Harry Potter and the Cantoris Quest (4/?)

Author: Anya
Author email: anya@schnoogle.com
Category: Humor, romance, mystery, adventure, drama
Keywords: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron
Spoilers: For all the books, just to be safe :D
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The beginning of the end. Harry faces off with the coming darkness in his seventh year. Contains H/Hr, unforeseen circumstances, a lost heirloom --- and the quest to find Cantoris. A take on the last book in canon.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. Song fragment is from Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy reading this and future chapters... it's been percolating a long time in my brain and just boiled over :p

This goes to my really great beta-readers: Steve, Sabs and Cle.

Chapter 4: In the Looking Glass, Darkly

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
I'm chasing after you
 
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
 
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and I question where to go
And I don't know what I'm tapping into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

Hermione started heading back towards the castle, not noticing a shadow moving behind her. She was startled out of her wits when a finger tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around, an expectant look on her face, only to find that Draco was behind her. "Oh, it's you," she shrugged, turning back in the direction she was headed.

"Hurry up, or we'll be late for the meeting with Professor McGonagall," she said, breaking into a run. She was nearing the castle doors when she suddenly stopped short. Draco was standing in the archway of the doors leading inside the castle.

Hermione was stunned. Something peculiar had just happened. She turned, mouth opened in a soft 'O' of wonder, half expecting to see someone else behind her but no one was there. She whipped out her wand and shouted to Draco, "I'll be back, see you at Professor McGonagall's office," before retracing her steps towards the lake in a hurry.

"Lumos," she whispered softly. The tip of her wand glowed in the darkness, and she saw the figure of a man staring at the lake, his back turned to her. His pale blonde head reflected the light from her wand. She cleared her throat slightly and asked, "Who are you?"

The man turned towards her and she could not hold back a gasp. It was Draco.

************

Back at the castle, Draco was surprised to see Hermione spin around to go back in the direction of the lake. He shrugged arrogantly and thought of the scolding that that 'mudblood' would get once she arrived late for their meeting with the deputy headmistress. He grinned. She might even lose fifty points for her house. He was about to close the heavy double doors when he heard a sound cut off in mid-shriek. He paused, thought curiously --- that sounded like Granger --- and hurriedly strode out of the castle in the direction of the noise.

What he saw alarmed him. Hermione was already waist deep into the lake and was walking further still whilst a man was standing on the shore with his arm raised languidly in the air, as if directing an orchestra. There was a wand in his hand and he was twirling it lazily about. Draco watched in morbid fascination as Hermione continued walking into the lake until the water lapped around her neck. When her head disappeared beneath the waters, he was galvanised into action. He sprinted towards the man, who was still facing in the direction of the lake, unaware of the person behind him, and tackled him by the waist. Caught by surprise, the man fell and hit his head hard on the ground. Draco found himself looking into the other man's unconscious face. He was stunned. It was like looking into a mirror. Except that the other man's face was starting to show some changes. Changes he could not afford to wait for.

He whipped his head about in the direction of the lake and noticed that Hermione had not surfaced at all. He ran, stripping off his robe and undershirt and dove into the waters to look for her. The waters were dark and it seemed as if he would not be able to find her in time. He thrashed about blindly with his arms in front of him, then decided to go nearer the shore. His head broke the surface and he harshly gasped in some air before going underneath again. His arms cleaved powerfully through the water, trying to negotiate his way around. There she was, standing as still as a statue, just a few inches under the water. He seized her by the waist and started pulling her towards the shore. He half-dragged, half-carried her and laid her on the grass. Thoughts were careening uncontrollably in his head as he noted her pale face. He put his ear close to her nose and mouth in a panic. It seemed that she was not breathing. He grabbed his robe and searched his pocket frantically for his wand, which he used to end whatever spell the other Draco had placed on Hermione. As he reached out to take hold of his robe and his shirt, he saw that the other man was gone.

