v Harry Potter and the Mark of Hermes
Chapter 7: So You Want to Be Immortal?
"Hermione," Harry began. He didn't understand it. He felt a sudden need to lash out his anger at something, anything. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about this whole situation was making him tense, making him anxious. There was something his soul new instinctively that he consciously couldn't comprehend. But the wheels were turning in his mind, and he knew that in one way or another, he had something to do with it, the wizard who just wouldn't die.
He knew Voldemort was behind this. But what, why? It was driving him mad! What would he want with a book about ancient Greece? Why did the snake talk to him? Why did he keep coming back? What is it that I have that he wants? Harry thought.
"Hermione," Harry repeated. He licked his lips and clenched his teeth and fists. The wind was unbearable and drying his lips, and he was so angry he had to do something to control himself or else someone would blow up like his Aunt Marge, but in this wind they would end up flying away. "Hermione, what do you mean the store is gone?"
They were still standing under the invisibility cloak in front of the now empty store. They had stood like that for a few minutes while Harry processed the information Hermione had imparted. Hermione knew what Harry was feeling; their weird link provided an avenue of emotional correspondence without physical contact whenever the feeling was strong. But feeling what Harry was feeling was making her a tad apprehensive herself…
"I mean it's gone! There is nothing inside, there is no sign on the door, and quite frankly, it looks like its been abandoned like this for quite some time…years even…"
"Years?" Ron choked. "But Harry and I came right before Christmas, that time, remember? When everyone found out about you two-"
"There's only one way to find out." Harry said. He threw off the invisibility cloak, shoved it inside his robes, and stalked right up to Honeydukes.
"Has he gone mad?" Ron asked Hermione as they followed him. "We'll get caught out of school! We'll get in trouble! And of course they'll recognize us, he's sodding Harry Potter for crying out loud, its not like he can expect to be inconspicuous…"
"He knows what he's doing." Hermione said, reassuring herself as well as Ron.
When they entered the store, they immediately found Harry with the shiny-headed bald guy.
"Why it's Harry Potter!" The man exclaimed loudly. Luckily, the few customers who were in the store before were now gone, and no one was there to witness the famous Harry Potter ditching school.
"Sir, I have come to ask you a favor." Harry began…
"Of course! Anything for Harry Potter. Would you like a bit o'candy lad?" The man asked.
"No thank you sir, its not that, it's just that…"
"But o'course ya do! Here, let me go get ya some…"
And here the man commenced to grab a candy bag and begin to stuff it with all kinds of candy. Ron wondered why he didn't do this every time Harry came into the store, but he figured he couldn't very well be giving a kid free candy (even though he was Harry Potter) when hundreds more would be wanting the same.
"Here ya go lad, free of charge o'course. Nothing less for the boy who lived."
"Thank you." Harry said, taking the bag of candy reluctantly. "Sir, I came to ask you…"
"What are you three doing out of school anyways? It isn't a Hogsmeade weekend up at Hogwarts is it? Not in this weather o'course, and we didn't get any notification like we usually do…"
"No sir, it isn't a Hogsmeade weekend."
The man stopped his tirade and looked at the trio suspiciously. "What are ya doin' out of school then?"
"Sir, please. I wish I could tell you, but I can't. Just please; don't tell anyone you saw us. Please?"
The man eyed the three of them thoroughly, as if sizing them up, questioning their motives. Finally, his eyes softened and he nodded his head.
"Its all right. You can't be doing any more harm then those Weasley twins, eh?" The man asked with a chuckle.
Ron couldn't stop a grin from spreading his face, but he quickly sobered when he saw Harry's "resolute face."
"Sir, tell me, how long has that store next door been closed?"
The man stopped chuckling and looked at Harry sternly. "Store? What store?"
"You know, that antique store, The Olive Branch," Ron piped up.
"What are ya talking about?" The man asked. "There has never been an antique store in Hogsmeade, let alone one called The Olive Branch. What kind of a silly name is that?"
The trio exchanged grim expressions. This was not going too good.
"But sir, this past Christmas, my friend Ron and I purchased a book in that store. It was right there we saw it, and today its…"
"I've had Honeydukes here for the past 150 years. There has never been a store next door, or anywhere in Hogsmeade called The Olive Branch. As a matter of fact, the building next door has been empty for the past 113 years. Sorry lads." The man said. He did indeed looks deeply apologetic, and was staring at the three of them as if they had lost their marbles.
