v v Harry Potter and the Mark of Hermes
Chapter 6: DisappearancesIt was a really strange spring day at Hogwarts. It was a Saturday, the sun was out, the sky was blue, the birds were singing. It was a perfect day to be out and about frolicking with your friends, enjoying nature's beauty. So why were all the students lounging about inside the castle?
"Can't stand the bloody wind." Ron shivered. He leaned a bit closer to the warm fire as he beat Seamus at chess for the third time in a row.
It seemed like the entire Gryffindor house decided to crowd into the common room that day. Fred, George, and Lee were currently chatting with Angelina, Katie and Alicia. Lavender, Parvati, and a bunch of other Gryffindor girls, of all years, were huddled together, giggling, and giving Harry quiet glances. A cluster of Gryffindor boys were sitting together, watching as a couple of second years challenged a couple of third years to a few rounds of Exploding Snap. Hermione was sitting at a desk by the window, reading a book, and Harry was sitting in a big plushy chair by the fire, reading a book as well.
"Well I heard two Hufflepuffs went out this morning and got blown into a tree. They're still stuck up there I believe," Dean added. He was quietly watching the game, having already been beaten by Ron twice.
"That's it! I don't want to play anymore. I know I'm never going to beat you anyway!" Seamus grumbled as he stood up and stretched his limbs.
Ron looked around the crowded common room, desperate to find someone who would play chess with him.
"Harry, care to help a chap with a game of chess?" Ron asked jovially.
"Sorry Ron, but this is so interesting! I can't possibly put it down." Harry answered, as he turned a page of his book.
Ron got up and snatched the book away from Harry. When he read the title, he made a face that resembled the one he made that one time he bit into a horseradish flavored Bertie Botts Every Flavored Bean.
"You are reading Hogwarts, A History? Honestly Harry, what has she done to you?!"
Harry turned slightly pink around the ears, gave Hermione a quick glance, and snatched the book back.
"She hasn't done anything to me, I just discovered I like to read, that's all."
Ron rolled his eyes at that statement. "Yeah, and I am the Tisroc of Calormen."
Harry decided to ignore that last comment and went back to his book. Ron decided to go bug Hermione. He silently went up to her table, grabbed a chair, sat right across from her, and began to stare at her. He knew she would get annoyed any minute now….
"Ron, do you want something?" Hermione asked.
"No, nothing." Ron mumbled, not losing his focus on Hermione.
Hermione gave him a queer look, then turned back to her book.
After a few minutes of this staring game continued, Hermione began to feel really annoyed with Ron. He was just sitting there, staring at her. But she knew what he wanted, she knew that he wanted to go get her mad, so she kept her calm and continued to ignore him.
Hermione coolly turned a page and glanced up quickly at Ron. He was still staring.
She tried to give all her attention to her book, but to no avail. "He is so irritating!" She thought to herself.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and she threw her book at Ron.
"Hey!" He yelped. "What'd you do that for?"
"Ronald Weasley would you kindly leave me alone so I can concentrate on my book!" Hermione yelled at him. She was completely exasperated by now.
"Come on Herm, I was only playing." Ron said as he massaged the side of his head.
Hermione could only give him an aggravated stare.
"What are you reading anyway?" Ron asked between bites. He had opened a box of chocolate frogs and he was currently eating one.
"Don't be silly Ron, it's the book you gave me for Christmas. Honestly." Hermione muttered; she was clearly still angry at him.
"No it isn't." Ron said. He sat up straight and grabbed the book from Hermione. "Hermione, this isn't the book I gave you."
"Of course it is you silly git!" Hermione exclaimed. "Look at the title."
Ron looked at the title of the book in his hand. "The Truth Behind the Gods of Ancient Greece ~by A Lot of Different Authors Whose Names Couldn't Fit On the Cover of This Book." Ron read aloud. "So it is the book I got you…"
Ron furrowed his eyebrows. "But the book I got you didn't look like that. This looks like a Muggle book."
Ron looked at the cover at the book. It was yellow, and there was a picture of a snake on it. The snake was pictured under a tree, and olive tree. The book looked like an ordinary Muggle book. He browsed through the pages of the book.; the pictures in it didn't move.
"Hermione, are you sure this isn't one of the books you brought back from home and it happens to have the same title as the one I got for you? The book I got you didn't look like this at all. The book I got you was big and brown, and old looking. I did buy it at an antique store you know, in Hogsmeade of all places, and it was clearly a magical book. When I looked through it the pictures moved and everything."