The halls were empty as Draco carried Hermione in his arms, walking towards the hospital wing and dripping water in his wake. Madam Pomfrey prepared a bed in a hurry and started examining Hermione as soon as she was lain upon it. He stood back anxiously and watched as Madam Pomfrey treated her patient. He found himself being pushed on the next bed and examined as well. Madam Pomfrey gave him a potion, which he swallowed quickly, with a grimace at the revolting taste. Exhausted, he struggled feebly as sleep magically took over him with a few whispered words from Madame Pomfrey. She gave me a Sleeping Potion?! was his last, incredulous, thought.

Draco felt like he was drifting aimlessly about in a clear blue fluid. He could see an expanse of white at the top and he found himself floating upwards. Nearer and nearer, he gravitated towards it. The light stung the back of his eyelids, disorienting him, making him keep his eyes shut. The dizziness passed. He peered groggily out of one eye and saw that Hermione still unconscious in the next bed, surrounded by her friends. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were there as well, discussing softly in hushed tones. He quickly shut his eye again and feigned sleep as Ron looked suspiciously in his direction. Harry, his attention occupied by Hermione, did not turn at all. Draco sighed inwardly. Where the hell were Crabbe and Goyle? Probably stuffing their faces in the Great Hall.

He lay there quietly, thinking about the events of the previous night. Hermione had proven why the Sorting Hat had placed her in Gryffindor. He grudgingly admired her mettle. Although, he mused, one could always think of it as foolhardiness. He shifted suddenly and the action caught the eagle eyes of Madam Pomfrey, who quickly came over and gave him another dose of medicine. This time, however, he did not fall asleep. He sat up, swung his legs down the side of the bed and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is she alive?"

Ron slowly turned around. Much as he disliked the entire Malfoy family and Draco more than the rest, he could not ignore the fact that the other boy had just saved one of his best friends. A Muggle-born at that. Malfoy would not probably live that down. He grinned inwardly at the thought. He had been inclined to think that Draco had been the one who tried drowning Hermione in the first place but he and Harry had been set straight on that point by Madam Pomfrey ("One does not save someone one wants drowned, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter," she sniffed. "And you should have seen the exhausted state that boy was in. He almost dropped right here on this very floor."). He opened his mouth to speak but Harry beat him to the punch.

"She's still heavily sedated, but she'll be fine. Thanks to you."

Harry held out his hand towards Draco, whose eyebrows automatically rose but took the proffered hand guardedly and shook it. Ron followed suit, glad that Harry was the one who went first. He felt extremely awkward at having to thank a Malfoy for anything.

Harry turned back to Hermione's bedside and looked at the face of one of his dearest friends. The thought of almost losing her made him feel weak in the knees, and he decided to sit on the edge of her bed. He reached out, took her hand and curled his own with hers in it. He gave her a slight squeeze and was slightly disappointed not to feel a response in return. She was still out.

Professor Dumbledore spoke up while Professor McGonagall looked on. "We would like to hear the story from your point of view once you are well enough to do so. We have only what Madam Pomfrey has told us. Poppy?" he looked at her questioningly. She nodded her head and bustled over to Draco's bedside, checking him for any untoward effects of the events the night before. He suffered her ministrations impatiently, gritting out, "I'm fine" from between clenched teeth.

He told them of his experience with the other Draco. Dumbledore looked visibly perturbed by this, especially at the news that the other Draco was apparently the product of a polyjuice potion.

"They are becoming bolder and bolder. Minerva, perhaps you could check on the magical wards set around Hogwarts. If the protective wards were not set off immediately following the spell on Miss Granger, there must have been a breach somewhere." Professor Dumbledore whispered something to Professor McGonagall and she immediately went off to procure help from the other faculty members.