"Well, thank you sir." Harry said. He felt like he was going to lose it. No store? There was a store! I know there was! I was in I, and I saw that man… The memory of that man made Harry shudder a bit. He knew he had to talk to him.
The trio walked right behind the counter, towards the basement.
"Umm, lads? Where are you going?" The man asked.
"Oh, um…" Harry stammered.
*Should we say anything? *
*No we shouldn't. He might block it from us later on. We'll just walk back out, put on the invisibility cloak, and sneak back in.* He heard Hermione say in his mind.
"Sorry, we were going the wrong way…" Harry said weakly.
Before the trio could make it outside, the bald headed man stopped them.
"The only time it was not empty was the first 37 years I had the store here. A witch worked there, and I don't mean just any witch, a powerful witch, and a beautiful one. She had powers some of us only dream of having, powers only provided by the Dark Arts o'course. Back then I used to see people walk in and never walk out. The strangest thing about it all was that from time to time I could hear the distinct sounds of animals, pigs oinking, lions roaring, wolves howling, all coming from next door. Bloody glad was I when the old hag finally left." The man winked at them. "Don't worry lads, I won't tell."
The trio nodded at the man with a smile, and the man waved a jolly goodbye.
******
"What do you mean it isn't there?" Voldemort spat at Wormtail. Wormtail cowered in a corner, his face towards the ground, afraid to look at his master.
He thought the last time had been bad. Voldemort has resolved to using Muggle torture, well, sort of. He found a spell that made you feel like you were being stabbed, and he used it on every part of Wormtail's body, the longest on his good hand, to make him feel what would happen if he messed up the job.
"What I said Master. It isn't there. There was no store. The store is gone"
Voldemort grabbed Wormtail by his shirt collar and dragged him to his feet. "Stop patronizing me you insufferable fool!" Voldemort roared, and he tossed Wormtail to the floor.
The servant whimpered at his master's feet. "I'm s...so sorry Master. I didn't intend-"
Voldemort prodded him with his feet. "Get up you imbecile."
Wormtail readily conceded and stood up, brushing dust of his cloak.
"We did see something very interesting though." Wormtail said, trying to find favor with his master.
Voldemort sat down in his big green throne-like chair with a look of ennui on his face. "And what, Wormtail, did you find that was so important?" He asked, a sinister look on his face as he clasped his hands in front of him.
"We saw Harry Potter."
A look of pure contempt flashed through Voldemort's startling green eyes. "You saw, Potter?"
Wormtail nodded. "It was quite strange, no one was there one minute, and all of a sudden he appeared right in front of the empty store out of nowhere. His two idiotic friends where with him, obviously they were poking around the same place we were at only moments before. Its safe to assume that that is where he got his hands on the book…"
Voldemort nodded condescendingly. "Of course he did you nitwit. Where else could he have gotten it?"
Wormtail backed up a few paces. Voldemort sighed wearily. "Did he have the book with him?" he asked.
Wormtail shook his head. "It didn't appear that he did, otherwise we would have gone in and taken it from him and finally completed the map, and then you'd be one step closer to immortality…"
Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "So you did not, as you put it, 'go in?' And why didn't you? Are you scared of the little brat?"
Wormtail gulped and slowly shook his head. "No sir, its just that…"
"Just what, Wormtail?" Voldemort asked in a menacing tone.
"We...w-w…we thought you would like the pleasure of killing him." Wormtail finished.
"Ahh, so now you think you can defeat the great Harry Potter? Tell me, if I can't defeat him, what makes you think you can? Do you think you are better than I, and stronger than I? Is that it Wormtail? ANSWER ME!" He yelled as he stood up from his seat.
"N…no sir, of course not, what makes you say-?"
At this point Voldemort laughed. He laughed so hard and so coldly. It was difficult to place his laughter, such harsh, bitter laughter, mixed with amusement and menace, coming from such a handsome face. His laughter caused his wavy black hair to dance, and deep dimples appeared on his cheeks. Yes, he was handsome. His face lit up when he laughed, but was it really laughter?
"Oh Wormtail, you are really stupid you know?" Voldemort remarked between laughs as he went back to his seat.
Wormtail nodded, shame making him blush.
"Now be gone. I tire of you patheticness."
"Yes Master," Wormtail bowed humbly as he left the room.
