note card. The first
summons landed in Ginny's lap and the other bounced off Hermione's hung head
onto the floor.
"Hermione," Ginny coaxed in a soft voice.
"What?" She croaked, looking up at the red-haired girl who seemed to be her
only friend.
"Luna sent for us," Ginny replied. Hermione nodded, and allowed Ginny to
help her stand. She didn't know if she could stand alone at that moment.
They walked slowly to Luna's office. Ginny had her arm around Hermione's
shoulders, which would quiver occasionally. When they reached the door,
Hermione looked bravely at Ginny, who gave her shoulders a quick squeeze,
before opening the door.
Luna (along with more help from Sirius than she would've liked) was
lecturing Cho, Neville, and Draco about something. She went silent as the
creaking of the door interrupted her. She had her lecture to Hermione and
Ginny about punctuality all planned out, but the words floated free of the
chains of her mind when she saw Hermione's red eyes and tear stained face.
"Hermione!" Draco exclaimed, leaping out of his seat and running to her.
Cho, Neville, Sirius and Luna watched on in confusions. "Hermione, are you
okay?" He asked in concern, his eyes searching hers. She nodded and
attempted a wobbly smile, but she felt herself break down inside and started
shaking her head. She burst into sobs again, and in a desperate attempt to
hide it in shame, she covered her face in her hands. Draco glanced at Ginny,
then pulled Hermione into an awkward hug. Hermione cried on his shoulder.
"What happened, Hermione?" Cho asked, somewhat pale.
"Ron broke up with her," Ginny said quietly, sitting in her seat. Cho gasped
putting a hand over her mouth.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," she whispered, as Draco pulled away to allow Cho
to hug her. Luna gave Sirius a 'look'. Neville watched on in confusion.
"Hermione, you don't have to stay," Luna began, her heart breaking as she
watched her pupil's pain. She could tell Hermione had really loved Ron.
"No!" Hermione interrupted fiercely, her sobs stopping and her shoulders
straightening. "No, I want to practice."
"I you're sure..." Luna replied uneasily, looking at Hermione with
apprehension.
"Positive," she answered, taking her normal seat.
"Okay then, you, Draco, and Ginny will work on elemental defense tactics.
Take turns dueling. Cho and Neville, you will be working with Sirius and me
on improving common magic with your elemental skills..."
On the other side of the school Ron sat straight up in bed, an odd tingling
in his fingertips.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day in Potions, Hermione sat with Neville on the other side of the
room as opposed to with Ron and Harry as usual. Neville smiled at her
sympathetically, and said nothing.
The potion required all kinds of nasty looking ingredients that even
Hermione wasn't terribly eager to handle. However, she refused to complain,
and helped Neville raise his Potions grade. They were the first group done,
and Snape sneered, but gave Neville the 'A' anyway. He smiled at her.
The potion had to simmer when they were finished for much longer than they
had class time to wait for. The full potency wasn't reached for about seven
hours. As such, the potion continued to bubble even though they already had
the grade...freaking out Neville.
"Professor Snape?" A deep rang through the room. The class turned to see the
head of Professor Dumbledore popped into the room.
"Yes, Headmaster?" Snape asked, looking up from Parvati and Lavender's off
color potion.
"May I speak to you for a moment?"
"Of course," he consented. He looked at his class with sharp eyes. "I will
be right back." He said, sweeping out into the hall.
The class immediately broke out into babble, and Neville immediately started
thanking Hermione profusely. Even over all that babble, and from the other
side of the room, Hermione could hear Ron cursing Draco. She and Neville
immediately stopped talking, and turned to glare at Ron. The rest of the
class silenced as well, but Ron didn't seem to care.
"Really, Weasley?" Draco smirked. Hermione was sharply reminded of why she,
Harry, and Ron had hated Draco for so many years. "Why don't you put
something behind all those big words?" He asked smoothly. Ron's ears went
red, and Draco smirked. "Didn't think-"
Draco was cut off when Ron's finished potion was flung all over his face.
Everyone but Draco, Neville, and Hermione burst into laughter as Draco wiped
the liquid, which at that point had little more effect than water, off his
face. The, he suddenly flung a handful of parrot eyeballs at Ron. Harry
flung crocodile tongue, with Seamus and Dean coming to help with bullets of
gorilla fingernails, and that's how it began.
Soon Draco and the four Gryffindor boys were in an all out war, and the rest
of the class was laughing like crazy. Neville leapt up to stop the fight,
running in between and yelling at them. Ron flung an armidillo liver at
Neville, who ducked. The liver flew across the room...and hit Snape in the
face as he opened the door. All noise in the room immediately stopped.
"Who threw that?" he asked, annunciating each syllable. The class looked
around uneasily.
"It was Ron Weasley, sir," Pansy replied softly. "All the Gryffindor boys
were throwing things." Snape's eyes bugged out as he surveyed the damage of
his classroom.
"DETENTION!" he screamed. "All of you! And seventy points from Gryffindor!"
"I believe," Dumbledore said, his mouth twitching as he watched from behind
Snape. "That Mr. Malfoy was also involved in these activities." He looked at
Snape expectantly, who narrowed his eyes at Malfoy.
"Detention for you as well, and fifteen points from Slytherin. Mr. Malfoy,
I'm very disappointed in you."