"In the meanwhile," Dumbledore said, sitting down as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, "I suggest that the two gentlemen here take a seat as I have something of importance to say to all of you. Draco, kindly do not get up," he said in a gruff aside to Draco, who was about to leave the bed. "Now that you have had an experience with those we presume to be Death Eaters, we need to safeguard that little bit of information. Whatever is discussed here should stay here." He inclined his head inquiringly at them and they all nodded in response, Draco a bit grudgingly. He was trying to seem as disinterested as possible, although the suspense was actually killing him.

Harry let out a yell and everyone looked at him in astonishment. He was surprised to feel Hermione's hand tightening under his as he had forgotten that he was still holding it. Dumbledore signalled to Madam Pomfrey, who immediately came over and checked Hermione. She struggled weakly to get up, using her grip on Harry's hand as leverage, only to be pushed down gently by Ron. She opened her eyes and looked at them. She was a little startled at seeing Draco in the next bed. "What happened? There were two of you..." she trailed off.

"Ah, Hermione," Dumbledore inclined his head towards her. "Do you feel well enough to tell us what happened from your point of view?"

"I saw two of him," she pointed to Draco, " and I'm not sure which one was which. I presume he's the real one..."

"I am real." Draco said, a bit miffed by being referred to as if he were a non-entity. "And you might try for a little gratitude there," he tried saying 'mudblood' but found that he couldn't, "after all I did save your life."

Hermione's eyes reflected shock at this. She tried to speak but ended up gaping at him. Looking towards Harry and Ron for confirmation, she disbelievingly looked at Dumbledore after getting hesitant nods from the two. "What?!"

"It's true. He brought you in after you almost drowned." Ron grimaced. Hermione looked at him uncomprehendingly.

Harry spoke up. "Might as well face it. You owe him one."

Hermione shifted her blank gaze towards Draco. Draco tried to look properly humble but failed. He grinned at her conceitedly.

She looked at him in an speculative manner. "I'm surprised, Malfoy. It seems you were in the line for 'a shred of decency' after all. Whoever thought that a Malfoy would have rescued a 'mudblood'?"

Draco cocked an eyebrow and was about to retort back when Professor McGonagall swept back in and heard the tail-end of the conversation. She tilted her head sternly towards Hermione and replied to her query, "There is a reason that Draco was selected as Head Boy. There are some things toward which our personal biases blind us and though Draco has made no pretensions about his," she fixed her steely gaze upon Draco, "it does not make him any less of a human being. Thus, he has enough common sense not to let someone else drown in front of him. I myself place no importance upon the so-called purity of blood, and it is gratifying to see that he rose above his personal biases."

I will not blush. I will not blush. Draco willed himself not to react but could not help feeling some warmth creeping across his cheeks. He stole a glance at Hermione, who looked properly chastised and was stealing a glimpse at him. They both looked away, embarrassed at being caught.

The door opened again and Professor Ascension came in. She was carrying a heavy tome which looked quite ancient as it was falling apart at the seams. She laid it carefully on her lap and sat down on a chair beside Professor Dumbledore, folding her hands calmly on top of the book. Looking up at Professor McGonagall, she waited until she was given the signal to speak.

"Harry, I need to tell you about something very important. I have a feeling you might have an idea about this already," she smiled at Hermione, "and whereas we had the leisure of time before, the urgency of the matter now dictates otherwise."

Ron was looking pointedly at his friends' hands, which were still clasped together. He cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows and said, "Now, now, is there something you're both not telling me? I hope I'm not about to lose the next bet I've got going."

Harry and Hermione let go of each other's hands self-consciously. Harry walked towards Professor Ascension, who stood up and led the way outside the infirmary. Professor Dumbledore and Harry followed in her wake. Harry lifted a hand in farewell to his friends and the door shut close behind him. Hermione felt a little forlorn when he left. She grew a little uncomfortable at the feeling and turned to Ron, who was speaking with Professor McGonagall.

"Hermione (Ron jerked his thumb in her direction) would be really mad to find that she missed a ton of schoolwork," he grinned. She scowled at him and he grinned at her impudently. He bent down and took a a rolled up section of parchment from his bag and dumped it unceremoniously on her lap. She took it, touched by his thoughtfulness --- until she saw the squiggles on the paper.