"Oh and Wormtail," Voldemort started, the laughter still on his face but his voice with an icy edge. "Get me that book, or I will kill you. I promise."
******
He stood on the Astronomy Tower breathing in the clear night's air. It was a gorgeous night, the stars shinning in the sky like glitter, the wind cool and fresh. The lake was still and silent, reflecting the moon and the stars on its metallic surface. It was a perfect night, a perfect night to dream, and to have dreams come true.
"I'm going to fly," he whispered to himself. The soft wind blew through his black hair, and his giddy anticipation of what he would do shortly settled on him in a form of peace. There was a light in his eyes and a tranquility in him that hadn't been there for weeks. His body seemed to hum from head to toe, and he felt like bursting with elation.
"I'm going to fly tonight, outside," he murmured to himself. Seconds later a Golden Gryffin stood where the young raven-haired boy stood before. The Golden Gryffin stretched its long wings out and jumped off the tower.
Immediately it began to use its wings to gain altitude, and soon it was flying in the starry sky, circling the castle grounds and the woods beyond. Nothing can compare to this, Harry silently thought. Nothing can give so much pleasure, so much joy, so much peace. Nothing can make me feel this brave, or strong, or ready. Well, maybe except Hermione's lips…
The Golden Gryffin stopped its train of though and let its mind go completely blank. He wanted to soak in the euphoria, the freedom of flight. He never wanted it to end, but he soon felt himself tired and he knew that he must.
The Golden Gryffin flew back to the tower and landed gracefully. Soon the handsome young raven-head stood where it once was.
Harry knew it was late, and that if he wanted to maintain a normal amount of sanity tomorrow, he should be heading back to Gryffindor Tower to sleep, but he was reluctant to go. His first outdoor flight gave him a sense of power. He felt a confidence he had never mustered ever before in his life. He felt he could do anything! And he got it into his stubborn head that he could.
"What the heck!" He exclaimed to himself. He had to try. He had to continue trying or it would slowly drive him mad. He knew he had too, but he didn't want to, but he had to. He had to. He wasn't given a bloody choice. It was something within him, something he couldn't control try as he might.
It still didn't mean he had to like it though.
He closed his eyes and began to concentrate hard, trying his hardest to go back to second year and his fight with the basilisk. It was really strange that it came easier to him to transfigure into a Golden Gryffin, he had never even see one up close. Yet the Basilisk, which he had seen with his very own eyes, and fought with his very own hands, was still a mystery to him. All he remembered was a bright, green, thick, slithering serpent, all fangs and animosity…
Slowly, Harry felt himself sink to his knees. Only he had no knees…
Where did my bloody knees go? He thought in a panic. In his panic he dropped concentration and the gorgeous, green Basilisk that lay where Harry once stood became Harry again.
"Phew," Harry exclaimed as he stood up, panting, his legs trembling a bit.
He hastily pulled his invisibility cloak over himself and ran straight to Gryffindor Tower.
******
"Harry, wake up." Hermione shook him out of his nap. Classes were over for the day and they were in the library. For the past two weeks they had been blindly researching, trying to find anything that had to do with that blasted book. (Or the Greek Book as they'd taken to calling it. After all, it made itself Greek.)
They had already tried to find the book in English, seeing that it translated itself to Greek, but they had no luck. Then Hermione got the brilliant idea of finding a book that could teach them to translate it back into English themselves, but Ron reminded her, again, the she was a, "bloody witch for crying out loud!" and that they could probably find a spell that would reverse the translation. They looked through every book possible without any luck. Then they thought they could find a spell that would re-translate it back, and they did indeed find one, only that it didn't work.
"What in Merlin's name…?!" Hermione shrieked flabbergasted, and followed that up with a lot of colorful words she probably learned from Ron. ALL her spells worked, they HAD to!
"It's probably protected, Hermione," Harry said as he rubbed her back and kissed her hair soothingly, trying to hide his amusement. "This probably has nothing to do with your magical capabilities."
Hermione, more determined than ever, went back to her original idea of manual translation, but all they could find on translations were "How to Understand the Latin in Your Spells," by Marius Marius Ctesia.
"Well of course you won't find anything Greek here, standard magic is all Latin!" Ron exclaimed in annoyance. He would rather have been out flying then stuck in the library.
And today they were back, back in the library with no apparent plan, hoping against hope that they would find something so that they wouldn't have another library day in vain.