"Yes, sir," Draco replied, looking at Snape coldly. Hermione sighed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ron and Hermione spent the rest of the week avoiding each other at all
costs. Harry tried to remain neutral, but found himself more often with Ron,
because Ginny was always with Hermione.
At the end of the week, Ron fell into bed, exhausted. He had had hardly any
sleep all week because he couldn't fall asleep, thinking of Hermione. He
prayed for sleep.
He got his wish....and more than he bargained for.
*~*
Cho Chang's face swam in front of him. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was
slightly opened. She looked terrified. Slowly, Chang began to fade and
change into a new face. The face of Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy's expression was different, yet strangely similar. Malfoy's mouth was
set in a grim line of determination and his eyes were blazing with an
internal fire. And yet...his eyes held the same animal-like fear as Chang's.
Abruptly, and only for a second, he saw a pair of eyes. They were yellow,
with slits like a snake. They held a heartless fury and an unmerciful
bloodlust.
Then faces. In rapid sequence, Ron saw the faces of Colin Creevy, Ernie
MacMillan, Lisa Turpin, Dean, Filch, the Head Boy, Madame Pince and others.
Their expressions held nothing.
Many rows of black-cloaked people in masks appeared to him. They were all
being directed by one tall man in a black cloak. He was pointing to various
ranks of people and shouting in a language Ron didn't understand. It frightened
him.
The scene changed yet again and he saw Hogwarts in the eye of a terrible
storm. The storm would've resembled a hurricane if it hadn't had clods of
earth, daggers of ice, and licks of flame accompanying the wind and rain.
The storm was ferocious, yet somehow Ron could see through it clearly, and
there stood Hogwarts. The castle seemed untouched by it. In fact, it seemed
protected by the howling force of nature surrounding it.
Then he saw five people standing in a semi-circle. They were wearing bright
colored robes and determined expressions. Ron looked closer and realized he
recognized them, Cho Chang, Neville Longbottom, Hermione, Ginny, and Malfoy.
Suddenly, Ron felt like he was spinning on a merry-go-round, and as he spun, he
kept seeing his previous visions fly past him, faster and faster. Then, with
a subtle change in perception, he felt like he was watching a
merry-go-round, and it was comprised of all his previous visions. As they
whipped by him at an impossibly fast rate in that ever spinning ring, he
felt himself being pulled away. Soon they were a mere gleam in the pair of
evil yellow eyes. Then he saw the evil eyes placed in an evil red skinned
face, which was smiling cruelly.
*~*
Ron woke up, panting and covered in sweat.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day Ron came to breakfast with a rather odd look on his face. It
looked like he had aged somehow...like he had seen the truth and it scared
him.
"What's up?" Harry asked in concern as Ron sat down next to him.
"I had a dream," Ron replied, looking rather distant.
"What about?"
"I saw..." Ron struggled to find words to describe what he had seen in his
visions. He was finding it rather difficult. "Cho Chang and Draco Malfoy.
They were afraid of something, I think...the same thing. And a lot of
faces," He was squinting, as if trying to remember something. He was finding
that the more he said the less he remembered. Harry waited patiently, but
there was someone else waiting not so patiently.
Hermione was sitting just close enough to the boys to understand their
conversation. She felt like kicking herself. How could she be so blind?
Earlier in the year, she and Cho had started researching divinators, simply
out of curiosity. They figured it would be easier to find the Divinator than
the Lightening Defender. How could Hermione not see the signs? Ron rarely
dreamt, but when he did, the dreams were rapid, and composed of short,
colorful scenes, sometimes seeming unrelated or out of sequence. When he
tried to describe them, he seemed to remember abstract emotions rather than
the actual dream. Hermione couldn't believe she hadn't made the connection!
Ron was the Divinator.
"And I...there was...men in black!" His eyes got wide, as if remembering
something forgotten. "They were being directed by another man in black
robes. I think they were Death Eaters," He explained.
Without a second thought, Hermione stood and ran out to find Luna, her mind
screaming one thing. If Ron WAS the Divinator, and he saw ranks of Death
Eaters, that could only mean one thing.
An attack.
"What's wrong with her?" Seamus asked, looking after Hermione.
"I don't know," Harry frowned. "Ron, that is a creepy dream. Do you-" Harry
was cut off by the mail, which wouldn't have interrupted him, but an owl
dropped a not on the heads of all the Gryffindor sixth year boys. Harry
heard Neville groan, and he read his own note.
Mr. Potter,
Your detention is to be served today after breakfast. Go to Professor
Snape's classroom.
~Minerva McGonagall
Ron began to swear fluently, and Harry sighed. After breakfast, Harry, Ron,
Neville, Dean, and Seamus trudged down to the Potions room with their heads
hung. Seamus was giving Ron a run for his money in the cussing department.
When they reached the classroom, they found Malfoy waiting for them.
"Malfoy," Ron sneered.
"Weasley," He replied, nodding coldly.
"Good, you're all here," Snape interrupted, and Harry was almost glad to see
him; he didn't want Ron and Malfoy to get into another fight so near to
Snape.
"Follow me," Snape instructed, and the six boys followed him, muttering
under their breath. When they reached where he was standing, they saw six
barrels, each covered and a sponge on their lids. There was a basin
containing what appeared to be nothing more than water standing behind the
row of barrels, and behind that six more barrels. They eyed Snape curiously
as he removed the lids and handed each boy a sponge.