Hermione looked confused for a moment. "But when I opened your package, I got this book. And what do you mean it isn't magical? It clearly is magical, well, appearance aside-"
"Magical? What are you talking about? The pictures don't move Hermione! Its obviously Muggle…"
"Look! It's Magical ok! Read it!"
Ron cleared his throat and began to read:
"Ancient Greece, the land of many gods. But were they really gods? Of course not! Muggles of that day mistook witches and wizards like you and me for gods because of the great power they had over them, so…"
Ron smacked the book shut. "Apparently, it is magical. But that just doesn't make any sense! The pic-"
"Besides, if the book wasn't magical I would have finished reading it by now." Hermione explained haughtily.
"What are you talking about?"
Hermione, sensing that this was something she didn't want the whole common room to hear, lowered her voice a bit.
"Look, the more of the book I read, the more there is to read. It's like a never-ending book! I'm telling you, there are pages now that weren't there when I first began reading it. So it clearly must be Magical."
Ron scratched his head. This was clearly too confusing. "Nevertheless," he said, "Magical, Muggle, or Narnian! I did not get you that book! I know I didn't, ask Harry, he was there when I bought it." Ron crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.
"Yes, Harry will know," Hermione agreed, "He was there when I opened my gifts."
Hermione beckoned Harry over and Harry, rather reluctantly, put his book down and sauntered over to them.
"Is something the matter?" He asked.
"Harry, tell Hermione that that isn't the book I got her for Christmas."
Harry peered down at the book lying on the table.
"This isn't the book Ron got you for Christmas, Hermione." Harry said matter of factly.
Hermione looked up sharply. "Harry you were there when I got it on Christmas day, of course it is."
"No it isn't, I was there when he bought it."
"But it is! I mean it can't…what?" Hermione tumbled out, slightly bewildered. "Well, maybe you were too busy opening your gifts to notice the one Ron gave me."
Harry nodded. "But I do know that when we were in the shop, Ron bought you this big, brown, leathery book, I remember it was the biggest one he could find."
At this point Harry reached down and picked the book up and immediately something strange happened. A low, quiet, silver light seemed to emanate from the book. Then the book began to grow, and thicken. Its color changed, instead of yellow the cover was brown, made of leather. What were once pictures on the cover of the book became silver engravings, and the pictures inside became still engravings as well. The title of the book, was no longer in English. It was in a language none of them recognized.
"Well, now it looks like the book I bought you," Ron gulped. "Well, except for the obvious fact that it changed languages."
The trio turned to peer around the room, expecting to see the room in an uproar over the weird light that came from the book, but nobody seemed to notice.
The trio turned back to the book. "Shall we look inside?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded. He was about to open the book when suddenly, the snake on the cover spoke to him.
"Favored son, you have been chosen," it said to him.
Harry blinked several times. Did the snake just SPEAK to him? Indeed it did. It even began coiling itself slowly around the Olive Tree.
"Favored son," it repeated. "You bear the Mark of the Serpent. Awaken it, and you shall be saved."
With that, the serpent stopped moving and went quiet. Harry put the book down, and turned to his friends.
"Harry, what did the snake just hiss at you?" Ron asked.
"It told Harry he bears the Mark of the Serpent. I wonder what he meant." Hermione mused aloud. She was beginning to get that look in her eye, that look she got whenever a big task or assignment was put before her.
Harry and Ron just stared at Hermione, a look of wonder in their faces.
"You understood the hissing?" Ron asked.
"Hissing? What hissing? I didn't hear any hissing." Hermione said. She was beginning to get a strange feeling in her stomach…
"Hermione, the serpent spoke to Harry in Parseltongue."
"Did you understand it?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. "It's the telepathy isn't it?"
"I believe it is."
"Still, what did the snake mean?"
"Well what exactly did it say?" Ron asked.
"It said 'Favored son. You bear the Mark of the Serpent. Awaken it, and you shall be saved.' " Harry recited. He had a grim expression on his face, and his eyes looked angry, and sad, and forlorn, and desperate all at once. Ron couldn't take his eyes off of them. He knew something…
"Harry, do you know what it was talking about?"
"Yes, Ron. I think it was referring to Transfiguration."
"You mean your ability to turn yourself into a Basilisk?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded. "An ability I have yet to master."
"But what about 'being saved'? Saved from what?" Ron chimed in.
"I don't know," Harry said, "that's what we have to find out."
Harry then picked up the book and began browsing through it.
"I can't read anything," Harry said. The more he turned the pages the more frustrated he seemed to get.
Hermione retched the book away from Harry and began studying the writing more closely.
"Harry, I think this is Greek."