"Hmmm?" Harry mumbled. His eyes were glazed sleepily and his hair was disheveled, flying all over the place and making a lovely haphazard curtain around his scar.
"Harry, you stayed up flying last night again, didn't you?" Hermione chastised. "Figures. You are aware I can't do this alone. Ron isn't being a big help, as usual." Hermione pointed to were Ron was standing, surrounded by Lavender, Parvati, and some other Gryffindor 4th years, obviously flirting.
Harry grinned, still trying to shake off sleep. "Well, at least he's moving on."
Ron looked up and realized his two best friends were staring at him, so he excused himself from the charmed group of girls and walked over to the table were Harry and Hermione were currently installed.
Ron noticed the sly grins and exchanged glances his two best friends indulged in, and he had the decency to blush a bit and ask in an aghast voice, "What?"
Harry and Hermione couldn't hide their amusement and pointed at the throng of girls at the table were he had been holding court. They kept turning their heads around to stare at Ron, and blushing and giggling when they saw he stared back.
"What?" Ron echoed, "That was nothing. I was just talking to them…" But Ron couldn't help the Cheshire cat grin that spread through his face.
"Yes, and I am King Richard the Lionheart." Harry said, stifling a chuckle.
Ron reached over and messed up his friend's hair, even more than it already was. "Since when did you get a sense of humor?"
Harry was about to retort when Hermione raised her hand between them. "I would love to continue the passive-aggressive banter fest that seems to be the primary inclination of the day, but if you two don't remember we need to figure out what the hell that talking book wants or Harry will die of an anxiety attack!"
Harry and Ron quickly sobered up and turned to look at Hermione, who had now resolved to stacking books in piles in the order of their purpose. She had a determined look on her face and a gleam in her eye that Ron recognized as the "Nobody-is-going-to-mess with-Harry-unless-they-get-through-me-first," glint. He remembered seeing her with it in third year when Harry's Firebolt first arrived. He also remembered seeing her with it in fourth year, all through fourth year, when he did the pratty thing of leaving his best friend's side in a time of need over jealousy.
He remembered being in Herbology the day before the first task. He was sitting there quietly when Harry burst into the greenhouse and ran straight to Hermione:
"Hermione," Harry whispered…"Hermione – I need you to help me."
"What d'you think I've been trying to do, Harry?" she whispered back, her eyes round with anxiety…
She looked so worried, so scared. Is it just me or did she hold his hand then?
Why didn't I see it before? He wondered. Why didn't they see it before?
"Ron? Rooon!" Harry whispered loudly, swaying his hand in front of Ron's face in an effort to get his attention. "Ron, can you please stop daydreaming about your admirers over there and help us out for once," Harry said jovially.
"Umm…sure Harry," Ron said absently, trying to get out of his daze.
"Well then," Harry started, "What is there left to do?"
"I don't know what to do, I've run out of ideas completely. Oh Harry what if we never figure this out? What does it all mean? What are we to do? I can't think anymore!" Hermione paced the table violently in her quiet rage.
Harry reached out his arm and pulled her into a chair. "You're making me nervous."
Ron gave his best friend a wry smile.
"Argh! I just can't help it. This whole situation is puzzling and annoying, and godamnit I just want to figure it all out!" Hermione let out in exasperation.
Harry sank down to his knees next to Hermione. He grabbed her face and turned her to look at him. "Hermione, Hermione, listen to me. Please, I need you ok? I need you to be the calm, levelheaded intelligent witch I fell in love with ok? I can't do this without you. Please? Stay calm; it'll be all right. You're no good to me in this psychotic state." He smiled at her and gave her a quick smack on the lips, hoping she would cool down.
"Besides," Ron interrupted, "isn't Harry supposed to be the one with the maniac anxiety?" He asked with a grin.
Harry turned around and blushed a bit, "Well, I…er…"
"He went flying last night," Hermione spoke for him, "flying calms him." Harry had successfully placated her and she was now flipping the pages of the Greek Book calmly.
"You flew? Outside? Last night? As a Golden Gryffin?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Er…yeah…" Harry said, a bit embarrassed by the attention but pleased at his accomplishment.
At this point, Hermione jumped up and shrieked in delight. "Oh my goodness! Harry look!" She yelled.
Before anyone could ask, she ran to the bookshelves and came scurrying back with a huge, thick, book.