Harry peered into the barrels and saw that they were filled with white,
curved, and sharp looking claws about three inches long. Harry raised his
eyebrows at Ron, who shrugged.
"Sphinx talons," Snape said, answering the unspoken question. "The seventh
years will be needing them for their next assignment. They must be scrubbed
in a special solution until they turn blue. Scrub one at a time, then drop
them in the barrel on the other side of the basin. When you are done, tell
me. Any questions?" He asked. Harry stared at his barrel. It was about three
feet tall and at least two feet wide. He couldn't imagine how many talons
were in there. The others seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Get to work," Snape commanded, sitting down at his desk a few feet away to
grade papers, looking up once in a while to keep an eye on them.
Sighing, Harry picked up the first talon and dipped it into the water. After
about two minutes of vigorous scrubbing pulled it out of the water and
examined with satisfaction it's light azure color. He then dropped it into
his complimentary barrel, and glanced into it. He sighed again; it was a
long way down, and that on blue talon looked very lonely.
An hour later, it seemed like he had made no progress. All six boys had
wrinkled fingers and aching arm muscles. They were too tired to even glare
at each other. Snape continued to grade papers, looking no different than he
had an hour ago. Suddenly the door was flung open, and the boys all looked
up in surprise as Sirius burst in.
"Draco, Neville, c'mon!" he said waving his arm. The two boys immediately
dropped their sponges, and began crossing the room.
"Excuse me?" Snape said, standing and staring at Sirius with flashing eyes.
"These students are serving a detention, and they are not leaving until I
give them leave," Snape said coldly.
"Listen, Snape, you don't understand!" Sirius exclaimed. He looked
frustrated and panicked. "They need to come, NOW!"
"And what's the emergency?" Snape asked coldly.
"The end of the world, that's what!" Sirius snapped, crossing the room and
grabbing Neville's arm in one hand and Draco's in the other, as if they were
stubborn children. "If you want an explanation, talk to Dumbledore!" He
called, dragging the boys out. However, Harry could hear all three of them
start sprinting once they were out of the room. Snape sat down and began to
swear...much to Dean and Seamus's amusement. However, Harry and Ron were
staring at each other with wide eyes. What was that all about?
"Well, what are you all standing there for?" Snape barked. "Go!" The boys
scuttled out quickly before he changed his mind.
Dean and Seamus claimed they needed to put in their last library use before
leaving for the holidays, so Ron and Harry said goodbye. They half sprinted
up to the common room with an urgency neither could explain. When they got
inside, they found the common room buzzing with activity. Everyone seemed to
be talking in hushed voices, fear in their eyes.
"What in the...?" Ron muttered, looking around the common room. Colin
Creevey saw them and ran up to them.
"Harry!" He exclaimed. "Harry, have you heard? According to the rumors-"
"Attention all students and staff!" A voice suddenly rang throughout the
school. It was the deep, solemn voice of Dumbledore. "Report to the Great
Hall immediately. I repeat, report to the Great Hall immediately. Do not
panic."
This announcement brought a new, louder wave of unintelligible babble. Harry
looked at Ron with wide eyes. Then they followed the rest of the crowd out
of the portrait hole toward the Great Hall. They kept their ears open, but
nothing anyone around them said made any sense. They resigned themselves to
find out when they reached the Great Hall. They were almost inside when Ron
grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him out of the crowd.
"What?" Harry asked, annoyed.
"Listen," Ron hissed. Over the noise, they could faintly hear a woman's
voice.
"You all knew this day would come..." It said. Harry turned to Ron.
"Where's it coming from?" he whispered.
"The Entrance Hall, c'mon," Ron muttered. They detached from the crowd and
ducked behind a suit of armor just inside the Entrance Hall. Standing in the
center were five people in a semi-circle. The one on the left was wearing a
baby blue, then someone in a deep green, then a beautiful turquoise, then a
fiery red, and last an icy gray. The colorful figures were standing straight
and tall. And in front of them, pacing back and forth and lecturing,
was...Starlight?
"Let's go over there," Harry said, pointing to a tall plant next to the door
where they would be able to see the faces of the five mysterious people.
They quickly snuck over, and to there relief, the six people standing in the
center didn't seem to notice.
"Oh my god..." Harry whispered, staring at the circle. The person in blue,
now on their right, was Cho Chang, next to her stood Neville, then Hermione,
and next to her, Ginny and Malfoy. The five were looking at Starlight with
varying expressions of determination and fear.
"Harry," Ron whispered. His fingers were tingling.
"What?" Harry hissed.
"I saw this in my dream."
"WHAT?" He asked, trying not to yell. Ron motioned for him to keep his voice
down, and pointed to Starlight, whom they could now hear clearly.
"I cannot tell you what to do out there. This is your chance, because I have
done all I can. This is left in your hands. I told you that you would only
have one chance to back out, but I was lying. You can leave now, and not
risk the danger. No one will hold it against you," she said, looking at all
five of them. Malfoy cleared his throat.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say no way in hell, Luna," he replied.
"That's the same exact thing James said at this point," Starlight said,
and though the boys couldn't see it, she was smiling. Harry and Ron looked
at each other in shock. What was Malfoy talking about? Was Starlight talking
about James Potter? What was going on?
"All right, you know what to do. I must assist Dumbledore and Sirius." She
said. "Good luck," And with that, she swept into the Great Hall, shutting
its doors behind her.