"Ron, would I need a decoding spell for this? I can't seem to make heads or tails of it."

"You're holding it upside down. Here, let me adjust it."

"Not that it makes any difference. I still can't understand it."

"Do you want it or don't you?" He tried to snatch up the parchment but she hid it under her blanket. He raised an eyebrow at this and told her, "Don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm a gentleman. I can easily flip aside your blanket, sickbed or not."

She just looked at him calmly and tried unsuccessfully to fight back a grin.

Ron looked as if he was about to make good on his threat but chickened out at the last moment. He turned to Draco instead, who was watching them with a smirk.

"Malfoy, keep your thoughts to yourself. It's written all over your face and frankly, I'm not in the mood to hear any of your crap."

Draco spread his hands expansively and shrugged his shoulders diffidently. He glanced at Professor McGonagall, who was talking with Madam Pomfrey, before goading Ron by saying in an aside, "Don't let me stop you from flipping aside Granger's blanket --- I'm interested to see what's underneath them myself."

"Do it yourself, you old lech." Ron shot back at him.

Hermione glared balefully at Draco. "I am not hearing anything. Hero or not, this conversation is over." She glared at him one last time for good measure before lying down and wriggling under the covers.

Ron sighed. "Women." He and Draco exchanged a look of agreement before remembering that they were supposed to be adversaries. They turned back to Hermione, who was faking a yawn. Ron ruffled Hermione's hair before spinning around on his heel to leave for his classes. He picked up his bag and sauntered off.

Hermione looked irritated. "He knows I hate having my hair messed up more than it is." She looked over at Draco, who had reclined in his bed and was pretending to be asleep.

"Mal-, er, Draco. Thanks for saving my life." She hurriedly turned away from him and missed the smile stealing slowly across his face.

************

Professor Dumbledore ushered Professor Ascension and Harry into his office. Fawkes was on his perch, calmly swishing his tail feathers as he took note of the visitors. Max Ascension looked as though she was holding the ancient book in utmost reverence. Harry waited for her to sit down before selecting an available seat. He held himself in check, although he was dying to ask about what she told him earlier. Max smiled at him in assurance. Dumbledore looked at the young professor and motioned for her to start.

"What I have here is a very old book that I retrieved from a magical Irish forest ring. It is encased in an old binding made of clover leather, a curiosity in itself. It's not something that you can purchase anywhere --- the binding is made of an especially tooled leather made very thin through an unknown process. It is so thin that light can shine through it. On its cover is an interlocking design reminiscent of a clover leaf, hence its name.

"I stumbled unto it by accident. I was in Ireland to look for a certain runic artifact when I heard of an old myth about a faerie who possessed a book on a particular Celtic legend of destiny fulfilment. I am of the opinion that all myths and fairytales have a basis in truth and so I started looking for clues about it. It was said that she hid it within plain sight, in a place where it would belong. It took me a month to realise that I should start looking in forests and another month to realise which forest was the right one. By then, I had met Bill...and I don't believe in coincidence," her startlingly blue eyes gazed levelly at Harry. "I believe that all things happen because they were meant to be. I had been offered a teaching position here. Bill mentioned that you were a friend of his brother, Ron. And I know of your history with Voldemort. Everything was falling into place --- at least to my way of thinking. I believe that this book can help you." She quietly handed the heavy-looking manuscript to Harry.

Harry was taken aback. He had noticed that she mentioned Voldemort without any superstitious hesitancy. And the book was surprisingly lighter than it looked. Professor Ascension smiled upon seeing his astonishment.

"It's something enchanted. Things are not always what they seem," she said cryptically.

Dumbledore signaled to Harry that he should put the book down on the desk. As soon as Harry did so, Dumbledore passed his wand over it, muttering under his breath as he checked the book for any black magic that might be associated with it. Nothing untoward occurred and he gave the book back to Harry.