"How could I have been so stupid?" She exclaimed as she slammed the book onto the desk.
Where have I seen this before? Harry asked himself, quickly reminded of first year. Apparently Ron was reminded of the same thing because he was hiding a smile behind his hands.
Hermione, meanwhile, was violently turning pages in the big fat book. "There," she pointed to a page and handed it over to Harry.
There was a picture on it, of a man on it. He wore a broad-brimmed traveling hat, and winged sandals. But the most remarkable thing about that man was his staff. It was long as staff's come, but it too was winged, there were two snakes entwined around it and there was a crystal orb that glowed green at the very top. It oddly reminded him of the Crystal of Circe.
Harry felt himself immediately drawn to the staff. He got a funny feeling in his stomach when he saw it, like butterflies, and an insane desire to have the staff in his hands. It quite literally drove him mad…
But the funny thing of the man in the picture, was the he suddenly turned and smiled at Harry, and offered him his staff.
The man literally tried to give the staff to Harry, smacking the page with the staff in an effort to get it out of the picture. All Harry could do was run his finger over it.
Suddenly Ron came and peered at the page over Harry's shoulder. When Ron came the man grabbed his staff back and hugged it tightly, as if he didn't want Ron anywhere near his precious staff.
"What's his problem?" Ron asked, as he bit into an apple he produced from his bag.
Harry could only continue to stare at the man in the picture. "Hermione, how did you know to find him?"
Hermione got the Greek Book and turned a couple pages until she came to a picture of that same man, again with that same staff and those same clothes. He again noticed Harry and offered him his staff, but whenever Ron or Hermione came near got all protective of it.
"I checked out that book last year," she said, pointing at the book she just brought out. "And when I was flipping pages of the Greek Book just now I found that picture. Isn't it odd that he is the only one that remained a picture? All the rest of the pictures in the book became still engravings when it did that weird transformation thing. Anyways, I remembered I had seen him before, and I remembered the other book."
Harry got up, sat Hermione on the table, placed himself between her legs and gave her the deepest, most sensual kiss Ron had ever witnessed in the history of his life.
He brought his hands down to her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck, seemingly oblivious to the entire library, which was currently staring at the spectacle they were making of themselves.
"M-m-m-m-m…" They heard Ron clear his throat. "You guys, er…Madame Pince is bound to notice that everyone's heads are turned in this direction for some reason any minute now…"
Harry and Hermione broke away from their kiss, breathless, but looking completely satisfied. "God I love you," Harry said, still imparting soft kisses on her cheeks and jaw, "you are so brilliant, and amazing..."
Hermione threw back her head and giggled.
"Well, apparently they didn't hear me," Ron said to himself as he attempted to tiptoe away from the snogging duo. But before he got very far, his two best friends straightened up and got back on task.
"Ron, stop fooling around and come back to work," he heard Harry say.
Ron rolled his eyes and re-joined his friends. I'm fooling around?
"So…" Harry began, "Who exactly is this guy?"
Hermione settled back into her seat and fell right into the story. "He is Hermes, the 'messenger of the gods', and a god himself. But since we've established that they weren't really gods, they're just witches and wizards like us (only with bigger egos) then we'll skip all that. The question is, what is so special about this particular god, and what exactly is his pertinence to that book, that he is the only one that maintained the privilege of being a full, moving, picture?"
The three of them stood still for a while, Ron still eating his apple, silently pondering the questions Hermione set forth. The Greek Book was open in the middle between them all, turned towards Harry, and the man in the picture, Hermes, was still trying to give the staff to Harry.
Harry reached over and examined the picture. "Hermione, what exactly is that staff thingy he keeps trying to give to me?"
"Oh that is what the Greeks called the Kerykeion, but it is more commonly known in its Roman translation as the Caduceus," Hermione said, as if she expected both of them to know exactly what it was and the whole matter would thenceforth be cleared up.
"The what?" Ron asked.
"Honestly, don't you two read?" Hermione asked in exasperation.
Ron almost choked on his apple. "And exactly what year are we in Harry?"
Harry could only grin. She is still my same Hermione, he thought to himself.
Hermione rolled her eyes and continued her dictation. "The Caduceus, for those of us who are illiterate," Hermione began, glaring at Ron, "was Hermes' staff. In one story it was given to him by his brother the Greek god Apollo (another egotistical git) in exchange for a lyre. But actually, the staff was originally Hermes' very own wand. One day Hermes chanced upon two fighting snakes. He then proceeded to place his wand between them, whereupon the snakes became friends and coiled themselves around the wand. Excuse me a moment."