"All right," Hermione said, stepping forward and taking command. "We're
going to use Strategy H and Emergency Signal 2d. If something goes wrong, we
will probably fall back into Backup Plan 6. Everybody got that?" She asked.
The other four nodded. She looked at them grimly. "Let's go kick some
serious Death Eater ass," she said.
The five of them marched out of the suddenly open door of Hogwarts. They
went right by Harry and Ron without even noticing. After a moment of stunned
confusion, Ron leapt up after them. That was his baby sister and his...well,
his ex-girlfriend, but still! He didn't know what was out there, but he knew
it wasn't safe.
The doors slammed as he reached them. Instinctively, Ron put his hand on the
large doorknob.
He saw marching ranks of Death Eaters, led by the tall, black robed man. He
heard them chanting evil words, and burning everything they passed. He saw
them entering Hogsmeade.
Then he saw Hermione, standing in a pool of water with her wand raised. Then
Ginny, in the same stance, but standing in the midst of a fire. He also saw
Chang, Malfoy, and Neville; Chang with her hair whipping around her, Malfoy
on snow under icicles, and Neville standing still on quacking ground.
Then he saw the Dark Mark over Hogwarts, laughing down at him...
He pulled himself from the doorknob, gasping.
"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry asked, his eyes wide with concern. "What's going
on?" Ron turned to his friend with no expression in his eyes.
"The Death Eaters are here."
~I pledge my Loyalty to Honor, Justice, and Hogwarts~
Part 13
"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked Parvati as she followed the crowd into the
Great Hall for dinner. Parvati frowned.
"I don't know," she replied, "She must have come in early."
"Parvati!" Someone in the crowd called. Ginny suspected it was Lavender.
"Coming!" she called back. She turned to Ginny. "Look, Gin, I don't know
where Hermione is, but I gotta go."
"That's okay," Ginny sighed. She lifted her hand unenthusiastically as
Parvati disappeared into the crowd, waving. She sighed again as she looked
around the pushing and shoving mob. She wasn't particularly hungry.
"Hey," Draco said from behind her, slipping his arms around her waist. "Did
you find her?"
"Hermione? No," she replied with a sigh. "Draco, I'm not really hungry,
and..."
"Go ahead," he smiled, and kissed her on the cheek. She flashed him a
grateful smile, then turned and began climbing up to the Gryffindor common
room. Draco turned into the Great Hall cursing Ronald Weasley.
Ginny cringed as she climbed into the common room to hear Hermione's sobs.
She entered quietly, and saw Hermione sitting in a chair in the shadows,
wrapped in a quilt with a box of tissues on her lap.
"Hermione?" Ginny asked cautiously. Hermione's head snapped up.
"Who is it?" she croaked through her sobs.
"It's me...Ginny," Ginny answered quietly, walking over to her friend. Her
heart broke for Hermione. She looked worse than Ginny had ever seen her.
Instead of being poised, collected, and sure of herself, she seemed broken
apart and strewn on the floor, with no idea how to put herself back together
again. "Are you okay?" she asked, feeling stupid, but unable to think of
something better.
"Do I look okay?" Hermione snapped. Well, at least she still had her temper.
"What happened?" Ginny asked cautiously, sitting down across from Hermione.
She only knew the little bit she could discern from Draco's cussing.
"I was...and then Ron...he said..." Hermione burst into more sobs. Ginny
patted her on the back, but rolled her eyes. She wasn't getting much more
out of Hermione than she had gotten out of Draco.
"It'll be okay," she said soothingly.
"No it won't!" Hermione wailed.
"Yes it will," Ginny responded automatically.
She was getting more worried by the moment; Hermione was usually not so
pessimistic. "Look, are you hungry?" she asked, trying to distract her.
"No," Hermione replied. She did not want to be distracted.
"Not even a little bit?" Ginny wheedled. "I can go into the Great Hall and
grab some food."
"I'm not hungry," Hermione insisted.
"Even a little chocolate from the kitchens?" Ginny tempted. "Hmmm? Some ice
cream, maybe?"
"Well...okay," Hermione nodded, partially because she had heard that
chocolate and ice cream helped ease the pain of a break up, and partially
because she was familiar with Ginny's stubborn nature.
Giving her a weak smile, Ginny turned and exited the common room. She was
relieved to distance herself from a very depressed Hermione.
On her way down to the kitchens, she heard the noisy clatter of the student
body happily eating their dinner. She scowled. Ron was probably in there,
stuffing his face with Christmas cookies and not giving Hermione a second
thought.
If only she had looked out the window, past the thick layer of snow to the
frozen lake, she would've seen a red-haired, cloaked figure standing with
his hands in his pockets and his head hung low.
"Here," Harry said, offering Ron a napkin holding the chicken and bread he
had swapped from the dinner table.
"I'm not hungry," Ron said dully without lifting his head. Harry sighed and
stared down at the chicken wing.
"WHY?" Ron finally exploded, throwing his hands in the air. "Why was she
fooling around with Malfoy behind my back?"
"I highly doubt," Harry said in a cold voice. "That Hermione was fooling
around with anybody." Harry had spent so much energy trying to make sure Ron
didn't kill anybody that he hadn't had the time to try and sort out his own
emotions yet. The only thing he was sure of was confusion. Why would
Hermione betray their friendship this way after all these years?