Harry nodded in agreement. For some odd reason, this didn't surprise him.
"Well the book is about the Greeks," Ron said as he studied the book.
Suddenly the window they were standing in front of opened, and a gust of strong wind came into the room. It hit the trio directly, throwing the book out of their hands and across the room.
"Harry the book!" Hermione yelled. For some odd reason, they began to get really protective of that book, as if the magic of the book was working itself into their very beings.
Harry raced across the room to get the book. He didn't want anyone else to place their hands on it. By the time he got to the book, it was thrown open on the floor, right in front of the fire. Harry nearly had a heart attack.
He bent down to pick the book up, when he noticed something sticking out of it. It was a small, blank, loose piece of paper, old and yellowish looking. It was about a quarter of the size that a legal sheet of paper would be, and some of the edges looked jagged, as if they were torn. Harry picked it up and immediately writing began to appear on it.
Harry grabbed the book and paper, ran back to his friends, grabbed Hermione and motioned Ron to follow, and dragged them out of the common room.
The rest of the Gryffindors, who had watched this mad scene of Harry flying after the book in curiosity, shook their heads in silent laughter as the trio dashed out of the room in a flurry.
"Well it seems something is up with those three again," Fred called out.
******
Harry silent led Hermione and Ron through the halls of Hogwarts. They eventually found themselves in the library. Thankfully, it was deserted, but Harry still took them to the most secluded table. Hermione blushed as she remembered what happened at this very same table a week before, but quickly took the memory out of her mind as she saw the serious look on Harry's face.
"Harry, why on earth did you drag us down to the library?" Ron scoffed as he sat down.
"I don't know," Harry said. He seemed as if he was asking himself that very same question. "All I know is that I needed to get the book out of the common room, out of the way of prying eyes."
Hermione nodded. "I felt that also," she said. "Maybe I was getting it from you."
Harry got up and began to pace around the table. "Look at the paper I found," Harry commanded Hermione.
Hermione got the paper and began to examine it carefully. On one side there was writing on it, in a language she presumed was Greek. On the other side it seemed to be a map, but since the paper was so small, and the edges torn, she figured it was only a piece of a map. The only body of land recognizable on the paper was a small island.
"A map," Hermione muttered under her breath.
Harry continued to silently pace the table, his brow furrowed and his hand under his chin.
"Allright enough!" Ron exclaimed as he grabbed Harry and sat him down. "You're making me nervous."
Harry sighed and twiddled his thumbs. "I don't know why but that map, and that book, are making me anxious."
"Maybe Voldemort sent you that book," Ron said. "Maybe he sent it to drive you mad!"
Harry stopped twiddling his thumbs, glared at Ron, then continued twiddling. Ron shrunk into his seat.
"Listen you two, I think we're going to need to go to the store where you bought the book. You said you bought it in Hogsmeade no?" Hermione interrupted, she saw Harry was getting a little tense.
Harry nodded. "There was a man there, he, he had a mark on the palm of his hand. It looked like a snake," He didn't know why, but the memory of the man made him squeamish. "He… said something, when we bought the book."
Hermione got up from her seat and kneeled beside Harry. She could feel Harry's anxiety. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "What did he say, Harry?"
Harry remembered there was something disconcerting about the man, or maybe what he said was disconcerting. "He…he told us to be careful with it. He said, 'Nice book you guys got there, be careful with it.' Whoever that man was he knows, he knows the truth about this book, whatever it is."
Hermione straightened up. "We'll go to the shop the next Hogsmeade weekend, we-"
"No," Harry stood up as he said this, "we are going today."
Hermione looked as Harry as if he just said he was leaving the wizarding world forever to join a traveling circus.
"Harry, are you insane? Have you seen the wind? Besides, do you think we can just waltz out of Hogwarts without permission? And-"
"Hermione, I have an invisibility cloak, and the Marauder's Map, remember? We'll get to Hogsmeade through Hogwarts using the secret passage by the statue of the one eyed witch I used in 3rd year, the passage that leads directly into the cellar of Honeydukes. Honeydukes is right next door to the store we bought the book at, so we needn't be out in the wind for long. " Harry had a weird gleam in his eye and he got up and began pacing again. "It will work perfectly."
He stopped pacing and looked at his two friends. "You don't have to come of course, if you don't want too. I don't need all three of us to get in trouble if we're caught."
"Harry, of course we'll come," Hermione said. "I'd be worried sick! Besides, if anything happened I'd-"
"Nothing is going to happen Hermione," Harry said. He slowly walked up to her and put his arms around her. "We've done worse before."