Hermione stopped her dictation for a bit, picked up the book she had gotten from the bookshelf, and looked at the entry under Hermes' picture. She wanted to refresh her memory of the whole story, but her jaw dropped at what she ended up finding instead. "Look at this!" Hermione whispered. "During the Middle Ages, alchemists like Nicolas Flamel believed that the snakes represented the union of opposites."
The union of opposites…Harry thought somberly. Something about that phrase tensed him up, especially when paired with a name that has so much history with him.
Hermione noticed the sudden shift in mood Harry underwent. Well, she felt it more than she saw it. It hit him hard, like a pack of ice, and when he felt so strongly she felt the undercurrents of it.
*Harry, are you…?*
*I'm fine Hermione, please, continue.*
Hermione cleared her throat and continued her lecture, but more slowly, and with a furrowed brow. "Well, the Caduceus is considered a symbol of rejuvenation because the snake sheds its skin. That theory goes along well with the staff's magical capabilities. Apparently, it can heal almost everything, it can make you invisible, and it provides its bearer with immortality."
At that last statement, Harry suddenly stood up. "Immortality?" He repeated as he began to pace the table.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."
Harry shot Ron a nasty glare.
"Yes, immortality," Hermione jumped in.
Immortality, Harry thought. Immortality, Nicolas Flamel, the Sorcerer's Stone, Voldemort…
Voldemort.
"Its Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed suddenly.
"Shh!" Ron chastised. "Its You-Know-Who! And not so loud, you'll freak out the entire library."
Hermione jumped up. "Voldemort? What are you talking about?"
"Don't you see?" Harry asked, his eyes alight as he paced the room. "The wand gives its bearer immortality. Apparently it was closely studied by Nicolas Flamel, probably for the same reason. The last time we heard the name Nicolas Flamel was because of the Sorcerer's Stone, which makes its bearer immortal. And who was looking to be immortal?"
"Voldemort," Hermione mouthed with a blank face.
"Exactly. He wants the Caduceus; he wants the immortality. He probably knows where we got this book, which is why the store was gone." The more Harry theorized, the more wildly he paced around the table.
Hermione tried to be rational. "Harry! You have no proof Voldemort is behind all this! All we know is that there was a store that never existed, you guys bought me a book from it, and it started talking to you, changed languages, and began offering you things. That's it."
Hermione got up and grabbed Harry by the shoulders. "No sign of Voldemort anywhere."
Harry relaxed and allowed himself to be guided back into his seat by Hermione. "Besides, the Caduceus probably doesn't even exist anymore, we're talking about Ancient Greece Harry, not the Middle Ages. Besides, how on earth would one go about finding it anyways?"
Harry turned to Hermione abruptly. "What did you say?"
"What did I say? About what?"
"How someone would go about finding it…"
Hermione looked puzzled. "Well, no one would, would they? It probably doesn't exist! And even if it still did, do you think it'd be lying around just anywhere? It's probably well hidden, with all kinds of wards, and the land has certainly changed dramatically from ancient times. Why, you'd probably need an ancient map of sorts to find one…"
"A Map? Hermione! The paper thing!" Harry grabbed the Greek Book and began shuffling papers until he found the small piece of torn up old paper with the picture of what looked like an island on it. "Hermione, do you think this could be part of such a map?" He asked, gulping as he did so.
Hermione took the paper from him, trembling at the bizarreness of this situation. "Perhaps," she said weakly.
"He wants it," Harry said silently. "He wants the Caduceus. He knew about that piece of paper hidden in this book. He is trying to get to it, why otherwise would it have fallen in my lap? Everything he is involved with usually does." He couldn't stop the bitterness from entering his voice. Hermione reached over and laced her hand through his.
"Did it ever cross your thick skull," Ron began, annoyed at seeing Harry in one of his, 'oh woe is me and my destiny,' funks, "that maybe this was put in your lap because it was meant for you? Maybe this has nothing to do with Voldemort. Maybe you are the one that's supposed to bear the Mark of Hermes. Or don't you remember what that bloody snake told you?"
Harry stared at Ron with a new light in his eyes. Why is he making sense? Do I want him to make sense?