"Well then why the hell was she with Malfoy?" Ron demanded, whirling around
and glaring at Harry, who lifted his arms and showed his palms.
"I don't have the answers, Ron," Harry replied apologetically.
"Well if you don't, who does?" Ron asked, more to himself than to Harry.
Burying his hands in his pockets, he stared up at the sky with a look of
sorrow on his face. The sky was overcast, and the gray light shining down on
him made him look even paler than he already was. Feeling rather awkward,
Harry turned and walked back to the castle, glancing worriedly over his
shoulder a couple of times at his friend. Ron didn't move, and continued to
fix the clouds with an unreadable glare.
Ron wasn't even really seeing the clouds. His mind was filled with the
vision of Hermione laughing with Malfoy. He kept seeing her dancing eyes
looking at him, and his replying laughter. Ron remembered how anxious she
had been to go to the Three Broomsticks instead of Zonko's...and now he knew
why.
Yet even as he stood, staring at the heartless clouds as the cruel wind
whipped his hair, he felt his wild rage slipping away from him. He tried to
grab it back, because he knew without it all his other emotions would take
over. He closed his eyes.
Hermione was the best thing in Ron's life. An uncontrollable sense of loss
overtook him as he realized this. What if she never spoke to him again? Or
even looked at him? Maybe she DID have a reason for meeting with Malfoy....
NO! No, there was no reason. He couldn't forgive her! Never!
Yet even as he thought this, he opened his eyes and saw Hermione's smiling
face in the clouds. His eyes widened, and this...this imagined Hermione
laughed. She mouthed the words 'I love you'. Ron felt his throat constrict.
He turned his head and cast his gaze at the grass so he wouldn't have to see
her. But then the air seemed to be filled with her laughter.
'Laughing with Malfoy,' he thought bitterly. A particularly strong gust of
wind lifted his hair and cloak as he began to stalk back to the castle.
The stone corridors were almost as cold as the wind outside. Ron, however,
was so lost in his own cold thoughts, the external chills did not affect
him. It gave him a heartless look.
He hesitated as he reached the portrait hole. What if Hermione was in the
common room? What would he do?
"Password?" The Fat Lady asked, peering at Ron curiously. She looked anxious
for some gossip. Ron scowled.
"Turtle shell," he snapped. The Fat Lady looked rather insulted.
Ron's eyes carefully surveyed the scene, taking in everything in the common
room. In the corner, almost hidden in the shadows, were Hermione and Ginny.
Hermione was bent over in an armchair, a box of tissues on her lap. It
seemed that Ginny had pulled a footstool next to Hermione, holding a plate
and patting Hermione awkwardly, yet sympathetically, on the back.
Seeing Hermione in this pathetic state pulled something in Ron's chest. For
a moment, he considered running up to Hermione and holding her in his arms.
He could almost feel her silky hair under his fingers, and her sobbing on
his shoulder.
Suddenly, and for no real reason, he saw her crying on Draco Malfoy's
shoulder.
He focused on Hermione, trying to convince himself that Malfoy wasn't
anywhere near her. As if she could feel his gaze, Hermione's head snapped
up. For a moment their eyes met. Ginny, realizing Hermione's sobs had
suddenly stopped, turned and saw her brother. She immediately regretted her
Christmas cookie thought.
Ron saw that Hermione and Ginny were staring at him, and suddenly felt like
it was two against one. He broke eye contact with Hermione and stalked
upstairs.
He got upstairs and fell into bed. A wave of exhaustion overtook him and he
fell asleep, dreaming of dancing with Hermione on Halloween night.
Hermione's eyes (along with Ginny's) followed Ron's back up the stairs until
her was out of sight. There was a moment of silence before they heard the
door slam. Hermione was brought into tears anew, and Ginny was beginning to
panic.
Luckily, she was saved by two owls, each carrying a red note card. The first
summons landed in Ginny's lap and the other bounced off Hermione's hung head
onto the floor.
"Hermione," Ginny coaxed in a soft voice.
"What?" She croaked, looking up at the red-haired girl who seemed to be her
only friend.
"Luna sent for us," Ginny replied. Hermione nodded, and allowed Ginny to
help her stand. She didn't know if she could stand alone at that moment.
They walked slowly to Luna's office. Ginny had her arm around Hermione's
shoulders, which would quiver occasionally. When they reached the door,
Hermione looked bravely at Ginny, who gave her shoulders a quick squeeze,
before opening the door.
Luna (along with more help from Sirius than she would've liked) was
lecturing Cho, Neville, and Draco about something. She went silent as the
creaking of the door interrupted her. She had her lecture to Hermione and
Ginny about punctuality all planned out, but the words floated free of the
chains of her mind when she saw Hermione's red eyes and tear stained face.
"Hermione!" Draco exclaimed, leaping out of his seat and running to her.
Cho, Neville, Sirius and Luna watched on in confusions. "Hermione, are you
okay?" He asked in concern, his eyes searching hers. She nodded and
attempted a wobbly smile, but she felt herself break down inside and started
shaking her head. She burst into sobs again, and in a desperate attempt to
hide it in shame, she covered her face in her hands. Draco glanced at Ginny,
then pulled Hermione into an awkward hug. Hermione cried on his shoulder.
"What happened, Hermione?" Cho asked, somewhat pale.