"Just a precaution. It is always advisable to be cautious, especially with enchanted objects. Who knows, perhaps that could have turned you into a frog...which means you would have had to look for a princess to kiss you." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled.

Harry smiled back at him, thinking it would be a long time before he would have changed back into human form if that had happened.

"I will be around to help you with that. But it might help if you took a look at it yourself. I have marked the page on which the word 'Cantoris' first appears. It seems to be a place of some sort, unreachable except in the landscape of dreams, although I could be mistaken. There are references to it throughout the whole book and you might want to ask Hermione's help on it. She seems to be quite a frequent visitor to the library." Max smiled at the understatement.

"Your next class will start in a little while, Harry. You might want to hurry and put that in your dormitory first," Dumbledore said.

Harry murmured his gratitude and walked backwards until he reached the door. He almost flew down the stairs in a lightheaded rush. He ran towards Gryffindor tower, whispered the most recent password to the Fat Lady ("Fiddlesticks!") and took the steps two-by-two until he reached his dormitory. Rummaging in the chest at the foot of his bed, he carefully hid the book in an old shirt before carefully placing it on the ledge underneath his bed. He doubted that anyone else knew this hiding place, which made him feel it would be safe to keep the book there.

************

Ron and Harry trudged inside the castle doors after a gruelling Quidditch practice. Upon reaching their dormitory, Ron wearily stripped off his shirt and told Harry, "When is the first practice match again? Is it a week away or a month away? I hope it's still a month away because we stink."

"It's next week, Ron."

Ron groaned at the reply. They both changed hurriedly since they were late for dinner. All the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been asked by Harry to stay late on the field until they could no longer see the quaffle in the gloaming and the players had been hit repeatedly by the bludgers. Colin protested that Ginny had already been hit by a bludger twice and he threatened to report their abusive practice sessions in the school paper (of which he was the photography editor). Harry had privately told Ron that it seemed Colin was developing an intense infatuation with the paper's star reporter. Ron snorted that he already knew that when Colin started taking more pictures of Ginny than of Harry during their practices. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you," Ron said with a grin. "As Ginny's fellow beater, I get to appear often in the 'OwlPost' as well."

Harry grinned inwardly at the thought. At least Ron was becoming rather well-known on his own, not just as Harry's friend. It went a long way towards boosting his friend's self-esteem that he became quite famous after his narrow escape from the Death Eaters and winning a prize for it. Ron had bought new school materials such as dress robes, books and a cauldron as soon as he could. No more hand-me-downs for him. He had a lifetime's worth of experience with that and it was enough.

They entered the Great Hall and hurriedly settled into their seats. Harry was happy to note that Hermione was looking quite well, happily scooping some shepherd's pie with her fork while chatting with Lavender. He decided to tease her a bit by holding her fork down just as she was about to put it to her lips. She unconsciously followed the fork with her mouth before her mind registered the trick Harry had just played on her.

"Harry Potter!" she said warningly. He let go of her hand and smiled appealingly at her. She shook her head resignedly and faced the fork toward him in resignation. "Shepherd's pie?"

"Don't mind if I do." Instead of helping himself to a serving from a plate on the table, Harry bent down to eat what was on the proffered utensil. Hermione was a bit taken aback by his playfulness but decided not to react. She scooped up some creamed peas on her fork and resumed eating.

Parvati looked at Harry in shock and began to whisper excitedly to Lavender. Hermione looked at them and frowned. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Parvati propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her right fist. She asked hopefully, "Oh! Cute! Are the two of you going out or something?"

Both Harry and Hermione wore identical startled looks on their faces. "Well, no," Hermione said, using her napkin to wipe her lips. "We're only friends."

Seamus and a few others around the Gryffindor table groaned. Ron stood up, collecting money from various people.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione was scandalised.

Harry just looked at his other best friend and almost choked at the gleeful expression on Ron's face.