Seeing that he had his friends' attention, he continued, "Maybe you were meant to use the Caduceus to fight with Voldemort, so you wouldn't die. I mean, it's obviously not for Hermione and I, every time we get near it the little man in the picture tries to keep it away from us. It is obviously meant for you, and it is obvious that you should go out and seek it. Maybe you were meant to be immortal. The question is, do you want to be immortal?"
Harry looked from Hermione to Ron and back. "Wow Ron, coherent ideas coming from you?" He added cheekily, "Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?"
Ron stuck out his tongue, and he would have rejoined, if Hermione hadn't jumped in. "Harry, you can't really be thinking about going off to find that thing. How would you go about it? Where exactly would you go to look for it? And why? We aren't really sure of anything at this point. How do we know you're really meant to brandish it? What if this isn't some big coincidence?"
Harry was surprised to see picture Hermes shaking his fist at Hermione. "Hermione, whether the staff is meant for me, whether I fell into this because I'm somehow stopping Voldemort, or whether it is one big coincidence, something tells me that I must find that staff. Besides, when have the things that have happened to me ever been a big coincidence? Now I'm doing this with or without your help." Harry was again surprised to see picture Hermes cheering him on.
Hermione sighed and sank into her chair. "All right, how are you going to go about this then?"
Harry picked up the small sheet of paper with the island on it. "Well, it probably is here, whatever that island is." He handed the paper to Hermione.
"Harry, this is part of a map, how are you sure its here and not in any of the other parts?" Hermione asked, twirling the paper in different directions as she spoke.
"Well, it was the only part found in this book, it must be the most important one."
"And what of its name? Does it have a name?" Ron asked. Hermione passed the paper to him so he could study it. "Apparently not."
"Argh this is idiocy!" Hermione exclaimed. She grabbed the Greek Book and slammed it on the table, causing the table to shake a bit, and causing one of the books she had piled up to fall on the floor. "Bloody hell!" She sighed as she bent down to pick up the book. She stopped when she saw to what page it fell open to. "Merlin's teeth!"
Harry looked over and peered at Hermione. "What is it?"
Hermione, her face white and slightly shaking, placed the open book in front of Harry, and, taking the map piece away from Ron, placed it right next to it.
"Good God!" Harry said.
Hermione smiled weakly. "Maybe it isn't such a big coincidence after all?"
"What are you two on about?" Ron asked as he got up and peered over their shoulders. "Great Merlin's Ghost!" He shouted when he finally saw 'what they were on about.'
For apparently, when the book fell, it landed so that you could see its pages clearly. It landed open to a page where there was the image of an island, an island identical to the one on the small, ripped piece of paper.
"Oh. My. God." Hermione whispered, "Its Aeaea."
Harry nodded; he knew where this was going. "Its on Aeaea."
"What is Aeaea?" Ron demanded. He was still clearly shocked at how all the pieces were falling together. Then again, this wasn't the first time it happened this way….
"Aeaea," Hermione began, "is the island where the witch Circe lived."
"Oh," Ron said. "Why would the Caduceus be there anyways?"
"I don't know." Hermione replied, a bit dumbstruck.
*Hermione*
*Yes Harry?*
*Remember what the guy at Honeydukes said, about the person that used to work in the shop next to his when he first started there?*
*Yes, but Harry, what does that have anything to-*
*Think Hermione. *
And then Hermione heard the man speaking in her head.
"The only time it was not empty was the first 37 years I had the store here. A witch worked there, and I don't mean just any witch, a powerful witch, and a beautiful one. She had powers some of us only dream of having, powers only provided by the Dark Arts o'course. Back then I used to see people walk in and never walk out. The strangest thing about it all was that from time to time I could hear the distinct sounds of animals, pigs oinking, lions roaring, wolves howling, all coming from next door. Bloody glad was I when the old hag finally left…"
*Oh no, do you think that-?*
"Could you please talk out loud, not all of us are telepathic you know?" Ron remarked coolly. He had noticed Harry and Hermione staring at each other, the way they do when they're talking to each other in their heads.
Harry and Hermione blushed and began to shuffle books around to hide their embarrassment.
"Sorry," Harry said. "I started it, but that was because I wanted her to realize something."
"Right," Hermione agreed, keeping downcast eyes.
"So, what is it?" Ron asked, clearly wanting to put the matter behind them.