"Ron broke up with her," Ginny said quietly, sitting in her seat. Cho gasped
putting a hand over her mouth.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," she whispered, as Draco pulled away to allow Cho
to hug her. Luna gave Sirius a 'look'. Neville watched on in confusion.
"Hermione, you don't have to stay," Luna began, her heart breaking as she
watched her pupil's pain. She could tell Hermione had really loved Ron.
"No!" Hermione interrupted fiercely, her sobs stopping and her shoulders
straightening. "No, I want to practice."
"I you're sure..." Luna replied uneasily, looking at Hermione with
apprehension.
"Positive," she answered, taking her normal seat.
"Okay then, you, Draco, and Ginny will work on elemental defense tactics.
Take turns dueling. Cho and Neville, you will be working with Sirius and me
on improving common magic with your elemental skills..."
On the other side of the school Ron sat straight up in bed, an odd tingling
in his fingertips.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day in Potions, Hermione sat with Neville on the other side of the
room as opposed to with Ron and Harry as usual. Neville smiled at her
sympathetically, and said nothing.
The potion required all kinds of nasty looking ingredients that even
Hermione wasn't terribly eager to handle. However, she refused to complain,
and helped Neville raise his Potions grade. They were the first group done,
and Snape sneered, but gave Neville the 'A' anyway. He smiled at her.
The potion had to simmer when they were finished for much longer than they
had class time to wait for. The full potency wasn't reached for about seven
hours. As such, the potion continued to bubble even though they already had
the grade...freaking out Neville.
"Professor Snape?" A deep rang through the room. The class turned to see the
head of Professor Dumbledore popped into the room.
"Yes, Headmaster?" Snape asked, looking up from Parvati and Lavender's off
color potion.
"May I speak to you for a moment?"
"Of course," he consented. He looked at his class with sharp eyes. "I will
be right back." He said, sweeping out into the hall.
The class immediately broke out into babble, and Neville immediately started
thanking Hermione profusely. Even over all that babble, and from the other
side of the room, Hermione could hear Ron cursing Draco. She and Neville
immediately stopped talking, and turned to glare at Ron. The rest of the
class silenced as well, but Ron didn't seem to care.
"Really, Weasley?" Draco smirked. Hermione was sharply reminded of why she,
Harry, and Ron had hated Draco for so many years. "Why don't you put
something behind all those big words?" He asked smoothly. Ron's ears went
red, and Draco smirked. "Didn't think-"
Draco was cut off when Ron's finished potion was flung all over his face.
Everyone but Draco, Neville, and Hermione burst into laughter as Draco wiped
the liquid, which at that point had little more effect than water, off his
face. The, he suddenly flung a handful of parrot eyeballs at Ron. Harry
flung crocodile tongue, with Seamus and Dean coming to help with bullets of
gorilla fingernails, and that's how it began.
Soon Draco and the four Gryffindor boys were in an all out war, and the rest
of the class was laughing like crazy. Neville leapt up to stop the fight,
running in between and yelling at them. Ron flung an armidillo liver at
Neville, who ducked. The liver flew across the room...and hit Snape in the
face as he opened the door. All noise in the room immediately stopped.
"Who threw that?" he asked, annunciating each syllable. The class looked
around uneasily.
"It was Ron Weasley, sir," Pansy replied softly. "All the Gryffindor boys
were throwing things." Snape's eyes bugged out as he surveyed the damage of
his classroom.
"DETENTION!" he screamed. "All of you! And seventy points from Gryffindor!"
"I believe," Dumbledore said, his mouth twitching as he watched from behind
Snape. "That Mr. Malfoy was also involved in these activities." He looked at
Snape expectantly, who narrowed his eyes at Malfoy.
"Detention for you as well, and fifteen points from Slytherin. Mr. Malfoy,
I'm very disappointed in you."
"Yes, sir," Draco replied, looking at Snape coldly. Hermione sighed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ron and Hermione spent the rest of the week avoiding each other at all
costs. Harry tried to remain neutral, but found himself more often with Ron,
because Ginny was always with Hermione.
At the end of the week, Ron fell into bed, exhausted. He had had hardly any
sleep all week because he couldn't fall asleep, thinking of Hermione. He
prayed for sleep.
He got his wish....and more than he bargained for.
*~*
Cho Chang's face swam in front of him. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was
slightly opened. She looked terrified. Slowly, Chang began to fade and
change into a new face. The face of Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy's expression was different, yet strangely similar. Malfoy's mouth was
set in a grim line of determination and his eyes were blazing with an
internal fire. And yet...his eyes held the same animal-like fear as Chang's.
Abruptly, and only for a second, he saw a pair of eyes. They were yellow,
with slits like a snake. They held a heartless fury and an unmerciful
bloodlust.
Then faces. In rapid sequence, Ron saw the faces of Colin Creevy, Ernie
MacMillan, Lisa Turpin, Dean, Filch, the Head Boy, Madame Pince and others.
Their expressions held nothing.
Many rows of black-cloaked people in masks appeared to him. They were all
being directed by one tall man in a black cloak. He was pointing to various
ranks of people and shouting in a language Ron didn't understand. It frightened
him.
The scene changed yet again and he saw Hogwarts in the eye of a terrible
storm. The storm would've resembled a hurricane if it hadn't had clods of
earth, daggers of ice, and licks of flame accompanying the wind and rain.