"Nevertheless, we're going," Ron interrupted. "Let's hurry so we can be back before dinner."
Harry told his friends he'd come right back. He quickly needed to run back and get his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. He ran all the way to the fat lady, said the password, rushed into the common room like a madman, ran all the way upstairs into his room, rummaged through his trunk until he found it, then dashed right back down the stairs and out of the common room.
Everyone in the common room definitely knew the trio was up to something, but they decided to ignore it.
******
Harry stumbled back into the library and found his friends. "All right, I have everything we need," he said.
He placed the map on the table, took out his wand, pointed it at the map, and said in low, but clear voice, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Immediately what had been a blank parchment became a map of Hogwarts, showing its innermost intricacies. Secret passages, and the current location of people (such as Filch who was currently roaming the trophy room) appeared.
"Well," Ron said as he gazed at the map. "It looks like the coast is clear, we should get to the one eyed witch and the passage behind without incident."
"We should be going if we want to get back quickly," Hermione said. She didn't like the idea of sneaking out of school, but she knew how anxious Harry felt.
Harry took out the Invisibility Cloak. "You got the book and the paper?" he asked Hermione.
"Yes," she said, "I put a shrinking charm on them, they're in Ron's pocket."
Harry draped the Invisibility Cloak over the three of them. At first he was weary the three of them wouldn't be able to fit under it anymore, they had all grown so tall. But of course, it was a magical cloak, and it seemed to stretch to fit their dimensions.
"All right then, let's go." Ron said.
The trio walked out of the library. They reached the one eyed witch without incident, but had to wait for Peeves to quickly glide in and glide out before they could get to the secret passageway. When the coast was clear, Harry took out his wand and tapped the statue. "Dissendium!" Harry whispered. He quickly went inside, followed by Hermione and Ron. The three of them slid down the stone slide Harry recognized from his first trip through there, and landed on dirt.
"Oof!" he heard Ron exclaim, "Hermione! You're foot landed on my stomach!"
"I'm sorry!" she said.
Harry suppressed a chuckle and looked around the dark, damp passageway. He took out his wand. "Lumos!" he whispered. Hermione and Ron followed his example. Harry tapped the Marauder's Map, muttered "Mischief managed!" and the map went blank again. He then pocketed his Invisibility Cloak.
"All we have to do is go straight down this passageway." Harry told his friends.
It was anything but a straight passage, and they fell over each other quite a bit, but they eventually got to the stone steps Harry remembered from his first trip through there. He silently climbed up a few steps, and motioned to Hermione and Ron to follow. They seemed to climb a million steps, but eventually they got to the trapdoor Harry remembered hitting his head on. He stayed still for a bit, straining to hear any noises above him. When he felt the coast was clear, he took out his Invisibility Cloak and draped it over himself. He pushed the trap door open, and silently climbed into the cellar. He saw no one was in the room, so he stood over the trapdoor and helped Hermione up. She silently got out of the way, and stood beside Harry while he helped Ron up. They did this to keep themselves under the protection of the cloak, incase anyone burst into the room. Now with the three of them safely inside Honeydukes, and under the cloak, Harry pushed the trap door closed.
The trio swiftly walked up the stairs, and out the door. They found themselves behind the Honeydukes counter, and nearly ran into one of the owners. They quickly dodged the man (who had a shiny bald, head), and stepped sideways until they got out from behind the counter.
Honeydukes wasn't as full today as it normally was, at least it seemed that way to the trio. They were used to seeing it on Hogsmeade weekends when it was full of merry laughter and screaming kids. Today it looked a bit lonely, which was probably attributed to the strong winds! ("Nobody wants to go out in these winds!" They heard the man with the shiny, bald head exclaim.)
"Let's get out of here before we accidentally bump into someone," Ron said. He was having a rather difficult time preventing people from tripping over him, which was weird since there weren't many people. ("Well if you weren't so distracted by the sweets you'd watch where you put your foot!" Hermione muttered under her breath)
The trio silently crept out of the store and into Hogsmeade. Immediately, they were hit with a strong gust of wind, which threatened to take the cloak with it, but the trio held on to the cloak with a death grip. They walked right next door, directly to the front of the building where they bought Hermione's book. When they tried to open the door, they couldn't. It was locked.
"Blast!" Harry said. "The bloody store is closed."
Ron shook Harry's shoulders and pointed to where the sign of The Olive Branch used to hang. The sign was blank.
Hermione peaked into the windows of the building. There was nothing inside.
"Harry," Hermione whispered to in his ear, "The store is gone."