"Well, the man at Honeydukes, he talked about a woman who worked next door to him in the very beginning, before the store was abandoned. He said that-"
"Ohhh! You think she might have been Circe!" Ron shrieked, pleased that he had figured it out.
"Well, yes, I mean no, well, sorta…"
"But don't you think it odd," Hermione began, her brows furrowed and her hands gripping the table tightly, "that you happen to find a book in a shop that was once run by a witch who apparently worked a lot with animals, and that the same book is making it quite clear that you should go off in search of an artifact that may very well be found on an island where a witch who turned people into animals once lived? I find that highly coincidental, too coincidental in my opinion…"
"Well it's not a coincidence, is it?" Harry asked calmly. "All this was woven together for a purpose. I'm supposed to go off and find it. It's quite simple, really.
"That still doesn't answer the question of why the Caduceus would be on Circe's Island." Ron said.
Oddly, picture Hermes began blushing furiously when this question was put forth.
"Maybe we should ask the book?" Hermione suggested.
"What?" Harry asked. He was beginning to wonder if maybe his girlfriend wasn't going a bit mad herself.
"Well, it has spoken to you before hasn't it?"
"Well yes but, its not like I asked it to. It just happened!"
Hermione gave Harry a pointed stare, and Harry finally relented. "Fine fine fine. I'll ask the bloody book."
Harry grabbed the Greek Book and closed it. He stared at the engraving of the snake on the cover and asked it in a clear voice. "Snake, what is it that you want?"
The snake just stared back, not moving or speaking.
"Well I suggest you speak to it in Parseltongue Mr. I-Have-A-Great-and -Rare-Power-Given-To-Me-By-You-Know-Who-That-I-Refuse-To-Use-Properly."
Harry rolled his eyes and imagined a real snake in place of the one in the picture. "What is all this?" He hissed.
Immediately the snake began to slither around. It uncoiled itself from the Olive Tree and spoke directly to Harry. "Where were you last night, oh favored son?" The snake hissed ominously.
Harry looked puzzled at this question. "Where, was I last night?"
The snake nodded. "Did you, or did you not awaken my master?" It asked.
Harry was beginning to get more and more confused, but something about it all made perfect sense. "I was out, I-"
But before Harry could continue another snake appeared, at first it looked like they were about to fight, but then they coiled themselves around the Olive Tree, only that the Olive Tree wasn't an Olive Tree anymore; it was a staff, a staff with an orb at the top. The snakes entwined themselves around the staff and both spoke to Harry in a superior tone. "The union of opposites…" they said, "awoke our master. And now you are ready to brandish his mark."
With that, the snakes stopped moving.
Harry ran his hands through his hair. "All right, now I'm even more confused."
Hermione was staring at Harry curiously.
*Harry?*
*Yes Hermione?* He thought back to her.
*Last night, when you were out flying, did you, by any chance, you know, manage to transfigure yourself into a Basilisk?* Hermione asked. She, like Harry, wasn't particularly thrilled with this ability.
*Umm-yeah.* Harry agreed reluctantly. He didn't know why he kept this fact to himself, or why he was so reluctant to share it.
"That's it then." Hermione said, a light in her eyes.
"What's it? And what on earth did that snake, or should I say two snakes, hiss on an on about?" Ron demanded.
"Harry managed to become a Basilisk!" Hermione exclaimed.
Ron could only gasp and drop his jaw.
"That's it Harry! Can't you see? The union of opposites, Last night you flew as a Golden Gryffin, and then you overcame your Basilisk dilemma. That picture of Hermes in the Greek Book, it didn't move before, it was an engraving, but last night you awoke it. The union of opposites Harry! The Golden Gryffin and the Basilisk, the lion and the snake, Gryffindor and Slytherin, opposites, mortal enemies, joined together in you."
Picture Hermes, at this point, was clapping wildly and jumping around in excitement.
*I guess you figured it out.* Harry thought to Hermione, a small smile playing on his lips.
*I guess I did.* Hermione rejoined with a triumphant grin. She walked over to Harry and wrapped her arms around him.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed in a teasing voice. "How come Harry gets to be immortal? Why can't I be immortal?"
The trio laughed at this, happy at finally having solved the whole thing, although they knew their adventure was just beginning.
"Well," Harry said, the laughter still in his voice, but a seriousness of duty blending in. "I guess this means I have to go Aeaea."