The storm was ferocious, yet somehow Ron could see through it clearly, and
there stood Hogwarts. The castle seemed untouched by it. In fact, it seemed
protected by the howling force of nature surrounding it.
Then he saw five people standing in a semi-circle. They were wearing bright
colored robes and determined expressions. Ron looked closer and realized he
recognized them, Cho Chang, Neville Longbottom, Hermione, Ginny, and Malfoy.
Suddenly, Ron felt like he was spinning on a merry-go-round, and as he spun, he
kept seeing his previous visions fly past him, faster and faster. Then, with
a subtle change in perception, he felt like he was watching a
merry-go-round, and it was comprised of all his previous visions. As they
whipped by him at an impossibly fast rate in that ever spinning ring, he
felt himself being pulled away. Soon they were a mere gleam in the pair of
evil yellow eyes. Then he saw the evil eyes placed in an evil red skinned
face, which was smiling cruelly.
*~*
Ron woke up, panting and covered in sweat.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day Ron came to breakfast with a rather odd look on his face. It
looked like he had aged somehow...like he had seen the truth and it scared
him.
"What's up?" Harry asked in concern as Ron sat down next to him.
"I had a dream," Ron replied, looking rather distant.
"What about?"
"I saw..." Ron struggled to find words to describe what he had seen in his
visions. He was finding it rather difficult. "Cho Chang and Draco Malfoy.
They were afraid of something, I think...the same thing. And a lot of
faces," He was squinting, as if trying to remember something. He was finding
that the more he said the less he remembered. Harry waited patiently, but
there was someone else waiting not so patiently.
Hermione was sitting just close enough to the boys to understand their
conversation. She felt like kicking herself. How could she be so blind?
Earlier in the year, she and Cho had started researching divinators, simply
out of curiosity. They figured it would be easier to find the Divinator than
the Lightening Defender. How could Hermione not see the signs? Ron rarely
dreamt, but when he did, the dreams were rapid, and composed of short,
colorful scenes, sometimes seeming unrelated or out of sequence. When he
tried to describe them, he seemed to remember abstract emotions rather than
the actual dream. Hermione couldn't believe she hadn't made the connection!
Ron was the Divinator.
"And I...there was...men in black!" His eyes got wide, as if remembering
something forgotten. "They were being directed by another man in black
robes. I think they were Death Eaters," He explained.
Without a second thought, Hermione stood and ran out to find Luna, her mind
screaming one thing. If Ron WAS the Divinator, and he saw ranks of Death
Eaters, that could only mean one thing.
An attack.
"What's wrong with her?" Seamus asked, looking after Hermione.
"I don't know," Harry frowned. "Ron, that is a creepy dream. Do you-" Harry
was cut off by the mail, which wouldn't have interrupted him, but an owl
dropped a not on the heads of all the Gryffindor sixth year boys. Harry
heard Neville groan, and he read his own note.
Mr. Potter,
Your detention is to be served today after breakfast. Go to Professor
Snape's classroom.
~Minerva McGonagall
Ron began to swear fluently, and Harry sighed. After breakfast, Harry, Ron,
Neville, Dean, and Seamus trudged down to the Potions room with their heads
hung. Seamus was giving Ron a run for his money in the cussing department.
When they reached the classroom, they found Malfoy waiting for them.
"Malfoy," Ron sneered.
"Weasley," He replied, nodding coldly.
"Good, you're all here," Snape interrupted, and Harry was almost glad to see
him; he didn't want Ron and Malfoy to get into another fight so near to
Snape.
"Follow me," Snape instructed, and the six boys followed him, muttering
under their breath. When they reached where he was standing, they saw six
barrels, each covered and a sponge on their lids. There was a basin
containing what appeared to be nothing more than water standing behind the
row of barrels, and behind that six more barrels. They eyed Snape curiously
as he removed the lids and handed each boy a sponge.
Harry peered into the barrels and saw that they were filled with white,
curved, and sharp looking claws about three inches long. Harry raised his
eyebrows at Ron, who shrugged.
"Sphinx talons," Snape said, answering the unspoken question. "The seventh
years will be needing them for their next assignment. They must be scrubbed
in a special solution until they turn blue. Scrub one at a time, then drop
them in the barrel on the other side of the basin. When you are done, tell
me. Any questions?" He asked. Harry stared at his barrel. It was about three
feet tall and at least two feet wide. He couldn't imagine how many talons
were in there. The others seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Get to work," Snape commanded, sitting down at his desk a few feet away to
grade papers, looking up once in a while to keep an eye on them.
Sighing, Harry picked up the first talon and dipped it into the water. After
about two minutes of vigorous scrubbing pulled it out of the water and
examined with satisfaction it's light azure color. He then dropped it into
his complimentary barrel, and glanced into it. He sighed again; it was a
long way down, and that on blue talon looked very lonely.
An hour later, it seemed like he had made no progress. All six boys had
wrinkled fingers and aching arm muscles. They were too tired to even glare
at each other. Snape continued to grade papers, looking no different than he
had an hour ago. Suddenly the door was flung open, and the boys all looked
up in surprise as Sirius burst in.
"Draco, Neville, c'mon!" he said waving his arm. The two boys immediately
dropped their sponges, and began crossing the room.
"Excuse me?" Snape said, standing and staring at Sirius with flashing eyes.