"What did you bet on this time, Ron?" Harry looked at his friend with mock-seriousness.

"Oh, just something to do with a 'friends only' theme." Ron waved his hands about vaguely in the air.

Hermione said, "Why do I feel like a lab rat?"

"What's that?" asked Ron interestedly as he shoved a fistful of money in his pocket.

"Never mind." Hermione rolled her eyes.

Hermione glanced over at the Slytherin table and found Draco looking a little pensive. She caught his attention with a small waving gesture and mimed a signal that meant they were to meet outside. Draco gave a slight nod and resumed eating. Hermione turned back to her table and noticed a few of them looking at her curiously. She shrugged gracefully and said, "We are supposed to meet Professor McGonagall after eating. He insisted on making sure we went together so that we'd both be safe."

Harry asked, "Do you need more companions? There's safety in numbers." Ron nodded worriedly in agreement.

"I'm going to be okay. But thanks for the offer." Hermione smiled at them reassuringly.

Hermione went out of the Great Hall to find Draco leaning nonchalantly against the wall beside the doors, blond hair glinting in the light from the torches lined up in the hallway. They walked together in silence until they reached Professor McGonagall's office. Draco rapped on the door and they heard a voice inviting them to enter. They went inside and Hermione closed the door softly behind her.

Professor McGonagall gestured them into the chairs in front of her desk. As they sat down, she offered them some tea, which they declined politely. Professor McGonagall paused to remove her spectacles and rub her eyelids wearily. She replaced her glasses on the bridge of her nose and started speaking.

"I am quite apologetic about what caused the postponement of our first meeting. As it is, what we are about to discuss is a bit stale. Essentially, the prefects are to be briefed that all students should be assigned their own partners. No one should go about Hogwarts alone, especially when one is outside of the castle. It is regrettable that measures like this have to be enforced but the necessity for this has been underscored in the light of your own personal experiences.

"These are dangerous times and we would do well to observe a few precautions."

Hermione felt a cold coil of fear writhing in her stomach. She glanced at Draco, who had also turned to look solemnly at her. They both returned their gazes towards Professor McGonagall, who looked at them with her chin resting on steepled fingers. She spoke, "I expect you to hold the prefects' meeting as soon as possible. Time is running short for all of us here."

************

Harry was tossing and turning about in his sleep. He dreamt of chasing a golden leprechaun with a hollow stomach, who was laughing at him as it scampered away. He had the vague idea that he needed to open the leprechaun up and get something from him. He ran after the leprechaun, who abruptly turned into a clover leaf and fell on the forest floor. Harry slowed his pace down to a walk, going towards the general direction where the leaf landed when he suddenly found himself dropping into a hole. He clawed the empty air in a panic as he fell in a dark, endless chasm.

Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 3:

calicutie11 (Carla!) - where did you hear that 'I-wanna-make-a-child-with-you' thing about Bill? *lol*; HarryNZ (Harry!) - thanks for going over this in ff.n, you're such a sweetie; E.C.R. Potter (Eric!) - arigato gozaimasu; Clepsydra Delphinus (Cle!) - no-don't-kill-yourself-I-still-need-you *lol*; Granger (Alison!) - good thing you were able to catch up :D; Circe - that was a really thoughtful gesture and I really appreciated it *glomps Circe*; little* - running away from the basilisk, are we? *g*; Koriander (Korine!) - yup, that was fun to write; erin - Harry + Hermione + broom closet = enormous possibilities; mia fitzpatrick (Mia!) - only sorta, kinda like him? You liar, you. Admit it, you're Draco-crazy *snerk*; Lily Vance - how's the jazz and java going?; SirLoyne (Steve!) - you make me laugh, you lovely, lovely person; Cadey(!) - hope you were able to use what I gave you; wild prefect - all in good time *g*; Tamz - yes, they do need a room, don't they *g*; and Smilie117 (Sabs!) - that was a whole lot of shocked smileys :D Thanks for being such a great friend.

End of Chapter