"These students are serving a detention, and they are not leaving until I
give them leave," Snape said coldly.
"Listen, Snape, you don't understand!" Sirius exclaimed. He looked
frustrated and panicked. "They need to come, NOW!"
"And what's the emergency?" Snape asked coldly.
"The end of the world, that's what!" Sirius snapped, crossing the room and
grabbing Neville's arm in one hand and Draco's in the other, as if they were
stubborn children. "If you want an explanation, talk to Dumbledore!" He
called, dragging the boys out. However, Harry could hear all three of them
start sprinting once they were out of the room. Snape sat down and began to
swear...much to Dean and Seamus's amusement. However, Harry and Ron were
staring at each other with wide eyes. What was that all about?
"Well, what are you all standing there for?" Snape barked. "Go!" The boys
scuttled out quickly before he changed his mind.
Dean and Seamus claimed they needed to put in their last library use before
leaving for the holidays, so Ron and Harry said goodbye. They half sprinted
up to the common room with an urgency neither could explain. When they got
inside, they found the common room buzzing with activity. Everyone seemed to
be talking in hushed voices, fear in their eyes.
"What in the...?" Ron muttered, looking around the common room. Colin
Creevey saw them and ran up to them.
"Harry!" He exclaimed. "Harry, have you heard? According to the rumors-"
"Attention all students and staff!" A voice suddenly rang throughout the
school. It was the deep, solemn voice of Dumbledore. "Report to the Great
Hall immediately. I repeat, report to the Great Hall immediately. Do not
panic."
This announcement brought a new, louder wave of unintelligible babble. Harry
looked at Ron with wide eyes. Then they followed the rest of the crowd out
of the portrait hole toward the Great Hall. They kept their ears open, but
nothing anyone around them said made any sense. They resigned themselves to
find out when they reached the Great Hall. They were almost inside when Ron
grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him out of the crowd.
"What?" Harry asked, annoyed.
"Listen," Ron hissed. Over the noise, they could faintly hear a woman's
voice.
"You all knew this day would come..." It said. Harry turned to Ron.
"Where's it coming from?" he whispered.
"The Entrance Hall, c'mon," Ron muttered. They detached from the crowd and
ducked behind a suit of armor just inside the Entrance Hall. Standing in the
center were five people in a semi-circle. The one on the left was wearing a
baby blue, then someone in a deep green, then a beautiful turquoise, then a
fiery red, and last an icy gray. The colorful figures were standing straight
and tall. And in front of them, pacing back and forth and lecturing,
was...Starlight?
"Let's go over there," Harry said, pointing to a tall plant next to the door
where they would be able to see the faces of the five mysterious people.
They quickly snuck over, and to there relief, the six people standing in the
center didn't seem to notice.
"Oh my god..." Harry whispered, staring at the circle. The person in blue,
now on their right, was Cho Chang, next to her stood Neville, then Hermione,
and next to her, Ginny and Malfoy. The five were looking at Starlight with
varying expressions of determination and fear.
"Harry," Ron whispered. His fingers were tingling.
"What?" Harry hissed.
"I saw this in my dream."
"WHAT?" He asked, trying not to yell. Ron motioned for him to keep his voice
down, and pointed to Starlight, whom they could now hear clearly.
"I cannot tell you what to do out there. This is your chance, because I have
done all I can. This is left in your hands. I told you that you would only
have one chance to back out, but I was lying. You can leave now, and not
risk the danger. No one will hold it against you," she said, looking at all
five of them. Malfoy cleared his throat.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say no way in hell, Luna," he replied.
"That's the same exact thing James said at this point," Starlight said,
and though the boys couldn't see it, she was smiling. Harry and Ron looked
at each other in shock. What was Malfoy talking about? Was Starlight talking
about James Potter? What was going on?
"All right, you know what to do. I must assist Dumbledore and Sirius." She
said. "Good luck," And with that, she swept into the Great Hall, shutting
its doors behind her.
"All right," Hermione said, stepping forward and taking command. "We're
going to use Strategy H and Emergency Signal 2d. If something goes wrong, we
will probably fall back into Backup Plan 6. Everybody got that?" She asked.
The other four nodded. She looked at them grimly. "Let's go kick some
serious Death Eater ass," she said.
The five of them marched out of the suddenly open door of Hogwarts. They
went right by Harry and Ron without even noticing. After a moment of stunned
confusion, Ron leapt up after them. That was his baby sister and his...well,
his ex-girlfriend, but still! He didn't know what was out there, but he knew
it wasn't safe.
The doors slammed as he reached them. Instinctively, Ron put his hand on the
large doorknob.
He saw marching ranks of Death Eaters, led by the tall, black robed man. He
heard them chanting evil words, and burning everything they passed. He saw
them entering Hogsmeade.
Then he saw Hermione, standing in a pool of water with her wand raised. Then
Ginny, in the same stance, but standing in the midst of a fire. He also saw
Chang, Malfoy, and Neville; Chang with her hair whipping around her, Malfoy
on snow under icicles, and Neville standing still on quacking ground.
Then he saw the Dark Mark over Hogwarts, laughing down at him...
He pulled himself from the doorknob, gasping.
"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry asked, his eyes wide with concern. "What's going
on?" Ron turned to his friend with no expression in his eyes.
"The Death Eaters are here."